Childhood poverty, executive functioning, and the sensitized-specialized hypothesis: Measuring the effect of growing up in poverty on cognitive switching and inhibition, while having a scarcity mindset

The sensitized-specialized hypothesis states that organisms become specialized to function in the environment in which they grow up and that these specializations are only sensitized when their current surroundings match their childhood’s. Children growing up in poverty have more uncertain surroundings, where less inhibition and better switching enables them to better take advantage of opportunities. Hypothesis 1 predicted that childhood scarcity would be positively related to cognitive switching, but only when participants were tested while in a scarcity mind-set. Hypothesis 2 predicted that childhood scarcity would be negatively related to inhibition, but again only while participants had a scarcity mind-set. Previous studies that applied the sensitized-specialized hypothesis to the relationship between childhood scarcity and adult executive functioning found inconsistent results. A reproduction study with different methods was therefore performed to see whether these methods...Show moreThe sensitized-specialized hypothesis states that organisms become specialized to function in the environment in which they grow up and that these specializations are only sensitized when their current surroundings match their childhood’s. Children growing up in poverty have more uncertain surroundings, where less inhibition and better switching enables them to better take advantage of opportunities. Hypothesis 1 predicted that childhood scarcity would be positively related to cognitive switching, but only when participants were tested while in a scarcity mind-set. Hypothesis 2 predicted that childhood scarcity would be negatively related to inhibition, but again only while participants had a scarcity mind-set. Previous studies that applied the sensitized-specialized hypothesis to the relationship between childhood scarcity and adult executive functioning found inconsistent results. A reproduction study with different methods was therefore performed to see whether these methods would find clear effects of childhood scarcity. Participants were induced into a scarcity mind-set by letting them recall a moment of perceived financial scarcity. Switching was measured with the Number-Letter task, while inhibition was measured with an anti-saccade task. No support was found for Hypothesis 1, while partial support was found for Hypothesis 2. It is advised to perform more research in an ecologically valid environment.Show less

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Childhood poverty, executive functioning, and the sensitized-specialized hypothesis: Measuring the effect of growing up in poverty on cognitive switching and inhibition, while having a scarcity mindset