For This Assignment, Select A Peer-Reviewed Research Journal ✓ Solved

For this assignment, select a peer-reviewed research journal

For this assignment, select a peer-reviewed research journal article relating to an area of problem solving, decision making, or an intelligence theory discussed in class. The article must be from a peer-reviewed journal, obtained from the Library, be a research study with methods, results, and discussion sections, and utilize a cognitive or behavioral theory, model, or effect. After reading the article, write a review using subheadings addressing the following: Major Findings/Conclusions: include the major findings and the researchers' conclusions. Implications for the Field of Psychology: explain how the results can be applied, how psychology/education/counseling professionals would benefit, and what professionals should take away. Method/Participants: describe how the study was conducted and who the participants were. Strengths/Limitations: include at least one strength and one limitation of the study and explain why. The review should be 1,000–1,250 words, include a minimum of three scholarly articles in the references, follow APA style (no abstract required).

Paper For Above Instructions

Selected Article

This review analyzes Miyake et al. (2000), "The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex 'frontal lobe' tasks" (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General). The study empirically tested whether core executive functions (EFs)—shifting, updating, and inhibition—are separable yet related constructs and how each contributes to complex cognitive tasks. The article is an empirical research study that used multiple behavioral tasks, latent-variable analysis, and undergraduate participants (Miyake et al., 2000).

Major Findings/Conclusions

Miyake et al. (2000) found that executive functions show both unity and diversity. Through confirmatory factor analyses on multiple tasks intended to measure shifting (task-switching), updating (working memory updating), and inhibition (prepotent-response inhibition), the authors demonstrated that these three EFs are correlated but separable latent constructs. Importantly, each EF made unique contributions to complex "frontal lobe" tasks (e.g., verbal fluency, Tower of London), indicating that different cognitive control components support different aspects of higher-order cognition (Miyake et al., 2000).

The researchers concluded that conceptualizing executive functions as a family of related but distinct processes is more accurate than treating EF as a unitary construct. They argued that measurement models and interventions should consider both the common variance shared across EFs and the unique variance specific to individual components (Miyake et al., 2000).

Implications for the Field of Psychology

Applied psychology, education, and counseling can use Miyake et al.'s findings to tailor assessment and intervention strategies. If executive functions are separable, clinicians and educators should assess distinct EF components rather than relying on a single composite score (Diamond, 2013). For example, interventions for children with attention or learning difficulties might emphasize inhibitory control training for impulsivity but emphasize updating-related exercises for working-memory deficits (Diamond et al., 2007; Blair & Razza, 2007).

In cognitive assessment, the study supports multi-task batteries and latent-variable approaches to obtain more reliable indicators of underlying EF constructs (Engle, Kane, & Tuholski, 1999). For neuropsychological practice, dissociable EF components suggest targeted rehabilitation: task-switching training to improve cognitive flexibility post-injury, or updating-focused tasks to bolster working memory and problem solving (Kane & Engle, 2002).

Theoretical implications include refining intelligence models that relate fluid intelligence to executive control. Miyake et al.'s identification of both shared and unique EF variance helps explain why working memory capacity predicts fluid intelligence (gF) but does not fully account for all high-level reasoning processes (Salthouse, 1996; Engle et al., 1999).

Method/Participants

Miyake et al. (2000) administered a battery of tasks intended to tap three executive functions. Each EF was measured by multiple tasks to allow latent-variable extraction and to reduce task-specific noise. Examples included task-switching paradigms for shifting, n-back or running span tasks for updating, and Stroop-like or stop-signal tasks for inhibition. Participants completed additional complex "frontal lobe" tasks (e.g., Tower of London, verbal fluency) to examine how EFs predict performance on higher-order tasks.

Participants were primarily undergraduate students recruited from a university participant pool. The sample size provided adequate power for the latent-variable analyses and allowed the authors to examine interrelations among measures while minimizing confounds such as age-related decline present in lifespan samples (Miyake et al., 2000).

Strengths/Limitations of the Study

Strength: The study's major strength is its methodological rigor. By using multiple tasks per hypothetical EF and applying latent-variable modeling, Miyake et al. reduced measurement error and task impurity problems, providing stronger evidence for the separability of executive functions than single-task studies (Miyake et al., 2000). This approach has been influential and is consistent with best practices in individual-differences research (Engle et al., 1999; Friedman & Miyake, 2017).

Limitation: A primary limitation is the sample composition. The use of college undergraduates limits generalizability across ages and clinical populations; EF structure may differ across development or in neurological disorders (Salthouse, 1996; Diamond, 2013). Additionally, although latent-variable methods address task impurity, behavioral tasks cannot fully isolate neural processes; converging evidence from neuroimaging or lesion studies would strengthen causal claims about the neural bases of each EF.

Practical Takeaways for Professionals

Psychology, education, and counseling professionals should interpret executive functioning profiles as multi-faceted. Assessment batteries should include tasks that probe shifting, updating, and inhibition separately, and interventions should be tailored to the specific deficit (Kane & Engle, 2002; Diamond, 2013). For example, training programs that target working memory updating may improve reasoning and academic outcomes, while inhibition training may reduce impulsive behavior and improve classroom functioning (Diamond et al., 2007; Blair & Razza, 2007).

Conclusion

Miyake et al. (2000) provided a foundational empirical demonstration that executive functions are best characterized as correlated yet distinct cognitive processes. This unity-and-diversity perspective has strong implications for theory, assessment, and intervention in psychology and education. While generalizability beyond university samples and convergence with neural measures warrant further research, the methodological approach and clear findings make this study a valuable model for future work on cognitive control and applied practice.

References

  • Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex "frontal lobe" tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 129(4), 445–478.
  • Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168.
  • Engle, R. W., Kane, M. J., & Tuholski, S. W. (1999). Individual differences in working memory capacity and what they tell us about controlled attention, general fluid intelligence, and functions of the prefrontal cortex. In A. Miyake & P. Shah (Eds.), Models of working memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive control (pp. 102–134). Cambridge University Press.
  • Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2002). The role of prefrontal cortex in working-memory capacity, executive attention, and general fluid intelligence: An individual-differences perspective. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(4), 637–671.
  • Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417–423.
  • Friedman, N. P., & Miyake, A. (2017). Unity and diversity of executive functions: Individual differences as a window on cognitive structure. Cortex, 92, 1–10.
  • Salthouse, T. A. (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychological Review, 103(3), 403–428.
  • Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence. Cambridge University Press.
  • Diamond, A., Barnett, W. S., Thomas, J., & Munro, S. (2007). Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science, 318(5855), 1387–1388.
  • Blair, C., & Razza, R. P. (2007). Relating effortful control, executive function, and emergent math and literacy skills in kindergarten. Child Development, 78(2), 647–663.

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