Contributions of working memory and inhibitory control to analogical reasoning in preschoolers: the mediating roles of vocabulary knowledge and visual perception.

Working memory (WM) and inhibitory control (IC) are two critical executive function components that support children's analogical reasoning. WM provides a workspace for storing and manipulating relational information, while IC helps suppress irrelevant details and manage competing information. Despite their established roles, the specific mechanisms by which WM and IC influence analogical reasoning in preschoolers remain unclear. To address this gap, we proposed the mediating roles of vocabulary knowledge and visual perception in the relationships of WM, IC with analogical reasoning. Given that WM and IC are also crucial for developing vocabulary and visual processing skills, mediation analysis offers a comprehensive framework to reveal how these cognitive processes interact in preschoolers' analogical reasoning. A total of 180 Chinese preschoolers were recruited for this study, with ages ranging from 3 to 6 years (39.11-81.26 months; K1-K3). Results showed that after controlling for the child's age, gender, and IQ, WM was still positively correlated with children's analogical reasoning, and the role of IC was not significant. Moreover, vocabulary knowledge and visual perception played mediating roles in the linkage between WM, IC, and analogical reasoning. These findings emphasized the roles of visual perception and vocabulary in supporting children's acquisition of analogical reasoning. This could offer practical implications for effectively enhancing children's analogical reasoning skills.