Fluid intelligence, memory span, and temperament difficulties predict academic performance of young adolescents

Relation between fluid intelligence and mathematics and reading comprehension achievements: The moderating role of student teacher relationships and school bonding

Several studies have shown the relevance among students of the quality of their interpersonal relationships for their academic achievement. Nevertheless, most studies available have explored the relation between the cognitive functioning and academic achievement without taking into account the quality of the relationships experienced in the school environment. Furthermore, the studies that have begun to consider the joint role of these factors in the prediction of academic achievement are scant. Therefore, it appears of relevance to deepen the relation between cognitive functioning and quality of school relationships in order to support students' academic achievement and the potential of youth. In this paper, we examined the moderating role of the quality of student-teacher relationships and school bonding (STR-SB) in the associations of fluid intelligence (Gf) with academic achievement among adolescents (N = 219). A multiple-group structural equation modelling analysis revealed that STR-SB quality moderated unexpectedly only the link between Gf and mathematics. The findings support the idea that the quality of student-teacher relationships may be a relevant dimension to be considered to clarify the association between cognitive functioning and academic achievement.

Motivation to succeed is not enough: motivated students need to know how to plan/organize their steps on their way to success

The study is based on dispositional (career motivation) and social-cognitive (generalized self-efficacy) theories of personality, further on the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation and future time perspective theory (task value, time, and study environment). The study aimed to explain the mechanism of the prediction relationship between motivation and students' performance. It was assumed that skills of planning and organizing (operationalized as generalized self-efficacy and learning strategies) mediate the prediction of motivation (career motivation and task value) on students' success (operationalized as academic achievement and employability). In two studies (N = 313, N = 219), the hypotheses of the mediation models were supported by structural equation modeling. Generally, the skills of organizing/planning fully mediated the students' performance, measured as academic achievement and employability (number of employers). The results show the importance of combining dispositional motivation characteristics with dynamic planning skills on the way to students' success. Traditional psychological predictors of performance, like general mental ability and conscientiousness, were not controlled. Higher education institutions could support motivated students on their way to success by teaching them how to plan and organize specific steps on their way to success.

Cognitive skill learning in multiple sclerosis: A meaningful component of the neuropsychological profile

Cognitive skill learning (CSL) refers to the capacity to improve performance on specific cognitive operations through repeated practice. We hypothesized that high CSL aptitude may promote accumulation of cognitive reserve, and resiliency to cognitive decline, in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Using an adaptive working memory training paradigm, we obtained CSL aptitude indices (amount of improvement on the training task over time) in MS patients for a single session of practice (25-30 min), and longer-term practice (twenty sessions). Neuropsychological performance was assessed with the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), and the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM). CSL aptitude measures were positively correlated with neuropsychological performance, and had high diagnostic accuracy for classifying cognitive impairment in MS, defined as 1.5 SD below the demographics-corrected normative mean of the SDMT. Positive relationships between CSL aptitude measures and neuropsychological performance tended to be more pronounced for individuals with high estimated cognitive reserve, suggesting that high CSL aptitude is a a factor that promotes the protective effects of cognitive reserve. Furthermore, regression analyses indicated that CSL aptitude is separable from baseline cognitive capacity. The findings suggest that CSL aptitude impacts the neuropsychological profile in MS, and may be a factor underlying variance in cognitive resiliency.

Predicting cognitive scores with graph neural networks through sample selection learning

Analyzing the relation between intelligence and neural activity is of the utmost importance in understanding the working principles of the human brain in health and disease. In existing literature, functional brain connectomes have been used successfully to predict cognitive measures such as intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in both healthy and disordered cohorts using machine learning models. However, existing methods resort to flattening the brain connectome (i.e., graph) through vectorization which overlooks its topological properties. To address this limitation and inspired from the emerging graph neural networks (GNNs), we design a novel regression GNN model (namely RegGNN) for predicting IQ scores from brain connectivity. On top of that, we introduce a novel, fully modular sample selection method to select the best samples to learn from for our target prediction task. However, since such deep learning architectures are computationally expensive to train, we further propose a learning-based sample selection method that learns how to choose the training samples with the highest expected predictive power on unseen samples. For this, we capitalize on the fact that connectomes (i.e., their adjacency matrices) lie in the symmetric positive definite (SPD) matrix cone. Our results on full-scale and verbal IQ prediction outperforms comparison methods in autism spectrum disorder cohorts and achieves a competitive performance for neurotypical subjects using 3-fold cross-validation. Furthermore, we show that our sample selection approach generalizes to other learning-based methods, which shows its usefulness beyond our GNN architecture.

