title: Shyness and Vocabulary: The Roles of Executive Functioning and Home Environmental Stimulation.
abstract: Although shyness has often been found to be negatively related to vocabulary, few studies have examined the processes that produce or modify this relation. The present study examined executive functioning skills and home environmental stimulation as potential mediating and moderating mechanisms. A sample of 3.5-year-old children (N=254) were administered executive functioning tasks and a vocabulary test during a laboratory visit. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing child shyness and home environmental stimulation. Our primary hypothesis was that executive functioning mediates the association between shyness and vocabulary, and home environmental stimulation moderates the relation between executive functioning and vocabulary. Alternative hypotheses were also tested. Results indicated that children with better executive functioning skills developed stronger vocabularies when reared in more, versus less, stimulating environments. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of the role of shyness, executive functioning, and home environmental stimulation in early vocabulary development.
authors.affiliation: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nayena Blankson
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Esther M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Leerkes
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marcovitch
authors.forename: Susan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Calkins
references.citation: Multivariate Behav Res. 2007 Jan-Mar;42(1):185-227
references.pmid: 26821081
references.citation: Child Neuropsychol. 1999 Dec;5(4):242-50
references.pmid: 10925708
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 1983 Jun;51(3):386-9
references.pmid: 6863698
references.citation: Prev Sci. 2000 Dec;1(4):173-81
references.pmid: 11523746
references.citation: Psychol Rev. 1984 Apr;91(2):153-84
references.pmid: 6571423
references.citation: Dev Psychobiol. 1989 Apr;22(3):271-94
references.pmid: 2707496
references.citation: Br J Educ Psychol. 2003 Sep;73(Pt 3):317-28
references.pmid: 14672146
references.citation: J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1995 Oct;23(5):607-18
references.pmid: 8568083
references.citation: J Genet Psychol. 1948 Jun;72(2):177-84
references.pmid: 18891161
references.citation: Infant Behav Dev. 2006 Jul;29(3):342-57
references.pmid: 17138290
references.citation: J Pers Assess. 2006 Aug;87(1):102-12
references.pmid: 16856791
references.citation: Child Dev. 2007 Mar-Apr;78(2):647-63
references.pmid: 17381795
references.citation: Child Dev. 2001 Nov-Dec;72(6):1868-86
references.pmid: 11768150
references.citation: Psychol Methods. 2002 Mar;7(1):83-104
references.pmid: 11928892
references.citation: Cognition. 1994 Nov;53(2):129-53
references.pmid: 7805351
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2003 Sep;44(6):819-31
references.pmid: 12959491
references.citation: Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput. 2004 Nov;36(4):717-31
references.pmid: 15641418
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986 Dec;51(6):1173-82
references.pmid: 3806354
references.citation: Science. 2007 Nov 30;318(5855):1387-8
references.pmid: 18048670
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2007 Jul;43(4):947-59
references.pmid: 17605527
references.citation: Dev Neuropsychol. 2003;24(1):479-97
references.pmid: 12850755
references.citation: J Speech Hear Res. 1995 Apr;38(2):403-14
references.pmid: 7596106
references.citation: Dev Neuropsychol. 2005;28(2):573-94
references.pmid: 16144428
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1997 Oct;38(7):803-11
references.pmid: 9363579
references.citation: Child Dev. 1998 Jun;69(3):767-90
references.pmid: 9680684
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2005 Jan;41(1):99-114
references.pmid: 15656741
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2008 Jan;134(1):31-60
references.pmid: 18193994
references.citation: Sociol Health Illn. 2006 Mar;28(2):133-53
references.pmid: 16509950
references.citation: Percept Mot Skills. 2001 Apr;92(2):381-90
references.pmid: 11361297
references.citation: Multivariate Behav Res. 2004 Jan 1;39(1):99
references.pmid: 20157642
references.citation: Infant Behav Dev. 2008 Apr;31(2):270-9
references.pmid: 18190967
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2005 Jan;41(1):89-98
references.pmid: 15656740