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
The inconsistency paradigm of Beker, Van den Broek and Lorch (2013) defines a theory about the activation and use of previously read information in other texts. In their research this theory is...Show moreThe inconsistency paradigm of Beker, Van den Broek and Lorch (2013) defines a theory about the activation and use of previously read information in other texts. In their research this theory is proven for adults and the current research examines whether children learn from reading texts. Working memory, instruction, reading ability and grade were included to test the influence on the learning effect. The research group contained 39 grade 4-students (groep 6) and 43 grade 6-students (groep 8) from several primary schools. During the research two tests were conducted: a reading task on the laptop and a working memory task. The reading ability was measured through national standardized tests provided by the teachers. In the reading task texts with an inconsistency were preceded by either a text with or without an explanation. During the task the reading time of an inconsistent target sentence was measured. This would show whether information from a prior text was activated during reading. Half of the group got the instruction to use the information of the first text in the second text, the other half did not get this instruction. The results showed that the target sentence was read faster when the explanation was read first (F(1,81) = 10.45, p = .002). Differences in working memory capacity did not influence the learning effect, neither did reading ability, instruction or schoolgrade. Children learn from reading texts and activate and use this information in other reading situations. Explanations for and implications of the results are provided.Show less
Abstract A world-wide problem has been found with children in the fourth grade learning from expository text. Little is known about the effects of different text types and individual differences on...Show moreAbstract A world-wide problem has been found with children in the fourth grade learning from expository text. Little is known about the effects of different text types and individual differences on reading process and reading comprehension. In this study the effects of vocabulary and working memory capacity on expository and narrative texts is measured and the differences in reading processes and reading comprehension between groups of readers at the age of 7 is investigated. The results show that expository text are more difficult for young readers than narrative texts, while there are longer fixations in expository texts and readers find it difficult to answer questions of the these texts. Readers with a low vocabulary show longer fixations the readers with a high vocabulary and the have more difficulties in giving the right answers on the inference questions. No effect is found of working memory capacity on reading process, but there is an effect of working memory capacity on inference questions. Readers with a low working memory capacity find it harder to answer the inference questions than readers with a high working memory capacity. Readers with a low working memory capacity have little “room” in their heads to remember information of the texts. A second comparison has been made between weak and strong comprehenders. Weak comprehenders made more errors on the inference questions than strong comprehenders. With a regression analysis the effects of vocabulary seems to partly explain the differences between weak and strong comprehenders.Show less
The inference making ability of good and poor comprehenders were assessed by means of a think-aloud procedure. Inference making is the online process of connecting different parts of a text and the...Show moreThe inference making ability of good and poor comprehenders were assessed by means of a think-aloud procedure. Inference making is the online process of connecting different parts of a text and the connection of parts of the texts with background knowledge. Special interest of the current research was the role of vocabulary and working memory in inference making ability. The results indicated that good and poor comprehenders differ in their inference making ability. Poor comprehenders make more text repetitions while good comprehenders make more elaborative inferences. This seems to be influenced by vocabulary and working memory. Good comprehenders have a greater vocabulary knowledge and a greater working memory capacity and this stimulates elaborative inferencing. Poor comprehenders have less vocabulary knowledge and working memory capacity and this limitates their ability to make elaborative inferences. Vocabulary knowledge and working memory capacity affects the inference making ability and thereby affects the construction of a coherent mental representation of the text.Show less
