Assessing Probabilistic Reasoning in Verbal-Numerical and Graphical-Pictorial Formats: An Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of an Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agus, Mirian; Penna, Maria Pietronilla; Peró-Cebollero, Maribel; Guàrdia-Olmos, Joan

2016-01-01

Research on the graphical facilitation of probabilistic reasoning has been characterised by the effort expended to identify valid assessment tools. The authors developed an assessment instrument to compare reasoning performances when problems were presented in verbal-numerical and graphical-pictorial formats. A sample of undergraduate psychology…

Visualizing complex processes using a cognitive-mapping tool to support the learning of clinical reasoning.

PubMed

Wu, Bian; Wang, Minhong; Grotzer, Tina A; Liu, Jun; Johnson, Janice M

2016-08-22

Practical experience with clinical cases has played an important role in supporting the learning of clinical reasoning. However, learning through practical experience involves complex processes difficult to be captured by students. This study aimed to examine the effects of a computer-based cognitive-mapping approach that helps students to externalize the reasoning process and the knowledge underlying the reasoning process when they work with clinical cases. A comparison between the cognitive-mapping approach and the verbal-text approach was made by analyzing their effects on learning outcomes. Fifty-two third-year or higher students from two medical schools participated in the study. Students in the experimental group used the computer-base cognitive-mapping approach, while the control group used the verbal-text approach, to make sense of their thinking and actions when they worked with four simulated cases over 4 weeks. For each case, students in both groups reported their reasoning process (involving data capture, hypotheses formulation, and reasoning with justifications) and the underlying knowledge (involving identified concepts and the relationships between the concepts) using the given approach. The learning products (cognitive maps or verbal text) revealed that students in the cognitive-mapping group outperformed those in the verbal-text group in the reasoning process, but not in making sense of the knowledge underlying the reasoning process. No significant differences were found in a knowledge posttest between the two groups. The computer-based cognitive-mapping approach has shown a promising advantage over the verbal-text approach in improving students' reasoning performance. Further studies are needed to examine the effects of the cognitive-mapping approach in improving the construction of subject-matter knowledge on the basis of practical experience.

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test Form T: Initial Item-, Test-, Factor-, and Composite-Level Analyses

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

five lower-order factors representing verbal, math , spatial, perceptual speed, and aviation knowledge, and a hierarchical general factor showed the...Academic Aptitude Verbal Quant. Verbal Analogies 25 X X X Arithmetic Reasoning 25 X X Word Knowledge 25 X X X Math Knowledge 25 X X...Reasoning (AR) uses word problems to assess the ability to understand arithmetic relations. Math Knowledge (MK) assesses the ability to use

The generality of working memory capacity: a latent-variable approach to verbal and visuospatial memory span and reasoning.

PubMed

Kane, Michael J; Hambrick, David Z; Tuholski, Stephen W; Wilhelm, Oliver; Payne, Tabitha W; Engle, Randall W

2004-06-01

A latent-variable study examined whether verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) capacity measures reflect a primarily domain-general construct by testing 236 participants in 3 span tests each of verbal WM. visuospatial WM, verbal short-term memory (STM), and visuospatial STM. as well as in tests of verbal and spatial reasoning and general fluid intelligence (Gf). Confirmatory' factor analyses and structural equation models indicated that the WM tasks largely reflected a domain-general factor, whereas STM tasks, based on the same stimuli as the WM tasks, were much more domain specific. The WM construct was a strong predictor of Gf and a weaker predictor of domain-specific reasoning, and the reverse was true for the STM construct. The findings support a domain-general view of WM capacity, in which executive-attention processes drive the broad predictive utility of WM span measures, and domain-specific storage and rehearsal processes relate more strongly to domain-specific aspects of complex cognition. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

The Development of Metaphor Comprehension and Its Relationship with Relational Verbal Reasoning and Executive Function.

PubMed

Carriedo, Nuria; Corral, Antonio; Montoro, Pedro R; Herrero, Laura; Ballestrino, Patricia; Sebastián, Iraia

2016-01-01

Our main objective was to analyse the different contributions of relational verbal reasoning (analogical and class inclusion) and executive functioning to metaphor comprehension across development. We postulated that both relational reasoning and executive functioning should predict individual and developmental differences. However, executive functioning would become increasingly involved when metaphor comprehension is highly demanding, either because of the metaphors' high difficulty (relatively novel metaphors in the absence of a context) or because of the individual's special processing difficulties, such as low levels of reading experience or low semantic knowledge. Three groups of participants, 11-year-olds, 15-year-olds and young adults, were assessed in different relational verbal reasoning tasks-analogical and class-inclusion-and in executive functioning tasks-updating information in working memory, inhibition, and shifting. The results revealed clear progress in metaphor comprehension between ages 11 and 15 and between ages 15 and 21. However, the importance of executive function in metaphor comprehension was evident by age 15 and was restricted to updating information in working memory and cognitive inhibition. Participants seemed to use two different strategies to interpret metaphors: relational verbal reasoning and executive functioning. This was clearly shown when comparing the performance of the "more efficient" participants in metaphor interpretation with that of the "less efficient" ones. Whereas in the first case none of the executive variables or those associated with relational verbal reasoning were significantly related to metaphor comprehension, in the latter case, both groups of variables had a clear predictor effect.

Cognitive functioning and employment among people with schizophrenia in vocational rehabilitation.

PubMed

Lexén, Annika; Hofgren, Caisa; Stenmark, Richard; Bejerholm, Ulrika

2016-06-16

Employment is central to recovery in schizophrenia, but little attention has been paid to its relationship with cognitive functioning. This cross-sectional study adds to the knowledge base of relationships between cognitive functioning and gaining competitive employment, work hours per week, and monthly income among people with schizophrenia in vocational rehabilitation. It also examines which area of cognitive function may be decisive for gaining employment. Thirty-nine vocational rehabilitation participants were administered a cognitive battery based on MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery. Socio-demographic, clinical, and vocational data were gathered and analyzed with nonparametric statistics. Individuals with competitive employment differed from those without competitive employment in attention and psychomotor speed, delayed verbal recall, immediate visual recall, and planning, reasoning, and problem-solving. Higher scores in immediate and delayed verbal recall and planning, reasoning, and problem-solving correlated with more work hours per week and higher income. Immediate visual recall was related to higher income. Higher scores in planning, reasoning, and problem-solving was an indicator of competitive employment (OR = 1.48). Higher order cognitive functioning of planning, reasoning, and problem-solving may have a central role in gaining employment. The findings should be considered in compensation for or improving cognitive functions for vocational rehabilitation participants.

Practical Implications of Test Dimensionality for Item Response Theory Calibration of the Medical College Admission Test. MCAT Monograph.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Childs, Ruth A.; Oppler, Scott H.

The use of item response theory (IRT) in the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) testing program has been limited. This study provides a basis for future IRT analyses of the MCAT by exploring the dimensionality of each of the MCAT's three multiple-choice test sections (Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, and Biological Sciences) and the…

Using DIF Dissection Method to Assess Effects of Item Deletion. Research Report No. 2005-10. ETS RR-05-23

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Yanling; Dorans, Neil J.; Matthews-López, Joy L.

2005-01-01

Statistical procedures for detecting differential item functioning (DIF) are often used as an initial step to screen items for construct irrelevant variance. This research applies a DIF dissection method and a two-way classification scheme to SAT Reasoning Test™ verbal section data and explores the effects of deleting sizable DIF items on reported…

A New Look to a Classic Issue: Reasoning and Academic Achievement at Secondary School

PubMed Central

Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; Vila Chaves, José O.; Duque, Gonzalo; García Madruga, Juan A.

2018-01-01

Higher-order thinking abilities such as abstract reasoning and meaningful school learning occur sequentially. The fulfillment of these tasks demands that people activate and use all of their working memory resources in a controlled and supervised way. The aims of this work were: (a) to study the interplay between two new reasoning measures, one mathematical (Cognitive Reflection Test) and the other verbal (Deductive Reasoning Test), and a third classical visuo-spatial reasoning measure (Raven Progressive Matrices Test); and (b) to investigate the relationship between these measures and academic achievement. Fifty-one 4th grade secondary school students participated in the experiment and completed the three reasoning tests. Academic achievement measures were the final numerical scores in seven basic subjects. The results demonstrated that cognitive reflection, visual, and verbal reasoning are intimately related and predicts academic achievement. This work confirms that abstract reasoning constitutes the most important higher-order cognitive ability that underlies academic achievement. It also reveals the importance of dual processes, verbal deduction and metacognition in ordinary teaching and learning at school. PMID:29643823

A New Look to a Classic Issue: Reasoning and Academic Achievement at Secondary School.

PubMed

Gómez-Veiga, Isabel; Vila Chaves, José O; Duque, Gonzalo; García Madruga, Juan A

2018-01-01

Higher-order thinking abilities such as abstract reasoning and meaningful school learning occur sequentially. The fulfillment of these tasks demands that people activate and use all of their working memory resources in a controlled and supervised way. The aims of this work were: (a) to study the interplay between two new reasoning measures, one mathematical (Cognitive Reflection Test) and the other verbal (Deductive Reasoning Test), and a third classical visuo-spatial reasoning measure (Raven Progressive Matrices Test); and (b) to investigate the relationship between these measures and academic achievement. Fifty-one 4th grade secondary school students participated in the experiment and completed the three reasoning tests. Academic achievement measures were the final numerical scores in seven basic subjects. The results demonstrated that cognitive reflection, visual, and verbal reasoning are intimately related and predicts academic achievement. This work confirms that abstract reasoning constitutes the most important higher-order cognitive ability that underlies academic achievement. It also reveals the importance of dual processes, verbal deduction and metacognition in ordinary teaching and learning at school.

Reasoning and dyslexia: a spatial strategy may impede reasoning with visually rich information.

PubMed

Bacon, Alison M; Handley, Simon J; McDonald, Emma L

2007-02-01

Bacon, Handley, and Newstead (2003, 2004), have presented evidence for individual differences in reasoning strategies, with most people seeming to represent and manipulate problem information using either a verbal or a spatial strategy. There is also evidence that individuals with dyslexia are inclined to conceptualise information in a visuo-spatial, rather than a verbal, way (e.g. von Károlyi et al., 2003). If so, we might expect a higher proportion of individuals with dyslexia to be spatial reasoners, compared with individuals who do not have dyslexia. The study reported here directly compared strategies reported by these two groups of participants on a syllogistic reasoning task. Moreover, problem content was manipulated so that reasoning across concrete and abstract materials could be compared. The findings suggest that whilst most individuals without dyslexia use a verbal strategy, reasoners with dyslexia do tend to adopt a spatial approach, though their performance is impaired with visually concrete materials. However, when reasoning with more abstract content, they perform comparably with non-dyslexic controls. The paper discusses these results in the light of recent research which has suggested that visual images may impede reasoning, and considers how individuals with dyslexia may differ from other reasoners.

Cognitive and psychomotor effects of risperidone in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

PubMed

Houthoofd, Sofie A M K; Morrens, Manuel; Sabbe, Bernard G C

2008-09-01

The aim of this review was to discuss data from double-blind, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have investigated the effects of oral and long-acting injectable risperidone on cognitive and psychomotor functioning in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. PubMed/MEDLINE and the Institute of Scientific Information Web of Science database were searched for relevant English-language double-blind RCTs published between March 2000 and July 2008, using the terms schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, cognition, risperidone, psychomotor, processing speed, attention, vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, reasoning, problem solving, social cognition, MATRICS, and long-acting. Relevant studies included patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Cognitive domains were delineated at the Consensus Conferences of the National Institute of Mental Health-Measurement And Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (NIMH-MATRICS). The tests employed to assess each domain and psychomotor functioning, and the within-group and between-group comparisons of risperidone with haloperidol and other atypical antipsychotics, are presented. The results of individual tests were included when they were individually presented and interpretable for either drug; outcomes that were presented as cluster scores or factor structures were excluded. A total of 12 articles were included in this review. Results suggested that the use of oral risperidone appeared to be associated with within-group improvements on the cognitive domains of processing speed, attention/vigilance, verbal and visual learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Risperidone and haloperidol seemed to generate similar beneficial effects (on the domains of processing speed, attention/vigilance, [verbal and nonverbal] working memory, and visual learning and memory, as well as psychomotor functioning), although the results for verbal fluency, verbal learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving were not unanimous, and no comparative data on social cognition were available. Similar cognitive effects were found with risperidone, olanzapine, and quetiapine on the domains of verbal working memory and reasoning and problem solving, as well as verbal fluency. More research is needed on the domains in which study results were contradictory. For olanzapine versus risperidone, these were verbal and visual learning and memory and psychomotor functioning. No comparative data for olanzapine and risperidone were available for the social cognition domain. For quetiapine versus risperidone, the domains in which no unanimity was found were processing speed, attention/vigilance, nonverbal working memory, and verbal learning and memory. The limited available reports on risperidone versus clozapine suggest that: risperidone was associated with improved, and clozapine with worsened, performance on the nonverbal working memory domain; risperidone improved and clozapine did not improve reasoning and problem-solving performance; clozapine improved, and risperidone did not improve, social cognition performance. Use of long-acting injectable risperidone seemed to be associated with improved performance in the domains of attention/vigilance, verbal learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving, as well as psychomotor functioning. The results for the nonverbal working memory domain were indeterminate, and no clear improvement was seen in the social cognition domain. The domains of processing speed, verbal working memory, and visual learning and memory, as well as verbal fluency, were not assessed. The results of this review of within-group comparisons of oral risperidone suggest that the agent appeared to be associated with improved functioning in the cognitive domains of processing speed, attention/vigilance, verbal and visual learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Long-acting injectable risperidone seemed to be associated with improved functioning in the domains of attention/vigilance, verbal learning and memory, and reasoning and problem solving, as well as psychomotor functioning, in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Retirement and Cognition: A Life Course View.

PubMed

Denier, Nicole; Clouston, Sean A P; Richards, Marcus; Hofer, Scott M

2017-03-01

This study examines the relationship between retirement and cognitive aging. We build on previous research by exploring how different specifications of retirement that reflect diverse pathways out of the labor market, including reason for leaving the pre-retirement job and duration spent in retirement, impact three domains of cognitive functioning. We further assess how early-life factors, including adolescent cognition, and mid-life work experiences, condition these relationships. To do so, we draw on longitudinal data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study , a cohort study of Wisconsin high school graduates collected prospectively starting in 1957 until most recently in 2011 when individuals were aged 71. Results indicate that retirement, on average, is associated with improved abstract reasoning, but not with verbal memory or verbal fluency. Yet, when accounting for the reason individuals left their pre-retirement job, those who had retired for health reasons had both lower verbal memory and verbal fluency scores and those who had retired voluntarily or for family reasons had improved abstract memory scores. Together, the results suggest that retirement has an inconsistent effect on cognitive aging across cognitive domains and that the conditions surrounding the retirement decision are important to understanding cognitive functioning at older ages.

Abstract Spatial Reasoning as an Autistic Strength

PubMed Central

Stevenson, Jennifer L.; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann

2013-01-01

Autistic individuals typically excel on spatial tests that measure abstract reasoning, such as the Block Design subtest on intelligence test batteries and the Raven’s Progressive Matrices nonverbal test of intelligence. Such well-replicated findings suggest that abstract spatial processing is a relative and perhaps absolute strength of autistic individuals. However, previous studies have not systematically varied reasoning level – concrete vs. abstract – and test domain – spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal, which the current study did. Autistic participants (N = 72) and non-autistic participants (N = 72) completed a battery of 12 tests that varied by reasoning level (concrete vs. abstract) and domain (spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal). Autistic participants outperformed non-autistic participants on abstract spatial tests. Non-autistic participants did not outperform autistic participants on any of the three domains (spatial, numerical, and verbal) or at either of the two reasoning levels (concrete and abstract), suggesting similarity in abilities between autistic and non-autistic individuals, with abstract spatial reasoning as an autistic strength. PMID:23533615

The Development of Metaphor Comprehension and Its Relationship with Relational Verbal Reasoning and Executive Function

PubMed Central

Montoro, Pedro R.; Herrero, Laura; Ballestrino, Patricia; Sebastián, Iraia

2016-01-01

Our main objective was to analyse the different contributions of relational verbal reasoning (analogical and class inclusion) and executive functioning to metaphor comprehension across development. We postulated that both relational reasoning and executive functioning should predict individual and developmental differences. However, executive functioning would become increasingly involved when metaphor comprehension is highly demanding, either because of the metaphors’ high difficulty (relatively novel metaphors in the absence of a context) or because of the individual’s special processing difficulties, such as low levels of reading experience or low semantic knowledge. Three groups of participants, 11-year-olds, 15-year-olds and young adults, were assessed in different relational verbal reasoning tasks—analogical and class-inclusion—and in executive functioning tasks—updating information in working memory, inhibition, and shifting. The results revealed clear progress in metaphor comprehension between ages 11 and 15 and between ages 15 and 21. However, the importance of executive function in metaphor comprehension was evident by age 15 and was restricted to updating information in working memory and cognitive inhibition. Participants seemed to use two different strategies to interpret metaphors: relational verbal reasoning and executive functioning. This was clearly shown when comparing the performance of the "more efficient" participants in metaphor interpretation with that of the "less efficient” ones. Whereas in the first case none of the executive variables or those associated with relational verbal reasoning were significantly related to metaphor comprehension, in the latter case, both groups of variables had a clear predictor effect. PMID:26954501

Musical practice and cognitive aging: two cross-sectional studies point to phonemic fluency as a potential candidate for a use-dependent adaptation.

PubMed

Fauvel, Baptiste; Groussard, Mathilde; Mutlu, Justine; Arenaza-Urquijo, Eider M; Eustache, Francis; Desgranges, Béatrice; Platel, Hervé

2014-01-01

Because of permanent use-dependent brain plasticity, all lifelong individuals' experiences are believed to influence the cognitive aging quality. In older individuals, both former and current musical practices have been associated with better verbal skills, visual memory, processing speed, and planning function. This work sought for an interaction between musical practice and cognitive aging by comparing musician and non-musician individuals for two lifetime periods (middle and late adulthood). Long-term memory, auditory-verbal short-term memory, processing speed, non-verbal reasoning, and verbal fluencies were assessed. In Study 1, measures of processing speed and auditory-verbal short-term memory were significantly better performed by musicians compared with controls, but both groups displayed the same age-related differences. For verbal fluencies, musicians scored higher than controls and displayed different age effects. In Study 2, we found that lifetime period at training onset (childhood vs. adulthood) was associated with phonemic, but not semantic, fluency performances (musicians who had started to practice in adulthood did not perform better on phonemic fluency than non-musicians). Current frequency of training did not account for musicians' scores on either of these two measures. These patterns of results are discussed by setting the hypothesis of a transformative effect of musical practice against a non-causal explanation.

A Linguistic Feature Comparison of the Verbal Protocols of Good and Poor Readers on Standardized Measures of Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kavale, Kenneth A.

Sixteen sixth-grade students participated in a study of the reasoning strategies employed by good and poor readers. Students, trained in applying introspective procedures, completed instruments that measured verbal reasoning, determining cause and effect, reading for inference, and determining main idea. Protocols obtained during five consecutive…

Matched False-Belief Performance during Verbal and Nonverbal Interference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dungan, James; Saxe, Rebecca

2012-01-01

Language has been shown to play a key role in the development of a child's theory of mind, but its role in adult belief reasoning remains unclear. One recent study used verbal and nonverbal interference during a false-belief task to show that accurate belief reasoning in adults necessarily requires language (Newton & de Villiers, 2007). The…

The Intuitive Style: Relationships with Local/Global and Verbal/Visual Styles, Gender, and Superstitious Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadler-Smith, Eugene

2011-01-01

The study explored various facets of the intuitive style and its relevance to learning and education from a dual-processing perspective, namely how it relates to other style constructs (analytical; visual and verbal; local and global), gender, and superstitious reasoning and how these are likely to impact upon learning in educational and…

Diagnostic causal reasoning with verbal information.

PubMed

Meder, Björn; Mayrhofer, Ralf

2017-08-01

In diagnostic causal reasoning, the goal is to infer the probability of causes from one or multiple observed effects. Typically, studies investigating such tasks provide subjects with precise quantitative information regarding the strength of the relations between causes and effects or sample data from which the relevant quantities can be learned. By contrast, we sought to examine people's inferences when causal information is communicated through qualitative, rather vague verbal expressions (e.g., "X occasionally causes A"). We conducted three experiments using a sequential diagnostic inference task, where multiple pieces of evidence were obtained one after the other. Quantitative predictions of different probabilistic models were derived using the numerical equivalents of the verbal terms, taken from an unrelated study with different subjects. We present a novel Bayesian model that allows for incorporating the temporal weighting of information in sequential diagnostic reasoning, which can be used to model both primacy and recency effects. On the basis of 19,848 judgments from 292 subjects, we found a remarkably close correspondence between the diagnostic inferences made by subjects who received only verbal information and those of a matched control group to whom information was presented numerically. Whether information was conveyed through verbal terms or numerical estimates, diagnostic judgments closely resembled the posterior probabilities entailed by the causes' prior probabilities and the effects' likelihoods. We observed interindividual differences regarding the temporal weighting of evidence in sequential diagnostic reasoning. Our work provides pathways for investigating judgment and decision making with verbal information within a computational modeling framework. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Long term neurocognitive improvement after "late" right hemispherectomy: case report and review of the literature.

PubMed

Moletto, Alessandra; Bagnasco, Irene; Dassi, Patrizia; Vigliano, Piernanda

2018-03-21

To study the long-term neurocognitive changes of a right-handed girl with intractable epilepsy after late right hemispherectomy and compare them with data in the literature. The girl was affected by an epileptic encephalopathy associated with right fronto-temporo-parietal polymicrogyria; she was submitted to right hemispherectomy at the age of 5 and examined with cognitive and neuropsychological tests at the age of 17 years. The girl took advantage of neurocognitive rehabilitation for several years; she is currently seizure-free and off therapy. At the end of the follow-up, the full-scale IQ is stable and within the normal range (p = 88). As the discrepancy between verbal IQ (pp = 120) and performance IQ (pp = 71) is significantly high, the girl was subjected to neurocognitive evaluation with the following results: verbal problem solving, verbal short- and long-term memory, and executive functions are within normal range. The most fragile functional areas are visual and spatial reasoning, verbal working memory, short-term visuospatial memory, visual attention, and processing speed, all > 2 SD. The spatial tests, such as coding, matrix reasoning, picture concepts, and arithmetic reasoning (which are favored by other functions such as associative memory and learning ability), are less severely impaired. These findings show that good conceptual skills and verbal reasoning can compensate for some deficits in visual-perceptual and visuospatial functions.

Thinking through Text Comprehension III: The Programing of Verbal and Investigative Repertoires

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leon, Marta; Layng, T. V. Joe; Sota, Melinda

2011-01-01

Reading comprehension can be considered a complex human performance involving two integrated repertoires: a verbal repertoire and an investigative (generative) repertoire. The analytical and reasoning skills necessary to demonstrate reading comprehension can be systematically taught by analyzing the verbal and investigative repertoires involved…

Adolescents' Decisions About Verbal and Physical Aggression: An Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberto, Anthony J.; Meyer, Gary; Boster, Franklin J.; Roberto, Heather L.

2003-01-01

Examines the ability of the theory of reasoned action to explain and predict adolescents' verbal (i.e., insulting) and physical (i.e., fighting) aggression, as well as behaviors that encourage aggression such as watching a fight or telling others about a fight that is going to happen. Reveals that attitudes and subjective norms predicted…

Comparing Psychology Undergraduates' Performance in Probabilistic Reasoning under Verbal-Numerical and Graphical-Pictorial Problem Presentation Format: What Is the Role of Individual and Contextual Dimensions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agus, Mirian; Peró-Cebollero, Maribel; Penna, Maria Pietronilla; Guàrdia-Olmos, Joan

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate about the existence of a graphical facilitation effect on probabilistic reasoning. Measures of undergraduates' performances on problems presented in both verbal-numerical and graphical-pictorial formats have been related to visuo-spatial and numerical prerequisites, to statistical anxiety, to attitudes towards…

Differences between Children with Dyslexia Who Are and Are Not Gifted in Verbal Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berninger, Virginia W.; Abbott, Robert D.

2013-01-01

New findings are presented for children in Grades 1 to 9 who qualified their families for a multigenerational family genetics study of dyslexia (impaired word decoding/spelling) who had either superior verbal reasoning ("n" = 33 at or above 1 2/3 standard deviation, superior or better range; 19% of these children) or average verbal…

The Effect of Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Abilities on the Development of Knowledge of the Earth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kikas, Eve

2006-01-01

Difficulties in students' understanding of the spherical model of the Earth have been shown in previous studies. One of the reasons for these difficulties lies in beliefs and preliminary knowledge that hinder the interpretation of the scientific knowledge, the other reason may lie in the low level of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities. The study…

VRT (verbal reasoning test): a new test for assessment of verbal reasoning. Test realization and Italian normative data from a multicentric study.

PubMed

Basagni, Benedetta; Luzzatti, Claudio; Navarrete, Eduardo; Caputo, Marina; Scrocco, Gessica; Damora, Alessio; Giunchi, Laura; Gemignani, Paola; Caiazzo, Annarita; Gambini, Maria Grazia; Avesani, Renato; Mancuso, Mauro; Trojano, Luigi; De Tanti, Antonio

2017-04-01

Verbal reasoning is a complex, multicomponent function, which involves activation of functional processes and neural circuits distributed in both brain hemispheres. Thus, this ability is often impaired after brain injury. The aim of the present study is to describe the construction of a new verbal reasoning test (VRT) for patients with brain injury and to provide normative values in a sample of healthy Italian participants. Three hundred and eighty healthy Italian subjects (193 women and 187 men) of different ages (range 16-75 years) and educational level (primary school to postgraduate degree) underwent the VRT. VRT is composed of seven subtests, investigating seven different domains. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant effect of age and education on the participants' performance in terms of both VRT total score and all seven subtest scores. No gender effect was found. A correction grid for raw scores was built from the linear equation derived from the scores. Inferential cut-off scores were estimated using a non-parametric technique, and equivalent scores were computed. We also provided a grid for the correction of results by z scores.

Dyslexia and reasoning: the importance of visual processes.

