The predictive validity of performance on cognitive-behavioral measures of executive function (EF) suggests that these measures index children's underlying capacity for self-regulation. In this paper, we apply ecological systems theory to critically evaluate this assertion. We argue that as typically administered, standard measures of EF do not…

Objective: To provide additional information about clinical features associated with adult ADHD in patients diagnosed in childhood compared to those first diagnosed in adulthood. Method: We stratified a sample of adults with ADHD into patients diagnosed in childhood versus adulthood and compared demographic and clinical characteristics. Results:…

This study examined whether executive functions impact how flexibly children represent task context in performing repeated sequential actions. Japanese children in Experiments 1 (N = 52; 3-6 years) and 2 (N = 50, 4-6 years) performed sequential actions repeatedly; one group received reminders. Experiment 1 indicated that reminders promote flexible…

This paper argues why children with Mathematical Learning Disabilities (MLD) do not form a unitary group. Instead, they should be regarded as individuals with unique profiles of strengths and weaknesses that explain their mathematical difficulties. To build this argument, we shortly recapitulate the research on MLD, which has mainly been focused…

The development of the ability to anticipate--as manifested by preparatory actions and neural activation related to the expectation of an upcoming stimulus--may play a key role in the ontogeny of cognitive skills more broadly. This preregistered study examined anticipatory brain potentials and behavioral responses (reaction time; RT) to…

Analogical reasoning is a fundamental cognitive skill of drawing relationships between representations, often between prior knowledge and new representations, that allows for bootstrapping cognitive and language development (Gentner, 2003). Analogical reasoning proficiency develops substantially during childhood, though the mechanisms underlying…

Recent research has demonstrated that, when instructed to prioritize a serial position in visual working memory (WM), adults are able to boost performance for this selected item, at a cost to nonprioritized items (e.g., Hu, Hitch, Baddeley, Zhang, & Allen, 2014). While executive control appears to play an important role in this ability, the…

Children's cognitive control and knowledge at school entry predict growth rates in analogical reasoning skill over time; however, the mechanisms by which these factors interact and impact learning are unclear. We propose that inhibitory control is critical for developing both the relational representations necessary to reason and the ability to…

The Rapid Assessment of Cognitive and Emotional Regulation (RACER) is a tablet-based assessment tool for children that measures executive function (EF) skills. Instructions that are brief and visually presented; game-like tasks are designed to easily engage children regardless of literacy level and variable test administration settings. RACER…

The vast majority of studies on theory of mind (ToM) have focused on the preschool years. Extending the developmental scope of ToM research presents opportunities to both reassess theoretical accounts of ToM and test its predictive utility. The twin aims of this longitudinal study were to examine developmental relations between ToM, executive…

Children vary in their ability to use language in social contexts and this has important consequences for wellbeing. We review studies that test whether individual differences in pragmatic skill are associated with formal language ability, mentalizing, and executive functions in both typical and atypical development. The strongest and most…

Previous research has shown that children aged 4-5 years, but not 2-3 years, show adult-like interference from a partner when performing a joint task (Milward, Kita, & Apperly, 2014). This raises questions about the cognitive skills involved in the development of such "corepresentation (CR)" of a partner (Sebanz, Knoblich, &…

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model is a comprehensive model of the major dimensions of individual differences that underlie performance on cognitive tests. Studies evaluating the generality of the CHC model across test batteries, age, gender, and culture were reviewed and found to be overwhelmingly supportive. However, less research is available…

Intraindividual differences in executive functions (EFs) have been rarely investigated. In this study, we addressed the question of whether the emotional fluctuations that schoolchildren experience in their classroom settings could generate substantial intraindividual differences in their EFs and, more specifically, in the fundamental unifying…

This study examined individual differences in self-regulation, emotional and behavioral school engagement, and prosocial peer engagement in a sample of 40 children that included children with high functioning autism (HFA; n = 20) and their typical peers (n = 20). Children were 54.57 months on average at recruitment. Measures of self-regulation…