5-8 yaş Türk çocuklarında sayı bilgisi ve bilişsel esneklik

Executive functions (EFs) are top down cognitive processes that are associated with the regulation of behaviors as well as emotions. EFs include three core interrelated components: working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. Among them, cognitive flexibility is defined as the ability to flexibly switch between different perspectives and adjust to the changing conditions. The present study investigated the magnitude of relationship between cognitive flexibility and number sense as part of conceptual thinking. It was expected that children will be affected by the age and the criteria used in the cognitive flexibility tasks. This relationship was measured with Penn Conditional Exclusion Test (PCET) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The Early Numeracy Test (ENT) was used for number sense assessment. One hundred and fourteen 5- to 8-year-old Turkish students attending preschool, first, and second grade of elementary school participated in the study. Results suggested that the PCET and the WCST have components in common: concept formation and perseveration. The concept formation scores in two EF tests were correlated, but perseveration factors were distinct from each other. ENT was also significantly correlated with 4 scores of the WCST and 5 scores of the PCET, indicating a significant relationship between EF and number sense. Finally, age was a significant covariate for only concept formation factors of both the WCST and PCET, in addition to the ENT scores from age of 5 to 6. Effects of gender, years spent in pre-school, and type of school were not statistically significant for any of the EF and ENT measures, except the effect of preschool on the concept formation in the WCST. This finding point to a further need to investigate the use of symbols in the task switching measures in pre-school period. Key words: number sense, concept formation, cognitive flexibility, task-shifting, Wisconsin card sorting test, Penn conditional exclusion test