PubMed

Bacon, Alison M; Handley, Simon J

2010-08-01

Recent research has suggested that individuals with dyslexia rely on explicit visuospatial representations for syllogistic reasoning while most non-dyslexics opt for an abstract verbal strategy. This paper investigates the role of visual processes in relational reasoning amongst dyslexic reasoners. Expt 1 presents written and verbal protocol evidence to suggest that reasoners with dyslexia generate detailed representations of relational properties and use these to make a visual comparison of objects. Non-dyslexics use a linear array of objects to make a simple transitive inference. Expt 2 examined evidence for the visual-impedance effect which suggests that visual information detracts from reasoning leading to longer latencies and reduced accuracy. While non-dyslexics showed the impedance effects predicted, dyslexics showed only reduced accuracy on problems designed specifically to elicit imagery. Expt 3 presented problems with less semantically and visually rich content. The non-dyslexic group again showed impedance effects, but dyslexics did not. Furthermore, in both studies, visual memory predicted reasoning accuracy for dyslexic participants, but not for non-dyslexics, particularly on problems with highly visual content. The findings are discussed in terms of the importance of visual and semantic processes in reasoning for individuals with dyslexia, and we argue that these processes play a compensatory role, offsetting phonological and verbal memory deficits.

Neural correlates of continuous causal word generation.

PubMed

Wende, Kim C; Straube, Benjamin; Stratmann, Mirjam; Sommer, Jens; Kircher, Tilo; Nagels, Arne

2012-09-01

Causality provides a natural structure for organizing our experience and language. Causal reasoning during speech production is a distinct aspect of verbal communication, whose related brain processes are yet unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the continuous generation of cause-and-effect coherences during overt word production. During fMRI data acquisition participants performed three verbal fluency tasks on identical cue words: A novel causal verbal fluency task (CVF), requiring the production of multiple reasons to a given cue word (e.g. reasons for heat are fire, sun etc.), a semantic (free association, FA, e.g. associations with heat are sweat, shower etc.) and a phonological control task (phonological verbal fluency, PVF, e.g. rhymes with heat are meat, wheat etc.). We found that, in contrast to PVF, both CVF and FA activated a left lateralized network encompassing inferior frontal, inferior parietal and angular regions, with further bilateral activation in middle and inferior as well as superior temporal gyri and the cerebellum. For CVF contrasted against FA, we found greater bold responses only in the left middle frontal cortex. Large overlaps in the neural activations during free association and causal verbal fluency indicate that the access to causal relationships between verbal concepts is at least partly based on the semantic neural network. The selective activation in the left middle frontal cortex for causal verbal fluency suggests that distinct neural processes related to cause-and-effect-relations are associated with the recruitment of middle frontal brain areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Object-Spatial Visualization and Verbal Cognitive Styles, and Their Relation to Cognitive Abilities and Mathematical Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haciomeroglu, Erhan Selcuk

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the object-spatial visualization and verbal cognitive styles among high school students and related differences in spatial ability, verbal-logical reasoning ability, and mathematical performance of those students. Data were collected from 348 students enrolled in Advanced Placement calculus courses at six high…

Early executive function predicts reasoning development.

PubMed

Richland, Lindsey E; Burchinal, Margaret R

2013-01-01

Analogical reasoning is a core cognitive skill that distinguishes humans from all other species and contributes to general fluid intelligence, creativity, and adaptive learning capacities. Yet its origins are not well understood. In the study reported here, we analyzed large-scale longitudinal data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to test predictors of growth in analogical-reasoning skill from third grade to adolescence. Our results suggest an integrative resolution to the theoretical debate regarding contributory factors arising from smaller-scale, cross-sectional experiments on analogy development. Children with greater executive-function skills (both composite and inhibitory control) and vocabulary knowledge in early elementary school displayed higher scores on a verbal analogies task at age 15 years, even after adjusting for key covariates. We posit that knowledge is a prerequisite to analogy performance, but strong executive-functioning resources during early childhood are related to long-term gains in fundamental reasoning skills.

Differences in autonomic physiological responses between good and poor inductive reasoners.

PubMed

Melis, C; van Boxtel, A

2001-11-01

We investigated individual- and task-related differences in autonomic physiological responses induced by time limited figural and verbal inductive reasoning tasks. In a group of 52 participants, the percentage of correctly responded task items was evaluated together with nine different autonomic physiological response measures and respiration rate (RR). Weighted multidimensional scaling analyses of the physiological responses revealed three underlying dimensions, primarily characterized by RR, parasympathetic, and sympathetic activity. RR and sympathetic activity appeared to be relatively more important response dimensions for poor reasoners, whereas parasympathetic responsivity was relatively more important for good reasoners. These results suggest that poor reasoners showed higher levels of cognitive processing intensity than good reasoners. Furthermore, for the good reasoners, the dimension of sympathetic activity was relatively more important during the figural than during the verbal reasoning task, which was explained in terms of hemispheric lateralization in autonomic function.

Online assessment of risk factors for dementia and cognitive function in healthy adults.

PubMed

Huntley, J; Corbett, A; Wesnes, K; Brooker, H; Stenton, R; Hampshire, A; Ballard, C

2018-02-01

Several potentially modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia have been identified, including low educational attainment, smoking, diabetes, physical inactivity, hypertension, midlife obesity, depression, and perceived social isolation. Managing these risk factors in late midlife and older age may help reduce the risk of dementia; however, it is unclear whether these factors also relate to cognitive performance in older individuals without dementia. Data from 14 201 non-demented individuals aged >50 years who enrolled in the online PROTECT study were used to examine the relationship between cognitive function and known modifiable risk factors for dementia. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted on 4 cognitive outcomes assessing verbal and spatial working memory, visual episodic memory, and verbal reasoning. Increasing age was associated with reduced performance across all tasks. Higher educational achievement, the presence of a close confiding relationship, and moderate alcohol intake were associated with benefits across all 4 cognitive tasks, and exercise was associated with better performance on verbal reasoning and verbal working memory tasks. A diagnosis of depression was negatively associated with performance on visual episodic memory and working memory tasks, whereas being underweight negatively affected performance on all tasks apart from verbal working memory. A history of stroke was negatively associated with verbal reasoning and working memory performance. Known modifiable risk factors for dementia are associated with cognitive performance in non-demented individuals in late midlife and older age. This provides further support for public health interventions that seek to manage these risk factors across the lifespan. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Variability of cognitive development in children with Down syndrome: relevance of good reasons for using the cluster procedure.

PubMed

Tsao, R; Kindelberger, C

2009-01-01

The main goal of this cross-sectional study was to demonstrate that, in addition to a main change during childhood, the cognitive development of children with Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by interindividual variability in their cognitive functioning. Eighty-eight French children with DS took part in this experiment. They were divided into six chronological age groups: 6 years (N=9), 7 years (N=19), 8 years (N=18), 9 years (N=19), 10 years (N=14) and 11 years (N=9). They were assessed by means of the Differential Scales of Intellectual Efficiency. This test, composed of six independent scales, measures verbal abilities and nonverbal reasoning abilities. Initial analyses of the verbal and nonverbal subtest scores indicated a main change in cognitive skills. We then used a clustering approach to identify four cognitive profiles that distinguished the children with DS independently of age and gender. The results confirm that there is a growth in the cognitive skills of DS children. They also suggest that the cognitive functioning of DS children is characterized by different individual profiles. Implications for more fine-tuned research and intervention efforts are discussed.

Theory of mind and verbal working memory deficits in parents of autistic children.

PubMed

Gokcen, Sezen; Bora, Emre; Erermis, Serpil; Kesikci, Hande; Aydin, Cahide

2009-03-31

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential values of executive function and social cognition deficits as endophenotypes of autism. While theory of mind (ToM) is generally accepted as a unitary concept, some have suggested that ToM may be separated into two components (mental state reasoning and decoding). In this study, both aspects of ToM and verbal working memory abilities were investigated with relatively demanding tasks. The authors used a neurocognitive battery to compare the executive function and social cognition skills of 76 parents of autistic probands with 41 parents of healthy children. Both groups were matched for IQ, age and gender. Index parents had verbal working memory deficits. They had also low performance on a mental state reasoning task. Index parents had difficulties in reasoning about others' emotions. In contrast to findings in the control group, low performance of mental state reasoning ability was not associated with working memory deficit in index parents. Social cognition and working memory impairments may represent potential endophenotypes, related to an underlying vulnerability for autistic spectrum disorders.

APOE E4 status predicts age-related cognitive decline in the ninth decade: longitudinal follow-up of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921.

PubMed

Schiepers, O J G; Harris, S E; Gow, A J; Pattie, A; Brett, C E; Starr, J M; Deary, I J

2012-03-01

Carriers of the APOE E4 allele have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. However, it is less clear whether APOE E4 status may also be involved in non-pathological cognitive ageing. The present study investigated the associations between APOE genotypes and cognitive change over 8 years in older community-dwelling individuals. APOE genotype was determined in 501 participants of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921, whose intelligence had been measured in childhood in the Scottish Mental Survey 1932. A polymorphic variant of TOMM40 (rs10524523) was included to differentiate between the effects of the APOE E3 and E4 allelic variants. Cognitive performance on the domains of verbal memory, abstract reasoning and verbal fluency was assessed at mean age 79 years (n=501), and again at mean ages of 83 (n=284) and 87 (n=187). Using linear mixed models adjusted for demographic variables, vascular risk factors and IQ at age 11 years, possession of the APOE E4 allele was associated with a higher relative rate of cognitive decline over the subsequent 8 years for verbal memory and abstract reasoning. Individuals with the long allelic variant of TOMM40, which is linked to APOE E4, showed similar results. Verbal fluency was not affected by APOE E4 status. APOE E2 status was not associated with change in cognitive performance over 8 years. In non-demented older individuals, possession of the APOE E4 allele predicted a higher rate of cognitive decline on tests of verbal memory and abstract reasoning between 79 and 87 years. Thus, possession of the APOE E4 allele may not only predispose to Alzheimer's disease, but also appears to be a risk factor for non-pathological decline in verbal memory and abstract reasoning in the ninth decade of life.

The value of the UK Clinical Aptitude Test in predicting pre-clinical performance: a prospective cohort study at Nottingham Medical School.

PubMed

Yates, Janet; James, David

2010-07-28

The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) was introduced in 2006 as an additional tool for the selection of medical students. It tests mental ability in four distinct domains (Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, and Decision Analysis), and the results are available to students and admissions panels in advance of the selection process. As yet the predictive validity of the test against course performance is largely unknown.The study objective was to determine whether UKCAT scores predict performance during the first two years of the 5-year undergraduate medical course at Nottingham. We studied a single cohort of students, who entered Nottingham Medical School in October 2007 and had taken the UKCAT. We used linear regression analysis to identify independent predictors of marks for different parts of the 2-year preclinical course. Data were available for 204/260 (78%) of the entry cohort. The UKCAT total score had little predictive value. Quantitative Reasoning was a significant independent predictor of course marks in Theme A ('The Cell'), (p = 0.005), and Verbal Reasoning predicted Theme C ('The Community') (p < 0.001), but otherwise the effects were slight or non-existent. This limited study from a single entry cohort at one medical school suggests that the predictive value of the UKCAT, particularly the total score, is low. Section scores may predict success in specific types of course assessment.The ultimate test of validity will not be available for some years, when current cohorts of students graduate. However, if this test of mental ability does not predict preclinical performance, it is arguably less likely to predict the outcome in the clinical years. Further research from medical schools with different types of curriculum and assessment is needed, with longitudinal studies throughout the course.

Distinct influences of affective and cognitive factors on children's non-verbal and verbal mathematical abilities.

PubMed

Wu, Sarah S; Chen, Lang; Battista, Christian; Smith Watts, Ashley K; Willcutt, Erik G; Menon, Vinod

2017-09-01

Individual differences in children's math performance have been associated with math anxiety, attention problems, working memory (WM), and reading skills, but the mechanisms by which these factors jointly contribute to children's math achievement are unknown. Here, we use structural equation modeling to characterize the relation between these factors and their influence on non-verbal Numerical Operations (NO) and verbal Math Reasoning (MR) in 330 children (M=8.34years). Our findings indicate that WM plays a central role in both non-verbal NO and verbal MR, whereas math anxiety and reading comprehension have unique and more pronounced influences on MR, compared to NO. Our study elucidates how affective and cognitive factors distinctly influence non-verbal and verbal mathematical problem solving. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predicting Levels of Reading and Writing Achievement in Typically Developing, English-Speaking 2nd and 5th Graders

PubMed Central

Jones, Jasmin Niedo; Abbott, Robert D.; Berninger, Virginia W.

2014-01-01

Human traits tend to fall along normal distributions. The aim of this research was to evaluate an evidence-based conceptual framework for predicting expected individual differences in reading and writing achievement outcomes for typically developing readers and writers in early and middle childhood from Verbal Reasoning with or without Working Memory Components (phonological, orthographic, and morphological word storage and processing units, phonological and orthographic loops, and rapid switching attention for cross-code integration). Verbal Reasoning (reconceptualized as Bidirectional Cognitive-Linguistic Translation) plus the Working Memory Components (reconceptualized as a language learning system) accounted for more variance than Verbal Reasoning alone, except for handwriting for which Working Memory Components alone were better predictors. Which predictors explained unique variance varied within and across reading (oral real word and pseudoword accuracy and rate, reading comprehension) and writing (handwriting, spelling, composing) skills and grade levels (second and fifth) in this longitudinal study. Educational applications are illustrated and theoretical and practical significance discussed. PMID:24948868

The interaction of process and domain in prefrontal cortex during inductive reasoning

PubMed Central

Babcock, Laura; Vallesi, Antonino

2015-01-01

Inductive reasoning is an everyday process that allows us to make sense of the world by creating rules from a series of instances. Consistent with accounts of process-based fractionations of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) along the left–right axis, inductive reasoning has been reliably localized to left PFC. However, these results may be confounded by the task domain, which is typically verbal. Indeed, some studies show that right PFC activation is seen with spatial tasks. This study used fMRI to examine the effects of process and domain on the brain regions recruited during a novel pattern discovery task. Twenty healthy young adult participants were asked to discover the rule underlying the presentation of a series of letters in varied spatial locations. The rules were either verbal (pertaining to a single semantic category) or spatial (geometric figures). Bilateral ventrolateral PFC activations were seen for the spatial domain, while the verbal domain showed only left ventrolateral PFC. A conjunction analysis revealed that the two domains recruited a common region of left ventrolateral PFC. The data support a central role of left PFC in inductive reasoning. Importantly, they also suggest that both process and domain shape the localization of reasoning in the brain. PMID:25498406

The interaction of process and domain in prefrontal cortex during inductive reasoning.

PubMed

Babcock, Laura; Vallesi, Antonino

2015-01-01

Inductive reasoning is an everyday process that allows us to make sense of the world by creating rules from a series of instances. Consistent with accounts of process-based fractionations of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) along the left-right axis, inductive reasoning has been reliably localized to left PFC. However, these results may be confounded by the task domain, which is typically verbal. Indeed, some studies show that right PFC activation is seen with spatial tasks. This study used fMRI to examine the effects of process and domain on the brain regions recruited during a novel pattern discovery task. Twenty healthy young adult participants were asked to discover the rule underlying the presentation of a series of letters in varied spatial locations. The rules were either verbal (pertaining to a single semantic category) or spatial (geometric figures). Bilateral ventrolateral PFC activations were seen for the spatial domain, while the verbal domain showed only left ventrolateral PFC. A conjunction analysis revealed that the two domains recruited a common region of left ventrolateral PFC. The data support a central role of left PFC in inductive reasoning. Importantly, they also suggest that both process and domain shape the localization of reasoning in the brain. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Reasoning and dyslexia: is visual memory a compensatory resource?

PubMed

Bacon, Alison M; Handley, Simon J

2014-11-01

Effective reasoning is fundamental to problem solving and achievement in education and employment. Protocol studies have previously suggested that people with dyslexia use reasoning strategies based on visual mental representations, whereas non-dyslexics use abstract verbal strategies. This research presents converging evidence from experimental and individual differences perspectives. In Experiment 1, dyslexic and non-dyslexic participants were similarly accurate on reasoning problems, but scores on a measure of visual memory ability only predicted reasoning accuracy for dyslexics. In Experiment 2, a secondary task loaded visual memory resources during concurrent reasoning. Dyslexics were significantly less accurate when reasoning under conditions of high memory load and showed reduced ability to subsequently recall the visual stimuli, suggesting that the memory and reasoning tasks were competing for the same visual cognitive resource. The results are consistent with an explanation based on limitations in the verbal and executive components of working memory in dyslexia and the use of compensatory visual strategies for reasoning. There are implications for cognitive activities that do not readily support visual thinking, whether in education, employment or less formal everyday settings. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparison between β-thalassemia minor and normal individuals using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.

PubMed

Zangiabadi, Nasser; Yarahmadi, Fahimeh; Darekordi, Ali; Shabani, Mohammad; Dadgar, Mehrak Memaran

2013-01-01

The present study aimed at investigating and comparing patients suffering from β-thalassemia (β-thal) minor with normal individuals in regard to their performances in the short version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) test. Patients with β-thal minor are carriers of β-thal genes. They have mild microcytic and hypochromic anemia and are usually asymptomatic. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 60 individuals were divided into two equal groups of β-thal minor and normal subjects; they were then studied by the WAIS subscales. The mean performance scores of the normal group in the subtests of arithmetic and vocabulary (p <0.01) and picture completion (p <0.05) were higher than those of the thalassemia group. The mean performance score and ability of the normal group on the verbal scale was higher in comparison to the thalassemia group (p <0.05), while on the non verbal scale, there was no significant difference between the two groups. It can be concluded that β-thal minor negatively influences verbal fluency, reasoning and conceptualization, and sequencing tasks, perceptual skill, prediction of social situations and abstract thinking.

The effect of perceptual reasoning abilities on confrontation naming performance: An examination of three naming tests.

PubMed

Soble, Jason R; Marceaux, Janice C; Galindo, Juliette; Sordahl, Jeffrey A; Highsmith, Jonathan M; O'Rourke, Justin J F; González, David Andrés; Critchfield, Edan A; McCoy, Karin J M

2016-01-01

Confrontation naming tests are a common neuropsychological method of assessing language and a critical diagnostic tool in identifying certain neurodegenerative diseases; however, there is limited literature examining the visual-perceptual demands of these tasks. This study investigated the effect of perceptual reasoning abilities on three confrontation naming tests, the Boston Naming Test (BNT), Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (NAB) Naming Test, and Visual Naming Test (VNT) to elucidate the diverse cognitive functions underlying these tasks to assist with test selection procedures and increase diagnostic accuracy. A mixed clinical sample of 121 veterans were administered the BNT, NAB, VNT, and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-4th Edition (WAIS-IV) Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. Multiple regression indicated that PRI accounted for 23%, 13%, and 15% of the variance in BNT, VNT, and NAB scores, respectively, but dropped out as a significant predictor once VCI was added. Follow-up bootstrap mediation analyses revealed that PRI had a significant indirect effect on naming performance after controlling education, primary language, and severity of cognitive impairment, as well as the mediating effect of general verbal abilities for the BNT (B = 0.13; 95% confidence interval, CI [.07, .20]), VNT (B = 0.01; 95% CI [.002, .03]), and NAB (B = 0.03; 95% CI [.01, .06]). Findings revealed a complex relationship between perceptual reasoning abilities and confrontation naming that is mediated by general verbal abilities. However, when verbal abilities were statistically controlled, perceptual reasoning abilities were found to have a significant indirect effect on performance across all three confrontation naming measures with the largest effect noted with the BNT relative to the VNT and NAB Naming Test.

Pragmatic Abilities of Children with Williams Syndrome: A Longitudinal Examination

PubMed Central

John, Angela E.; Dobson, Lauren A.; Thomas, Lauren E.; Mervis, Carolyn B.

2012-01-01

Prior research has indicated that pragmatics is an area of particular weakness for individuals with Williams syndrome (WS). To further address this aspect of the WS social phenotype, we used an individual differences approach to consider both cross-sectional and longitudinal relations among different pragmatic abilities for 14 children with WS, taking into account individual differences in non-verbal reasoning abilities. We also considered the relations between pragmatic abilities and expressive vocabulary ability. Participants were tested at two time points: as 4-year-olds during a 30-min play session with their mothers (Time 1) and an average of 5.87 years later during a one-on-one conversation with a familiar researcher (Time 2). Children’s intellectual and expressive vocabulary abilities were assessed at both time points. Results indicated that the ability to verbally contribute information beyond what was required in response to a question (ExtendQ) was significantly related to the ability to verbally contribute new information in the absence of a question (ExtendS) both at age 4 years and during primary school. At age 4, both the ability to pair verbalizations with eye contact in triadic interactions (secondary intersubjectivity) and expressive vocabulary ability were related to both ExtendQ and ExtendS. Finally, both ExtendQ and the ability to pair verbalizations with eye contact (intersubjectivity) at age 4 years predicted ExtendQ at age 9–12 years. The theoretical implications of our findings and the importance of early pragmatic language intervention for children who have WS are discussed. PMID:22719734

Mindfulness and Awareness: Constructivist, Psychodynamic and Eastern Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DelMonte, Michael M.

2012-01-01

In this paper I develop my contention that reality is experienced polymorphically at different levels along a concrete-abstract continuum. At the more abstract and psychic level the internal representations of primary reality are, to varying degrees, verbally labelled. However, for various reasons, this verbal symbolisation is rarely adequate or…

Prevalence and risk factors of workplace violence against health care workers in emergency department in Ismailia, Egypt.

PubMed

Abdellah, Rasha Farouk; Salama, Khaled Morsy

2017-01-01

Emergency department is one of the high-risk areas, where violence against health care workers (HCWs) is a prevalent and serious problem. Violence has negative effects on HCWs, and therefore on the quality of care provided in emergency department. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, types, sources and risk factors of violence reported by HCWs in emergency department. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a standardized questionnaire developed by the WHO. One hundred thirty four questionnaires were included in this study (94.4% response rate). WPV was reported by 59.7% of HCWs. Verbal violence was the most reported (58.2%), compared to physical violence (15.7%). The most reported reasons for violence were waiting time and that patient and family expectations not being met. Only 29.5% of HCWs who experienced verbal violence and 23.8% of who experienced physical violence reported it to hospital authority. About 75% of HCW thought that work place violence could be prevented, and about 60% said that no action was taken against the attacker by hospital authority. Violence against HCWs in emergency department is a significant issue that cannot be ignored. There are multiple reasons. The key point in dealing with the problem is to treat its specific causes.

Undergraduate Students' Quantitative Reasoning in Economic Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mkhatshwa, Thembinkosi Peter; Doerr, Helen M.

2018-01-01

Contributing to a growing body of research on undergraduate students' quantitative reasoning, the study reported in this article used task-based interviews to investigate business calculus students' quantitative reasoning when solving two optimization tasks situated in the context of revenue and profit maximization. Analysis of verbal responses…

Applying a Multiple Group Causal Indicator Modeling Framework to the Reading Comprehension Skills of Third, Seventh, and Tenth Grade Students

PubMed Central

Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Wagner, Richard K.; Schatschneider, Christopher

2015-01-01

This study demonstrates the utility of applying a causal indicator modeling framework to investigate important predictors of reading comprehension in third, seventh, and tenth grade students. The results indicated that a 4-factor multiple indicator multiple indicator cause (MIMIC) model of reading comprehension provided adequate fit at each grade level. This model included latent predictor constructs of decoding, verbal reasoning, nonverbal reasoning, and working memory and accounted for a large portion of the reading comprehension variance (73% to 87%) across grade levels. Verbal reasoning contributed the most unique variance to reading comprehension at all grade levels. In addition, we fit a multiple group 4-factor MIMIC model to investigate the relative stability (or variability) of the predictor contributions to reading comprehension across development (i.e., grade levels). The results revealed that the contributions of verbal reasoning, nonverbal reasoning, and working memory to reading comprehension were stable across the three grade levels. Decoding was the only predictor that could not be constrained to be equal across grade levels. The contribution of decoding skills to reading comprehension was higher in third grade and then remained relatively stable between seventh and tenth grade. These findings illustrate the feasibility of using MIMIC models to explain individual differences in reading comprehension across the development of reading skills. PMID:25821346

Conditional Reasoning in Schizophrenic Patients.

PubMed

Kornreich, Charles; Delle-Vigne, Dyna; Brevers, Damien; Tecco, Juan; Campanella, Salvatore; Noël, Xavier; Verbanck, Paul; Ermer, Elsa

2017-01-01

Conditional reasoning (if p then q) is used very frequently in everyday situations. Conditional reasoning is impaired in brain-lesion patients, psychopathy, alcoholism, and polydrug dependence. Many neurocognitive deficits have also been described in schizophrenia. We assessed conditional reasoning in 25 patients with schizophrenia, 25 depressive patients, and 25 controls, using the Wason selection task in three different domains: social contracts, precautionary rules, and descriptive rules. Control measures included depression, anxiety, and severity of schizophrenia measures as a Verbal Intelligence Scale. Patients with schizophrenia were significantly impaired on all conditional reasoning tasks compared to depressives and controls. However, the social contract and precautions tasks yielded better results than the descriptive tasks. Differences between groups disappeared for social contract but remained for precautions and descriptive tasks when verbal intelligence was used as a covariate. These results suggest that domain-specific reasoning mechanisms, proposed by evolutionary psychologists, are relatively resilient in the face of brain network disruptions that impair more general reasoning abilities. Nevertheless, patients with schizophrenia could encounter difficulties understanding precaution rules and social contracts in real-life situations resulting in unwise risk-taking and misunderstandings in the social world.

A Dominance Analysis Approach to Determining Predictor Importance in Third, Seventh, and Tenth Grade Reading Comprehension Skills

PubMed Central

Tighe, Elizabeth; Schatschneider, Christopher

2015-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate and rank order by importance the contributions of various cognitive predictors to reading comprehension in third, seventh, and tenth graders. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that for third grade, the best fit was a four-factor solution including Fluency, Verbal Reasoning, Nonverbal Reasoning, and Working Memory factors. For seventh and tenth grade, three-factor solutions with Fluency, Reasoning, and Working Memory factors were the best fit. The three and four-factor models were used in separate dominance analyses for each grade to rank order the factors by predictive importance to reading comprehension. Results indicated that Fluency and Verbal Reasoning were the most important predictors of third grade reading comprehension. For seventh grade, Fluency and Reasoning were the most important predictors. By tenth grade, Reasoning was the most important predictor of reading comprehension. Working Memory was the least predictive of reading comprehension across all grade levels. These results suggest that inferential reasoning skills become an important contributor to reading comprehension at increasing grade levels. PMID:26346315

Influence of perceived difficulty of cases on student osteopaths' diagnostic reasoning: a cross sectional study.

