Executive Function and Behavior Problems

EF and Its Effects on Behavior

EF can be thought of as the brain’s railroad operator in a system of complex tracks, providing the connections between knowing and doing. As such, EF provides the building blocks of healthy student development. Taking place in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, EF affects an individual’s ability to pay attention, control impulses, remember and use information, and have flexibility in thoughts and actions through the dimensions of working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Thus, EF serves as the foundation for abilities in cognition, social interactions, and behavior modulation.

Proficiency in executive functioning allows people to set goals, formulate plans, follow through with actions, and, as a result, engage in SR. When individuals self-regulate by managing their emotions, motivation, and behaviors, they are, in fact, tapping underlying EF skills by delaying gratification, thinking before acting, inhibiting automatic responses, and using effortful and sustained attention. Therefore, EF and associated SR serve as the foundation for academic achievement, social competencies, and behavior management skills.

As more is known about EF, it appears that people are not born with functioning EF. Rather, EF develops throughout childhood and adolescence through individuals’ interactions with their environment and repeated use.

EF, Self-Regulation, and School Success

School success is associated largely with strength in EF and related self-regulatory skills. Students with strong inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility are better able to self-regulate by controlling their impulses and emotions, being attentive and organized, following directions, and solving problems. In fact, researchers have found that students with strong EF and SR abilities tend to perform better academically than their peers with weaker skills and demonstrate heightened ability in social interactions and positive behavior—skills that have been linked with school achievement.

Link Between EF and Behavior Problems

Children and youth with compromised EF and associated compromised SR skills may display behaviors that can be highly disruptive and challenging to manage in the classroom. Researchers have found that severe deficits in EF and underdeveloped self-regulatory abilities have been associated with childhood disorders, including anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and aggression.

In the classroom, deficits in impulse control and cognitive flexibility have been linked with aggressive and socially oppositional behavior in students. Deficits in attention and working memory have been associated with students who have difficulty following directions, learning new skills, and accurately reading social cues. In essence, students who display the inability to self-regulate their cognition, emotions, and behavior may, in fact, be drawing from a limited EF foundation. Therefore, those students with underdeveloped EF are at a disadvantage because of potential challenges in meeting academic expectations, navigating social situations, and modulating emotions, each of which can lead to frustration and externalizing behaviors.

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