In the last 100 years sleep duration of children declined with one hour a night. This is alarming, because it has been established that sleep duration has an influence on cognitive functions of...Show moreIn the last 100 years sleep duration of children declined with one hour a night. This is alarming, because it has been established that sleep duration has an influence on cognitive functions of children. To enhance the optimal development of boys and girls, we examined whether gender moderates the association between sleep duration and cognitive functioning. In this study 501 children, 229 boys and 272 girls, with an average age of 10.5 years participated. Parents kept a sleep diary for their child. The child completed various computer tasks which measure cognitive functions attention, inhibition and working memory. These were respectively the PVT, the PVT Go/No-Go and Digit Span. At home, the child did four Word pair tasks to measure declarative memory. Correlation analyses showed that shorter sleep duration was significantly associated with more attention (r = .18), less inhibition (r = .11) and better working memory (r = -.19), but not with declarative memory. Gender did not moderate the relations sleep duration and cognitive functions. However, girls performed significantly better than boys on the cognitive functions inhibition and working memory. Parents, teachers, social workers and children should know that short sleep duration as well as long sleep duration is associated with declined cognitive functioning, so the development of children can be advanced. It is also important to examine the best sleep duration for children of different ages, so they can use their best attention, working memory and inhibition and they can develop optimally.Show less
Introduction: Research on the development of executive functions (EF) in children can focus on multiple facets, but can also focus on a specific part such as planning, working memory and inhibition...Show moreIntroduction: Research on the development of executive functions (EF) in children can focus on multiple facets, but can also focus on a specific part such as planning, working memory and inhibition. The various executive functions can be distinguished clearly from each other, but cannot be seen independently. There is no clear data on the differences in the development of EF between boys and girls in their childhood. The present study focuses on the development of the executive functions planning, inhibition and working memory in boys and girls aged four to seven years over a period of one year. Methods: This study consisted of 462 children of the data from the ongoing study ‘Talentenkracht’. The data was collected between January to April 2009 (T1) and between January to May 2010 (T2). In this study, the executive functions planning (subtest "zoo map" of the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome for Children (BADS-NL)), inhibition (subtest GoNoGo of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (ANT)) and working memory (subtest Spatial Temporal Sequencing (STS) on the ANT) were investigated. Using paired-samples T-tests and univariate analyses of variance, the relation and development of the three executive functions, gender and age have been studied. Results: This study involved 247 boys (53.5%) and 215 girls (46.5%). The mean age (M) at T1 was 5.2 years and at T2 6.2 years. The mean outcome on T1 for planning was -1.45, inhibition 34.4 and working memory 12.0. This was at T2 -1.03, 28.4 and 22.4, respectively. For boys and girls, there was a significant difference in mean outcomes between T1 and T2 for inhibition and working memory. The development of inhibition has a significant relationship with gender at T1 and T2. Both measurements remained significantly different after adjustment for age. In the development of the working memory, there is both a significant relationship with age at T1 as well as at T2. Conclusions: The present study showed differences in the development of the executive functions planning, inhibition and working memory in boys and girls aged four to seven years. Apart from the expected (natural) development of the EF over a period of 11.3 months average, gender was also a profound influence on inhibition. As for planning, no significant results did occur. In the development of the EF memory, time is more indicative than gender.Show less