Temperament and Academic Achievement in Children: A Meta-Analysis

This study aimed to systematize the diverse and rather controversial findings of empirical research on the relationship between the temperament and academic achievement of school children, as well as to determine the average effect size between these variables. We included 57 original studies of published and unpublished research conducted in 12 countries between 1985 and 2019, with cumulative sample size of 79,913 (varying from 6333 to 14,126 for links between particular temperament dimensions and specific domains of achievement). A random-effects and mixed-effects model was fitted to the data for the central tendency of the temperament-achievement relation and for analyzing moderators, respectively. The high heterogeneity of studies was tackled by selected specific moderators, namely, education level, transition status, family's socio-economic level, and sources of report on achievement and temperament. The main findings of this meta-analysis affirmed the positive association of effortful control (EC) and inverse relationship of negative affectivity (NA) with a child's academic performance, together with no apparent trend of surgency (SU) in this relationship; additionally, the sources of report significantly moderated the link between temperament and academic achievement.

Examining the relationships among adolescent health behaviours, prefrontal function, and academic achievement using fNIRS

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Prior studies document effects of lifestyle behaviors on the brain and academics.

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Among adolescents we found that activity and eating both predict task performance.

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Activity also predicts functional activation in the right lateral dlPFC, but not grades.

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Substance use predicted worse grades but not brain-related mediators.

Several adolescent health behaviours have been hypothesized to improve academic performance via their beneficial impact on cognitive control and functional aspects of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The primary objective of this study is to examine the association between lifestyle behaviours and academic performance in a sample of adolescents, and to examine the extent to which activity within the PFC and behavioural indices of inhibition may mediate this relationship. Sixty-seven adolescents underwent two study sessions five days apart. Sleep and physical activity were measured using wrist-mounted accelerometry; eating habits, substance use and academic achievement were measured by self-report. Prefrontal function was quantified by Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT) performance, and task-related activity via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Higher levels of physical activity predicted higher MSIT accuracy scores (β = .321, ρ = 0.019) as well as greater activation within the right dlPFC (b = .008, SE = .004, ρ = .0322). Frequency of fast-food consumption and substance use were negatively associated with MSIT accuracy scores (β = −0.307, ρ = .023) and Math grades (b = −3.702, SE = 1.563, ρ = .022), respectively. Overall, the results of this study highlight the importance of lifestyle behaviours as predictors of prefrontal function and academic achievement in youth.

Profiles of academic achievement and attention in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

BACKGROUND

Academic outcomes for autistic individuals are heterogeneous, but the reasons for this are unknown. Attention is known to predict learning in typical development, but there is less evidence about this relationship in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), even though attention is reported as atypical in this group.

AIMS

To investigate reading and maths achievement profiles for children with and without an ASD, focusing on the role of attention in these profiles and to enable a better understanding of individual differences.

METHODS

Reading, maths and attention abilities of 22 autistic children (6-16 years) and 59 TD children (6-11 years) were measured using standardised assessments.

RESULTS

A hierarchical cluster analysis that included all children (N = 81) revealed three distinct transdiagnostic subgroups, characterised by children with good, average, and poorer divided attention and academic achievement respectively. Children with poorer attention and achievement displayed relative weaknesses in maths, while children with average or above-average attention and achievement showed no such weakness.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provide a novel insight into the relationship between attention and achievement and understanding individual differences in ASD and typical development.

Assessing Psychological Fitness to Drive for Intoxicated Drivers: Relationships of Cognitive Abilities, Fluid Intelligence, and Personality Traits

Our study explores the relationships between traffic-psychological driving-related personality traits, fluid intelligence, and cognitive abilities for drivers whose driver license has been revoked due to intoxicated driving (alcohol and/or drugs). We were able to show that high significant impacts on cognitive functions derive from the participants' age and fluid intelligence. In addition, driving-related personality traits like emotional instability, sense of responsibility and self-control contributed significantly to some of the cognitive abilities that are important for the fitness to drive. Additionally, mediating effects of fluid intelligence in the model are discussed. Traffic psychologists can use this knowledge in their assessment of drivers, mainly regarding the possible compensation of cognitive deficits regarding the fitness to drive.

