Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T21:57:30.988Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Issues in the Conceptualization and Assessment of Hot Executive Functions in Childhood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2014

Marilyn Welsh  and
Eric Peterson
Marilyn Welsh*
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado
Eric Peterson
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Marilyn Welsh, School of Psychological Sciences, Box 94, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO 80639. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Our review examines the current state of the research on hot executive function (EF), as contrasted with cool EF, with regard to the evidence for construct validity. Current theoretical discussions have examined the conceptual overlap among constructs such as hot EF, effortful control, self-control, and self-regulation. We explore this emerging literature with a focus on research questions, tasks, and methods. Finally, we consider the unresolved questions facing the study of hot EF, most notably the difficulty in determining the relative “heat” of a given task based on task content, testing context, and the individual differences among the participants. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–5)

Keywords

Hot and cool executive functionsEffortful controlSelf-regulationSelf-controlTemperamentPrefrontal cortex
Type
Short Review
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , February 2014 , pp. 152 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allan, N.P., Lonigan, C.J. (2011). Examining the dimensionality of effortful control in preschool children and its relation to academic and socioemotional indicators. Developmental Psychology, 47(4), 905–915. doi:10.1037/a0023748 Google Scholar
Anderson, P.J., Reidy, N. (2012). Assessing executive function in preschoolers. Neuropsychological Review, 22, 345–360. doi: 10.1007/s11065-012-9220-3 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bechara, A. (2004). The role of emotion in decision making: Evidence from neurological patients with orbitofrontal damage. Brain and Cognition, 55, 30–40. doi:10.1016/j.bandc. 2003.04.001 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blair, C., Ursache, A. (2011). A bidirectional model of executive functions and self-regulation. In R.F. Baumeister & K.D. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (2nd ed., pp. 300–320. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Brock, L.L., Rimm-Kaufman, S.E., Nathanson, L., Grimm, K.J. (2009). The contributions of ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ executive function to children's academic achievement, learning-related behaviors, and engagement in kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24, 337–349. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.06.001 Google Scholar
Carlson, S.M. (2005). Developmentally sensitive measures of executive function in preschool children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 28(2), 595–616. doi:10.1207/s15326942dn2802_3 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carlson, S.M., Davis, A.C., Leach, J.G. (2005). Less is more: Executive function and symbolic representation in preschool children. Psychological Science, 16(8), 609–616.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carlson, S.M., Wang, T.S. (2007). Inhibitory control and emotion regulation in preschool children. Cognitive Development, 22, 489–510. doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2007.08.002 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crone, E.A., Bullens, L., van der Plas, E.A.A., Kijkuit, E.J., Zelazo, P.D. (2008). Developmental changes and individual differences in risk and perspective taking in adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 20(4), 1213–1229. doi:http://0-dx.doi.org.source.unco.edu/10.1017/S0954579408000588 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Denham, S.A., Warren-Khot, H.K., Bassett, H.H., Wyatt, T., Perna, A. (2012). Factor structure of self-regulation in preschoolers: Testing models of a field-based assessment for predicting early school readiness. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 111(3), 386–404. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2011.10.002 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duckworth, A.L., Kern, M.L. (2011). A meta-analysis of the convergent validity of self-control measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 45(3), 259–268. doi:10.1016/j.jrp. 2011.02.004 Google Scholar
Figner, B., Mackinlay, R.J., Wilkening, F., Weber, E.U. (2009). affective and deliberative processes in risky choice: Age differences in risk taking in the Columbia Card Task. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 35(3), 709–730. doi:10.1037/a0014983 Google Scholar
Garon, N.M., Longard, J., Bryson, S.E., Moore, C. (2012). Making decisions about now and later: Development of future-oriented self control. Cognitive Development, 27, 314–322. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2012.05.003 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofmann, W., Schmeichel, B.J., Baddeley, A.D. (2012). Executive functions and self-regulation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(3), 174–180. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.01.006 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hongwanishkul, D., Happaney, K.R., Lee, W.S.C., Zelazo, P.D. (2005). Assessment of hot and cool executive function in young children: Age-related changes and individual differences. Developmental Neuropsychology, 28(2), 617–644. doi:10.1207/ s15326942dn2802_4 Google Scholar