There is an increasing amount of research stressing the importance of executive functions in learning during childhood. This study examined i) the relation between executive functioning (working...Show moreThere is an increasing amount of research stressing the importance of executive functions in learning during childhood. This study examined i) the relation between executive functioning (working memory, inhibition problems and dysexecutive behaviour) and the development of receptive and expressive language skills and ii) whether executive functioning predicts the development of language skills. This longitudinal study tested 207 children aged between 4 to 8 years in 2009 (M age =5.28) and again in 2010 (M age =6.42) using a battery of cognitive measures and parent ratings of dysexecutive behaviour of their child. Correlational and regression analyses revealed that working memory was related to both expressive and receptive language, but only predicted the level of receptive language. Inhibition problems were only related to and a predictor of expressive language. Dysexecutive behaviour was not related to language. Implications of the findings for education are discussed.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2016-01-01T00:00:00Z
This study examined whether temperament is a moderator of the association between sleep duration and the cognitive functions alertness, inhibition, and working memory in 130 children (56 boys and...Show moreThis study examined whether temperament is a moderator of the association between sleep duration and the cognitive functions alertness, inhibition, and working memory in 130 children (56 boys and 74 girls) aged 9 to 11 years. The children completed a short 3-min version of the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), a GoNogo task and a visual Digit Span test. Furthermore, a questionnaire regarding temperament (EATQ-R) was filled out by the children. Parents kept a sleep log for a week. ANCOVA results showed that the relation between average sleep duration on weekdays and alertness (PVT mean reaction time (RT) and PVT number of lapses) was moderated by the temperament traits extraversion (pPVT_RT = .030, η2 = .05; pPVT_lapses = .076, η2 = .03) and negative affectivity (pPVT_RT = .039, η2 = .04; pPVT_lapses = .057, η2 = .04). Relatively high levels of extraversion or low levels of negative affectivity were associated with more adverse effects of inadequate sleep on alertness. For inhibition and working memory this effect was not found. No significant interaction effects appeared for the other temperament traits: effortful control and affiliativeness. We conclude that the sensitivity for sleep related cognitive decrements in children can be partly explained by differences in temperamental traits.Show less
Deze studie onderzocht het effect van drie nachten slaapbeperking ( ≥ 30 minuten) op het werkgeheugen en het beoordelen van de betrouwbaarheid van gezichten. Gedurende drie weken werden kinderen in...Show moreDeze studie onderzocht het effect van drie nachten slaapbeperking ( ≥ 30 minuten) op het werkgeheugen en het beoordelen van de betrouwbaarheid van gezichten. Gedurende drie weken werden kinderen in hun natuurlijke omgeving blootgesteld aan drie experimentele condities (baseline, slaapbeperking en slaapverlenging). Er werd gecounterbalanced voor volgorde van experimentele conditie en washout periodes werden ingezet om overdraagbare effecten van de condities te voorkomen. Van de geworven respondenten (N = 57) is bij 63% (19 meisjes, 13 jongens) het beperken van de slaapduur gelukt (vermindering van slaapduur van tenminste 30 minuten t.o.v. de baseline). Deze kinderen (M leeftijd = 9.87 jaar) sliepen tijdens slaapbeperking significant korter (M = 566.30 minuten, SD = 30.78) dan tijdens een normale week slaap (M = 616.37 minuten, SD = 30.06). Er werd geen effect gevonden van slaapbeperking op het werkgeheugen en het beoordelen van de betrouwbaarheid van gezichten. Echter, kinderen beoordeelden gezichten significant sneller na slaapbeperking p < .001). Hoewel significante effecten van de moderatoren op de slaapduur, de cognitie en de emotie uitbleven, werden er duidelijke trends waargenomen. Zo onderscheidden ochtendtypes zich van gemiddelde types en avondtypes. Zij hadden een langere slaapduur,sliepen in het weekend minder en slaapbeperking leek geen invloed te hebben op hun werkgeheugen. Bovendien beoordeelden zij de betrouwbaarheid van gezichten, in tegenstelling tot de twee andere types, positiever tijdens slaapbeperking dan tijdens de baseline. Aangezien experimentele slaaponderzoeken bij kinderen schaars zijn, leveren deze resultaten een substantiële bijdrage aan de wetenschappelijke literatuur.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
