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The contribution of executive functions to naming digits, objects, and words

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Abstract

Although it is established that reading fluency is more strongly related to serial naming of symbols than to naming of isolated items (serial superiority effect), the reason for the difference remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of executive functions in explaining the serial superiority effect. One hundred seven Grade 6 Greek children were assessed on serial and discrete naming (digits, objects, and words), executive (inhibition, shifting, and updating) and non-executive tasks (simple choice reaction), and on a serial Rapid Alternating Stimuli task. Reading fluency correlated more strongly with serial naming than with discrete naming, consistent with the serial superiority effect. In hierarchical regression analyses, executive measures failed to account for variance shared between serial naming and reading fluency. In confirmatory factor analyses, including a discrete and a serial factor for the naming tasks, variance in the executive tasks not shared with simple choice reaction was not associated with the serial factor. Thus, the executive tasks failed to account for the serial superiority effect. The high correlation between the simple choice factor and the discrete naming factor suggests that method variance partially underlies the observed relationship between executive function tasks and word reading. We argue that the distinction between serial and discrete dimensions indicates that internally regulated cognitive control is crucial for the serial superiority in naming symbols and words.

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Notes

  1. Both the distinction among EF sub-components in children and the timing of their emergence have been controversial. Although a multidimensional structure of EF components is apparent in adulthood (Miyake et al., 2000), a more unified construct has been identified earlier in development, with preschool EF attributed to a single global factor of executive control (Fuhs & Day, 2011; Wiebe et al., 2008). Recent studies suggest that EF is a global ability that gradually becomes differentiated from middle childhood through adulthood (De Luca et al., 2003; van der Ven, Kroesbergen, Boom, & Leseman, 2013).

  2. The serial and discrete naming data were derived from tasks previously reported in Protopapas et al. (2013a). Previous analyses were conducted with discrete naming response times including articulation (i.e., offset latency, from the onset of item presentation to the offset of the spoken response). In contrast, analyses reported here used onset latencies for the discrete tasks, which is the measure more frequently reported in the literature.

  3. Phantom factors are “latent variables with no observed indicators” (Rindskopf, 1984, p. 38). These latent variables allow estimation of model parameters in alternative forms or metrics. In the present analysis, phantom factors were used to convert the residual variances of the observed variables (inhibition, shifting, and updating) to latent variables.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G5, Canada

    Angeliki Altani & George K. Georgiou

  2. Department of Philosophy and History of Science, University of Athens, GR-15771, Zografos, Greece

    Athanassios Protopapas

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  1. Angeliki Altani
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Altani, A., Protopapas, A. & Georgiou, G.K. The contribution of executive functions to naming digits, objects, and words. Read Writ 30, 121–141 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-016-9666-4

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