Definition of executive function
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
- 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
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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
