Mc Closkey And Perkins Executive Function Definition

Best, Miller, and Jones (2009): Executive function (EF) serves as an umbrella term to encompass the goal-oriented control functions of the PFC (prefrontal cortex).

Banich (2009): Providing resistance to information that is distracting or task irrelevant, switching behaviour task goals, utilizing relevant information in support of decision making, categorizing or otherwise abstracting common elements across items, and handling novel information or situations.

Corbett et.al. (2009): Executive function (EF) is an overarching term that refers to mental control processes that enable physical, cognitive, and emotional self-control.

Dawson and Guare (2010): Executive skills allow us to organize our behaviour over time and override immediate demands

Mc Closkey (2011): It is helpful to think of executive functions as a set of independent but coordinated processes rather than a single trait.

Delis (2012): Executive functions reflect the ability to manage and regulate one’s behavior in order to achieve desired goals.

McCloskey and Perkins (2013) have developed a theory which includes over 30 different constructs that are part of his definition of executive function. Mc Closkey, perkins, and Ven Divner (2009) provided the following operational definition of EF, which is based on six interrelated concepts:

1. Executive functions are multiple in nature; they do not represent a single, unitary trait.

2. Executive functions are directive in nature, that is , they are mental constructs that are responsible for cueing and directing the use of other mental constructs.

3. Executive functions cue and direct mental functioning differentially within four broad construct domains: perception, emotion, cognition and action.

4. Executive function use can vary greatly across four arenas of involvement: intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental, and symbol system

(2009) have explained the development of executive function as more of a fluid process and one that varies from one individual to another. It is also important to note that development of executive processes may even vary within the individual. The 23 self-regulation processes begin to develop in infancy and continue through adulthood. McCloskey et al. (2009) suggested that self-determination and self-realization have the potential to begin prior to adolescence but typically do not play a prominent role in executive function development until the adolescent period. Many researchers have examined how executive functions develop in individuals without necessarily proposing a general model or framework. They instead point out that different skills may develop at different times in an individual’s life, which is along the lines of what McCloskey and colleagues (2009) have suggested. There is a growing body of research that suggests executive functions develop substantially during the school years (Romine & Reynolds, 2005) with seeds being planted early in the preschool years (Best, Miller, & Jones, 2009) that will become more fully developed in the later years. For example, cueing, inhibition, and working memory have been suggested to develop at younger ages, whereas shifting and planning are thought to develop in late childhood and adolescence (Jacques & Marcovitch, 2010). These theories/models of the development of executive functions are primarily based on