scholarly journals Word learning from context : relations with language ability, socioeconomic status, and executive function

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Margaret Hill
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Word Meanings

During the school-age years, children learn most new word meanings from context rather than through deliberate vocabulary instruction. However, the actual process of word learning from context among schoolage children remains poorly understood. Prior research suggests that language ability and higher-order executive function skills such as working memory and inhibitory control of attention may aid children in acquiring new word meanings from context, but studies have not examined the effect of cognitive flexibility on word learning. In addition, although research has shown that children from families of low socioeconomic status (SES) often lag behind their peers from higher-SES backgrounds in vocabulary, there is no evidence to suggest that SES directly influences the word learning process itself. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of language ability, SES, and executive function on word learning from context among typically developing children. Fifty children of ages nine to 11 years completed a standardized measure of language ability and tasks of working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility along with a pretest to assess their understanding of 12 rare target words. Approximately one week later, the children read along with two short stories containing the target words while listening as the stories were narrated aloud by a computer. Posttest results showed that as a group, children made small but significant gains in knowledge of target word meanings from the stories. Analyses showed that both language ability and cognitive flexibility were related to gains in word knowledge, and that children tended to rely more on the stronger of these two skills if either language or cognitive flexibility was relatively weak. Children's SES backgrounds were not directly related to word knowledge gains, but results suggested that SES may influence the word learning process indirectly through an effect on children's cognitive flexibility.

Word learning from context in school-age children: relations with language ability and executive function

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1006-1029
Author(s):  
Margaret S. HILL ◽  
Stacy A. WAGOVICH
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
The Other ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
School Age ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Knowledge Gains

AbstractPurpose: Although school-age children learn most new word meanings from surrounding context, the joint roles of language ability and executive function (EF) in the word learning process remain unclear. This study examined children's acquisition of word meanings from context in relation to oral language ability and three EF skills (working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility). Method: Typically developing school-age children completed measures of language and EF, then read and listened to short stories containing unfamiliar target words. A multiple-choice pretest–posttest measure assessed children's target word knowledge gains. Results: Regression analyses showed that language and cognitive flexibility were both related to word knowledge gains; each skill assumed greater importance among children with relative weakness in the other skill. Conclusion: Language ability and cognitive flexibility may each play a direct role in contextual word learning among school-age children, with children naturally relying on one skill if the other is weaker.

scholarly journals Effects of Sport-Based Interventions on Children’s Executive Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 755
Author(s):  
Falonn Contreras-Osorio ◽  
Christian Campos-Jara ◽  
Cristian Martínez-Salazar ◽  
Luis Chirosa-Ríos ◽  
Darío Martínez-García
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
The Impact

One of the most studied aspects of children’s cognitive development is that of the development of the executive function, and research has shown that physical activity has been demonstrated as a key factor in its enhancement. This meta-analysis aims to assess the impact of specific sports interventions on the executive function of children and teenagers. A systematic review was carried out on 1 November 2020 to search for published scientific evidence that analysed different sports programs that possibly affected executive function in students. Longitudinal studies, which assessed the effects of sports interventions on subjects between 6 and 18 years old, were identified through a systematic search of the four principal electronic databases: Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCO. A total of eight studies, with 424 subjects overall, met the inclusion criteria and were classified based on one or more of the following categories: working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. The random-effects model for meta-analyses was performed with RevMan version 5.3 to facilitate the analysis of the studies. Large effect sizes were found in all categories: working memory (ES −1.25; 95% CI −1.70; −0.79; p < 0.0001); inhibitory control (ES −1.30; 95% CI −1.98; −0.63; p < 0.00001); and cognitive flexibility (ES −1.52; 95% CI −2.20; −0.83; p < 0.00001). Our analysis concluded that healthy children and teenagers should be encouraged to practice sports in order to improve their executive function at every stage of their development.

Socioeconomic status is a predictor of neurocognitive performance of early female adolescents

2018 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Madhushanthi ◽  
Savithri W. Wimalasekera ◽  
C. Sampatha E. Goonewardena ◽  
A. A. Thamara D. Amarasekara ◽  
Janaka Lenora
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Neurocognitive Performance ◽  
Verbal Comprehension

