Browsing by Subject "Executive Function"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    Context, cortisol, and executive functions among children experiencing homelessness.
    (2011-08) Cutuli, Joseph J.
    Homelessness represents a context of risk for child development. Yet, many homeless children show good develop outcomes, nonetheless. The processes of risk and resilience that contribute to this variability involve adaptive systems impacted by factors across levels of analysis, such as cortisol and physiology, executive functions (EF) and other aspects of psychological functioning, and parenting behavior and the family context. This study employs a resilience framework that is grounded in developmental-ecological theory and recognizes factors at multiple levels of analysis. The goal is to elucidate explanatory models of the processes of risk and resilience by incorporating relationships with cortisol, a component of physiological adaptive systems related to the stress response, self-regulation, and other functions. Families in this study were all staying in an emergency homeless shelter and contained a child entering kindergarten or first grade. Children were separated from caregivers and completed a session of cognitive tasks that assessed executive functions and other abilities, followed by a session of parent-child interaction tasks. Saliva samples were collected throughout both sessions and assayed for cortisol concentrations. Parents reported on risk factors and stressful negative life events for each child. Initial levels of child cortisol were negatively related to EF, affirming a proposed inverted-U relationship between cortisol and cognition among this sample of high-risk children. Higher rates of stressful, negative life events were not related to cortisol, nor was positive parenting behavior. However, harsh, hostile, and insensitive parenting behaviors were related to higher levels of child cortisol, but only during the session when parent and child were together. There were no differences based on variables of interested when it came to changes in cortisol over either session. Results are discussed with respect to proposed mechanisms of the interface between cortisol, parenting and EF at different levels of analysis in the context of high developmental risk.
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    Developing interactions between executive function and emotion during adolescence.
    (2010-10) Cohen, Julia E.
    Adolescence is reputed to be a time of heightened emotionality and limited impulse control. Furthermore, emotion is frequently cited as the instigator of impulsive actions within this developmental period. That is, adolescents' powerful emotions may disrupt efforts to self-regulate and lead to impulsive actions that do not, in fact, serve the individual's long-term goals. Additionally, poor decision-making during this age range frequently has serious negative consequences. Understanding the cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms underlying the developing relationship between emotion and cognitive control may ultimately help us encourage teens to avoid potentially dangerous decisions and actions. To this end, this dissertation presents four studies aimed at better understanding the influence of emotion on higher-level cognition and self-regulation during adolescence. The first study introduces a task that requires participants to ignore emotional images while exercising inhibitory motor control (a go-nogo task). The second study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore age differences in brain activation during performance of the emotional-distraction go-nogo task introduced in the first study. The third study extends the emotional distraction paradigm to a second form of higher-level cognition by using emotional images as backgrounds in an n-back working memory task. The fourth study examines the influence of early institutional care and BDNF genotype on performance of the emotional-distraction go-nogo task. Together these studies inform us regarding developmental changes in the interface between emotion and cognition during adolescence.
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    A developmental perspective of Self-regulatory failure in preschool and middle childhood.
    (2012-08) Cowell, Jason Michael
    The present studies were intended to detail developmental differences in self-regulatory failure. Study 1 is a downward extension (4-year-old children) of the standard dual-task approach to investigating self-regulatory failure in adults. In Study 1, 4-year-old participants (N = 61) were administered a consecutive dual-task paradigm (Baumeister et al., 1998). While this approach has been quite fruitful in the study of adult self-regulation, individual differences in self-control in children likely overshadowed any potential evidence for self-regulatory failure in Study 1. Indeed, 4-year-old children are in the early stages of the development of self-control, and demonstrate marked differences in performance and ability to self-regulate. Study 2 utilized a modified approach to the study of self-regulatory failure, informed by the extensive individual differences seen in Study 1. Participants ages 4 (n = 45), 6 (n = 55), and 8 years (n = 46), were given a within-subjects, pre-post self-control task. Each participant completed a tangram task, a 5-minute direction following task, and then another tangram task. While Study 2 does replicate the null findings of Study 1 with respect to condition differences in future persistence (direction following versus neutral), Study 2 also provides potential evidence for an alternative manifestation of performance failure. Wherein persistence on a difficult tangram after a direction following task is significantly less than persistence before the direction task (F (2, 144) = 8.76, p < .01). This effect was consistently found in all three age groups, even though older children (6 and 8 years) were found to persist significantly longer than younger children (4 years) (Tukey HSD = -85.07, p < .05; Tukey HSD = -119.29, p < .01, respectively). These results highlight the potential early onset of self-regulatory failure, as well as the necessity for the study of individual differences leading to differential magnitude of self-regulatory failure.
