Almost 100 years ago, Jersild (1927) published his article “Mental Set and Shift”. He borrowed this title from a book of Hollingworth and Poffenberger (1919), according to whom “shifting back and forth from one mental set, one attitude or one task to another, is a relatively ineffective mode of work.” As pointed out by Jersild, the cost of switching between activities or mental sets is, for instance, the reason for Taylor’s model of industrialization and the trend in industry toward specialization. Through specialization, the element of switch is reduced to its minimum because “the cost of shift is loss in efficiency” (Jersild, 1927). However, outside of the factory, switching between multiple tasks is a crucial part of human life and the cost of switching, consequently, impacts our everyday functioning.The main topic of this doctoral dissertation is cognitive flexibility and task switching. The task-switching paradigm requires participants to switch frequently between tasks. Therefore, it measures the capacity of our brain to adapt rapidly according to tasks and goals. Dynamic adaptation according to context and goals is encompassed in cognitive psychology and neurosciences under the term cognitive control. Consequently, the ability to switch between tasks constitutes the part of cognitive control that is needed when the current goal changes and the cognitive system has to adapt. Our experimental contribution aimed at investigating how this task-goal switching can be modulated by factors such as time, language, alertness and expertise. In this introduction, we succinctly review the vast literature about attentional systems, cognitive control and task switching. In the experimental section, we describe the cued match-to-sample task that we developed to investigate task-goal switching and present five experimental studies that address the impact of several factors on task-goal switching. In the general discussion, we summarize our results and consider their implications for cognitive-control and task-switching literatures. / Doctorat en Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

L’objectif de cette thèse était de contribuer à la compréhension de l’effet des caractéristiques environnementales et individuelles sur l’autodétermination et l’autorégulation d’adolescents et jeunes adultes présentant une déficience intellectuelle (DI). Pour cela, nous avons conduit une première étude, longitudinale, auprès de 45 jeunes DI évaluant l’impact du changement d’environnement (passage du milieu spécialisé au milieu ordinaire de formation) ainsi que l’effet des fonctions exécutives sur l’autodétermination et l’autorégulation. Les résultats n’ont pas mis en évidence d’effet du changement d’environnement sur l’autodétermination (échelle du LARIDI ; Wehmeyer et al., 2001). Concernant la dimension d’autorégulation, la mesure d’autorégulation en situation de gestion de vie (Nader-Grosbois, 2007b) était sensible aux changements d’environnement. Le score d’autorégulation (LARIDI) était quant à lui prédit par une mesure générale de la flexibilité (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). Dans une seconde étude, nous avons exploré plus spécifiquement les liens entre l’autorégulation, le langage et les fonctions exécutives (inhibition, flexibilité et mise à jour en mémoire de travail) chez 63 jeunes DI. Les résultats ont montré que le langage, l’inhibition et la mise à jour en mémoire de travail prédisaient la performance d’autorégulation dans notre échantillon. Ces deux études ont permis de mettre en évidence l’implication importante du langage et des fonctions exécutives dans l’autorégulation, dimension clé de l’autodétermination. Cependant d’autres recherches sont nécessaires afin de mieux définir les relations entre ces différentes dimensions. Le développement de programmes de soutien à l’autorégulation ayant recours à l’entraînement des fonctions exécutives pourrait être bénéfique pour les personnes DI. / The aim of this thesis was to increase the understanding of the effect of environmental and individual factors on self-determination and self-regulation among teenagers and young adults with intellectual disability (ID). For this purpose, we have conducted a longitudinal study, among 45 young people with ID to assess the effects of environmental changes (moving from a less to a more integrated setting) and executive functioning on self-determination and self-regulation. Results did not show a significant effect of environmental factors on self-determination (LARIDI; Wehmeyer et al., 2001). With regard to self-regulation, one measure assessing self-regulation in daily life was sensitive to environmental changes (Nader-Grosbois, 2007b) whereas the other selfregulation’s score (LARIDI) was predicted by shifting ability (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). In another study, we have investigated the relationships between self-regulation, language and executives functions (inhibition, shifting and updating) among 63 young people with ID. Results showed that language, inhibition and updating predicted self-regulation’s performance in our sample. These studies highlighted the significant involvement of language and executive functions in self-regulation, a key dimension of self-determination. Nevertheless, further research is required to define the relationship between these dimensions. Training focusing on executive functions could be efficient to improve self-regulation in people with ID.

