Development
Can low-cost school games boost executive functions in preschoolers?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
A simple, low-cost group game program significantly improved five-year-olds' memory, self-control, and mental flexibility compared to regular preschool activities.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Human experiment — Play-based EF training (12×30 min) vs regular kindergarten curriculum in disadvantaged areas
- N
- N=75 · 32 training, 43 control; ages 62–76 months
- Population
- Five-year-olds in low-income Italian kindergartens
- Outcome
- Working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility after training
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Key findings
Children in the training group showed significant improvements in several cognitive skills compared to the control group, with effects ranging from medium to large. Specifically, they performed better on tasks measuring working memory, motor self-control, and cognitive flexibility. However, the results were mixed for emotional self-control tasks, where trained children did not consistently outperform their peers.
Methodology
Researchers tested a play-based executive function program with five-year-old children from low-income areas in Italy. A final sample of 75 children was split into a group that received the training and a control group that followed the regular school curriculum. The training was delivered in small groups for 12 sessions, with each session lasting 30 minutes, over the course of a month. Researchers measured the children's skills before and after the training across several cognitive tasks, including working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility.
Limitations
The study did not use an active control group, meaning some benefits could simply stem from receiving extra adult attention rather than the specific games. Additionally, because a trained psychologist ran the sessions, it remains unclear if regular classroom teachers could achieve the same results. Finally, the researchers did not measure the long-term persistence of these cognitive improvements or their direct impact on later school performance.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
Structured cognitive training, including social card games and preschool-based play programs, can successfully train and improve executive functioning and working memory.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Structured physical interventions, such as acute high-intensity aerobic exercise, motor games, and yoga, significantly enhance cognitive self-regulation, attention, and neural indicators of inhibitory control.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Targeted, play-based or structured cognitive training programs in preschool settings can significantly improve impulse control and attention, particularly for children exhibiting ADHD symptoms.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Executive functions, including cognitive flexibility, can be successfully trained in early childhood through structured, play-based group interventions.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
The overall trainability and malleability of cognitive flexibility during interventions. A play-based curriculum for five-year-olds produced significant gains in cognitive flexibility, whereas a classroom resistance training program combined with cognitive exercises for adolescents failed to show any added cognitive flexibility improvements.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
The overall trainability and malleability of cognitive flexibility during interventions. A play-based curriculum for five-year-olds produced significant gains in cognitive flexibility, whereas a classroom resistance training program combined with cognitive exercises for adolescents failed to show any added cognitive flexibility improvements.
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