PubMed

Noyer, Aurelien L; Esteves, Jorge E; Thomson, Oliver P

2017-01-01

Diagnostic reasoning refers to the cognitive processes by which clinicians formulate diagnoses. Despite the implications for patient safety and professional identity, research on diagnostic reasoning in osteopathy remains largely theoretical. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived task difficulty on the diagnostic reasoning of students osteopaths. Using a single-blinded, cross sectional study design, sixteen final year pre-registration osteopathy students diagnosed two standardized cases under two context conditions (complex versus control). Context difficulty was manipulated via verbal manipulation and case order was randomized and counterbalanced across subjects to ensure that each case was diagnosed evenly under both conditions (i.e. half of the subjects performed either case A or B first). After diagnosis, participants were presented with items (literal, inferred and filler) designed to represent analytical and non-analytical reasoning. Response time and error rate for each item were measured. A repeated measures analysis of variance (concept type x context) was performed to identify differences across conditions and make inferences on diagnostic reasoning. Participants made significantly more errors when judging literal concepts and took significantly less time to recognize filler concepts in the complex context. No significant difference in ability to judge inferred concepts across contexts was found. Although speculative and preliminary, our findings suggest the perception of complexity led to an increased reliance on analytical reasoning at the detriment of non-analytical reasoning. To reduce the associated cognitive load, osteopathic educational institutions could consider developing the intuitive diagnostic capabilities of pre-registration students. Postgraduate mentorship opportunities could be considered to enhance the diagnostic reasoning of professional osteopaths, particularly recent graduates. Further research exploring the influence of expertise is required to enhance the validity of this study.

Everyday problem solving in African Americans and European Americans with Alzheimer's disease: an exploratory study.

PubMed

Ripich, Danielle N; Fritsch, Thomas; Ziol, Elaine

2002-03-01

In this exploratory study, we compared the performance of 10 African American and 26 European American persons with early- to mid-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) to 20 nondemented elderly (NE), using a shortened version of the Test of Problem Solving (TOPS). The TOPS measures verbal reasoning to solve everyday problems in five areas: explaining inferences, determining causes, answering negative why questions, determining solutions, and avoiding problems. Six linguistic measures were also examined: total utterances, abandoned utterances, length of utterances, maze words, questions, and total words. NE performed better than AD subjects on all but one measure of verbal reasoning ability. AD subjects also showed a trend to use more total utterances and abandoned utterances than NE. For the AD group, no ethnic differences were found for verbal reasoning or linguistic measures. The findings from this preliminary investigation suggest that, compared to European Americans, African American persons with AD demonstrate similar everyday problem solving and linguistic skills. Thus, assessments such as TOPS that examine everyday problem solving may be a useful nonbiased evaluation tool for persons with AD in these two ethnic groups.

The Effect of Verbal and Visuo-Spatial Abilities on the Development of Knowledge of the Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kikas, Eve

2006-09-01

Difficulties in students’ understanding of the spherical model of the Earth have been shown in previous studies. One of the reasons for these difficulties lies in beliefs and preliminary knowledge that hinder the interpretation of the scientific knowledge, the other reason may lie in the low level of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities. The study aims to investigate the effect of verbal and visuo-spatial abilities, but also that of preliminary knowledge on the later development of the knowledge of the Earth in school. 176 schoolchildren (96 boys and 80 girls) from five schools were tested; the mean age of the children during the first interview was seven years and eight months. All students were interviewed twice in grades 1 and 2, before and after they had learnt the topic in school. Factual, scientific and synthetic knowledge was assessed. The facilitative effect of visuo-spatial and verbal abilities and preliminary factual and scientific knowledge on students’ knowledge of astronomy after having learnt the topic in school was shown. In contrast, the hindering effect of synthetic knowledge was not found.

Assessment of the global intelligence and selective cognitive capacities in preterm 8-year-old children.

PubMed

Begega, Azucena; Méndez López, Magdalena; de Iscar, María Jesús; Cuesta-Izquierdo, Marcelino; Solís, Gonzalo; Fernández-Colomer, Belén; Álvarez, Luis; Méndez, Marta; Arias, Jorge L

2010-11-01

The aim of this study was to assess various cognitive abilities such as attention, IQ, reasoning, and memory related to academic achievement in 8- and 9-year-old preterm children. A total of 141 children were assessed. The preterm group (=37 weeks) comprised 63 children and was compared to 78 full-term children. Attention was evaluated using the d2 Selective Attention test, and the IQ by the L-M form of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, establishing a profile of abilities: perception, memory, comprehension, reasoning, and verbal fluency. Significant differences in IQ were found between the preterm and full-term children. Of the cognitive abilities assessed, the only significant differences were found in verbal fluency, with preterm boys showing lower verbal fluency scores than full-term children. In conclusion, all preterm groups have attention ability similar to that of full-term children. However, preterm children obtain lower scores in intelligence measures. In addition, preterm boys have verbal fluency difficulties. Taking into account the increase in preterm births, suitable intervention programs must be planned to attend the difficulties found.

Normative Study of the Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies (FAVRES) Test in the French-Canadian Population.

PubMed

Marcotte, Karine; McSween, Marie-Pier; Pouliot, Monica; Martineau, Sarah; Pauzé, Anne-Marie; Wiseman-Hakes, Catherine; MacDonald, Sheila

2017-08-16

The Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies (FAVRES; MacDonald, 2005) test was designed for use by speech-language pathologists to assess verbal reasoning, complex comprehension, discourse, and executive skills during performance on a set of challenging and ecologically valid functional tasks. A recent French version of this test was translated from English; however, it had not undergone standardization. The development of normative data that are linguistically and culturally sensitive to the target population is of importance. The present study aimed to establish normative data for the French version of the FAVRES, a commonly used test with native French-speaking patients with traumatic brain injury in Québec, Canada. The normative sample consisted of 181 healthy French-speaking adults from various regions across the province of Québec. Age and years of education were factored into the normative model. Results indicate that age was significantly associated with performance on time, accuracy, reasoning subskills, and rationale criteria, whereas the level of education was significantly associated with accuracy and rationale. Overall, mean scores on each criterion were relatively lower than in the original English version, which reinforces the importance of using the present normative data when interpreting performance of French speakers who have sustained a traumatic brain injury.

Is the Link from Working Memory to Analogy Causal? No Analogy Improvements following Working Memory Training Gains

PubMed Central

Richey, J. Elizabeth; Phillips, Jeffrey S.; Schunn, Christian D.; Schneider, Walter

2014-01-01

Analogical reasoning has been hypothesized to critically depend upon working memory through correlational data [1], but less work has tested this relationship through experimental manipulation [2]. An opportunity for examining the connection between working memory and analogical reasoning has emerged from the growing, although somewhat controversial, body of literature suggests complex working memory training can sometimes lead to working memory improvements that transfer to novel working memory tasks. This study investigated whether working memory improvements, if replicated, would increase analogical reasoning ability. We assessed participants’ performance on verbal and visual analogy tasks after a complex working memory training program incorporating verbal and spatial tasks [3], [4]. Participants’ improvements on the working memory training tasks transferred to other short-term and working memory tasks, supporting the possibility of broad effects of working memory training. However, we found no effects on analogical reasoning. We propose several possible explanations for the lack of an impact of working memory improvements on analogical reasoning. PMID:25188356

Low compliance to pharmacological treatment is linked to cognitive impairment in euthymic phase of bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Fuentes, Ileana; Rizo-Méndez, Alfredo; Jarne-Esparcia, Adolfo

2016-05-01

Cognitive impairment and low compliance to pharmacological treatment are frequent complications in bipolar disorder. Moreover, low compliance in patients with bipolar disorder is one of the main reasons for relapse. This in turn, is associated with an increase in neurocognitive symptoms. The current study aimed to determine whether attention, memory, and executive function are related to the level of compliance to pharmacological treatment in individuals with bipolar disorder in euthymic phase. We examined 34 patients with bipolar disorder (12 with low compliance to the treatment and 22 with high compliance to the treatment) according to the DSM-IV criteria, in the range of 18-55 years. All patients were assessed through a neuropsychological battery in one single session. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare neuropsychological test scores between low and high compliance patients. Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were included as covariates in the study. Patients with low level of compliance performed significantly worse than high treatment compliance on verbal memory immediate free recall (F (1)=12.14, p=.002), verbal memory immediate cued recall (F (1)=10.45, p=.003), verbal memory delayed free recall (F (1)=5.52, p=.027), and verbal memory delayed cued recall (F (1)=6.11, p=.021). Covariates such as number of manic episodes, history of psychosis and years of education were found significant for executive functions and processing speed. We found that low compliance to pharmacological treatment is consistently linked to immediate and delayed verbal memory. In addition, executive function and processing speed were associated with clinical and demographic characteristics. Limitations of this study include the small sample size, a cross-sectional design that cannot address causality, and inability to account for pharmacologic effects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Premorbid intellectual functioning and risk of schizophrenia and spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Reichenberg, Abraham; Weiser, Mark; Caspi, Asaf; Knobler, Haim Y; Lubin, Gad; Harvey, Philip D; Rabinowitz, Jonathan; Davidson, Michael

2006-02-01

Evidence from longitudinal studies indicates that lower IQ score in childhood and early adolescence increases risk of schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). This study investigated the association between premorbid IQ and risk of SSD in a population-based cohort of 17-year-old conscripts. Fifty four thousand males assessed by the Israeli Draft Board during two consecutive years were followed by means of the Israeli National Psychiatric Hospitalization Case Registry for up to 11 years. Tests of verbal and non-verbal reasoning, mathematical knowledge and instructions comprehension and several psychosocial variables were recorded by the Draft Board. Risk for SSD increased with decreasing IQ score. Only poorer non-verbal reasoning conferred a significant increased risk for SSD after taking into account general intellectual ability. IQ was not associated with age of onset. These results confirm the importance of low intellectual functioning as a risk factor for SSD. This is unlikely to be due to prodrome.

Associations of suicidality with cognitive ability and cognitive insight in outpatients with Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Villa, Jennifer; Choi, Jennifer; Kangas, Julie L; Kaufmann, Christopher N; Harvey, Philip D; Depp, Colin A

2018-02-01

Previous literature suggests that better cognitive ability and insight are associated with greater lifetime risk of suicide attempts in schizophrenia, counter to the direction of association in the general population. However, the conjoint association between distinct cognitive domains, insight, and suicidality has not been assessed. In a cross-sectional study, 162 adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder completed cognitive testing via the MATRICS battery, symptom and cognitive insight assessments, along with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. We then contrasted participants based on history of suicidality by cognitive domains and insight measures and conducted multivariate analyses. Although a history of any passive ideation was not associated with cognitive ability or insight, verbal learning was positively associated with a greater history of suicidal attempt and prior ideation with a plan and intent. Higher cognitive insight, and the self-reflectiveness subscale insight, was also associated with history of passive or active suicidal ideation. Cognitive insight and cognitive ability were independent from each other, and there were no moderating influences of insight on the effect of cognitive ability on suicide related history. Exploratory analyses revealed that history of planned attempts were associated with greater verbal learning, whereas histories of aborted attempts were associated with poorer reasoning and problem-solving. Although cross-sectional and retrospective, this study provides support that greater cognitive ability, specifically verbal learning, along with self-reflectiveness, may confer elevated risk for more severe suicidal ideation and behavior in an independent fashion. Interestingly, poorer problem-solving was associated with aborted suicide attempts. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Consequences of Contextual Factors on Clinical Reasoning in Resident Physicians

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBee, Elexis; Ratcliffe, Temple; Picho, Katherine; Artino, Anthony R., Jr.; Schuwirth, Lambert; Kelly, William; Masel, Jennifer; van der Vleuten, Cees; Durning, Steven J.

2015-01-01

Context specificity and the impact that contextual factors have on the complex process of clinical reasoning is poorly understood. Using situated cognition as the theoretical framework, our aim was to evaluate the verbalized clinical reasoning processes of resident physicians in order to describe what impact the presence of contextual factors have…

Verbal Reasoning

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-08-31

Psicologia , 4(3), 183-198. 94 Guyote, M.J. and Sternberg, R.J. (1981). A transitive-chain theory of syllogistic reasoning. Cognitive Psychology, 13(4), 461...personal connections. Journal of Social Psychology, 20, 39-59. Newell, A. (1990). Unified Theories of Cognition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard

Cognitive contributions to theory of mind ability in children with a traumatic head injury.

PubMed

Levy, Naomi Kahana; Milgram, Noach

2016-01-01

The objective of the current study is to examine the contribution of intellectual abilities, executive functions (EF), and facial emotion recognition to difficulties in Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in children with a traumatic head injury. Israeli children with a traumatic head injury were compared with their non-injured counterparts. Each group included 18 children (12 males) ages 7-13. Measurements included reading the mind in the eyes, facial emotion recognition, reasoning the other's characteristics based on motive and outcome, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, similarities and digit span (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised 95 subscales), verbal fluency, and the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functions. Non-injured children performed significantly better on ToM, abstract reasoning, and EF measures compared with children with a traumatic head injury. However, differences in ToM abilities between the groups were no longer significant after controlling for abstract reasoning, working memory, verbal fluency, or facial emotion recognition. Impaired ToM recognition and reasoning abilities after a head injury may result from other cognitive impairments. In children with mild and moderate head injury, poorer performance on ToM tasks may reflect poorer abstract reasoning, a general tendency to concretize stimuli, working memory and verbal fluency deficits, and difficulties in facial emotion recognition, rather than deficits in the ability to understand the other's thoughts and emotions. ToM impairments may be secondary to a range of cognitive deficits in determining social outcomes in this population.

Convergence of Sequences and Series 2: Interactions between Nonvisual Reasoning and the Learner's Beliefs about Their Own Role

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alcock, Lara; Simpson, Adrian

2005-01-01

This paper examines the work of students who, when reasoning about real analysis, do so almost exclusively by means of verbal and algebraic reasoning, and tend not to incorporate visual images into their work. It examines the work of students from two parallel courses of introductory real analysis, whose reasoning ranges from those who introduce…

Semantic Pattern Analysis for Verbal Fluency Based Assessment of Neurological Disorders

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sukumar, Sreenivas R; Ainsworth, Keela C; Brown, Tyler C

In this paper, we present preliminary results of semantic pattern analysis of verbal fluency tests used for assessing cognitive psychological and neuropsychological disorders. We posit that recent advances in semantic reasoning and artificial intelligence can be combined to create a standardized computer-aided diagnosis tool to automatically evaluate and interpret verbal fluency tests. Towards that goal, we derive novel semantic similarity (phonetic, phonemic and conceptual) metrics and present the predictive capability of these metrics on a de-identified dataset of participants with and without neurological disorders.

Preliminary neurocognitive outcomes in Jeavons syndrome.

PubMed

Fournier-Goodnight, Ashley S; Gabriel, Marsha; Perry, M Scott

2015-11-01

Jeavons syndrome (JS, eyelid myoclonia with absences [EMA]) consists of a triad of symptoms including eyelid myoclonia that may be accompanied by absence seizures, eye closure-induced EEG paroxysms or seizures, and photosensitivity. The age of onset ranges between 2 and 14 years with symptoms peaking between 6 and 8 years of age. Though investigation of the clinical, EEG, and neurological features of JS has occurred, neurocognitive functioning has not been well-delineated despite suggestion that a subtype of the syndrome is characterized in part by cognitive impairment. The purpose of this study was to define neurocognitive functioning in a more detailed manner by examining global IQ and relevant neurocognitive domains (i.e., verbal and nonverbal reasoning, attention, executive functioning, memory) in pediatric patients. The sample (N=6, 4 females) ranged in age from 8 to 15 years (M=11, SD=2.82). All participants completed neuropsychological evaluations. Statistical analyses revealed performance that was below average on measures of global IQ, processing speed and rote, verbal learning coupled with average nonverbal reasoning, and sustained attention. There was also evidence of impaired higher-level verbal reasoning. While global IQ ranged from low average to borderline impaired, no participant could be accurately described as impaired or having intellectual disability (ID) given the consistently average performance noted on some higher-order tasks including nonverbal reasoning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Scoping Report: AI-Driven Wargame Replicator

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

Evans, 2003 Without training involving external input Responsive to verbal instructions Clark & Karmiloff-Smith, 1993 Associative Rule-based Sloman...Applied to Clustering. Online available on January 21, 2010, at http://laboratorios.fi.uba.ar/lsi/rgm/ comunicaciones /c-AGsclustering-ORLANDO96.pdf...systems for associative recall and recognition. Psychological Review, 91:281-294. [214] Polk, T.A. and Newell, A. (1995). Deduction as verbal reasoning

Children's Intellectual and Emotional-Behavioral Adjustment at 4 Years as a Function of Cocaine Exposure, Maternal Characteristics, and Environmental Risk.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, David S.; Bendersky, Margaret; Lewis, Michael

2002-01-01

Examined 4-year-olds for effects on IQ of prenatal cocaine exposure, exposure to other substances, risk factors, and neonatal medical problems. Found that maternal verbal IQ and low environmental risk predicted child IQ. Cocaine exposure negatively predicted children's overall IQ and verbal reasoning scores for boys only. Maternal harsh…

Differential Modulation of Performance in Insight and Divergent Thinking Tasks with tDCS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goel, Vinod; Eimontaite, Iveta; Goel, Amit; Schindler, Igor

2015-01-01

While both insight and divergent thinking tasks are used to study creativity, there are reasons to believe that the two may call upon very different mechanisms. To explore this hypothesis, we administered a verbal insight task (riddles) and a divergent thinking task (verbal fluency) to 16 native English speakers and 16 non-native English speakers…

Children's cognitive ability from 4 to 9 years old as a function of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence.

PubMed

Bennett, David S; Bendersky, Margaret; Lewis, Michael

2008-07-01

This study examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure, environmental risk, and maternal verbal intelligence on children's cognitive ability. Gender and age were examined as moderators of potential cocaine exposure effects. The Stanford-Binet IV intelligence test was administered to 231 children (91 cocaine exposed, 140 unexposed) at ages 4, 6, and 9 years. Neonatal medical risk and other prenatal exposures (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) were also examined for their unique effects on child IQ. Mixed models analysis indicated that prenatal cocaine exposure interacted with gender, as cocaine-exposed boys had lower composite IQ scores. Age at assessment did not moderate this relation, indicating that cocaine-exposed boys had lower IQs across this age period. A stimulating home environment and high maternal verbal IQ also predicted higher composite IQ scores. Cocaine-exposed boys had lower scores on the Abstract/Visual Reasoning subscale, with trends for lower scores on the Short-Term Memory and Verbal Reasoning subscales, as exposure effects were observed across domains. The findings indicate that cocaine exposure continues to place children at risk for mild cognitive deficits into preadolescence. Possible mechanisms for the Exposure x Gender interaction are discussed.

The impact of parent-child interaction on brain structures: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Hikaru; Taki, Yasuyuki; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Asano, Kohei; Asano, Michiko; Sassa, Yuko; Yokota, Susumu; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nouchi, Rui; Kawashima, Ryuta

2015-02-04

There is a vast amount of evidence from psychological studies that the amount of parent-child interaction affects the development of children's verbal skills and knowledge. However, despite the vast amount of literature, brain structural development associated with the amount of parent-child interaction has never been investigated. In the present human study, we used voxel-based morphometry to measure regional gray matter density (rGMD) and examined cross-sectional correlations between the amount of time spent with parents and rGMD among 127 boys and 135 girls. We also assessed correlations between the amount of time spent with parents and longitudinal changes that occurred a few years later among 106 boys and 102 girls. After correcting for confounding factors, we found negative effects of spending time with parents on rGMD in areas in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) via cross-sectional analyses as well as in the contingent areas of the right STG. We also confirmed positive effects of spending time with parents on the Verbal Comprehension score in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. rGMD in partly overlapping or contingent areas of the right STG was negatively correlated with age and the Verbal Comprehension score in cross-sectional analyses. Subsequent analyses revealed verbal parent-child interactions have similar effects on Verbal Comprehension scores and rGMD in the right STG in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. These findings indicate that parent-child interactions affect the right STG, which may be associated with verbal skills. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/352233-13$15.00/0.

Continuity from an implicit to an explicit understanding of false belief from infancy to preschool age.

PubMed

Thoermer, Claudia; Sodian, Beate; Vuori, Maria; Perst, Hannah; Kristen, Susanne

2012-03-01

An implicit understanding of false belief indicated by anticipatory looking has been shown to be significantly correlated with performance on explicit false-belief tasks in 3- and 4-year-old children (Low, 2010). Recent evidence from infant research indicates, however, that implicit false-belief understanding guides infants' expectations about goal-directed actions even in the second year of life. The present study presents data from a sample of N= 70 infants who were tested longitudinally at 15, 18, 30, 36 and 48 months with implicit and explicit Theory of Mind measures, as well as an assessment of verbal IQ. Belief-based anticipatory looking in the false-belief task at 18 months significantly predicted verbal false-belief reasoning at 48 months, after controlling for verbal IQ. These findings indicate developmental continuity and conceptual specificity in belief reasoning from infancy to preschool age. They are discussed with respect to competing accounts of infants' understanding of the mind. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

Factor Analysis of the WAIS and Twenty French-Kit Reference Tests.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramsey, Philip H.

1979-01-01

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and 20 tests from the French Kit were administered to over 100 undergraduates. Analyses revealed ten factors: verbal comprehension, visualization, memory span, syllogistic reasoning, general reasoning, induction, mechanical knowledge, number facility, spatial orientation, and associative memory.…

A cross-sectional study of well water arsenic and child IQ in Maine schoolchildren

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background In recent studies in Bangladesh and elsewhere, exposure to arsenic (As) via drinking water is negatively associated with performance-related aspects of child intelligence (e.g., Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory) after adjustment for social factors. Because findings are not easily generalizable to the US, we examine this relation in a US population. Methods In 272 children in grades 3–5 from three Maine school districts, we examine associations between drinking water As (WAs) and intelligence (WISC-IV). Results On average, children had resided in their current home for 7.3 years (approximately 75% of their lives). In unadjusted analyses, household well WAs is associated with decreased scores on most WISC-IV Indices. With adjustment for maternal IQ and education, HOME environment, school district and number of siblings, WAs remains significantly negatively associated with Full Scale IQ and Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory and Verbal Comprehension scores. Compared to those with WAs < 5 μg/L, exposure to WAs ≥ 5 μg/L was associated with reductions of approximately 5–6 points in both Full Scale IQ (p < 0.01) and most Index scores (Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, Verbal Comprehension, all p’s < 0.05). Both maternal IQ and education were associated with lower levels of WAs, possibly reflecting behaviors (e.g., water filters, residential choice) limiting exposure. Both WAs and maternal measures were associated with school district. Conclusions The magnitude of the association between WAs and child IQ raises the possibility that levels of WAs ≥ 5 μg/L, levels that are not uncommon in the United States, pose a threat to child development. PMID:24684736

A COMBINED FACTOR ANALYSIS OF CREATIVITY AND INTELLIGENCE.

PubMed

Cave, R L

1970-04-01

A battery of tests was given to 447 studenits in the secondary schools of Alcoa, Tennessee. The tests were composed of the Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Tests, and five selected creativity tests. The combined battery of tests was factor analyzed and rotated to an oblique simple structure, and then to a hierachical solution. Three factors were found: the verbal intelligence and reasoning factors identified in many previous studies, and a creativity faotor. The structure was very oblique. The second order factor, g, was found to count for 77% of the variance of the verbal facbor, 89% of the reasoning factor and 48% of the creativity factor. These results were compared with those of previous studies of creativity and intelligence.

Verbal problem solving in high functioning autistic individuals.

PubMed

Minshew, N J; Siegel, D J; Goldstein, G; Weldy, S

1994-01-01

The verbal problem-solving and abstract reasoning ability of 25 high-functioning autistic individuals ages 11 to 41 was compared with normal controls individually matched on age, gender, race, IQ, and educational level. The Twenty Questions Procedure was administered using a grid of 42 common objects. Time to complete the task, number of correct solutions, and number and type of questions asked were analyzed. Results indicated that controls were more often successful in achieving solutions, and in formulating constraint seeking questions that conceptually grouped, ordered, and sorted the objects. In contrast, the autistics relied primarily on guessing. Findings are consistent with prior studies reporting a core deficit in autism involving abstract reasoning ability.

WISC-IV GAI and CPI in Psychoeducational Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bremner, Dawn; McTaggart, Breanne; Saklofske, Donald H.; Janzen, Troy

2011-01-01

The General Ability Index (GAI) and Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI) are two index scores that can be calculated for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Canadian Edition (WISC-IV[superscript CDN]). The GAI comprises the verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning subtests and reflects reasoning abilities. The CPI includes the…

Arab Cultural Influences on Intertemporal Reasoning

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-11-30

Retrieval is facilitated when retrieval cues have a high similarity to the encoded information. As yet, we have little research on Arab culture...activation theory of memory. Journal of Verbal Learing and Verbal Behavior , 22, 261-295. Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering: A study in experimental...in how day-to-day experience is both encoded and recalled as part of reconstructing recent personal histories (e.g., where one has been) in terms of

Processing efficiency theory in children: working memory as a mediator between trait anxiety and academic performance.

PubMed

Owens, Matthew; Stevenson, Jim; Norgate, Roger; Hadwin, Julie A

2008-10-01

Working memory skills are positively associated with academic performance. In contrast, high levels of trait anxiety are linked with educational underachievement. Based on Eysenck and Calvo's (1992) processing efficiency theory (PET), the present study investigated whether associations between anxiety and educational achievement were mediated via poor working memory performance. Fifty children aged 11-12 years completed verbal (backwards digit span; tapping the phonological store/central executive) and spatial (Corsi blocks; tapping the visuospatial sketchpad/central executive) working memory tasks. Trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Academic performance was assessed using school administered tests of reasoning (Cognitive Abilities Test) and attainment (Standard Assessment Tests). The results showed that the association between trait anxiety and academic performance was significantly mediated by verbal working memory for three of the six academic performance measures (math, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning). Spatial working memory did not significantly mediate the relationship between trait anxiety and academic performance. On average verbal working memory accounted for 51% of the association between trait anxiety and academic performance, while spatial working memory only accounted for 9%. The findings indicate that PET is a useful framework to assess the impact of children's anxiety on educational achievement.

Quantified trends in the history of verbal behavior research

PubMed Central

Eshleman, John W.

1991-01-01

The history of scientific research about verbal behavior research, especially that based on Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957), can be assessed on the basis of a frequency and celeration analysis of the published and presented literature. In order to discover these quantified trends, a comprehensive bibliographical database was developed. Based on several literature searches, the bibliographic database included papers pertaining to verbal behavior that were published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behaviorism, The Behavior Analyst, and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. A nonbehavioral journal, the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior was assessed as a nonexample comparison. The bibliographic database also included a listing of verbal behavior papers presented at the meetings of the Association for Behavior Analysis. Papers were added to the database if they (a) were about verbal behavior, (b) referenced B.F. Skinner's (1957) book Verbal Behavior, or (c) did both. Because the references indicated the year of publication or presentation, a count per year of them was measured. These yearly frequencies were plotted on Standard Celeration Charts. Once plotted, various celeration trends in the literature became visible, not the least of which was the greater quantity of verbal behavior research than is generally acknowledged. The data clearly show an acceleration of research across the past decade. The data also question the notion that a “paucity” of research based on Verbal Behavior currently exists. Explanations of the acceleration of verbal behavior research are suggested, and plausible reasons are offered as to why a relative lack of verbal behavior research extended through the mid 1960s to the latter 1970s. PMID:22477630

Human figure drawings and children's recall of touching.

