A meta-analysis of the Dimensional Change Card Sort: Implications for developmental theories and the measurement of executive function in children

Conceptualizing avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder via an executive functioning lens

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a heterogeneous disorder wherein restrictive eating is primarily attributed to non-shape/weight-based reasons (e.g., sensory sensitivity) that empirical research continues to explore. Mounting evidence suggests that ARFID often presents alongside neurodevelopmental diagnoses (NDs) or divergent neurodevelopment broadly. Executive functioning (EF) differences often characterize divergent neurodevelopmental trajectories. Additionally, restrictive eating in anorexia nervosa has been conceptualized as related to EF factors (e.g., set shifting). Given the neurodevelopmental phenotype that may be associated with ARFID and the role of EF in anorexia nervosa, this paper proposes EF as a potentially important, yet understudied factor in ARFID pathology. We posit that various observed ARFID behavioral/cognitive tendencies can be conceptualized in relation to EF differences. We contextualize commonly observed ARFID presentations within "core" EF components (i.e., cognitive flexibility, working memory, inhibitory control), leading to hypotheses about EF in ARFID. Finally, we offer additional considerations/directions for future research on EF in ARFID. Increased research on EF in ARFID is needed to consider this potential common factor in the etiology and maintenance of this heterogeneous disorder. We aim to promote further consideration of EF in ARFID etiology, maintenance, and treatment-outcome research. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: This article proposes that aspects of executive functioning (EF) may play a role in the onset and maintenance of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), although this notion is largely untested by existing research. Further research on the role of EF in ARFID may assist with refining models and treatments for this heterogeneous disorder.

A challenge to the expected: Lack of longitudinal associations between the early caregiving environment, executive functions in toddlerhood, and self-regulation at 6 years

Previous research and theory indicate an importance of the quality of the early caregiving environment in the development of self-regulation. However, it is unclear how attachment security and maternal sensitivity, two related but distinct aspects of the early caregiving environment, may differentially predict self-regulation at school start and whether a distinction between hot and cool executive function is informative in characterizing such predictions through mediation. In a 5-year longitudinal study (n = 108), we examined these associations using measures of maternal sensitivity and attachment security at 10-12 months, executive function at 4 years, and self-regulation at 6 years. Surprisingly, and despite methodological rigor, we found few significant bivariate associations between the study variables. We found no credible evidence of a longitudinal association between maternal sensitivity or attachment security in infancy and self-regulation at 6 years, or between executive function at 4 years and self-regulation at 6 years. The lack of bivariate longitudinal associations precluded us from building mediation models as intended. We discuss our null findings in terms of their potential theoretical implications, as well as how measurement type, reliability, and validity, may play a key role in determining longitudinal associations between early caregiving factors and later self-regulation and related abilities. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The early caregiving environment has been implicated in the development of later self-regulation, which includes more basic skills, such as hot and cool executive functions (EF). In a 5-year longitudinal study, with a sample of 108 children, we rigorously measured aspects of early caregiving, EF, and self-regulation. We found no significant longitudinal associations between early caregiving and self-regulation at 6 years, nor between EF at 4 years and self-regulation at 6 years. These null results highlight the complexity of modeling self-regulation development and raise critical questions about general methodological conventions within self-regulation development research.

Don't throw the associative baby out with the Bayesian bathwater: Children are more associative when reasoning retrospectively under information processing demands

Causal reasoning is a fundamental cognitive ability that enables individuals to learn about the complex interactions in the world around them. However, the mechanisms that underpin causal reasoning are not well understood. For example, it remains unresolved whether children's causal inferences are best explained by Bayesian inference or associative learning. The two experiments and computational models reported here were designed to examine whether 5- and 6-year-olds will retrospectively reevaluate objects-that is, adjust their beliefs about the causal status of some objects presented at an earlier point in time based on the observed causal status of other objects presented at a later point in time-when asked to reason about 3 and 4 objects and under varying degrees of information processing demands. Additionally, the experiments and models were designed to determine whether children's retrospective reevaluations were best explained by associative learning, Bayesian inference, or some combination of both. The results indicated that participants retrospectively reevaluated causal inferences under minimal information-processing demands (Experiment 1) but failed to do so under greater information processing demands (Experiment 2) and that their performance was better captured by an associative learning mechanism, with less support for descriptions that rely on Bayesian inference. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Five- and 6-year-old children engage in retrospective reevaluation under minimal information-processing demands (Experiment 1). Five- and 6-year-old children do not engage in retrospective reevaluation under more extensive information-processing demands (Experiment 2). Across both experiments, children's retrospective reevaluations were better explained by a simple associative learning model, with only minimal support for a simple Bayesian model. These data contribute to our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms by which children make causal judgements.

Judgments of relevance in preschoolers: a study of training and transfer of self-cueing strategies

Introduction

When facing a task, children must analyze it precisely to fully identify what its goal is. This is particularly difficult for young children, who mainly rely on environmental cues to get there. Research suggests that training children to look for the most relevant perceptual cues is promising. Furthermore, as transferring skills to a new task is difficult, the question of whether young children are able to transfer such training remains open. The aim of this study was to test the extent to which two strategies of goal self-cueing-labeling and pointing-can help 4-year-old children to identify the relevant cues to clearly identify the goal of the task. The effects of explicit strategy training were tested in a near transfer task.

Method

Ninety-nine typically developing 4 year olds took part in the study. They were divided into three groups: two were trained collectively in one of the two strategies and the third group as a control group with no strategy training. All children performed a cued card-sorting task four times: Pre-test, Collective training, Post-test, and Transfer with new cards.

