Current Status and Future Directions of Research on Executive Function Assessment in Infants and Toddlers

Executive functions are advanced cognitive processes that govern thinking and behavior. They play a crucial role in predicting an infant’s cognitive development and social adaptation. However, due to the immaturity of infants’ sensory perception, language skills, and motor abilities, assessing executive functions presents significant challenges. Current research often relies on methods designed for older individuals, ignoring the developmental stage-specific nature of these functions. This approach undermines the ecological validity of the assessments. By combining behavioral experiments, neuroscientific techniques, and questionnaire-based methods, it becomes clear that relying on a single approach is insufficient to fully understand early-stage executive functions. In the future, it is important to follow the principle of developmental appropriateness when designing assessment tools.