Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Experimental Psychology

Major Professor

Aaron Buss

Committee Members

Chris Elledge, David Sutterer

Abstract

This study is, first and foremost, a direct replication of “The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex ‘frontal lobe’ tasks: A latent variable analysis” (Miyake et al., 2000). We recreated the same nine simple tasks, three tasks each for three “components” of executive function, “shifting,” “inhibition,” and “updating.” We also used the same five complex executive (or “frontal lobe”) tasks. First, we used a confirmatory factor analysis to replicate the factor structure of executive functioning identified by Miyake et. al. (2000). Then, we used structural equation modeling to replicate the findings that each complex executive task has one or more component of executive function mapping onto it. We then expanded upon this original study by comparing a Passive Viewing Paradigm and Mind-Wandering Paradigm for resting-state functional connectivity data collection with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. We compared the functional connectivity profiles between these two resting-state methods, and we used group-level correlation analyses and principal components analysis to better understand the structure of EF from a neurocognitive perspective. Ultimately, we did not replicate the findings from the original EF study but rather endorsed a model where shifting and inhibition are equal. We then used this model to differentially assess how the components map onto the complex EF tasks. Using the neural data, we found that the two resting-state measures are quite different, especially when using them to assess how this data correlates with EF outcomes. Executive function is not as simple as a set of components such as shifting, updating, and inhibition, but rather a complex system in the brain that leads to behavioral outcomes defined as EF skills. From a neurocognitive perspective, EF measures cannot be easily structured into three separable components with an underlying common EF factor, nor can the behavioral structure be easily replicated twenty-five years later.

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