The role of inhibitory control in sustained attention and executive functions in elementary school students
The role of inhibitory control in sustained attention and executive functions in elementary school students
Neda Abdollah Dallal,1Mohsen Rafikhah,2,*
1. Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Iran 2. Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Iran
Introduction: Executive functions are high-level cognitive functions that regulate thoughts, behaviors, and emotions, crucial for social functions and adaptation. They play a key role in academic performance, particularly in reading comprehension. Various models and theories define executive functions as a structure of multiple cognitive skills that interact and influence behavior. Inhibition, mental flexibility, and working memory are core executive functions. Inhibitory control plays a significant role in daily life. Inhibition rapidly develops in early childhood and has a lasting impact on other components. Various studies have shown that inhibitory control affects other components directly or indirectly. Attentional performance, working memory, and mental flexibility are largely dependent on intact inhibitory performance. However, other studies have emphasized the role of other components, including working memory. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of inhibitory control on the overall performance of executive functions.
Methods: This study was conducted on 76 students. The sample consisted of 41 students in the normal group (age range = 9 to 11.7 years; M = 9.8, SD = 0.77) and 35 students in the inhibitory deficit group (age range = 9.2 to 11.6 years; M = 10.6, SD = 0.69). The average IQ in the two groups was 101.7 and 105.4, respectively. Students were assessed using a battery of EF tasks including the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), forward and backward digit span memory, and continuous performance test.
Results: Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the hypothesis. The results showed that there is a difference between the impaired inhibition group and the normal group in the components of working memory and planning (p < 0.01), but there was no significant difference in attention performance between the two groups mentioned.
Conclusion: According to the results of the research, inhibition defects cause poor performance in the components of working memory and planning. It seems that inhibitory control, as the main component of executive functions, can predict performance in other tasks. This finding is in line with research that has emphasized the role of inhibition. Considering the importance of inhibition control, it will be possible to prepare interventions based on inhibition to help students who have academic weaknesses and dysfunctional executive functions.