PhD Public Defense of Cláudia Ramos

Cláudia Ramos, a PhD candidate in the Doctoral Program in Psychology, will defend the thesis titled "Early mother-infant interaction and the development of executive functioning during early childhood". The public defense is scheduled for June 11, 2026, 14:00 at Sala de Provas, B327 (Building 4) of Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa.

Information about online participation and any updates should be consulted at Iscte's website.

Abstract:

Extensive research on executive functioning (EF) has examined its implications for children’s development. However, in infancy, the few studies that have examined the potential predictors contributing to early EF development, examined almost exclusively the study of individual factors. The current investigation aimed to examine the contribution of environmental factors known to be implicated in later EF abilities, namely maternal sensitivity, mind-mindedness, and toxic stress, to early EF. For this purpose, four studies were conducted: (i) a theoretical critical review, which reviewed the existing literature and hypothesized how one of the most studied parental behaviour – sensitivity – may be contributing to early EF; (ii) a scoping review, to synthesize the administration procedures of an important EF task – the A-not-B; (iii) a quantitative empirical study to understand the implications of maternal sensitivity and mindmindedness in distress and non-distress eliciting contexts of interaction for EF in the first year of life; and (iv) a quantitative empirical study to explore the convergent of the Early Executive Functions Questionnaire and to understand the potential contribution of toxic stress to children’s reported EF abilities in children 9-to-24 months. Sensitivity in the distress context and mind-mindedness in the non-distress context appear to be associated with EF. Toxic stress emerged as a predictor of children’s regulatory abilities. The present findings help inform future research and interventions on early EF, potentially through the intervention on the relational context.

Members of the jury:

• President: Joana Alexandre (Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa)

• Ana Alexandra Osório (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie)

• Miguel Barbosa (Universidade de Lisboa)

• Lígia Monteiro (Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa)

• Joana Baptista (Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa)