{"id":6662997,"date":"2025-08-17T08:03:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T13:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/?p=6662997"},"modified":"2025-07-27T08:03:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T13:03:35","slug":"executive-functions-debunked-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/executive-functions-debunked-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Executive Functions “Debunked”? [Reposted]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A recent study claims to have “debunked” the idea of executive function. Back in December, our blogger explored the research, and the claim…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As long as I\u2019ve been in this field \u2013 heck, as long as I\u2019ve been a teacher \u2013 the concept of executive function<\/strong> has floated around as a core way to discuss students\u2019 academic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the concept has a technical definition \u2013 in fact, more than one — it tends to be presented as a list of cognitive moves: \u201cprioritizing, switching, planning, evaluating, focusing, deliberately ignoring\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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I myself have tended to think of executive functions this way: all the cognitive skills that don\u2019t include academic content,<\/em> but matter in every discipline. <\/em>So, if I\u2019m trying to execute a lab in science class, I need to \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 focus on this thing, not that thing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 decide where to begin,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 decide when to switch to the next step,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026realize that I\u2019ve made a mistake,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026evaluate options to fix my mistake,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crucially, that list applies to almost any academic task<\/em>: writing an essay, or evaluating the reliability of a historical source, or composing a sentence in Spanish using a new verb tense\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So: these executive functions help students in school \u2013 no matter the class that they are in<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To say all this in another ways: EFs resist easy definition but are mightily important in schools and classrooms. (Truthfully they\u2019re important in life, but that broader range lies outside of this blog\u2019s focus.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s News<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I recently saw an enthusiastic response to a newly-published study<\/a> that explores,  reconceptualizes — and debunks? —  EFs. Because EFs \u201care mightily important,\u201d such reconceptualization & debunkage merits our thoughtful attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A research team led by Andreas Demetriou wanted to see if they could translate that long list (\u201cprioritizing, switching, evaluating,\u201d etc.) into a core set of mental processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So: a carbon atom might look different from an iron atom, but both are different ways of putting protons, neutrons, and electrons together. Likewise, \u201cprioritizing\u201d and \u201cswitching\u201d might seem like two different processes, but they could instead be different arrangements of the same mental elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demetriou\u2019s team focuses on two core mental processes \u2013 their \u201cprotons and electrons.\u201d Roughly, those mental processes are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n