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Fabio RA, Verzì D, Gangemi A. A contribute to the default-interventionist and parallel accounts in deductive reasoning. The effect of decisional styles on logic and belief. THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 151:209-222. [PMID: 37526357 DOI: 10.1080/00221309.2023.2241952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
Classical theories of reasoning equate System 1 with biases and System 2 with correct responses. Refined theories of reasoning propose the parallel model to explain the two systems. The first purpose of the present article is to give a contribution to the debate on the parallel and default-interventionfist models: we hypothesized when logic and belief conflict both logical validity and belief judgments will be affected with greater level of response errors and/or longer response times. The second purpose of this article is to assess the relationship between decisional styles and performance in deductive reasoning. Seventy-two participants participated in the experiment and completed 64 modus ponens and modus tollens syllogistic reasoning tasks. Accordingly, we found that belief and logic judgments were affected by the conflict condition, both in easy syllogisms (i.e., modus ponens) and in complex syllogisms (i.e., modus tollens). Findings showed also that participants with a rational decision-making style were more strongly influenced by logic than belief, whereas those with an intuitive decision-making style were more strongly influenced by belief than logic.
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Song J, Wolfe B. Highly dangerous road hazards are not immune from the low prevalence effect. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2024; 9:6. [PMID: 38302804 PMCID: PMC10834906 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-024-00531-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
The low prevalence effect (LPE) is a cognitive limitation commonly found in visual search tasks, in which observers miss rare targets. Drivers looking for road hazards are also subject to the LPE. However, not all road hazards are equal; a paper bag floating down the road is much less dangerous than a rampaging moose. Here, we asked whether perceived hazardousness modulated the LPE. To examine this, we took a dataset in which 48 raters assessed the perceived dangerousness of hazards in recorded road videos (Song et al. in Behav Res Methods, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-023-02299-8 ) and correlated the ratings with data from a hazard detection task using the same stimuli with varying hazard prevalence rates (Kosovicheva et al. in Psychon Bull Rev 30(1):212-223, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-022-02159-0 ). We found that while hazard detectability increased monotonically with hazardousness ratings, the LPE was comparable across perceived hazardousness levels. Our findings are consistent with the decision criterion account of the LPE, in which target rarity induces a conservative shift in criterion. Importantly, feedback was necessary for a large and consistent LPE; when participants were not given feedback about their accuracy, the most dangerous hazards showed a non-significant LPE. However, eliminating feedback was not enough to induce the opposite of the LPE-prevalence induced concept change (Levari et al. in Science 360(6396):1465-1467, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap8731 ), in which participants adopt a more liberal criterion when instances of a category become rare. Our results suggest that the road hazard LPE may be somewhat affected by the inherent variability of driving situations, but is still observed for highly dangerous hazards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiali Song
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Benjamin Wolfe
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
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Santacroce LA, Tamber-Rosenau BJ. Crisis-related stimuli do not increase the emotional attentional blink in a general university student population. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2024; 9:3. [PMID: 38191858 PMCID: PMC10774501 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-023-00525-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Crises such as natural disasters or pandemics negatively impact the mental health of the affected community, increasing rates of depression, anxiety, or stress. It has been proposed that this stems in part from crisis-related stimuli triggering negative reactions that interrupt daily life. Given the frequency and prominence of crisis events, it is crucial to understand when crisis-related stimuli involuntarily capture attention and trigger increased stress and distraction from obligations. The emotional attentional blink (EAB) paradigm-in which emotional distractors hinder report of subsequent targets in streams of rapidly displayed stimuli-allows examination of such attentional capture in a rapidly changing dynamic environment. EABs are typically observed with generally disturbing stimuli, but stimuli related to personal traumas yield similar or greater effects, indicating strong attentional capture by stimuli related to individual trauma history. The current study investigated whether a similar comparable or increased crisis-related EAB exists within a community affected by large-scale crisis. Specifically, effects of conventional emotional distractors and distractors related to recent crises were compared using EABs in university students without a mental health diagnosis. Experiment 1 used images related to Hurricane Harvey, evaluating a crisis 4 years prior to data collection. Experiment 2 used words related to the COVID pandemic, evaluating an ongoing crisis at the time of data collection. In both experiments, the conventional EAB distractors yielded strong EABs, while the crisis-related distractors yielded absent or weak EABs in the same participants. This suggests that crisis-related stimuli do not have special potency for capturing attention in the general university student population. More generally, crises affecting communities do not necessarily yield widespread, strong reactivity to crisis-related stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay A Santacroce
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Fred J. Heyne Building, Room 126, 3695 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Jorgenson Hall, 9th Floor, 380 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada.
