executive function

noun

psychology

: the group of complex mental processes and cognitive abilities (such as working memory, impulse inhibition, and reasoning) that control the skills (such as organizing tasks, remembering details, managing time, and solving problems) required for goal-directed behavior

The biggest impacts, she says, are in enhancing what's known as executive function—the ability to perform complex tasks that rely on planning or decision making.

—Janet Raloff

also : one of these complex mental processes

But a new study reports that soccer players actually have superior executive functions, the brain processes responsible for planning and abstract thinking.

—Sindya N. Bhanoo

executive functioning noun

Measures of attention, hyperactivity, and executive functioning (the ability to process feedback, interpret life's good and bad moments, and react in an appropriate way to events) were based on reports from parents and teachers …

—David Kirby

Examples of executive function in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The first is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that’s involved in executive function and cognition. —Brenda Goodman, CNN, 1 Nov. 2024

But a growing consensus among researchers say that the condition is really a disorder of executive function, which describes skills like self-control, planning, and organizing. —Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 21 Oct. 2024

In one study, for example, people who had hypertension in their 40s to early 60s had a 6.5% steeper decline in cognitive skills—including mental processing speed and executive function—in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, compared to those with normal blood pressure. —Angela Haupt, TIME, 17 Oct. 2024

In a college admissions landscape that is more competitive than ever, executive function skills have emerged as a critical differentiator. —Dr. Aviva Legatt, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above