Abstract
Executive function (EF) refers to the higher order thought processes, including inhibitory control, working memory, and attention considered essential to problemsolving and future oriented behaviour. Traditionally, research on EF has focused on cool cognitive aspects, elicited by relatively abstract tasks. More recently there has been growing interest in the development of hot aspects of EF, seen in situations that are emotionally and motivationally significant. In this paper, we first describe the emergence of hot executive function and its distinction to cool executive function. We then examine whether there is enough evidence to support distinct cool and hot EF subcomponents. The implications of how this distinction can be used to make sense of abnormal child development are also considered. We propose that more research in this area will increase understanding of how cognitive development affects development and inform more targeted interventions in children with behavioural difficulties.
Introduction
Executive Function (EF) refers to a set of goal-directed, future-orientated cognitive skills that are essential for adaptive behaviour, including the ability to organise oneself, problem solve and social behaviour (Anderson, 1998). Although the organisation of EF is debated, it is generally agreed that EF encompasses skills such as inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and working memory (Miyake et al., 2000). Traditionally EF has been viewed through a purely cognitive lens, meaning the role of emotion and motivation in EF has largely been neglected. Indeed, perspectives, theories and assessments of EF have historically focussed on purely cognitive skills that are elicited under relatively abstract, decontextualized, non-affective conditions (Peterson & Welsh, 2014). Over the past decade, there has been a rising interest in the role of motivation and affect in EF, leading researchers to pay greater attention to the role of EF in emotionally charged and social situations. This broader conceptualisation of EF has important implications for research into child development because EF has been found to be a strong predictor of school readiness, academic achievement and social behaviour (Brock, Rimm-Kaufman, Nathanson, & Grimm, 2009; Jacobson, Williford, & Pianta, 2011).
