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Executive functions are cognitive gadgets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2019

Senne Braem Open the ORCID record for Senne Braem [Opens in a new window]  and
Bernhard Hommel Open the ORCID record for Bernhard Hommel [Opens in a new window]
Senne Braem
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. senne.braem@vub.be
Bernhard Hommel
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands. hommel@fsw.leidenuniv.nlbernhard-hommel.eu
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Abstract

Many psychologists and neuroscientists still see executive functions as independent, domain-general, supervisory functions that are often dissociated from more “low-level” associative learning. Here, we suggest that executive functions very much build on associative learning, and argue that executive functions might be better understood as culture-sensitive cognitive gadgets, rather than as ready-made cognitive instincts.

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Open Peer Commentary
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Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e173
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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