ABSTRACT

Over the last several decades, research on executive function in children has flourished, producing a wealth of empirical findings. These findings have raised many theoretical and methodological questions that warrant attention and are addressed in this special issue. This introduction to the special issue reviews some of the recent history of the field before introducing the seven target articles. We introduce these articles in the context of current theoretical and methodological issues: domain generality versus domain specificity of executive function, ecological and cultural validity of executive function measures, executive function training and transfer, and the nature of relations between executive function and achievement and other outcomes. This diverse set of articles collectively provides many fresh, testable ideas that promise to advance the field and usher in the next wave of theory-guided executive function research.

摘要

在过去的几十年里，对儿童执行功能的研究蓬勃发展，产生了大量的实证研究结果。这些发现提出了许多值得关注的理论和方法问题，并在本期特刊中得到解决。在介绍七篇目标文章之前，本期特刊介绍回顾了该领域的一些近期历史。我们在当前理论和方法论问题的背景下介绍这些文章：执行功能的领域普遍性与领域特异性、执行功能措施的生态和文化有效性、执行功能培训和转移，以及执行功能与成就和其他方面之间关系的性质结果。这套多样化的文章共同提供了许多新鲜的、