Research Highlights• Explored relation between children's activities at home and externally cued executive function in 93 3-to 5-year-old children at home at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic • More time and variety in less-structured activities was related to externally cued executive function, controlling for age, family income, caregiver education, and verbal knowledge • Caregivers were more involved in their children's less-structured versus structured activities • Caregiver ratings of children's temperament were related to how children's time was

Time in less-structured activities is associated with children’s developing executive function, but it is unclear why. Prior research suggests less-structured time specifically benefits self-directed executive function, by allowing children to practice making choices. We tested another hypothesis: that less-structured time also benefits externally-cued executive function, which develops earlier than self-directed executive function, theorizing that less-structured time can provide children with opportunities to acquire knowledge that supports emerging control skills. Caregivers of 93 3- to 5-year-olds reported their child’s activities on a typical day at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and children completed a widely-used cued executive function task, the Dimensional Change Card Sort. Time and variety in less-structured activities predicted successful switching on the card sort, controlling for age, family income, caregiver education, and verbal knowledge. Caregivers were more involved in less-structured versus structured activities. Children’s temperament, as rated by caregivers, predicted how they spent their time. Findings provide a more nuanced picture of how less-structured time and executive function are related, consistent with less-structured time affording opportunities for children, particularly those higher in effortful control, to acquire diverse knowledge that supports engaging control in various ways.

Preschool executive function (EF) is widely believed to support development across many domains of life. While it is established that EF predicts academic achievement, claims are also frequently made that it predicts social, health, and behavioral outcomes. These claims are often made on the basis of research assessing constructs that are related to but distinct from EF, such as self-control and self-regulation. The primary literature shows inconsistent patterns. We report a meta-analysis of relations between preschool EF in typically developing children and social, health, and behavioral outcomes measured concurrently, in middle childhood, and in adolescence (904 effect sizes, k = 125, n = 106,426). Preschool EF was related to several outcomes concurrently (prosociality, emotion regulation, lie understanding, lower body mass) and longitudinally (social competence, emotion understanding, peer acceptance, adaptive classroom behavior, lower externalizing behavior); however, effect sizes varied in magnitude and were smaller than those reported in a recent meta-analysis of self-regulation (Robson et al., 2020). Preschool EF was not related to internalizing behaviors or physical fitness. Meta-analysis of some longitudinal associations was precluded due to insufficient studies. Findings were not moderated by EF component (i.e., working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility). We did not find evidence that composite measures of EF were better predictors than individual indices. These results indicate that preschool EF, as commonly conceptualized and measured, may play a role in outcomes beyond academic achievement, but this role may be more limited than commonly thought. Interventions targeting preschool EF should be reevaluated in light of this evidence.

Does mask-wearing by children affect how they are perceived by others in a way that is relevant for their development? Masks may interfere with the perception of kindchenschema—physical characteristics shared by the young that are perceived as “cute” and indicate dependence and the need for care. To the extent that masks cover up children’s “cute” features, they may limit others’ ability to respond to them with age-appropriate concern and interest. Across 4 experiments, we found evidence in support of this hypothesis. We found that kindchenschema, assessed via facial measurements, was associated with perceived cuteness and age in children. However, these relations were weakened in the presence of masks. Kindchenschema, as well as perceived cuteness and age ratings from Experiment 1, predicted new participants’ interest in playing with (Expts 2 and 3) and caring for (Expt 4) children. However, again, these relations were weakened in the presence of masks. These findings highlight a previously unconsidered consequence of child mask-wearing that warrants attention in order to mitigate negative effects. They also call for further research on how cuteness and other signals of age-related dependency shape adults’ interactions with children, and, consequently, children’s development.

Cuteness in the young has long been theorized to elicit care and protection. Most research on this topic has focused on human infants, despite theories suggesting that cuteness may elicit broader social interest that could support learning and development beyond infancy. In four experiments (N = 531 adults, 98 children), we tested whether ‘kindchenschema’—facial features associated with cuteness—and perceived cuteness elicit interest in playing with and caring for children, and whether masks disrupt these processes. Participants viewed images of children’s faces, masked or unmasked. Kindchenschema correlated with perceived cuteness and age, and these variables predicted adults’ interest in playing with and caring for children. Masks did not reduce cuteness ratings or interest in children, although they weakened relations between perceived cuteness and interest, and between perceived age and interest. Cuteness and related signals may guide adults’ interactions with children, fostering learning and development.