Well-developed executive functions (EF) are important for a proper development of children. Verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility are used on daily basis in social situations, by...Show moreWell-developed executive functions (EF) are important for a proper development of children. Verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility are used on daily basis in social situations, by processing complex cognitive information and in understanding language. Children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in these EF, which could explain the symptoms of their ASD, such as restricted and repetitive behaviors and difficulties in social interaction and communication. Girls show their ASD symptoms differently than boys, which could partly mean that their EF work differently. This cross-sectional study researched the relationship between verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility on the one hand and ASD symptoms on the other hand. Furthermore, it has been researched whether EF mediate the relationship between gender and ASD symptoms. In this study 38 children and adolescents, 20 boys and 18 girls, between 6 and 16 years took part. The sample contained 6 children with a DSM classification of ASD. To measure the cognitive flexibility, verbal working memory and ASD symptoms, the following instruments were used respectively: Trail Making Test, Digit Span Test and the Social Responsiveness Scale. None of the results were significant, which indicates that in this study verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility had no relationship with ASD symptoms. In addition, the mediations were also non-significant, which suggests that in this study boys and girls show comparable ASD symptoms as well as similar skills in verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility. Practically that would mean that the support boys and girls need for their EF deficits and ASD, should be similar as well. However, the results should be considered with the limitations of this study. This study contributes to the first steps into understanding and supporting girls with ASD better.Show less
The etiology of anorexia nervosa (AN) remains difficult to understand, and even harder to predict. Identifying possible risk factors is therefore crucial. Recent literature has suggested that...Show moreThe etiology of anorexia nervosa (AN) remains difficult to understand, and even harder to predict. Identifying possible risk factors is therefore crucial. Recent literature has suggested that impaired set-shifting (SS) in the anorexic population might play a role as an endophenotype, meaning it might make individuals more susceptible to developing this disorder. It has been established that SS abilities are impaired in adults with AN, but it is unclear whether this is also the case for younger age groups. In this study we aimed to get a better understanding of the possible SS impairment in adolescents with AN. We examined differences in SS abilities between female adolescents with AN and HC (N=72; AN=45, HC=27), between the ages of 12-21 years old (M=15.83, SD=2.08) using a MANOVA, and looked at the influence of food-related stimuli, activity-related stimuli, and neutral stimuli on SS abilities within both groups through ANCOVAs. We examined whether poor SS abilities are associated with low BMI, poor body image, and restrictive eating behaviors using multiple regression analyses, with age, AN subtype and intelligence level as covariates. We found no significant difference in SS abilities between the participants with AN and healthy controls (p=.20). Participants with AN performed significantly worse on the SS task with activity-related stimuli as compared to the food-related (p=.015) and neutral stimuli (p<.001). HC participants did not show a difference in performance between the three SS tasks (p=.17). We did not find a significant association between SS abilities and low BMI (p=.78), poor body image (p=.233) and restrictive behaviors (p=.197). Based on our findings, poor SS abilities do not seem to be associated with adolescent AN, but more research should be done into this topic to strengthen these results. Future research must additionally focus on finding alternative measures that can be understood as risk factors, and actively seek out new approaches that can be used in the prevention of this disorder.Show less
Trauma, cognitive flexibility, and empathy are widely studied constructs in psychology. However, inconsistent results are found regarding the aftermath of trauma. In the current study, it was...Show moreTrauma, cognitive flexibility, and empathy are widely studied constructs in psychology. However, inconsistent results are found regarding the aftermath of trauma. In the current study, it was expected that Syrian refugee children with higher severity of trauma symptoms scored significantly higher on cognitive flexibility and empathy tests than children with lower severity of trauma symptoms. To investigate these hypotheses, a quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with a between-subjects design. The participants were asked to complete three questionnaires and two computer tasks to measure their cognitive flexibility, empathy, and trauma symptoms. Linear regression analyses showed that trauma was not a significant predictor of cognitive flexibility or empathy. If future studies could find this relationship in a larger sample, it possibly has implications for actively using cognitive flexibility and empathy as resilience factors during education for mental health professionals, therapeutic treatments of trauma, and in educational settings.Show less
