Department of Psychology, Autónoma University of Madrid, C/Iván Pavlov, n. 6, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2023 Jun;57(2):607-654. doi: 10.1007/s12124-020-09578-5. Epub 2020 Oct 19.
The two first years of life are critical in the development of Executive Functions (EF). However, very little is known about their early manifestations, how they develop, how they relate to other psychological constructions or the status of other people's influence in this early development. The study of EFs has been carried out through standardised tasks, but some authors question their ecological validity and suggest an approach involving everyday situations and the challenges that children set for themselves. In this article we first review these issues in relation to the first manifestations of EFs. We secondly present a longitudinal case study at nursery school of a child between the ages of 8 and 17 months, considering the challenges and the means he employed in order to resolve them. We found that, from 8 months of age, the child gave himself challenges in relation to the functional uses of objects and instruments. He regulated his own behavior both through object and instrument uses and private gestures. He also involved the teacher at 17 months. This finding suggests that (1) the material world is particularly important in these early manifestations of EF, (2) teachers' interventions are essential. Implications of the findings for early years education are discussed.
生命的头两年是执行功能（EF）发展的关键时期。然而，人们对它们的早期表现、它们如何发展、它们与其他心理结构的关系以及其他人在这一早期发展中的影响程度知之甚少。EF 的研究是通过标准化任务进行的，但一些作者质疑它们的生态有效性，并提出了一种涉及日常情况和儿童为自己设定的挑战的方法。在本文中，我们首先回顾了这些问题与 EF 的早期表现。其次，我们在幼儿园纵向研究了一个 8 到 17 个月大的孩子，考虑了他在解决这些挑战时所使用的方法和手段。我们发现，从 8 个月大开始，孩子就开始在物品和工具的功能使用方面给自己制造挑战。他通过物体和工具的使用以及私人手势来调节自己的行为。他在 17 个月大的时候还让老师参与了进来。这一发现表明，（1）物质世界在 EF 的这些早期表现中尤为重要，（2）教师的干预至关重要。最后还讨论了这些发现对幼儿教育的意义。
