2-215 - Training of executive functions in childhood: Moderators of training gains and individual differences in outcomes

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Recent years have seen an immense interest in training regimes targeting executive functions (EF) in childhood. EF include a set of higher-level cognitive control functions supporting adaptive thinking and behavioral control, such as working memory, inhibition and cognitive flexibility. The interest in EF training is not surprising since we know that EF are predictive of many important life outcomes, including academic achievement and social behavior. At the same time, early studies have yielded encouraging findings indicating that EF training can lead to substantial improvements in many other abilities that build on EF, such as reading, maths and reasoning. However, recent evidence regarding these transfer effects is mixed and showed that individual differences in training-related gains are massive. It therefore is crucial to understand the mechanisms driving training and transfer effects and to identify moderators of training outcomes and individual differences in these gains. We will present four studies on EF training in preschoolers and elementary school children approaching these questions from different angels. The first study assessed how children’s socioeconomic background influenced outcomes of a brief EF training. The second and the third study examined whether features of the training regime modulated training and transfer gains by comparing meta-cognitive EF training and game-based EF training to standard EF training conditions. The fourth presentation tested whether EF training yielded benefits in terms of social behavior known to build on cognitive control processes.

Sub Unit

• Attention, Learning, Memory

Chairs

• Julia Karbach, University of Koblenz-Landau

• Nikolaus Steinbeis, University College London

Individual Presentations

• Does a Brief Executive Function Training Intervention Help to Narrow the Attainment Gap? - Presenting Author: Emma Blakey, The University of Sheffield; Non-Presenting Author: Danielle Matthews, University of Sheffield; Non-Presenting Author: Lucy Cragg, University of Nottingham; Non-Presenting Author: Daniel Carroll, The University of Sheffield

• Does training metacognition skills increase the benefit of executive function training? - Non-Presenting Author: Lauren Victoria Hadley, University of Edinburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Simone Schäffner, University of Koblenz-Landau; Non-Presenting Author: Julie Anne Meaney, University of Edinburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Tanja Könen, University of Koblenz-Landau; Non-Presenting Author: Candice C Morey, Cardiff University; Non-Presenting Author: Bonnie Auyeung, University of Edinburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Julia Karbach, University of Koblenz-Landau; Presenting Author: Nicolas Chevalier, University of Edinburgh

• Effects of game-based and standard executive control training on cognitive and academic abilities in elementary school children - Presenting Author: Verena Johann, Goethe-University Frankfurt; Non-Presenting Author: Julia Karbach, University of Koblenz-Landau

• Effects of inhibitory control training on social behaviour in 6-11 year old children - Presenting Author: Nikolaus Steinbeis, University College London