Using Experimental Variation to Assess the Co-Development of Cognitive and Social-emotional Skills in Early Childhood

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Abstract

Questions about the co-development of constructs, skill generalization, and transfer have long motivated psychological and educational research. A multitude of theories have detailed the ways in which social-emotional and cognitive skills may co-develop in early childhood. Despite a proliferation of theory, the field has largely relied on correlational methods and struggled to establish causal effects. The current study employed a novel method to examine the co-development of child skills, utilizing longitudinal experimental intervention data. Specifically, we examined whether larger intervention-induced improvements in cognitive skills resulted in larger subsequent improvements in social-emotional skills, and vice versa.

Authors

• Emma Hart, Boston College

• Caroline Botvin, Columbia University

• Drew Bailey, University of California - Irvine

• Tyler Watts, Teachers College, Columbia University