Results

Results confirmed the beneficial effect of strategy training on goal identification, particularly after training (Post-test). In the transfer phase, all three groups performed equally well.

Discussion

This study contributes to our understanding of how young children seek information when they look for the most relevant cues for identifying the goal of a task, and the benefits they may derive in a transfer task. It seems that the use of visual cues and self-cueing strategies helps preschoolers to clearly identify the goal of a task. Results are discussed in the light of the self-regulated learning framework. Some possible classroom applications are suggested.

Spanking and executive functioning in US children: A longitudinal analysis on a matched sample

BACKGROUND

Spanking has been linked to multiple maladaptive child outcomes. However, previous research linking spanking with children's executive function skills (EFs; inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory) is limited by research designs that do not adequately address selection bias concerns, wherein the participant characteristics potentially differ between those who are spanked versus not spanked.

OBJECTIVE

Using a representative sample of US children aged 5 to 6, this study strengthened the evidence for causal estimates on the link between spanking and subsequent EFs with a matched-group design. Low-frequency spanking and potential moderators (child gender, parent race/ethnicity, parental warmth) were tested to determine if they moderated the link between spanking and EFs.

PARTICIPANTS

Data were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (Ns = 12,750-12,830). To mitigate selection bias, entropy-balanced matching was utilized to match spanked versus not-spanked groups, and lagged dependent variable regression analyses were conducted on the matched sample to predict EFs by spanking group status.

RESULTS

After matching, spanking at age 5 was associated with lower inhibitory control and lower cognitive flexibility at age 6, but was not significantly predictive of later working memory. The association with inhibitory control was observed even for low frequency spanking. However, no evidence of moderation by child gender, parent race/ethnicity, and parental warmth was identified.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides evidence that spanking is associated with lower executive functioning in children, although the associations varied by different EF domains.

A psychometric evaluation of the NIH Toolbox fluid cognition tests adapted for Swahili and Dholuo languages in Kenyan children and adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Our objective was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the culturally adapted NIH Toolbox African Languages® when used in Swahili and Dholuo-speaking children in western Kenya.

METHOD

Swahili-speaking participants were recruited from Eldoret and Dholuo-speaking participants from Ajigo; all were <14 years of age and enrolled in primary school. Participants completed a demographics questionnaire and five fluid cognition tests of the NIH Toolbox® African Languages program, including Flanker, Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), Picture Sequence Memory, Pattern Comparison, and List Sorting tests. Statistical analyses examined aspects of reliability, including internal consistency (in both languages) and test-retest reliability (in Dholuo only).

RESULTS

Participants included 479 children (n = 239, Swahili-speaking; n = 240, Dholuo-speaking). Generally, the tests had acceptable psychometric properties for research use within Swahili- and Dholuo-speaking populations (mean age = 10.5; SD = 2.3). Issues related to shape identification and accuracy over speed limited the utility of DCCS for many participants, with approximately 25% of children unable to match based on shape. These cultural differences affected outcomes of reliability testing among the Dholuo-speaking cohort, where accuracy improved across all five tests, including speed.

CONCLUSIONS

There is preliminary evidence that the NIH Toolbox ® African Languages potentially offers a valid assessment of development and performance using tests of fluid cognition in Swahili and Dholuo among research settings. With piloting underway across other diverse settings, future research should gather additional evidence on the clinical utility and acceptability of these tests, specifically through the establishment of norming data among Kenyan regions and evaluating these psychometric properties.

Expectations of Processing Ease, Informativeness, and Accuracy Guide Toddlers' Processing of Novel Communicative Cues

Discovering the meaning of novel communicative cues is challenging and amounts to navigating an unbounded hypothesis space. Several theories posit that this problem can be simplified by relying on positive expectations about the cognitive utility of communicated information. These theories imply that learners should assume that novel communicative cues tend to have low processing costs and high cognitive benefits. We tested this hypothesis in three studies in which toddlers (N = 90) searched for a reward hidden in one of several containers. In all studies, an adult communicated the reward's location with an unfamiliar and ambiguous cue. We manipulated the processing costs (operationalized as inferential chain length) and cognitive benefits (operationalized as informativeness) of the possible interpretations of the cues. Toddlers processing of novel communicative cues were guided by expectations of low processing costs (Study 1) and high cognitive benefits (Studies 2 and 3). More specifically, toddlers treated novel cues as if they were easy to process, informative, and accurate, even when provided with repeated evidence to the contrary. These results indicate that, from toddlerhood onward, expectations of cognitive utility shape the processing of novel communicative cues. These data also reveal that toddlers, who are in the process of learning the language and communicative conventions of people around them, exert a pressure favoring cognitive efficiency in communicative systems.

Private speech amount positively predicts memory performance in young adults

This study used a card-matching game that relies on visual-spatial working memory to investigate whether the amount one talks out loud to themselves (referred to as private speech) predicts cognitive performance in young adults (n = 118, mean age = 20.13 years). Each participant's performance was measured in two "Private Speech" trials, in which they were instructed to complete the game efficiently, while using private speech as much as they can. Using multilevel modeling, we found that participants performed significantly better on trials for which they produced more private speech. This relationship was not moderated by baseline competency on the task (measured in a condition where participants were not instructed to use, and rarely ever used, private speech). The study shows that the degree to which adults use private speech - when instructed to do so, is associated with cognitive performance, which may have important implications for educational/instructional settings.

