Conceptions of executive function and regulation: When and to what degree do they overlap?

Eisenberg, Nancy; Zhou, Qingxiao

doi:10.1037/14797-006

Cited by 37 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…By its link with basic temperament traits, EC excludes complex cognitions and strategies. Historically, working memory has also been excluded, but Zhou and colleagues (Eisenberg & Zhou, ; Zhou et al., ) concluded in their literature reviews that working memory is probably part of or closely related to EC. Whether this is due to a shared attention component is unclear.…”

Section: Specific Conceptual Confounds and Recommended Clarificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether this is due to a shared attention component is unclear. The nascent confirmatory and exploratory factor analytic literature, while complex, generally puts EC and EF trait/task measures, including measures of working memory, on the same factor when measurement type is taken into account (Duckworth & Kern, ; Eisenberg & Zhou, ; Sulik et al., ).…”

Section: Specific Conceptual Confounds and Recommended Clarificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It includes regulation of and by others (called extrinsic ) particularly in early life (Cox, Mills‐Koonce, Propper, & Gariepy, ) and also throughout development and into adulthood (Gross, ). Regulation of and by oneself ( intrinsic ) emerges increasingly with development and is called self‐regulation (Eisenberg & Zhou, ). Figure shows that self‐regulation (SR) is a portion of ‘regulation’ and includes top‐down (deliberate) and bottom‐up (automatic) aspects discussed later.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Annual Research Review: On the relations among self‐regulation, self‐control, executive functioning, effortful control, cognitive control, impulsivity, risk‐taking, and inhibition for developmental psychopathology

Nigg

2016

Child Psychology Psychiatry

1,125

1,010

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Background Self‐regulation (SR) is central to developmental psychopathology, but progress has been impeded by varying terminology and meanings across fields and literatures. Methods The present review attempts to move that discussion forward by noting key sources of prior confusion such as measurement‐concept confounding, and then arguing the following major points. Results First, the field needs a domain‐general construct of SR that encompasses SR of action, emotion, and cognition and involves both top‐down and bottom‐up regulatory processes. This does not assume a shared core process across emotion, action, and cognition, but is intended to provide clarity on the extent of various claims about kinds of SR. Second, top‐down aspects of SR need to be integrated. These include (a) basic processes that develop early and address immediate conflict signals, such as cognitive control and effortful control (EC), and (b) complex cognition and strategies for addressing future conflict, represented by the regulatory application of complex aspects of executive functioning. Executive function (EF) and cognitive control are not identical to SR because they can be used for other activities, but account for top‐down aspects of SR at the cognitive level. Third, impulsivity, risk‐taking, and disinhibition are distinct although overlapping; a taxonomy of the kinds of breakdowns of SR associated with psychopathology requires their differentiation. Fourth, different aspects of the SR universe can be organized hierarchically in relation to granularity, development, and time. Low‐level components assemble into high‐level components. This hierarchical perspective is consistent across literatures. Conclusions It is hoped that the framework outlined here will facilitate integration and cross‐talk among investigators working from different perspectives, and facilitate individual differences research on how SR relates to developmental psychopathology.

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Section: Specific Conceptual Confounds and Recommended Clarificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Specific Conceptual Confounds and Recommended Clarificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Annual Research Review: On the relations among self‐regulation, self‐control, executive functioning, effortful control, cognitive control, impulsivity, risk‐taking, and inhibition for developmental psychopathology

Nigg

2016

Child Psychology Psychiatry

1,125

1,010

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“…It should be noted that in both EF and EC constructs, the regulation/control of cognitive processes and behaviors is voluntary and goal-directed rather than reactive and involuntary (Diamond, 2006; Urscahe, Blair, Stifter, & Voegtline, 2013). Thus, both EF and EC constructs overlap considerably with the construct of effortful self-regulation (Esienberg & Zhou, in press). …”

Section: Self-regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of anger and fear to later self-regulation and problem behavior symptoms

Nozadi

Spinrad

Eisenberg

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

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The mediating and moderating roles of self-regulation in the associations of dispositional anger and fear to later conduct and anxiety symptoms were tested. Mothers and teachers rated children’s anger and fear at 54 months (N = 191), and mothers reported on children’s symptoms of anxiety and conduct disorders at 72 and 84 months (Ns = 169 and 144). Children’s self-regulatory ability was assessed using the Tower of Hanoi task at 72 months. Children’s self-regulation mediated the association between early dispositional fear and 84-month mother-reported anxiety disorder symptoms above and beyond the effects of earlier generalized anxiety symptoms. Children’s anger directly predicted relatively high mother-reported conduct and anxiety disorder symptoms. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of considering self-regulation as potential mechanism relating early childhood dispositional reactivity to later psychopathology symptoms.

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“…In addition, Nigg analyzes the relation of self‐regulation to executive functioning (EF), a topic of recent interest (e.g. Eisenberg & Zhou, ), and discusses relations of EF to a number of other constructs used in the literature on self‐regulation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Commentary: What's in a word (or words) – on the relations among self‐regulation, self‐control, executive functioning, effortful control, cognitive control, impulsivity, risk‐taking, and inhibition for developmental psychopathology – reflections on Nigg (2017)

Eisenberg

2017

Child Psychology Psychiatry

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In Nigg’s excellent article, he deals with a variety of complex conceptual issues related to the constructs of self-regulation and executive functioning. Overall, I agree that the terminology proposed by Nigg should be adopted; moreover, the conceptual distinctions he provides should help the field to move forward in regard to the understanding of varied constructs related to self-regulation. In the spirit of further clarification, I questioned Nigg’s suggestions that (a) working memory should be considered as part of the construct of top-down regulation, (b) that planning is a higher-level component of executive functioning but not part of effortful control. In addition, I discussed my perspective on the role of automaticity in defining top-down versus bottom-up self-regulatory processes and the role of flexibility in top-down self-regulatory processes and their relation to personality resiliency.

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Conceptions of executive function and regulation: When and to what degree do they overlap?

Cited by 37 publications

References 56 publications

Annual Research Review: On the relations among self‐regulation, self‐control, executive functioning, effortful control, cognitive control, impulsivity, risk‐taking, and inhibition for developmental psychopathology

Annual Research Review: On the relations among self‐regulation, self‐control, executive functioning, effortful control, cognitive control, impulsivity, risk‐taking, and inhibition for developmental psychopathology

Associations of anger and fear to later self-regulation and problem behavior symptoms

Commentary: What's in a word (or words) – on the relations among self‐regulation, self‐control, executive functioning, effortful control, cognitive control, impulsivity, risk‐taking, and inhibition for developmental psychopathology – reflections on Nigg (2017)

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