Using the antisaccade task to investigate the relationship between the development of inhibition and the development of intelligence

A number of authors have proposed models of cognitive development that explain improvements in intelligence over the course of childhood via changes in the efficiency of inhibitory processes ( Anderson, 2001 ; Bjorklund & Harnishfeger, 1990 ; Dempster, 1991 , 1992 ; Dempster & Corkill, 1999a ; Harnishfeger, 1995 ; Harnishfeger & Bjorklund, 1993 ). A review of the literature reveals little empirical support for the thesis. This is largely due to a failure to distinguish between age‐related and non‐age‐related changes in both inhibitory ability and intelligence. Empirical evidence is presented from a developmental study employing the antisaccade task to provide support for the role of inhibitory processes in the development of intelligence. Additionally, a case is made for a functional difference underlying antisaccade errors that are subsequently corrected and those that remain uncorrected.