What is the contribution of executive functions to communicative-pragmatic skills? Insights from aging and different types of pragmatic inference

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Bambini ◽  
Lotte Van Looy ◽  
Kevin Demiddele ◽  
Walter Schaeken
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Pragmatic Inference ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Pragmatic Skills

Bilingualism and cognition: A focus on mechanisms

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
VIRGINIA VALIAN
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
List Type ◽  
Type Number ◽  
Old People ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Children And Young Adults ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

The goal of my keynote article, “Bilingualism and Cognition” (Valian, 2014), was to resolve the inconsistencies in effects of bilingualism on executive functions, whether the individuals were children, young adults, or old people. To summarize (and sharpen) my argument: 1.Especially in children and young adults, benefits of bilingualism for executive functions are not reliable. In old people, there are benefits for executive functions but contradictory results on delay of cognitive impairment, depending on whether studies are retrospective or prospective.2.All experiences that have benefits for executive functions and aging – and there are many – yield inconsistent effects. Bilingualism is not alone.3.Three reasons for inconsistencies in bilingualism and other experiences are: a.Executive function and cognitive reserve are broad cover terms for a variety of mechanisms, most of which are ill-understood. Because we mean different things by ‘executive function’ from one experiment to the next, we can both think we don't have an effect when we do and think we have an effect when we don’t.b.Tasks are impure: apparently similar tasks measure different aspects of executive function and measure other aspects of cognition as well. Because we lack a good analysis of tasks, we too often do not know what we are measuring. I encourage readers to examine the demos in the supplementary materials of the keynote article to see for themselves what the tasks are like.c.Individuals engage in many different activities that may be on a par with bilingualism in their benefits.4.Different types of bilingual experience are unlikely to explain the variability of findings, given the inconsistencies in extant data on varieties of bilingualism.5.There is a benefit of bilingualism, but bilingualism competes with other sources of benefits. Especially for children and young adults, whose daily lives are full of cognitively enriching and challenging experiences, we should expect variability in effects of being bilingual.6.The way forward is to focus on underlying mechanisms.

scholarly journals Association between CCC-2 and Structural Language, Pragmatics, Social Cognition, and Executive Functions in Children with Developmental Language Disorder

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Clara Andrés-Roqueta ◽  
Irene Garcia-Molina ◽  
Raquel Flores-Buils
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Spanish Version ◽  
Typical Development ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Pragmatic Skills ◽  
Child Assessments ◽  
Direct Child ◽  
Structural Language

(1) Background: Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is diagnosed when the child experiences problems in language with no known underlying biomedical condition and the information required for its correct evaluation must be obtained from different contexts. The Children’s Communication Checklist (CCC-2) covers aspects of a child’s communication related to structural language and pragmatic skills, which are linked to social cognition or executive functions. The aim of this article is to examine parents’ reports using the Spanish version of the CCC-2 questionnaire and its association with different formal assessments related to communication. (2) Methods: 30 children with DLD (3; 10–9 years old) and 39 age-matched (AM) children with typical development were assessed using formal measures of structural language, pragmatics, social cognition, and executive functions. Parents of children with DLD answered the Spanish version of the CCC-2. (3) Results: The performance of children with DLD was lower in all the formal assessments in comparison to AM children. The CCC-2 was significantly correlated with all the direct child assessments, although only formal measures of structural language predicted both the structural language and pragmatics scales of the CCC-2. (4) Conclusions: The CCC-2 answered by parents was consistent with formal assessments in children with DLD, and structural language seemed to be the best predictor of all the subscales.

scholarly journals Temporal discounting and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in childhood: reasons for devising different tasks

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Augusto Utsumi ◽  
Mônica Carolina Miranda
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Pediatric Patients ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Temporal Discounting ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Monetary Rewards ◽  
Different Types