Longitudinal follow-up of verbal span and processing speed in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Neurocognitive deficits are frequently described in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), but it is unknown how these progress over time. Our aim was to longitudinally assess verbal span capacity and information processing speed in DMD and to explore a genotype-phenotype relation. Verbal span and processing speed scores were available of 28 males with DMD on two time-points, with a mean time interval of 28.34 months (SD = 16.09). The cohort contained of six patients missing only dystrophin isoform Dp427, sixteen missing Dp427 and Dp140, and six were undeterminable. A lower verbal span capacity was found at the first and second assessment, whereas processing speed was normal at both time-points. Post-hoc analyses suggested lower scores on verbal span and processing speed for patients missing Dp427 and Dp140. In DMD, a developmental stagnation in verbal span capacity, irrespective of normal processing speed, is detected through longitudinal follow-up. This appears more pronounced in patients missing Dp427 and Dp140.

Does degree completion improve non-cognitive skills during early adulthood and adulthood?

INTRODUCTION

Non-cognitive skills, particularly in terms of risk-aversion, future-orientation, and conscientiousness, grow with age, and this phenomenon is known as personality maturation. However, significant variability in maturation among individuals exists. The technology of cognitive/non-cognitive skill formation suggests that the growth of non-cognitive skills is contingent on cognitive skills or human capital in general. The completion of formal education is a quintessential form of human capital. The aim of this study is to test whether formal education indeed facilitates the improvement of non-cognitive skills during early adulthood and adulthood.] METHODS: I used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The study sample consists of 9291 individuals, representative of U.S. adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in 1994. The longitudinal design of the data allowed the repeated measurement of their non-cognitive skills in adolescence (age < 18), early adulthood (between 18 and 25) and then in adulthood (>25). I used Latent Score Difference modeling to examine whether advancement in formal education through degree completion predicts within-individual change in non-cognitive skills in early adulthood and adulthood.

RESULTS

A steady increase in non-cognitive skills beyond adolescence was found. Independently of academic engagement during high school, parental socio-economic status, and adolescent non-cognitive skills, degree completion reported in early adulthood coincides with gains in non-cognitive skills since adolescence, and this positive feedback repeats itself in adulthood.

CONCLUSIONS

Continued schooling facilitates personality maturation beyond adolescence. Given the profound effects of non-cognitive skills on various life outcomes, educational opportunities could alleviate social stratification.

Cortical Functional Connections and Fluid Intelligence in Adolescent APOE ε4 Carriers

AIMS

This study examined differences in corticocortical communication between adolescent ε4 carriers (ε4+) and noncarriers (ε4-) during a fluid intelligence task (Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence [CTONI]).

METHODS

Sixteen ε4+ and 20 ε4- individuals aged 13-15 years performed the CTONI while real-time EEG signals were acquired. Inter- and intrahemispheric coherences were analyzed.

RESULTS

The ε4+ subjects exhibited lower inter- and intrahemispheric coherences than the ε4- individuals.

CONCLUSION

ε4 carriers have lower corticocortical communication than noncarriers during an intelligence task, implying that carrying the ε4 allele may reduce brain networking in adolescence, several decades before the onset of Alzheimer disease.

The Dissociation between Adult Intelligence and Personality with Respect to Maltreatment Episodes and Externalizing Behaviors Occurring in Childhood

Here we analyze the simultaneous relationships among five variables. Two refer to childhood (episodes of various forms of maltreatment and externalizing behaviors), whereas three refer to early adulthood (intelligence, personality, and socialization difficulties). The 120 individuals considered for the present report were invited from the 650 schoolchildren participating in the Longitudinal Study of Intelligence and Personality (Minas Gerais, Brazil). The complete sample was recruited in 2002 (T1; mean age = 10.0; standard deviation (SD) = 2.2) and 120 were tested again in 2014-17 (T2; mean age = 23.5; SD = 2.2). Externalizing behaviors were registered at T1, whereas the remaining variables were obtained at T2. These were the main results: (1) externalizing behaviors predict future social effectiveness (as estimated by the general factor of personality derived from the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) and socialization difficulties computed from the socialization scale (SOC)) and future intelligence performance (as assessed by a set of fluid and crystallized tests); (2) episodes of self-reported childhood maltreatment predict social effectiveness, but not intelligence; (3) maltreatment and externalizing behaviors are unrelated; and (4) social effectiveness (personality) and intelligence are unrelated. Therefore, the findings support the dissociation between adult intelligence and personality with respect to maltreatment episodes and externalizing behaviors occurring in childhood. Implications of these findings for social policies aimed at preventing adult socially ineffective personalities are underscored.

