Executive Functioning: Overview, Assessment, and Research Issues for Non-Neuropsychologists
Abstract
Background Executive functioning (EF) is a multifaceted neuropsychological construct that can be defined as (1) forming, (2) maintaining, and (3) shifting mental sets, corresponding to the abilities to (1) reason and generate goals and plans, (2) maintain focus and motivation to follow through with goals and plans, and (3) flexibly alter goals and plans in response to changing contingencies. Purpose Research involving EF has become increasingly popular in a number of disciplines including behavioral medicine and personality research. Methods The present article outlines some of the challenges faced by EF researchers, as well as briefly reviews historical perspective and neuroanatomical underpinnings of EF to provide broader context. Results Clinical presentations of EF deficits, definitions and operationalization of the construct, as well as selection of appropriate assessment methods are provided. Conclusion The article concludes with general cautions and guidelines for researchers.
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Executive functions are mental processes, mainly initiated from the prefrontal cortex, that allow humans to engage in purposeful, goal-directed, and future-oriented behavior.
“scholars concur that they are mental processes, mainly initiated from the prefrontal cortex of the brain, that allow humans to “engage in purposeful, goal‐directed, and future‐oriented behavior” (Suchy 2009, 109).”
From Human Capital and Administrative Burden: The Role of Cognitive Resources in Citizen‐State Interactions (2020) · cites this paper as Suchy 2009, 109
Executive functions affect people's ability to plan activities ahead of time, act on those plans, and stay on task despite impulses and temptations.
“Executive functions affect people's ability to plan activities ahead of time, act on those plans, and stay on task despite impulses and temptations to do something else when things get frustrating (Diamond 2013; Suchy 2009).”
From Human Capital and Administrative Burden: The Role of Cognitive Resources in Citizen‐State Interactions (2020) · cites this paper as Suchy 2009
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Moritz, S. (2002) · Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology · doi:10.1016/s0887-6177(01)00130-5 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
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“Due to the complex nature of EF, an EF task is usually unable to provide an isolated measure of a specific cognitive process that it intends to measure and invariably also captures other aspects of EF and non-EF processes (e.g., Pennington and Ozonoff 1996; Suchy 2009).”
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- Authors
- Suchy, Y.
- Affiliations
- University of Utah (US)
- Corresponding author
- Suchy, Yana
- ORCID
- Suchy, Yana
- Venue
- Annals of Behavioral Medicine
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-04
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 106-116
- ISSN
- 0742-5554 (ISSN-L)
- 0883-6612
- 1532-4796
- OpenAlex
- W1981603681
- Cited by
- 408
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 2.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of Behavioral Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Historical and Modern Theater Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- executive function, executive function assessment, mental set shifting, goal setting and planning, executive dysfunction, behavioral medicine, personality research
- MeSH terms
- Behavioral Medicine, Cerebral Cortex, Cognition, Humans, Neuropsychological Tests, Problem Solving, Set, Psychology
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