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Rethinking Executive Function and Its Development.

Sabine Doebel1

  • 1Department of Psychology, George Mason University.

Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science
|April 30, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Executive function development in children is better understood as goal-directed control, not just independent processes. This new perspective impacts how we view child development, environmental influences, and interventions for executive function challenges.

Keywords:
child developmentcognitive controldevelopmental disordersexecutive controlexecutive functiongoalsmotivationrewardself-control

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Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Executive function research in early childhood is extensive.
  • Current models often view executive function as domain-general component processes.
  • This perspective influences understanding of development, environmental roles, and interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To challenge the domain-general component-process view of executive function.
  • To propose an alternative model of executive function development.
  • To highlight the role of goals and mental content in executive function.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of existing theories.
  • Review of empirical findings in early childhood executive function.
  • Argumentation for a goal-directed control framework.

Main Results:

  • The component-process view has limitations.
  • Executive function is better conceptualized as skills in using control for specific goals.
  • Mental content (knowledge, beliefs, values) influences goal pursuit and executive function.

Conclusions:

  • A goal-directed control account better explains empirical data.
  • This new framework offers testable hypotheses for future research.
  • Implications for theory, measurement, and interventions in executive function are discussed.