The longitudinal contributions of child language, negative emotionality, and maternal positive affect on toddler executive functioning development

Executive functions (EF) develop rapidly across early childhood and play a prominent role in promoting adaptive outcomes later in development. Although the existing literature suggests that the development of early EF is sensitive to the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, limited research has examined the joint contributions of multiple child and contextual factors in infancy/toddlerhood. The purpose of our longitudinal study was therefore to identify early environmental, behavioral, biologically-based factors that influence children's EF outcomes in late toddlerhood. Participants included 409 mother-child dyads (209 girls) and the data was collected across children's first three postnatal years. Parent-report measures were used to assess infant negative affectivity (5-months; IBQ-R) and toddler language (age 2; MCDI), and both maternal positive affect (5-months) and toddler frustration (age 2) were coded during mother-child interaction tasks. A battery of behavioral tasks was used to measure child EF in late toddlerhood (age 3). After controlling for maternal education (a proxy for children's socio-economic environment), path analysis indicated that both infant and maternal affect at 5-months directly predicted toddlers' language skills and frustration expression at age 2. Toddler language (but not frustration) also predicted child performance on multiple EF tasks at age 3. Finally, 5-month infant and maternal affect indirectly predicted age 3 EF via age 2 language. Our results identify language as a mechanism through which children's early caregiving environment influences their EF development. Taken together, these findings illustrate the importance of applying a biopsychosocial perspective to the examination of early childhood EF development.

How attention factors into executive function in preschool children

Executive Function consists of self-regulation processes which underlie our ability to plan, coordinate, and complete goal-directed actions in our daily lives. While attention is widely considered to be central to the emergence and development of executive function during early childhood, it is not clear if it is integral or separable from other executive function processes. Previous studies have not addressed this question satisfactorily because executive function and attention are multidimensional constructs, but they are often studied without differentiating the specific processes that are tested. Moreover, some studies consist of only one task per process, making it difficult to ascertain if the pattern of results is attributable to different processes or more simply to task variance. The main aim of this study was to more fully investigate how attention factored into the underlying structure of executive function in preschool children. Preschool children (n = 137) completed a battery of tasks which included executive function (i.e., response inhibition, working memory) and attentional control (i.e., sustained attention, selective attention) processes; there were two tasks per process. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted to test which of three models fit the data best: (1) a unitary one-factor model with attention loading onto the same factor as other executive function processes, (2) a two-factor model with attention loading onto a separate factor than other executive function processes, or (3) a three-factor model with attention, response inhibition, and working memory as separate factors. Fit indices and model comparisons indicated that the two-factor model fit the data best, suggesting that attentional control and executive function were related, but separable. Although this study is not the first to advocate for a two-factor model during the preschool years, it is the first to suggest that the two factors are attentional control and executive function, not working memory and response inhibition. One important implication of these findings is that a complete assessment of executive function during the preschool years necessitates measuring not only response inhibition and working memory, but attentional control as well.

Goal choice in preschoolers is influenced by context, cognitive flexibility, and metacognition

Introduction

Goal choice is one of the first, and most important, steps in self-regulated learning (SRL). It is particularly challenging for young children (before 5–6 years), who tend to rely on available environmental cues, which makes their goals fragile because of the instability and variability of the environment. Therefore, it can be assumed that the conditions under which a task is performed may influence a child’s learning goal choice. Moreover, adapting to constraints involves control capacities provided by executive functions (EF) and metacognition.

Methods

The main purpose of this study was to determine factors that influence the way preschoolers choose a learning goal during the first step of SRL. We tested whether adding constraints to perform a task may influence the choice of the procedure that a child aims to learn to perform this task. We also examined the role of cognitive flexibility and metacognition in goal selection in the face of these changes, and tested the influence of change over time, comparing participants’ performance at two points in the school year. One hundred 4-year-olds were asked to perform a jigsaw puzzle task under two conditions: predictable vs. unpredictable environmental change. Individual levels of cognitive flexibility and metacognition were also measured.

Results

The results show that only a predictable change, but not an unpredictable one, leaded children to change their learning goals. Furthermore, when participants were faced with an unpredictable change, metacognition and cognitive flexibility significantly predicted learning goal change. Results are discussed regarding the development of SRL, flexibility, and metacognition. Educational suggestions are proposed.

Highlights

– The choice of a learning goal by a preschooler is influenced by the conditions of task performance and environmental cues. Facing a predictable change is more disruptive to children before the age of 4.5, and more likely to cause them to change their goal.

– A shift is observed, from age 4 and during the school year, from a perceptual to a conceptual level of processing.

– Cognitive flexibility and metacognition also determine learning goal choice in preschoolers, but only in front of unpredictable changes.

How do distracting events influence children's arithmetic performance?

To understand how distraction influences children's arithmetic performance, we examined effects of irrelevant sounds on children's performance while they solve arithmetic problems. Third and fifth graders were asked to verify true/false, one-digit addition problems (e.g., 9 + 4 = 12. True? False?) under silence and sound conditions. The sounds began when the problems started to appear on the screen (Experiment 1; N = 76) or slightly after (Experiment 2; N = 92) and continued until participants responded. The results showed that (a) children solved arithmetic problems more quickly in the sound condition than in the silence condition when the sounds started with problem display (phasic arousal effects); (b) children were slower on the arithmetic problem verification task when the sounds was played slightly after the problems started to appear on the screen (distraction effects); (c) phasic arousal effects were found only in third graders, whereas distraction effects were found in both grades, although their magnitudes were smaller in fifth graders; (d) distraction effects increased with increasing latencies in third graders but did not change across the entire latency distribution in fifth graders; and (e) distraction effects on current trials were smaller after sound trials than after silence trials in both age groups (sequential modulations of distraction effects). These findings have important implications for furthering our understanding of effects of irrelevant sounds on arithmetic performance as well as cognitive processes involved in children's arithmetic.