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    Examining Moderators of Response to Executive Function Reflection Training: Initial Skill and Socioeconomic Status
    (2016-06) Schubert, Erin
    The achievement gap between children of different socioeconomic status (SES) is a grand challenge for developmental psychologists. Fortunately, not all low SES children develop adverse outcomes. Research has identified executive function (EF) as an import-ant characteristic of resilient functioning. EF can be improved through a diverse array of training programs. Yet, these programs do not improve the EF of all participants. An understanding of which individuals benefit from EF training is essential to wide scale dissemination of empirically validated interventions. The objective of this research was to determine the characteristics of children who are most likely to benefit from EF training. Participating families (N = 134) were recruited from group childcare centers, representing a broad range of SES. Children were randomly assigned to a control or intervention group. Parents provided information on children’s demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. All children participated in individual pre- and post- sessions during which their EF and IQ were assessed with direct behavioral measures. Experimenters completed a report on child EF after each session. Between assessment sessions, children in the intervention group received two 10-15 minute sessions of EF reflection training. Children in the control group participated in two 10-15 minute sessions in which they practiced EF tasks but were not given training or feedback. Children in the intervention group as a whole demonstrated marginally significantly better EF performance at post-test than children in the control group. Further, children from lower SES families showed more improvement following the intervention than children from families with higher SES. Children’s initial EF was not a significant moderator of response to intervention while controlling for SES.
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    Executive Function and Early Numeracy in Preschoolers: Can Training Help?
    (2016-11) Prager, Emily
    Math literacy, or lack thereof, is a major issue in our society. Research on mathematics proficiency has begun to support a more conceptual approach to mathematics understanding. Based on this thinking a growing body of literature supports a relation between executive functions (EF) and mathematics ability in both older and younger children. With the majority of research supporting a relation between mathematics and EF we are lead to the question, can training help improve one or both of these skills? The current study addresses this question in young children by looking at the differential impact of various training programs. Three and 4-year-old typically-developing children (N = 104) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: EF training, number training, EF + number training or an active control condition and participated in three training sessions as well as pre and post test sessions measuring their EF and math abilities. Results indicated a significant positive effect of training with EF training leading to improvements in EF skills and number training and EF + number training showing improvements in math abilities. Interestingly, the EF training also led to improvements in children’s specific counting abilities and number training resulted in improvements in EF skills. These results provide support for a bidirectional relation between EF and math skills, where training in one area can lead to improvements in the other.
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    How Do Parents Affect Preschoolers' Self-Regulation? Establishing the Role of Autonomy Supportive Parenting
    (2017-06) Meuwissen, Alyssa
    The development of skills needed to regulate one’s own behavior are increasingly recognized as crucial for children’s successful development, and promoting these skills in early childhood has become a high priority. Parents are thought to be a primary influence on the formation of these skills. This study was an experimental investigation of the parenting behavior known as autonomy support and its effect on children’s self-regulation. We observed parents (half mothers, half fathers) interacting with their 3-year-old children (N pairs = 128). Parent and child typical behavior was measured at baseline. Then, in the manipulation phase, parents were randomly assigned to receive instructions to interact with their child in either a high autonomy supportive or highly controlling way. Child behavior was again measured at post-test. Results showed that mothers and fathers had similar parenting quality at baseline and there were few differences in their effect on child self-regulation. In the manipulation phase, parents in both conditions were able to change their behavior based on the instructions given. Changes in parenting affected child behavior during the manipulation puzzle, although it did not affect child post-test behavior. These results indicate that parent autonomy support is a promising target for interventions focused on improving child self-regulation skills.
