Abstract

Reading comprehension plays a key role in learning and school performance. Therefore, several investigations have focused on studying the role of executive functions in the development of this skill; however, there is no consensus on the effect of these cognitive functions on reading comprehension and its dimensions. The aim of this research is to evaluate the predictive capacity of cognitive inhibition, behavioral inhibition and cognitive flexibility on reading comprehension and its textual, pragmatic, and critical dimensions in 120 fourth-grade students evaluated with three executive and one reading comprehension tasks. Data analysis, correlations and multiple linear regressions were performed. The results showed that cognitive inhibition was a predictor of textual comprehension; behavioral inhibition, of pragmatic and overall comprehension; and cognitive flexibility, of critical and total comprehension. These findings highlight the important role these executive functions play in reading comprehension and provide relevant information for teachers to plan their teaching strategies according to the cognitive demands required by the reading comprehension process.