A comparative analysis of the interrelation between the level of executive functions, which are viewed as cognitive control parameters, and the level of the inner picture of health in students of different ages

Abstract

Introduction. The paper analyses the interrelation between a person’s cognitive control and their inner picture of health, which is a component of the person’s conscious attitude to one’s health, at different stages of ontogenesis. The purpose of the research is to analyze the relationships between the level of one’s executive functions development (inhibitory control and working memory) and the level of the internal picture of health (hereinafter IPH) in primary school age, adolescence and early adulthood. Materials and Methods. The research into how executive functions (inhibitory control and working memory) and the IPH are interrelated was based upon the analysis and study of scholarly literature and the experimental work which involved methods of inhibitory control assessment (Vergunov, Nikolaeva), a technique for assessing visual working memory (Rasumnikova, Savinykh) and a quick modified child’s diagnostic technique (Nikolaeva et al.) used for assessing the IPH. The obtained data were processed by means of the quantitative and qualitative data analyses methods and the SPSS-21 programme pack. The total number of the experiment participants was 262 people, among them primary schoolchildren (9.8 ± 0.8 years, n = 66), adolescents (12.8 ± 1.5 years, n = 101) and university students (20.4 ± 1.3 years, n = 95). Results. It was found that neither of the working memory parameters was associated with the IPH level in any of the three groups. The inhibitory control, however, had different interconnections with the students’ IPH at different age stages. It was found that only in adolescents the inhibitory control is closely associated with the IPH, which is proved by their independent decision-making regarding their behaviour and attitude to health at this age. The found interconnection decreases in early adulthood, which may indicate the presence of some additional factors affecting both the IPH and inhibitory control. Conclusions. The connection between the IPH and the person’s executive functions depends on the person’s age and it is most evident in adolescence. Keywords Inhibitory control; Working memory; Internal health picture; Primary school children; Adolescence; Early adulthood.

Specificity of working memory mechanisms in individuals

“…Both processes [14] determine the result of testing the WM. Apparently, the RIF and RBL mechanisms are formed independently of each other and have different critical periods [15].…”

Age characteristics of the working memory

“…Working memory has a limited volume (the number of elements that are simultaneously used for analysis), since the brain has a limited cognitive resource. It develops most actively in the first 10 years in relation to other periods of human life [9] and reaches the level of development in adults by about 14 years [10].…”