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    Individual Differences in Executive Function and Learning: Role of Type of Knowledge and Instructional Approaches
    (2020-06) Grenell, Amanda
    Executive function (EF) predicts children’s academic achievement; however, less is known about the relation between EF and the actual learning process. Furthermore, more research is needed to better understand how different aspects of the learning environment interact with EF to influence learning. The current dissertation includes two studies to examine how two aspects of the learning environment (the type of knowledge and instructional approaches) influence the relation between EF and learning. Study 1 examined how aspects of the material to be learned—the type of information and the amount of conflict between the content to be learned and children’s prior knowledge – influence the relation between individual differences in EF and learning. Typically developing 4-year-olds (N =61) completed a battery of EF tasks and several animal learning tasks that varied on the type of information being learned (factual vs. conceptual) and the amount of conflict with the learner’s prior knowledge (no prior knowledge, no conflicting prior knowledge, conflicting prior knowledge). Individual differences in cool EF predicted children’s overall learning, controlling for age, verbal IQ, and prior knowledge. Cool EF skills predicted children’s conceptual learning, whereas motor inhibition skills predicted children’s factual learning. Additionally, individual differences in EF mattered more for children’s learning of information that conflicted with their prior knowledge. Study 2 extended the findings from Study 1 by examining how individual differences in EF predicted children’s expression and construction of knowledge in a new science domain and whether EF moderated the effectiveness of different instructional approaches (direct instruction vs. discovery learning). Typically developing 4-and 5-year-olds (N =93) were randomly assigned to a Direct Instruction, Discovery Learning, or Control Condition. A pre-post-test design was used to measure change in children’s knowledge of sinking and floating before and after the instructional groups received three instructional sessions. The participants also completed a battery of EF tasks and standardized measures to assess their non-verbal and verbal IQ and their literacy and math achievement. Results showed EF was not a significant predictor of children’s expression of their sinking and floating knowledge at pre-test, controlling for age, verbal and non-verbal IQ, and SES. EF was also not a significant predictor of children’s construction of knowledge controlling for the covariates. However, exploratory analyses revealed there were promising interactions between EF and SES to predict children’s prior knowledge about sinking and floating and between EF and Prior Knowledge to predict children’s learning when collapsed across instructional groups. We also did not find evidence that individual differences in EF moderated the effectiveness of the different instructional approaches for children’s sinking and floating learning. Taken together, these findings suggest that individual differences in EF should be considered when creating personalized instructional materials and interventions to optimize preschoolers’ learning.
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    Inside the Head of a Bad" Kid: An Autoethnographyof Adversity to Resilience"
    (2016-08) Laabs, Bonnie
    Abstract This qualitative autoethnography explores how and why youth succeed and struggle in their personal and academic lives, through the lens of my own successes and struggles. Autoethnography as an analytical tool places value on the self-reflexive process of understanding. By working through my own childhood experiences and development as a person and a learner, I explore how my personal understanding of trauma impacts my methods for teaching the survival-based students who I now mentor as teacher. This study provides educators, therapists, and caregivers with a deeper understanding of trauma and resilience, from my personal experiences and professional analysis and application. Readers can implement insights from this study to guide young people towards an individual reflection of their experiences. This dissertation is a serious attempt to discover directions for success with trauma and behavior issues in schools. The different data sources and analysis techniques fit together to demonstrate how the experiences of childhood transition into the outcomes of adulthood. Most importantly, by shedding light on the intervention process, we can increase the odds for today’s struggling young people. This thesis travels chapter by chapter, alternating between memoir and analysis to ultimately conclude that lagging executive function skills can be strengthened through behavior intervention which will ultimately increase individual resilience.