Cognitive predictors of children's development in mathematics achievement: A latent growth modeling approach

Research has identified various domain-general and domain-specific cognitive abilities as predictors of children's individual differences in mathematics achievement. However, research into the predictors of children's individual growth rates, namely between-person differences in within-person change in mathematics achievement is scarce. We assessed 334 children's domain-general and mathematics-specific early cognitive abilities and their general mathematics achievement longitudinally across four time-points within the first and second grades of primary school. As expected, a constellation of multiple cognitive abilities contributed to the children's starting level of mathematical success. Specifically, latent growth modeling revealed that WM abilities, IQ, counting skills, nonsymbolic and symbolic approximate arithmetic and comparison skills explained individual differences in the children's initial status on a curriculum-based general mathematics achievement test. Surprisingly, however, only one out of all the assessed cognitive abilities was a unique predictor of the children's individual growth rates in mathematics achievement: their performance in the symbolic approximate addition task. In this task, children were asked to estimate the sum of two large numbers and decide if this estimated sum was smaller or larger compared to a third number. Our findings demonstrate the importance of multiple domain-general and mathematics-specific cognitive skills for identifying children at risk of struggling with mathematics and highlight the significance of early approximate arithmetic skills for the development of one's mathematical success. We argue the need for more research focus on explaining children's individual growth rates in mathematics achievement.

Executive Function Mediates the Association between Toddler Negative Affectivity and Early Academic Achievement

RESEARCH FINDINGS

We examined the nature of association between toddler negative affectivity (NA) and later academic achievement by testing early childhood executive function (EF) as a mediator that links children's temperament and their performance on standardized math and reading assessments. One hundred eighty-four children (93 boys, 91 girls) participated in our longitudinal study. Children's NA was measured at age 2 and EF at age 4. At age 6, academic achievement in reading and mathematics were assessed using the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001). Results indicated that NA at age 2 negatively predicted EF at age 4, which positively predicted mathematics achievement and reading achievement at age 6. Age 4 EF mediated the relation between age 2 NA and age 6 academic achievement on both reading and math. These findings highlight the significance of considering both NA and EF in conversations about children's academic achievement.

PRACTICE OR POLICY

For children with temperamentally high NA, focusing on efforts to enhance emotion regulation and EF during the preschool years may benefit their later mathematics and reading achievement.

The role of self-control and cognitive functioning in educational inequalities in adolescent smoking and binge drinking

Background

Large differences in substance use between educational levels originate at a young age, but there is limited evidence explaining these inequalities. The aim of this study was to test whether a) smoking and binge drinking are associated with lower levels of self-control and cognitive functioning, and b) associations between educational track and smoking and binge drinking, respectively, are attenuated after controlling for self-control and cognitive functioning.

Methods

This study used cross-sectional survey data of 15 to 20-year-olds (N = 191) from low, middle, and high educational tracks. We measured regular binge drinking and regular smoking (more than once a month), cognitive functioning (cognitive ability, reaction time and memory span), and self-control. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between educational track and smoking and binge drinking controlled for age, gender and social disadvantage, and for self-control and cognitive functioning.

Results

According to models that controlled for age, gender and social disadvantage only, respondents in the low educational track were more likely to drink heavily (OR = 3.25, 95% CI = 1.48–7.17) and smoke (OR = 5.74, 95% CI = 2.31–14.29) than adolescents in the high educational track. The association between educational track and binge drinking was hardly reduced after adjustment for self-control and cognitive ability (OR = 2.88, 95% CI = 1.09–7.62). Adjustment for self-control and cognitive functioning, especially cognitive ability, weakened the association between education and smoking (OR = 3.40, 95% CI = 1.11–10.37). However, inequalities in smoking remained significant and substantial.

Conclusions

In this study population, pre-existing variations between adolescents in terms of self-control and cognitive functioning played a minor role in educational inequalities in smoking, but not in binge drinking.

Individual Characteristics vs. Experience: An Experimental Study on Cooperation in Prisoner's Dilemma

Cooperative behavior is often assumed to depend on individuals' characteristics, such as altruism and reasoning ability. Evidence is mixed about what the precise impact of these characteristics is, as the subjects of study are generally randomly paired, generating a heterogeneous mix of the two characteristics. In this study we ex-ante create four different groups of subjects by factoring their higher or lower than the median scores in both altruism and reasoning ability. Then we use these groups in order to analyze the joint effect of the two characteristics on the individual choice of cooperating and on successful paired cooperation. Subjects belonging to each group play first 10 one-shot prisoner's dilemma (PD) games with ten random partners and then three consecutive 10-round repeated PD games with three random partners. In all games, we elicit players' beliefs regarding cooperation using an incentive compatible method. Individuals with high altruism are more optimistic about the cooperative behavior of the other player in the one-shot game. They also show higher individual cooperation and paired cooperation rates in the first repetitions of this game. Contrary to the one-shot PD games where high reasoning ability reduces the probability of playing cooperatively, the sign of the relationship is inverted in the first repeated PD game, showing that high reasoning ability individuals better adjust their behavior to the characteristics of the game they are playing. In this sense, the joint effect of reasoning ability and altruism is not linear, with reasoning ability counteracting the cooperative effect of altruism in the one-shot game and reinforcing it in the first repeated game. However, experience playing the repeated PD games takes over the two individual characteristics in explaining individual and paired cooperation. Thus, in a (PD) setting, altruism and reasoning ability significantly affect behavior in single encounters, while in repeated interactions individual and paired cooperation reach similarly high levels independently of these individual characteristics.

