Department of Psychology, Social Work and Counselling, University of Greenwich, London, UK.
Br J Dev Psychol. 2016 Jun;34(2):181-97. doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12122. Epub 2015 Nov 30.
Executive function (EF) has been implicated in childhood aggression. Understanding of the role of EF in aggression has been hindered, however, by the lack of research taking into account the function and form of aggression and the almost exclusive focus on cool EF. This study examined the role of cool and hot EF in teacher reported aggression, differentiating between reactive and proactive as well as physical and relational aggression. Children (N = 106) completed laboratory tasks measuring cool (inhibition, planning, working memory) and hot EF (affective decision-making, delay of gratification). Cool, but not hot, EF significantly contributed to understanding of childhood aggression. Inhibition was a central predictor of childhood aggression. Planning and working memory, in contrast, were significant independent predictors of proactive relational aggression only. Added to this, prosocial behaviour moderated the relationship between working memory and reactive relational aggression. This study therefore suggests that cool EF, particularly inhibition, is associated with childhood aggression across the different functions and forms.
执行功能（EF）与儿童期的攻击行为有关。然而，由于缺乏考虑攻击行为的功能和形式的研究，以及几乎完全关注冷静的 EF，因此对 EF 在攻击行为中的作用的理解受到了阻碍。本研究考察了冷静和冲动的 EF 在教师报告的攻击行为中的作用，区分了反应性和主动性以及身体和关系攻击。106 名儿童完成了实验室任务，测量了冷静的 EF（抑制、计划、工作记忆）和冲动的 EF（情感决策、延迟满足）。冷静的 EF，但不是冲动的 EF，对理解儿童的攻击行为有显著贡献。抑制是儿童攻击行为的一个核心预测因素。相比之下，计划和工作记忆仅对主动关系攻击有显著的独立预测作用。此外，亲社会行为调节了工作记忆与反应性关系攻击之间的关系。因此，本研究表明，冷静的 EF，特别是抑制，与不同功能和形式的儿童攻击行为有关。
