The developmental precedence of EF over ToM persists from 4 to 5 years of age¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2019: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? EF at 4 years predicted ToM at 5 years (β = .41, p = .009), extending the asymmetric longitudinal pattern into the fifth year. → Marcovitch S. 2014

Evidence¶

Marcovitch S. 2014¶

Marcovitch S., O'Brien M., Calkins S. D., Leerkes E. M., Weaver J. M., Levine D. W. (2014). A Longitudinal Assessment of the Relation between Executive Function and Theory of Mind at 3, 4, and 5 Years. Cognitive Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2014.07.001

q3 · i? · associational · r3

Same latent variable analysis of the 226-child three-wave sample; the 4-to-5-year cross prediction was β = .41, p = .009. The authors state this provides "unique evidence that the pattern extends to 5 years of age."

"After accounting for the effects of gender, income-to-needs, PPVT, and the stability within each construct, earlier EF abilities predicted later ToM abilities (from age 3 to age 4: β = .52, p = .001; from age 4 to age 5: β = .41, p = .009)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Executive function at age 3 predicts theory of mind at age 4, controlling for gender, income-to-needs, and receptive language — related
• Earlier theory of mind does not uniquely predict later executive function at either transition — reports the opposite
• EF and ToM each show substantial longitudinal stability from 3 to 5 years — related
• Girls show early EF and ToM advantages, but the EF advantage diminishes with age while the ToM advantage persists — related
• Family income-to-needs at age 3 predicts both EF and ToM through age 5 — related
• A combined EF/ToM one-factor model fits the data poorly, supporting construct dissociation — related