Cognitive flexibility in younger and older children who stutter

PURPOSE

Recent research findings suggest possible weaknesses in cognitive flexibility (CF) in children who stutter (CWS) when compared to children who do not stutter (CWNS). Studies so far, have been conducted with either younger (3-6 years old) or older children (6-12 years old) with a variety of measures. The purpose of the present study was to investigate CF with the use of a single behavioral measure across a broader age range (4-10 years old).

METHODS

Participants were 37 CWS (mean age = 6.90 years) and 37 age-and gender-matched CWNS (mean age = 6.88 years), divided in a younger (below 7 years) and older (above 7 years) age group. All participants undertook a computerized visual set-shifting task consisting of three blocks. CF was evaluated through across-and within-block comparisons of the actual response speed and accuracy values. In addition, mixing-and set-shifting-costs were evaluated based on the mean response speed and accuracy.

RESULTS

All participants showed expected mixing-and set-shifting-costs. Only the within-block analyses yielded significant between (sub)group differences. Investigation of the block × classification group × age group interactions showed that older CWS had larger set-shifting-costs (slowed down more and made more errors) compared to older CWNS.

CONCLUSION

While all participants required more time during set-shifting trials, only the older CWS (7-10 years old), and not younger CWS, were slower and made more errors. This finding corroborates previous findings in CWS of a similar age and could possibly point to a role of CF in stuttering persistence.

Longitudinal investigation of executive function development employing task-based, teacher reports, and fNIRS multimethodology in 4- to 5-year-old children

Increased focus on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and the use and accessibility of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) have advanced knowledge on the interconnected nature of neural substrates underlying executive function (EF) development in adults and clinical populations. Less is known about the relationship between rsFC and developmental changes in EF during preschool years in typically developing children, a gap the present study addresses employing task-based assessment, teacher reports, and fNIRS multimethodology. This preregistered study contributes to our understanding of the neural basis of EF development longitudinally with 41 children ages 4-5. Changes in prefrontal cortex (PFC) rsFC utilizing fNIRS, EF measured with a common task-based assessment (Day-Night task), and teacher reports of behavior (BRIEF-P) were monitored over multiple timepoints: Initial Assessment, 72 h follow-up, 1 Month Follow-up, and 4 Month Follow-up. Measures of rsFC were strongly correlated 72 h apart, providing evidence of high rsFC measurement reliability using fNIRS with preschool-aged children. PFC rsFC was positively correlated with performance on task-based and report-based EF assessments. Children's PFC functional connectivity at rest uniquely predicted later EF, controlling for verbal IQ, age, and sex. Functional connectivity at rest using fNIRS may potentially show the rapid changes in EF development in young children, not only neurophysiologically, but also as a correlate of task-based EF performance and ecologically-relevant teacher reports of EF in a classroom context.

Cognitive flexibility supports the development of cumulative cultural learning in children

The scale of cumulative cultural evolution (CCE) is a defining characteristic of humans. Despite marked scientific interest in CCE, the cognitive underpinnings supporting its development remain understudied. We examined the role cognitive flexibility plays in CCE by studying U.S. children’s (N = 167, 3–5-year-olds) propensity to relinquish an inefficient solution to a problem in favor of a more efficient alternative, and whether they would resist reverting to earlier versions. In contrast to previous work with chimpanzees, most children who first learned to solve a puzzlebox in an inefficient way switched to an observed, more efficient alternative. However, over multiple task interactions, 85% of children who switched reverted to the inefficient method. Moreover, almost all children in a control condition (who first learned the efficient method) switched to the inefficient method. Thus, children were keen to explore an alternative solution but, like chimpanzees, are overall conservative in reverting to their first-learned one.

Child executive function and future externalizing and internalizing problems: A meta-analysis of prospective longitudinal studies

To determine the association between executive function and later externalizing and internalizing problems, we conducted a meta-analysis of 167 studies (1098 effect sizes, total N = 66,119) that explored the longitudinal associations between executive functions in children and subsequent externalizing and internalizing problems. The results indicated that greater child executive function was prospectively associated with fewer attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, fewer conduct problems, fewer oppositional defiant disorder symptoms, less substance use, fewer broad externalizing problems, fewer depression symptoms, and fewer broad internalizing problems, but not with subsequent anxiety symptoms. Moderator analyses revealed that the sample type moderated the associations of executive function with both ADHD symptoms and conduct problems. Age of assessment moderated the association with broad externalizing problems, and executive function context moderated associations with both substance use and broad internalizing problems. These findings suggest that executive function in children prospectively predicts numerous externalizing and internalizing behaviors, suggesting that executive function may be an important target for psychopathology prevention programs and interventions.