Background: E-sports is a grand industry and has been gaining momentum in the latest decades. Reaction time (RT) is an important part of most e-sports games and therefore a possible way to evaluate and improve RT is desired. A tool that evaluates the players and shows them what executive functions they should improve on through what physical activity would be a great way to evaluate and improve RT. There has been a lot of studies performed on the effects of physical fitness on RT. Most studies seem to agree that improved physical fitness results in improved RT.   Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to design an experiment that will evaluate the connection between e-sports players physical fitness, their RT and their executive functions through different tests. There will also be an evaluation of if it is possible to reliably find a connection between specific kinds of physical fitness and specific executive functions. The objectives are therefore to find suitable tests to evaluate RT and executive functions as well as finding a physical fitness test that allows for easy comparison between subjects.   Methods: Literature study is used to find the answers to the research questions through reading different studies and papers. Scopus was chosen as the database to find the different studies to read because of the vast amount of material available there.   Results: The test used to evaluate physical fitness will be the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). The tests that will evaluate RT and executive functions are the Stroop test, the Trail Making Test A & B, Tower of Hanoi and a variation of the n-Back test. It is very difficult to isolate executive functions and evaluate them without something else interfering with the results. This thesis’s hypothesis changed from the beginning of the research to that it was done. At first it was believed that executive functions could be isolated and evaluated separately, but that is no longer the case.   Conclusion: The experiment will most likely show that subjects with greater APFT score will achieve a better overall score on the RT tests than those with lower score. This experiment will most likely not work as a tool to evaluate the executive functions connection to specific physical exercises of e-sports players in the state that the experiment is currently envisioned. More studies are required to link specific physical exercises to specific executive functions before a tool can be created.

This study tested the hypothesis that daily physical activity improves the executive function and academic achievement of 9- to 11-year-old children. The quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest design included 60 eligible fourth and fifth grade students (51.7% female, 98% Hispanic; 10.26 years of age). Twenty-five students elected to participate in school day, zero-hour (1 hour before school starts) physical activity program for 8 weeks. The 35 students who did not sign up for the program served as the control group as masked data provided by the school. Standardized measures, Adele Diamond flanker task and the Wide Range Achievement Test 4, assessed executive function and academic achievement, respectively. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine differences between groups on executive function and academic achievement. There were no observable benefits from daily physical activity on executive function and academic achievement. Convenience sampling and voluntary attendance potentially limited the effect of exercise on performance.

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Background: Most of the neurocognitive research in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) thus far focused on impairment in learning and memory, neglecting the impact of PTSD on executive functioning processes. Therefore, this study specifically aims to investigate the impact of PTSD on frontal lobe executive functioning. Given the high prevalence rate for traumatic event exposure in South Africa, this study provides important findings on the role intact executive functioning plays in all areas of daily functioning, including the maintenance of good mental and physical health. Methods: Executive functions were assessed using an Executive Functioning Battery consisting of the three subtests of the Delis Kaplan Executive Functioning System (e.g., Trail Making Test, Colour-Word Interference Test, and Tower Test), as well as the Executive Functioning Index. The study sample consisted of 88 adult South African citizens who were divided into two groups (PTSD+; n = 44; PTSD–; n = 44) with different levels of trauma exposure. Results: PTSD was linked with impairment in executive functioning domains such as attention, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, working memory, and planning. Important gender differences were also reported in terms of empathy and organisation. In addition, education also appeared to affect frontal lobe executive functioning differently. Conclusions: The data suggest that overall, PTSD impaired executive functioning processes. It is therefore critical that assessment of executive functioning form part of a comprehensive treatment plan for individuals diagnosed with PTSD. / Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Psychology / MA / Unrestricted