| | - Benjamin J Tamber-Rosenau
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Fred J. Heyne Building, Room 126, 3695 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
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Fabio RA, Caprì T. Advancing theorizing about fast-and-slow thinking: The interplay between fast and slow processing. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e119. [PMID: 37462197 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22003156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
We agree with the author's working model, but we suggest that (a) the classical distinction between fast and slow processes as separable processes can be softened, and (b) human performance might result from an interplay between fast and slow processing and these processes may be mediated by systems that evolve to satisfy the need for operation in a complex environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tindara Caprì
- Department of Life and Health Sciences, Link Campus University, Rome, Italy
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Frynta D, Elmi HSA, Rexová K, Janovcová M, Rudolfová V, Štolhoferová I, Král D, Sommer D, Berti DA, Frýdlová P. Animals evoking fear in the Cradle of Humankind: snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2023; 110:33. [PMID: 37405495 PMCID: PMC10322782 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-023-01859-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
Theories explain the presence of fears and specific phobias elicited by animals in contemporary WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) populations by their evolutionary past in Africa. Nevertheless, empirical data about fears of animals in the Cradle of Humankind are still fragmentary. To fill this gap, we examined which local animals are perceived as the most frightening by Somali people, who inhabit a markedly similar environment and the region where humans have evolved. We asked 236 raters to rank 42 stimuli according to their elicited fear. The stimuli were standardized pictures of species representing the local fauna. The results showed that the most frightening animals were snakes, scorpions, the centipede, and large carnivores (cheetahs and hyenas). These were followed up by lizards and spiders. Unlike in Europe, spiders represent less salient stimuli than scorpions for Somali respondents in this study. This conforms to the hypothesis suggesting that fear of spiders was extended or redirected from other chelicerates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Hassan Sh Abdirahman Elmi
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
- Amoud University, Borama, Somaliland
| | - Kateřina Rexová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Markéta Janovcová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Rudolfová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Iveta Štolhoferová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - David Král
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - David Sommer
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Alex Berti
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Frýdlová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
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Lu M, Lian C, Zeng X. An Attentional Blink Research on Different Types of Words in Male with Substance Use Disorder. Int J Ment Health Addict 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11469-022-00885-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
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Panebianco M, Caprì T, Panebianco M, Fabio RA. Implicit and explicit measures of positivity effect in the elderly adults. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03333-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Rinella S, Massimino S, Sorbello A, Perciavalle V, Coco M. Cognitive Performances: The Role of Digit Ratio (D2:D4) With a Protective Factor for Anxiety. FRONTIERS IN NEUROERGONOMICS 2022; 3:870362. [PMID: 38235465 PMCID: PMC10790902 DOI: 10.3389/fnrgo.2022.870362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
This study aimed to identify a possible correlation between the D2:D4 ratio and state and/or trait anxiety in adult healthy subjects and, if so, whether it exists any difference between men and women. In addition, we also wanted to observe whether there is a relationship between participants' age and state and/or trait anxiety. The research involved 125 subjects of both sexes, who were calculated the D2:D4 ratio and were administered the self-assessment questionnaire State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y). Results show that there are positive significant correlations between the D2:D4 ratio and score at state anxiety and trait anxiety, in the total sample. However, if men are examined separately from women, it can be observed that only men have a statistically significant relationship between D2:D4 ratios and state anxiety and trait anxiety. Moreover, about possible relations between the age of participants and state and trait anxiety, a significant negative relationship was observed, without differences between men and women. However, only subjects with a D2:D4 ratio ≥ 1, without differences between men and women, showed a statistically significant negative linear correlation between their age and their state and trait anxiety. The present data allow us to conclude that a low D2:D4 ratio (<1) represents a protective factor against anxiety in both men and women and that this protection seems likely to act throughout life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Rinella
- Section of Physiology, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Simona Massimino
- Section of Physiology, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Alessia Sorbello
- Section of Physiology, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | | | - Marinella Coco
- Section of Physiology, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
