Stephanie M. Carlson   Tiffany S. Wang

This research investigated the relation between individual differences in  inhibitory control and emotion
regulation. Preschool children ( N = 53) ages  4–6 ( M = 5; 0) were assessed on brief batteries of inhibitory
control of  prepotent responses and emotion regulation. Individual differences in inhibitory  control were
significantly correlated with children’s ability to regulate  their emotions. This relation held up even after
controlling for age and  verbal ability, and persisted for both Emotion Understanding and “online”  control of
emotional expressions that were negative (Disappointing Gift) or  positive (Secret Keeping). Parent report of
children’s self-control and  emotion regulation corroborated the behavioral results. These findings  suggest
that executive control of attention, action, and emotion are skills  that develop in concert in the preschool
period. However, there was also  evidence of a quadratic relation in which emotion regulation was optimal
at  intermediate levels of inhibition, highlighting the interplay of both cognitive  control and temperament in
socio-emotional functioning.