This thesis is focused on the effects of computerized executive functions training on emotion regulation and affective functioning. The theoretical part summarizes cognition-emotion integration and is based on cognitive neuroscience models suggesting that there are bidirectional links between cortical executive functions centers and cortical centers that regulate emotions. Based on process model of emotion regulation (Gross, 1998) it's supposed that it is possible to make interventions of emotion dysregulation also through cognitive, antecedent-focused strategies. These assumptions are linked with computerized executive functions training. Such training might have positive consequences for emotion regulation and emotion functioning, as it generate frontal activation (Klinberg et al., 2005). The study measures the potential effect of executive functions training on regulation of negative emotions. The main intervention is a personalized, computer-based cognitive training program BrainTwister. This program is widely used for clinical and diagnostics praxis and rehabilitation. To ascertain the everyday ecological validity of the cognitive training intervention and the emotion regulatory and affective consequences, emotion regulatory experiment (IAPS) together with mood and emotion regulation...

Aim: The current study investigated a pattern of associations between executive functions and everyday functioning in a sample of schizophrenia patients with the aim to specify the ecological validity. The ecological validity as a specific form of external validity refers to the extent of the relation of the test outcome measures and patients' behaviour in everyday situations. Sample and methods: A sample of 77 patients (22 women and 55 men) with the diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, who met study inclusion criteria, was assessed with several executive function tests: Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Trail Making Test B (TMT B), Phonemic Verbal Fluency Test and Semantic Verbal Fluency Test (VF), Similarities from Wechsler Adult Inteligence Scale (WAIS III), Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test in Boston Qualitative Scoring System (BQSS), and with rating scales for patients' behavior in everyday situations - Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSPs), newly developed clinical scale (CliSca), Interview for Assessment of Insight (SAI) and patients' self rating in Social Functioning Scale (SFS). Relationships between demografic measures and test outcomes were examined. Results: Verbal fluency tests did correlate significantly with the newly developed clinical scale that seems...

Objective: Binge-eating disorder (BED) in adults is associated with alterations in executive functions (EF) and obesity. Much less is known about these relationships in adolescents, including whether poor EF are associated with eating disorder psychopathology and/or elevated body mass index. The present study examined EF in response to neutral stimuli in youth with BED. Method: Adolescents with BED and obesity (n=22), individually matched adolescents with obesity (n=22), and normal weight (n=22) completed neuropsychological tests targeting inhibition (Color-Word Interference Test), sustained attention (D2 Concentration Endurance Test), cognitive flexibility (Comprehensive Trail Making Test), and decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task). Results: Adolescents with BED and obesity displayed significantly poorer inhibitory control compared to normal-weight adolescents. This effect persisted after controlling for the level of secondary education. However, initial differences between adolescents with obesity and normal-weight controls regarding inhibitory control and sustained attention vanished after controlling for education. The three groups did not differ regarding cognitive flexibility and decision-making. Moreover, adolescents with BED and obesity did not perform worse than adolescents with obesity on any of the neuropsychological tests. Discussion: Overall, our results indicate adolescent BED is associated with only a few alterations in general EF, specifically inhibitory control, and underline BED and educational level as confounding factors in neuropsychological research on obesity. To further delineate EF profiles of adolescents with BED, future research should focus on EF in response to disorder-related stimuli and experimental settings with high ecological validity.

The action of postponing an intended plan is often referred to as procrastination. Research on procrastination generally views the phenomenon as a form of self-regulation failure. Self-regulation refers to the conscious and non-conscious processes that enable individuals to guide their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors purposefully. Research indicates correlations between self-regulation and executive functions providing a fruitful integration. From a neuroscientific perspective, this integration generally associates the prefrontal cortex with top-down control whenever successful self-regulation is achieved. On the contrary, self-regulation failure appears to involve a bottom-up control, in which subcortical regions have greater influence on behavioral outcomes. Subcortical regions involved in emotional and rewarding processes, such as the amygdala and nucleus accumbens appears to lie at the coreof self-regulation failure, whereas cortical executive functions of regulating emotion and impulsive behaviors may contribute to successful self-regulation, thus overcoming procrastination. This thesis aims to obtain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of procrastination, specifically investigating self-regulation failure and its relationship with executive functions and the neural underpinnings of self-regulation.