Electrodermal lability: individual differences affecting perceptual speed and vigilance performance in 9 to 16 year-old children.
Studies on adults have suggested that a deterioration in performance (within session vigilance decrement) on a continuous performance task may be related to individual differences in baseline levels of electrodermal activity (electrodermal lability). This study investigated this relationship in 153 children, aged 9-16 years. A significant vigilance decrement was observed, as indicated by average decreases in perceptual sensitivity (d') over an 11.5-min time period. Although electrodermal labiles were overall more perceptually sensitive than electrodermal stabiles, results did not support the premise that the performance of stabiles decreases over time more than that of labiles. Performance on other cognitive tasks, involving tests of perceptual speed ability, did not appear to be highly related to vigilance performance. However labiles were not only better able to sustain their attention, but also performed better and faster on these cognitive tasks.