Executive Function, Reflection, and the Developing Brain

A comprehensive theory of the development of conscious control skills by one of the leading researchers in the field of cognitive development.

Conscious control of one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, which depend on reflection and executive function (EF) skills, are essential for success in school and in life. In Executive Function, Reflection, and the Developing Brain, Philip David Zelazo draws on his more than 30 years of research to explain the development of conscious control. He presents evidence that reflection and EF skills can be improved through brief interventions during the preschool years—a period of relative plasticity in the underlying neural systems.

Spanning multiple levels of analysis, Zelazo addresses biology, culture, computational processing, behavior, real-world outcomes, and consciousness. Viewing conscious control in terms of the developing brain, he says, suggests a new approach to early childhood education that starts with the cultivation of reflection and EF skills. It also raises the prospect of better (and earlier) identification of potential difficulties and the creation of more effective therapeutic interventions for a variety of clinical conditions that emerge in childhood.