ABSTRACT
Historically, the construct of executive function has suffered from its ready use as a covering term for a heterogeneous collection of different abilities. Clarifying the relation between executive function and theory of mind could help to reveal the relative importance of these different abilities. However, the necessity for planning and problem solving becomes apparent when the relevance of intentional action to executive function is acknowledged. Embedded rules make explicit how theory of mind could be related to executive function. The two are distinct and neither underlies the other, yet in a sense they are two sides of the same thing, because they both rely on different use of the same set of rules. The role of intention in preschool executive function has less often been recognized, presumably because of the prevailing emphasis on response inhibition. When executive function is cast in terms of intentional action, its relation to theory of mind becomes much more comprehensible.