Abstract Objective Previous studies have shown that high socioeconomic status (SES) is significantly associated with inhibitory control, working memory, verbal comprehension and IQ. However, in the Asian setting, with its prevailing poverty, information about the influence of SES on cognitive development of female adolescents is limited. This study was aimed to investigate the association between SES and neurocognitive performance of early female adolescents in Sri Lanka. Methods Female adolescents aged 11–14 years (n = 200) of low and middle SES were studied to assess neurocognitive function. After obtaining baseline data, eight subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC – IV), Test Of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI-3) and two computer-based executive function tests (inhibition and visuo-spatial working memory) were administered to assess neurocognitive measures of the above adolescents. The results were compiled into a data base and analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical software. Results Higher SES was associated with higher performance in all neurocognitive tests. Low SES adolescents obtained significantly poor test scores for executive function test (inhibitory control: p < 0.0001) and for WISC [verbal comprehension index (VCI): p < 0.0001), working memory index (WMI): p < 0.0001 and estimated full scale IQ (EFSIQ): p < 0.0001)] when compared with middle SES adolescents. Maternal education alone significantly predicts VCI and EFSIQ than the combined influence of parental education, occupation and income. Psychosocial adversities of adolescents were inversely correlated with VCI (r = −0.30; p < 0.001) and EFSIQ (r = −0.20; p < 0.001) of WISC and mathematics performance (r = −0.34; p < 0.001) at examination in school. Conclusion Findings of the study revealed the importance of upliftment of SES of the society to improve the cognitive and academic outcomes of low SES individuals.

scholarly journals The developmental trajectories of executive function from adolescence to old age

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather J. Ferguson ◽  
Victoria E. A. Brunsdon ◽  
Elisabeth E. F. Bradford
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

AbstractExecutive functions demonstrate variable developmental and aging profiles, with protracted development into early adulthood and declines in older age. However, relatively few studies have specifically included middle-aged adults in investigations of age-related differences in executive functions. This study explored the age-related differences in executive function from late childhood through to old age, allowing a more informed understanding of executive functions across the lifespan. Three hundred and fifty participants aged 10 to 86 years-old completed a battery of tasks assessing the specific roles of inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning. Results highlighted continued improvement in working memory capacity across adolescence and into young adulthood, followed by declines in both working memory and inhibitory control, beginning from as early as 30–40 years old and continuing into older age. Analyses of planning abilities showed continued improvement across adolescence and into young adulthood, followed by a decline in abilities across adulthood, with a small (positive) change in older age. Interestingly, a dissociation was found for cognitive flexibility; switch costs decreased, yet mixing costs increased across the lifespan. The results provide a description of the developmental differences in inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility and planning, above any effects of IQ or SES, and highlight the importance of including middle-aged adults in studies seeking to establish a more comprehensive picture of age-related differences in executive function.

scholarly journals The Short-Term Impact of Animation on the Executive Function of Children Aged 4 to 7

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8616
Author(s):  
Liheng Fan ◽  
Meichen Zhan ◽  
Wenjing Qing ◽  
Tan Gao ◽  
Mengying Wang
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Viewing Time

Research has shown that animation plays an important role in the development of children’s executive function (EF), and the development of EF components, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, is asynchronous. Thus, this study explores the developmental trajectories and animation features (fantasy and pacing) that influence each EF component, by examining 218 children aged 4–7. Pretest information, mainly the childhood EF inventory, was provided by parents: child’s age, age of first exposure to animation, animation viewing time on weekdays and weekends, family income, and parents’ education. The children in each age group were randomly divided into four groups to watch animations comprised of different animation features. After watching, their EF were measured by a day-night task, backward digit-span task, and flexible item-selection task. The results showed that the children’s inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility levels all improved with age. Highly fantastical animations weakened children’s performance on each subsequent EF task. Pacing had no effect on any of the components of children’s EF. An interactive effect on inhibitory control was only found with fantasy in younger children; specifically, high-fantastical animations had a more pronounced short-lived weakening effect on inhibitory control in younger children (4–6 years) compared with low-fantastical animations. Future research should explore the long-term impact of content rather than the form of animation on younger children’s EF.

scholarly journals Self-Reported Sleep and Executive Function in Early Primary School Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulu Chen ◽  
Yiji Wang ◽  
Si Wang ◽  
Ming Zhang ◽  
Nan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Card Sorting

The study investigated the associations between children’s self-reported habitual sleep disturbance and multidimensional executive function (EF). Two hundred and four 7–9-year-old typically developing children completed the Sleep Self-Report and finished the Red-Blue Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Backward Digit Span Test, indexing different EF components including inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Results revealed that all the three EF components were significantly correlated with sleep. However, cognitive flexibility was no longer significantly related to sleep when the other EF components – inhibitory control and working memory – were controlled for. Meanwhile, inhibitory control, as well as working memory, was still significantly related to sleep after controlling for the other EF components. Results suggest that children’s self-reported sleep might be associated directly with inhibitory control and working memory, but indirectly with cognitive flexibility.

scholarly journals Effects of Acute and Chronic Exercises on Executive Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shijie Liu ◽  
Qian Yu ◽  
Zaimin Li ◽  
Paolo Marcello Cunha ◽  
Yanjie Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Systemic Review ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
China National Knowledge Infrastructure ◽  
Exercise Interventions

