ABSTRACT
R. Case proposed that the development of executive functions is linked with working memory development through the construction of executive control structures. The role of executive functions in cognitive development has been emphasized and prominent models of cognitive development such as Case or J. A. Pascual-Leone considered them as a driving factor of cognitive development. This chapter focuses on the development of what are conceived as the three main executive functions, namely working memory updating, inhibition, and shifting. It presents the several main approaches that frame the study of executive functions and their development. Several theoretical accounts have suggested that the development of executive functions and more generally cognitive development is made possible by the growth of short-term or working memory. Finally, the development of executive control could result in part in the increasing capacity of children to process environmental cues, which allows them to identify the goal to reach.
