The individual contributions of three executive function components to preschool social competence

Abstract

The present study explored the role of three components of executive function (EF)—response inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility—in preschool children's social competence. Each component was expected to contribute uniquely to children's abilities to resolve peer conflict in a competent manner, namely, the inhibition of incompetent social responses (response inhibition), maintenance of social goals (working memory), and attentional shift between complex social rules and potential response options (cognitive flexibility). Seventy‐two 4‐to 5‐year‐old children were administered measures for each of the EF components and for peer conflict social competence. Positive associations were found between all three EF components and the social competence task, but working memory was the most highly associated with choosing competent responses to peer conflict. In addition, EF accounted for age‐related increases in competent responding. The results highlight the importance of representational abilities in the development of social competence during the preschool period. Highlights This study examined the normative developmental associations between three components of executive function and social competence in preschool. Executive function, particularly working memory, predicted age‐related changes on a peer conflict task between 4 and 5 years of age. The results suggest that the representational abilities associated with working memory may be important in the development of social competence.

Connection between Social Relationships and Basic Motor Competencies in Early Childhood

“…Other children experience themselves as independent and autonomous for the first time and learn to develop their own social strategies and to behave cooperatively and pro-socially toward their peers [ 8 ]. The social competencies they acquire are important for establishing and maintaining friendships in peer groups [ 9 , 10 , 11 ] and are related to executive functions such as cognitive flexibility [ 12 ]. Popular children participate more frequently in games, find resolutions to conflicts, and can agree on rules together [ 10 ].…”

Promoting Social Competence in Preschool with an Executive Functions Program Conducted by Teachers

“…These abilities, such as cooperation, empathy, or autonomy promote the well-being and the adjusted status in the diverse contexts of human interaction: home, school or work, friendship, and romantic links [15,16]. So, in the first years, social skills facilitate the establishment of positive exchanges among peers and allow them to learn positive behaviors through the significant others modeling [14,17]. Similarly, high social competence promotes school readiness and academic achievement [18].…”

“…Inhibitory control is one of the most important executive components for the development of social competence in preschool and elementary school [24,25]. To enact interpersonal adaptive behaviors demands the regulation of dominant aggressive responses [17]. For example, when a child takes away another child's toy, this one must constrain his impulse to react with violence and choose a more socially appropriate conduct as a verbal request or to offer a cooperative game.…”

“…However, despite the fact that most interventions in executive functions have been shown to be effective for their enhancement, there is little research around if this improvement is transferred to the social domain. Since several studies have found that children who perform an executive task better exhibit an adjusted social competence [17,26,27] it could be inferred that the improvement of executive functions will be bonded with an increasing social competence. However, evidence points out that individuals present difficulties in generalizing what they have learned in one context to another untrained context.…”

Executive Function Deficits in Bipolar Disorder

“…One's social competence is the coordination of their cognitive processes, which helps them to meet social demands and achieve social goals [1]. It is important for people because poor social competence could lead to psychological distress and reduced self-esteem, which may cause social isolation and a suffered quality of life [2].…”