PubMed

Bruck, Maggie

2009-12-01

In 2 studies, children ages 3 to 7 years were asked to recall a series of touches that occurred during a previous staged event. The recall interview took place 1 week after the event in Study 1 and immediately after the event in Study 2. Each recall interview had 2 sections: In 1 section, children were given human figure drawings (HFDs) and were asked to show where the touching took place; in the other section, the same questions were asked without the HFDs (verbal condition). Children were randomly assigned to 2 different conditions: HFD 1st/verbal 2nd or verbal 1st/HFD 2nd. There were 2 major findings. First, HFDs elicited more errors than the verbal condition when used to probe for information that the child had already been asked. Second, regardless of interview method, children had poor recall of the touches even when these occurred minutes before the interview. It is suggested that cognitive mechanisms involving memory and semantics underlie children's poor recall of touching in both verbal and HFD conditions. Copyright 2009 APA

Human Figure Drawings and Children’s Recall of Touching

PubMed Central

Bruck, Maggie

2010-01-01

In 2 studies, children ages 3 to 7 years were asked to recall a series of touches that occurred during a previous staged event. The recall interview took place 1 week after the event in Study 1 and immediately after the event in Study 2. Each recall interview had 2 sections: In 1 section, children were given human figure drawings (HFDs) and were asked to show where the touching took place; in the other section, the same questions were asked without the HFDs (verbal condition). Children were randomly assigned to 2 different conditions: HFD 1st/verbal 2nd or verbal 1st/HFD 2nd. There were 2 major findings. First, HFDs elicited more errors than the verbal condition when used to probe for information that the child had already been asked. Second, regardless of interview method, children had poor recall of the touches even when these occurred minutes before the interview. It is suggested that cognitive mechanisms involving memory and semantics underlie children’s poor recall of touching in both verbal and HFD conditions. PMID:20025421

Exploring physicians' verbal and nonverbal responses to cues/concerns: Learning from incongruent communication.

PubMed

Gorawara-Bhat, R; Hafskjold, L; Gulbrandsen, P; Eide, H

2017-11-01

Explore physicians' verbal and nonverbal responses to cues/concerns in consultations with older-patients. Two teams independently coded a sample of Norwegian consultations (n=24) on verbal and nonverbal dimensions of communication using VR-CoDES and NDEPT instruments. Consultations exploring older-patients' verbal emotional expressions were labeled 'Acknowledging of patients' emotional expressions', and 'Distancing from patients' emotional expressions.' Based on type and extent of nonverbal expressiveness, consultations were labeled 'Affective' and 'Prescriptive.' Congruency of verbal and nonverbal communication was assessed and categorized into four types. Incongruent consultations were qualitatively analyzed. Types 1 and 2 consultations were described as 'Congruent,' i.e. both verbal and nonverbal behaviors facilitate or inhibit emotional expressions. Types 3 and 4 were considered 'Incongruent,' i.e. verbal inhibits, but nonverbal facilitates emotional expressions or vice versa. Type 3 incongruent encounters occurred most often when it was challenging to meet patients' needs. Frequently physicians' display incongruent behavior in challenging situations. Older patients' may perceive this as either alleviating or increasing distress, depending on their needs. Type 3 consultations may shed light on reasons for physicians' incongruent behavior; therefore, independent measurement and analyses of verbal and nonverbal communication are recommended. Older-patients' perceptions of incongruent communication should be further explored. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Matter of Balance: Motor Control is Related to Children’s Spatial and Proportional Reasoning Skills

PubMed Central

Frick, Andrea; Möhring, Wenke

2016-01-01

Recent research has shown close links between spatial and mathematical thinking and between spatial abilities and motor skills. However, longitudinal research examining the relations between motor, spatial, and mathematical skills is rare, and the nature of these relations remains unclear. The present study thus investigated the relation between children’s motor control and their spatial and proportional reasoning. We measured 6-year-olds’ spatial scaling (i.e., the ability to reason about different-sized spaces), their mental transformation skills, and their ability to balance on one leg as an index for motor control. One year later (N = 126), we tested the same children’s understanding of proportions. We also assessed several control variables (verbal IQ and socio-economic status) as well as inhibitory control, visuo-spatial and verbal working memory. Stepwise hierarchical regressions showed that, after accounting for effects of control variables, children’s balance skills significantly increased the explained variance in their spatial performance and proportional reasoning. Our results suggest specific relations between balance skills and spatial as well as proportional reasoning skills that cannot be explained by general differences in executive functioning or intelligence. PMID:26793157

Factors Associated with Cognition in Adults: The Seattle Longitudinal Study

PubMed Central

Yu, Fang; Ryan, Lindsay H.; Schaie, K. Warner; Willis, Sherry L.; Kolanowski, Ann

2010-01-01

A better understanding of factors that affect cognition could lead to improved health and greater independence for older adults. We examined the association of four modifiable factors (leisure-time physical activity, leisure-time cognitive activity, self-directed work, and hypertension) with changes in two aspects of fluid intelligence (verbal memory and inductive reasoning). Data for 626 adults collected over 14 years (three time points) were analyzed by multi-level modeling. A component of self-directed work, higher work control, was associated with better verbal memory (p < .05) and inductive reasoning (p < .01). There were no significant interactions among these factors. The findings suggest that a strong sense of control at work may be protective for fluid intelligence in adults. PMID:19606423

Investigation of Response Changes in the GRE Revised General Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Ou Lydia; Bridgeman, Brent; Gu, Lixiong; Xu, Jun; Kong, Nan

2015-01-01

Research on examinees' response changes on multiple-choice tests over the past 80 years has yielded some consistent findings, including that most examinees make score gains by changing answers. This study expands the research on response changes by focusing on a high-stakes admissions test--the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning measures…

Specificity of meta-emotion effects on moral decision-making.

PubMed

Koven, Nancy S

2011-10-01

A recently proposed dual process theory of moral decision-making posits that utilitarian reasoning (approving of harmful actions that maximize good consequences) is the result of cognitive control of emotion. This suggests that deficits in emotional awareness will contribute to increased utilitarianism. The present study explored the relative contributions of the different facets of alexithymia and the closely related constructs of emotional intelligence and mood awareness to utilitarian decision making. Participants (N = 86) completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Trait Meta Mood Scale, the Mood Awareness Scale, and a series of high-conflict, personal moral dilemmas validated by Greene et al. (2008). A brief neuropsychological battery was also administered to assess the possible confounds of verbal reasoning and abstract thinking ability. Principal components analysis revealed two latent factors-clarity of emotion and attention to emotion-which cut across all three meta-emotion instruments. Of these, low clarity of emotion-reflecting difficulty in reasoning thoughtfully about one's emotions-predicted utilitarian outcomes and provided unique variance beyond that of verbal and abstract reasoning abilities. Results are discussed in the context of individual differences in emotion regulation.

The Relationship between Habitual Breakfast Consumption Frequency and Academic Performance in British Adolescents

PubMed Central

Adolphus, Katie; Lawton, Clare L.; Dye, Louise

2015-01-01

Breakfast has been shown to be beneficial for cognitive and academic performance in school children. However, there is a paucity of studies which examine the relationship between breakfast consumption and academic performance and a complete absence of studies in UK school children. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the association between habitual breakfast consumption frequency and Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) performance, a reasoning test routinely used in UK schools. Adolescents aged 11–13 years (n = 292; males: 53.8%) completed a questionnaire to report usual weekly breakfast intake frequency. Breakfast was subjectively defined by the participants. Habitual weekly breakfast consumption frequency was categorized as rare (0–2 days), occasional (3–4 days), or frequent (5–7 days). Participants’ CAT performance was used as a proxy measure of academic performance. The CAT has three components: verbal, non-verbal, and quantitative reasoning. Normative standard age scores (SAS) for verbal, non-verbal, quantitative reasoning, and overall mean SAS were obtained from school records and hierarchical linear regression models were applied, adjusting for the confounders: gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, English as an Additional Language, and body mass index. Habitual breakfast consumption frequency did not significantly predict any CAT SAS in all models (crude and adjusted). However, methodological considerations which could account for this disagreement with previous research, were identified. These included the isolation of school-day breakfast consumption, use of a standard definition of breakfast, and measurement of actual academic performance. The findings of the current study suggest more comprehensive ways in which future studies might investigate the relationship between habitual breakfast consumption and academic performance. PMID:26000270

The Relationship between Habitual Breakfast Consumption Frequency and Academic Performance in British Adolescents.

PubMed

Adolphus, Katie; Lawton, Clare L; Dye, Louise

2015-01-01

Breakfast has been shown to be beneficial for cognitive and academic performance in school children. However, there is a paucity of studies which examine the relationship between breakfast consumption and academic performance and a complete absence of studies in UK school children. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the association between habitual breakfast consumption frequency and Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) performance, a reasoning test routinely used in UK schools. Adolescents aged 11-13 years (n = 292; males: 53.8%) completed a questionnaire to report usual weekly breakfast intake frequency. Breakfast was subjectively defined by the participants. Habitual weekly breakfast consumption frequency was categorized as rare (0-2 days), occasional (3-4 days), or frequent (5-7 days). Participants' CAT performance was used as a proxy measure of academic performance. The CAT has three components: verbal, non-verbal, and quantitative reasoning. Normative standard age scores (SAS) for verbal, non-verbal, quantitative reasoning, and overall mean SAS were obtained from school records and hierarchical linear regression models were applied, adjusting for the confounders: gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, English as an Additional Language, and body mass index. Habitual breakfast consumption frequency did not significantly predict any CAT SAS in all models (crude and adjusted). However, methodological considerations which could account for this disagreement with previous research, were identified. These included the isolation of school-day breakfast consumption, use of a standard definition of breakfast, and measurement of actual academic performance. The findings of the current study suggest more comprehensive ways in which future studies might investigate the relationship between habitual breakfast consumption and academic performance.

Age- and education-matched comparison of aging HIV+ men who have sex with men to general population on common neuropsychological assessments.

PubMed

Kupprat, Sandra Anne; Halkitis, Perry N; Pérez-Figueroa, Rafael; Solomon, Todd M; Ashman, Teresa; Kingdon, Molly J; Levy, Michael David

2015-09-01

Little is known about the impact of HIV and aging on cognitive functioning. This New York City cross-sectional study of aging HIV-positive gay and bisexual men assessed their neuropsychological state. Working memory and verbal abstract reasoning were relatively intact. After 55 years of age, attention abilities were impaired. Executive function impairment was present regardless of age and education. Results suggest the need for HIV-specific norms, and the use of neuropsychological assessments (i.e. baseline and over time) as a cost-effective way to assess HIV-related cognitive decline in developed and under-developed countries. © The Author(s) 2013.

Cognitive predictors of understanding treatment decisions in patients with newly diagnosed brain metastasis.

PubMed

Gerstenecker, Adam; Meneses, Karen; Duff, Kevin; Fiveash, John B; Marson, Daniel C; Triebel, Kristen L

2015-06-15

Medical decision-making capacity is a higher-order functional skill that refers to a patient's ability to make informed, sound decisions related to care and treatment. In a medical context, understanding is the most cognitively demanding consent standard and refers to a patient's ability to comprehend information to the extent that informed decisions can be made. The association between reasoning and cognition was examined using data from 41 patients with diagnosed brain metastasis. All diagnoses were made by a board-certified radiation oncologist and were verified histologically. In total, 41 demographically matched, cognitively healthy controls were also included to aid in classifying patients with brain metastasis according to reasoning status (ie, intact or impaired). Results indicate that measures of simple attention, verbal fluency, verbal memory, processing speed, and executive functioning were all associated with understanding, and that verbal memory and phonemic fluency were the primary cognitive predictors. Using these two primary predictors, equations can be constructed to predict the ability to understand treatment decisions in patients with brain metastasis. Although preliminary, these data demonstrate how cognitive measures can estimate understanding as it relates to medical decision-making capacities in these patients. Clinically, these findings suggest that poor verbal memory and expressive language function could serve as "red flags" for reduced consent capacity in this patient population, thus signaling that a more comprehensive medical decision-making capacity evaluation is warranted. © 2015 American Cancer Society.

Girls' Spatial Skills and Arithmetic Strategies in First Grade as Predictors of Fifth-Grade Analytical Math Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Beth M.; Lombardi, Caitlin McPherran; Pollock, Amanda; Fineman, Bonnie; Pezaris, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

This study investigated longitudinal pathways leading from early spatial skills in first-grade girls to their fifth-grade analytical math reasoning abilities (N = 138). First-grade assessments included spatial skills, verbal skills, addition/subtraction skills, and frequency of choice of a decomposition or retrieval strategy on the…

Exercise tolerance during VO2max testing is a multifactorial psychobiological phenomenon.

PubMed

Midgley, Adrian W; Earle, Keith; McNaughton, Lars R; Siegler, Jason C; Clough, Peter; Earle, Fiona

2017-01-01

Fifty-nine men completed a VO 2max test and a questionnaire to establish reasons for test termination, perceived exercise reserve (difference between actual test duration and the duration the individual perceived could have been achieved if continued until physical limitation), and perception of verbal encouragement. Participants gave between 1 and 11 factors as reasons for test termination, including leg fatigue, various perceptions of physical discomfort, safety concerns, and achievement of spontaneously set goals. The two most common main reasons were leg fatigue and breathing discomfort, which were predicted by pre-to-post test changes in pulmonary function (p = 0.038) and explosive leg strength (p = 0.042; R 2  = 0.40). Median (interquartile range) perceived exercise reserve, was 45 (50) s. Two-thirds of participants viewed verbal encouragement positively, whereas one-third had a neutral or negative perception. This study highlights the complexity of exercise tolerance during VO 2max testing and more research should explore these novel findings.

Midwives' verbal support of nulliparous women in second-stage labor.

PubMed

Borders, Noelle; Wendland, Claire; Haozous, Emily; Leeman, Lawrence; Rogers, Rebecca

2013-01-01

To describe how nurse-midwives verbally support nulliparous women during second-stage labor and document specific details of each second stage. Descriptive qualitative study. A university hospital labor and delivery unit in the southwestern United States. Nulliparous women (n = 14) older than age 18 and their attendant midwives (n = 9). A single research midwife observed the entire second stage of each woman and used a standardized data collection form to record spontaneous or directed pushing, position changes, open and closed glottis pushing. A digital audio recorder was employed to capture verbal communication between the midwife and laboring woman. The research midwife and two qualitative experts employed content analysis to analyze the audio transcripts and identify categories of verbal support. Analysis revealed four categories of verbal support: affirmation, information sharing, direction, and baby talk. The vast majority of verbal communication by nurse-midwives consisted of affirmation and information sharing. Nurse-midwives gave direction for specific reasons. Women pushed spontaneously the majority of the time, regardless of epidural use. Nurse-midwives use a range of verbal support strategies to guide the second stage. Directive support was relatively uncommon. Most verbal support instead affirmed a woman's ability to follow her own body's lead in second-stage labor, with or without epidural. © 2013 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

Identification of Genetic Loci Jointly Influencing Schizophrenia Risk and the Cognitive Traits of Verbal-Numerical Reasoning, Reaction Time, and General Cognitive Function.

PubMed

Smeland, Olav B; Frei, Oleksandr; Kauppi, Karolina; Hill, W David; Li, Wen; Wang, Yunpeng; Krull, Florian; Bettella, Francesco; Eriksen, Jon A; Witoelar, Aree; Davies, Gail; Fan, Chun C; Thompson, Wesley K; Lam, Max; Lencz, Todd; Chen, Chi-Hua; Ueland, Torill; Jönsson, Erik G; Djurovic, Srdjan; Deary, Ian J; Dale, Anders M; Andreassen, Ole A

2017-10-01

Schizophrenia is associated with widespread cognitive impairments. Although cognitive deficits are one of the factors most strongly associated with functional outcome in schizophrenia, current treatment strategies largely fail to ameliorate these impairments. To develop more efficient treatment strategies in patients with schizophrenia, a better understanding of the pathogenesis of these cognitive deficits is needed. Accumulating evidence indicates that genetic risk of schizophrenia may contribute to cognitive dysfunction. To identify genomic regions jointly influencing schizophrenia and the cognitive domains of reaction time and verbal-numerical reasoning, as well as general cognitive function, a phenotype that captures the shared variation in performance across cognitive domains. Combining data from genome-wide association studies from multiple phenotypes using conditional false discovery rate analysis provides increased power to discover genetic variants and could elucidate shared molecular genetic mechanisms. Data from the following genome-wide association studies, published from July 24, 2014, to January 17, 2017, were combined: schizophrenia in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium cohort (n = 79 757 [cases, 34 486; controls, 45 271]); verbal-numerical reasoning (n = 36 035) and reaction time (n = 111 483) in the UK Biobank cohort; and general cognitive function in CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology) (n = 53 949) and COGENT (Cognitive Genomics Consortium) (n = 27 888). Genetic loci identified by conditional false discovery rate analysis. Brain messenger RNA expression and brain expression quantitative trait locus functionality were determined. Among the participants in the genome-wide association studies, 21 loci jointly influencing schizophrenia and cognitive traits were identified: 2 loci shared between schizophrenia and verbal-numerical reasoning, 6 loci shared between schizophrenia and reaction time, and 14 loci shared between schizophrenia and general cognitive function. One locus was shared between schizophrenia and 2 cognitive traits and represented the strongest shared signal detected (nearest gene TCF20; chromosome 22q13.2), and was shared between schizophrenia (z score, 5.01; P = 5.53 × 10-7), general cognitive function (z score, -4.43; P = 9.42 × 10-6), and verbal-numerical reasoning (z score, -5.43; P = 5.64 × 10-8). For 18 loci, schizophrenia risk alleles were associated with poorer cognitive performance. The implicated genes are expressed in the developmental and adult human brain. Replicable expression quantitative trait locus functionality was identified for 4 loci in the adult human brain. The discovered loci improve the understanding of the common genetic basis underlying schizophrenia and cognitive function, suggesting novel molecular genetic mechanisms.

Combining bimodal presentation schemes and buzz groups improves clinical reasoning and learning at morning report.

PubMed

Balslev, Thomas; Rasmussen, Astrid Bruun; Skajaa, Torjus; Nielsen, Jens Peter; Muijtjens, Arno; De Grave, Willem; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen

2014-12-11

Abstract Morning reports offer opportunities for intensive work-based learning. In this controlled study, we measured learning processes and outcomes with the report of paediatric emergency room patients. Twelve specialists and 12 residents were randomised into four groups and discussed the same two paediatric cases. The groups differed in their presentation modality (verbal only vs. verbal + text) and the use of buzz groups (with vs. without). The verbal interactions were analysed for clinical reasoning processes. Perceptions of learning and judgment of learning were reported in a questionnaire. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed by a 20-item multiple-choice test. Combined bimodal presentation and buzz groups increased the odds ratio of clinical reasoning to occur in the discussion of cases by a factor of 1.90 (p = 0.013), indicating superior reasoning for buzz groups working with bimodal materials. For specialists, a positive effect of bimodal presentation was found on perceptions of learning (p < 0.05), and for residents, a positive effect of buzz groups was found on judgment of learning (p < 0.005). A positive effect of bimodal presentation on diagnostic accuracy was noted in the specialists (p < 0.05). Combined bimodal presentation and buzz group discussion of emergency cases improves clinicians' clinical reasoning and learning.

Predictors of nurses' experience of verbal abuse by nurse colleagues.

PubMed

Keller, Ronald; Krainovich-Miller, Barbara; Budin, Wendy; Djukic, Maja

Between 45% and 94% of registered nurses (RNs) experience verbal abuse, which is associated with physical and psychological harm. Although several studies examined predictors of RNs' verbal abuse, none examined predictors of RNs' experiences of verbal abuse by RN colleagues. To examine individual, workplace, dispositional, contextual, and interpersonal predictors of RNs' reported experiences of verbal abuse from RN colleagues. In this secondary analysis, a cross-sectional design with multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the effect of 23 predictors on verbal abuse by RN colleagues in a sample of 1,208 early career RNs. Selected variables in the empirical intragroup conflict model explained 23.8% of variance in RNs' experiences of verbal abuse by RN colleagues. A number of previously unstudied factors were identified that organizational leaders can monitor and develop or modify policies to prevent early career RNs' experiences of verbal abuse by RN colleagues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Explicit Teaching of Strategies, Second-Order Concepts, and Epistemological Underpinnings on Students' Ability to Reason Causally in History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoel, Gerhard L.; van Drie, Jannet P.; van Boxtel, Carla A. M.

2017-01-01

This article reports an experimental study on the effects of explicit teaching on 11th grade students' ability to reason causally in history. Underpinned by the model of domain learning, explicit teaching is conceptualized as multidimensional, focusing on strategies and second-order concepts to generate and verbalize causal explanations and…

Consistency of SAT® I: Reasoning Test Score Conversions. Research Report. ETS RR-08-67

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haberman, Shelby J.; Guo, Hongwen; Liu, Jinghua; Dorans, Neil J.

2008-01-01

This study uses historical data to explore the consistency of SAT® I: Reasoning Test score conversions and to examine trends in scaled score means. During the period from April 1995 to December 2003, both Verbal (V) and Math (M) means display substantial seasonality, and a slight increasing trend for both is observed. SAT Math means increase more…

Verbal and Spatial Analogical Reasoning in Deaf and Hearing Children: The Role of Grammar and Vocabulary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Lindsey; Figueras, Berta; Mellanby, Jane; Langdon, Dawn

2011-01-01

The extent to which cognitive development and abilities are dependent on language remains controversial. In this study, the analogical reasoning skills of deaf and hard of hearing children are explored. Two groups of children (deaf and hard of hearing children with either cochlear implants or hearing aids and hearing children) completed tests of…

A proposal for the measurement of graphical statistics effectiveness: Does it enhance or interfere with statistical reasoning?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agus, M.; Penna, M. P.; Peró-Cebollero, M.; Guàrdia-Olmos, J.

2015-02-01

Numerous studies have examined students' difficulties in understanding some notions related to statistical problems. Some authors observed that the presentation of distinct visual representations could increase statistical reasoning, supporting the principle of graphical facilitation. But other researchers disagree with this viewpoint, emphasising the impediments related to the use of illustrations that could overcharge the cognitive system with insignificant data. In this work we aim at comparing the probabilistic statistical reasoning regarding two different formats of problem presentations: graphical and verbal-numerical. We have conceived and presented five pairs of homologous simple problems in the verbal numerical and graphical format to 311 undergraduate Psychology students (n=156 in Italy and n=155 in Spain) without statistical expertise. The purpose of our work was to evaluate the effect of graphical facilitation in probabilistic statistical reasoning. Every undergraduate has solved each pair of problems in two formats in different problem presentation orders and sequences. Data analyses have highlighted that the effect of graphical facilitation is infrequent in psychology undergraduates. This effect is related to many factors (as knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and anxiety); moreover it might be considered the resultant of interaction between individual and task characteristics.

Assessment of Preschooler's Scientific Reasoning in Adult-Child Interactions: What Is the Optimal Context?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meindertsma, Heidi B.; van Dijk, Marijn W. G.; Steenbeek, Henderien W.; van Geert, Paul L. C.

2014-04-01

In educational settings, continuous assessment of the child's level of understanding is necessary to effectively utilize the principles of scaffolding and to create contexts that can advance the scientific reasoning of the child. In this article, we argue that a child's performance is a dynamic notion that is created by all elements in an interaction, including the task. Therefore, we studied preschoolers' levels of scientific reasoning varying different properties of the assessment context. Young children were interviewed about four scientific tasks using one out of four different protocols (varying in the degree of flexibility and adaptiveness) by an adult. In the first study, different task contents resulted in different performance levels. The second study indicated that the most structured protocol elicited the highest maximum level of reasoning in children and the highest percentage of correct predictions. The third study showed differences between the protocols in the adult's verbal behavior. Adaptation in verbal behavior to different children by the adult did not result in higher scientific understanding by the children, whereas a higher degree of task structure did. Combined, the studies emphasize the importance of context, which has implications for assessment and teaching situations.

Decoding rule search domain in the left inferior frontal gyrus

PubMed Central

Babcock, Laura; Vallesi, Antonino

2018-01-01

Traditionally, the left hemisphere has been thought to extract mainly verbal patterns of information, but recent evidence has shown that the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG) is active during inductive reasoning in both the verbal and spatial domains. We aimed to understand whether the left IFG supports inductive reasoning in a domain-specific or domain-general fashion. To do this we used Multi-Voxel Pattern Analysis to decode the representation of domain during a rule search task. Thirteen participants were asked to extract the rule underlying streams of letters presented in different spatial locations. Each rule was either verbal (letters forming words) or spatial (positions forming geometric figures). Our results show that domain was decodable in the left prefrontal cortex, suggesting that this region represents domain-specific information, rather than processes common to the two domains. A replication study with the same participants tested two years later confirmed these findings, though the individual representations changed, providing evidence for the flexible nature of representations. This study extends our knowledge on the neural basis of goal-directed behaviors and on how information relevant for rule extraction is flexibly mapped in the prefrontal cortex. PMID:29547623

Clinical and Cognitive Characteristics Associated with Mathematics Problem Solving in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Oswald, Tasha M; Beck, Jonathan S; Iosif, Ana-Maria; McCauley, James B; Gilhooly, Leslie J; Matter, John C; Solomon, Marjorie

2016-04-01

Mathematics achievement in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been understudied. However, the ability to solve applied math problems is associated with academic achievement, everyday problem-solving abilities, and vocational outcomes. The paucity of research on math achievement in ASD may be partly explained by the widely-held belief that most individuals with ASD are mathematically gifted, despite emerging evidence to the contrary. The purpose of the study was twofold: to assess the relative proportions of youth with ASD who demonstrate giftedness versus disability on applied math problems, and to examine which cognitive (i.e., perceptual reasoning, verbal ability, working memory) and clinical (i.e., test anxiety) characteristics best predict achievement on applied math problems in ASD relative to typically developing peers. Twenty-seven high-functioning adolescents with ASD and 27 age- and Full Scale IQ-matched typically developing controls were assessed on standardized measures of math problem solving, perceptual reasoning, verbal ability, and test anxiety. Results indicated that 22% of the ASD sample evidenced a mathematics learning disability, while only 4% exhibited mathematical giftedness. The parsimonious linear regression model revealed that the strongest predictor of math problem solving was perceptual reasoning, followed by verbal ability and test anxiety, then diagnosis of ASD. These results inform our theories of math ability in ASD and highlight possible targets of intervention for students with ASD struggling with mathematics. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Understanding words, understanding numbers: an exploration of the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders.

