Knowra Executive functions Executive functions Executive functions are mental processes that regulate goal-directed behavior. Core components include working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility.
Working memory : A limited-capacity system for temporarily holding and manipulating information. It keeps goals and relevant information available while behavior unfolds.
Stroop test : A task in which naming a word's ink color conflicts with reading the word itself. It measures interference control, a key demand on executive attention.
Self-regulated learning : The process by which learners set goals, monitor progress, and adjust strategies. Working memory and inhibition help learners sustain and revise study plans.
Fluid intelligence : The capacity to reason and solve novel problems without relying mainly on learned knowledge. It overlaps with executive tasks but describes reasoning ability rather than control processes.
Inhibitory control : The ability to suppress a dominant response, distraction, or impulse when it conflicts with current goals. It helps prevent habitual or distracting responses from derailing goal-directed action.
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test : A neuropsychological task requiring people to infer and switch between changing sorting rules. Its rule shifts expose difficulties with cognitive flexibility and feedback use.
ADHD : A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity. Executive difficulties can occur in ADHD, though they are neither universal nor sufficient for diagnosis.
Self-control : The regulation of impulses, emotions, or behavior in service of longer-term aims. Self-control is one outcome executive functions can support, not a synonym for the full set.
Cognitive flexibility : The ability to shift between tasks, perspectives, rules, or strategies as circumstances change. It lets behavior adapt when a plan or rule no longer fits.
Tower of London test : A planning task in which objects must be rearranged to match a target configuration under constraints. Its move limits make planning and monitoring observable.
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