Abstract
Executive function is recognized as a critical component of children's cognitive and social development. In two studies, a measure of executive function that had been used in research with chimpanzees was adapted for preschoolers. On this task, called Less Is More, children must point to a smaller reward (two candies) to receive a larger reward (five candies). In Study 1 (N = 101), performance was significantly related to age (3 vs. 4), verbal ability, and established measures of executive function. In Study 2 (N = 128), symbolic representations substituted for real candies in this task. Three-year-olds' performance improved significantly as afunction of symbolic distancing. This research has implications for the role of symbol systems in the development of executive control over thought and action.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 609-616 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Psychological Science |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2005 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Grant RO3-041473-02 (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) to S.M.C. supported this research. We thank the families and child-care centers for participating; Walter Mischel, Yuichi Shoda, and Marjorie Taylor for helpful suggestions; and Melissa Riley and Suzanna Ramirez for assisting in data collection.
Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.