Differentiating Hot and Cold Executive Skills in Preschoolers

To help understand the development and assessment of executive functions in young children, Anderson, Anderson, Jacobs & Smith (2007) divided executive functions into two categories: cold and hot. Cold executive functions are related to cognitive skills such as attention and impulse control, planning and goal setting. Hot executive functions are those related to social or communication skills.  Hot executive functions are not easily measured, because they depend on a child’s use of current input and interaction with the environment.

Cold (cognitive) Executive Skills

Attention:

Controlling attention is the first executive function to develop in children and it impacts the development of the other two areas. Attention is developing in all young children:

• Selective attention: Paying attention to something while screening out other competing information.
• Sustained attention: Remaining focused on a topic of interest.
• Response inhibition: Inhbititing an impulse to respond to something that is distracting.

Goal Setting

Goal setting begins at a very early age and may be observed when a child begins to use means-end behaviors, such as using a tool to get a desired object, etc.

• Initiating: Starting to do something.
• Planning: Thinking ahead about how to do something.
• Problem solving: Using a strategy to solve a problem.
• Strategic behaviors: Selecting a behavior to use for a specific situation or problems.

Cognitive Flexibility

• Working memory: Holding information in memory long enough to solve a problem using that information.
• Attention shifting: Stopping one task and starting another.
• Conceptual transfer: Learning something in one setting and using the knowledge in a different setting.

Hot (socio-affective) Executive Skills

Children begin to acquire hot executive functioning skills quite early.  These skills develop gradually, but may be observed when children demonstrate:  

• Self-awareness: Understanding personal needs, wants and desires.
• Theory of mind: Understanding the perspective of another person.
• Moral judgment: Making decisions based on a set of rules or standards.