Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Using path analysis to understand executive function organization in preschool children.

Theresa E Senn1, Kimberly Andrews Espy, Paul M Kaufmann

  • 1Department of Family and Community Medicine, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA.

Developmental Neuropsychology
|July 28, 2004
PubMed
Summary

This study explored executive functions in preschoolers using path analysis. Findings show working memory and inhibition predict problem-solving skills, with their importance shifting with age.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Longitudinal associations between preschool executive control and adolescent sleep: exploring the possible moderating role of negative affectivity.

Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence·2026
Same author

Examining Associations Between Preschool Executive Control and Adolescent Physical Activity, Day-to-Day Physical Activity Variability, and Sedentary Behavior.

Journal of physical activity & health·2026
Same author

Navigating the Emotional Challenges of Grade School: The Influence of Early Family Strains and a Lack of Parental Responsiveness on Trajectories of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms.

Family process·2025
Same author

Evaluating bidirectional, longitudinal associations between adolescent executive control and eating behaviors.

Appetite·2025
Same author

Adolescent Sleep as a Transdiagnostic Factor: Associations Between Actigraphy-Derived Night-to-Night Sleep Metrics and Adolescent Psychopathology.

JAACAP open·2025
Same author

Examining longitudinal associations between early environmental deprivation and unpredictability and dietary quality and eating behaviors a decade later.

Appetite·2025

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • Executive functions lack a consensus definition, hindering developmental research.
  • Studying executive function components during early development is crucial for understanding their interrelations.
  • Advanced statistical methods for analyzing executive functions often require extensive data, which is challenging to collect from young children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationships between complex problem-solving, working memory, inhibition, and set-shifting in preschool children.
  • To utilize path analysis as a statistical method suitable for developmental studies with potentially incomplete data.
  • To identify age-related differences in the predictive power of executive function components on problem-solving.

Main Methods:

  • Path analysis was employed to examine the interrelations among executive function constructs.

Related Experiment Videos

  • 117 preschool children (ages 2 years 8 months to 6 years 0 months) completed various executive function tasks.
  • The study focused on complex problem solving, working memory, inhibition, and set shifting.

    • Main Results:

    • The best-fitting path model indicated that working memory and inhibition predict complex problem solving.
    • A significant correlation was found between working memory and inhibition.
    • In younger children, inhibition was the primary predictor of problem-solving, while working memory became more influential in older children.

    Conclusions:

    • Path analysis is a viable statistical approach for studying executive function development in children.
    • Working memory and inhibition are key components influencing complex problem-solving abilities in early development.
    • The relative importance of working memory and inhibition in problem-solving changes across the preschool years.