Executive function (EF) refers to a set of self-regulatory skills to consciously guide thoughts, actions, and emotions towards achieving goals. EF includes the cognitive aspect (“cool” EF) and the affective aspect (“hot” EF). Cool EF involves working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility, while hot EF involves decision making based on emotions. In a recent study, Chen and Yeung compared how hot EF and cool EF link to academic skills across various ethnic groups of preschoolers in Singapore: Chinese, Malays, and Indians. Cool EF was represented by working memory (WM) and hot EF by delay of gratification (DoG) in the study.

Two wave data were collected from a Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study in 2018/19 and two years later (2021). The study sample consisted of 2,527 children (70.7% Chinese, 19.9% Malays, 12.4% Indians) aged 36-83 months (M=58.9) during the first wave. Each child completed the WM and DoG tasks, and the child’s self-control was reported by primary caregiver (95.4% mothers) in first wave. Standardized math and reading tests scores were collected in the second wave. The findings are shown below.

• Chinese children developed delay of gratification around age 4, approximately 2 years earlier than their Malay and Indian counterparts and outperformed them in working memory. However, no difference was found in self-control among the three ethnicities in any age group.
• Chinese children outperformed age-matched Malay and Indian children in reading and math scores.
• Across ethnic groups, DoG positively associated with WM, which further predicted higher achievement scores in reading and math two years later. WM was a mediator which explained the effect of DoG on test scores.
• Self-control mediated the effect of DoG on later reading (β=.010) and math skills (β =0.009) was only found significant for Chinese children with very small effect sizes, as the Chinese sample was much larger than the other two groups.

The findings of this study provide further understanding of culture variability and consistency in development of hot and cool EF skills, and their association with later academic outcomes in an Asian context. Further research is needed to investigate which factors might explain the early development gap and academic outcomes across subcultures in Singapore.

Source: Chen, L., & Yeung, W.-J. J. (2023). Self-regulation and academic achievement among Singaporean young children: A cross-cultural comparison in a multicultural Asian society. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 01650254231170442. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254231170442