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The seven articles in this special issue represent a sampling of the exciting findings that are beginning to emerge from studies of executive control in young children. They demonstrate the multidisciplinary approaches to study cognition in young children that include application of cognitive, neuroscience, and developmental paradigms in typically developing youngsters, as well as those affected by clinical conditions, such as traumatic brain injury, exposure to low levels of lead in the environment, and prematurity. Although much work remains to be done, these study results are illustrative of the dynamic work in this exciting development period.
Executive control (EC) is a central construct in developmental science, although measurement limitations have hindered understanding of its nature and development in young children, relation to social risk, and prediction of important outcomes. Disentangling EC from the foundational cognitive abilities it regulates and that are inherently required for successful executive task completion (e.g., language, visual/spatial perception, and motor abilities) is particularly challenging at preschool age, when these foundational abilities are still developing and consequently differ substantially among children. A novel latent bifactor modeling approach delineated respective EC and foundational cognitive abilities components that undergird executive task performance in a socio demographically stratifi ed sample of 388 preschoolers in a longitudinal, cohort-sequential study. The bifactor model revealed a developmental shift, where both EC and foundational cognitive abilities contributed uniquely to executive task performance at ages 4.5 and 5.25 years, but were not separable at ages 3 and 3.75. Contrary to the view that EC is vulnerable to socio-familial risk, the contributions of household financial and learning resources to executive task performance were not specific to EC but were via their relation to foundational cognitive abilities. EC, though, showed a unique, discriminant relation with hyperactive symptoms late in the preschool period, whereas foundational cognitive abilities did not predict specifi c dimensions of dysregulated behavior. These findings form the basis for a new, integrated approach to the measurement and conceptualization of EC, which includes dual consideration of the contributions of EC and foundational cognitive abilities to executive task performance, particularly in the developmental context of preschool.
A critical part of early childhood development is the development of "theory of mind" (ToM), which is the ability to take the perspective of another person. The main purpose of this book is to discuss and integrate findings from prominent research areas in developmental psychology that are typically studied in isolation, but are clearly related. Two examples are whether executive functions represent a precursor of ToM or whether ToM understanding predicts the development of executive functions, and to what extent children's level of verbal ability and their working memory are important predictors of performance on both executive functioning and ToM tasks. The chapters in this book give a detailed account of the major outcomes of this research. First, the state of the art concerning current understanding of the relevant constructs (working memory, ToM, executive functioning) and their developmental changes is presented, followed by chapters that deal with interactions among the core concepts. Its main focus is on theoretically important relationships among determinants of young children's cognitive development--considered to be "hot" issues in contemporary developmental psychology. Based on presentations made at an international workshop, this book is divided into two parts. In the first part, five teams of researchers present theoretical analyses and overviews of empirical evidence regarding the core constructs of memory, executive functions, and ToM. The next part deals with the interplay among the core concepts outlined in Part I with developmental trends in the interaction.
This volume in the JPS Series is intended to help crystallize the emergence of a new field, "Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience," aimed at elucidating the neural correlates of the development of socio-emotional experience and behavior. No one any longer doubts that infants are born with a biologically based head start in accomplishing their important life tasks––genetic resources, if you will, that are exploited differently in different contexts. Nevertheless, it is also true that socially relevant neural functions develop slowly during childhood and that this development is owed to complex interactions among genes, social and cultural environments, and children’s own behavior. A key challenge lies in finding appropriate ways of describing these complex interactions and the way in which they unfold in real developmental time. This is the challenge that motivates research in developmental social cognitive neuroscience. The chapters in this book highlight the latest and best research in this emerging field, and they cover a range of topics, including the typical and atypical development of imitation, impulsivity, novelty seeking, risk taking, self and social awareness, emotion regulation, moral reasoning, and executive function. Also addressed are the potential limitations of a neuroscientific approach to the development of social cognition. Intended for researchers and advanced students in neuroscience and developmental, cognitive, and social psychology, this book is appropriate for graduate seminars and upper-level undergraduate courses on social cognitive neuroscience, developmental neuroscience, social development, and cognitive development.
