Hot Executive Function Assessment Instruments in Preschool Children: A Systematic Review

Vannia Mehsen, Lilian Morag, Sergio Chesta, Kristol Cleaton and Héctor Burgos
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Vannia Mehsen: Escuela de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Temuco 4801043, Chile
Lilian Morag: Escuela de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Temuco 4801043, Chile
Sergio Chesta: Escuela de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Temuco 4801043, Chile
Kristol Cleaton: Escuela de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Temuco 4801043, Chile
Héctor Burgos: Escuela de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Temuco 4801043, Chile

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: The study aimed to systematically analyze the empirical evidence that is available concerning batteries, tests or instruments that assess hot executive functions (EFs) in preschoolers, identifying which are the most used instruments, as well as the most evaluated hot EFs. For the review and selection of articles, the systematic review methodology PRISMA was used. The article search considered the EBSCO, Web of Science (WoS), SciELO and PubMed databases, with the keywords “Hot executive function”, “Assessment”, “test”, “evaluation”, using the Boolean operators AND and OR indistinctly, between 2000 and April 2021. Twenty-four articles were selected and analyzed. The most commonly used instruments to assess hot EFs in preschool children were the Delayed Gratification Task, the Child’s Play Task, and the Delayed Reward Task. Amongst those analyzed, 17 instruments were found to assess hot EFs in preschoolers. The accuracy and conceptual clarity between the assessment of cognitive and emotional components in EFs is still debatable. Nevertheless, the consideration of affective temperature and reward stimulus type, could be an important influence when assessing EFs in this age range. Evidence of the possible involvement of cortical and subcortical structures, as well as the limbic system, in preschool executive functioning assessment has also been incorporated.

Keywords: hot executive functions; assessment instruments; test; preschoolers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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