Poster #8 - A Novel Four-Factor Model of Executive Functioning in Preschool Children

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Attention, Learning, Memory

Integrative Statement

Executive Functioning (EF) refers to the self-regulation of cognitive processes that underlie the ability to plan and complete goal-directed tasks (Diamond, 2013). Commonly identified EF skills include attentional control (i.e., sustained and selective attention), working memory, behavioral inhibition in “hot” contexts, and behavioral inhibition in “cool” contexts (Garon et al., 2008). Whereas some studies indicate that working memory and behavioral inhibition are essentially the same skill in preschool children (e.g. Wiebe et al., 2011), others indicate that “hot” behavioral inhibition is distinct from “cool” behavioral inhibition (Nelson et al., 2016). Additionally, there is limited research examining how attentional control is related to other EF skills. Thus, it is unclear whether EF is best conceptualized as a unitary or multifaceted construct in preschool children. The aim of the current research was to examine how multiple EF tasks were interrelated in the preschool population to contribute to the debate concerning the structure of EF in preschool children.
Preschool children (n=137) from three to five years of age (M = 4.2 years; SD =0.47 years) completed seven EF tasks including two continuous performance tasks to assess sustained attention (Corkum et al., 1995), a visual search task to assess selective attention (Breckenridge et al., 2013), a digit span task and hide-and-seek task to assess working memory (Gathercole, Pickering, Ambridge, & Wearing, 2004), a delay of gratification task to assess “hot” behavioral inhibition, and a Stroop-like task to assess “cool” behavioral inhibition (Carlson, 2005).
An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to test which EF tasks were interrelated in preschool children. The EFA yielded a four-factor solution (see Table 1). The attentional control measures mainly loaded onto the first two factors and other EF skills mainly loaded onto the last two factors, suggesting attentional control is somewhat distinct from other EF skills. The EFA also revealed that the working memory factor consisted of a selective attention measure, but not any sustained attention measures, suggesting that working memory may play central role in selective attention processes in preschool children. The EFA also revealed that visual attention during the delay of gratification task and performance on the sustained and selective attention tasks all loaded onto the same factor: executive visual attention. This indicated children may similarly regulate their attention across different contexts. Consistent with previous research, the current EFA found that working memory and “cool” behavioral inhibition measures loaded onto the same factor and that “cool” behavioral inhibition and “hot” behavioral inhibition loaded onto separate factors.
Overall, these results suggest that EF is best conceptualized as a multifaceted construct which includes how preschool children self-regulate attention, cognition, and behavior. The current research also illustrates the importance of combining attention tasks with tasks examining working memory and behavioral inhibition to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how different EF skills are interrelated.

Authors

• Aditi Deodhar, Indiana University
  Presenting Author

• Bennett I. Bertenthal, Indiana University
  Non-Presenting Author