Your working memory, cognitive flexibility, and self-regulation are core components of executive function (EF), an interrelated set of mental skills that lay the foundation for advanced cognitive ...

In general, executive function can be thought of as the set of abilities required to effortfully guide behavior toward a goal, especially in nonroutine situations. Psychologists are interested in ...

Conditions like A.D.H.D. and autism can make starting and completing tasks feel impossible, but experts say there are workarounds. By Christina Caron The pomodoro technique. Power poses. Planners.

Neuroscientists and educational psychologists are constantly learning more about how children learn and the various influences beyond IQ that affect cognition. Some research, like Carol Dweck’s on ...

Executive function—top-down processes by which the human mind controls behavior, regulating thoughts and actions—have long been studied using a standard set of tools, with these assessments being ...

A new study found that 24-month-old children who spent less than 60 minutes looking at screens each day and those who engaged in at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity had better executive ...

In a rural village on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, cultural developmental psychologist Suzanne Gaskins placed pillowy marshmallows in front of a half-dozen Yucatec Maya children and gave them a simple ...