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Jacob J, Gupta R. Neuropsychological functions in a pediatric case of partial agenesis of the corpus callosum: Clinical implications. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY: CHILD 2022; 12:165-176. [PMID: 35412920 DOI: 10.1080/21622965.2022.2059371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The corpus callosum (CC) is involved in several cognitive processes and the interhemispheric transfer of information. The current case study investigated neurocognitive and emotional processes in a 7-year-old female with partial agenesis of the corpus callosum, with an absent splenium and posterior body, with comorbid autism and ADHD. We measured cognitive functions, such as response inhibition, error monitoring, attentional disengagement, and attention capture by irrelevant emotional stimuli. We found that response inhibition was intact in the case. When happy faces were used as stop-signals, it interfered with response inhibition compared to angry-face-stop-signals. Similarly, happy faces (relative to angry faces) interfered with error monitoring; irrelevant angry faces captured attention more than happy faces. Attentional disengagement functions were impaired in the case compared to healthy controls. The findings give an insight into the interaction between cognition and emotion in pediatric partial agenesis of the CC, and have important clinical and theoretical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jemima Jacob
- Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
| | - Rashmi Gupta
- Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
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Fabio RA, Andricciola F, Caprì T. Visual-motor attention in children with ADHD: The role of automatic and controlled processes. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2022; 123:104193. [PMID: 35149332 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND there are evidence that children with ADHD exhibit a deficit both in automatic and controlled processes. AIMS the present study aimed to examine the visual-motor attention and the influence of cognitive load through a dual task paradigm in children with ADHD compared with typical developing children (TD). METHODS AND PROCEDURES 113 children with ADHD: 40 with subtype inattentive (ADHD- I group), 16 with subtype hyperactive (ADHD-H group), 57 with subtype combined (ADHD-C group), and 113 TD children (TD group) were recruited. We used a dual-task paradigm in which the primary task was a figure-tracing test whereas the second task was a digit span test. A figure-tracing test was used to evaluate visual motor attention. Based on the length and intersection of the lines, the figures of the primary task were categorized into simple and complex. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS the ADHD groups compared to the TD group showed a worse accuracy of performance in both condition with and without cognitive load. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The findings were discussed in light of the relationship between automatic and controlled processes involved in the visual-motor attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Angela Fabio
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Via Bivona, 98122, Messina, Italy
| | - Federica Andricciola
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Via Bivona, 98122, Messina, Italy
| | - Tindara Caprì
- Department of Life and Health Sciences, Link Campus University, Via del Casale di S. Pio V, 44, 00165, Rome, Italy; Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 98164, Messina, Italy.
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Fabio RA, Ingrassia M, Massa M. Transient and Long-Term Improvements in Cognitive Processes following Video Games: An Italian Cross-Sectional Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 19:78. [PMID: 35010337 PMCID: PMC8751166 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the present study is to compare the short- and long-term effects of video-gaming by using the same measurements. More precisely, habitual and occasional video-gamers were compared so as to analyze the long-term effects. An ABABABA design was used to analyze the short-term effects. The first A refers to baseline measurements: Visual RT, Auditory RT, Aim trainer RT, Go/No-Go RT and N-Back RT. The first B refers to 30 min of gaming, the second A refers to the measurements used in the baseline, the second B refers to 60 min of a video game, the third A refers to the same measurements used in the baseline, the third B refers to a 30-min rest, and finally, the fourth A refers to the measurements used in the baseline. Seventy participants, twenty-nine habitual video-gamers and forty-one occasional video-gamers, participated in the study. The results showed a temporary improvement of cognitive functions (Visual RT, Auditory RT, Aim trainer RT, Go/No-Go RT and N-Back RT) in the short term and a strong enhancement of cognitive functions in the long term. The results are discussed in light of Flow Theory and the automatization process. Contribution of the study: The contribution of this research is to highlight that despite there being a transient enhancement of executive and cognitive functions through the use of mobile video games in the short-term period, with a decrease of performance after a 30-min rest, there is a strong increase of cognitive performance in the long-term period. Flow Theory and the automatization process together can explain this apparent inconsistency between the positive increase of long-term performance and the transient increase of short-term performance. One limitation of the present research is that it is not possible to distinguish whether the long-term enhancements can be attributed either to continued practice in the use of video games compared to non-gamers, or to the possibility that gamers are already predisposed to video game playing. Future research should address this issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Angela Fabio
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98121 Messina, Italy; (M.I.); (M.M.)
