Commentary: Executive functioning—a key construct for understanding developmental psychopathology or a ‘catch-all’ term in need of some rethinking?

In a recent editorial (Halperin, 2016) Jeffrey Halperin calls for a firmer grasp of the executive function construct and its boundaries. His goal is to advance knowledge of the neurocognitive underpinnings of developmental psychopathology. In this commentary I propose that the development of the emotion regulation construct in relation to executive functioning is an ideal pursuit of this aim. Prior writings (Rice and Hoffman, 2014; Rice, 2016a,b,c) develop the conceptualization of implicit emotion regulation through analogies with defense mechanisms. Observed similarities between “hot” executive functions, implicit emotion regulation, and a contemporary understanding of defense mechanisms (Rice, 2016b) facilitates a more textured understanding of executive functions. Articulation and analysis of the differences between these three conceptualizations of different fields and frameworks performed in tandem with reflection upon their similarities yields an opportunity to develop our understanding of all three concepts in the pursuit of a more nuanced understanding of developmental psychopathology.