The Influence of a Mindfulness-Based Curriculum on Executive Function in Four-Year-Olds

Author

Victoria McCannFollow

Date of Award

Spring 4-12-2021

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Stephanie Miller

Second Advisor

Kenya Wolff

Third Advisor

Rebekah Smith

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Research on the effectiveness of mindfulness as a method for improving a variety of psychological, social, and emotional skills has grown throughout the last decade. Extensive literature reviews show promising results for the improvement of executive function skills utilizing mindfulness-based interventions, though the current literature is primarily focused on adults, adolescents, and older children. Preliminary work has suggested that training executive function skills using mindfulness-based interventions in early childhood would be beneficial, but few studies investigating mindfulness-based interventions for young children exist. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a 12-week mindfulness-based curriculum using yoga had an impact on executive function in 4-year-old children. Two executive function measures, the Head-to-Toes task and the Gift Delay task, were administered to thirty-one 4-year-olds during early-intervention and post-intervention to examine potential improvements over the course of a mindfulness-based curriculum. I found that overall performance on the Head-to-Toes task improved. However, peeking behavior in the Gift Delay task did not improve, and surprisingly, results showed a decrease in waiting latency from early-intervention testing to post-intervention testing. While this study demonstrated promising results for the success of mindfulness-based interventions in preschool settings for tasks involving abilities requiring cognitive inhibition, flexibility, and working memory, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based curriculum in the areas involving behavior regulation that may also draw more affective components of regulation.

Recommended Citation

McCann, Victoria, "The Influence of a Mindfulness-Based Curriculum on Executive Function in Four-Year-Olds" (2021). Honors Theses. 1864.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1864

Accessibility Status

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