title: Developmental changes in executive functioning.
abstract: Although early studies of executive functioning in children supported Miyake et al.'s (2000) three-factor model, more recent findings supported a variety of undifferentiated or two-factor structures. Using a cohort-sequential design, this study examined whether there were age-related differences in the structure of executive functioning among 6- to 15-year-olds (N = 688). Children were tested annually on tasks designed to measure updating and working memory, inhibition, and switch efficiency. There was substantial task-based variation in developmental patterns on the various tasks. Confirmatory factor analyses and tests for longitudinal factorial invariance showed that data from the 5- to 13-year-olds conformed to a two-factor structure. For the 15-year-olds, a well-separated three-factor structure was found.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Education.
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bull
authors.forename: Ringo M H
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time