Apprentissage temporel chez des enfants âgés de 4 1/2 et 6 ans : rôle d'une horloge externe

Résumé En Fr

Summary : Temporal learning in 4 1/2 and 6-year-old children : Role of an external clock. The present study investigates the role of an external temporal stimulus during training with DRL schedule. The stimulus consisted of a horizontal array of small bulbs lit in succession from left to right during the delay. Illumination of the last bulb corresponded to the end of delay. Two groups of 4 1/2 and two groups of 6-year-old children were administered four sessions in DRL 10 s. The external temporal stimulus was present on the first two sessions for the two experimental groups and never presented for the two control groups. Minimal instructions were given. The presence of the external clock significantly increased the efficiency of children's performance at both ages as compared to the control group. Suppressing this external information lowered the 4 1/2 year-olds' performance : at the end of training (session 4), they failed to space their responses in time. In contrast, the 6 year-olds exposed to 2 external stimulus sessions acquired more precise temporal regulation during DRL training than control subjects. Children's verbalisations indicated that the external dock played a functional role in 4 1/2 year-olds which did not differ from that of a discriminative stimuli (signal to respond), whereas in 6 year-olds, it played the role of a timer. Key-words : Temporal regulation, Representation of time, External clock, Children, Ontogenesis.

Des enfants âgés de 4 1/2 et de 6 ans ont été soumis à quatre séances d'apprentissage en DRL 10 s. Une horloge externe était présente pendant les deux premières séances dans la condition expérimentale alors qu'elle était absente dans la condition de contrôle. La présence de l'horloge a significativement augmenté l'efficience de la performance des enfants de chaque âge. A la suppression de l'horloge, seule la performance des plus jeunes sujets s'est détériorée. Les interviews révèlent que l'horloge externe représente un signal de réponse chez les enfants de 4 1/2 ans et un véritable compteur de durée chez ceux de 6 ans. Mots clés : apprentissage temporel, mesure du temps, horloge externe, enfants, ontogenèse.