The DOI matches its Crossref record; 7 of the 7 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The shape school: Assessing executive function in preschool children
Abstract
Age‐related changes in executive function were examined on a new task, the Shape School, in 70 preschool children (32–68 months old). The Shape School is a colorful storybook designed to examine inhibition and switching processes in young children. Results confirmed that task efficiency varied significantly with age, with older age groups outperforming younger groups. Furthermore, inhibition efficiency improved significantly between 3 to 4 years of age, whereas switching skills showed developmental improvement from 4 to 5 years of age. These results suggest that the Shape School is sensitive to maturational effects and that performance can be parsed into inhibition and switching processes. The Shape School may be useful in clinical populations in order to elucidate developmental brain‐behavior relations in preschool children.
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In the citing paper
“Accuracy of responding improved only marginally for children aged between 3 and 5 years on the Inhibit condition (Go/No-Go) on the Shape School test, but speed increased dramatically during this developmental period (K. A. Espy, Kaufmann, & Glisky, 2001;K. Espy, 1997).”
From Assessing Executive Function in Preschoolers (2012) · cites this paper as K. Espy, 1997
In the citing paper
“The inhibition trial is considered appropriate for preschoolers aged 3-years and older, while the more complex switch and combined (switch & inhibit) trials are considered appropriate for children aged 3:6 years and older.”
From Assessing Executive Function in Preschoolers (2012) · cites this paper as K.Espy, 1997
In the citing paper
“The Shape School test (K.Espy, 1997;K. A. Espy, Bull, Martin, & Stroup, 2006) assesses both inhibition and switching.”
From Assessing Executive Function in Preschoolers (2012) · cites this paper as K.Espy, 1997
In the citing paper
“The switch condition of the Shape School is successfully completed by most 4-year-olds, and while accuracy increases slightly, improved performance in older preschoolers is predominantly reflected in better switching fluency and reduced time needed to complete the task (K.Espy, 1997).”
From Assessing Executive Function in Preschoolers (2012) · cites this paper as K.Espy, 1997
In the citing paper
“The ability to switch between sets of simple stimuli emerges by age 5 (Espy, 1997).”
From Does puberty mark a transition in sensitive periods for plasticity in the associative neocortex? (2017) · cites this paper as Espy, 1997
Citations
Cites
Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions
Stroop, J. R. (1935) · Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0054651 · Cited by 18,622
Gerstadt, C. L., Hong, Y. J., & Diamond, A. (1994) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/0010-0277(94)90068-x · Cited by 1,598
A normative‐developmental study of executive function: A window on prefrontal function in children
Welsh, M. C., Pennington, B. F., & Groisser, D. B. (1991) · Developmental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/87565649109540483 · Cited by 1,313
The functional equivalence of problem solving skills
Simon, H. A. (1975) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(75)90012-2 · Cited by 775
An interactive framework for examining prefrontal cognitive processes
Roberts, R. J., & Pennington, B. F. (1996) · Developmental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/87565649609540642 · Cited by 392
Taylor, H. G., Albo, V. C., Phebus, C. K., Sachs, B. R., & Bierl, P. G. (1987) · Journal of Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1093/jpepsy/12.3.395 · Cited by 113
Executive functions in children: Introduction to the special series
Fletcher, J. M. (1996) · Developmental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/87565649609540636 · Cited by 35
Cited by
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Józefacka, N. M. (2022) · Psychologia Rozwojowa · doi:10.4467/20843879pr.22.013.17470
Development of Executive Functions' Structure in 8-12 Year OldsPreprint
Yangüez, M., Bediou, B., Chanal, J. P., & Bavelier, D. (2024) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/ucqag
Besser, N., Dornheim, D., & Lehrl, S. (2024) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/yug68
Patwardhan, I., Guo, Y., Fleming, C. B., James, T. D., Nelson, J. M., Espy, K. A., Nelson, T. D., & Mason, W. A. (2024) · Family Relations · doi:10.1111/fare.13061
Self-citationAkhavein, K., Clark, C. A. C., Nelson, J. M., Espy, K. A., & Finch, J. E. (2024) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2024.106109 · Cited by 1
Self-citationHoude-Labrecque, C., Côté, M.-P., Beauchamp, M. H., & Bernier, A. (2025) · Developmental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/87565641.2025.2536834 · Cited by 1
Merín, L., Nieto, M., Sánchez-Arias, L., Ros, L., & Latorre, J. M. (2025) · Child Care in Practice · doi:10.1080/13575279.2025.2563572
Öz, S., & Gürsoy, F. (2025) · Trends in Psychology · doi:10.1007/s43076-025-00507-2
Thilges, H., Phillips, E. M., Goldberg, E. L., Brock, R. L., Kidwell, K. M., Yaroch, A. L., Hill, J. L., Espy, K. A., Nelson, J. M., Mason, W. A., et al. (2025) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2025.108400 · Cited by 1
Self-citationImpact de l'épilepsie sur les fonctions exécutives et attentionnelles à l'âge préscolaire
Breuillard, D. (2020) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/70cb3bd1z80aaz461dz910ez278c69b52b51
Goldberg, E. L., Phillips, E. M., Thilges, H., Brock, R. L., Hill, J. L., Nelson, J. M., Mason, W. A., Espy, K. A., & Nelson, T. D. (2026) · Journal of Physical Activity and Health · doi:10.1123/jpah.2025-0129
Self-citationThilges, H., Phillips, E. M., Goldberg, E. L., Brock, R. L., Nelson, J. M., Mason, W. A., Espy, K. A., & Nelson, T. D. (2026) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049.2026.2689594
Self-citationThe nature, ontogeny, and phylogeny of episodic foresight
Redshaw, J. (2015) · The University of Queensland · doi:10.14264/uql.2015.344
Metadata
- Authors
- Espy, K. A.
- Affiliations
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale (US)
- Corresponding author
- Espy, Kimberly Andrews
- Venue
- Developmental Neuropsychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1997-01
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 495-499
- ISSN
- 1532-6942 (ISSN-L)
- 8756-5641
- OpenAlex
- W1978033458
- Cited by
- 315
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 1.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Neuropsychology (publishedVersion)
- Lincoln (University of Nebraska) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- executive function, preschool children, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, task switching, age-related development, brain-behavior relationship
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