Based on classic and contemporary theories of cognitive development by Vygotsky, Luria, and Zelazo and colleagues, the main objective of the present study was to systematically evaluate the association between different aspects of language, namely semantic and syntactic knowledge, and specific executive functioning (EF) abilities (working memory, inhibition, and flexibility) in preschoolers. Sixty-seven children age 3-5 years were administered a battery of EF and language measures. A latent variable approach was used to estimate performance on EF tasks. A two-factor model consisting of working memory/inhibition (WM/INH) and flexibility provided the best fit for the data. The results showed that syntactic ability uniquely explained a significant amount of variance in both WM/INH and flexibility over and above age and semantic ability. Furthermore, children’s complex syntax scores predicted their performance on complex blocks of flexibility tasks. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the association between children’s understanding of the structure of language and EF. / Graduate / 0620 / eyeung@uvic.ca
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/5114 |
| Date | 23 December 2013 |
| Creators | Yeung, Emanuela |
| Contributors | Muller, Ulrich |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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