Executive Functions and Their Relation to Academic Performance in University Students

DEL VALLE, MACARENA VERÓNICA; CANET-JURIC, LORENA; ZAMORA, ELIANA VANESA; ANDRÉS, MARÍA L.; URQUIJO, SEBASTIÁN

Psicología Educativa

Elsevier

Lugar: Madrid; Año: 2024 vol. 30 p. 47 - 55

1135-755X

Academic performance, dropout rates, and low graduation rates constitute an area of concern in Latin American universities that has been the topic of various investigations. Certain researchers suggest that some differences in academic performance could arise from interindividual variations in self-regulation mechanisms such as executive functions. Therefore, this study aimed to contribute to the investigation of the relationships between university performance and executive functions, specifically working memory, inhibition, and shifting. The study involved 196 students who completed the Reading Span Task, the Five Digits Test, and the Finger Task. Working memory, inhibition, and shifting exhibited a weak significant relationship with performance. Furthermore, additionally to age, socioeconomic status, and student work hours, inhibition and shifting accounted for 38% of the variance in academic performance. The findings provide a contribution to the understanding of this topic and to the discussion of previous contradictory findings.