Unit 7 (Executive Function) Flashcards
Is executive function unique to humans?
No. But seems to be much more developed.
How does executive function relate to Baddeley’s model?
Same as Baddeley’s central executive
Define executive function
A collection of effortful mental skills used when alert, underlying many higher-level abilities
What are the 3 core executive functions?
Inhibitory Control
Working Memory
Cognitive Flexibility
2 types of inhibitory control
Interference control (cognitive)
Behavioral inhibition (behavioral)
Define inhibitory control
The ability to control attention and override things to accomplish a goal despite some lure.
What’s a lure?
habits of thought; external stimuli
2 types of interference control
Selective Attention
Cognitive Inhibition
What makes something harder to inhibit through selective attention?
Greater saliency makes it harder to inhibit
Cognitive inhibition
Inhibit internal and unwanted thoughts or memories
Fancy term for ‘your first thought’
What part of executive function deals with this?
Prepotent mental representations
Cognitive inhibition part of interference control, which is a part of Inhibitory control
What is the controlling or inhibiting of behavior?
Behavioral inhibition
What is the control or inhibiting of cognitions?
Interference control
What type of stimuli, intrinsic or extrinsic, is involved with inhibitory control?
Both!
What is working memory?
The manipulation of information to accomplish a goal
What part of EF is necessary for WM?
Inhibitory control is needed for WM
What is cognitive flexibility?
The ability to manipulate one’s own goals in WM and load a new goal into WM.
Explain how cognitive flexibility isn’t just ‘task-switching’
On top of switching tasks, it also switches the method to do something.
Perspective-taking is an example of which EF?
Cognitive flexibility.
Requires seeing the world in someone else’s eyes while stopping own perspective.
Does cognitive flexibility create goals?
No. Simply loads it in. Higher processes do the goal creation.
What do executive functions allow for?
Higher-level things like planning, creativity, problem-solving.
Which EF is delayed gratification a part of?
Behavioral inhibition, under Inhibitory control.
Differentiate selective attention and cognitive inhibition
Selective attention has to do with what we attend to and what we stop attending to
Cognitive inhibition involves our thoughts or memories.
Often intertwined.
What 4 factors commonly negatively affect executive functions?
1) Stress
2) Sadness
3) Sleep deprivation
4) Lack of physical exercise
