Lateralization left out: the interconnections between language, motor skills, executive function, and social skills in preschool children
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Date
2024
Authors
van Rootselaar, Nicole A.
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
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Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Neuroscience
Abstract
The goal of this thesis is to investigate the role of hand preference in preschool development using comprehensive measures to assess five dimensions: lateralized hand use, language, fine motor skills, executive function, and social competence. Early right-hand preference has been linked to better cognitive skills, but rarely studied comprehensively alongside multiple assessments of child cognitive abilities. I conducted three studies with two general goals; examine the relationship between hand preference and the four other dimension, and compare the relationships between all five areas using a single cohort of children. I found that hand preference had a small effect on child cognitive performance whereas social competence consistently appeared as a predictor of success for each cognitive skill. This result suggests that programs and interventions for enhancing cognitive function should place special emphasis on social competency.
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Keywords
preschool children , hand preference , social competency , language , fine motor skills , executive function