An Investigation of the Associations Between Counterfactual Reasoning and Executive Functions in Chinese Preschool Children

Counterfactual reasoning involves reasoning about what could have happened but did not happen in the past. It assists people to learn from experience to improve future performance. Different from English with subjunctive forms (e.g. if someone had done something), Chinese does not apply subjunctive...

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Published inJournal of cognition and development Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 325 - 350
Main Author Wu, Yanwen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia Routledge 15.03.2025
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Children
Children & youth
Executive Function
Memory
Receptive Language
Short Term Memory
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN1524-8372
1532-7647
DOI10.1080/15248372.2024.2430194

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Abstract Counterfactual reasoning involves reasoning about what could have happened but did not happen in the past. It assists people to learn from experience to improve future performance. Different from English with subjunctive forms (e.g. if someone had done something), Chinese does not apply subjunctive forms. In Chinese, people often decide that a premise is counterfactual based on their knowledge of the past, which involves working memory. This study investigated counterfactual reasoning performance and the associations between counterfactual reasoning and executive functions in 257 Chinese 4- to 6-year-olds. Children completed counterfactual reasoning, working memory, inhibitory control, and receptive language tasks. Results showed that Chinese 4-year-olds achieved above-chance counterfactual reasoning performance. Also, working memory was significantly associated with counterfactual reasoning. Hence, Chinese children might solve counterfactual reasoning tasks without complex subjunctive forms relatively early, and working memory might assist counterfactual reasoning in Chinese.
AbstractList Counterfactual reasoning involves reasoning about what could have happened but did not happen in the past. It assists people to learn from experience to improve future performance. Different from English with subjunctive forms (e.g. if someone had done something), Chinese does not apply subjunctive forms. In Chinese, people often decide that a premise is counterfactual based on their knowledge of the past, which involves working memory. This study investigated counterfactual reasoning performance and the associations between counterfactual reasoning and executive functions in 257 Chinese 4- to 6-year-olds. Children completed counterfactual reasoning, working memory, inhibitory control, and receptive language tasks. Results showed that Chinese 4-year-olds achieved above-chance counterfactual reasoning performance. Also, working memory was significantly associated with counterfactual reasoning. Hence, Chinese children might solve counterfactual reasoning tasks without complex subjunctive forms relatively early, and working memory might assist counterfactual reasoning in Chinese.
Author Wu, Yanwen
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SubjectTerms Children
Children & youth
Executive Function
Memory
Receptive Language
Short Term Memory
Title An Investigation of the Associations Between Counterfactual Reasoning and Executive Functions in Chinese Preschool Children
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