Background: Physical exercises can affect executive function both acutely and chronically, with different mechanisms for each moment. Currently, only a few reviews have elaborated on the premise that different types of exercises have different mechanisms for improving executive function. Therefore, the primary purpose of our systematic review was to analyze the effects of acute and chronic exercises on executive function in children and adolescents.Objective: We identified acute and chronic exercise studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of executive function in children and adolescents that reported overall effect, heterogeneity, and publication bias of acute and chronic exercises on executive function.Methods: We searched for RCTs of exercise interventions in children and adolescents from databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), and Wanfang, from January 1 2009 to December 31 2019. We performed methodological quality evaluations on the included literature using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database Scale (PEDro) and graded evidence with a meta-analysis using Stata 12.0 software.Results: In total, 36 RCTs were included (14 acute exercises, 22 chronic exercises); the overall results of the meta-analysis (4,577 students) indicated that acute exercises significantly improved working memory (standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.89 to −0.56; p &lt; 0.001), inhibitory control (SMD = −0.25; 95% CI −0.40 to −0.09; p = 0.002), and cognitive flexibility (SMD = −0.34; 95% CI −0.55 to −0.14; p &lt; 0.005), whereas chronic exercises significantly improved working memory (SMD = −0.54; 95% CI −0.74 to −0.33; p &lt; 0.001), inhibitory control (SMD = −0.30; 95% CI −0.38 to −0.22; p &lt; 0.001), and cognitive flexibility (SMD = −0.34, 95 % CI −0.48 to −0.20, p &lt; 0.001).Conclusion: Acute and chronic exercises can effectively improve the executive function of children and adolescents. The effects on inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility are considered as small effect sizes, while the effects on working memory are considered as moderate effect size. Limited by the quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusions need to be verified with more high-quality studies.

scholarly journals Association Between Weight Status and Executive Function in Young Adults

Medicina ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Narimani ◽  
Samad Esmaeilzadeh ◽  
Liane B. Azevedo ◽  
Akbar Moradi ◽  
Behrouz Heidari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Neuropsychological Test ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance

Background and objectives: To explore the association between weight status and executive function in young adults. Materials and Methods: Ninety-seven young males (age 17–26 years) underwent adiposity and body composition measurements using body composition analyzer. Inhibitory control and working memory were measured using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Battery (CANTAB). Results: Multiple linear regression using both unadjusted and adjusted analyses revealed no association between adiposity and body composition variables with executive tasks, apart from a significant association between skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and mean reaction time on go trial (standardized B = -0.28; p = 0.02). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) revealed that underweight participants presented inferior working memory compared to their normal weight (p = 0.001) or overweight peers (p = 0.008). However, according to the percentage fat quartiles (Q) participants with the highest quartile (Q4) were inferior in inhibitory control than their peers with Q2 (p = 0.04), and participants with the lowest quartile (Q1) were inferior in working memory compared with their peers with Q2 (p = 0.01) or Q3 (p = 0.02). A worse inhibitory control was observed for participants with the highest fat/SMM (Q4) compared to participants in Q3 (p = 0.03), and in contrast worse working memory was observed for participants with the lowest fat/SMM (Q1) compared to participants in Q2 (p = 0.04) or Q3 (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Low adiposity is associated with worse working memory, whereas high adiposity is associated with worse inhibitory control. Therefore, our findings show that normal adiposity, but greater SMM may have a positive impact on executive function in young adults.

scholarly journals Executive functioning as a predictive measure of offending behaviour

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin A. Spenser ◽  
Ray Bull ◽  
Lucy Betts ◽  
Belinda Winder
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Empathic Understanding ◽  
The Impact

PurposeProsociality is considered important in the study of offenders and associated cognitive skills: theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning, are said to enable self-control and reduce the risk of offending behaviours. Previous research has made associations between these skills and executive functioning; however, research into a link between them, in an offending population, is limited. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachTo further understand the practicalities of this, the present study considered the predictive abilities of the constructs believed to underpin executive functioning: working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, in relation to theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning. In total, 200 male and female offenders completed measures in all six constructs.FindingsUsing path analysis working memory was demonstrated to be predictive of theory of mind and empathic understanding, cognitive flexibility was found to be predictive of theory of mind, and inhibitory control was found to be predictive of theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focussed on offenders serving a custodial sentence of six months or less and did not differentiate between crime categories or take into consideration the socio-environmental backgrounds or ethnicity. Therefore, considering these things could further establish the generalisability of the current findings. It is noted that the more focussed the intervention is to the specific needs of an offender, the greater the impact will be. Therefore, pre-screening tests for the constructs discussed may be able to more accurately assess an offenders’ suitability for a programme, or indeed tailor it to meet the specific needs of that person.Practical implicationsThese findings may enable practitioners to more accurately assess offenders’ suitability for interventions aimed at reducing offending behaviours by improving levels of prosociality and develop more focussed programmes to meet the specific needs of individual offenders to reduce re-offending.Social implicationsAs recommended in the study, a more tailored approach to offender rehabilitation may be a potential aid to reducing levels of recidivism.Originality/valueThe present study adds to the literature as it is the first to consider whether the constructs of executive functioning can predict levels of theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning and so provide a more accurate method in assessing the cognitive abilities of offenders prior to participation in rehabilitative interventions.

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