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Guo J, Wei W. Factors influencing the role of inhibitory control in non-symbolic numerical processing. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2024; 248:104346. [PMID: 38870687 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have found that inhibitory control plays an important role in non-symbolic numerical processing. However, this role may be influenced by the visual cue control method or the stimulus' presentation time. We investigated these questions by conducting three experiments using a priming paradigm to compare the level of inhibitory control in a sequential dot comparison task with single-dimensional and multi-dimensional control of visual cues under two presentation time conditions (300 ms and 1500 ms). We found that neither the method of visual cue control nor the presentation time of dot arrays affected the level of inhibitory control in the dot comparison task. These results reveal a stable role of inhibitory control in non-symbolic numerical processing, providing further evidence for integrating numerical and visual information during non-symbolic numerical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junzhen Guo
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hang Zhou 310028, China
| | - Wei Wei
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hang Zhou 310028, China.
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2
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Viarouge A, Lee H, Borst G. Attention to number requires magnitude-specific inhibition. Cognition 2023; 230:105285. [PMID: 36152391 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that the ability to process number in the face of conflicting dimensions of magnitude is a crucial aspect of numerosity judgments, relying in part on the inhibition of the non-numerical dimensions. Here we report, for the first time, that these inhibitory control processes are specific to the conflicting dimension of magnitude. Using a non-symbolic numerical comparison task adapted to a conflict adaptation paradigm on a group of 82 adults, we show that congruency effects between numerical and non-numerical information were reduced only when the conflicting dimension was the same in the preceding incongruent trial. Attention to number thus involves inhibitory control processes acting at a specific level of information. These results contribute to better characterize the domain general abilities involved in numerical cognition, and provide evidence for a specific interaction between numerosity perception and inhibitory control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Viarouge
- Université Paris Cité, LaPsyDÉ, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, France.
| | - Hoyeon Lee
- Université Paris Cité, LaPsyDÉ, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Grégoire Borst
- Université Paris Cité, LaPsyDÉ, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, France
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3
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Otsuka S, Ueda Y, Saiki J. Diversity in Psychological Research Activities: Quantitative Approach With Topic Modeling. Front Psychol 2021; 12:773916. [PMID: 34975665 PMCID: PMC8716499 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.773916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent cultural studies have discussed universality and diversity in human behavior using numerous samples investigated worldwide. We aimed to quantitatively extend this discussion to various research activities in psychology in terms of geographic regions and time trends. Most psychology departments have specialists in various fields of psychology. Further, research institutions in all regions typically aim to provide systematic and balanced research education. Nevertheless, most researchers recognize universal features and patterns of diversity in research activities in psychology in terms of regional differences and time trends. However, these arguments remain intuitive and vague, and no studies have conducted quantitative analyses. To this end, we conducted topic modeling for the abstracts of psychological articles with the regions of author affiliations and publication periods as covariates. The results showed that the topic proportions related to basic research were high in North-Central America, whereas those related to clinical research were high in Europe. Interestingly, the regional differences shown by topic modeling were not observed in the frequency analysis of keywords, indicating that topic modeling revealed implicit characteristics. Moreover, we observed an increasing trend of neuroscience topics across publication periods. However, this trend was not valid for the psychology journal Psychological Science. Taken together, our results suggest diversity of geographic regions and periods in research activities in psychology. More importantly, our findings indicate that universality holds neither for human behavior nor research activities on human mental processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sachio Otsuka
- Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | | | - Jun Saiki
- Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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Yu X, Zhang M, Chen Y, Deng Z, Chen Y, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Chen X. The role of inhibitory control in the development of analogical reasoning: From general to specific. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 38:594-615. [PMID: 32790001 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the role of inhibitory control in the development of analogical reasoning using inter-task priming paradigms. In Experiment 1, 25 seven-year-olds, 27 nine-year-olds, and 27 adults completed Stroop tasks, which activated general inhibitory control ability, before analogical reasoning tasks. Children and adults performed faster on analogical reasoning tasks when they were primed by Stroop tasks. This priming effect was found to be stronger in children than in adults. In Experiment 2, 25 seven-year-olds, 28 nine-year-olds, and 28 adults completed relative number matching tasks, a more task-relevant inhibitory control task, before analogical reasoning tasks. The children and adults performed faster on analogical reasoning tasks when primed by relative number matching tasks. The priming effect was greater in seven-year-olds than in nine-year-olds and was greater in nine-year-olds than in adults. Thus, inhibitory control, whether assessed with general or specific tasks, played a priming role in analogical reasoning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Yu
