A longitudinal study of executive function and theory of mind development in autism

AbstractBoth executive function and theory of mind impairment have been suggested as primary deficits of autism. One test of the primacy of a deficit is its persistence and stability throughout development. This longitudinal study examined development of executive function and theory of mind abilities over a 3-year time period, comparing nonretarded autistic adolescents with learning-disabled controls matched on age, IQ, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES). Results indicate that both executive function and theory of mind abilities are seriously deficient in autistic individuals, improve little with development, may never reach normal functioning levels, and appear to eventually hit a developmental ceiling. Developmental variables showed little relationship to overall task performance or improvement in either cognitive domain. The similar developmental trajectories of executive function and theory of mind performance found in this investigation suggest that these skills may be related and interdependent, rather than independent modules of cognitive function. Implications for the neurological basis of autism and intervention are also discussed.

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Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Later Life Cognition: Evidence From the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

Journal of Aging and Health ◽

10.1177/0898264318783489 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (9) ◽

pp. 1589-1615 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Emily A. Greenfield ◽

Sara M. Moorman

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Executive Function ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Household Income ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Occupational Status ◽

Later Life ◽

Socioeconomic Differences ◽

Wisconsin Longitudinal Study ◽

Childhood Socioeconomic Status

Objectives:This study examined childhood socioeconomic status (SES) as a predictor of later life cognition and the extent to which midlife SES accounts for associations. Methods: Data came from 5,074 participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Measures from adolescence included parents’ educational attainment, father’s occupational status, and household income. Memory and language/executive function were assessed at ages 65 and 72 years. Results: Global childhood SES was a stronger predictor of baseline levels of language/executive function than baseline memory. Associations involving parents’ education were reduced in size and by statistical significance when accounting for participants’ midlife SES, whereas associations involving parental income and occupational status became statistically nonsignificant. We found no associations between childhood SES and change in cognition. Discussion: Findings contribute to growing evidence that socioeconomic differences in childhood have potential consequences for later life cognition, particularly in terms of the disparate levels of cognition with which people enter later life.

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A Longitudinal Study of the Relations Between Theory of Mind, Executive Function, and Lying in Children

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.766891 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Changzhi Zhao ◽

Siyuan Shang ◽

Alison M. Compton ◽

Genyue Fu ◽

Liyang Sai

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Function ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Emotion Understanding ◽

False Belief ◽

Chinese Children ◽

False Belief Understanding ◽

Knowledge Access

This study used longitudinal cross-lagged modeling to examine the contribution of theory of mind (ToM), executive function (EF) to children’s lying development and of children’s lying to ToM and EF development. Ninety-seven Chinese children (initial Mage = 46 months, 47 boys) were tested three times approximately 4 months apart. Results showed that the diverse desire understanding and knowledge access understanding components of ToM, as well as the inhibitory control component of EF predicted the development of children’s lying, while the diverse belief understanding and false belief understanding components of ToM, and the working memory component of EF did not predict development of children’s lying. Meanwhile, children’s lying predicted development of children’s belief-emotion understanding components of ToM, but not any other ToM components, or EF components. These findings provide longitudinal evidence for the relation between ToM, EF, and children’s lying during the preschool years.

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Theory of Mind and Executive Function: Working-Memory Capacity and Inhibitory Control as Predictors of False-Belief Task Performance

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.102.3.819-835 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 102 (3) ◽

pp. 819-835 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Brigitte Mutter ◽

Mark B. Alcorn ◽

Marilyn Welsh

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Function ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Task Performance ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

False Belief ◽

False Belief Task

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Socioeconomic status and executive function: developmental trajectories and mediation

Developmental Science ◽

10.1111/desc.12246 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 686-702 ◽

Cited By ~ 208

Author(s):

Daniel A. Hackman ◽

Robert Gallop ◽

Gary W. Evans ◽

Martha J. Farah

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Executive Function ◽

Developmental Trajectories

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Socioeconomic status, executive functions and theory of mind ability in adolescents: relationships with language ability and cortisol

10.31234/osf.io/6khmz ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Graham Pluck

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Executive Function ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Language Skills ◽

Language Ability ◽

Executive Processes ◽

Hair Samples ◽

Cortisol Levels ◽

The Impact

Socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to development of cognitive abilities, particularly language and executive processes. It is unclear whether these represent a single, or independent correlates. We studied 110 Ecuadorian youths aged 12-17 with measures of SES, language, executive function and theory of mind (ToM), a.k.a. mentalizing. A subsample gave hair samples to estimate past three-month cortisol levels. Restricting analyses to reliable measures, SES was highly associated with language skill, and to a lesser extent with executive function and ToM performance. However, those latter associations were greatly attenuated when language ability was controlled for statistically. Three-month systemic cortisol levels were not associated with SES, but were significantly and negatively correlated with ToM, independent of variation in language skills. We conclude that language development underlies most of the impact of SES on executive function and ToM ability of adolescents, but that stress-related cortisol may have an independent, direct effect on mentalizing.

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