Psychological Development and Education ›› 2015, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (6): 654-660.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2015.06.03

Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Developmental Characteristics of Executive Functions and the Influence of Verbal Ability on Children Aged 2 to 3.5 Years Old

WU Huizhong, Wang Mingyi   

  1. Department of Psychology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083
  • Online:2015-11-15 Published:2015-11-15

PDF (PC)

Abstract: The age from 2 to 3.5 is an important period for children transitioning from infant to young child, which is also important regarding to children's development of executive functions and verbal ability. The aim of this study was to explore the developmental characteristics of children's executive functions, the relationships among the three components, and the effects of verbal ability on executive functions. 81 children from Beijing, aged 2 to 3.5 years old, participated in this study and completed the fixed box task, the building blocks task, the A-not-B task and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The results showed that:(1) during the age of 2 to 3.5, children's working memory and inhibitory control developed quickly, except for the cognitive flexibility. 2.5 years old is the vital period for the development of working memory and inhibitory control;(2) during the period of 2 to 3 years old, cognitive flexibility is closely associated with working memory; while during the period of 3 to 3.5 years old, cognitive flexibility is closely related to inhibitory control. As for the relationship among the three components of executive functions, 3 years old is the key turning period. This result supported Garon's hypothesis that the development of cognitive flexibility based on the working memory and inhibitory control.(3) during the period of 2 to 3.5 years old, verbal ability developed rapidly, and this ability has some effects on the internal relationship of executive functions, however, different levels of verbal ability don't contribute to children's performance in executive functions' tasks significantly.

Key words: executive functions, verbal ability, children in 2 to 3.5 years old

CLC Number: 

  • B844
Best, J. R., & Miller, P. H.(2010). A developmental perspective on executive function. Child Development,81(6), 1641-1660.
Cartwright, K. B.(2012). Insights from cognitive neuroscience:The importance of executive function for early reading development and education. Early Education & Development,23(1), 24-36.
Fry, D., Zelazo, P. D., & Palfai, T.(1995). Theory of mind and rule based reasoning. Cognitive Development,10, 483-527.
Garon, N., Bryson, S. E., & Smith, I. M.(2008). Executive function in preschoolers:a review using an integrative framework. Psychological Bulletin,134(1), 31.
Henry, L. A., Messer, D. J., & Nash, G.(2012). Executive functioning in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,53(1), 37-45.
Hughes, C., Ensor, R.(2007). Executive function and theory of mind:Predictive relations from ages 2 to 4. Developmental Psychology,43(6), 1447-1459.
Kochanska, G., Murray, K. T., Jacques, T. Y., Koenig, A. L., & Vandegeest, K. A.(1996).Inhibitory control in young children and its role in emerging internalization. Child Development,67, 490-507.
Kuhn, L. J., Willoughby, M. T., Wilbourn, M. P., Vernon-Feagans, L., & Blair, C. B.(2014). Early communicative gestures prospectively predict language development and executive function in early childhood. Child Development,85(5), 1898-1914.
Lee, K., Bull, R., & Ringo, M. H. Ho.(2013). Developmental Changes in Executive Functioning. Child Development,84(6), 1933-1953.
Martin-Rhee, M. M., & Bialystok, E.(2008). The development of two types of inhibitory control in monolingual and bilingual children. Bilingualism:language and cognition,11(01), 81-93.
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D.(2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex "frontal lobe" tasks:A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology,41, 49-100.
Pennington, B. F., & Ozonoff, S.(1996). Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,37(1), 51-87.
Piaget, J.(1954). The construction of reality in the child. New York:Free Press.
Roello, M., Ferretti, M. L., Colonnello, V., & Levi, G.(2015). When words lead to solutions:Executive function deficits in preschool children with specific language impairment. Research in Developmental Disabilities,37, 216-222.
Sarsour, K., Sheridan, M., Jutte, D., Nuru-Jeter, A., Hinshaw, S., & Boyce, W. T.(2011). Family socioeconomic status and child executive functions:the roles of language, home environment, and single parenthood. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society,17(01), 120-132.
Viterbori, P., Gandolfi, E., &Usai, M. C.(2012). Executive skills and early language development. Psycholinguist,3, 17-32.
Weiland, C., & Yoshikawa, H.(2013). Impacts of a prekindergarten program on children's mathematics, language, literacy, executive function, and emotional skills. Child Development,84(6), 2112-2130.
Wheeldon, L. R.(1999). Competitive processes during word-form encoding. Behavioral and Brain Sciences,22(01), 59-60.
Wiebe, S. A., Sheffield, T. D., & Espy, K. A.(2012). Separating the fish from the sharks:a longitudinal study of preschool response inhibition. Child Development,83(4), 1245-1261.
Wiebe, S. A., Sheffield, T., Nelson, J. M., Clark, C. A., Chevalier, N., & Espy, K. A.(2011). The structure of executive function in 3-year-olds. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,108(3), 436-452.
Wiebe, S. A., Espy, K. A., &Charak, D.(2008). Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children:I. Latent structure. Developmental Psychology,44(2), 575.
Willoughby, M. T., Blair, C. B., Wirth, R. J., & Greenberg, M.(2010). The measurement of executive function at age 3 years:psychometric properties and criterion validity of a new battery of tasks. Psychological Assessment,22(2), 306.
陈兰江.(2010). 农村学前儿童心理理论、执行功能及其关系研究.华东师范大学硕士学位论文.
李红, 高山, 王乃弋.(2004). 执行功能研究方法评述.心理科学进展,12(5), 693-705.
李美华, 白学军.(2005). 执行功能中认知灵活性发展的研究进展.心理学探新,25(2), 35-38.
李媛媛.(2010). 4~7岁儿童执行功能的发展及其与相关影响因素关系的研究.辽宁师范大学硕士学位论文.
刘宝根.(2006). 3~4 岁儿童冷执行功能, 热执行功能与心理理论三者之间的关系.西南大学硕士学位论文.
桑标, 谬小春.(1990). 皮博迪图片词汇测验修订版(PPVT-R)上海市区试用常模的修订.心理科学通讯,5, 20-25.
王晶, 陈英和, 齐琳.(2008). 小学儿童执行功能与问题解决能力的关系.心理发展与教育,24(4), 25-33.
王敏.(2014). 幼儿 14 个月共同注意与 24 个月执行功能,模仿能力的关系.首都师范大学硕士学位论文.
文萍, 李红.(2007). 6~11 岁儿童执行功能发展研究.心理学探新,27(3), 38-43.
苏小玲, 魏勇刚.(2013). 抑制控制对学前儿童语言能力的影响.学前教育研究,1(1), 32-37.
张婷, 吴睿明, 李红, 张莉, 廖渝, 李小晶.(2006). 不同维度的执行功能与早期心理理论的关系.心理学报,38(1), 56-62.
[1] BAI Rong, YAN Rong, WANG Qian, LI Ye, XING Shufen. The Relationships between Executive Functions and Problem Behavior: Situational Specificity and Gender Differences [J]. Psychological Development and Education, 2022, 38(1): 35-44.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited
  Shared   
  Discussed   
No Suggested Reading articles found!
Copyright 2018 © Editorial office of Psychological Development and Education
Supported by Beijing Magtech Co.Ltd