Bottom-up and top-down dynamics in young children's executive function: Labels aid 3-year-olds' performance on the Dimensional Change Card Sort

► Influence of labeling on EF in young children assessed in 3 experiments involving the DCCS. ► Labeling cards by relevant sorting dimension facilitated performance. ► Pattern was a function of content of the labels rather than change in auditory signal across phases. ► Labeling the opposite dimension only did not have a symmetrically negative effect on performance. ► Labels bias attention to task-relevant information, interacting with emerging top-down control.