Cognitive Development 61 (2022) 101142 0885-2014/© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. The relation between drawing and language in preschoolers: The role of working Memory and executive functions Sabrina Panesi a, b, * , Sergio Morra a a University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy b National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Educational Technology, Genoa, Italy A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Drawing Language Working memory Executive function Inhibition Preschoolers ABSTRACT Language and pictures are two major representational systems, but the relation between them in early childhood is under-investigated. This study investigated the association between drawing and language in preschoolers, and examined the role of working memory and executive functions (inhibition, shifting, and updating) in the association between drawing and language. The par- ticipants were 125 preschoolers (aged 3;0–6;1). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses found that two factors, respectively loading language and drawing measures, were correlated, also controlling for age. Regression analyses indicated that working memory and inhibition tasks predicted language, and inhibition tasks predicted drawing, above and beyond age. Structural equation modeling supported a model, according to which indirect influence of working memory and direct influence of executive functions fully accounted for the correlation between drawing and language. This suggests that the intertwining of language and drawing development in preschoolers depends on the development of domain-general components of the cognitive system. 1. Introduction Preschool marks a time of dynamic development of symbolic representations, such as drawing and language (e.g., Callaghan, 2000; Homer & Nelson, 2005). During the preschool years, not only does the child’s vocabulary keep growing at a fast rate, but also syntax becomes more complex, including use of subordinate and embedded clauses; also, early forms of metalinguistic awareness emerge (e. g., Klee & Stokes, 2017). A steady progress not only in production, but also in comprehension measures (e.g., Chilosi & Cipriani, 2006) characterizes language development at this age. According to classical, descriptive theories of drawing development, the child moves from fortuitous to failed and intellectual realism (Luquet, 1927), and his/her drawings are “preschematic” (Lowenfeld & Brittain, 1982). According to more recent, cognitive views, information processing and problem solving in drawing undergo steady progress (Morra, 2008a, 2008b). Also executive control develops rapidly in the preschool years (e.g., Best & Miller, 2010; Garon, Bryson, & Smith, 2008). Not only there is a quantitative increase in working memory capacity and in accuracy on various executive function tasks, but also an initial differentiation of executive functions is observed during the late preschool years (Karr et al., 2018; Morra, Panesi, Traverso, & Usai, 2018; Panesi & Morra, 2020; Usai, Viterbori, Traverso, & De Franchis, 2014). Note that we are distinguishing working memory capacity from the classical executive functions (inhibition, shifting, and updating). In research on adults, these constructs are clearly distinguished, although in the developmental literature, working memory is sometimes mixed up with executive functions – but we consider this a confusion that does not aid conceptual clarity (Morra et al., 2018; see also Oberauer, 2009). * Correspondence to: Universit` a di Genova, DISFOR (Department of Education), Corso A. Podest` a 2, 16128 Genova, Italy. E-mail addresses: panesi.sabrina@gmail.com (S. Panesi), morra@nous.unige.it (S. Morra). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Cognitive Development journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cogdev https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101142 Received 14 September 2020; Received in revised form 19 November 2021; Accepted 28 November 2021