Executive Function in Childhood: Development, Individual Differences, and Real-Life Importance

Executive Function in Childhood: Development, Individual Differences, and Real-Life Importance examines executive function during infancy and early childhood through the lenses of developmental psychology, neuropsychology, and educational psychology. Co-authored by three experts in the field, this concise book is aimed at early undergraduate students and, as well as providing an up-to-date overview of executive function, illustrates a range of core concepts around psychological assessment of infants and children, including neuroimaging. The text is accessible for students with limited prior knowledge, and will enable them to acquire more in-depth understanding from literature in the field.

Table of Contents:
1: What is Executive Function? 2: The emergence of Executive Function from infancy to preschool 3: Advances in Executive Function from primary school to adolescence 4: Understanding the origins of individual differences in Executive Function 5: Understanding social and academic consequences of individual differences in Executive Function 6: Executive Function and developmental disorders

About the Author :
Laura Katus is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Greenwich. She is also a visiting scholar at the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, where she was appointed as a postdoctoral research associate from 2019-2022. Prior to this, she completed her PhD in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience at Great Ormond Street Hospital Institute of Child Health, University College London. Lucy Cragg is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Nottingham School of Psychology. She first joined the department in 2008 as a Research Fellow in Translational Neuroscience. Prior to this, Lucy completed her PhD at the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and a research fellowship at the Brain and Body Centre, University of Nottingham and Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, Canada. Lucy's research focuses on children's cognitive development and the impact this has in the classroom. Professor Claire Hughes is a Deputy Head for the Psychology Department (Wellbeing, Equality and Diversity), Deputy Director of the Centre for Family Research, and Director of Studies at Newnham College, University of Cambridge. She has been interested in both development and individual differences in children's EF for 25 years.

Review :
Executive functions are critical for all aspects of development, success in school and in life, and good mental and physical health. Given how important executive functions skills are, this book which explains what executive functions are, how they develop, social and emotional influences on, and consequences of, executive functions, and how executive functions look in atypical populations could not be more timely. Executive Function in Childhood is a phenomenal, succinct, approachable overview of executive function and its development. Including up-to-date research and practical considerations, this book is a great resource for teaching and learning the basics of executive function and why we should care about it. This book gives you a very thorough grounding in what EF is, how it is studied, and the myths, debates and foundations of research in childhood EF. [...] The book is well illustrated and text is broken up into subheadings with thinking points to check your knowledge. A great text for both students and professional practitioners.