Een goede nachtrust is van belang voor het goed kunnen functioneren in het dagelijks leven. Dit geldt niet alleen voor volwassenen, maar ook voor kinderen. Het effect van slaaptekort of een teveel...Show moreEen goede nachtrust is van belang voor het goed kunnen functioneren in het dagelijks leven. Dit geldt niet alleen voor volwassenen, maar ook voor kinderen. Het effect van slaaptekort of een teveel aan slaap is bij kinderen nog niet voldoende onderzocht. In dit onderzoek wordt het effect gemeten van een uur slaapbeperking of een uur slaapverlenging op het functioneren van het werkgeheugen bij kinderen in de basisschoolleeftijd. Het werkgeheugen is een cognitieve functie die bij kinderen helpt om goed mee te kunnen op school en om op de juiste wijze om te gaan met sociale situaties. Het is daarom een belangrijke factor voor het effect van slaaptekort. De mogelijkheid bestaat dat de invloed op het werkgeheugen, van het slaaptekort of teveel slaap, beïnvloedt wordt door het chronotype. Dit chronotype bepaalt op welk tijdstip op de dag het lichaam het meest actief is en men het beste kan functioneren. Aan het onderzoek namen 57 kinderen deel in de leeftijd van acht tot en met elf jaar op het regulier basisonderwijs. Met behulp van een slaaplogboek en een neuropsychologische taak voor het meten van het werkgeheugen (cijferreeksen) is gekeken wat het effect is van een uur slaapbeperking of verlenging gedurende drie dagen. Slaapbeperking of slaapverlenging heeft geen significant effect op de totaal score van cijferreeksen (F(2, 24)= 2.49; p= .09) en cijferreeksen achterwaarts (F(2,24)= 1.06; p= .35). Er is wel een significant effect op de cijferreeksen voorwaarts (F(2,24)= 6.02; p= .005). De kinderen halen een significant hogere score op de taak cijferreeksen voorwaarts na een slaapverlenging of slaapbeperking. Een verklaring voor het effect bij cijferreeksen voorwaarts komt mogelijk door een leereffect dat behaald is op de taak cijferreeksen. Een interactie effect met chronotype wordt niet gevonden, door een mogelijk te kleine steekproef.Show less
Het doel van deze studie was om de relatie te onderzoeken tussen slaapbeperking en het functioneren van het werkgeheugen bij kinderen. De onderzoeksgroep bestond uit 55 kinderen van acht tot en met...Show moreHet doel van deze studie was om de relatie te onderzoeken tussen slaapbeperking en het functioneren van het werkgeheugen bij kinderen. De onderzoeksgroep bestond uit 55 kinderen van acht tot en met elf jaar oud. Om het functioneren van het werkgeheugen te meten werd gebruik gemaakt van de test Cijferreeksen. De slaapduur is experimenteel gemanipuleerd door de kinderen gedurende drie dagen één uur eerder naar bed te laten gaan. Door middel van een logboek is de slaapduur berekend. De onderzoeksgroep is verdeeld in een groep waarbij de slaapduur met minimaal dertig minuten is beperkt (SB) en een groep waarbij de slaapduur niet voldoende is veranderd (GV). Allereerst was er geen significante relatie tussen de slaapduur en de prestatie op Cijferreeksen. Wel zorgde de kortere slaapduur voor een verminderd uitgeslapen gevoel in de SB groep. Daarnaast blijkt er een geringe samenhang in de gehele groep tussen de mate waarin de slaapbeperking is gelukt en de mate waarin de slaperigheid is toegenomen. Dit verband valt weg wanneer de groep wordt onderverdeeld in SB en GV. Geconcludeerd kan worden dat er geen aantoonbaar effect is van de kortere slaapduur op het werkgeheugen.Show less
Er is nog geen consensus bereikt over de opbouw van executieve functies (EF) bij jonge kinderen. Dit onderzoek onderzocht daarom, met behulp van de Nederlandse versie van de BRIEF-P, de...Show moreEr is nog geen consensus bereikt over de opbouw van executieve functies (EF) bij jonge kinderen. Dit onderzoek onderzocht daarom, met behulp van de Nederlandse versie van de BRIEF-P, de ontwikkeling van executieve functies bij 731 kinderen tussen de 2 en 5 jaar oud in Nederland. De resultaten bevestigden de verwachting dat de verschillende domeinen van EF via verschillende ontwikkelingspaden verlopen. Er werden resultaten gevonden die aansluiten bij een al eerder gevonden ontwikkelingspatroon, waarbij aandachtsprocessen zich als eerste ontwikkelen gevolgd door de ontwikkeling van achtereenvolgens het werkgeheugen, inhibitie, cognitieve flexibiliteit en planning. Voor het domein werkgeheugen werd een significant leeftijdseffect gevonden, waarbij de 4/5 jarigen significant lager scoorden dan de 2/3 jarigen. Deze resultaten geven meer inzicht in de (normale en afwijkende) ontwikkeling en opbouw van EF bij kinderen tussen de 2 en 5 jaar oud in Nederland. Meer onderzoek, waarbij gebruik wordt gemaakt van verschillende meetinstrumenten, is van belang om deze resultaten te bevestigen.Show less