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Panebianco M, Caprì T, Panebianco M, Fabio RA. The role of automatic and controlled processes in the positivity effect for older adults. Aging Clin Exp Res 2021; 34:905-911. [PMID: 34704202 DOI: 10.1007/s40520-021-02007-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The positivity effect can be defined as an age-related attentional preference for positive information. The age differences are due to an attentional bias in which the young focused more intently on the negative stimuli, whereas the older attend to capture positive stimuli. There are two cognitive-emotional models that can explain the positivity effect: the socio-emotional selectivity theory (SST) and the dynamic integration theory (DIT). The SST states that in the older the positivity effect is related to controlled attentional processes, on the opposite, the DIT states that the positivity effect is related to automatic processes. AIMS The main aim of the present study was to examine automatic and controlled attentional orienting of young and older adults in the positivity effect. METHODS To reach these goals and to verify the generalization of the previous results, we used two experimental paradigms: the dot-probe task and the visual discrimination task with facial stimuli with positive (happy and surprise), negative (fair and angry) and neutral emotional expressions. 50 older and 35 young adults participated in this study. RESULTS The older adults reacted faster to positive emotions than neutral or negative ones. They had similar RTs for the three types of emotions in both automatic and controlled attention. DISCUSSION The findings are discussed in light of SST and DIT theories. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the positivity effect for the older subjects and support the idea that both automatic and controlled processes play a key role in this effect.
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Fabio RA, Pergolizzi G, Nucita A, Iannizzotto G, Caprì T. The role of a virtual avatar in attention and memory tasks in Rett syndrome. BMC Neurol 2021; 21:223. [PMID: 34126956 PMCID: PMC8201674 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-021-02212-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Since subjects with Rett syndrome (RTT) focus their attention mainly on the faces of people with whom they interact, in this study the role of a human-like smart interactive agent (an avatar) in enhancing cognitive processes is examined. More in depth, this study aimed to understand if, and to what extent, the use of an avatar can improve attention and memory abilities in subjects with RTT. Method Thirty-six subjects with RTT participated in the study. All participants performed over-selectivity and memory tasks, for a total of six trials. These trials were randomly presented in two different conditions: with and without virtual avatar. Results The results indicated that the participants improved their attention and memory abilities when they performed the tasks with the avatar. There were no improvements when they performed the tasks without the avatar. Discussion The results were discussed considering the relationship between motivation, attention and memory in RTT. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12883-021-02212-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Angela Fabio
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Messina, Via Bivona, 98122, Messina, Italy.
| | - Giorgia Pergolizzi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Messina, Via Bivona, 98122, Messina, Italy
| | - Andrea Nucita
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, Psychological, Educational and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Via Concezione, 6, 98122, Messina, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Iannizzotto
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, Psychological, Educational and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Via Concezione, 6, 98122, Messina, Italy
| | - Tindara Caprì
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Messina, Via Bivona, 98122, Messina, Italy
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Fabio RA, Picciotto G, Caprì T. The effects of psychosocial and cognitive stress on executive functions and automatic processes in healthy subjects: A pilot study. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-020-01302-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Correlations between facial emotion recognition and cognitive flexibility in autism spectrum disorder. ADVANCES IN AUTISM 2020. [DOI: 10.1108/aia-02-2019-0005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Purpose
Various studies have examined the role of executive functions in autism, but there is a lack of research in the current literature on cognitive flexibility in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether cognitive flexibility deficits could be related to facial emotion recognition deficits in ASD.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 20 children with ASD and 20 typically developing children, matched for intelligence quotient and gender, were examined both in facial emotion recognition tasks and in cognitive flexibility tasks through the dimensional change card sorting task.
Findings
Despite cognitive flexibility not being a core deficit in ASD, impaired cognitive flexibility is evident in the present research. Results show that cognitive flexibility is related to facial emotion recognition and support the hypothesis of an executive specific deficit in children with autism.
Research limitations/implications
One of the limit is the use of just one cognitive test to measure cognitive flexibility and facial recognition. This could be important to be taken into account in the new research. By increasing the number of common variables assessing cognitive flexibility, this will allow for a better comparison between studies to characterize impairment in cognitive flexibility in ASD.
Practical implications
Investigating impairment in cognitive flexibility may help to plan training intervention based on the induction of flexibility.
Social implications
If the authors implement cognitive flexibility people with ASD can have also an effect on their social behavior and overcome the typical and repetitive behaviors that are the hallmark of ASD.
