Emotional competence, behavioural patterning, and executive functions

ABSTRACT

The importance of social-emotional competence, executive functioning, and behavioural recognition of patterns by young children is receiving increased attention from researchers, schools, parents, and teachers due to the beneficial outcomes of children who have skills in each. This paper presents studies of the correlations between these variables in the fall and again in the spring of a preschool year, and culminates in a time-lagged comparison of the relationships between these skills during one preschool year. The most clear-cut findings were (1) that there is a successive, but not simultaneous, relation between emotional development and behavioural patterning, and (2) that the ability to inhibit natural responses is a forerunner to emotional development.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotion
• cognitive development
• executive function
• patterning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Mandana Mohtasham received her M.A. in Psychology in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, with a concentration in Applied Developmental Psychology. She is currently completing her Ph. D. at George Mason University and teaching courses in developmental psychology. Her research focuses on the relationships between the different aspects of cognitive development and social-emotional competence of preschoolers.

Allyson Patterson earned an M.A. in Applied Developmental Psychology from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, and is a currently completing her doctorate in Applied Developmental Psychology at George Mason University. She teaches courses in developmental psychology. Ms. Patterson's research is in cognitive development, particularly as it relates to early childhood and developmental disabilities.

Katherine Vennergrund earned her M. A. degree in psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, USA. She is currently employed facilitating children's development.

Eileen Chen earned a Bachelor's of Science at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, with a concentration in Developmental Psychology. She is currently in her first year of graduate studies at the University of Hartford's Psy.D. Clinical Psychology program.

Robert Pasnak is a professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, USA. He teaches courses in developmental psychology. His research has been interdisciplinary, on the interface of education and cognitive development.

ORCID

Eileen Chen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4507-0670

Additional information

Funding

The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant 305A170114 to George Mason University. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.