Distraction in diagnostic radiology: How is search through volumetric medical images affected by interruptions?

Observational studies have shown that interruptions are a frequent occurrence in diagnostic radiology. The present study used an experimental design in order to quantify the cost of these interruptions during search through volumetric medical images. Participants searched through chest CT scans for nodules that are indicative of lung cancer. In half of the cases, search was interrupted by a series of true or false math equations. The primary cost of these interruptions was an increase in search time with no corresponding increase in accuracy or lung coverage. This time cost was not modulated by the difficulty of the interruption task or an individual's working memory capacity. Eye-tracking suggests that this time cost was driven by impaired memory for which regions of the lung were searched prior to the interruption. Potential interventions will be discussed in the context of these results.

Secondary education as a predictor of aptitude: Implications for selection in the automotive sector

Orientation: Details of applicants’ secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be a useful screening tool when processing large applicant pools. Here, the relationships between secondary education (incorporating subject choice) and the reasoning and visual perceptual speed components of the Differential Aptitude Test are explored.Research purpose: The objective of the study was to determine whether type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be used as a substitute for reasoning (verbal and non-verbal) and/or visual perceptual speed aptitudes in the selection of operators for an automotive plant in South Africa.Motivation for the study: The motivation for this study arose from the evident gap in academic literature as well as the selection needs of the automotive industry.Research design, approach and method: This research adopted a quantitative approach. It involved a non-probability convenience quota sample of 2463 work-seeking applicants for an automotive operator position in South Africa. Participants completed a biographical questionnaire and three subtests from the Differential Aptitude Test battery. The Chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) and selected cognitive aptitudes.Main findings: The study’s findings revealed statistically and practically significant relationships between type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice), verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and visual perceptual speed. Broad performance levels in the three aptitude subtests employed in this study were significantly associated with the type of matriculation certificate held by applicants. The findings specifically indicated that the secondary education types that included the subjects mathematics or both mathematics and science were associated with higher levels of performance in the three aptitudes. This had consequences for these applicants’ success in the screening process which could lead to enhanced chances of employability.Practical and managerial implications: Applicants’ type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be regarded as a key criterion in human resource selection and be instructive in the screening process. This could reduce the candidate pool prior to more costly psychometric assessments.Contribution or value-add: The findings are specifically relevant to the South African automotive industry in terms of their human resource selection practices. The insights gained from the findings may also be used as a guide to human resource practitioners in the selection of similar level employees in other working contexts. The study makes a case for a multiple-hurdle approach to selection.

Childhood Maltreatment and Development of Substance Use Disorders: A Review and a Model of Cognitive Pathways

Exposure to childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with increased risk for developing substance use disorders (SUDs). CM exerts negative effects on cognitive abilities including intellectual performance, memory, attention, and executive function. Parallel cognitive impairments have been observed in SUDs. Hence, limited studies have examined the mediating effect of cognitive impairments in the relationship between CM and SUDs. In addition, most studies used concurrent self-report assessments in adult populations. Longitudinal studies that investigated the long-term consequences of CM on psychopathology, including SUDs, throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood are rare. Thus, the underlying developmental pathways between CM and SUDs are not clearly understood. In this article, we review the evidence that cognitive impairments mediate, at least in part, the relationship between CM and development of SUDs and propose a model that explains how CM increases the risk for SUDs through the development of a cognitive framework of vulnerability.

