The relation between executive functions and math intelligence in preschool children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Executive functions (EFs) are key skills underlying other cognitive skills that are relevant to learning and everyday life. Although a plethora of evidence suggests a positive relation between the three EF subdimensions, inhibition, shifting, and updating, and math skills for schoolchildren and adults, the fi ndings on the magnitude of and possible variations in this relation are inconclusive for preschool children and several narrow math skills (i.e., math intelligence). Therefore, the present meta-analysis aimed to (a) synthesize the relation between EFs and math intelligence (an aggregate of math skills) in preschool children; (b) examine which study, sample, and measurement characteristics moderate this relation; and (c) test the joint effects of EFs on math intelligence. Utilizing data extracted from 47 studies (363 effect sizes, 30,481 participants) from 2000 to 2021, we found that, overall, EFs are signi fi cantly related to math intelligence ( ¯ r = .34, 95% CI [.31, .37]), as are inhibition ( ¯ r = .30, 95% CI [.25, .35]), shifting ( ¯ r = .32, 95% CI [.25, .38]), and updating ( ¯ r = .36, 95% CI [.31, .40]). Key measurement characteristics of EFs, but neither children ’ s age nor gender, moderated this relation. These fi ndings suggest a positive link between EFs and math intelligence in preschool children and emphasize the importance of measurement characteristics. We further examined the joint relations between EFs and math intelligence via meta-analytic structural equation modeling. Evaluating different models and representations of EFs, we did not fi nd support for the expectation that the three EF subdimensions are differentially related to math intelligence.