Originality/value
The originality is to relate cognitive flexibility deficits to facial emotion.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE Several studies agree on the link between attention and eye movements during reading. It has been well established that attention and working memory (WM) interact. A question that could be addressed to better understand these relationships is: to what extent can an attention deficit affect eye movements and, consequently, remembering a word? The main aims of the present study were (1) to compare visual patterns of word stimuli between children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and typically developing (TD) children, during a visual task on word stimuli; (2) to examine the WM accuracy of the word stimuli; and (3) to compare the dynamic of visual scan path in both groups. METHOD A total of 49 children with ADHD, age and sex matched with 32 TD children, were recruited. We used eye-tracking technology in which the Word Memory Test was implemented. To highlight the scan path of participants, two measures were used: the ordered direction of reading and the entropy index. RESULTS ADHD groups showed a poorer WM than TD group. They did not follow a typical scan path across the words compared with TD children, but their visual scanning was discontinuous, uncoordinated, and chaotic. ADHD groups showed an index of entropy among the four categories of saccades higher than TD group. CONCLUSIONS The findings were discussed in light of two directions: the relationship between atypical visual scan path and WM and the training implications related to the necessity of redirecting the dynamic of visual scan path in ADHD to improve WM.
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Remote Eye-Tracking for Cognitive Telerehabilitation and Interactive School Tasks in Times of COVID-19. INFORMATION 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/info11060296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In the attempt to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 lockdown, most countries have recently authorized and promoted the adoption of e-learning and remote teaching technologies, often with the support of teleconferencing platforms. Unfortunately, not all students can benefit from the adoption of such a surrogate of their usual school. We were asked to devise a way to allow a community of children affected by the Rett genetic syndrome, and thus unable to communicate verbally, in writing or by gestures, to actively participate in remote rehabilitation and special education sessions by exploiting eye-gaze tracking. As not all subjects can access commercial eye-tracking devices, we investigated new ways to facilitate the access to eye gaze-based interaction for this specific case. The adopted communication platform is a videoconferencing software, so all we had at our disposal was a live video stream of the child. As a solution to the problem, we developed a software (named SWYG) that only runs at the “operator” side of the communication, at the side of the videoconferencing software, and does not require to install other software in the child’s computer. The preliminary results obtained are very promising and the software is ready to be deployed on a larger base. While this paper is being written, several children are finally able to communicate with their caregivers from home, without relying on expensive and cumbersome devices.
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Lecciso F, Colombo B. Beyond the Cortico-Centric Models of Cognition: The Role of Subcortical Functioning in Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Front Psychol 2020; 10:2809. [PMID: 31920851 PMCID: PMC6927277 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 11/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Flavia Lecciso
- Lab of Applied Psychology and Intervention, Department of History, Society and Human Studies, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy
| | - Barbara Colombo
- Neuroscience Lab, Champlain College, Burlington, VT, United States
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19
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Fabio RA, Caprì T, Romano M. From Controlled to Automatic Processes and Back Again: The Role of Contextual Features. EUROPES JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2019; 15:773-788. [PMID: 33680159 PMCID: PMC7909205 DOI: 10.5964/ejop.v15i4.1746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In cognitive psychology, classical approaches categorize automatic and controlled processes from a dichotomous point of view. Automatic processes are believed to be rigid, whereas controlled processes are thought to be flexible. New theories have softened this dichotomous view. The aim of the present study is to examine the possibility of implementing flexibility in automatic processing through reliance on contextual features. One hundred and twenty subjects (mean age 22.4, SD = 4.2), 60 male and 60 female, participated in this study. An automatic sequence task (with and without contextual features) was used to test flexibility in automatic processing. Results showed that the use of contextual cues can increase flexibility in automatic processes. The results are discussed in light of new theories on softened automaticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Angela Fabio
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Tindara Caprì
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Martina Romano
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
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20
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Fabio RA, Caprì T, Iannizzotto G, Nucita A, Mohammadhasani N. Interactive Avatar Boosts the Performances of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Dynamic Measures of Intelligence. CYBERPSYCHOLOGY BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING 2019; 22:588-596. [PMID: 31441667 DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2018.0711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
This study examined both children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typically developing students in dynamic measures of intelligence through the use of a virtual avatar. Three conditions were compared: in the first condition, the avatar simply gave the instructions; in the second condition, the avatar presented the instructions and gave feedback on the attention of the learner; in the third condition, the avatar was not presented. Results indicated that ADHD subtypes do not differ in problem solving and the interactive avatar improved the performance of groups with ADHD in the dynamic intelligence test. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that the function of regulation and feedback of the avatar improve the attention process and, consequently, boosts performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Angela Fabio
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Tindara Caprì
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Iannizzotto
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, Psychological, Educational and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Andrea Nucita
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, Psychological, Educational and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Nasrin Mohammadhasani
- Department of Educational Technology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
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