Imagine that you are teaching a class on executive functioning in early childhood to parents of preschool children. Explain what parents need to understand about executive functioning in early childhood, including the three processes of executive functioning.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The ideal answer should include:
1. Parents should first understand that executive functioning includes the deliberate and conscious control of thoughts, actions, and emotions in order to achieve goals or solve problems.
2. These skills are rapidly developing in early childhood.
3. There are three processes involved in executive functioning:
a) Working memory, retaining and operating on information in short-term memory
b) Inhibition of responses or thoughts
c) Shifting between mental states, rules, or tasks
4. The prefrontal cortex is heavily involved in executive functions.
5. Higher prefrontal activation is associated with better performance on rule switching, working memory, and inhibition tasks.