Abstract

STELZER, Florencia; ANDRES, María Laura  and  URQUIJO, Sebastián. Relationships between temperament and executive functions in 6 and 7 years old children. Psicol. clin. [online]. 2015, vol.27, n.2, pp. 83-102. ISSN 0103-5665.

Executive functions are a set of cognitive processes involved in the control of thought, behavior and affect. Studies in preschool children indicate that these processes are associated with their temperamental characteristics; however, in older children the relationships between these constructs have been little explored. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between temperament and executive functions of inhibitory control, working memory, planning and decision making in children in the first year of the Basic Primary Education. A group of 289 children whose average age was 80.94 months with a standard deviation of 3.75 months was evaluated. The results indicated that children with greater capacity to regulate their temperamental reactivity present better performance in planning compared to children with higher difficulty to regulate temperamental reactivity. However, no relationships were observed between temperament and working memory, perceptual inhibition and decision making. We conclude by pointing out some methodological criteria for future research design that explores the relationship between temperament and executive functions.

Keywords : executive functions; temperament; children.

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