ABSTRACT

The predictive validity of performance on cognitive-behavioral measures of executive function (EF) suggests that these measures index children’s underlying capacity for self-regulation. In this paper, we apply ecological systems theory to critically evaluate this assertion. We argue that as typically administered, standard measures of EF do not index children’s underlying, trait-like capacity for EF, but rather assess their state-like EF performance at a given point in time and in a particular (and often quite peculiar) context. This underscores the importance of disentangling intra-individual (i.e., state-like) and inter-individual (trait-like) differences in performance on these measures and understanding how factors at various levels of organization may contribute to both. To this end, we offer an approach that combines the collection of repeated measures of EF with a multilevel modeling framework, and conclude by discussing the application of this approach to the study of educational interventions designed to foster children’s EF.

摘要

执行功能 (EF) 的认知行为测量结果的预测有效性表明，这些测量指标反映了儿童潜在的自我调节能力。在本文中，我们应用生态系统理论来批判性地评估这一论断。我们认为，正如通常管理的那样，EF 的标准测量不会索引儿童潜在的、类似特质的 EF 能力，而是评估他们在给定时间点和特定（通常是非常特殊的）环境中的类似状态的 EF 表现. 这强调了在这些措施的绩效中理清个体内部（即类似状态）和个体间（类似特质）差异的重要性，并了解组织各个层面的因素如何对两者产生影响。为此，