Howard Steven J, Okely Anthony D, Ellis Yvonne G
School of Education, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW Australia ; Early Start Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW Australia.
Front Psychol. 2015 Mar 17;6:285. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00285. eCollection 2015.
Despite the prominent role of executive functions in children's emerging competencies, there remains debate regarding the structure and development of executive functions. In an attempt to reconcile these discrepancies, a differentiation model of executive function development was evaluated in the early years using 6-month age groupings. Specifically, 281 preschoolers completed measures of working memory, inhibition, and shifting. Results contradicted suggestions that executive functions follow a single trajectory of progressive separation in childhood, instead suggesting that these functions may undergo a period of integration in the preschool years. These results highlight potential problems with current practices and theorizing in executive function research.
尽管执行功能在儿童新出现的能力中起着重要作用，但关于执行功能的结构和发展仍存在争议。为了调和这些差异，在幼儿期采用6个月年龄分组对执行功能发展的分化模型进行了评估。具体而言，281名学龄前儿童完成了工作记忆、抑制和转换的测量。结果与执行功能在儿童期遵循单一的渐进分离轨迹的观点相矛盾，相反，这些功能可能在学龄前经历一个整合期。这些结果凸显了当前执行功能研究中的实践和理论化存在的潜在问题。
