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Chuey A, Boyce V, Cao A, Frank MC. Conducting Developmental Research Online vs. In-Person: A Meta-Analysis. Open Mind (Camb) 2024; 8:795-808. [PMID: 38957506 PMCID: PMC11219065 DOI: 10.1162/opmi_a_00147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
An increasing number of psychological experiments with children are being conducted using online platforms, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Individual replications have compared the findings of particular experiments online and in-person, but the general effect of data collection method on data collected from children is still unknown. Therefore, the goal of the current meta-analysis is to estimate the average difference in effect size for developmental studies conducted online compared to the same studies conducted in-person. Our pre-registered analysis includes 211 effect sizes calculated from 30 papers with 3282 children, ranging in age from four months to six years. The estimated effect size for studies conducted online was slightly smaller than for their counterparts conducted in-person, a difference of d = -.05, but this difference was not significant, 95% CI = [-.17, .07]. We examined several potential moderators of the effect of online testing, including the role of dependent measure (looking vs verbal), online study method (moderated vs unmoderated), and age, but none of these were significant. The literature to date thus suggests-on average-small differences in results between in-person and online experimentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Chuey
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Veronica Boyce
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Anjie Cao
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Michael C. Frank
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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2
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Fox DS, Elliott L, Bachman HJ, Votruba-Drzal E, Libertus ME. Diversity of spatial activities and parents' spatial talk complexity predict preschoolers' gains in spatial skills. Child Dev 2024; 95:734-749. [PMID: 37861229 PMCID: PMC11023785 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Children's spatial activities and parental spatial talk were measured to examine their associations with variability in preschoolers' spatial skills (N = 113, Mage = 4 years, 4 months; 51% female; 80% White, 11% Black, and 9% other). Parents who reported more diversity in daily spatial activities and used longer spatial talk utterances during a spatial activity had children with greater gains in spatial skills from ages 4 to 5 (β = .17 and β = .40, respectively). Importantly, this study is the first to move beyond frequency counts of spatial input and investigate the links among the diversity of children's daily spatial activities, as well as the complexity of parents' spatial language across different contexts, and preschoolers' gains in spatial skills, an important predictor of later STEM success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle S Fox
- Learning Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Psychology, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Leanne Elliott
- Learning Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Psychology, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Heather J Bachman
- Learning Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Health and Human Development, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal
- Learning Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Psychology, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Melissa E Libertus
- Learning Research and Development Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Psychology, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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3
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Castaldi E, Bonaudo C, Maduli G, Anobile G, Pedone A, Capelli F, Arrighi R, Della Puppa A. Neurocognitive Assessment of Mathematics-Related Capacities in Neurosurgical Patients. Brain Sci 2024; 14:69. [PMID: 38248284 PMCID: PMC10813954 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14010069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
A precise neuropsychological assessment is of the utmost importance for neurosurgical patients undergoing the surgical excision of cerebral lesions. The assessment of mathematical abilities is usually limited to arithmetical operations while other fundamental visuo-spatial aspects closely linked to mathematics proficiency, such as the perception of numerical quantities and geometrical reasoning, are completely neglected. We evaluated these abilities with two objective and reproducible psychophysical tests, measuring numerosity perception and non-symbolic geometry, respectively. We tested sixteen neuro-oncological patients before the operation and six after the operation with classical neuropsychological tests and with two psychophysical tests. The scores of the classical neuropsychological tests were very heterogeneous, possibly due to the distinct location and histology of the tumors that might have spared (or not) brain areas subserving these abilities or allowed for plastic reorganization. Performance in the two non-symbolic tests reflected, on average, the presumed functional role of the lesioned areas, with participants with parietal and frontal lesions performing worse on these tests than patients with occipital and temporal lesions. Single-case analyses not only revealed some interesting exceptions to the group-level results (e.g., patients with parietal lesions performing well in the numerosity test), but also indicated that performance in the two tests was independent of non-verbal reasoning and visuo-spatial working memory. Our results highlight the importance of assessing non-symbolic numerical and geometrical abilities to complement typical neuropsychological batteries. However, they also suggest an avoidance of reliance on an excessively rigid localizationist approach when evaluating the neuropsychological profile of oncological patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Castaldi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy (G.A.); (R.A.)
