Re-examination of the Role of Executive Function in Sentence Processing Development: Inhibition versus Cognitive Flexibility (문장 처리 능력 발달에서 실행 기능의 역할 재검증: 억제인가 인지적 유연성인가?)

Nam, Minji (남민지); Youngon Choi (최영은)

Re-examination of the Role of Executive Function in Sentence Processing Development: Inhibition versus Cognitive Flexibility

THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
2016, 29(3), pp.231-251
Publisher : The Korean Society For Developmental Psychology
Research Area : Social Science > Psychological Science

Nam, Minji ¹, Youngon Choi ¹

¹중앙대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Cognitive control hypothesis proposed that 4-5-year-old children’s immature inhibitory control leads children to commit unique interpretation errors in processing a temporary ambiguous sentence. However recent findings showed a tendency of association between cognitive flexibility and children’s sentence processing ability rather than inhibitory control. The present study examined which component of executive function between inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, directly relates to 4-5-year-old children’s sentence processing ability. Using flanker task, children’s cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control were measured. A sentence act-out task was also administered to measure children’s sentence processing abilities. The results showed that cognitive flexibility indexed by sequential congruency effect significantly and uniquely contributed to children’s sentence interpretation errors, after controlling age, working memory, and abilities processing unambiguous sentences. By contrast, inhibitory control was not related to sentence processing. These results demonstrate that cognitive flexibility plays a more crucial role than inhibition in the development of child sentence processing ability, suggesting further that active goal/cue monitoring may be an important aspect of sentence processing abilities.

KEYWORDS

sentence processing, Language development, Executive Function, Cognitive flexibility, Inhibitory control, Sequential congruency effect, Proactive control

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

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