PubMed

Pimperton, Hannah; Nation, Kate

2010-06-01

Poor comprehenders are children who show significant deficits in their reading comprehension performance, despite average, or above-average word reading ability. To date, there have been no in-depth studies of the mathematical performance profiles of such children. This study aimed to explore the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders. Given that language impairment is associated with difficulties with mathematics, and that poor comprehenders tend to have oral language weaknesses, we hypothesized that poor comprehenders would show relative weaknesses in aspects of mathematical performance. From a sample of 109 children aged 7-8 years, we selected 14 poor comprehenders and 14 controls with age-appropriate reading comprehension ability. The groups were matched on non-verbal ability, multiple measures of reading accuracy, and chronological age. We compared the performance of the group of poor comprehenders with that of the matched controls on two standardized measures of mathematical ability, one measuring procedural arithmetic prowess and the other tapping higher-level mathematical reasoning. Although there were no group differences in performance on the arithmetic measure, the poor comprehenders showed significantly lower scores than the controls on the mathematical reasoning task. The poor comprehenders exhibited impaired verbal ability relative to controls, with these differences in verbal ability associated with the group differences found on the test of mathematical reasoning. Poor comprehenders' deficits are not limited to the domain of literacy; their underlying profile of impairments also seems to selectively impact on certain components of mathematical ability.

The California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version: relation to factor indices of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition.

PubMed

O'Jile, Judith R; Schrimsher, Gregory W; O'Bryant, Sid E

2005-10-01

The California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version (CVLT-C) provides clinicians with a method of assessing various aspects of children's verbal memory and has been found to be sensitive to memory deficits resulting from a variety of neurological conditions. Intuitively, the CVLT-C would be expected to be highly related to a child's verbal cognitive abilities; however, with only a few exceptions, the relationship of this test to various domains of cognitive function has not been broadly studied empirically. To examine this issue, we evaluated the amount of unique variance in CVLT-C scores that could be predicted by the Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Freedom from Distractibility, and Processing Speed indices of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III) beyond that accounted for by age and gender in a sample of 62 children referred to an outpatient psychiatry clinic for neuropsychological evaluation. While the Processing Speed Index predicted a significant amount of variance for both short and long delay free and cued recall, the Verbal Comprehension Index was a poor predictor of CVLT-C performance on all outcome variables, accounting for only 1.5 to 4.5% additional variance above age and gender. These findings indicate that while the CVLT-C may be relatively independent of influences of verbal intelligence and abstract verbal reasoning, general speed and efficiency of processing play an important role in successful encoding for later retrieval on the CVLT-C.

Cadmium exposure and neuropsychological development in school children in southwestern Spain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodríguez-Barranco, Miguel; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada; Lacasaña, Marina, E-mail: marina.lacasana.easp@juntadeandalucia.es

This study assessed the association between cadmium exposure and neuropsychological development in children from a region with high industrial and mining activities in southwestern Spain. We conducted a cross-sectional study with 261 children aged 6–9 years between January and March 2012. Cadmium exposure was measured in urine and hair of children, and neuropsychological development was assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and with three computerized tests from the Behavioral Assessment and Research System (BARS): Reaction Time Test (RTT), Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and Selective Attention Test (SAT). Multivariate linear regression models, adjusted for potential confounders, weremore » used to estimate the association between neuropsychological development and cadmium exposure measured in urine and hair samples. Geometric means of urine and hair cadmium levels were 0.75 μg/g creatinine and 0.01 μg/g, respectively. We observed that doubling of levels of cadmium in urine was associated with a reduction of two points (95% CI: −3.8 to −0.4) in the Full-Scale intelligence quotient (IQ) in boys. By domains, association was statistically significant for Verbal Comprehension (β=−2.0; p=0.04) and close to the significance level for Perceptual Reasoning (β=−1.8; p=0.06). Among girls, only Verbal Comprehension showed suggestive associations with cadmium exposure (β=−1.7; p=0.06). Cadmium exposure is associated with cognitive delays in boys in our region. Our results provide additional evidence of the neurotoxic effect of low-level postnatal cadmium exposure among children, and support the hypothesis of differences between sexes in the neurotoxic effect of metals on children. - Highlights: • This study associates Cd exposure and neuropsychological development in children. • Cd exposure was associated with cognitive delay in boys, but not in girls. • Intellectual quotient of boys decreased two points for a doubling of urine Cd levels. • Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Reasoning were the most affected domains in boys. • Results support the sex-related differences in the neurotoxicity of metals in children.« less

Pathways to fraction learning: Numerical abilities mediate the relation between early cognitive competencies and later fraction knowledge.

PubMed

Ye, Ai; Resnick, Ilyse; Hansen, Nicole; Rodrigues, Jessica; Rinne, Luke; Jordan, Nancy C

2016-12-01

The current study investigated the mediating role of number-related skills in the developmental relationship between early cognitive competencies and later fraction knowledge using structural equation modeling. Fifth-grade numerical skills (i.e., whole number line estimation, non-symbolic proportional reasoning, multiplication, and long division skills) mapped onto two distinct factors: magnitude reasoning and calculation. Controlling for participants' (N=536) demographic characteristics, these two factors fully mediated relationships between third-grade general cognitive competencies (attentive behavior, verbal and nonverbal intellectual abilities, and working memory) and sixth-grade fraction knowledge (concepts and procedures combined). However, specific developmental pathways differed by type of fraction knowledge. Magnitude reasoning ability fully mediated paths from all four cognitive competencies to knowledge of fraction concepts, whereas calculation ability fully mediated paths from attentive behavior and verbal ability to knowledge of fraction procedures (all with medium to large effect sizes). These findings suggest that there are partly overlapping, yet distinct, developmental pathways from cognitive competencies to general fraction knowledge, fraction concepts, and fraction procedures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Convergences with behavior analysis: Recommendations from the rhetoric of inquiry

PubMed Central

Czubaroff, J.

1993-01-01

This analysis speculates on reasons why behavior analysis has not had the professional impact it desires, and suggests that increased contact with non-behavior-analytic research traditions and increased research in the area of verbal behavior may reverse the profession's fortunes. Behaviorists have accured a number of advantages from constituting themselves as a separate school in psychology. Nonetheless, school status can lead to isolation from other research traditions and can restrict communicative encounters with outside scholars to efforts to attack their research programs and defend one's own. Efforts to counteract these tendencies should help bring behavior analysis into the mainstream of contemporary social science research. In addition, if behavior analysts reconsider some of their assumptions about verbal and nonverbal behaviors and some of their methodological assumptions about how verbal behavior is to be studied, and if they place verbal behavior research on center stage, they may make substantive contributions to the contemporary multidisciplinary study of language. PMID:22478127

Midwives’ Verbal Support of Nulliparous Women in Second Stage Labor

PubMed Central

Borders, Noelle; Wendland, Claire; Haozous, Emily; Leeman, Lawrence; Rogers, Rebecca

2013-01-01

Objective To describe how nurse-midwives verbally support nulliparous women during second stage labor and document specific details of each second stage. Design Descriptive qualitative study. Setting A university hospital labor and delivery unit in the southwestern United States. Participants Nulliparous women (N=14) greater than 18 years of age and their attendant midwives (N=9). Methods A single research midwife observed the entire second stage of each woman and used a standardized data collection form to record spontaneous or directed pushing, position changes, open and closed glottis pushing. A digital audio recorder was employed to capture verbal communication between the midwife and laboring woman. The research midwife and two qualitative experts employed content analysis to analyze the audio transcripts and identify categories of verbal support. Results Analysis revealed four categories of verbal support: affirmation, information sharing, direction, and baby talk. The vast majority of verbal communication by nurse-midwives consisted of affirmation and information sharing. Nurse-midwives gave direction for specific reasons. Women pushed spontaneously the majority of the time, regardless of epidural use. Conclusion Nurse-midwives use a range of verbal support strategies to guide the second stage. Directive support was relatively uncommon. Most verbal support instead affirmed a woman’s ability to follow her own body’s lead in second stage labor, with or without epidural. Callouts Our study provides evidence on how nurse-midwives verbally support nulliparous women while they push. Nurse-midwives utilized mostly affirmation and information sharing in their support of women during second stage, regardless of epidural use. Spontaneous pushing and epidural anesthesia are compatible, especially if the woman labors down and feels the urge to push prior to initiating active pushing. PMID:23600405

First Year Adjustment in the Secondary School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loosemore, Jean Ann

1978-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between adjustment to secondary school and 17 cognitive and noncognitive variables, including intelligence (verbal and nonverbal reasoning), academic achievement, extraversion-introversion, stable/unstable, social adjustment, endeavor, age, sex, and school form. (CP)

Parental verbal affection and verbal aggression in childhood differentially influence psychiatric symptoms and wellbeing in young adulthood.

PubMed

Polcari, Ann; Rabi, Keren; Bolger, Elizabeth; Teicher, Martin H

2014-01-01

Previous research has shown that exposure to parental verbal aggression is common and associated with increased levels of depression, anxiety, dissociation, and drug use. A key question that has not been addressed is whether verbal affection from the same or opposite parent can attenuate the effects of verbal aggression. This cross-sectional study examined the effects of parental verbal aggression and affection during childhood on measures of psychopathology and wellbeing in a community sample of 2,518 individuals (18-25 years). Data were analyzed for moderating influences using mixed effect models and for direct and indirect effects using structural equation models. The moderation analysis suggested that high levels of exposure to verbal affection did not mitigate the effects of verbal aggression from the same parent, and high levels of verbal affection from another parent did not generally result in a significant attenuation of the effects of verbal aggression. Structural equation models showed that verbal aggression was predominantly associated with effects on psychiatric symptoms scores, whereas verbal affection was primarily associated with effects on measures of wellbeing. These findings highlight the relatively independent effects of verbal aggression and verbal affection and suggest that the latter may be particularly important in establishing a foundation for emotional and physical wellbeing. These findings also suggest that ridicule, disdain, and humiliation cannot be easily counteracted by praise and warmth from the same or another parent. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parental Verbal Affection and Verbal Aggression in Childhood Differentially Influence Psychiatric Symptoms and Wellbeing in Young Adulthood

PubMed Central

Polcari, Ann; Rabi, Keren; Bolger, Elizabeth; Teicher, Martin H.

2013-01-01

Previous research has shown that exposure to parental verbal aggression is common and associated with increased levels of depression, anxiety, dissociation, and drug use. A key question that has not been addressed is whether verbal affection from the same or opposite parent can attenuate the effects of verbal aggression. This cross-sectional study examined the effects of parental verbal aggression and affection during childhood on measures of psychopathology and wellbeing in a community sample of 2,518 individuals (18–25 years). Data were analyzed for moderating influences using mixed effect models and for direct and indirect effects using structural equation models. The moderation analysis suggested that high levels of exposure to verbal affection did not mitigate the effects of verbal aggression from the same parent, and high levels of verbal affection from another parent did not generally result in a significant attenuation of the effects of verbal aggression. Structural equation models showed that verbal aggression was predominantly associated with effects on psychiatric symptoms scores, whereas verbal affection was primarily associated with effects on measures of wellbeing. These findings highlight the relatively independent effects of verbal aggression and verbal affection and suggest that the latter may be particularly important in establishing a foundation for emotional and physical wellbeing. These findings also suggest that ridicule, disdain, and humiliation cannot be easily counteracted by praise and warmth from the same or another parent. PMID:24268711

Rationale for patient package inserts.

PubMed

Morris, L A

1978-02-01

The need for patient package inserts (PPIs) is discussed in terms of the "consumers' right-to-know" and "patient health education" themes, as well as the premise that verbal means of communication are often inadequate. Some of the reasons for the frequent failure of verbal messages are reviewed by detailing the five stages through which any communication must be processed in order to be effective. Verbal information may be inadequate because: (1) patients are not exposed to necessary material, (2) they may not pay attention to the information, (3) they may not understand it, (4) the information may not be accepted as valid, and (5) patients may not remember the material. Written communication which must be processed through the same five stages also may be frequently inadequate. Therefore, PPIs must be viewed as reinforcing and augmenting verbal consultation, and both written and verbal forms are necessary. Consumer surveys and demonstration projects have shown that written communications are a desired and effective means for conveying additional prescription drug information to patients. The wide implementation of PPIs is apt to cause many problems for the pharmacists; however, it may also serve as a means to enhance the pharmacist's clinical role.

Association of Chronic Subjective Tinnitus with Neuro- Cognitive Performance.

PubMed

Gudwani, Sunita; Munjal, Sanjay K; Panda, Naresh K; Kohli, Adarsh

2017-12-01

Chronic subjective tinnitus is associated with cognitive disruptions affecting perception, thinking, language, reasoning, problem solving, memory, visual tasks (reading) and attention. To evaluate existence of any association between tinnitus parameters and neuropsychological performance to explain cognitive processing. Study design was prospective, consisting 25 patients with idiopathic chronic subjective tinnitus and gave informed consent before planning their treatment. Neuropsychological profile included (i) performance on verbal information, comprehension, arithmetic and digit span; (ii) non-verbal performance for visual pattern completion analogies; (iii) memory performance for long-term, recent, delayed-recall, immediate-recall, verbal-retention, visualretention, visual recognition; (iv) reception, interpretation and execution for visual motor gestalt. Correlation between tinnitus onset duration/ loudness perception with neuropsychological profile was assessed by calculating Spearman's coefficient. Findings suggest that tinnitus may interfere with cognitive processing especially performance on digit span, verbal comprehension, mental balance, attention & concentration, immediate recall, visual recognition and visual-motor gestalt subtests. Negative correlation between neurocognitive tasks with tinnitus loudness and onset duration indicated their association. Positive correlation between tinnitus and visual-motor gestalt performance indicated the brain dysfunction. Tinnitus association with non-auditory processing of verbal, visual and visuo-spatial information suggested neuroplastic changes that need to be targeted in cognitive rehabilitation.

Dissociable brain biomarkers of fluid intelligence.

PubMed

Paul, Erick J; Larsen, Ryan J; Nikolaidis, Aki; Ward, Nathan; Hillman, Charles H; Cohen, Neal J; Kramer, Arthur F; Barbey, Aron K

2016-08-15

Cognitive neuroscience has long sought to understand the biological foundations of human intelligence. Decades of research have revealed that general intelligence is correlated with two brain-based biomarkers: the concentration of the brain biochemical N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and total brain volume measured using structural MR imaging (MRI). However, the relative contribution of these biomarkers in predicting performance on core facets of human intelligence remains to be well characterized. In the present study, we sought to elucidate the role of NAA and brain volume in predicting fluid intelligence (Gf). Three canonical tests of Gf (BOMAT, Number Series, and Letter Sets) and three working memory tasks (Reading, Rotation, and Symmetry span tasks) were administered to a large sample of healthy adults (n=211). We conducted exploratory factor analysis to investigate the factor structure underlying Gf independent from working memory and observed two Gf components (verbal/spatial and quantitative reasoning) and one working memory component. Our findings revealed a dissociation between two brain biomarkers of Gf (controlling for age and sex): NAA concentration correlated with verbal/spatial reasoning, whereas brain volume correlated with quantitative reasoning and working memory. A follow-up analysis revealed that this pattern of findings is observed for males and females when analyzed separately. Our results provide novel evidence that distinct brain biomarkers are associated with specific facets of human intelligence, demonstrating that NAA and brain volume are independent predictors of verbal/spatial and quantitative facets of Gf. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Computerized training of non-verbal reasoning and working memory in children with intellectual disability

PubMed Central

Söderqvist, Stina; Nutley, Sissela B.; Ottersen, Jon; Grill, Katja M.; Klingberg, Torkel

2012-01-01

Children with intellectual disabilities show deficits in both reasoning ability and working memory (WM) that impact everyday functioning and academic achievement. In this study we investigated the feasibility of cognitive training for improving WM and non-verbal reasoning (NVR) ability in children with intellectual disability. Participants were randomized to a 5-week adaptive training program (intervention group) or non-adaptive version of the program (active control group). Cognitive assessments were conducted prior to and directly after training and 1 year later to examine effects of the training. Improvements during training varied largely and amount of progress during training predicted transfer to WM and comprehension of instructions, with higher training progress being associated with greater transfer improvements. The strongest predictors for training progress were found to be gender, co-morbidity, and baseline capacity on verbal WM. In particular, females without an additional diagnosis and with higher baseline performance showed greater progress. No significant effects of training were observed at the 1-year follow-up, suggesting that training should be more intense or repeated in order for effects to persist in children with intellectual disabilities. A major finding of this study is that cognitive training is feasible in this clinical sample and can help improve their cognitive performance. However, a minimum cognitive capacity or training ability seems necessary for the training to be beneficial, with some individuals showing little improvement in performance. Future studies of cognitive training should take into consideration how inter-individual differences in training progress influence transfer effects and further investigate how baseline capacities predict training outcome. PMID:23060775

What are standardized literacy and numeracy tests testing? Evidence of the domain-general contributions to students' standardized educational test performance.

PubMed

Howard, Steven J; Woodcock, Stuart; Ehrich, John; Bokosmaty, Sahar

2017-03-01

A fundamental aim of standardized educational assessment is to achieve reliable discrimination between students differing in the knowledge, skills and abilities assessed. However, questions of the purity with which these tests index students' genuine abilities have arisen. Specifically, literacy and numeracy assessments may also engage unintentionally assessed capacities. The current study investigated the extent to which domain-general processes - working memory (WM) and non-verbal reasoning - contribute to students' standardized test performance and the pathway(s) through which they exert this influence. Participants were 91 Grade 2 students recruited from five regional and metropolitan primary schools in Australia. Participants completed measures of WM and non-verbal reasoning, as well as literacy and numeracy subtests of a national standardized educational assessment. Path analysis of Rasch-derived ability estimates and residuals with domain-general cognitive abilities indicated: (1) a consistent indirect pathway from WM to literacy and numeracy ability, through non-verbal reasoning; (2) direct paths from phonological WM and literacy ability to numeracy ability estimates; and (3) a direct path from WM to spelling test residuals. Results suggest that the constitution of this nationwide standardized assessment confounded non-targeted abilities with those that were the target of assessment. This appears to extend beyond the effect of WM on learning more generally, to the demands of different assessment types and methods. This has implications for students' abilities to demonstrate genuine competency in assessed areas and the educational supports and provisions they are provided on the basis of these results. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Preverbal and verbal counting and computation.

PubMed

Gallistel, C R; Gelman, R

1992-08-01

We describe the preverbal system of counting and arithmetic reasoning revealed by experiments on numerical representations in animals. In this system, numerosities are represented by magnitudes, which are rapidly but inaccurately generated by the Meck and Church (1983) preverbal counting mechanism. We suggest the following. (1) The preverbal counting mechanism is the source of the implicit principles that guide the acquisition of verbal counting. (2) The preverbal system of arithmetic computation provides the framework for the assimilation of the verbal system. (3) Learning to count involves, in part, learning a mapping from the preverbal numerical magnitudes to the verbal and written number symbols and the inverse mappings from these symbols to the preverbal magnitudes. (4) Subitizing is the use of the preverbal counting process and the mapping from the resulting magnitudes to number words in order to generate rapidly the number words for small numerosities. (5) The retrieval of the number facts, which plays a central role in verbal computation, is mediated via the inverse mappings from verbal and written numbers to the preverbal magnitudes and the use of these magnitudes to find the appropriate cells in tabular arrangements of the answers. (6) This model of the fact retrieval process accounts for the salient features of the reaction time differences and error patterns revealed by experiments on mental arithmetic. (7) The application of verbal and written computational algorithms goes on in parallel with, and is to some extent guided by, preverbal computations, both in the child and in the adult.

Visual perception can account for the close relation between numerosity processing and computational fluency.

PubMed

Zhou, Xinlin; Wei, Wei; Zhang, Yiyun; Cui, Jiaxin; Chen, Chuansheng

2015-01-01

Studies have shown that numerosity processing (e.g., comparison of numbers of dots in two dot arrays) is significantly correlated with arithmetic performance. Researchers have attributed this association to the fact that both tasks share magnitude processing. The current investigation tested an alternative hypothesis, which states that visual perceptual ability (as measured by a figure-matching task) can account for the close relation between numerosity processing and arithmetic performance (computational fluency). Four hundred and twenty four third- to fifth-grade children (220 boys and 204 girls, 8.0-11.0 years old; 120 third graders, 146 fourth graders, and 158 fifth graders) were recruited from two schools (one urban and one suburban) in Beijing, China. Six classes were randomly selected from each school, and all students in each selected class participated in the study. All children were given a series of cognitive and mathematical tests, including numerosity comparison, figure matching, forward verbal working memory, visual tracing, non-verbal matrices reasoning, mental rotation, choice reaction time, arithmetic tests and curriculum-based mathematical achievement test. Results showed that figure-matching ability had higher correlations with numerosity processing and computational fluency than did other cognitive factors (e.g., forward verbal working memory, visual tracing, non-verbal matrix reasoning, mental rotation, and choice reaction time). More important, hierarchical multiple regression showed that figure matching ability accounted for the well-established association between numerosity processing and computational fluency. In support of the visual perception hypothesis, the results suggest that visual perceptual ability, rather than magnitude processing, may be the shared component of numerosity processing and arithmetic performance.

Visual perception can account for the close relation between numerosity processing and computational fluency

PubMed Central

Zhou, Xinlin; Wei, Wei; Zhang, Yiyun; Cui, Jiaxin; Chen, Chuansheng

2015-01-01

Studies have shown that numerosity processing (e.g., comparison of numbers of dots in two dot arrays) is significantly correlated with arithmetic performance. Researchers have attributed this association to the fact that both tasks share magnitude processing. The current investigation tested an alternative hypothesis, which states that visual perceptual ability (as measured by a figure-matching task) can account for the close relation between numerosity processing and arithmetic performance (computational fluency). Four hundred and twenty four third- to fifth-grade children (220 boys and 204 girls, 8.0–11.0 years old; 120 third graders, 146 fourth graders, and 158 fifth graders) were recruited from two schools (one urban and one suburban) in Beijing, China. Six classes were randomly selected from each school, and all students in each selected class participated in the study. All children were given a series of cognitive and mathematical tests, including numerosity comparison, figure matching, forward verbal working memory, visual tracing, non-verbal matrices reasoning, mental rotation, choice reaction time, arithmetic tests and curriculum-based mathematical achievement test. Results showed that figure-matching ability had higher correlations with numerosity processing and computational fluency than did other cognitive factors (e.g., forward verbal working memory, visual tracing, non-verbal matrix reasoning, mental rotation, and choice reaction time). More important, hierarchical multiple regression showed that figure matching ability accounted for the well-established association between numerosity processing and computational fluency. In support of the visual perception hypothesis, the results suggest that visual perceptual ability, rather than magnitude processing, may be the shared component of numerosity processing and arithmetic performance. PMID:26441740

Medical decision-making capacity and its cognitive predictors in progressive MS: Preliminary evidence.

PubMed

Gerstenecker, Adam; Lowry, Kathleen; Myers, Terina; Bashir, Khurram; Triebel, Kristen L; Martin, Roy C; Marson, Daniel C

2017-09-15

Medical decision-making capacity (MDC) refers to the ability to make informed decisions about treatment and declines in cognition are associated with declines in MDC across multiple disease entities. However, although it is well known that cognitive impairment is prevalent in multiple sclerosis (MS), little is known about MDC in the disease. Data from 22 persons with progressive MS and 18 healthy controls were analyzed. All diagnoses were made by a board-certified neurologist with experience in MS. All study participants were administered a vignette-based measure of MDC and also a neuropsychological battery. Performance on three MDC consent standards (i.e., Appreciation, Reasoning, Understanding) was significantly lower for people with progressive MS as compared to healthy controls. In the progressive MS group, verbal fluency was the primary cognitive predictor for both Reasoning and Understanding consent standards. Verbal learning and memory was the primary cognitive predictor for Appreciation. MS severity was not significantly correlated with any MDC variable. MDC is a complex and cognitively mediated functional ability that is impaired in many people with progressive MS. Verbal measures of fluency and memory are strongly associated with MDC performances in the current sample of people with MS and could potentially be utilized to quickly screen for MDC impairment in MS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Selected Patterns of Interference in Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Between Black and White Middle Class Cultures. Reference Pamphlets on Intercultural Communication, No.2. Human Relations in Cultural Context, Series C: Teacher Training Materials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Condon, E. C., Ed.; Freundlich, Joyce

Verbal and nonverbal patterns of communication found in the black community are discussed in this paper. They have been selected on the basis of their potential as interference factors in intergroup communication. A section on black language describes and explains the following categories: rapping, running it down, jiving, shucking, copping a…

Effect of retirement on cognitive function: the Whitehall II cohort study.

PubMed

Xue, Baowen; Cadar, Dorina; Fleischmann, Maria; Stansfeld, Stephen; Carr, Ewan; Kivimäki, Mika; McMunn, Anne; Head, Jenny

2017-12-26

According to the 'use it or lose it' hypothesis, a lack of mentally challenging activities might exacerbate the loss of cognitive function. On this basis, retirement has been suggested to increase the risk of cognitive decline, but evidence from studies with long follow-up is lacking. We tested this hypothesis in a cohort of 3433 civil servants who participated in the Whitehall II Study, including repeated measurements of cognitive functioning up to 14 years before and 14 years after retirement. Piecewise models, centred at the year of retirement, were used to compare trajectories of verbal memory, abstract reasoning, phonemic verbal fluency, and semantic verbal fluency before and after retirement. We found that all domains of cognition declined over time. Declines in verbal memory were 38% faster after retirement compared to before, after taking account of age-related decline. In analyses stratified by employment grade, higher employment grade was protective against verbal memory decline while people were still working, but this 'protective effect' was lost when individuals retired, resulting in a similar rate of decline post-retirement across employment grades. We did not find a significant impact of retirement on the other cognitive domains. In conclusion, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that retirement accelerates the decline in verbal memory function. This study points to the benefits of cognitively stimulating activities associated with employment that could benefit older people's memory.

The Precision of Mapping Between Number Words and the Approximate Number System Predicts Children’s Formal Math Abilities

PubMed Central

Libertus, Melissa E.; Odic, Darko; Feigenson, Lisa; Halberda, Justin

2016-01-01

Children can represent number in at least two ways: by using their non-verbal, intuitive Approximate Number System (ANS), and by using words and symbols to count and represent numbers exactly. Further, by the time they are five years old, children can map between the ANS and number words, as evidenced by their ability to verbally estimate numbers of items without counting. How does the quality of the mapping between approximate and exact numbers relate to children’s math abilities? The role of the ANS-number word mapping in math competence remains controversial for at least two reasons. First, previous work has not examined the relation between verbal estimation and distinct subtypes of math abilities. Second, previous work has not addressed how distinct components of verbal estimation – mapping accuracy and variability – might each relate to math performance. Here, we address these gaps by measuring individual differences in ANS precision, verbal number estimation, and formal and informal math abilities in 5- to 7-year-old children. We found that verbal estimation variability, but not estimation accuracy, predicted formal math abilities even when controlling for age, expressive vocabulary, and ANS precision, and that it mediated the link between ANS precision and overall math ability. These findings suggest that variability in the ANS-number word mapping may be especially important for formal math abilities. PMID:27348475

The precision of mapping between number words and the approximate number system predicts children's formal math abilities.

