On the structure and development of executive functions in middle and late childhood: Remodeling and Commentary on Brydges, Fox, Reid, and Anderson

This is a commentary on the study presented by Brydges, Fox, Reid, and Anderson (2014) on the structure and development of executive functions in middle and late childhood. We argue that the modeling approach adopted by the authors was incomplete suggesting a differentiation of executive function from a unitary to a bi-factor structure from 8 to 10 years of age. The data presented in the target article were reanalyzed by a different structural equation modeling approach. A series of powerful models suggested that a differentiated structure defined by inhibition, shifting, and storage was always present, but the relations between these processes varied with development. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.