Visual Implicit Pre‐Cueing Improves Response Time in Decision‐Making in Dyslexic Children

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to examine the effect of visual pre‐cueing presented at different time intervals in the response time of dyslexic and non‐dyslexic children. Fifteen dyslexic and 15 non‐dyslexic children performed a computerised four‐choice reaction time task across four conditions: no pre‐cue and a 43‐ms time interval (or duration) of a centralised dot appearing in the stimulus circle at 43, 86 or 129 ms prior to the stimulus. Each condition was repeated eight times, totaling 32 trials, and presented in a random order. Response correctness and response times were recorded for each trial, and z‐scores were obtained by standardising performance in the three pre‐cued conditions relative to the no pre‐cue condition. Dyslexic children took longer to respond in the task than non‐dyslexic children. Both dyslexic and non‐dyslexic children had faster response times in the pre‐cued conditions than in the conditions without the pre‐cue. These lower response times were inversely correlated with the length of the pre‐cueing interval. These results suggest that dyslexic children use visual pre‐cueing to improve decision‐making. The ability of dyslexic children to use pre‐cues may offer an interesting avenue for the exploration of interventions aimed at minimising behavioural and cognitive difficulties resulting from dyslexia.