Browsing by Author "Kerns, Kimberly"

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    The contribution of executive function and social understanding to preschoolers’ letter and math skills
    (Cognitive Development, 2013) Miller, Michael; Müller, Ulrich; Giesbrecht, Gerald; Carpendale, Jeremy; Kerns, Kimberly
    The influence of executive function and social understanding on letter and math skills was examined in 129 3–5-year-olds. Tasks were administered to measure working memory, inhibition, social understanding, letter and math skills, and vocabulary. Using latent variable analyses, multiple models were compared in order to examine the influence of executive function and social understanding on participants’ emerging academic skills. In the best-fitting model, working memory contributed to letter and math skills, over and above inhibition, social understanding, age, and vocabulary. Inhibition and social understanding did not uniquely contribute to letter and math skills, but significant relations were found among working memory, inhibition, and social understanding. Findings are discussed with respect to improving ways to examine the complex relations among preschoolers’ executive function, social understanding, and school readiness skills.
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    A Latent Variable Approach to Determining the Structure of Executive Function in Preschool Children
    (Journal of Cognition and Development, 2012) Miller, Michael; Giesbrecht, Gerald; Müller, Ulrich; McInerney, Robert; Kerns, Kimberly
    The composition of executive function (EF) in preschool children was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A sample of 129 children between 3 and 5 years of age completed a battery of EF tasks. Using performance indicators of working memory and inhibition similar to previous CFA studies with preschoolers, we replicated a unitary EF factor structure. Next, additional performance indicators were included to distinctly measure working memory, set shifting, and inhibition factors. A two-factor model consisting of working memory and inhibition fit the data better than both a single-factor model and a three-factor model. Findings suggest that the structure of EF in preschoolers that emerges from CFA is influenced by task and performance indicator selection.