Take the Money and Run: Psychopathic Behavior in the Trust Game

We study the association among different sources of individual differences such as personality, cognitive ability and risk attitudes with trust and reciprocate behavior in an incentivized experimental binary trust game in a sample of 220 (138 females) undergraduate students. The game involves two players, player 1 (P1) and player 2 (P2). In the first stage, P1 decides whether to trust and let P2 decide, or to secure an egalitarian payoff for both players. If P1 trusts P2, the latter can choose between a symmetric payoff that is double than the secure alternative discarded by P1, and an asymmetric payoff in which P2 earns more than in any other case but makes P1 worse off. Before the main experiment, we obtained participants' scores for Abstract Reasoning (AR), risk attitudes, basic personality characteristics, and specific traits such as psychopathy and impulsivity. During the main experiment, we measured Heart Rate (HR) and ElectroDermal Activity (EDA) variation to account for emotional arousal caused by the decision and feedback processes. Our main findings indicate that, on one hand, P1 trust behavior associates to positive emotionality and, specifically, to the extraversion's warmth facet. In addition, the impulsivity facet of positive urgency also favors trust behavior. No relation to trusting behavior was found for either other major personality aspects or risk attitudes. The physiological results show that participants scoring high in psychopathy exhibit increased EDA and reduced evoked HR deceleration at the moment in which they are asked to decide whether or not to trust. Regarding P2, we find that AR ability and mainly low disagreeable disinhibition favor reciprocal behavior. Specifically, lack of reciprocity significantly relates with a psychopathic, highly disinhibited and impulsive personality. Thus, the present study suggests that personality characteristics would play a significant role in different behaviors underlying cooperation, with extraversion/positive emotionality being more relevant for initiating cooperation, and low disagreeable disinhibition for maintaining it.

The development of a short domain-general measure of working memory capacity

Working memory capacity is one of the most frequently measured individual difference constructs in cognitive psychology and related fields. However, implementation of complex span and other working memory measures is generally time-consuming for administrators and examinees alike. Because researchers often must manage the tension between limited testing time and measuring numerous constructs reliably, a short and effective measure of working memory capacity would often be a major practical benefit in future research efforts. The current study developed a shortened computerized domain-general measure of working memory capacity by representatively sampling items from three existing complex working memory span tasks: operation span, reading span, and symmetry span. Using a large archival data set (Study 1, N = 4,845), we developed and applied a principled strategy for developing the reduced measure, based on testing a series of confirmatory factor analysis models. Adequate fit indices from these models lent support to this strategy. The resulting shortened measure was then administered to a second independent sample (Study 2, N = 172), demonstrating that the new measure saves roughly 15 min (30%) of testing time on average, and even up to 25 min depending on the test-taker. On the basis of these initial promising findings, several directions for future research are discussed.

Working Memory, Reasoning, and Task Switching Training: Transfer Effects, Limitations, and Great Expectations?

Although some studies have shown that cognitive training can produce improvements to untrained cognitive domains (far transfer), many others fail to show these effects, especially when it comes to improving fluid intelligence. The current study was designed to overcome several limitations of previous training studies by incorporating training expectancy assessments, an active control group, and "Mind Frontiers," a video game-based mobile program comprised of six adaptive, cognitively demanding training tasks that have been found to lead to increased scores in fluid intelligence (Gf) tests. We hypothesize that such integrated training may lead to broad improvements in cognitive abilities by targeting aspects of working memory, executive function, reasoning, and problem solving. Ninety participants completed 20 hour-and-a-half long training sessions over four to five weeks, 45 of whom played Mind Frontiers and 45 of whom completed visual search and change detection tasks (active control). After training, the Mind Frontiers group improved in working memory n-back tests, a composite measure of perceptual speed, and a composite measure of reaction time in reasoning tests. No training-related improvements were found in reasoning accuracy or other working memory tests, nor in composite measures of episodic memory, selective attention, divided attention, and multi-tasking. Perceived self-improvement in the tested abilities did not differ between groups. A general expectancy difference in problem-solving was observed between groups, but this perceived benefit did not correlate with training-related improvement. In summary, although these findings provide modest evidence regarding the efficacy of an integrated cognitive training program, more research is needed to determine the utility of Mind Frontiers as a cognitive training tool.

Dissociable effects of game elements on motivation and cognition in a task-switching training in middle childhood

