Exploring the Construct of Executive Functions and Working Memory in Preschool Children

Executive Functions (EF) are a set of higher-order cognitive processes that enable the implementation of goal-directed behaviours. In adulthood, studies have identified at least three distinct but interrelated EF: inhibition, shifting, and updating (Miyake et al., 2000). While it is established that these functions are distinct in adults, there is no consensus in the literature on their structure in developmental ages, especially in the preschool period. Specifically, there is still little clarity regarding the multicomponent nature of the construct and the relationship between its components. Specifically, one debated aspect concerns the relationship between EF and Working Memory (WM), which is often considered a single construct along with the updating function. Another aspect concerns the nature of the inhibition construct: in the literature, opposing positions consider inhibition on one hand as a unitary function, and on the other as a multifactorial construct; moreover, even within this second position, there is no agreement on the nature of the different components. These aspects are examined by the current project, which aims to identify the structure of EF in preschool age, with a specific focus on WM and inhibition.