Parents of young children probably recognize the hectic mornings filled with reminding the kids to eat breakfast, brush their teeth and put on their shoes — and hurry up, you’re gonna be late!
Most little kids can’t manage these morning routines on their own because they lack the necessary executive function: the set of skills that affect how people make purposeful decisions that align with their goals. It’s these skills that allow you to set and pursue short-term goals, such as making breakfast, and long-term goals, such as pursuing a successful career.
Early childhood marks a period of significant development in executive function ability. Research shows that children with better executive function tend to grow up to be financially stable, healthy and productive adults. For this reason, many psychologists and educators are seeking ways to help kids develop these skills in early childhood, potentially setting them up for later success.
As important as these skills are, though, attempts to understand where they come from and how to train them have been mostly unsuccessful — until now.
A recent study from Associate Professor of Psychology Aaron Buss and Ph.D. student Alexis McCraw provides new insights into how executive function develops. Read more at The Conversation.
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Stacy Estep (865-974-8304, sestep3@utk.edu)