- School of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Yinghe Chen
- School of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhijun Deng
- School of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yiqun Chen
- School of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Han Zhang
- School of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - YuXin Zhang
- School of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Chen
- School of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Wilkinson HR, Smid C, Morris S, Farran EK, Dumontheil I, Mayer S, Tolmie A, Bell D, Porayska-Pomsta K, Holmes W, Mareschal D, Thomas MSC. Domain-Specific Inhibitory Control Training to Improve Children's Learning of Counterintuitive Concepts in Mathematics and Science. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2019; 4:296-314. [PMID: 32832846 PMCID: PMC7410229 DOI: 10.1007/s41465-019-00161-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Evidence from cognitive neuroscience suggests that learning counterintuitive concepts in mathematics and science requires inhibitory control (IC). This prevents interference from misleading perceptual cues and naïve theories children have built from their experiences of the world. Here, we (1) investigate associations between IC, counterintuitive reasoning, and academic achievement and (2) evaluate a classroom-based computerised intervention, called Stop & Think, designed to embed IC training within the learning domain (i.e. mathematics and science content from the school curricula). Cross-sectional analyses of data from 627 children in Years 3 and 5 (7- to 10-year-olds) demonstrated that IC, measured on a Stroop-like task, was associated with counterintuitive reasoning and mathematics and science achievement. A subsample (n = 456) participated either in Stop & Think as a whole-class activity (teacher-led, STT) or using individual computers (pupil-led, STP), or had teaching as usual (TAU). For Year 3 children (but not Year 5), Stop & Think led to better counterintuitive reasoning (i.e. near transfer) in STT (p < .001, ηp 2 = .067) and STP (p < .01, ηp 2 = .041) compared to TAU. Achievement data was not available for Year 3 STP or Year 5 STT. For Year 3, STT led to better science achievement (i.e. far transfer) compared to TAU (p < .05, ηp 2 = .077). There was no transfer to the Stroop-like measure of IC. Overall, these findings support the idea that IC may contribute to counterintuitive reasoning and mathematics and science achievement. Further, we provide preliminary evidence of a domain-specific IC intervention with transferable benefits to academic achievement for Year 3 children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah R. Wilkinson
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Claire Smid
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Su Morris
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- UCL Institute of Education, University College of London, London, UK
| | - Emily K. Farran
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Iroise Dumontheil
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Sveta Mayer
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- UCL Institute of Education, University College of London, London, UK
| | - Andrew Tolmie
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- UCL Institute of Education, University College of London, London, UK
| | - Derek Bell
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- Learnus, London, UK
| | - Kaśka Porayska-Pomsta
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- UCL Institute of Education, University College of London, London, UK
| | - Wayne Holmes
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- Nesta, London, UK
| | - Denis Mareschal
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Michael S. C. Thomas
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - The UnLocke Team
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
- UCL Institute of Education, University College of London, London, UK
- School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- Learnus, London, UK
- Nesta, London, UK
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Castaldi E, Mirassou A, Dehaene S, Piazza M, Eger E. Asymmetrical interference between number and item size perception provides evidence for a domain specific impairment in dyscalculia. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209256. [PMID: 30550549 PMCID: PMC6294370 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Dyscalculia, a specific learning disability that impacts arithmetical skills, has previously been associated to a deficit in the precision of the system that estimates the approximate number of objects in visual scenes (the so called 'number sense' system). However, because in tasks involving numerosity comparisons dyscalculics' judgements appears disproportionally affected by continuous quantitative dimensions (such as the size of the items), an alternative view linked dyscalculia to a domain-general difficulty in inhibiting task-irrelevant responses. To arbitrate between these views, we evaluated the degree of reciprocal interference between numerical and non-numerical quantitative dimensions in adult dyscalculics and matched controls. We used a novel stimulus set orthogonally varying in mean item size and numerosity, putting particular attention into matching both features' perceptual discriminability. Participants compared those stimuli based on each of the two dimensions. While control subjects showed no significant size interference when judging numerosity, dyscalculics' numerosity judgments