Project Details
Projekt
Executive Functions as basic facets of self regulation: Profiles and developmental trajectories in childhood and adolescence, and relations to social information processing
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Birgit Elsner
Subject Area
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Term
since 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426314138
Executive functions (EF) –as cognitive processes that enable the control of behavior, cognition and emotions – are important basic components of self regulation (SR). Both SR and EF show continued development during middle childhood and adolescence, with concurrently increasing demands on socially appropriate behavioral control. So far, however, only few studies have analyzed individual profiles of different EF facets or the stability/variability in developmental trajectories of EF at this age. This project focuses on three cool EF facets (inhibition, working-memory updating, cognitive flexibility/set shifting) and two hot EF facets (delay of gratification, emotional decision making). Existing longitudinal data from a community sample in middle childhood (PIER study: 6-10, 7-11, 9-13 years) will be extended into adolescence (15-20 years). In a person-centered approach, research goals are first, to classify children based on specific values for the five EF facets at T1. Different EF profiles for younger/older children will indicate continued development of certain EF facets, and specific EF profiles (e.g. overall weak EF; relatively weaker inhibition or hot EF) should co-occur with lower complex SR and/or emotional regulation. The second goal is to investigate the longitudinal stability/variability of the EF profiles and to identify trajectory patterns for single EF facets. Here, age differences indicate whether and when a flattening of developmental growth occurs for certain EF facets. Continued development until adolescence is expected for set shifting and hot EF. Of specific interest are decreasing or consistently low EF trajectories, because associated individual characteristics (e.g. SES, verbal skills) can be risk factors for EF development and are therefore relevant for prevention/intervention. The third goal is to examine the relation between EF development in middle childhood and social information processing (SIP) in adolescence. SIP is important for social behavior, and specific SIP styles are associated with problematic conduct and aggression (e.g., tendency for interpreting others’ behavior as hostile; positive evaluation of own aggressive behavior). Because certain EF facets are relevant for certain SIP steps (e.g. delay of gratification for clarification of goals, flexibility for response construction, inhibition for response selection), the analysis of SIP differences for different EF profiles or EF trajectory patterns is important, particularly in adolescence (due to higher SR requirements). These analyses will also include other PIER data on abilities that are relevant for SIP, that is, the ability to understand others’ mental states (theory of mind) and to regulate emotions (especially anger). This project will thus provide important insights into the development of basic SR competencies and their relevance for social cognition during childhood and adolescence.
DFG Programme
Research Units