PubMed

Libertus, Melissa E; Odic, Darko; Feigenson, Lisa; Halberda, Justin

2016-10-01

Children can represent number in at least two ways: by using their non-verbal, intuitive approximate number system (ANS) and by using words and symbols to count and represent numbers exactly. Furthermore, by the time they are 5years old, children can map between the ANS and number words, as evidenced by their ability to verbally estimate numbers of items without counting. How does the quality of the mapping between approximate and exact numbers relate to children's math abilities? The role of the ANS-number word mapping in math competence remains controversial for at least two reasons. First, previous work has not examined the relation between verbal estimation and distinct subtypes of math abilities. Second, previous work has not addressed how distinct components of verbal estimation-mapping accuracy and variability-might each relate to math performance. Here, we addressed these gaps by measuring individual differences in ANS precision, verbal number estimation, and formal and informal math abilities in 5- to 7-year-old children. We found that verbal estimation variability, but not estimation accuracy, predicted formal math abilities, even when controlling for age, expressive vocabulary, and ANS precision, and that it mediated the link between ANS precision and overall math ability. These findings suggest that variability in the ANS-number word mapping may be especially important for formal math abilities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Testing the Domain-Specificity of a Theory of Mind Deficit in Brain-Injured Patients: Evidence for Consistent Performance on Non-Verbal, ''Reality-Unknown'' False Belief and False Photograph Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apperly, Ian A.; Samson, Dana; Chiavarino, Claudia; Bickerton, Wai-Ling; Humphreys, Glyn W.

2007-01-01

To test the domain-specificity of ''theory of mind'' abilities we compared the performance of a case-series of 11 brain-lesioned patients on a recently developed test of false belief reasoning (Apperly, Samson, Chiavarino, & Humphreys, 2004) and on a matched false photograph task, which did not require belief reasoning and which addressed problems…

45 CFR 1308.15 - Eligibility criteria: Autism.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Eligibility criteria: Autism. 1308.15 Section 1308... Services Performance Standards § 1308.15 Eligibility criteria: Autism. A child is classified as having autism when the child has a developmental disability that significantly affects verbal and non-verbal...

45 CFR 1308.15 - Eligibility criteria: Autism.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Eligibility criteria: Autism. 1308.15 Section 1308... Services Performance Standards § 1308.15 Eligibility criteria: Autism. A child is classified as having autism when the child has a developmental disability that significantly affects verbal and non-verbal...

45 CFR 1308.15 - Eligibility criteria: Autism.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Eligibility criteria: Autism. 1308.15 Section 1308... Services Performance Standards § 1308.15 Eligibility criteria: Autism. A child is classified as having autism when the child has a developmental disability that significantly affects verbal and non-verbal...

45 CFR 1308.15 - Eligibility criteria: Autism.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Eligibility criteria: Autism. 1308.15 Section 1308... Services Performance Standards § 1308.15 Eligibility criteria: Autism. A child is classified as having autism when the child has a developmental disability that significantly affects verbal and non-verbal...

45 CFR 1308.15 - Eligibility criteria: Autism.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Eligibility criteria: Autism. 1308.15 Section 1308... Services Performance Standards § 1308.15 Eligibility criteria: Autism. A child is classified as having autism when the child has a developmental disability that significantly affects verbal and non-verbal...

Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations in children.

PubMed

Ho, Yim-Chi; Cheung, Mei-Chun; Chan, Agnes S

2003-07-01

The hypothesis that music training can improve verbal memory was tested in children. The results showed that children with music training demonstrated better verbal but not visual memory than did their counterparts without such training. When these children were followed up after a year, those who had begun or continued music training demonstrated significant verbal memory improvement. Students who discontinued the training did not show any improvement. Contrary to the differences in verbal memory between the groups, their changes in visual memory were not significantly different. Consistent with previous findings for adults (A. S. Chan, Y. Ho, & M. Cheung, 1998), the results suggest that music training systematically affects memory processing in accordance with possible neuroanatomical modifications in the left temporal lobe.

Effect of a synesthete's photisms on name recall.

PubMed

Mills, Carol Bergfeld; Innis, Joanne; Westendorf, Taryn; Owsianiecki, Lauren; McDonald, Angela

2006-02-01

A multilingual, colored-letter synesthete professor (MLS), 9 nonsynesthete multilingual professors and 4 nonsynesthete art professors learned 30 names of individuals (first and last name pairs) in three trials. They recalled the names after each trial and six months later, as well as performed cued recall trials initially and after six months. As hypothesized, MLS recalled significantly more names than control groups on all free recall tests (except after the first trial) and on cued recall tests. In addition, MLS gave qualitatively different reasons for remembering names than any individual control participant. MLS gave mostly color reasons for remembering the names, whereas nonsynesthetes gave reasons based on familiarity or language or art knowledge. Results on standardized memory tests showed that MLS had average performance on non-language visual memory tests (the Benton Visual Retention Test-Revised--BURT-R, and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test--CFT), but had superior memory performance on a verbal test consisting of lists of nouns (Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test--RAVLT). MLS's synesthesia seems to aid memory for visually or auditorily presented language stimuli (names and nouns), but not for non-language visual stimuli (simple and complex figures).

Child to nurse communication in paediatric post-acute hospital care: evaluation of the VerbalCare tablet application.

PubMed

Crowley, Ruth A; Dumas, Helene M; Fragala-Pinkham, Maria A; Dougherty, Donald N; Hull, Ellen M; Hughes, Mary Laurette; Hsaio, Eric

2017-07-01

VerbalCare is a mobile software platform for hospital patients and nursing staff to communicate in real-time. The purposes of this study were to (1) identify and evaluate icons for the VerbalCare tablet application and (2) examine use and satisfaction with this tablet application in a paediatric post-acute hospital. Hospital nursing staff were surveyed to identify the most common reasons children use the "nursing call bell". Icons for the VerbalCare tablet application were developed to match the identified call bell requests and be understood by children. Through structured interview, three children provided feedback on the icons. Following staff training, the system was implemented for five patients (8-18 years). Data on frequency of use, types and timing of requests were collected via the internal software. Satisfaction surveys were completed at discharge. The VerbalCare application was used most frequently to communicate the need to use the bathroom (24%) and the need to get something (21%). Request frequency was consistent across morning, afternoon and evening and the tablet was used 40% of available days. These results indicate that children in a paediatric post-acute care hospital were able to use a tablet application for communicating with their nurse and reported satisfaction with the experience. Implications for Rehabilitation The VerbalCare tablet application was developed to allow patients to convey specific messages to nursing staff who are not in the patient's room. Children of varying ages were able to use the VerbalCare tablet application to communicate varying messages to hospital nursing staff and were satisfied with its use.

Psychometric Research in Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Frederick B.

This review of psychometric research in reading analyzes the factors which seem related to reading comprehension skills. Experimental analysis of reading comprehension by L. E. Thorndike revealed two major components: knowledge of word meanings and verbal reasoning abilities. Subsequent analysis of experimental studies of reading comprehension…

Verbal and Nonverbal Classroom Communication: The Development of an Observational Instrument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heger, Herbert K.

This paper reports the development of a classroom observation instrument designed to broaden and extend the power of existing tools to provide a balanced, reciprocal perspective of both verbal and nonverbal communication. An introductory section discusses developments in communication analysis. The Miniaturized Total Interaction Analysis System…

Attendance Policies, Student Attendance, and Instructor Verbal Aggressiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Jason; Forbus, Robert; Cistulli, Mark

2012-01-01

The authors utilized an experimental design across six sections of a managerial communications course (N = 173) to test the impact of instructor verbal aggressiveness and class attendance policies on student class attendance. The experimental group received a policy based on the principle of social proof (R. B. Cialdini, 2001), which indicated…

The trend in inquiry-based learning (IBL) research from many perspectives: A systematic review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anuar, Nor Syuhada Binti Saiful; Sani, Siti Shamsiah Binti; Ahmad, Che Nidzam Binti Che; Damanhuri, Muhd Ibrahim Bin Muhammad; Borhan, Mohamad Termizi Bin

2017-05-01

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is one of the teaching approaches that has been suggested by the Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (KPM). Although IBL has been in existence for many years, the effect of this approach in terms of teacher's verbal interaction during teaching has not been considered to any great extent. For this reason, a systematic review was conducted to observe the pattern of the existing IBL research. This systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies published between 2006 and 2016 was undertaken by using the following databases: Taylor & Francis Online (2012-2015), Wiley Online Library (2012-2015), ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, SAGE Journals, and EBSCOHOST. Research articles from trustworthy websites were also used. The main keywords used were teacher verbal interaction, inquiry-based learning (IBL), secondary school science and classroom interaction. Eleven studies were included in this review but only two out of the eleven selected papers discussed teacher verbal interaction. Hence, more research needs to be conducted in order to observe the effect of IBL towards teacher's verbal interaction during learning sessions.

A simultaneous examination of two forms of working memory training: Evidence for near transfer only.

PubMed

Minear, Meredith; Brasher, Faith; Guerrero, Claudia Brandt; Brasher, Mandy; Moore, Andrew; Sukeena, Joshua

2016-10-01

The efficacy of working-memory training is a topic of considerable debate, with some studies showing transfer to measures such as fluid intelligence while others have not. We report the results of a study designed to examine two forms of working-memory training, one using a spatial n-back and the other a verbal complex span. Thirty-one undergraduates completed 4 weeks of n-back training and 32 completed 4 weeks of verbal complex span training. We also included two active control groups. One group trained on a non-adaptive version of n-back and the other trained on a real-time strategy video game. All participants completed pre- and post-training measures of a large battery of transfer tasks used to create composite measures of short-term and working memory in both verbal and visuo-spatial domains as well as verbal reasoning and fluid intelligence. We only found clear evidence for near transfer from the spatial n-back training to new forms of n-back, and this was the case for both adaptive and non-adaptive n-back.

Child Maltreatment and Executive Functioning in Middle Adulthood: A Prospective Examination

PubMed Central

Nikulina, Valentina; Widom, Cathy Spatz

2013-01-01

Objective There is extensive evidence of negative consequences of childhood maltreatment for IQ, academic achievement, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and increased attention to neurobiological consequences. However, few prospective studies have assessed the long-term effects of abuse and neglect on executive functioning. The current study examines whether childhood abuse and neglect predicts components of executive functioning and nonverbal reasoning ability in middle adulthood and whether PTSD moderates this relationship. Method Using a prospective cohort design, a large sample (N = 792) of court-substantiated cases of childhood physical and sexual abuse and neglect (ages 0-11) and matched controls were followed into adulthood (mean age = 41). Executive functioning was assessed with the Trail Making B test and non-verbal reasoning with Matrix Reasoning. PTSD (DSM-III-R lifetime diagnosis) was assessed at age 29. Data were analyzed using ordinary least squares regressions, controlling for age, sex, and race and possible confounds of IQ, depression, and excessive alcohol use. Results In multivariate analyses, childhood maltreatment overall and childhood neglect predicted poorer executive functioning and non-verbal reasoning at age 41, whereas physical and sexual abuse did not. A past history of PTSD did not mediate or moderate these relations. Conclusions Childhood maltreatment and neglect specifically have a significant long-term impact on important aspects of adult neuropsychological functioning. These findings suggest the need for targeted efforts dedicated to interventions for neglected children. PMID:23876115

Assessment of higher level cognitive-communication functions in adolescents with ABI: Standardization of the student version of the functional assessment of verbal reasoning and executive strategies (S-FAVRES).

PubMed

MacDonald, Sheila

2016-01-01

Childhood acquired brain injuries can disrupt communication functions needed for success in school, work and social interaction. Cognitive-communication difficulties may not be apparent until adolescence, when academic, environmental and social-emotional demands increase. The Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies for Students (S-FAVRES) is a new activity-level measure of cognitive-communication skills in complex, contextual and integrative tasks that simulate real world communication challenges. It is hypothesized that S-FAVRES performance would differentiate adolescents with and without acquired brain injury (ABI) on scores for Accuracy, Rationale, Reasoning Subskills and Time. S-FAVRES was administered to 182 typically-developing (TD) and 57 adolescents with mild-to-severe ABI aged 12-19. Group differences, internal consistency, sensitivity, specificity, reliability and contributing factors to performance (age, gender, brain injury) were examined statistically. Those with ABI attained statistically lower Accuracy, Rationale and Reasoning sub-skills scores than their TD peers. Time scores were not significantly different. Performance trends were consistent across tasks, administrations, gender and age groups. Inter-rater reliability for scoring was acceptable. The S-FAVRES provides a reliable, functional and quantifiable measure of subtle cognitive-communication difficulties in adolescents that can assist speech-language pathologists in planning treatment and integration to school and real world communication.

Job stability in skilled work and communication ability after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury

PubMed Central

Meulenbroek, Peter; Turkstra, Lyn S.

2016-01-01

Purpose Communication deficits may play a critical role in maintaining employment after traumatic brain injury (TBI), but links between specific communication deficits and employment outcomes have not been determined. This study identified communication measures that distinguished stably employed versus unstably employed adults with TBI. Methods Participants were 31 adults with moderate-severe TBI who were employed full-time for at least 12 consecutive months before injury in skilled jobs and had attempted return to skilled jobs after injury. Sixteen had achieved stable employment (SE) post-injury, defined as full-time employment for ≥12 consecutive months; and 15 had unstable (UE) employment. Participants completed a battery of communication tests identified in a prior qualitative study of communication skills required for skilled work. Results Measures of spoken language comprehension, verbal reasoning, social inference, reading, and politeness in spoken discourse significantly discriminated between SE and UE groups. Two nested models were completed and compared. The first model excluded discourse data because of missing data for two UE and one SE participant. This model revealed that measures of verbal reasoning speed (β = −0.18, p = 0.05) and social inference (β = 0.19, p = 0.05) were predictive independent of the overall model. The second model included discourse data and was a better overall predictor of group membership (Likelihood ratio test, Model 1: 3.824, Model 2: 2.865). Conclusion Communication measures were positively associated with stable employment in skilled jobs after TBI. Clinicians should include assessment of communication for adults attempting return to work after TBI, paying specific attention to social inference and speed of verbal reasoning skills. PMID:25958999

Motor recovery in post-stroke patients with aphasia: the role of specific linguistic abilities.

PubMed

Ginex, Valeria; Veronelli, Laura; Vanacore, Nicola; Lacorte, Eleonora; Monti, Alessia; Corbo, Massimo

2017-09-01

Aphasia is a serious consequence of stroke but aphasics patients have been routinely excluded from participation in some areas of stroke research. To assess the role of specific linguistic and non-verbal cognitive abilities on the short-term motor recovery of patients with aphasia due to first-ever stroke to the left hemisphere after an intensive rehabilitation treatment. 48 post-acute aphasic patients, who underwent physiotherapy and speech language therapy, were enrolled for this retrospective cohort-study. Four types of possible predictive factors were taken into account: clinical variables, functional status, language and non-verbal cognitive abilities. The motor FIM at discharge was used as the main dependent variable. Patients were classified as follows: 6 amnestic, 9 Broca's, 7 Wernicke's, and 26 global aphasics. Motor FIM at admission (p = 0.003) and at discharge (p = 0.042), all linguistic subtests of Aachener AphasieTest (p = 0.001), and non-verbal reasoning abilities (Raven's CPM, p = 0.006) resulted significantly different across different types of aphasia. Post-hoc analyses showed differences only between global aphasia and the other groups. A Multiple Linear Regression shows that admission motor FIM (p = 0.001) and Token test (p = 0.040), adjusted for clinical, language, and non-verbal reasoning variables, resulted as independent predictors of motor FIM scores at discharge, while Raven's CPM resulted close to statistical significance. Motor function at admission resulted as the variable that most affects the motor recovery of post-stroke patients with aphasia after rehabilitation. A linguistic test requiring also non-linguistic abilities, including attention and working memory (i.e. Token test) is an independent predictor as well.

Are there pre-existing neural, cognitive, or motoric markers for musical ability?

PubMed

Norton, Andrea; Winner, Ellen; Cronin, Karl; Overy, Katie; Lee, Dennis J; Schlaug, Gottfried

2005-11-01

Adult musician's brains show structural enlargements, but it is not known whether these are inborn or a consequence of long-term training. In addition, music training in childhood has been shown to have positive effects on visual-spatial and verbal outcomes. However, it is not known whether pre-existing advantages in these skills are found in children who choose to study a musical instrument nor is it known whether there are pre-existing associations between music and any of these outcome measures that could help explain the training effects. To answer these questions, we compared 5- to 7-year-olds beginning piano or string lessons (n=39) with 5- to 7-year-olds not beginning instrumental training (n=31). All children received a series of tests (visual-spatial, non-verbal reasoning, verbal, motor, and musical) and underwent magnetic resonance imaging. We found no pre-existing neural, cognitive, motor, or musical differences between groups and no correlations (after correction for multiple analyses) between music perceptual skills and any brain or visual-spatial measures. However, correlations were found between music perceptual skills and both non-verbal reasoning and phonemic awareness. Such pre-existing correlations suggest similarities in auditory and visual pattern recognition as well a sharing of the neural substrates for language and music processing, most likely due to innate abilities or implicit learning during early development. This baseline study lays the groundwork for an ongoing longitudinal study addressing the effects of intensive musical training on brain and cognitive development, and making it possible to look retroactively at the brain and cognitive development of those children who emerge showing exceptional musical talent.

Modifying the verbal expression of a child with autistic behaviors.

PubMed

Hargrave, E; Swisher, L

1975-06-01

The Bell and Howell Language Master was used in conjunction with the Monterey Language Program to modify the verbal expression of a nine-year-old boy with autistic behaviors. The goal was to train the child to correctly name up to 10 pictures presented individually. Two training modes were used. For one, the therapist spoke at the time (live voice). For the other, she presented a tape recording of her voice via a Language Master. The results suggested that the child's responses to the Language Master were as good as, if not better than, his responses to the live-voice presentations. In addition, observation indicated that he responded more readily to the Language Master presentations. His spontaneous speech was also noted by independent observers to improve in his classroom and in his home. Possible reasons for the improvement in verbal expression are considered.

On Curbing Racial Speech.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gale, Mary Ellen

1991-01-01

An alternative interpretation of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech suggests that universities may prohibit and punish direct verbal assaults on specific individuals if the speaker intends to do harm and if a reasonable person would recognize the potential for serious interference with the victim's educational rights. (MSE)

Got LEGO Bricks? Children with Spatial Strengths

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Rebecca

2013-01-01

Individuals with spatial strengths have preferences for visual ideation, holistic reasoning, and innovation. With the emphasis on verbal skills, American schools rarely provide opportunities for children to excel in these areas. Standardized assessments used to judge achievement do not value reflective thinking and innovation; therefore, students…

Knowledge Representation Of CT Scans Of The Head

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ackerman, Laurens V.; Burke, M. W.; Rada, Roy

1984-06-01

We have been investigating diagnostic knowledge models which assist in the automatic classification of medical images by combining information extracted from each image with knowledge specific to that class of images. In a more general sense we are trying to integrate verbal and pictorial descriptions of disease via representations of knowledge, study automatic hypothesis generation as related to clinical medicine, evolve new mathematical image measures while integrating them into the total diagnostic process, and investigate ways to augment the knowledge of the physician. Specifically, we have constructed an artificial intelligence knowledge model using the technique of a production system blending pictorial and verbal knowledge about the respective CT scan and patient history. It is an attempt to tie together different sources of knowledge representation, picture feature extraction and hypothesis generation. Our knowledge reasoning and representation system (KRRS) works with data at the conscious reasoning level of the practicing physician while at the visual perceptional level we are building another production system, the picture parameter extractor (PPE). This paper describes KRRS and its relationship to PPE.

Reanalysing children's responses on shadow formation: a comparative approach to bodily expressions and verbal discourse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pantidos, Panagiotis; Herakleioti, Evagelia; Chachlioutaki, Maria-Eleni

2017-12-01

The present article contains a reanalysis of data resulting from a research project carried out on a group of five preschool-aged children. The data were collected from a class of 16 children participating in a pre/post research design that focused on the shadow formation phenomenon. The findings of the previous research project, based on a speech plus deictic gesture analysis, indicated that the five children had shown regression or no change in their reasoning. In the light of an embodied perspective into science teaching and learning, the current study examines whether we should use a bodily analysis to reassess the extent of knowledge about shadows among these five students. It demonstrates that most of the children selected improved their reasoning about shadow formation by using iconic gestures. Such conflicting results indicate that bodily expression has its own grammar and, to some extent, communicates a meaning that differs from that of verbal discourse.

The nature and development of hypothetico-predictive argumentation with implications for science teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawson, Anton E.

2003-11-01

This paper explicates a pattern of scientific argumentation in which scientists respond to causal questions with the generation and test of alternative hypotheses through cycles of hypothetico-predictive argumentation. Hypothetico-predictive arguments are employed to test causal claims that exist on at least two levels (designated stage 4 in which the causal claims are perceptible, and stage 5 in which the causal claims are imperceptible). Origins of the ability to construct and comprehend hypothetico-predictive arguments at the highest level can be traced to pre-verbal reasoning of the sensory-motor child and the gradual internalization of verbally mediated arguments involving nominal, categorical, causal and, finally, theoretical propositions. Presumably, the ability to construct and comprehend hypothetico-predictive arguments (an aspect of procedural knowledge) is necessary for the construction of conceptual knowledge (an aspect of declarative knowledge) because such arguments are used during concept construction and conceptual change. Science instruction that focuses on the generation and debate of hypothetico-predictive arguments should improve students' conceptual understanding and their argumentative/reasoning skills.

Refined carbohydrate intake in relation to non-verbal intelligence among Tehrani schoolchildren.

PubMed

Abargouei, Amin Salehi; Kalantari, Naser; Omidvar, Nasrin; Rashidkhani, Bahram; Rad, Anahita Houshiar; Ebrahimi, Azizeh Afkham; Khosravi-Boroujeni, Hossein; Esmaillzadeh, Ahmad

2012-10-01

Nutrition has long been considered one of the most important environmental factors affecting human intelligence. Although carbohydrates are the most widely studied nutrient for their possible effects on cognition, limited data are available linking usual refined carbohydrate intake and intelligence. The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between long-term refined carbohydrate intake and non-verbal intelligence among schoolchildren. Cross-sectional study. Tehran, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 245 students aged 6-7 years were selected from 129 elementary schools in two western regions of Tehran. Anthropometric measurements were carried out. Non-verbal intelligence and refined carbohydrate consumption were determined using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices test and a modified sixty-seven-item FFQ, respectively. Data about potential confounding variables were collected. Linear regression analysis was applied to examine the relationship between non-verbal intelligence scores and refined carbohydrate consumption. Individuals in top tertile of refined carbohydrate intake had lower mean non-verbal intelligence scores in the crude model (P < 0.038). This association remained significant after controlling for age, gender, birth date, birth order and breast-feeding pattern (P = 0.045). However, further adjustments for mother's age, mother's education, father's education, parental occupation and BMI made the association statistically non-significant. We found a significant inverse association between refined carbohydrate consumption and non-verbal intelligence scores in regression models (β = -11.359, P < 0.001). This relationship remained significant in multivariate analysis after controlling for potential confounders (β = -8.495, P = 0.038). The study provides evidence indicating an inverse relationship between refined carbohydrate consumption and non-verbal intelligence among Tehrani children aged 6-7 years. Prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Commands, competence, and cariño: maternal socialization practices in Mexican American families.

PubMed

Livas-Dlott, Alejandra; Fuller, Bruce; Stein, Gabriela L; Bridges, Margaret; Mangual Figueroa, Ariana; Mireles, Laurie

2010-05-01

Early research on the socialization of Latino children has posited that mothers exercise authoritarian practices, compared with lateral reasoning (authoritative) strategies emphasized by Anglo mothers. This work aimed to categorize fixed types of parenting practices tied to the mother's personality rather than to culturally bounded contexts; it often ignored the emotional warmth or harshness present in compliance attempts and relied on interview questions rather than naturalistic observation. We built from ecocultural theory to observe daily home activities in which Mexican American mothers attempted to correct their young child's behavior or encourage completion of a task (compliance attempt). We observed 24 first- or second-generation mothers and their 4-year-old children and analyzed the activity contexts and multiple forms of 1,477 compliance attempts. Mothers typically led with direct verbal commands in their attempt to achieve compliance. Many blended commands with other compliance strategies, rather than repeating simple behaviors. Drawing on Crockenberg and Litman's (1990) differentiation of variable compliance strategies, we find that most mothers relied on low power-assertive methods, including verbal commands, rather than inductive strategies that involved reasoning. Few compliance episodes prompted high power-assertive or harsh strategies. The degree of reliance on verbal commands and the complexity of mothers' repertoires appear to be related to their education and acculturation levels. 2010 APA, all rights reserved

Modeling Longitudinal Changes in Older Adults’ Memory for Spoken Discourse: Findings from the ACTIVE Cohort

PubMed Central

Payne, Brennan R.; Gross, Alden L.; Parisi, Jeanine M.; Sisco, Shannon M.; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A. L.; Marsiske, Michael; Rebok, George W.

2014-01-01

Episodic memory shows substantial declines with advancing age, but research on longitudinal trajectories of spoken discourse memory (SDM) in older adulthood is limited. Using parallel process latent growth curve models, we examined 10 years of longitudinal data from the no-contact control group (N = 698) of the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) randomized controlled trial in order to test (a) the degree to which SDM declines with advancing age, (b) predictors of these age-related declines, and (c) the within-person relationship between longitudinal changes in SDM and longitudinal changes in fluid reasoning and verbal ability over 10 years, independent of age. Individuals who were younger, White, had more years of formal education, were male, and had better global cognitive function and episodic memory performance at baseline demonstrated greater levels of SDM on average. However, only age at baseline uniquely predicted longitudinal changes in SDM, such that declines accelerated with greater age. Independent of age, within-person decline in reasoning ability over the 10-year study period was substantially correlated with decline in SDM (r = .87). An analogous association with SDM did not hold for verbal ability. The findings suggest that longitudinal declines in fluid cognition are associated with reduced spoken language comprehension. Unlike findings from memory for written prose, preserved verbal ability may not protect against developmental declines in memory for speech. PMID:24304364

Sexual Coercion, Verbal Aggression, and Condom Use Consistency among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fair, Cynthia D.; Vanyur, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Objective: The relationship between condom use and 2 less visible categories of intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual coercion and verbal aggression, was examined among college students. Methods: In March 2007 a random cross-sectional sample of undergraduates from the southeast region of the United States was taken to collect information about…

How do working-memory-related demand, reasoning ability and aversive reinforcement modulate conflict monitoring?