The complexities of daily life require us to have a flexible mind. Indeed, our world is constantly changing, urging us to respond in an adaptive, flexible manner to external demands. Previous...Show moreThe complexities of daily life require us to have a flexible mind. Indeed, our world is constantly changing, urging us to respond in an adaptive, flexible manner to external demands. Previous research has linked trait anxiety to decreased cognitive flexibility. Although past research has repeatedly implied that higher levels of anxiety in adolescents is related to lower levels of cognitive flexibility, there is little research about protective factors that positively influence this relationship. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate whether different types of empathy have a moderating effect on the relationship between trait anxiety and cognitive flexibility. It was hypothesized that higher levels of trait anxiety predict lower levels of cognitive flexibility, this relationship was expected to be moderated by three types of empathy, namely affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and intention to comfort. In the final sample, a total of 103 healthy participants were included, (51 females, 52 males), around 25 from each of the defined age groups: 9-10 (pre-adolescents), 12-13 (early adolescents), 15-16 (mid-adolescents), 18-19 (late-adolescents). Trait Anxiety was measured with the State-Anxiety Inventory DY (STAI), the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS) was used to assess cognitive flexibility, and the Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (EmQue-CA) measured the level of all three empathy types. Results indicated, concurrent with the first hypothesis, higher levels of trait anxiety predict lower levels of cognitive flexibility. However, inconsistent with the second hypothesis, the relationship between trait anxiety and cognitive flexibility was not moderated by any of the three empathy types. Given that results predicted decreased levels of cognitive flexibility in trait-anxious adolescents, more research is crucial to investigate the protective mechanism of empathy on the interaction between trait anxiety and cognitive flexibility.Show less
Previous research has emphasized the trade-off between cognitive stability and flexibility. Our main research aim within the present study was to assess whether demand on cognitive flexibility can...Show morePrevious research has emphasized the trade-off between cognitive stability and flexibility. Our main research aim within the present study was to assess whether demand on cognitive flexibility can become associated with specific stimulus contexts (i.e., locations), whether these learned associations are being transferred to a subsequent phase, and whether such associations correlate with need for cognition. In 107 participants we assessed switch costs both in terms of reaction times and error rates in a learning phase where task switch frequencies were manipulated across two contexts (25%/75%) and a subsequent diagnostic phase where task switch frequencies were balanced. We further included individual differences in need for cognition in the analyses, which we measured using the NCS-6 questionnaire. As expected, we found a reduction in switch costs in the high task switch frequency context in the learning phase. We did not observe the expected transfer of effects to the diagnostic phase, but instead an unexpected increase in switch costs in the previous high task switch frequency context. Moreover, there were no modulations of effects by need for cognition. However, there were increases in switch costs during the diagnostic phase for participants who showed a response to the manipulation during the learning phase. Altogether, our results suggests that context indeed plays a role in our ability to adjust to demand on cognitive flexibility. Facilitating associations between these two can modulate task switching performance in terms of speed and accuracy.Show less
Objective: Patients with psychiatric disorders often experience problems with executive functioning, including cognitive flexibility, planning, and working memory. Prior results on healthy subjects...Show moreObjective: Patients with psychiatric disorders often experience problems with executive functioning, including cognitive flexibility, planning, and working memory. Prior results on healthy subjects suggest that a low Socio-Economic Status (SES) might be related to such problems. However, little research has been done regarding the relationship between deficits in executive functioning and SES within psychiatric populations. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the possible relationships between the SES and three executive functions in patients with psychiatric disorders using a transdiagnostic approach. We also tentatively explored the relationship between SES and executive functions as a function of the different diagnostic groups to evaluate whether this relationship itself is transdiagnostic. Method: A total of 298 patients diagnosed with different psychiatric disorders were included in this study: schizophrenia and psychosis (103), major depressive disorders (100), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (95). The participants’ cognitive flexibility, planning, and working memory was evaluated using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). The area-level SES (an index for SES) data were obtained from the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). Results: Area-level SES was significantly negatively related to cognitive flexibility (β = -.043, p = .007). However, area-level SES was not related to planning (p =.072) nor to working memory (p = .412). The relationship between area-level SES and executive functioning by diagnostic category was non-significant (p = .355). Conclusion: The results of the current study indicated that a high area-level SES was associated with a higher degree of cognitive flexibility. The study also suggests that the relationship between area-level SES and cognitive flexibility cuts across psychiatric disorders and could be considered as a transdiagnostic mechanism. Healthcare providers could use area-level SES to predict which patients might require extra attention regarding deficits in cognitive flexibility. This study can also function as a steppingstone for future research into the relationship between SES and executive functions in psychiatric populations as it provides insight into the pitfalls and possible remedies for applying aggregate (area-level) data at the individual level.Show less
The prospect of reward has increasingly been shown to influence modes of cognitive control. Recent work by Fröber and Dreisbach (2016) showed that performance contingent reward increases proactive...Show moreThe prospect of reward has increasingly been shown to influence modes of cognitive control. Recent work by Fröber and Dreisbach (2016) showed that performance contingent reward increases proactive control, while non-contingent reward decreases proactive control and possibly increases reactive control. According to the Metacontrol State Model (Hommel, 2015), the differential effects of reward on cognitive control can be understood as a tradeoff between cognitive persistence and flexibility. Persistence refers to a mode of control that allows for strong maintenance of goal-relevant information and the suppression of irrelevant information, while flexibility refers to a mode of control that facilitates switching between tasks by allowing for more efficient consideration of irrelevant information. While evidence suggests that contingent