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The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective

There is robust evidence showing a link between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) in 3- to 5-year-olds. However, it is unclear whether this relationship extends to middle childhood. In addition, there has been much discussion about the nature of this relationship. Whereas some authors...

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Autores principales: Austin, Gina, Groppe, Karoline, Elsner, Birgit
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4068105/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25009527
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00655
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author Austin, Gina
Groppe, Karoline
Elsner, Birgit
author_facet Austin, Gina
Groppe, Karoline
Elsner, Birgit
author_sort Austin, Gina
collection PubMed
description There is robust evidence showing a link between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) in 3- to 5-year-olds. However, it is unclear whether this relationship extends to middle childhood. In addition, there has been much discussion about the nature of this relationship. Whereas some authors claim that ToM is needed for EF, others argue that ToM requires EF. To date, however, studies examining the longitudinal relationship between distinct subcomponents of EF [i.e., attention shifting, working memory (WM) updating, inhibition] and ToM in middle childhood are rare. The present study examined (1) the relationship between three EF subcomponents (attention shifting, WM updating, inhibition) and ToM in middle childhood, and (2) the longitudinal reciprocal relationships between the EF subcomponents and ToM across a 1-year period. EF and ToM measures were assessed experimentally in a sample of 1,657 children (aged 6–11 years) at time point one (t1) and 1 year later at time point two (t2). Results showed that the concurrent relationships between all three EF subcomponents and ToM pertained in middle childhood at t1 and t2, respectively, even when age, gender, and fluid intelligence were partialled out. Moreover, cross-lagged structural equation modeling (again, controlling for age, gender, and fluid intelligence, as well as for the earlier levels of the target variables), revealed partial support for the view that early ToM predicts later EF, but stronger evidence for the assumption that early EF predicts later ToM. The latter was found for attention shifting and WM updating, but not for inhibition. This reveals the importance of studying the exact interplay of ToM and EF across childhood development, especially with regard to different EF subcomponents. Most likely, understanding others’ mental states at different levels of perspective-taking requires specific EF subcomponents, suggesting developmental change in the relations between EF and ToM across childhood.
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spelling pubmed-40681052014-07-09 The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective Austin, Gina Groppe, Karoline Elsner, Birgit Front Psychol Psychology There is robust evidence showing a link between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) in 3- to 5-year-olds. However, it is unclear whether this relationship extends to middle childhood. In addition, there has been much discussion about the nature of this relationship. Whereas some authors claim that ToM is needed for EF, others argue that ToM requires EF. To date, however, studies examining the longitudinal relationship between distinct subcomponents of EF [i.e., attention shifting, working memory (WM) updating, inhibition] and ToM in middle childhood are rare. The present study examined (1) the relationship between three EF subcomponents (attention shifting, WM updating, inhibition) and ToM in middle childhood, and (2) the longitudinal reciprocal relationships between the EF subcomponents and ToM across a 1-year period. EF and ToM measures were assessed experimentally in a sample of 1,657 children (aged 6–11 years) at time point one (t1) and 1 year later at time point two (t2). Results showed that the concurrent relationships between all three EF subcomponents and ToM pertained in middle childhood at t1 and t2, respectively, even when age, gender, and fluid intelligence were partialled out. Moreover, cross-lagged structural equation modeling (again, controlling for age, gender, and fluid intelligence, as well as for the earlier levels of the target variables), revealed partial support for the view that early ToM predicts later EF, but stronger evidence for the assumption that early EF predicts later ToM. The latter was found for attention shifting and WM updating, but not for inhibition. This reveals the importance of studying the exact interplay of ToM and EF across childhood development, especially with regard to different EF subcomponents. Most likely, understanding others’ mental states at different levels of perspective-taking requires specific EF subcomponents, suggesting developmental change in the relations between EF and ToM across childhood. Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-06-24 /pmc/articles/PMC4068105/ /pubmed/25009527 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00655 Text en Copyright © 2014 Austin, Groppe and Elsner. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Austin, Gina
Groppe, Karoline
Elsner, Birgit
The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective
title The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective
title_full The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective
title_fullStr The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective
title_full_unstemmed The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective
title_short The reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective
title_sort reciprocal relationship between executive function and theory of mind in middle childhood: a 1-year longitudinal perspective
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4068105/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25009527
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00655
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