PubMed Central

Leue, Anja; Weber, Bernd; Beauducel, André

2014-01-01

Conflict monitoring is a process of stimulus evaluation and a pre-requisite for subsequent recruitment of cognitive control and behavioral adaptations. This study investigated how experimentally manipulated working-memory-related cognitive demand and aversive reinforcement modulate individual differences of conflict monitoring intensity and behavioral adjustments. Individual differences were assessed by means of an anxiety-related trait dimension (trait-BIS) and by means of reasoning abilities—a core determinant of intelligence. Moreover, we investigated the special role of verbal reasoning ability and figural reasoning ability for the modulation of the conflict monitoring intensity. Ninety participants performed a go/nogo task with four conditions each comprising a combination of low vs. high working-memory-related cognitive demand and low vs. high aversive reinforcement. No effect of aversive reinforcement was observed for the N2 amplitude. The fronto-central nogo N2 amplitude was more pronounced for high demand vs. low demand suggesting that cognitive demand served as an aversive costly event. Higher total reasoning abilities were associated with more intense conflict monitoring and shorter response times with increasing aversive reinforcement (defined as verbal error-feedback vs. monetary loss). Individuals with higher trait-BIS scores demonstrated a more intense conflict monitoring even in conditions with low aversive reinforcement and also a more cautious responding (i.e., response times slowing) with increasing aversive reinforcement indicating a focus on negative feedback prevention. The findings provide evidence for the conflict monitoring theory and suggest that working-memory-related demand overrules the impact of aversive reinforcement on conflict monitoring intensity. Reasoning abilities and anxiety-related traits go along with an intensification of conflict monitoring but differences in the flexibility of behavioral adjustment. PMID:24782739

Neural basis of nonanalytical reasoning expertise during clinical evaluation.

PubMed

Durning, Steven J; Costanzo, Michelle E; Artino, Anthony R; Graner, John; van der Vleuten, Cees; Beckman, Thomas J; Wittich, Christopher M; Roy, Michael J; Holmboe, Eric S; Schuwirth, Lambert

2015-03-01

Understanding clinical reasoning is essential for patient care and medical education. Dual-processing theory suggests that nonanalytic reasoning is an essential aspect of expertise; however, assessing nonanalytic reasoning is challenging because it is believed to occur on the subconscious level. This assumption makes concurrent verbal protocols less reliable assessment tools. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to explore the neural basis of nonanalytic reasoning in internal medicine interns (novices) and board-certified staff internists (experts) while completing United States Medical Licensing Examination and American Board of Internal Medicine multiple-choice questions. The results demonstrated that novices and experts share a common neural network in addition to nonoverlapping neural resources. However, experts manifested greater neural processing efficiency in regions such as the prefrontal cortex during nonanalytical reasoning. These findings reveal a multinetwork system that supports the dual-process mode of expert clinical reasoning during medical evaluation.

Verbal school bullying and life satisfaction among Brazilian adolescents: profiles of the aggressor and the victim.

PubMed

Serra-Negra, Júnia Maria; Paiva, Saul Martins; Bendo, Cristiane Baccin; Fulgêncio, Lívia Bonfim; Lage, Carolina Freitas; Corrêa-Faria, Patrícia; Pordeus, Isabela Almeida

2015-02-01

Bullying is a common occurrence in adolescence that may damage the physical and emotional health. The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to analyze the profile of the adolescent aggressor only, aggressor/victim, victim only, and those not involved in verbal school bullying, and to associate their profiles with life satisfaction and familial characteristics evaluated through socioeconomic status. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 366 Brazilian adolescents between 13 and 15years. Verbal school bullying was identified using the Brazilian National School-Based Adolescent Health Survey (PeNSE) questionnaire. The life satisfaction of the adolescents was assessed using the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Adolescents (MLSSA). Statistical analyses involved the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and the Poisson regression with robust variance. Sixty-six adolescents (18%) were aggressors, 5.5% were victims, 2.7% were both aggressor and victim, and 73.8% were not involved in verbal school bullying. Most aggressors were male (PR=1.97, 95% CI: 1.23-3.14) and were satisfied with their family life (PR=2.13, 95% CI: 1.18-3.8). Victims of verbal school bullying exhibited a low prevalence of non-violence (PR=0.24, 95% CI: 0.09-0.64). Those who were both aggressors and victims were associated with factors of family support (PR=0.25, 95% CI: 0.07-0.89) and self-efficacy (PR=6.29, 95% CI: 1.54-25.6). Most of the adolescents who were not involved in verbal school bullying were female (PR=1.32, 95% CI: 1.16-1.51). Boys tend to be aggressors and girls tend not to get involved in verbal school bullying. Family satisfaction, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and levels of violence are important factors that can influence the profile of adolescents in relation to verbal school bullying. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design and performance of a large vocabulary discrete word recognition system. Volume 1: Technical report. [real time computer technique for voice data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The development, construction, and test of a 100-word vocabulary near real time word recognition system are reported. Included are reasonable replacement of any one or all 100 words in the vocabulary, rapid learning of a new speaker, storage and retrieval of training sets, verbal or manual single word deletion, continuous adaptation with verbal or manual error correction, on-line verification of vocabulary as spoken, system modes selectable via verification display keyboard, relationship of classified word to neighboring word, and a versatile input/output interface to accommodate a variety of applications.

Deaf children's non-verbal working memory is impacted by their language experience

PubMed Central

Marshall, Chloë; Jones, Anna; Denmark, Tanya; Mason, Kathryn; Atkinson, Joanna; Botting, Nicola; Morgan, Gary

2015-01-01

Several recent studies have suggested that deaf children perform more poorly on working memory tasks compared to hearing children, but these studies have not been able to determine whether this poorer performance arises directly from deafness itself or from deaf children's reduced language exposure. The issue remains unresolved because findings come mostly from (1) tasks that are verbal as opposed to non-verbal, and (2) involve deaf children who use spoken communication and therefore may have experienced impoverished input and delayed language acquisition. This is in contrast to deaf children who have been exposed to a sign language since birth from Deaf parents (and who therefore have native language-learning opportunities within a normal developmental timeframe for language acquisition). A more direct, and therefore stronger, test of the hypothesis that the type and quality of language exposure impact working memory is to use measures of non-verbal working memory (NVWM) and to compare hearing children with two groups of deaf signing children: those who have had native exposure to a sign language, and those who have experienced delayed acquisition and reduced quality of language input compared to their native-signing peers. In this study we investigated the relationship between NVWM and language in three groups aged 6–11 years: hearing children (n = 28), deaf children who were native users of British Sign Language (BSL; n = 8), and deaf children who used BSL but who were not native signers (n = 19). We administered a battery of non-verbal reasoning, NVWM, and language tasks. We examined whether the groups differed on NVWM scores, and whether scores on language tasks predicted scores on NVWM tasks. For the two executive-loaded NVWM tasks included in our battery, the non-native signers performed less accurately than the native signer and hearing groups (who did not differ from one another). Multiple regression analysis revealed that scores on the vocabulary measure predicted scores on those two executive-loaded NVWM tasks (with age and non-verbal reasoning partialled out). Our results suggest that whatever the language modality—spoken or signed—rich language experience from birth, and the good language skills that result from this early age of acquisition, play a critical role in the development of NVWM and in performance on NVWM tasks. PMID:25999875

Proceedings from the ETS and ARI Emotional Intelligence Workshop held in Princeton, New Jersey on November 13-15, 2003. Volume 3. Session 5 and Appendix

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-11-01

decreases in standardized test scores Better problem solving and planning More use of higher level reasoning strategies; improved non-verbal reasoning... data were somewhat controversial in terms of interpretation, using a longitudinal data set enabled them to show considerable stability as a result of...cognitive behavioral programs that actually increase the attractiveness of staying. I mean you can do that structurally , through relationships. You can do

Reasoning in explanation-based decision making.

PubMed

Pennington, N; Hastie, R

1993-01-01

A general theory of explanation-based decision making is outlined and the multiple roles of inference processes in the theory are indicated. A typology of formal and informal inference forms, originally proposed by Collins (1978a, 1978b), is introduced as an appropriate framework to represent inferences that occur in the overarching explanation-based process. Results from the analysis of verbal reports of decision processes are presented to demonstrate the centrality and systematic character of reasoning in a representative legal decision-making task.

Factor Structure of Psychoeducational and Neuropsychological Measures of Learning-Disabled Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chittooran, Mary Mathai; And Others

1993-01-01

Administered Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and Wide Range Achievement Test to 934 learning-disabled students between ages 8 and 16. Principal-components analysis with varimax rotation indicated existence of seven factors: Verbal Reasoning, Academic…

75 FR 36313 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Arkansas Waterway, Pine Bluff, AR

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-25

... remote drawbridge operator then establishes normal verbal radio communications. This protocol is used to isolate and differentiate these radio communications from the railroad communications that the remote... provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online...

Resources within "Reason"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catlett, Camille

2011-01-01

George Mason University faculty members Eva Thorp and Sylvia Sanchez remind us through their research findings and their teaching that family stories touch hearts, and hearts change minds. Accessing those stories requires more than just strong verbal skills. As the Chinese pictogram reminds us, effective communication takes heart, eyes, ears, and…

Developing an Understanding of Ions in Junior Secondary School Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waldrip, Bruce; Prain, Vaughan

2012-01-01

There is growing research interest in the challenges and opportunities learners face in representing scientific understandings, processes and reasoning. These challenges include integrating verbal, visual and mathematical modes in science discourse to make strong conceptual links between representations and classroom experiences. Our paper reports…

34 CFR 668.142 - Special definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

.... General learned abilities: Cognitive operations, such as deductive reasoning, reading comprehension, or translation from graphic to numerical representation, that may be learned in both school and non-school...,” “curricula,” or “basic verbal and quantitative skills,” the basic knowledge or skills generally learned in...

34 CFR 668.142 - Special definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

.... General learned abilities: Cognitive operations, such as deductive reasoning, reading comprehension, or translation from graphic to numerical representation, that may be learned in both school and non-school...,” “curricula,” or “basic verbal and quantitative skills,” the basic knowledge or skills generally learned in...

34 CFR 668.142 - Special definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

.... General learned abilities: Cognitive operations, such as deductive reasoning, reading comprehension, or translation from graphic to numerical representation, that may be learned in both school and non-school...,” “curricula,” or “basic verbal and quantitative skills,” the basic knowledge or skills generally learned in...

34 CFR 668.142 - Special definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

.... General learned abilities: Cognitive operations, such as deductive reasoning, reading comprehension, or translation from graphic to numerical representation, that may be learned in both school and non-school...,” “curricula,” or “basic verbal and quantitative skills,” the basic knowledge or skills generally learned in...

Sleep Shelters Verbal Memory from Different Kinds of Interference

PubMed Central

Sheth, Bhavin R.; Varghese, Reni; Truong, Thuy

2012-01-01

Study Objectives: Studies have shown that sleep shelters old verbal memories from associative interference arising from new, more recently acquired memories. Our objective is to extend the forms of interference for which sleep provides a sheltering benefit to non-associative and prospective interference, and to examine experimental conditions and memory strengths for which sleep before or after learning particularly affects verbal memory consolidation. Design: Acquiring paired word associates, retention across intervening sleep and wake, training on new, interfering word associates, and test recall of both sets. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Healthy volunteers. Interventions: N/A. Measurements and Results: Comparing recall before and after intervening periods of sleep versus wake, we found that: (i) Sleep preferentially shields weakly encoded verbal memories from retroactive interference. (ii) Sleep immediately following learning helps shelter memory from associative and non-associative forms of retroactive interference. (iii) Sleep protects new verbal memories from prospective interference. (iv) Word associations acquired for the first time in the evening after a day spent in the wake state are encoded more strongly than word associations acquired in the morning following a night of sleep. Conclusions: The findings extend the known sleep protection from interference to non-associative as well as prospective interference, and limit the protection to weakly encoded word associations. Combined, our results suggest that sleep immediately after verbal learning isolates newly formed memory traces and renders them inaccessible, except by specific contextual cues. Memory isolation in sleep is a passive mechanism that can reasonably account for several experimental findings. Citation: Sheth BR; Varghese R; Truong T. Sleep shelters verbal memory from different kinds of interference. SLEEP 2012;35(7):985-996. PMID:22754045

Sexual coercion, verbal aggression, and condom use consistency among college students.

PubMed

Fair, Cynthia D; Vanyur, Jennifer

2011-01-01

The relationship between condom use and 2 less visible categories of intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual coercion and verbal aggression, was examined among college students. In March 2007 a random cross-sectional sample of undergraduates from the southeast region of the United States was taken to collect information about sexual coercion and verbal aggression, in addition to condom use consistency. Alcohol use was also assessed. Of the 142 participants, 31.7% reported being victims of sexual coercion, and 78% reported having verbally aggressive partners. Participants who reported experiencing sexual coercion in their relationship were significantly less likely to consistently use condoms. Additionally, alcohol use before or during episodes of verbal aggression was negatively associated with condom use. Alcohol use was also significantly associated with heightened incidents of coercion and aggression. Results indicate that among college students, the presence of sexual coercion adversely affects condom use, as does alcohol use.

[Non-verbal communication of patients submitted to heart surgery: from awaking after anesthesia to extubation].

PubMed

Werlang, Sueli da Cruz; Azzolin, Karina; Moraes, Maria Antonieta; de Souza, Emiliane Nogueira

2008-12-01

Preoperative orientation is an essential tool for patient's communication after surgery. This study had the objective of evaluating non-verbal communication of patients submitted to cardiac surgery from the time of awaking from anesthesia until extubation, after having received preoperative orientation by nurses. A quantitative cross-sectional study was developed in a reference hospital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from March to July 2006. Data were collected in the pre and post operative periods. A questionnaire to evaluate non-verbal communication on awaking from sedation was applied to a sample of 100 patients. Statistical analysis included Student, Wilcoxon, and Mann Whittney tests. Most of the patients responded satisfactorily to non-verbal communication strategies as instructed on the preoperative orientation. Thus, non-verbal communication based on preoperative orientation was helpful during the awaking period.

Verbal communication of families with cancer patients at end of life: A questionnaire survey with bereaved family members.

PubMed

Nakazato, Kazuhiro; Shiozaki, Mariko; Hirai, Kei; Morita, Tatsuya; Tatara, Ryuhei; Ichihara, Kaori; Sato, Shinichi; Simizu, Megumi; Tsuneto, Satoru; Shima, Yasuo; Miyasita, Mitsunori

2018-01-01

To clarify the verbal communication of feelings between families and patients in Japanese palliative care units from the perspective of bereaved family members by examining (1) proportions of families' and patients' verbalization of six feelings (gratitude, love, seeking forgiveness, giving forgiveness, wishes after death, and continuing bonds), (2) recognition of receiving these feelings through verbalization from the family's perspective, and (3) the specific attitudes of family members that influence their verbalizations. In 2010, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 968 bereaved families of cancer patients in palliative care units across Japan. Five hundred thirty-seven responses were analyzed. (1) "Gratitude" was verbalized most often (families: 47%; patients: 61%), and "expressing forgiveness" least often (families: 16%; patients: 11%). (2) Even if the words were not used, 81.2% to 88.2% of families answered that they had received the patient's feelings, and 71.8% to 85.4% of families felt the patient had received their feelings. (3) Multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that the strongest attitudes determining verbalizing were "not wanting to say farewell without conveying feelings," "a daily basis of expressing," and "heart-to-heart communication" (ishin-denshin). For both families and patients, verbalizing feelings was difficult. Our results showed that families' and patients' verbalizing and receiving of feelings must be aligned to understand their communication at the end of life in Japan. Future research is needed to verify how attitude helps promote or inhibit verbalization. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An investigation of meaningful understanding and effectiveness of the implementation of Piagetian and Ausubelian theories in physics instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Karen Ann

One section of college students (N = 25) enrolled in an algebra-based physics course was selected for a Piagetian-based learning cycle (LC) treatment while a second section (N = 25) studied in an Ausubelian-based meaningful verbal reception learning treatment (MVRL). This study examined the students' overall (concept + problem solving + mental model) meaningful understanding of force, density/Archimedes Principle, and heat. Also examined were students' meaningful understanding as measured by conceptual questions, problems, and mental models. In addition, students' learning orientations were examined. There were no significant posttest differences between the LC and MVRL groups for students' meaningful understanding or learning orientation. Piagetian and Ausubelian theories explain meaningful understanding for each treatment. Students from each treatment increased their meaningful understanding. However, neither group altered their learning orientation. The results of meaningful understanding as measured by conceptual questions, problem solving, and mental models were mixed. Differences were attributed to the weaknesses and strengths of each treatment. This research also examined four variables (treatment, reasoning ability, learning orientation, and prior knowledge) to find which best predicted students' overall meaningful understanding of physics concepts. None of these variables were significant predictors at the.05 level. However, when the same variables were used to predict students' specific understanding (i.e. concept, problem solving, or mental model understanding), the results were mixed. For forces and density/Archimedes Principle, prior knowledge and reasoning ability significantly predicted students' conceptual understanding. For heat, however, reasoning ability was the only significant predictor of concept understanding. Reasoning ability and treatment were significant predictors of students' problem solving for heat and forces. For density/Archimedes Principle, treatment was the only significant predictor of students' problem solving. None of the variables were significant predictors of mental model understanding. This research suggested that Piaget and Ausubel used different terminology to describe learning yet these theories are similar. Further research is needed to validate this premise and validate the blending of the two theories.

Stability of scores for the Slosson Full-Range Intelligence Test.

PubMed

Williams, Thomas O; Eaves, Ronald C; Woods-Groves, Suzanne; Mariano, Gina

2007-08-01

The test-retest stability of the Slosson Full-Range Intelligence Test by Algozzine, Eaves, Mann, and Vance was investigated with test scores from a sample of 103 students. With a mean interval of 13.7 mo. and different examiners for each of the two test administrations, the test-retest reliability coefficients for the Full-Range IQ, Verbal Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Memory were .93, .85, .80, .80, and .83, respectively. Mean differences from the test-retest scores were not statistically significantly different for any of the scales. Results suggest that Slosson scores are stable over time even when different examiners administer the test.

Verbal Aggression from Care Recipients as a Risk Factor among Nursing Staff: A Study on Burnout in the JD-R Model Perspective

PubMed Central

Viotti, Sara; Guglielmetti, Chiara

2015-01-01

Among nursing staff, the risk of experiencing violence, especially verbal aggression, is particularly relevant. The present study, developed in the theoretical framework of the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), has two main aims: (a) to examine the association between verbal aggression and job burnout in both nurses and nurse's aides and (b) to assess whether job content, social resources, and organizational resources lessen the negative impact of verbal aggression on burnout in the two professional groups. The cross-sectional study uses a dataset that consists of 630 workers (522 nurses and 108 nurse's aides) employed in emergency and medical units. High associations were found between verbal aggression and job burnout in both professional groups. Moderated hierarchical regressions showed that, among nurses, only the job content level resources moderated the effects of the verbal aggression on job burnout. Among nurse's aides, the opposite was found. Some resources on the social and organizational levels but none of the job content level resources buffered the effects of verbal aggression on workers burnout. The study highlights the crucial role of different types of resources in protecting nursing staff from the detrimental effects of verbal aggression on job burnout. PMID:26568956

Verbal Aggression from Care Recipients as a Risk Factor among Nursing Staff: A Study on Burnout in the JD-R Model Perspective.

PubMed

Viotti, Sara; Gilardi, Silvia; Guglielmetti, Chiara; Converso, Daniela

2015-01-01

Among nursing staff, the risk of experiencing violence, especially verbal aggression, is particularly relevant. The present study, developed in the theoretical framework of the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), has two main aims: (a) to examine the association between verbal aggression and job burnout in both nurses and nurse's aides and (b) to assess whether job content, social resources, and organizational resources lessen the negative impact of verbal aggression on burnout in the two professional groups. The cross-sectional study uses a dataset that consists of 630 workers (522 nurses and 108 nurse's aides) employed in emergency and medical units. High associations were found between verbal aggression and job burnout in both professional groups. Moderated hierarchical regressions showed that, among nurses, only the job content level resources moderated the effects of the verbal aggression on job burnout. Among nurse's aides, the opposite was found. Some resources on the social and organizational levels but none of the job content level resources buffered the effects of verbal aggression on workers burnout. The study highlights the crucial role of different types of resources in protecting nursing staff from the detrimental effects of verbal aggression on job burnout.

An Exploratory Analysis of American Indian Children's Cultural Engagement, Fluid Cognitive Skills, and Standardized Verbal IQ Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsethlikai, Monica

2011-01-01

This exploratory cross-sectional study examined fluid cognitive skills and standardized verbal IQ scores in relation to cultural engagement amongst Tohono O'odham children (N = 99; ages 7 to 12 years). Guardians with higher socioeconomic status engaged their children in more cultural activities, and participation in more cultural activities…

Validity of verbal autopsy method to determine causes of death among adults in the urban setting of Ethiopia

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Verbal autopsy has been widely used to estimate causes of death in settings with inadequate vital registries, but little is known about its validity. This analysis was part of Addis Ababa Mortality Surveillance Program to examine the validity of verbal autopsy for determining causes of death compared with hospital medical records among adults in the urban setting of Ethiopia. Methods This validation study consisted of comparison of verbal autopsy final diagnosis with hospital diagnosis taken as a “gold standard”. In public and private hospitals of Addis Ababa, 20,152 adult deaths (15 years and above) were recorded between 2007 and 2010. With the same period, a verbal autopsy was conducted for 4,776 adult deaths of which, 1,356 were deceased in any of Addis Ababa hospitals. Then, verbal autopsy and hospital data sets were merged using the variables; full name of the deceased, sex, address, age, place and date of death. We calculated sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values with 95% confidence interval. Results After merging, a total of 335 adult deaths were captured. For communicable diseases, the values of sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values of verbal autopsy diagnosis were 79%, 78% and 68% respectively. For non-communicable diseases, sensitivity of the verbal autopsy diagnoses was 69%, specificity 78% and positive predictive value 79%. Regarding injury, sensitivity of the verbal autopsy diagnoses was 70%, specificity 98% and positive predictive value 83%. Higher sensitivity was achieved for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, but lower specificity with relatively more false positives. Conclusion These findings may indicate the potential of verbal autopsy to provide cost-effective information to guide policy on communicable and non communicable diseases double burden among adults in Ethiopia. Thus, a well structured verbal autopsy method, followed by qualified physician reviews could be capable of providing reasonable cause specific mortality estimates in Ethiopia. However, the limited generalizability of this study due to the fact that matched verbal autopsy deaths were all in-hospital deaths in an urban center, thus results may not be generalizable to rural home deaths. Such application and refinement of existing verbal autopsy methods holds out the possibility of obtaining replicable, sustainable and internationally comparable mortality statistics of known quality. Similar validation studies need to be undertaken considering the limitation of medical records as “gold standard” since records may not be confirmed using laboratory investigations or medical technologies. The validation studies need to address child and maternal causes of death and possibly all underlying causes of death. PMID:22928712

The Inter-relationships between Personality, Divergent Thinking and School Attainment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Entwistle, Noel J.; Bennett, S. Neville

1977-01-01

Overall correlations between personality/motivation and verbal reasoning, divergent thinking, and creative writing in 1,416 children, aged 10-13 were low, suggesting that classroom climate and teaching methods may affect this relationship. (Tests are appended.) (Available in microfiche from: Carfax Publishing Company, Haddon House,…

Perceptions of International Students toward Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mupinga, Emily E.; Mupinga, Davison M.

2005-01-01

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is an aptitude test, thought to reflect intelligence or the capacity to learn (Larsen & Buss, 2003). It is a standardized admission exam designed to predict performance in graduate school through verbal, quantitative, and analytical reasoning questions. The GRE Board encourages graduate schools,…

Eye Movement Analysis of Information Processing under Different Testing Conditions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dillon, Ronna F.

1985-01-01

Undergraduates were given complex figural analogies items, and eye movements were observed under three types of feedback: (1) elaborate feedback; (2) subjects verbalized their thinking and application of rules; and (3) no feedback. Both feedback conditions enhanced the rule-governed information processing during inductive reasoning. (Author/GDC)

Intellectual Performance as a Function of Repression and Menstrual Cycle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Englander-Golden, Paula; And Others

Performance on complex (Space Relations and Verbal Reasoning) and simple (Digit Symbol) tests was investigated as a function of Byrne's Repression-Sensitization (RS) dimension, phase of menstrual cycle and premenstrual-menstrual (PM) symptomatology in a group of females not taking oral contraceptives. Two control groups, consisting of males and…

Problems in air traffic management. V., Identification and potential aptitude test measures for selection of tower air traffic controller trainees.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1965-07-01

A study of over 200 Terminal Air Traffic Control Specialists indicated that their training performance could be well predicted by a composite of four aptitude tests measuring: numerical ability, non-verbal abstract reasoning, ability to solve simplif...

Cultivating Intellectual Dialogue at Home

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinmeyer, Patricia

2012-01-01

Advanced verbal ability is a trait associated with giftedness, and as a teacher, the author observes that many high-ability children flourish in the classroom when they are encouraged to explain their thoughts and reasoning. Engaging children in discussion helps students gain knowledge, think creatively, and develop critical thinking skills.…

WAIS-IV Subtest Covariance Structure: Conceptual and Statistical Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, L. Charles; Bergman, Maria A.; Hebert, Katina R.

2012-01-01

D. Wechsler (2008b) reported confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) with standardization data (ages 16-69 years) for 10 core and 5 supplemental subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). Analyses of the 15 subtests supported 4 hypothesized oblique factors (Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Reasoning,…

A Theory of Marking Rules.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geoghegan, William H.

In attempting to understand and describe the means by which human beings actually produce and interpret the message forms appropriate to a given domain of verbal behavior, it becomes apparent that the cognitive processes involved can reasonably be characterized as information processing phenomena. Throughout the production of a message form, an…

Processing Determinants of Reading Speed.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Mark D.; McClelland, James L.

1979-01-01

Two groups of undergraduates differing in reading ability were tested on a number of reaction-time tasks designed to determine the speed of encoding visual information at several different levels, tests of sensory functions, verbal and quantitative reasoning ability, short-term auditory memory span, and ability to comprehend spoken text.…

Relationships Between Teacher Aptitudes, Teaching Behaviors, and Pupil Outcomes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ekstrom, Ruth B.