A modified version of the dimensional change card sort task tests cognitive flexibility in children (Homo sapiens) and cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

A modified Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task was used to test cognitive flexibility in adult cotton-top tamarins and children aged 19 months to 60 months. Subjects had to infer a rule from the experience of selecting between two cards to earn a reward, and the pairs of stimuli defined the rule (e.g., pick blue ones, not red ones, or pick trucks, not boats). Two different tests measured subjects' ability to shift to a reversal of the rule (intradimensional shift) and to shift to a new rule defined by a dimension previously irrelevant (interdimensional shift). Both adult tamarins and children aged 49-60 months were able to learn the initial rule and switch to a reversal and to a rule based on a different dimension. In contrast, the two younger groups of children, aged 19-36 months and aged 37-48 months, could switch when a reversal was imposed but took significantly longer to learn a new rule on a former irrelevant dimension. Experiment 2 presented a wider set of novel stimuli which shared some features with the original set to further explore the basis of rule learning. The result was that tamarins and 52- to 60-month-old children both chose novel stimuli that fit the rule and had no a priori associative strength, suggesting a rule application not solely based on associative strength. Importantly, novel items introduced some risk for choice, and children showed themselves to be risk-averse, whereas tamarins were risk-prone within a novel context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the development of attentional set shifting in young children with a novel Intradimensional/Extradimensional shift task

Attentional set shifting is a core part of cognition, allowing quick and flexible adaption to new demands. The study of its development during early childhood has been hampered by a shortage of measures not requiring language. This article argues for a revival of the Intradimensional/Extradimensional (ID/ED) shift task by presenting a new nonverbal version of the task (Shifting Tray task). Children (N = 95 3- to 5-year-olds; 49 girls; predominantly European White) were presented with pairs of trays, each filled with a substrate and an upside-down cup on top, and were asked to find stickers. In the pre-switch phase, children learned (through trial and error) which dimension (substrate or cup) was predictive of the rewards. In the post-switch phase, all stimuli were exchanged. For children in the intradimensional shift condition, the dimension predictive of the sticker was the same as the one predictive in the pre-switch phase. For children in the extradimensional shift condition, the previously irrelevant dimension was now relevant. Results showed that most 3-year-olds were able to switch, and older children did not outperform younger children. The easy and flexible nature of the task allows researchers to investigate the impact of labels and instructions and to use it in cross-cultural and comparative research.

Overcoming cognitive set bias requires more than seeing an alternative strategy

Determining when to switch from one strategy to another is at the heart of adaptive decision-making. Previous research shows that humans exhibit a ‘cognitive set’ bias, which occurs when a familiar strategy occludes—even much better—alternatives. Here we examined the mechanisms underlying cognitive set by investigating whether better solutions are visually overlooked, or fixated on but disregarded. We analyzed gaze data from 67 American undergraduates (91% female) while they completed the learned strategy-direct strategy (LS-DS) task, which measures their ability to switch from a learned strategy (LS) to a more efficient direct strategy (DS or shortcut). We found that, in the first trial block, participants fixated on the location of the shortcut more when it was available but most (89.6%) did not adopt it. Next, participants watched a video demonstrating either the DS (N = 34 Informed participants) or the familiar LS (N = 33 Controls). In post-video trials, Informed participants used the DS more than pre-video trials and compared to Controls. Notably, 29.4% of Informed participants continued to use the LS despite watching the DS video. We suggest that cognitive set in the LS-DS task does not stem from an inability to see the shortcut but rather a failure to try it.

What Are the Kids Doing? Exploring Young Children's Activities at Home and Relations with Externally Cued Executive Function and Child Temperament

Young children spend a lot of time at home, yet there is little empirical research on how they spend that time and how it relates to developmental outcomes. Prior research suggests less-structured time - where children practice making choices and setting goals - may develop self-directed executive function in 6-year-olds. But less-structured time may be related to executive function for other reasons - for example, because less-structured time provides opportunities to acquire conceptual knowledge relevant to using executive function on tasks. We thus tested the possibility that less-structured time is also related to younger children's externally cued executive function. In this remote online study, caregivers of 93 3- to 5-year-olds indicated the amount of time their child was typically spending in various activities while at home during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Activities were categorized as structured (primarily lessons with specific goals defined by adults or an app), less-structured (wide range of activities permitting choice and interaction with caregiver), passive (e.g., watching TV or videos), and primarily physical (e.g., bike riding). Children's externally cued executive function was assessed via the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS). Time and variety in less-structured activities were related to successful switching on the DCCS, controlling for age, family income, caregiver education, and verbal knowledge. Caregivers were more involved in less-structured versus structured activities. Caregiver ratings of children's temperament were related to how children's time was spent. These findings suggest several new avenues for studying young children's activities at home and their relations with developmental outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Early executive and school functioning: Protective roles of home environment by income

This study used data from the Family Life Project (N=1,227), a longitudinal study of child development. We tested a three-way interaction in which positive parenting and learning materials in the home from age 6-36 months and family income predicted children's executive functioning (EF) at 58 months. We also tested whether this interaction predicted early school functioning, specifically behavioral and academic skills in the 1^st grade. The interactive effects of positive parenting and learning materials differed by family income. For children in families of lower income, more learning materials and positive parenting predicted better EF, and in turn, better early school functioning. For children in families of higher income, only positive parenting significantly predicted EF, which in turn, predicted better early school functioning. Findings suggest that more targeted policy and program support for enrichment and positive parenting may bolster efforts to combat poverty.

The Performance of Visual, Auditory, and Motor Cognitive Flexibility for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Taiwan

PURPOSE

Few studies have tested the cognitive flexibility, specifically auditory and motor flexibility of children with ASD. This study was conducted to understand the relationship between cognitive flexibility and visual, auditory, and motor development in young children with ASD and autistic behaviors.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS

A purposive sampling approach was used to screen nineteen four- to five-year-old ASD children. Tests included the Autism Behavior Checklist-Taiwan Version and Cognitive Flexibility Test, which included visual, auditory, and motor cognitive flexibility subtests.

