Reconceptualizing the deficit model of executive functioning among poor children

ERSHADI, M.; BAYLEY, S.; HERMIDA M.J.; RAWLINGS, B.

Baltimore

Congreso; SRCD Biennial Meeting; 2019

Society for Research in Child Development

According to recent estimates, approximately 11 percent of the world?s population live below the poverty line ($1.90US a day), the majority of whom are children (World Bank, 2016). The impact of poverty on child development has been widely studied, but has focused on poverty?s adverse consequences including poorer health, cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997). The most pronounced disparities for children of low socioeconomic status (LSES) are in language proficiency and executive functioning (EF), which include inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (Farah et al., 2006; Noble, 2017). Evidence from neuroscience and developmental psychology largely substantiate the detrimental impact of LSES on EF and thus point at a deficit model of what poor children ?can?t do.?However, several lines of evidence challenge this deficit model of EFs among poor children and suggest that there may be cognitive trade-offs between strengths and weaknesses in different functions. One study found that children with significantly worse response inhibition had better task switching abilities than children who perseverated (Blackwell, Chatham, Wiseheart, & Munakata, 2014). Additionally, researchers have found that Bolivian street children scored significantly higher on measures of the Alternative Uses Task ? a common measure of creativity ? compared to their LSES (yet housed) counterparts (Dahlman, Backstrom, Bohlin, & Frans, 2012).This roundtable conversation will therefore discuss research that challenges the traditional deficit model of EF among LSES children. The session will be moderated by Professor Adele Diamond and draw on international and interdisciplinary perspectives to understand the nuances of this area.