The broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001) hypothesises that positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires. Two experiments with 104 college students tested these hypotheses. In each, participants viewed a film that elicited (a) amusement, (b) contentment, (c) neutrality, (d) anger, or (e) anxiety. Scope of attention was assessed using a global-local visual processing task (Experiment 1) and thought-action repertoires were assessed using a Twenty Statements Test (Experiment 2). Compared to a neutral state, positive emotions broadened the scope of attention in Experiment 1 and thought-action repertoires in Experiment 2. In Experiment 2, negative emotions, relative to a neutral state, narrowed thought-action repertoires. Implications for promoting emotional well-being and physical health are discussed.

Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought‐action repertoires

This study examined the role of self-regulation in emerging academic ability in one hundred and forty-one 3- to 5-year-old children from low-income homes. Measures of effortful control, false belief understanding, and the inhibitory control and attention-shifting aspects of executive function in preschool were related to measures of math and literacy ability in kindergarten. Results indicated that the various aspects of child self-regulation accounted for unique variance in the academic outcomes independent of general intelligence and that the inhibitory control aspect of executive function was a prominent correlate of both early math and reading ability. Findings suggest that curricula designed to improve self-regulation skills as well as enhance early academic abilities may be most effective in helping children succeed in school.

/pdf/relating-effortful-control-executive-function-and-false-o47zlfcgog.pdf

Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten

/pdf/research-design-qualitative-quantitative-and-mixed-methods-1m92m1x5gg.pdf

Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches

During the last 2 decades, major advances have been made in understanding the development of executive functions (EFs) in early childhood. This article reviews the EF literature during the preschool period using an integrative framework. The framework adopted considers EF to be a unitary construct with partially dissociable components (A. Miyake et al., 2000). The authors focus on 3 EF components: working memory, response inhibition, and shifting. For the present purposes, the central executive is conceived of as a central attention system that is involved in all EF component operations. Research to date suggests that elementary forms of the core EF components are present early during the preschool period. Changes in EF during the latter half of the preschool period appear to be due to the development of attention and integration of component EFs. Finally, the review outlines a number of areas that warrant further investigation if researchers are to move forward in understanding early EF development.

/pdf/executive-function-in-preschoolers-a-review-using-an-3igach2jp2.pdf

Executive function in preschoolers: A review using an integrative framework.

《Ｏｘｆｏｒｄ Ａｄｖａｎｃｅｄ Ｌｅａｒｎｅｒ’ｓ Ｄｉｃｔｉｏｎａｒｙ ｏｆ Ｃｕｒｒｅｎｔ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ》（ 以下简称ＯＡＬＤ） 是英语学习词典的先驱。它是第一部既重视词语释义，又重视词法、句法，配有大量例证的词典。我国英语学习者对其第二、三、四版（ 英汉双解版） 都十分熟悉。１９９５ 年，ＯＡＬＤ 第五次修订再版，又有了新的特色，但仍有不足

评《Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English》第五版

This study examined whether measures of short-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning in preschool children predict later proficiency in academic achievement at 7 years of age (third year of primary school). Children were tested in preschool (M age = 4 years, 6 months) on a battery of cognitive measures, and mathematics and reading outcomes (from standardized, norm-referenced school-based assessments) were taken on entry to primary school, and at the end of the first and third year of primary school. Growth curve analyses examined predictors of math and reading achievement across the duration of the study and revealed that better digit span and executive function skills provided children with an immediate head start in math and reading that they maintained throughout the first three years of primary school. Visual-spatial short-term memory span was found to be a predictor specifically of math ability. Correlational and regression analyses revealed that visual short-term and working memory were found to specifically predict math achievement at each time point, while executive function skills predicted learning in general rather than learning in one specific domain. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to further understanding the role of cognitive skills in different mathematical tasks, and in relation to the impact of limited cognitive skills in the classroom environment.

/pdf/short-term-memory-working-memory-and-executive-functioning-3o2rfprlff.pdf

Short-Term Memory, Working Memory, and Executive Functioning in Preschoolers: Longitudinal Predictors of Mathematical Achievement at Age 7 Years

Children's mathematical skills were considered in relation to executive functions. Using multiple measures-including the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), dual-task performance, Stroop task, and counting span-it was found that mathematical ability was significantly correlated with all measures of executive functioning, with the exception of dual-task performance. Furthermore, regression analyses revealed that each executive function measure predicted unique variance in mathematics ability. These results are discussed in terms of a central executive with diverse functions (Shallice & Burgess, 1996) and with recent evidence from Miyake, et al. (2000) showing the unity and diversity among executive functions. It is proposed that the particular difficulties for children of lower mathematical ability are lack of inhibition and poor working memory, which result in problems with switching and evaluation of new strategies for dealing with a particular task. The practical and theoretical implications of these re...

Executive functioning as a predictor of children's mathematics ability: Inhibition, switching, and working memory

Although early studies of executive functioning in children supported Miyake et al.'s (2000) three-factor model, more recent findings supported a variety of undifferentiated or two-factor structures. Using a cohort-sequential design, this study examined whether there were age-related differences in the structure of executive functioning among 6- to 15-year-olds (N = 688). Children were tested annually on tasks designed to measure updating and working memory, inhibition, and switch efficiency. There was substantial task-based variation in developmental patterns on the various tasks. Confirmatory factor analyses and tests for longitudinal factorial invariance showed that data from the 5- to 13-year-olds conformed to a two-factor structure. For the 15-year-olds, a well-separated three-factor structure was found.

Developmental changes in executive functioning.

Children's arithmetical difficulties: contributions from processing speed, item identification, and short-term memory

The importance of executive functioning (EF) skills in mathematical achievement is well established, and researchers have moved from just measuring working memory or updating to an inclusion of other EF skills, namely, inhibition and shifting. In this article, we review studies that have taken different approaches to measuring EF (e.g., using single vs. multiple indicators) and those that have applied different analytical techniques to conceptualize the structure of EF (e.g., exploratory vs. confirmatory techniques). Across studies, updating is often a unique predictor of math achievement at many ages; the findings relating to inhibition and switching are less conclusive. We discuss these findings in relation to age-related variance in EF structure, the nature of inhibitory and shifting task requirements, and the role of updating as a limiting factor or a common resource for inhibition and shifting.

/pdf/executive-functioning-and-mathematics-achievement-4hpx292l89.pdf

Rebecca Bull

Papers

Short-Term Memory, Working Memory, and Executive Functioning in Preschoolers: Longitudinal Predictors of Mathematical Achievement at Age 7 Years

Executive functioning as a predictor of children's mathematics ability: Inhibition, switching, and working memory

Developmental changes in executive functioning.

Children's arithmetical difficulties: contributions from processing speed, item identification, and short-term memory

Executive Functioning and Mathematics Achievement