The role of executive functions in 9‐ to 12‐year‐old children's sentence processing: An eye‐movement study

Background Executive function (EF) plays a crucial role in children's reading. However, previous studies were based on offline products of reading comprehension. Online research is needed to reveal the core mechanisms underlying children's reading processing. By measuring children's working memory (WM) and cognitive flexibility (CF), we investigated whether individual differences in EF could modulate sentence processing and, if so, how they exert their roles. Methods The present study manipulated semantic congruency and the association between crucial words in a sentence. We recruited 89 Chinese children aged 9–12 years and monitored their eye movement. Results The study revealed distinct associations between reader‐ and text‐related characteristics, as evidenced by eye‐movement patterns during reading. A significant incongruency effect was observed in reading, underscoring the children's capacity to discern incongruent information. Children's WM and CF were found to modulate this process. Specifically, high‐WM children showed more effective integration of incongruent information when the textual context was closely related during the later‐stage processing. In contrast, low‐WM children faced more challenges with incongruent words. Additionally, CF was influential during the early processing period. High‐CF children exhibited longer early‐stage reading times for incongruent words in associated contexts. Conclusions Individual differences in EF can modulate children's online sentence processing. However, different EF components may play different roles. Highlights What is already known about this topic A positive association exists between children's EF and reading, which often relies on offline products of reading comprehension. In children's sentence processing, sentence congruency and word association are the text features that require specific attention. The few studies investigating whether individual differences in EF modulate the processing of sentence congruency and word association have almost exclusively involved adults. What this paper adds Children exhibit longer reading times for incongruent words, highlighting the cognitive demand of incongruencies. WM plays a modulatory role during the later stages of sentence processing. CF influences children's reading during the early processing period. Implications for theory, policy or practice EF is a crucial cognitive basis that supports children's reading processing. WM and CF can underlie learning di