reward promotes persistence and non-contingent reward decreases persistence, it is not clear whether non-contingent reward promotes flexibility. The aim of the present study was to expand on previous findings by investigating whether contingent reward promotes persistence and whether non-contingent reward promotes flexibility, by employing two cognitive tasks that presumably benefit from either persistence or flexibility, namely the Simon task and the Attentional Blink task. Participants were allocated to three conditions (e.g., contingent, non-contingent, and control) and performed both tasks in a single session. Participant allocation and task completion were counterbalanced. Both performance contingent and non-contingent reward promoted cognitive flexibility in the Simon task, or at least decreased cognitive persistence, but had no effect in the Attentional blink task. While these results support the general finding that reward differentially modulates cognitive control, they further underline the importance of considering the cognitive paradigm used to assess changes in cognitive control.Show less
Background: Several studies have shown that problems in the executive functions (EF) underlie social deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The 'Socio-cognitive integration of abilities model’...Show moreBackground: Several studies have shown that problems in the executive functions (EF) underlie social deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The 'Socio-cognitive integration of abilities model’ has shown that there is an interaction between cognitive functions and the factors which influence social behaviour. Aim: This research focuses on the predictive value of executive functions (inhibition, cognitive flexibility and working memory) and receptive language on the social behaviour of typically developing young children. Method: 38 children between 3 and 6 years (M = 4.2, SD = .99) of age participated in this study. In a quantitative study the results of the receptive language test and questionnaires about social deficits and executive functioning were analysed. The ‘Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III-NL’ was used to assess receptive language and parent-report questionnaire measures ‘Social Responsiveness Scale’ and ‘Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions Preschool version’ were used to assess social problems and executive functions, respectively. Results: This study shows that receptive language and executive functions (subtests: inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility) were related to social problems. Higher levels of problems in working memory and cognitive flexibility were associated with more social problems. However, higher levels of problems in inhibition were related to less social problems. Higher levels of receptive language were related to less social problems. Discussion: Results and suggestions for future research are discussed.Show less
Children with increased global self-worth obtain better school results than children with low self-worth. Therefore it can be beneficial to provide children with a training that can potentially...Show moreChildren with increased global self-worth obtain better school results than children with low self-worth. Therefore it can be beneficial to provide children with a training that can potentially increase their self-competence. The feeling of self-worth is build up from multiple domains, such as in school, with their peers and their performance practicing sports. Executive functioning (EF) is a term containing a variety of learning skills that can help children in their learning process, which can increase children’s feeling of self-worth in their performance at school. The most basal EF inhibition, cognitive flexibility and working memory are researched in this study. The project Talentenkracht aimed at improving EF by training teachers from primary schools to increase explorative learning by asking children more explorative questions. This current study looked at whether the training had a positive effect on EF and whether this effect caused an increase on self-efficacy beliefs in children aged 9 to 12. In total 79 children from two schools participated, of which 46 children from one school were in the group where the teachers were trained and 33 children were from another school and formed the control group. The data was collected with the Amsterdamse Neuropsychologische Taken (ANT) to test EF and Competentiebelevingsschaal voor Kinderen (CBSK) for self-efficacy beliefs. No correlation was found between EF and self-efficacy beliefs at baseline or with changes in scores over time. In addition, there was an increase in inhibition and cognitive flexibility, not in working memory, but no increase in EF caused by the training. Since previous researches show there’s a relation between EF and self-efficacy beliefs and between EF and behavioural problems it’s important to further research the impact of EF on emotional development and how to improve EF with lowest scoring children.Show less
This study investigates the consistency of the parental social functioning and executive functions in children. Known is the impact of social strain in parents on their functioning and that the...Show moreThis study investigates the consistency of the parental social functioning and executive functions in children. Known is the impact of social strain in parents on their functioning and that the parental behaviour influences the development of executive functions in children. But unknown is if there is a consistency of parental social functioning on executive functions in children. The 76 boys and 84 girls are aged four to seven years and tested at school. Their parents completed questionnaires. The parental social functioning is represented by two variables, the experience of social strain and the frequency of behaviour in social situations. The executive functions in children that are involved are cognitive flexibility, inhibition and working memory. The experience of social strain in parents does have a significant correlation with cognitive flexibility and inhibition in children. There are no significant relations found between the frequency of behaviour in social situations and working memory. Apparently, current research shows that social strain in parents has a relation with cognitive flexibility and inhibition in children, which may clear the impact of regulation in parents on the development of executive functions in children. A recommendation for further research is to check the executive functions in parents because of the possibility of heredity factors.Show less