Abstract Introduction: Temporal discounting (TD) describes how a certain reward is seen as less valuable the more its delivery is postponed. There are two main types of TD tasks, hypothetical and real, both of which use monetary rewards. Over the last few years, however, variants of these tasks have been adjusted to assess clinical groups of children showing impulsivity as found in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Objective: To review and discuss studies conducted over the last 10 years on the use of TD tasks in the assessment of pediatric patients with ADHD. Method: For this literature review, articles were non-systematically selected from PubMed, MEDLINE and SciELO databases to include experimental studies on the use of at least one TD paradigm to assess and distinguish ADHD and non-ADHD groups. Results: Of the studies assessed, 76.19% used hypothetical tasks, followed by real tasks (28.57%), and, finally, tasks using different types of reward, such as toys or rewarding activities (14.28%). Conclusions: Although assessed in few studies, real and alternative tasks appeared to be effective in differentiating clinical groups and suitable for investigating hot executive functions in childhood.

Exploring the Linguistic, Cognitive, and Social Skills Underlying Lexical Processing Efficiency as Measured by the Looking-while-Listening Paradigm

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Samuel RONFARD ◽  
Ran WEI ◽  
Meredith L. ROWE
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Fast Mapping ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Pragmatic Skills ◽  
Mapping Task

Abstract The looking-while-listening (LWL) paradigm is frequently used to measure toddlers’ lexical processing efficiency (LPE). Children's LPE is associated with vocabulary size, yet other linguistic, cognitive, or social skills contributing to LPE are not well understood. It also remains unclear whether LPE measures from two types of LWL trials (target-initial versus distractor-initial trials) are differentially associated with the abovementioned potential correlates of LPE. We tested 18- to 24-month-olds and found that children's word learning on a fast-mapping task was associated with LPE measures from all trials and distractor-initial trials but not target-initial trials. Children's vocabulary and pragmatic skills were both associated with their fast-mapping performance. Executive functions and pragmatic skills were associated with LPE measures from distractor-initial but not target-initial trials. Hence, LPE as measured by the LWL paradigm may reflect a constellation of skills important to language development. Methodological implications for future studies using the LWL paradigm are discussed.

scholarly journals Associations Between Toddler-Age Communication and Kindergarten-Age Self-Regulatory Skills

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 1405-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuija Aro ◽  
Marja-Leena Laakso ◽  
Sira Määttä ◽  
Asko Tolvanen ◽  
Anna-Maija Poikkeus
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Behavioral Activity ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Early Language Development ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Language Profiles

Purpose In this study, the authors aimed at gaining understanding on the associations of different types of early language and communication profiles with later self-regulation skills by using longitudinal data from toddler age to kindergarten age. Method Children with early language profiles representing expressive delay, broad delay (i.e., expressive, social, and/or symbolic), and typical language development were compared in domains of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills (attentional/executive functions, regulation of emotions and behavioral activity, and social skills) assessed with parental questionnaires. Results Children with delay in toddler-age language development demonstrated poorer kindergarten-age self-regulation skills than children with typical early language development. Broad early language delays were associated with compromised social skills and attentional/executive functions, and early expressive delays were associated with a generally lower level of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills. Regression analyses showed that both earlier and concurrent language had an effect especially on the attentional/executive functions. Conclusions The findings suggest that different aspects of toddler-age language have differential associations with later self-regulation. Possible mechanisms linking early language development to later self-regulative development are discussed.

The Effects of Total Sleep Deprivation on the Generation of Random Sequences of Key-Presses, Numbers and Nouns

2005 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert Heuer ◽  
Olaf Kohlisch ◽  
Wolfhard Klein
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Deprivation ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Random Generation ◽  
Total Sleep Deprivation ◽  
Representativeness Heuristic ◽  
Response Sets ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Prepotent Responses

