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Measuring executive function in early childhood: A case for formative measurement
Michael T Willoughby1, Clancy B Blair2,
1FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Psychological Assessment
|June 30, 2015
Summary
Executive function (EF) tasks are best understood as formative indicators, not reflective ones. How EF is measured significantly impacts understanding its development and consequences.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Executive functions (EF) are crucial cognitive processes influencing behavior and development.
- The measurement of EF as a latent construct is debated, with implications for research findings.
- Existing research often treats EF tasks as reflective indicators of a broader EF construct.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine whether individual executive function (EF) tasks function as formative or reflective indicators of the latent EF construct.
- To investigate how different measurement models of EF impact predictions of intellectual ability, ADHD symptoms, and academic achievement.
- To examine the influence of formative versus reflective measurement on the reliability and developmental trajectories of EF.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the prospective longitudinal Family Life Project (FLP) with N = 1,292 children at ages 3, 4, and 5.
- Employed vanishing tetrad tests to compare the fit of formative versus reflective indicator models for EF tasks.
- Constructed composite (formative) and factor (reflective) scores to represent overall EF ability.
Main Results:
- Results consistently supported EF tasks as formative indicators of the latent EF construct.
- The choice of measurement model (formative vs. reflective) substantially altered findings regarding EF's developmental trajectories and stability.
- Across-time stability of EF was notably higher when represented as a factor score (reflective) compared to a composite score (formative).
Conclusions:
- The statistical representation of EF tasks significantly impacts inferences about EF's developmental causes, course, and consequences.
- Treating EF tasks as formative indicators provides a more accurate model of their relationship to the broader EF construct.
- Future research should carefully consider the measurement model of EF to ensure valid interpretations of developmental findings.
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