title: The early development of executive function and its relation to social interaction: a brief review.
abstract: Executive function (EF) refers to the ability to execute appropriate actions and to inhibit inappropriate actions for the attainment of a specific goal. Research has shown that this ability develops rapidly during the preschool years. Recently, it has been proposed that research on EF should consider the importance of social interaction. In this article, recent evidence regarding the early development of EF and its relation to social interaction has been reviewed. Research consistently showed that social interaction can influence EF skills in young children. However, the development of EF may facilitate the cognitive skills that are important for social interaction. Taken together, there might be functional dependency between the development of EF and social interaction.
authors.affiliation: Department of School Education, Joetsu University of Education Joetsu, Japan ; Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriguchi
keywords: cognitive development; executive function; preschool children; social interaction; theory of mind