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

Strength training can improve the brain's executive functions, such as attention span, memory, and problem-solving. 11. —Aubrey Bailey, Pt, Dpt, Cht, Verywell Health, 8 July 2024

Research suggests that l-theanine intake may improve attention, working memory and executive functions. —Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024

Lanny Davis, a legal expert who was formerly Michael Cohen’s lawyer, said that the decision would have little impact on the hush-money case because paying hush money is not an executive function. —Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 1 July 2024

This is the part of your brain responsible for executive functions—things like planning, organizing, and yes, remembering what’s needed to finish a task. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 28 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above