were strongly biased by the unattended size dimension. Importantly however, both groups showed the same degree of interference from the unattended dimension when judging mean size. Moreover, only the ability to discard the irrelevant size information when comparing numerosity (but not the reverse) significantly predicted calculation ability across subjects. Overall, our results show that numerosity discrimination is less prone to interference than discrimination of another quantitative feature (mean item size) when the perceptual discriminability of these features is matched, as here in control subjects. By quantifying, for the first time, dyscalculic subjects' degree of interference on another orthogonal dimension of the same stimuli, we are able to exclude a domain-general inhibition deficit as explanation for their poor / biased numerical judgement. We suggest that enhanced reliance on non-numerical cues during numerosity discrimination can represent a strategy to cope with a less precise number sense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Castaldi
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Anne Mirassou
- Centre Hospitalier Rives de Seine, Service de Pédiatrie et Néonatologie, Unité de Dépistage des Troubles des Apprentissages, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
| | - Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Manuela Piazza
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Evelyn Eger
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DRF/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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Brookman-Byrne A, Mareschal D, Tolmie AK, Dumontheil I. Inhibitory control and counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescence. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198973. [PMID: 29927969 PMCID: PMC6013119 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Existing concepts can be a major barrier to learning new counterintuitive concepts that contradict pre-existing experience-based beliefs or misleading perceptual cues. When reasoning about counterintuitive concepts, inhibitory control is thought to enable the suppression of incorrect concepts. This study investigated the association between inhibitory control and counterintuitive science and maths reasoning in adolescents (N = 90, 11-15 years). Both response and semantic inhibition were associated with counterintuitive science and maths reasoning, when controlling for age, general cognitive ability, and performance in control science and maths trials. Better response inhibition was associated with longer reaction times in counterintuitive trials, while better semantic inhibition was associated with higher accuracy in counterintuitive trials. This novel finding suggests that different aspects of inhibitory control may offer unique contributions to counterintuitive reasoning during adolescence and provides further support for the hypothesis that inhibitory control plays a role in science and maths reasoning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annie Brookman-Byrne
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Centre for Educational Neuroscience, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Denis Mareschal
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Centre for Educational Neuroscience, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew K. Tolmie
- Centre for Educational Neuroscience, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Iroise Dumontheil
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Centre for Educational Neuroscience, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Gvozdic K, Moutier S, Dupoux E, Buon M. Priming Children's Use of Intentions in Moral Judgement with Metacognitive Training. Front Psychol 2016; 7:190. [PMID: 27047402 PMCID: PMC4797364 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Typically, adults give a primary role to the agent’s intention to harm when performing a moral judgment of accidental harm. By contrast, children often focus on outcomes, underestimating the actor’s mental states when judging someone for his action, and rely on what we suppose to be intuitive and emotional processes. The present study explored the processes involved in the development of the capacity to integrate agents’ intentions into their moral judgment of accidental harm in 5 to 8-year-old children. This was done by the use of different metacognitive trainings reinforcing different abilities involved in moral judgments (mentalising abilities, executive abilities, or no reinforcement), similar to a paradigm previously used in the field of deductive logic. Children’s moral judgments were gathered before and after the training with non-verbal cartoons depicting agents whose actions differed only based on their causal role or their intention to harm. We demonstrated that a metacognitive training could induce an important shift in children’s moral abilities, showing that only children who were explicitly instructed to “not focus too much” on the consequences of accidental harm, preferentially weighted the agents’ intentions in their moral judgments. Our findings confirm that children between the ages of 5 and 8 are sensitive to the intention of agents, however, at that age, this ability is insufficient in order to give a “mature” moral judgment. Our experiment is the first that suggests the critical role of inhibitory resources in processing accidental harm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarina Gvozdic
- Laboratoire Paragraphe, Saint-Denis University Saint Denis, France
| | - Sylvain Moutier
- Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Processus de Santé, Paris Descartes University Paris, France
| | - Emmanuel Dupoux
- Laboratoire Paragraphe, Saint-Denis University Saint Denis, France; Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et de Psycholinguistique, Department of Cognitive Studies, Ecole Normale SupérieureParis, France
| | - Marine Buon
- Institut Jean Nicod, Department of Cognitive Studies, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris, France
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