Examining relations between performance on non‐verbal executive function and verbal self‐regulation tasks in demographically‐diverse populations
Natalia Bezerra Dutra, Lydia Chen, Adote Anum, Oskar Bürger, Helen Davis, Vivian Dzokoto, Frankie T. K. Fong, Sabrina Ghelardi, Kimberly Mendez, Emily J. E. Messer, Morgan Newhouse, Mark Nielsen, Karlos Ramos, Bruce Rawlings, Renan A. C. dos Santos, Lara G. S. Silveira, Elliot M. Tucker–Drob, Cristine H. Legare
Abstract
Self-regulation is a widely studied construct, generally assumed to be cognitively supported by executive functions (EFs). There is a lack of clarity and consensus over the roles of specific components of EFs in self-regulation. The current study examines the relations between performance on (a) a self-regulation task (Heads, Toes, Knees Shoulders Task) and (b) two EF tasks (Knox Cube and Beads Tasks) that measure different components of updating: working memory and short-term memory, respectively. We compared 107 8- to 13-year-old children (64 females) across demographically-diverse populations in four low and middle-income countries, including: Tanna, Vanuatu; Keningau, Malaysia; Saltpond, Ghana; and Natal, Brazil. The communities we studied vary in market integration/urbanicity as well as level of access, structure, and quality of schooling. We found that performance on the visuospatial working memory task (Knox Cube) and the visuospatial short-term memory task (Beads) are each independently associated with performance on the self-regulation task, even when controlling for schooling and location effects. These effects were robust across demographically-diverse populations of children in low-and middle-income countries. We conclude that this study found evidence supporting visuospatial working memory and visuospatial short-term memory as distinct cognitive processes which each support the development of self-regulation.