Journal
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
Volume 16, Issue 8, Pages 609-616Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01583.x
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- PHS HHS [R03-041473-02] Funding Source: Medline
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Executive function is recognized as a critical component of children's cognitive and social development. In two studies, a measure of executive function that had been used in research with chimpanzees was adapted for preschoolers. On this task, called Less Is More, children must point to a smaller reward (two candies) to receive a larger reward (five candies). In Study 1 (N= 101), performance was significantly related to age (3 vs. 4), verbal ability, and established measures of executive function. In Study 2 (N= 128), symbolic representations substituted for real candies in this task. Three-year-olds' performance improved significantly as a function of symbolic distancing. This research has implications for the role of symbol systems in the development of executive control over thought and action.
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