The associations among executive functioning, private speech and emotion regulation in preschoolers

Abstract

Aim: Regulation of both cognitive processes and emotions play a crucial role in many future outcomes of children (e.g. Blair, 2002; Blair et al., 2004). Language acquisition is closely related to the regulation of cognitive processes (Azmitia, 1992) and of emotions (Cole, Armstrong, & Pemberton, 2010). The development of language takes the form of external private speech in regulation of the action of the self and becomes internal gradually (Berk, 1986; Vygotsky, 1986). The purpose of this study is to investigate the relations among private speech, executive functioning (i.e., abilities including representation of the problem on mind, planning, keep the plan in mind, intending and carrying out the plan with using rules and evaluate the actions of the self), and emotionality (i.e. temperament based individual differences in display of emotions) in preschoolers aged from 4- to- 5 years in a cross-sectional design. Method: The sample will include 60 children, their parents and teachers, whom will be recruited through convenience sampling method. Private speech will be measured by direct observation during a categorization task and then coded according to Berk’s (1986) three level coding scheme. Executive function will be measured by parent reports on Childhood Executive Function Inventory (Thorell & Nyberg, 2008). Emotionality will be measured by parent and teacher reports on the Child Behaviour Scale Short Form (Putnam & Rothbart, 2006) respectively. To control for the impact of the child’s language skills on the associations of interest, the Turkish Expressive Language Test (Berument & Güven, 2013) will be assessed, and teacher and parent reports regarding children’s talkativeness will be obtained. Data analysis: Preliminary findings regarding the potential moderation and mediation models will be presented.