Executive Functions in Children's Everyday Lives captures the diversity and complexity of the executive system that underlies children's everyday life experiences. Acquisition of executive functions, such as interpreting communication cues and the perspectives of others, is foundational to and a function of children's early social and communicative competencies. From the soccer field to the classroom, executive functions support children's strategic thinking and control of their environment. Knowing about executive functions and how this system of cognitive resources emerges in young children is important in understanding children's development. Recent research points to the importance of also considering environmental influences on the executive system. This book is unique in its focus on how experiences in children's early lives influence and are influenced by executive functions. Viewing executive functions through this broad lens is critical for professionals who intervene when children's access to executive functions is less than optimal. This book addresses a wide range of topics, including the neurological basis of executive functions in young children, the assessment of children's executive functions, theoretical and historical conceptions of executive functions, the relations between executive functions and theory of mind, multilingualism, early school transitions, and the relationship of executive functions to Autism and ADHD. This volume will be useful to professionals in applied psychology, undergraduate and graduate students, and social science and applied researchers.
Synthesizing cutting-edge knowledge from multiple disciplines, this book explores the impact of acquired brain injury and developmental disabilities on children's emerging social skills. The editors present an innovative framework for understanding how brain processes interact with social development in both typically developing children and clinical populations. Key issues in assessment are addressed, including ways to measure both social function and brain function using developmentally sound tools. Balancing theoretical and clinical concerns, the book describes promising interventions for promoting children's adjustment and helping them participate more fully in the social world. Illustrations include six color plates.
During the past decade, a rising interest has emerged in aspects of the broad construct of executive function (EF) in childhood. This has transpired as research has discovered that the development of EF is particularly rapid during early childhood, and that the healthy development of EF appears to play a key role in children’s developing social competence and academic and social readiness to attend school. The articles presented in this special issue help advance our understanding of the development of EF, as well as the challenges researchers face when attempting to characterize an aspect of cognition in very young children. Ultimately, this special issue illuminates the many ways in which children come to exhibit age-appropriate levels of social and cognitive competence.
Developmental changes in cognitive abilities in childhood have long been of interest to researchers across many fields, including behavioral sciences, communications, education, and medicine. With the publication of research findings showing individual differences in the development of children's learning skills has come the realization that models, methodologies, and analysis approaches that include consideration of individual differences are needed. It has brought an increase in research collaborations among experts in different fields who bring different approaches together in studies of cognitive abilities. This work has yielded a growing body of knowledge about how children with normal abilities and those with developmental disorders learn, gain skills in social competency, develop decision making and planning abilities, and acquire language skills and the skills needed for reading and writing. More recently, researchers have sought to use this body of knowledge as a basis for the early identification of children at risk for cognitive delays and for the development and evaluation of intervention approaches. The chapters in this book review literature in five areas of cognition, and provide theory- and research-based information on the applications of research findings and intervention approaches. Throughout the chapters, information on the interactions of different cognitive abilities and the role of individual differences in development that influences development assessments is included.
The six articles in this special issue address different types of cognitive skills and behavioral functioning commonly described as "executive" functions. These functions actually represent several aspects of cognition, including the allocation of cognitive resources, planning, problem solving, response inhibition, self-monitoring and regulation, and the maintenance of mental sets. As the authors conclusively demonstrate, it is wrong to ascribe cognitive functions subserved under "executive" functions to the frontal lobes, particularly at the level of specific tasks. The overlap with constructs from models of attention and memory reflects the fact that mental operations are complex, such that the working of the executive function component may be masked by the material-specific nature of the task, age of the child, or other task demands. What may be most important is the implicit approach to investigation characteristic of all the articles. In the previous decade, many investigators described problems with neuropsychological approaches to children that reflected excessive reliance on investigations of adults and the need to develop hypotheses and databases on disorders specific to children. The contributors to this issue report specific applications to samples that clearly represent childhood disorders. The applications are driven by hypothetical models of cognition derived from research on the cognitive development of children. The goal is to use cognitive tasks to understand the nature of brain function in children and brain dysfunction in CNS disorders specific to children. The reports represent the continued emergence of a developmental neuropsychology of children and the establishment of hypotheses and databases on CNS disorders specific to children.
This volume has as its primary aim the examination of issues concerning executive function and frontal lobe development. While many texts have addressed these issues, this is the first to do so within a specifically developmental framework. This area of cognitive function has received increasing attention over the past decade, and it is now established that the frontal lobes, and associated executive functions, are critical for efficient functioning in daily life. It is also clear, and of particular relevance to this text, that these functions develop gradually through childhood, and then deteriorate during old age. These developmental trajectories, and the impact of any interruption to them, are the focus of this volume.