Inspection time and IQ

Antecedents of Interest and the Investment of Fluid Intelligence in the Formation of Crystalized Intelligence

Most of the studies of the effects of fluid intelligence and non-cognitive characteristics on crystalized intelligence examined additive effects. The results of the few studies that examined interactive effects are inconsistent. Some find a positive (facilitating) interaction and some find a negative (compensatory) interaction. We improve on these previous studies by examining non-cognitive characteristics that were not studied before and by using a very large representative sample (n = 11,266). We find a positive/facilitating interaction. We discuss the implication of these results to theories about the joint effect of fluid intelligence and non-cognitive characteristics on crystalized intelligence.

The representation of multiple intelligences in an intermediate Arabic-language textbook, and teachers' awareness of them in Jordanian schools

The theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) states that human intelligence is composed of different types of intelligences and that each individual possesses all of them but to a different degree. The main objective of this research was to examine how the Theory of Multiple Intelligences was addressed in a seventh-grade Arabic-language textbook at the intermediate-level in Jordan and determine Arabic-language teachers' level of knowledge of applying the Theory of Multiple Intelligences in textbooks. The study used the survey method and analytical descriptive approach via content analysis and coding MI indicators in the textbook to examine the representation of MI in the textbook examined. The sample was composed of all units of a seventh-grade Arabic-language textbook. A questionnaire was distributed to 130 Arabic-language teachers. The study includes eight of the Intelligences from Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory. The analysis found that the intelligences represented in the texts, activities, and exercises of the Arabic-language textbook were mostly Verbal/Linguistic, Visual/Spatial and Interpersonal intelligences, with a combined percentage of 73%. The other 27% was shared between the other intelligence types: Intrapersonal, Naturalist, Logical/Mathematical, Bodily/Kinesthetic, and Musical intelligences. A moderated awareness on how to incorporate the theory of MI in Arabic-language textbooks was found among Arabic-language teachers, which means that teachers' understanding of the importance of including MI theory in the textbook needs reinforcement and improvement. The study suggests that further research on incorporating the Theory of MI in textbooks is needed.

Age-related decline in cognitive control: the role of fluid intelligence and processing speed

Background

Research on cognitive control suggests an age-related decline in proactive control abilities whereas reactive control seems to remain intact. However, the reason of the differential age effect on cognitive control efficiency is still unclear. This study investigated the potential influence of fluid intelligence and processing speed on the selective age-related decline in proactive control. Eighty young and 80 healthy older adults were included in this study. The participants were submitted to a working memory recognition paradigm, assessing proactive and reactive cognitive control by manipulating the interference level across items.

Results

Repeated measures ANOVAs and hierarchical linear regressions indicated that the ability to appropriately use cognitive control processes during aging seems to be at least partially affected by the amount of available cognitive resources (assessed by fluid intelligence and processing speed abilities).

Conclusions

This study highlights the potential role of cognitive resources on the selective age-related decline in proactive control, suggesting the importance of a more exhaustive approach considering the confounding variables during cognitive control assessment.

The speed of information processing of 9- to 13-year-old intellectually gifted children

In general, intellectually gifted children perform better than non-gifted children across many domains. The present validation study investigated the speed with which intellectually gifted children process information. 184 children, ages 9 to 13 years old (91 gifted, M age = 10.9 yr., SD = 1.8; 93 non-gifted children, M age = 11.0 yr., SD = 1.7) were tested individually on three information processing tasks: an inspection time task, a choice reaction time task, an abstract matching task. Intellectually gifted children outperformed their non-gifted peers on all three tasks obtaining shorter reaction time and doing so with greater accuracy. The findings supported the validity of the information processing speed in identifying intellectually gifted children.

Speed of processing and individual differences in IQ in schizophrenia: General or specific cognitive deficits?

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to re-examine the role of cognitive processing speed in the vulnerability to schizophrenia, using an inspection time (IT) task that does not require a speeded manual response. Since IT consistently correlates with intelligence, the relationship between IT and general intelligence was also explored.

METHODS

Patients with schizophrenia were compared with unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls on a visual IT task. Both speed and variability of IT performance were examined. Current intellectual ability (IQ) was estimated with the Shipley Institute of Living Scale (SILS), which yields separate assessments of verbal and abstraction abilities.

RESULTS

Schizophrenia patients produced ITs that were significantly slower and more variable than either unaffected siblings or healthy controls. These results are not related to demographic or clinical variables. A significant negative correlation was obtained between IT and IQ; specifically, longer IT values were associated with abstraction scores only.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings confirm that basic cognitive processing efficiency is impaired in patients with schizophrenia. In contrast, ITs in unaffected siblings did not differ from healthy controls, in line with their better IQ test scores. Implications for models of general and specific heritable dimensions in schizophrenia are discussed.