Although motivational reinforcers are often used to enhance the attractiveness of trainings of cognitive control in children, little is known about how such motivational manipulations of the setting contribute to separate gains in motivation and cognitive-control performance. Here we provide a framework for systematically investigating the impact of a motivational video-game setting on the training motivation, the task performance, and the transfer success in a task-switching training in middle-aged children (8-11 years of age). We manipulated both the type of training (low-demanding/single-task training vs. high-demanding/task-switching training) as well as the motivational setting (low-motivational/without video-game elements vs. high-motivational/with video-game elements) separately from another. The results indicated that the addition of game elements to a training setting enhanced the intrinsic interest in task practice, independently of the cognitive demands placed by the training type. In the task-switching group, the high-motivational training setting led to an additional enhancement of task and switching performance during the training phase right from the outset. These motivation-induced benefits projected onto the switching performance in a switching situation different from the trained one (near-transfer measurement). However, in structurally dissimilar cognitive tasks (far-transfer measurement), the motivational gains only transferred to the response dynamics (speed of processing). Hence, the motivational setting clearly had a positive impact on the training motivation and on the paradigm-specific task-switching abilities; it did not, however, consistently generalize on broad cognitive processes. These findings shed new light on the conflation of motivation and cognition in childhood and may help to refine guidelines for designing adequate training interventions.

Heuristics and biases: interactions among numeracy, ability, and reflectiveness predict normative responding

In Stanovich's (2009a, 2011) dual-process theory, analytic processing occurs in the algorithmic and reflective minds. Thinking dispositions, indexes of reflective mind functioning, are believed to regulate operations at the algorithmic level, indexed by general cognitive ability. General limitations at the algorithmic level impose constraints on, and affect the adequacy of, specific strategies and abilities (e.g., numeracy). In a study of 216 undergraduates, the hypothesis that thinking dispositions and general ability moderate the relationship between numeracy (understanding of mathematical concepts and attention to numerical information) and normative responses on probabilistic heuristics and biases (HB) problems was tested. Although all three individual difference measures predicted normative responses, the numeracy-normative response association depended on thinking dispositions and general ability. Specifically, numeracy directly affected normative responding only at relatively high levels of thinking dispositions and general ability. At low levels of thinking dispositions, neither general ability nor numeric skills related to normative responses. Discussion focuses on the consistency of these findings with the hypothesis that the implementation of specific skills is constrained by limitations at both the reflective level and the algorithmic level, methodological limitations that prohibit definitive conclusions, and alternative explanations.

Neonatal brain abnormalities and memory and learning outcomes at 7 years in children born very preterm

Using prospective longitudinal data from 198 very preterm and 70 full term children, this study characterised the memory and learning abilities of very preterm children at 7 years of age in both verbal and visual domains. The relationship between the extent of brain abnormalities on neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and memory and learning outcomes at 7 years of age in very preterm children was also investigated. Neonatal MRI scans were qualitatively assessed for global, white-matter, cortical grey-matter, deep grey-matter, and cerebellar abnormalities. Very preterm children performed less well on measures of immediate memory, working memory, long-term memory, and learning compared with term-born controls. Neonatal brain abnormalities, and in particular deep grey-matter abnormality, were associated with poorer memory and learning performance at 7 years in very preterm children. Findings support the importance of cerebral neonatal pathology for predicting later memory and learning function.

Psychoticism and Disruptive Behavior can be also Good Predictors of School Achievement

The relations of Gf (Standard Progressive Matrices Raven), Gc (verbal scale of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Version), personality dimensions (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Junior Version), and disruptive behavior (TDAH scale) with school achievement (measured by TDE test and PISA test) were investigated. Two samples of students (total N = 534) representing a broad range of socioeconomic status (SES) participated in this study. Path models were conducted. The results demonstrated that (1) in both samples no sex differences related to school achievement were found; (2) in the first sample, after controlling for age and SES differences, Gf and psychoticism predicted (.38 and −.13, respectively) school achievement (measured by TDE test); (3) in the second sample, after controlling for SES differences to which additional measures were administered, Gf and Gc positively predicted (.22 and .40, respectively) school achievement (measured by PISA test). In addition, psychoticism and disruptive behavior also predicted school performance (−.14 and −.28, respectively). Some theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Different types of sensation seeking

Previous research on sensation seeking (SS) was dominated by a variable-oriented approach indicating that SS level has a linear relation with a host of problem behaviors. Our aim was to provide a person-oriented methodology—a probabilistic clustering—that enables examination of both inter- and intra-individual differences in not only the level, but also in the pattern of SS. We have applied model-based clustering to a four-semester long longitudinal high school survey ( N = 3334) and to a cross-sectional university survey ( N = 438). The results indicated that impulsive patterns are linked to negative outcomes whereas non-impulsive patterns are associated with positive outcomes. Our study aims to serve as a methodological example on how to apply model-based clustering to examine different types of sensation-seeking patterns. This modern clustering method allows for probabilistic categorization, with continous typicality scores besides cluster membership variables. These typicality scores turned out to have higher temporal stability than simple categorical membership variables did.