| | - Camilla Bonaudo
- Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, University Hospital of Careggi, 50134 Florence, Italy; (C.B.); (A.P.); (F.C.); (A.D.P.)
| | - Giuseppe Maduli
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy (G.A.); (R.A.)
| | - Giovanni Anobile
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy (G.A.); (R.A.)
| | - Agnese Pedone
- Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, University Hospital of Careggi, 50134 Florence, Italy; (C.B.); (A.P.); (F.C.); (A.D.P.)
| | - Federico Capelli
- Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, University Hospital of Careggi, 50134 Florence, Italy; (C.B.); (A.P.); (F.C.); (A.D.P.)
| | - Roberto Arrighi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy (G.A.); (R.A.)
| | - Alessandro Della Puppa
- Neurosurgery, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, University Hospital of Careggi, 50134 Florence, Italy; (C.B.); (A.P.); (F.C.); (A.D.P.)
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4
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Decarli G, Piazza M, Izard V. Are infants' preferences in the number change detection paradigm driven by sequence patterns? INFANCY 2023; 28:206-217. [PMID: 36135719 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Inter-individual differences in infants' numerosity processing have been assessed using a change detection paradigm, where participants were presented with two concurrent streams of images, one alternating between two numerosities and the other showing one constant numerosity. While most infants look longer at the changing stream in this paradigm, the reasons underlying these preferences have remained unclear. We suggest that, besides being attracted by numerosity changes, infants perhaps also respond to the alternating pattern of the changing stream. We conducted two experiments (N = 32) with 6-month-old infants to assess this hypothesis. In the first experiment, infants responded to changes in numerosity even when the changing stream showed numerosities in an unpredictable random order. In the second experiment, infants did not display any preference when an alternating stream was pitted against a random stream. These findings do not provide evidence that the alternating pattern of the changing stream contributes to drive infants' preferences. Instead, around the age of 6 months, infants' responses in the numerosity change detection paradigm appear to be mainly driven by changes in numerosity, with different levels of preference reflecting inter-individual difference in the acuity of numerosity perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisella Decarli
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France
| | - Manuela Piazza
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Véronique Izard
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France
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Dehaene S, Al Roumi F, Lakretz Y, Planton S, Sablé-Meyer M. Symbols and mental programs: a hypothesis about human singularity. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:751-766. [PMID: 35933289 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Natural language is often seen as the single factor that explains the cognitive singularity of the human species. Instead, we propose that humans possess multiple internal languages of thought, akin to computer languages, which encode and compress structures in various domains (mathematics, music, shape…). These languages rely on cortical circuits distinct from classical language areas. Each is characterized by: (i) the discretization of a domain using a small set of symbols, and (ii) their recursive composition into mental programs that encode nested repetitions with variations. In various tasks of elementary shape or sequence perception, minimum description length in the proposed languages captures human behavior and brain activity, whereas non-human primate data are captured by simpler nonsymbolic models. Our research argues in favor of discrete symbolic models of human thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Collège de France, Université Paris-Sciences-Lettres (PSL), 11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Fosca Al Roumi
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Yair Lakretz
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Samuel Planton
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Mathias Sablé-Meyer
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
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6
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Izard V, Pica P, Spelke ES. Visual foundations of Euclidean geometry. Cogn Psychol 2022; 136:101494. [PMID: 35751917 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2022.101494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Geometry defines entities that can be physically realized in space, and our knowledge of abstract geometry may therefore stem from our representations of the physical world. Here, we focus on Euclidean geometry, the geometry historically regarded as "natural". We examine whether humans possess representations describing visual forms in the same way as Euclidean geometry - i.e., in terms of their shape and size. One hundred and twelve participants from the U.S. (age 3-34 years), and 25 participants from the Amazon (age 5-67 years) were asked to locate geometric deviants in panels of 6 forms of variable orientation. Participants of all ages and from both cultures detected deviant forms defined in terms of shape or size, while only U.S. adults drew distinctions between mirror images (i.e. forms differing in "sense"). Moreover, irrelevant variations of sense did not disrupt the detection of a shape or size deviant, while irrelevant variations of shape or size did. At all ages and in both cultures, participants thus retained the same properties as Euclidean geometry in their analysis of visual forms, even in the absence of formal instruction in geometry. These findings show that representations of planar visual forms provide core intuitions on which humans' knowledge in Euclidean geometry could possibly be grounded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Véronique Izard