RESULTS

At the pre-switch and post-switch of three subtests, there were considerable variations in the number of ASD passing. According to the findings, children aged five had more visual cognitive flexibility than children aged four, but the lack of significant differences for the other flexibilities. The negative correlation of the three cognitive flexibilities with autistic behaviors was -0.57~-0.64.

CONCLUSION

Children with ASD have significant difficulties in switching rule tasks characterized by visual, auditory, and motor cognitive flexibility. The results suggest that visual cognitive flexibility had an age effect. The negative correlation of the three cognitive flexibilities with autistic behaviors was moderate.

Understanding autonomous behaviour development: Exploring the developmental contributions of context-tracking and task selection to self-directed cognitive control

Gaining autonomy is a key aspect of growing up and cognitive control development across childhood. However, little is known about how children engage cognitive control in an autonomous (or self-directed) fashion. Here, we propose that in order to successfully engage self-directed control, children identify and achieve goals by tracking contextual information and using this information to select relevant tasks. To disentangle the respective contributions of these processes, we manipulated the difficulty of context-tracking via altering the presence or absence of contextual support (Study 1) and the difficulty of task selection by varying task difficulty (a)symmetry (Study 2) in 5-6 and 9-10-year-olds, and adults. Results suggested that, although both processes contribute to successful self-directed engagement of cognitive control, age-related progress mostly relates to context-tracking. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Examining Additive and Synergistic Relations Between Preschool Self-Regulation and Executive Function Skills: Predictions to Academic Outcomes

In the present study, we examined the extent to which teacher-rated self-regulation and directly assessed executive function skills were independently, additively, or synergistically related to academic achievement during the transition to kindergarten. The sample included 126 children (42% female; M_age = 4.73 years) from families with low incomes who participated in a larger evaluation of state-funded preschool. Regression models with children nested in their respective preschool classrooms investigated main effects and moderated effects of teacher-rated self-regulation skills manifested in preschool classroom behaviors and cognitive executive function skills assessed through direct assessments on math, literacy, and vocabulary in the spring of preschool and in the fall of kindergarten. Results revealed independent but not additive relations between executive function and math in the spring of preschool and self-regulation and literacy in the fall of kindergarten. One significant interaction emerged providing evidence for synergistic relations between teacher-rated self-regulation and directly assessed executive function for literacy at both timepoints across the transition to kindergarten. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Beyond literal depiction: Children's flexible understanding of pictures

Pictures can represent more than one entity, and they can also represent literal or nonliteral concepts associated with a referent. In two studies, we examined whether 4-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and adults can view pictures as both literal and nonliteral when they are presented with different contextual cues, which would indicate representational flexibility. In Study 1, children and adults were asked to name iconic pictures after hearing a story explaining how a fictional character had created or used a picture in, for instance, a literal context (e.g., a girl used a picture of a crown to represent what she wanted for Christmas) and a second story on how the same artist produced or used an identical picture in a nonliteral context (e.g., the same girl used the picture of a crown to represent what she wanted to be when she grew up). After each story, the picture was shown and participants were asked "What does this mean?" The 6-year-olds and adults, but not the 4-year-olds, showed representational flexibility in their interpretations of pictures across contexts. Study 2 provided evidence of flexible pictorial interpretations, even for the younger age group, when children were presented with a game in which they were asked to select a suitable picture to represent a nonliteral referent. Taken together, our results suggest that the conditions under which representational flexibility is elicited influence the developmental progression observed.

Selective Auditory Attention Associated With Language Skills but Not With Executive Functions in Swedish Preschoolers

Associations between language and executive functions (EFs) are well-established but previous work has often focused more on EFs than on language. To further clarify the language-EF relationship, we assessed several aspects of language and EFs in 431 Swedish children aged 4-6, including selective auditory attention which was measured in an event-related potential paradigm. We also investigated potential associations to age, socioeconomic status (SES), bi-/multilingualism, sex and aspects of preschool attendance and quality. Language and EFs correlated weakly to moderately, indicating that relying on measures of vocabulary alone may overestimate the strength of the language-EF relationship. Contrary to predictions, we found no correlations between selective attention and EFs. There were however correlations between morphosyntactic accuracy and selective auditory attention which is in line with previous work and suggests a specific link between morphosyntax and the ability to suppress irrelevant stimuli. In Sweden, socioeconomic differences are rather small and preschool is universally available, but nevertheless, aspects of parental SES predicted children's performance on all measures. Bi-/multilingual children performed lower on language also when controlling for SES, highlighting the need for interventions to reduce inequalities in educational outcomes already in preschool. A female advantage was found for both language and EFs, whereas preschool attendance and quality were not significantly related to outcome measures. Future work should include longitudinal studies of language and EF development, include children from diverse SES backgrounds and contribute toward a theoretical framework that further clarifies the language-EF relationship.

Serial Order Effect in Divergent Thinking in Five- to Six-Year-Olds: Individual Differences as Related to Executive Functions

This study examined the unfolding in real time of original ideas during divergent thinking (DT) in five- to six-year-olds and related individual differences in DT to executive functions (EFs). The Alternative Uses Task was administered with verbal prompts that encouraged children to report on their thinking processes while generating uses for daily objects. In addition to coding the originality of each use, the domain-specific DT processes memory retrieval and mental operations were coded from children’s explanations. Six EF tasks were administered and combined into composites to measure working memory, shifting, inhibition, and selective attention. The results replicated findings of a previous study with the same children but at age four years: (1) there was a serial order effect of the originality of uses; and (2) the process mental operations predicted the originality of uses. Next, the results revealed that both domain-general EFs and domain-specific executive processes played a role in the real-time unfolding of original ideas during DT. Particularly, the DT process mental operations was positively related to the early generation of original ideas, while selective attention was negatively related to the later generation of original ideas. These findings deepen our understanding of how controlled executive processes operate during DT.

