Changing Nature of Executive Control in Preschool

Kimberly Andrews Espy, Ph.D., is the Senior Vice President for Research at the University of Arizona and Director of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her research focuses on identifying the antecedents of learning, attention, and behavioral disorders in medically at-risk populations, including those born prematurely, those exposed to substances of abuse during pregnancy, and those exposed to neurotoxins in the environment. For the past two decades, she has studied the normative development of emergent executive control skills in young children and infants.

• CONTENTSI. EXECUTIVE CONTROL IN EARLY CHILDHOOD.........................7C. A. C. Clark, N. Chevalier, J. M. Nelson, T. D. James,J. P. Garza, H.-J.Choi, and K. A. EspyII. THE PRESCHOOL PROBLEM SOLVING STUDY: SAMPLE, DATA, AND STATISTICAL METHODS...........................30T. D. James, H.-J.Choi, S. A. Wiebe, and K. A. EspyIII. DISTINGUISHING EXECUTIVE CONTROL FROM OVERLAPPING FOUNDATIONAL COGNITIVE ABILITIES DURING THE PRESCHOOL PERIOD..........................47J. M. Nelson,T. D. James, H.-J. Choi, C. A. C. Clark, S. A. Wiebe, and K. A. EspyIV. A NEW LOOK AT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE SOCIO-FAMILIAL CONTEXT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN’S EXECUTIVE CONTROL: CLARIFYING THE MECHANISMS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES....................69C. A. C. Clark, T. D. James, and K. A. EspyV. ELUCIDATING NEW PATHWAYS TO DIMENSIONS OF ADHD SYMPTOMS IN PRESCHOOL BY JOINTLY MODELING EXECUTIVE CONTROL AND FOUNDATIONAL COGNITIVE ABILITIES.......................................96J. M. Nelson, T. D. James, and K. A. EspyVI. EXECUTIVE CONTROL IN PRESCHOOLERS: NEW MODELS, NEW RESULTS, NEW IMPLICATIONS.................111K. A. Espy, C. A. C. Clark, J. P. Garza, J. M. Nelson, T. D. James, and H.-J. ChoiREFERENCES..............................................................................129ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................150COMMENTARYCOMMENTARY ON THE CHANGING NATURE OF EXECUTIVE CONTROL IN PRESCHOOL.....................................151Michael T. WilloughbyCONTRIBUTORS........................................................................166STATEMENT OF EDITORIAL POLICY...........................................168SUBJECT INDEX........................................................................170