Executive function in the first three years of life: Precursors, predictors and patterns

Hendry, Alexandra; Jones, Emily J.H.; Charman, Tony · 2016 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2016.06.005

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This review synthesizes evidence regarding the emergence of executive function (EF) during the first three years of life, addressing a significant gap in developmental psychology caused by the difficulty of measuring EF in infants with limited social, motor, and language skills. The authors argue that understanding early EF precursors is critical for identifying risk markers for later executive dysfunction and for targeting early interventions. The paper categorizes EF-related processes into four foundational domains: control of attention, self-regulation and reactivity, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility. It distinguishes between "effortful control," defined as deliberate, often adult-directed regulation, and mature EF, which involves independent, goal-directed responses to novel situations, noting that the transition between these states occurs gradually during the third year. The review critiques existing methodologies, highlighting that traditional EF tasks are often impure due to confounding verbal or motor demands. It advocates for the use of task batteries and latent factor modeling to improve reliability, as well as longitudinal designs tracking development from infancy. The authors primarily focus on typically developing populations but note the relevance of preterm infant studies, cautioning against direct generalization due to atypical environmental and motor factors. Key findings indicate that control of attention emerges as early as four months, with a significant developmental transition around nine months. During this period, the executive attention network begins to dominate the orienting system, allowing for selective inhibition of distractors. Individual differences in focused attention at nine months predict later performance on effortful control and cognitive flexibility tasks, though this predictive validity diminishes or becomes complex by age three. Self-regulation, rooted in temperament and reactivity, also emerges early; by five months, infants utilize non-volitional strategies like self-comforting, which lay the groundwork for volitional inhibitory control. The development of these skills is moderated by environmental factors, particularly parenting styles that either maintain or redirect attention, which interact with the child’s temperament to shape EF trajectories. The significance of this work lies in its conceptual model linking early foundational domains to the dissociable EF factors observed in preschoolers and adults. By mapping the developmental pathway from effortful control to independent EF, the review provides a framework for monitoring emergent EF. This understanding supports the potential for early detection of developmental delays and the implementation of interventions during periods of high neural plasticity, ultimately aiming to improve long-term social and academic outcomes.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• executive function