Understanding the Emergence of Social Anxiety in Children With Behavioral Inhibition

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperament characterized in early childhood by distress to novelty and avoidance of unfamiliar people, and it is one of the best-known risk factors for the development of social anxiety. However, nearly 60% of children with BI do not go on to meet criteria for social anxiety disorder. In this review we present an approach to understanding differential developmental trajectories among children with BI. We review research using laboratory-based tasks that isolate specific attention processes that enhance versus mitigate risk for social anxiety among behaviorally inhibited children and studies that suggest that BI is associated with heightened detection of novelty or threat. Moreover, stimulus-driven control processes, which we term "automatic control," increase the probability that behaviorally inhibited children display socially reticent behavior and develop social anxiety. In contrast, goal-driven control processes, which we term "planful control," decrease risk for anxiety. We suggest that these three categories of processes (detection, automatic control, and planful control) function together to determine whether behaviorally inhibited children are able to flexibly regulate their initial reactions to novelty, and in turn, decrease risk for social anxiety. Although laboratory-based tasks have identified these processes underlying risk and resilience, the challenge is linking them to the emotions, thoughts, and behaviors of behaviorally inhibited children in real-world contexts.

Cognitive Flexibility and Effortful Control in School-Age Children With and Without Stuttering Disorders

Purpose This study compared attention control and flexibility in school-age children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS) based on their performance on a behavioral task and parent report. We used a classic attention-shifting paradigm that included manipulations of task goals and timing to test effects of varying demands for flexibility on switching accuracy and speed. We also examined associations between task performance, group, and relevant aspects of temperament. Method Participants included 33 children (15 CWS, 18 CWNS) between 8 and 11 years of age. Children sorted stimuli that differed on two dimensions (color and shape) based on sorting rules that varied from block to block or trial to trial. Timing manipulations included intervals of 200-, 600-, or 1,200-ms durations for critical trial components. Temperament data were obtained via the Children's Behavior Questionnaire. Results All children showed expected performance costs in response to block and trial manipulations; however, CWS were more affected by task conditions that increased demands for cognitive flexibility. Effects of interval durations also differed by group. Factor scores on the Children's Behavior Questionnaire indicated differences in effortful control between groups; however, this aspect of temperament did not mediate between-groups differences in switching performance. Conclusions Findings suggest that stuttering continues to be associated with differences in attention control and flexibility beyond the preschool years. Further research is needed to clarify how these cognitive processes shape the development of stuttering throughout childhood.

Executive functions in preschool-aged children with neurofibromatosis type 1: Value for early assessment

Introduction: Executive functions (EFs) impairment is common in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), and could be a significant vulnerability associated with this medical disorder. However, we still know little about EFs in preschool NF1. Our study assessed EFs in NF1 children using performance-based tests and daily life questionnaires, which combined the views of parents and teachers.Method: Seven classic experimental tasks were used to evaluate EFs in 33 NF1 children aged 3 to 5 years old, and BRIEF-P questionnaires were completed by their parents and teachers. These children's performance was compared with a control group of 52 healthy children matched in age, gender and socio-cultural status.Results: NF1 children have significantly lower scores for 5 out of 7 executive tasks than control children and significantly higher levels of EF concerns in the parent and teacher BRIEF-P ratings. The correlations between performance-based tests and questionnaires are weak.Conclusions: Our results support an early executive dysfunction in NF1 children and call for early and systematic assessment of EFs. Both performance-based tests and questionnaires are complementary tools to investigate early EFs dysfunction in children with NF1.

An examination of perseverative errors and cognitive flexibility in autism

Perseveration is a well-replicated finding in autism. The aim of this study was to examine how the context of the task influences performance with respect to this phenomenon. We randomly assigned 137 children aged 6–12 with and without autism to complete a modified card-sorting task under one of two conditions: Children were either told the sorting rules on each trial (Explicit), or were given feedback to formulate the rules themselves (Implicit). While performance was enhanced on the Explicit condition for participants without autism, the participants with autism were disadvantaged by this manipulation. In contrast, there were few differences in performance between groups on the Implicit condition. Exploratory analyses were used to examine this unexpected result; increased autism symptomology was associated with poorer performance.

Disentangling the Respective Contribution of Task Selection and Task Execution to Self-Directed Cognitive Control Development

Task selection and task execution are key constructs in cognitive control development. Yet, little is known about how separable they are and how each contributes to task switching performance. Here, 60 4- to 5-year olds, 60 7- to 8-year olds, and 60 10- to 11-year olds children completed the double registration procedure, which dissociates these two processes. Task selection yielded both mixing and switch costs, especially in younger children, and task execution mostly yielded switch costs at all ages, suggesting that task selection is costlier than task execution. Moreover, both task selection and execution varied with task self-directedness (i.e., to what extent the task is driven by external aids) demands. Whereas task selection and task execution are dissociated regarding performance costs, they nevertheless both contribute to self-directed control.