Kagan, J., Snidman, N., Zentner, M., Peterson, E. (1999). Infant temperament and anxious symptoms in school age children. Development and Psychopathology, 11(2), 209–224. doi:http://0-dx.doi.org.source.unco.edu/ CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, S., Nordling, J., Yoon, J., Boldt, L., Kochanska, G. (2013). Effortful control in “hot” and “cool” tasks differentially predicts children's behavior problems and academic performance. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 43–56. doi:10.1007/s10802-012-9661-4 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klenberg, L., Korkman, M., Lahti-Nuuttila, P. (2001). Differential development of attention and executive functions in 3- to 12-year old Finnish children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20(1), 407–428. DOI:10.1207/S15326942DN2001_6 Google Scholar
Kochanska, G. (2002). Committed compliance, moral self, and internalization: A mediational model. Developmental Psychology, 38, 339–351. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.38.3.339 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lamm, C., Zelazo, P.D., Lewis, M.D. (2006). Neural correlates of cognitive control in childhood and adolescence: Disentangling the contributions of age and executive function. Neuropsychologia, 44(11), 2139–2148. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.10.013 Google Scholar
Lewis, M.D., Lamm, C., Segalowitz, S.J., Stieben, J., Zelazo, P.D. (2006). Neurophysiological correlates of emotion regulation in children and adolescents. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18(3), 430–443.Google Scholar
Masten, A., Herbers, J., Desjardins, C., Cutuli, J., McCormick, C., Sapienza, J., Zelazo, P. (2012). Executive function skills and school success in young children experiencing homelessness. Educational Researcher, 41(9), 375–384. doi:10.3102/0013189X12459883 Google Scholar
McClelland, M.M., Cameron, C.E. (2012). Self-regulation in early childhood: Improving conceptual clarity and developing ecologically valid measures. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 136–142. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00191.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Metcalfe, J., Mischel, W. (1999). A hot/cool-system analysis of delay of gratification: Dynamics of willpower. Psychological Review, 106(1), 3–19. doi:10.1037/0033-295X. 106.1.3 Google Scholar
Mischel, W., Ayduk, O. (2011). Willpower in a cognitive affective system: The dynamics of delay of gratification. In R.F. Baumeister & K.D. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (2nd ed., pp. 83–105). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Peterson, E., Welsh, M. (2014). The development of hot and cool executive functions: Are we getting warmer? In S. Goldstein & J.A. Naglieri (Eds.), Handbook of executive functions (pp. 45–68). New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Prencipe, A., Kesek, A., Cohen, J., Lamm, C., Lewis, M.D., Zelazo, P.D. (2011). Development of hot and cool executive function during the transition to adolescence. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108, 621–637. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2010.09.008 Google Scholar
Rueda, M.R., Paz-Alonzo, P.M. (2013). Executive function and emotional development. Retrieved from http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/en-ca/cognitive-stimulation-executive-functions-children/key-messages.html Google Scholar
Somerville, L.H., Casey, B.J. (2010). Developmental neurobiology of cognitive control and motivational systems. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 20, 236–241. doi:10.1016/j.conb.2010.01.006 Google Scholar
Sulik, M.J., Huerta, S., Zerr, A.A., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T.L., Valiente, C., Taylor, H.B. (2010). The factor structure of effortful control and measurement invariance across ethnicity and sex in a high-risk sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32(1), 8–22. doi:10.1007/s10862-009-9164-y CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorell, L.B. (2007). Do delay aversion and executive function deficits make distinct contributions to the functional impact of ADHD symptoms? A study of early academic skill deficits. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(11), 1061–1070. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01777.x Google Scholar
Willoughby, M., Kupersmidt, J., Voegler-Lee, M., Bryant, D. (2011). Contributions of hot and cool self-regulation to preschool disruptive behavior and academic achievement. Developmental Neuropsychology, 36(2), 162–180. doi:10.1080/87565641.2010.549980 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zelazo, P.D., Carlson, S.M. (2012). Hot and cool executive function in childhood and adolescence: Development and plasticity. Child Development Perspectives, 6(4), 354–360. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2012.00246.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zelazo, P.D., Müller, U. (2002). Executive function in typical and atypical development. In U. Goswami (Ed.), Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development (pp. 445–469). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, Inc. doi:10.1002/9780470996652.ch20 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, Q., Chen, S.H., Main, A. (2012). Commonalities and differences in the research on children's effortful control and executive function: A call for an integrated model of self-regulation. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 112–121. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00176.x Google Scholar