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, F-75006 Paris, France
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - Pierre Pica
- Instituto do Cérebro, Universidade Federal do Rio grande do Norte, R. do Horto, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN 59076-550, Brazil
- UMR 7023, Structures Formelles du Langage, Université Paris 8, 2 rue de la Liberté, 93200 Saint-Denis, France
| | - Elizabeth S Spelke
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; NSF-STC Center for Brains, Minds and Machines, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Bochynska A, Dillon MR. Bringing Home Baby Euclid: Testing Infants' Basic Shape Discrimination Online. Front Psychol 2021; 12:734592. [PMID: 35002837 PMCID: PMC8734637 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.734592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Online developmental psychology studies are still in their infancy, but their role is newly urgent in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of in-person research. Are online studies with infants a suitable stand-in for laboratory-based studies? Across two unmonitored online experiments using a change-detection looking-time paradigm with 96 7-month-old infants, we found that infants did not exhibit measurable sensitivities to the basic shape information that distinguishes between 2D geometric forms, as had been observed in previous laboratory experiments. Moreover, while infants were distracted in our online experiments, such distraction was nevertheless not a reliable predictor of their ability to discriminate shape information. Our findings suggest that the change-detection paradigm may not elicit infants' shape discrimination abilities when stimuli are presented on small, personal computer screens because infants may not perceive two discrete events with only one event displaying uniquely changing information that draws their attention. Some developmental paradigms used with infants, even those that seem well-suited to the constraints and goals of online data collection, may thus not yield results consistent with the laboratory results that rely on highly controlled settings and specialized equipment, such as large screens. As developmental researchers continue to adapt laboratory-based methods to online contexts, testing those methods online is a necessary first step in creating robust tools and expanding the space of inquiry for developmental science conducted online.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Moira R. Dillon
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York City, NY, United States
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Castaldi E, Arrighi R, Cicchini GM, Andolfi A, Maduli G, Burr DC, Anobile G. Perception of geometric sequences and numerosity both predict formal geometric competence in primary school children. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14243. [PMID: 34244592 PMCID: PMC8271001 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93710-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
While most animals have a sense of number, only humans have developed symbolic systems to describe and organize mathematical knowledge. Some studies suggest that human arithmetical knowledge may be rooted in an ancient mechanism dedicated to perceiving numerosity, but it is not known if formal geometry also relies on basic, non-symbolic mechanisms. Here we show that primary-school children who spontaneously detect and predict geometrical sequences (non-symbolic geometry) perform better in school-based geometry tests indexing formal geometric knowledge. Interestingly, numerosity discrimination thresholds also predicted and explained a specific portion of variance of formal geometrical scores. The relation between these two non-symbolic systems and formal geometry was not explained by age or verbal reasoning skills. Overall, the results are in line with the hypothesis that some human-specific, symbolic systems are rooted in non-symbolic mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Castaldi
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56126, Pisa, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50139, Florence, Italy
| | - Roberto Arrighi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50139, Florence, Italy.
| | | | - Arianna Andolfi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50139, Florence, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Maduli
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50139, Florence, Italy
| | - David C Burr
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50139, Florence, Italy.,CNR Neuroscience Institute, 56100, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giovanni Anobile
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology, and Child Health, University of Florence, 50139, Florence, Italy
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