SynthesisPsychological bulletin2018
The unity and diversity of executive functions: A systematic review and re-analysis of latent variable studies.
Synthesis in Psychological bulletin, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 219 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
219 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 575 citations in OpenAlex.
- Can executive functions be improved by playing board games across the lifespan? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Pooled it
- School changes minds: A meta-analysis shows that schooling modestly improves children's executive functions.Journal of experimental child psychology · 2026Pooled it
- The Effect of Pubertal Status on Self-Regulation of Behavior and Executive Functions-A Systematic Review.Developmental psychobiology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of oxytocin administration on non-social executive functions in humans: a preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Executive function and neural oscillations in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Individual differences in attention control: A meta-analysis and re-analysis of latent variable studies.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2024Pooled it
- Associations Between Motor Competence and Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- Do executive functions predict physical activity behavior? A meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Executive functions in primary progressive aphasia: A meta-analysis.Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior · 2022Pooled it
- Strategy and processing speed eclipse individual differences in control ability in conflict tasks.Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition · 2022Pooled it
- Impairment of executive functions due to sleep alterations: An integrative review on the use of P300.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Strengthening Executive Function and Self-Regulation Through Teacher-Student Interaction in Preschool and Primary School Children: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- Executive Function in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-analysis of fMRI Studies.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2020Pooled it
- Effects of Prior Cognitive Exertion on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- Executive Functioning, Diabetes Distress, and Diabetes Management Among Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: Youth and Parent Perspectives.Pediatric diabetes · 2025Trial
- Cognitive enrichment through art: a randomized controlled trial on the effect of music or visual arts group practice on cognitive and brain development of young children.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Trial
- Central executive training for ADHD: Impact on organizational skills at home and school. A randomized controlled trial.Neuropsychology · 2023Trial
- Does training working memory or inhibitory control produce far-transfer improvements in set shifting for children with ADHD? A randomized controlled trial.Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence · 2023Trial
- Self-regulation as a resource for coping with developmental challenges during middle childhood and adolescence: the prospective longitudinal PIERBMC psychology · 2023Trial
- Long-term follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of choline for neurodevelopment in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: corpus callosum white matter microstructure and neurocognitive outcomes.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2022Trial
159 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has been frequently applied to executive function measurement since first used to identify a three-factor model of inhibition, updating, and shifting; however, subsequent CFAs have supported inconsistent models across the life span, ranging from unidimensional to nested-factor models (i.e., bifactor without inhibition). This systematic review summarized CFAs on performance-based tests of executive functions and reanalyzed summary data to identify best-fitting models. Eligible CFAs involved 46 samples (
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.