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    Intergenerational processes in homeless families linking parent executive function, parenting quality, and child executive function
    (2015-07) Monn, Amy
    Numerous studies support the essential role of executive function (EF) in child development, particularly for children growing up in contexts of risk and adversity. Recent research has begun to elucidate the intergenerational and interpersonal processes that result in individual differences in EF, including the impact of adult EF on parenting quality and parenting quality on child EF. However, studies conducted in high-risk populations suggest that these processes may be disrupted by the stress associated with poverty and other adverse circumstances. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the intergenerational continuity of EF in parents and children living in emergency homeless shelters, as well the processes that might explain or account for this continuity. The study included 105 families with children between the ages of 4 and 6. Parents and children each completed a battery of IQ and both hot and cool EF tasks, as well an observational assessment of harsh and positive parenting. Parents also completed a measure of perceived stress for the past month. Regression-based conditional process analysis revealed a direct statistical effect of parent cool EF on child cool EF, as well as an indirect effect resulting from their shared relationship with harsh parenting. However, this indirect effect was only significant for families of parents reporting high levels of stress. Additional exploratory analyses suggested the presence of an indirect effect of parent hot EF on child hot EF through positive parenting, with no moderating effects for parent stress. Study results support previous theory and research suggesting a critical role for parenting in the development of child EF, as well as the importance of investigating developmental processes in high-risk populations.
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    Ready4Routines: Improving Child Executive Function Skills through Autonomy Supportive Parent-Child Reflective Routines
    (2021-06) Semenov, Andrei
    Predictable daily routines are a promising context for executive function (EF) interventions. Routines provide structure and predictability that support EF skills. The parent-child interactions during routines help reinforce important serve and return patterns that promote autonomy supportive parenting practices. This dissertation uses a two-generation approach to examine the effects of a novel parenting intervention, Ready4Routines, designed to promote autonomy supportive parenting, mindfulness, and EF development among parents and their children. Ready4Routines follows a fast-cycle intervention design. Pilot studies in 2015 and 2016 led to iterations in intervention design and implementation. Study 1 investigates the effects of Ready4Routines and a modified version of the intervention called Shine on Families on parents and children in Head Start and Early Head Start centers across the United States (N = 228). Study 2 investigates Ready4Routines in an independent suburban school district in Minnesota and a Head Start program in Florida (N = 44). Results from Study 1 and Study 2 indicate that participation in Ready4Routines and Shine on Families is associated with increases in autonomy supportive parenting after controlling for parent EF skills and child age. Ready4Routines demonstrates the potential of leveraging daily family routines to deliver high-quality parenting interventions.
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    Strategy Use and Executive Function in Young Homeless Children
    (2016-06) Sapienza, Julianna
    The development of executive function (EF) has garnered attention in recent years because of its association with many positive outcomes. Although evidence suggests these skills can be trained, little research has focused on the processes that promote strong EF skills in high-risk children. Study 1 sought to investigate spontaneous self-regulatory strategies in 138 4- to 7-year-old homeless children during an EF task and to understand the relation between verbal and physical strategies, performance on EF tasks, and school outcomes. As hypothesized, results indicated that physical strategy use was significantly related to general EF, and that EF mediated the relation between physical strategy use and academic achievement and peer competence at school. Study 2 sought to investigate whether similar strategies can be trained and are related to performance on a delay task. 106 4- to 7- year-old homeless children were randomly assigned to training and control groups, and performance on two delay tasks was examined. As expected, children in the training group displayed significantly more strategies on the training task than did children in the control group and that these strategies were significantly related to task performance. However, there were no overall group differences in performance. Exploratory analyses revealed some evidence for a significant relation between training and performance only for older children. Additionally, results demonstrated some transfer of trained strategies to a generalization task, although these were not related to performance. Overall, evidence indicates some potential benefit of training children to use strategies during delay tasks, with implications for interventions aimed at promoting EF development and long-term school success.