According to a recent hypothesis, executive functions should be particularly vulnerable to the effects of total sleep deprivation. Random generation is a task that taps executive functions. In three experiments we examined the effects of total sleep deprivation on random generation of keypresses, numbers, and nouns, in particular on the suppression of prepotent responses and the selection of next responses by way of applying a local-representativeness heuristic. With random key-presses suppression of prepotent responses did not suffer from lack of sleep, but it became poorer at a sufficiently high pacing rate. In contrast, suppression of prepotent responses suffered when numbers and nouns were generated. According to these findings different types of random generation tasks involve different types of inhibitory process. With only four response alternatives, but not with larger response sets, application of the local-representativeness heuristic was impaired after a night without sleep. In terms of a simple formal model, serial-order representations of the preceding responses are used in selecting the next response only for the small response set, and not for larger response sets. Thus, serial-order representations are likely to suffer from loss of sleep. These findings strongly suggest that random generation involves multiple processes and that total sleep deprivation does not impair all sorts of executive functions, but only some.

scholarly journals The role of executive functions in the pragmatic skills of children age 4–5

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bénédicte Blain-Brière ◽  
Caroline Bouchard ◽  
Nathalie Bigras
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Pragmatic Skills

scholarly journals Pragmática da Linguagem e Ensino da Compreensão Leitora: Revisão de Estudos

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-536
Author(s):  
Terezinha das Graças Laguardia Oliveira ◽  
Sandra Regina Kirchner Guimarães
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Reading Performance ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Pragmatic Language ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Good Reading ◽  
Pragmatic Skills ◽  
Teaching Interventions ◽  
Competent Reading

ResumoA proficiência na compreensão da leitura de textos não requer apenas o adequado desempenho do leitor nas competências fonológica, morfológica, sintática e semântica, mas também demanda competência pragmática – habilidade de, deliberadamente, articular a materialidade linguística da superfície textual ao próprio conhecimento de mundo – revelando que a interação autor-texto-leitor se concretiza no empenho do leitor em enlaçar o contexto de uso e as ideias expressas no texto aos seus objetivos de leitura. Assim, se a pragmática se constitui aspecto relevante para o bom desempenho na compreensão da leitura, questiona-se sobre qual espaço essa vem tendo nos estudos acadêmicos com finalidade de trabalhar tal compreensão. O artigo tem como objetivo apresentar um levantamento de estudos que abordam, na perspectiva da pragmática da linguagem, a compreensão leitora. Para isso, foram pesquisados estudos sobre o tema nas plataformas SciELO, PsycINFO e ERIC. Os resultados mostram que há uma carência de artigos que abordam contribuições da pragmática associada à compreensão leitora. Essa lacuna identificada nos estudos reflete a escassez de intervenções pedagógicas focalizando as habilidades (meta)pragmáticas. Assim, entendendo que algumas dificuldades apresentadas pelos estudantes na compreensão de textos estão relacionadas justamente à falta de um trabalho pedagógico focalizando a pragmática, sugere-se que investir no ensino explícito dessa competência pode contribuir para os avanços no desempenho dos estudantes em leitura. Palavras-chave: Compreensão da Leitura. Compreensão de Textos Escritos. Habilidades Pragmáticas. Desempenho em Leitura. AbstractProficiency in reading comprehension does not only require readers’ appropriate performance in phonological, morphological, syntax, and semantic competencies but also pragmatic competence – the skill of deliberately connect linguistic materiality of the textual surface with knowledge of the world itself – revealing that the author-text-reader interaction materializes in the reader’s commitment to link the context of use and the ideas expressed in the text to his/her reading objectives. Hence, if pragmatics is a relevant aspect for good reading comprehension, it is asked herein how it has been addressed in academic studies intended to promote reading comprehension. This objective of this paper is to present the studies addressing reading comprehension from the pragmatic language perspective. Hence, studies addressing the topic were searched in the SciELO, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases. The results show a lack of papers addressing the pragmatics contributions associated with reading comprehension. This gap identified in the study reflects a lack of teaching interventions focusing on (meta)pragmatic skills, suggesting that some of the students’ difficulties may be related to this lack of interventions. Teaching this competence can improve the students’ reading performance, and competent reading promotes social inclusion and a citizenship. Therefore, schools must train these competencies for individuals to interact with texts, process ideas, make connections with different types of knowledge, and (re)construct meaning(s). Keywords: Reading Comprehension. Written Comprehension Texts. Pragmatic Skills. Reading Performance

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document