The role of numeracy skills on the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) performances of 5- to 8-Year-old turkish children

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is one of the most widely used complex EF task for various populations. However, it seems questionable to employ the task for preschool-aged children due to their lack of numerical efficiency while sorting cards according to the number dimension. The present study aimed to examine the association of numeracy skills with different EF-related abilities as measured by the WCST. For the assessment of numeracy skills, we used the Early Numeracy Test (ENT). One hundred and fourteen Turkish children between the ages of 5 and 8 were administered the WCST and ENT in a counterbalanced order. Results revealed a significant correlation only between the three ENT scores and the concept formation factor of the WCST, indicating a significant relationship between the WCST performance and numeracy skills in terms of concept formation. This finding highlights the specific relation between numeracy skills and subcomponents of the WCST and points to potential interfering variables that should be taken into account while evaluating the scores of the sorting tasks for children between the ages of 5 and 8.

Are there sex differences in the development of prefrontal function during early childhood?

Research has demonstrated the possibility of minor sex differences in executive function (EF) development of young children; however, this may be limited to the measurements used in previous studies (questionnaires and cognitive tasks), which tend to be less sensitive to the detection of sex differences. The present study uses brain measures to examine the effect of sex on EF development. In this study, preschool children were given an EF task, and patterns of activation in the lateral prefrontal regions were measured by a functional near-infrared spectroscopy. In Study 1, there were no behavioral differences between girls and boys, though girls showed stronger prefrontal activation than boys. Study 2 was conducted as an attempt to replicate the results, and some of the results were inconsistent with the results in Study 1. Results suggest that sex differences in EF tasks are small, although such differences may exist irrespective of methodology.

Training Inhibition and Social Cognition in the Classrooms

Executive functions and social cognition competences are associated with many important areas of life, such as school readiness, academic success or sociability. Numerous intervention programs aiming to improve these capacities have emerged and have been shown to be effective. As inhibition in particular, is closely related with social cognition competences, we developed a training program that targets both abilities and implemented it in kindergarten and lower primary school classes for 6 months. We evaluated its effectiveness at improving inhibition and social cognition as well as its possible impact on academic performance. The results showed that tackling inhibition and social cognition in the classroom at an early age improved inhibition, visual attention and flexibility as well as Theory of Mind and social information processing skills. However, the impact on academic learning was weak; a slight effect on a mathematical task was observed.

Where innovations flourish: an ethnographic and archaeological overview of hunter-gatherer learning contexts

Research in developmental psychology suggests that children are poor tool innovators. However, such research often overlooks the ways in which children's social and physical environments may lead to cross-cultural variation in their opportunities and proclivity to innovate. In this paper, we examine contemporary hunter-gatherer child and adolescent contributions to tool innovation. We posit that the cultural and subsistence context of many hunter-gatherer societies fosters behavioural flexibility, including innovative capabilities. Using the ethnographic and developmental literature, we suggest that socialisation practices emphasised in hunter-gatherer societies, including learning through autonomous exploration, adult and peer teaching, play and innovation seeking may bolster children's ability to innovate. We also discuss whether similar socialisation practices can be interpreted from the archaeological record. We end by pointing to areas of future study for understanding the role of children and adolescents in the development of tool innovations across cultures in the past and present.

Rethinking Executive Function and Its Development

Research on executive function in early childhood has flourished in recent years. Much of this work is premised on a view of development of executive function as the emergence of a set of domain-general component processes (e.g., working memory updating, inhibitory control, shifting). This view has shaped how we think about relations between executive function and other aspects of development, the role of the environment in executive-function development, and how best to improve executive function in children who struggle with it. However, there are conceptual and empirical reasons to doubt that executive function should be defined in this way. I argue that the development of executive function is better understood as the emergence of skills in using control in the service of specific goals. Such goals activate and are influenced by mental content such as knowledge, beliefs, norms, values, and preferences that are acquired with development and are important to consider in understanding children’s performance on measures of executive function. This account better explains empirical findings than the component-process view; leads to specific, testable hypotheses; and has implications for theory, measurement, and interventions.

Cognitive flexibility training has direct and near transfer effects, but no far transfer effects, in preschoolers

The current project studied the direct, near transfer, and far transfer effects of cognitive flexibility training in two experiments with 117 3-year-olds. In both Experiments 1 and 2, children performed three Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) tasks in a pre-training/training/post-training design. The training consisted of giving corrective feedback in the training DCCS task. In Experiment 2, in addition, three other executive control tasks were administered during pre-training and post-training. Results showed a direct effect of feedback in the training DCCS task and transfer of this effect to the post-training DCCS task after 1 week with different sorting rules and different stimuli. These findings show that preschoolers learned to switch sorting rules in the context of the DCCS task, independent of the specific sorting rules, and that this effect is not transient. No support was found for transfer to the other executive control tasks. A possible explanation is that the feedback mainly improved rule switching, an ability that is specifically required for performing a cognitive flexibility task but not the other executive control tasks.

The effects of dual language exposure on executive function in Spanish-English bilingual children with different language abilities

The current study examined the effects of dual language exposure on executive function in 5- to 11-year-old Spanish-English bilingual children with different language skills. Dual language exposure was measured via parent report and was operationalized as the proportion of time spent in an environment where both English and Spanish were present. Executive function was measured via the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. Shifting costs, switching costs, and mixing costs were derived to index executive function performance. A significant interaction between extent of dual language exposure and language skills was observed such that children showed smaller shifting and mixing costs with increased dual language input as their language skills increased. The results suggest a graded effect of dual language exposure on executive function, where a robust language system may be required for dual language exposure to influence executive function.