Executive function: definition, measures and how to improve it
The term executive function refers to some important, mental skills that allow us to set and achieve goals. The main areas of executive function are: working memory, attention shifting and inhibitory control that we all use as we plan things or solve problems.
I found two tests that measure executive function in young children: dimensional change card sort and the marshmallow test. In the first task kids switch from sorting cards one way (e.g. by shape) to sorting them differently (e.g. by colour). In the marshmallow test the experimenter offers two choices to the kid; one marshmallow or two marshmallows and asks which it prefers. The kid obviously prefers the two marshmallows. So, the experimenter says to the kid that he/she has some work to do and if the kid can wait until the researcher comes back, then it can eat both the marshmallows. Otherwise, the kid rings the bell (yes, there is also a bell on the table and of course a table) and eats only one marshmallow. In other words, the child has to choose between immediate award or a larger reward later.
In the marshmallow test we see that kids have to remember the rules and their goal (working memory), they have to control themselves (inhibitory control) and they should also be cognitively flexible in order to distract themselves (attention shifting). I saw on a video that some kids started singing the rules so as to manage waiting!
The question that came to my mind as I read about executive function is: how do we improve it? Teachers or parents could enhance the kids’ working memory by targeted exercises. Besides this, the sector of language is very important. Language seems to help as we reflect upon our thoughts and control our emotions. Of course parents should be supportive and by this I mean be there and help their children find by themselves the right answer and let them take decisions.
Moreover, I watched on a Tedx video a researcher who found that what really helped children to wait was the context that she gave them. She told kids that they are in the “green” group and all the members of their group manage to wait and ate two marshmallows. The findings show that this context helped them to use better their executive function skills. Somebody they didn’t know categorized them to an imaginary “green” group, which is also a successful group, and this thing helped. Maybe what they really heard was; “the green group did it, you are in the green group, you can also do it”.
What does this mean about people in general? How our executive function is affected from what others tell us? How social are we after all?
Sources that inspired me: