Executive Function Among Preschool Children: Unitary versus Distinct Abilities
Working memory (WM) and inhibitory control (IC) are considered related but separable executive functions (EFs) among adults and adolescents. Although available evidence seems to suggest that these two constructs have not yet diverged among preschool children, aspects of previous studies of preschool...
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| Format: | Others |
| Language: | English English |
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Florida State University
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| Online Access: | http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-5389 |
| Summary: | Working memory (WM) and inhibitory control (IC) are considered related but separable executive functions (EFs) among adults and adolescents. Although available evidence seems to suggest that these two constructs have not yet diverged among preschool children, aspects of previous studies of preschool populations leave open questions regarding findings indicating a unitary factor structure. To address limitations of previous studies, this study used well-defined tasks to examine the extent to which EF in preschool children was best represented by a single factor or by separate but correlated WM and IC factors. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test for the presence of a 2-factor structure of EF among preschool children. Additionally, two types of inhibitory tasks, conflict and suppression, were examined in an attempt to extend evidence that suppression tasks differ more from working memory tasks than do response conflict tasks. Based on evidence that WM and IC measured during preschool relate differently to a variety of academic and behavioral outcomes, it was hypothesized that a model including separate latent factors for each executive function would fit the observed data better than a single-factor model. The model that included separate but related factors for WM and IC provided a significantly better fit to the data than a single-factor model, indicating the presence of separate WM and IC factors in this sample. === A Thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the reqiurements for the degree of Master of Science. === Fall Semester, 2012. === September 12, 2012. === executive function, inhibitory control, preschool children, working memory === Includes bibliographical references. === Christopher Lonigan, Professor Directing Thesis; Janet Kistner, Committee Member; Michael Kaschak, Committee Member; Carol Connor Additional, Committee Member. |
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