Inter-generational social mobility following early life stress

INTRODUCTION. Socio-economic position (SEP) is a powerful source of health inequality. Less is known of early life conditions that may determine the course of adult SEP. We tested if early life stress (ELS) due to a separation from the parents during World War II predicts adult SEP, trajectories of incomes across the entire working career, and inter-generational social mobility. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Participants (n = 10,702) were from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study 1934-44. Compared to the non-separated, the separated individuals attained a lower SEP in adulthood. The separated whose fathers were manual workers were less likely to be upwardly mobile from paternal occupation category to higher categories of own occupation, education, and incomes. The separated whose fathers had junior and senior clerical occupations were more likely to be downwardly mobile. Comparison of trajectories of incomes across adulthood showed that the difference between the separated and the non-separated grew larger across time, such that among the separated the incomes decreased. CONCLUSIONS. This life-course study shows that severe ELS due to a separation from parents in childhood is associated with socio-economic disadvantage in adult life. Even high initial SEP in childhood may not protect from the negative effects of ELS.

Relationship between childhood short stature and academic achievement in adolescents and young adults--a longitudinal study

AIM

To determine if short stature at 14 or 21 years and patterns of 'catch-up' growth from 5 to 14 or 21 years are related to academic achievement in adolescents.

METHODS

The Mater University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy is a longitudinal study of 7223 singleton infants born between 1981 and 1984. Data were available for cross-sectional analyses of 3785 adolescents of whom 2149 were seen as young adults. Longitudinal patterns of growth were examined for 2936 subjects from 5 to 14 years and 1753 subjects from 5 to 21 years.

RESULTS

Adolescents or young adults with height <10th centile had a lower mean Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) score in adolescence and at 21 years than those of normal height (2.7 and 3.0 points, respectively) and increased odds of a WRAT score <85 (1.57 and 1.87, respectively) and learning difficulties (1.61 and 1.78, respectively). For growth patterns from 5 to 14 years, adolescents short at 5 years, irrespective of height at 14 years, had a lower mean WRAT score and increased odds of WRAT score <85 and learning difficulties. However, for growth patterns from 5 to 21 years, only the group short at both ages had increased learning difficulties.

CONCLUSIONS

Youth short at 14 years or at 21 years and those persistently short have an increased prevalence of academic difficulties. Catch-up growth by 21, although not 14 years, was associated with improved outcomes.

Early trajectories of interparental conflict and externalizing problems as predictors of social competence in preadolescence

Consistent with developmental cascade notions, the present study investigated (a) associations between trajectories of interparental conflict and early externalizing problems during childhood and (b) early trajectories of externalizing problems as a pathway by which interparental conflict impacts children's social competence in preadolescence. Participants were 235 children and their parents and teachers. Children were assessed annually for 3 years, beginning when they were in kindergarten. Parents provided reports of interparental conflict and child externalizing problems. Children's social competence (prosocial behavior, social problems) was assessed approximately 5 years later via parent and teacher reports. Results from parallel process models indicated that changes in interparental conflict were positively associated with changes in externalizing problems during childhood. Further, demonstrating pathways consistent with notions of developmental cascades, early trajectories of externalizing problems accounted for the longitudinal link between early trajectories of interparental conflict and children's social problems in preadolescence.

Is smoking in pregnancy an independent predictor of academic difficulties at 14years of age? A birth cohort study

BACKGROUND

Studies of the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy have reported inconsistent findings in relation to measures of offspring cognitive functioning. Few studies, however, have examined learning outcomes in adolescents, as opposed to IQ.

AIM

To examine the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and academic performance among adolescent offspring.

STUDY DESIGN

Population-based birth cohort study.

SUBJECTS

7223 mothers and children were enrolled in the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy in Brisbane (Australia) from 1981 to 1984. Analyses were restricted to the 4294 mothers and children for whom all information was reported at 14-year follow-up.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Reports of academic performance of 14-year-old offspring in English, Science and Mathematics with different patterns of maternal smoking (never smoked, smoked before and/or after pregnancy but not during pregnancy, or smoked during pregnancy).

RESULTS

Low academic achievement was more common only in those whose mothers had smoked during pregnancy. Effect sizes were, however, small. The adjusted mean difference in total learning score for smoking before and/or after pregnancy but not during pregnancy, and for smoking during pregnancy were -0.18 (-0.58, 0.22) and -0.40 (-0.69, -0.12). Similarly, the adjusted odds ratios were 0.9 (0. 65, 1.24) and 1.35 (1.07, 1.70).

CONCLUSION

Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a preventable prenatal risk factor associated with small decrements in offspring academic performance that continue into adolescence.