A model of elementary school teacher behavior affecting pupil outcomes is presented, and research based upon that model is discussed. A portion of the model, the relationship between teacher aptitudes and knowledge, teaching behavior, and pupil outcomes is focused upon. Aptitudes considered important included verbal and reasoning ability, memory,…

Progression paths in children's problem solving: The influence of dynamic testing, initial variability, and working memory.

PubMed

Resing, Wilma C M; Bakker, Merel; Pronk, Christine M E; Elliott, Julian G

2017-01-01

The current study investigated developmental trajectories of analogical reasoning performance of 104 7- and 8-year-old children. We employed a microgenetic research method and multilevel analysis to examine the influence of several background variables and experimental treatment on the children's developmental trajectories. Our participants were divided into two treatment groups: repeated practice alone and repeated practice with training. Each child received an initial working memory assessment and was subsequently asked to solve figural analogies on each of several sessions. We examined children's analogical problem-solving behavior and their subsequent verbal accounts of their employed solving processes. We also investigated the influence of verbal and visual-spatial working memory capacity and initial variability in strategy use on analogical reasoning development. Results indicated that children in both treatment groups improved but that gains were greater for those who had received training. Training also reduced the influence of children's initial variability in the use of analogical strategies with the degree of improvement in reasoning largely unrelated to working memory capacity. Findings from this study demonstrate the value of a microgenetic research method and the use of multilevel analysis to examine inter- and intra-individual change in problem-solving processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Deception dissociates from false belief reasoning in deaf children: implications for the implicit versus explicit theory of mind distinction.

PubMed

de Villiers, Peter A; de Villiers, Jill G

2012-03-01

Deception is a controversial aspect of theory of mind, and researchers disagree about whether it entails an understanding of the false beliefs of one's opponent. The present study asks whether children with delayed language and delayed explicit false belief reasoning can succeed on explicit deception tasks. Participants were 45 orally taught deaf children with varying language delays aged 4.5-8 years and 45 hearing children aged 3.5-6 years. Participants received a battery of language, executive function, deception, and both verbal and low-verbal false belief tasks. The result reveal a dissociation of deception and false belief tasks: the deaf children are on par with their hearing peers on deception games, but show significant delays in false belief tasks even when the language demands are made minimal. Furthermore, different skills are predictors of success for the two types of task in the deaf children: language, and in particular complement syntax, is the best predictor of false belief reasoning; but executive function skills, especially inhibitory control, are the best predictors of deception. It is argued that deception at this level can be handled by behaviour rules without reference to mental states. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

Customers’ Complaints and its Determinants: The Case of a Training Educational Hospital in Iran

PubMed Central

Ebrahimipour, Hossein; Vafaee-Najar, Ali; Khanijahani, Ahmad; Pourtaleb, Arefeh; Saadati, Zoleykha; Molavi, Yasamin; Kaffashi, Shahnaz

2013-01-01

Background: Today, despite the efforts of the medical community and healthcare staff along with the advancements in medical technology, patients’ dissatisfaction and complaints have been increased. The present study aimed at making a survey on the patients’ complaints in a large training hospital affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS). Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on written and verbal complaints of patients and their relatives in a tertiary (specialty and sub-specialty) training hospital. All the recorded patients’ complaints, from March to December 2012, were reviewed. Data were categorized and analyzed using descriptive statistics by Microsoft Excel 2007. Results: A total of 233 complaints were reviewed, of which 46.35%, 31.34% and 22.31%, respectively, were verbal, written and made on the phone. The main reasons for complaints were accessibility to medical staff (21.46%), communication failures (20.17%) and dissatisfaction with the provided care (14.59%). Thirty one (13.31%) cases were solved at first place, 194 (83.26%) referred to the complaints from the committee and 3.43% referred to the legal authorities. The average response time was about six to seven days. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggest that sufficient availability of medical staff, improvement in communication skills and paying attention to the patients’ needs and expectations may reduce complaints from public health facilities. PMID:24596884

Theory of mind in SLI revisited: links with syntax, comparisons with ASD.

PubMed

Durrleman, Stephanie; Burnel, Morgane; Reboul, Anne

2017-11-01

According to the linguistic determinism approach, knowledge of sentential complements such as: John says that the earth is flat plays a crucial role in theory of mind (ToM) development by providing a means to represent explicitly people's mental attitudes and beliefs. This approach predicts that mastery of complements determines successful belief reasoning across explicit ToM tasks, even low-verbal ones, and across populations. (1) To investigate the link between a low-verbal ToM-task and complements in Specific Language Impairment (SLI), (2) To determine whether this population shows similar ToM performance to that of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or those with Typical Development (TD) once these groups are matched on competency for complements, (3) To explore whether complements conveying a falsehood without jeopardizing the veracity of the entire sentence, such as complements of verbs of communication, are more crucial for belief attribution than complements which do not have this property, namely complements of verbs of perception, (?John sees that the earth is flat). Children with SLI (n = 20), with ASD (n = 34) and TD (n = 30) completed sentence-picture-matching tasks assessing complementation with communication and perception verbs, as well as a picture-sequencing task assessing ToM. Children were furthermore evaluated for general grammatical and lexical abilities and non-verbal IQ. Results reveal that competency on complements relates to ToM performance with a low-verbal task in SLI, and that SLI, ASD and TD groups of equivalent performance on complements also perform similarly for ToM. Results further suggest that complements with an independent truth-value are the only ones to show a significant relation to ToM performance after teasing out the impact of non-verbal reasoning. This study suggests that clinical groups of different aetiologies as well as TD children perform comparably for ToM once they have similar complementation skills. Findings further highlight that specific types of complements, namely those with an independent truth value, relate in a special way to mentalizing. Future work should determine whether these specific structures could be effective in ToM remediation programmes. © 2017 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Core neuropsychological characteristics of children and adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion.

PubMed

Jacobson, C; Shearer, J; Habel, A; Kane, F; Tsakanikos, E; Kravariti, E

2010-08-01

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDS) confers high risk for intellectual disability and neuropsychological/academic impairment, although a minority of patients show average intelligence. Intellectual heterogeneity and the high prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses in earlier studies may have obscured the prototypical neuropsychological profile in 22qDS. We examined intelligence, memory, reading and mathematical processes in 31 children/adolescents with 22qDS, selected for educational underachievement and an absence of psychiatric diagnoses, using standardised, psychometrically matched instruments that specify how typical a score is for a given intelligence quotient (IQ). Corroborating earlier findings, verbal IQ was significantly superior to performance IQ; verbal memory and basic reading were relative strengths; and visual/spatial memory was a relative weakness. All four findings transcended performance characteristics that are typical of low-IQ individuals. Rote learning yielded the highest score; reading comprehension, numerical operations and mathematical reasoning were among the lowest-performed academic domains. Albeit in the expected direction, performance in the respective components could not be clearly differentiated from what is IQ-appropriate. A superiority of verbal intelligence over non-verbal intelligence, relative strengths in verbal memory and basic reading, and a relative weakness in visual/spatial memory are likely to be core characteristics of children/adolescents with 22qDS, transcending performance features that are typical of individuals with low IQ.

Characterizing Literacy and Cognitive Function during Pregnancy and Postpartum.

PubMed

Yee, Lynn M; Kamel, Leslie A; Quader, Zara; Rajan, Priya V; Taylor, Shaneah M; O'Conor, Rachel; Wolf, Michael S; Simon, Melissa A

2017-07-01

Objective  The objective of this study was to characterize health literacy and cognitive function in a diverse cohort of pregnant women. Methods  Pregnant and postpartum women underwent in-depth assessments of health literacy/numeracy and the cognitive domains of verbal ability, working memory, long-term memory, processing speed, and inductive reasoning. Differences by demographic characteristics and gestational age were assessed using chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression. Results  In this cohort of pregnant ( N  = 77) or postpartum ( N  = 24) women, 41.6% had limited health literacy/numeracy. Women were more likely to score in the lowest quartile for literacy and verbal ability if they were less educated, younger, nonwhite or had Medicaid. These factors were associated with low scores for long-term memory, processing speed, and inductive reasoning. Although there were no differences in literacy or cognitive function by parity or gestational age, postpartum women were more likely to score in the lowest quartile for processing speed (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 3.79, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32-10.93) and inductive reasoning (aOR: 4.07, 95% CI: 1.21-13.70). Conclusion  Although postpartum status was associated with reduced inductive reasoning and processing speed, there were no differences in cognitive function across pregnancy. Practice Implications  Postpartum maternal learning may require enhanced support. In addition, cognitive skills and health literacy may be a mediator of perinatal outcomes inequities. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Technology-Aided Pictorial Cues to Support the Performance of Daily Activities by Persons with Moderate Alzheimer's Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lancioni, Giulio E.; Perilli, Viviana; Singh, Nirbhay N.; O'Reilly, Mark F.; Sigafoos, Jeff; Cassano, Germana; Pinto, Katia; Minervini, Mauro G.; Oliva, Doretta

2012-01-01

We developed a technology-aided intervention strategy relying on pictorial cues alone or in combination with verbal instructions and assessed these two versions of the strategy with three persons with moderate Alzheimer's disease. In Section I of the study, the strategy version with pictorial cues plus verbal instructions was compared with an…

Domain-Specific Impairment in Cognitive Control among Remitted Youth with a History of Major Depression

PubMed Central

Peters, Amy T.; Jacobs, Rachel H.; Crane, Natania A.; Ryan, Kelly A.; Weisenbach, Sara L.; Ajilore, Olusola; Lamar, Melissa; Kassel, Michelle T.; Gabriel, Laura B.; West, Amy E.; Zubieta, Jon-Kar; Langenecker, Scott A.

2016-01-01

Aim Impairment in neuropsychological functioning is common in major depressive disorder (MDD), but it is not clear to what degree these deficits are related to risk (e.g., trait), scar, burden, or state effects of MDD. The objective of this study was to use neuropsychological measures, with factor scores in verbal fluency, processing speed, attention, set-shifting, and cognitive control in a unique population of young, remitted, un-medicated, early course individuals with a history of MDD in hopes of identifying putative trait markers of MDD. Methods Youth aged 18-23 in remission from MDD (rMDD; n = 62) and healthy controls (HC; n = 43) were assessed with neuropsychological tests at two time points. These were from four domains of executive functioning, consistent with previous literature as impaired in MDD; verbal fluency and processing speed, conceptual reasoning and set-shifting, processing speed with interference resolution, and cognitive control. Results rMDD youth performed comparably to healthy controls on verbal fluency and processing speed, processing speed with interference resolution, and conceptual reasoning and set-shifting, reliably over time. Individuals with rMDD demonstrated relative decrements in cognitive control at Time 1, with greater stability than HC participants. Conclusion MDD may be characterized by regulatory difficulties that do not pertain specifically to active mood state or fluctuations in symptoms. Deficient cognitive control may represent a trait vulnerability or early course scar of MDD that may prove a viable target for secondary prevention or early remediation PMID:26177674

Development of a Remote Consultation System Using Avatar Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohnishi, Tatsuya; Yajima, Hiroshi; Sawamoto, Jun

The chance to use the Internet as a communications tool has been increasing, and the consultation businesses for customers at remote places are diversifying in their communication media and forms. In the remote consultation, the lack of non-verbal information is reported as one of the reasons for inefficiency and customer's dissatisfaction compared with the face-to-face consultation. The technique for supplementing non-verbal information with a TV telephone is proposed, and helps to confirm understanding degree or the utterance timing by watching the movement of the face. But the displayed face of the partner causes strong feeling of strain between strangers and the participants also care about background scene displayed on the monitor producing risks in the consultation tasks. In this paper, we propose a remote consultation method that uses avatar technology in the virtual space in order to provide non-verbal information and also avoiding the problem of TV telephone at the same time. The effectiveness of the proposed remote consultation method is confirmed by experiments.

Sensorimotor Interference When Reasoning About Described Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avraamides, Marios N.; Kyranidou, Melina-Nicole

The influence of sensorimotor interference was examined in two experiments that compared pointing with iconic arrows and verbal responding in a task that entailed locating target-objects from imagined perspectives. Participants studied text narratives describing objects at locations around them in a remote environment and then responded to targets from memory. Results revealed only minor differences between the two response modes suggesting that bodily cues do not exert severe detrimental interference on spatial reasoning from imagined perspective when non-immediate described environments are used. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Mexican-American Disciplinary Practices and Attitudes toward Child Maltreatment: A Comparison of Foreign- and Native-Born Mothers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buriel, Raymond; And Others

1991-01-01

Examines disciplinary practices and child-maltreatment attitudes in foreign- and native-born Mexican-American mothers. Subjects responded to accounts of child misconduct and mistreatment. Foreign-born mothers more likely than natives to use spanking and verbal reasoning. Spanking not preferred by either group. Child-mistreatment-response…

Conjoint Processing of Time-Compressed Narration in Multimedia Instruction: The Effects on Recall, but Not Recognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritzhaupt, Albert D.; Barron, Ann E.; Kealy, William A.

2011-01-01

Although previous research shows verbal recall of time-compressed narration is significantly enhanced when it is accompanied by a representational adjunct picture (Ritzhaupt & Barron, 2008), the reason for this increased performance remains unclear. One explanation, explored in the current study, is based on the Conjoint Retention Hypothesis…

Functions and the Volume of Vases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoy, Ann C.; Barger, Rita H.; Barnett, Joann; Combs, Emily

2012-01-01

Functions are one of the most important and powerful tools in mathematics because they allow the symbolic, visual, and verbal representation of relationships between variables. The power of functions, as well as the numerous real-world uses of functions, make them an important part of the development of algebraic reasoning in the middle grades.…

Relationships of Reading, MCAT, and USMLE Step 1 Test Results for Medical Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haught, Patricia; Walls, Richard

2004-01-01

Students (N = 730) took the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (current forms G or H) during orientation to medical school. Stepwise regression analyses showed the Nelson-Denny Reading Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Rate were significant predictors of MCAT (taken prior to admission to medical school) verbal reasoning. Reading Vocabulary was a significant…

Do Reading Experts Agree with MCAT Verbal Reasoning Item Classifications?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Evelyn W.; And Others

1994-01-01

Examined whether expert raters (n=5) could agree about classification of Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) items and whether they agreed with MCAT student manual in labeling skill being measured by each test item. Results revealed difficulties in replicating authors' labeling of skills for reading items on practice test provided with 1991 MCAT…

Concreteness Fading of Algebraic Instruction: Effects on Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ottmar, Erin; Landy, David

2017-01-01

Learning algebra is difficult for many students in part because of an emphasis on the memorization of abstract rules. Algebraic reasoners across expertise levels often rely on perceptual-motor strategies to make these rules meaningful and memorable. However, in many cases, rules are provided as patterns to be memorized verbally, with little overt…

Creativity, Problem Solving and Innovative Science: Insights from History, Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aldous, Carol R.

2007-01-01

This paper examines the intersection between creativity, problem solving, cognitive psychology and neuroscience in a discussion surrounding the genesis of new ideas and innovative science. Three creative activities are considered. These are (a) the interaction between visual-spatial and analytical or verbal reasoning, (b) attending to feeling in…

On the Equivalence of Constructed-Response and Multiple-Choice Tests.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Traub, Ross E.; Fisher, Charles W.

Two sets of mathematical reasoning and two sets of verbal comprehension items were cast into each of three formats--constructed response, standard multiple-choice, and Coombs multiple-choice--in order to assess whether tests with indentical content but different formats measure the same attribute, except for possible differences in error variance…

An Aptitude-Strategy Interaction in Linear Syllogistic Reading. Technical Report No. 15.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sternberg, Robert J.; Weil, Evelyn M.

An aptitude-strategy interaction in linear syllogistic reasoning was tested on 144 undergraduate and graduate students of both sexes. It was hypothesized that the efficiency of each of four alternative strategies--control, visual, algorithmic, and mixed--would depend upon the subjects' pattern of verbal and spatial abilities. Two tests of verbal…

The Architecture, Dynamics, and Development of Mental Processing: Greek, Chinese, or Universal?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demetriou, A.; Kui, Z.X.; Spanoudis, G.; Christou, C.; Kyriakides, L.; Platsidou, M.

2005-01-01

This study compared Greeks with Chinese, from 8 to 14 years of age, on measures of processing efficiency, working memory, and reasoning. All processes were addressed through three domains of relations: verbal/propositional, quantitative, and visuo/spatial. Structural equations modelling and rating scale analysis showed that the architecture and…

WISC-IV and WIAT-II Profiles in Children with High-Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayes, Susan Dickerson; Calhoun, Susan L.

2008-01-01

Children with high-functioning autism earned above normal scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) Perceptual Reasoning and Verbal Comprehension Indexes and below normal scores on the Working Memory and Processing Speed Indexes and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II) Written…

Generative Teaching and Learning of Economic Concepts: A Sample Lesson.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laney, James D.

1990-01-01

Presents a scripted lesson plan for intermediate grades, based on M.C. Wittrock's model of generative teaching derived from brain lateralization research. Uses a shopping mall as the setting for hypothetical dilemmas. Offers a combination of verbal and imagined strategies that improve students' economic reasoning and teaches cost-benefit analysis.…

Young Children Show a Dissociation in Looking and Pointing Behavior in Falling Events

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Vivian; Kuhlmeier, Valerie A.

2013-01-01

Studies of social cognitive reasoning have demonstrated instances of children engaging in eye gaze patterns toward correct answers even when pointing or verbal responses are directed toward incorrect answers. Findings such as these have spawned seminal theories, yet no consensus has been reached regarding the characteristics of the knowledge…

Spatial and Numerical Predictors of Measurement Performance: The Moderating Effects of Community Income and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Beth M.; Dearing, Eric; Vasilyeva, Marina; Ganley, Colleen M.; Tine, Michele

2011-01-01

Spatial reasoning and numerical predictors of measurement performance were investigated in 4th graders from low-income and affluent communities. Predictors of 2 subtypes of measurement performance (spatial-conceptual and formula based) were assessed while controlling for verbal and spatial working memory. Consistent with prior findings, students…

Musical Distracters, Personality Type and Cognitive Performance in School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furnham, Adrian; Stephenson, Rebecca

2007-01-01

The aim of this study was to ascertain the nature of the interaction between the affective value of musical distraction, personality type and performance on the cognitive tasks of reading comprehension, free recall, mental arithmetic and verbal reasoning in children aged 11-12 years. It was hypothesized that the cognitive performance of extraverts…

Are nurses verbally abused? A cross-sectional study of nurses at a university hospital, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

PubMed Central

Al-Shamlan, Nouf A.; Jayaseeli, Nithya; Al-Shawi, Moneera M.; Al-Joudi, Abdullah S.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Workplace violence against health-care workers is a significant problem worldwide. Nurses are at a higher risk of exposure to violence. Studies available in Saudi Arabia are few. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of verbal abuse of nurses at King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU) in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and to identify consequences and the demographic and work-related characteristics associated with it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study of 391 nurses by total sample was conducted between November and December 2015, using a modified self-administered questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization. Data was entered, and analyzed using SPSS Version 16.0. The descriptive statistics were reported using frequency and percentages for all categorical variables. Chi-squared tests or Fisher's Exact test, as appropriate, were performed to test the associations of verbal abuse with the demographic and work-related characteristics of the participants. Variables with p < 0.05 were considered significant. Logistic regression analysis performed to determine association between verbal abuse and independent variables. RESULTS: In a period of 1 year before the study, about three out of ten nurses experienced verbal abuse (30.7%). In the majority of cases, the victims did not report the incidents, mostly because they believed that reporting would yield no positive results. Logistic regression analysis revealed that male nurses, nurses in the emergency department, and nurses who indicated that there were procedures for reporting violence in their workplace were more vulnerable to workplace verbal abuse. CONCLUSION: Workplace verbal abuse is a significant challenge in KFHU. For decision makers, it is rather disturbing that a lot of cases go unreported even though procedures for reporting exist. Implementation of an efficient transparent reporting system that provides follow-up investigations is mandatory. In addition, all victims should be helped with counseling and support. PMID:28932162

Listening to voices: the use of phenomenology to differentiate malingered from genuine auditory verbal hallucinations.

PubMed

McCarthy-Jones, Simon; Resnick, Phillip J

2014-01-01

The experience of hearing a voice in the absence of an appropriate external stimulus, formally termed an auditory verbal hallucination (AVH), may be malingered for reasons such as personal financial gain, or, in criminal cases, to attempt a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. An accurate knowledge of the phenomenology of AVHs is central to assessing the veracity of claims to such experiences. We begin by demonstrating that some contemporary criminal cases still employ inaccurate conceptions of the phenomenology of AVHs to assess defendants' claims. The phenomenology of genuine, malingered, and atypical AVHs is then examined. We argue that, due to the heterogeneity of AVHs, the use of typical properties of AVHs as a yardstick against which to evaluate the veracity of a defendant's claims is likely to be less effective than the accumulation of instances of defendants endorsing statements of atypical features of AVHs. We identify steps towards the development of a formal tool for this purpose, and examine other conceptual issues pertinent to criminal cases arising from the phenomenology of AVHs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Further understanding of complex information processing in verbal adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Williams, Diane L; Minshew, Nancy J; Goldstein, Gerald

2015-10-01

More than 20 years ago, Minshew and colleagues proposed the Complex Information Processing model of autism in which the impairment is characterized as a generalized deficit involving multiple modalities and cognitive domains that depend on distributed cortical systems responsible for higher order abilities. Subsequent behavioral work revealed a related dissociation between concept formation and concept identification in autism suggesting the lack of an underlying organizational structure to manage increases in processing loads. The results of a recent study supported the impact of this relative weakness in conceptual reasoning on adaptive functioning in children and adults with autism. In this study, we provide further evidence of the difficulty relatively able older adolescents and adults with autism have with conceptual reasoning and provide evidence that this characterizes their difference from age- and ability-matched controls with typical development better than their differences in language. For verbal adults with autism, language may serve as a bootstrap or compensatory mechanism for learning but cannot overcome an inherent weakness in concept formation that makes information processing challenging as task demands increase. © The Author(s) 2015.

Neuropsychological profile in adult schizophrenia measured with the CMINDS.

PubMed

van Erp, Theo G M; Preda, Adrian; Turner, Jessica A; Callahan, Shawn; Calhoun, Vince D; Bustillo, Juan R; Lim, Kelvin O; Mueller, Bryon; Brown, Gregory G; Vaidya, Jatin G; McEwen, Sarah; Belger, Aysenil; Voyvodic, James; Mathalon, Daniel H; Nguyen, Dana; Ford, Judith M; Potkin, Steven G

2015-12-30

Schizophrenia neurocognitive domain profiles are predominantly based on paper-and-pencil batteries. This study presents the first schizophrenia domain profile based on the Computerized Multiphasic Interactive Neurocognitive System (CMINDS(®)). Neurocognitive domain z-scores were computed from computerized neuropsychological tests, similar to those in the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), administered to 175 patients with schizophrenia and 169 demographically similar healthy volunteers. The schizophrenia domain profile order by effect size was Speed of Processing (d=-1.14), Attention/Vigilance (d=-1.04), Working Memory (d=-1.03), Verbal Learning (d=-1.02), Visual Learning (d=-0.91), and Reasoning/Problem Solving (d=-0.67). There were no significant group by sex interactions, but overall women, compared to men, showed advantages on Attention/Vigilance, Verbal Learning, and Visual Learning compared to Reasoning/Problem Solving on which men showed an advantage over women. The CMINDS can readily be employed in the assessment of cognitive deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders; particularly in large-scale studies that may benefit most from electronic data capture. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of inhibitory processes on affective theory of mind in young and old adults.

PubMed

Mahy, Caitlin E V; Vetter, Nora; Kühn-Popp, Nina; Löcher, Carolin; Krautschuk, Susan; Kliegel, Matthias

2014-01-01

The primary aim of this study was to examine the impact of an inhibition manipulation on the effect of age on theory of mind (ToM) in an ecologically valid, affective ToM task. Participants were 30 young and 30 old adults. The Cambridge Mindreading Face-Voice Battery was used to measure ToM; in addition, measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence were taken. Participants were subjected to three levels of inhibitory demand during ToM reasoning: emotional inhibition, non-emotional inhibition, and no inhibition. Old adults performed worse than young adults. The emotional and non-emotional inhibition conditions resulted in worse ToM performance compared to the no inhibition condition. There were no differences in the impact of the inhibition conditions on old and young adults. Regression analyses suggested that old adults' crystallized intelligence was a significant predictor of ToM performance, whereas it did not predict young adults' ToM performance. Results are discussed in terms of verbal ability as a possible compensatory mechanism in coping with verbal inhibitory load in ToM reasoning.

Longitudinal and concurrent links between memory span, anxiety symptoms, and subsequent executive functioning in young children

PubMed Central

Visu-Petra, Laura; Stanciu, Oana; Benga, Oana; Miclea, Mircea; Cheie, Lavinia

2014-01-01

It has been conjectured that basic individual differences in attentional control influence higher-level executive functioning and subsequent academic performance in children. The current study sets out to complement the limited body of research on early precursors of executive functions (EFs). It provides both a cross-sectional, as well as a longitudinal exploration of the relationship between EF and more basic attentional control mechanisms, assessed via children's performance on memory storage tasks, and influenced by individual differences in anxiety. Multiple measures of verbal and visuospatial short-term memory (STM) were administered to children between 3 and 6 years old, alongside a non-verbal measure of intelligence, and a parental report of anxiety symptoms. After 9 months, children were re-tested on the same STM measures, at which time we also administered multiple measures of executive functioning: verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM), inhibition, and shifting. A cross-sectional view of STM development indicated that between 3 and 6 years the trajectory of visuospatial STM and EF underwent a gradual linear improvement. However, between 5 and 6 years progress in verbal STM performance stagnated. Hierarchical regression models revealed that trait anxiety was negatively associated with WM and shifting, while non-verbal intelligence was positively related to WM span. When age, gender, non-verbal intelligence, and anxiety were controlled for, STM (measured at the first assessment) was a very good predictor of overall executive performance. The models were most successful in predicting WM, followed by shifting, yet poorly predicted inhibition measures. Further longitudinal research is needed to directly address the contribution of attentional control mechanisms to emerging executive functioning and to the development of problematic behavior during early development. PMID:24904462

A Route to Well-being: Intelligence vs. Wise Reasoning

PubMed Central

Grossmann, Igor; Na, Jinkyung; Varnum, Michael E.W.; Kitayama, Shinobu; Nisbett, Richard E.

2012-01-01

Laypeople and many social scientists assume that superior reasoning abilities lead to greater well-being. However, previous research has been inconclusive. This may be because prior investigators used operationalizations of reasoning that favored analytic as opposed to wise thinking. We assessed wisdom in terms of the degree to which people use various pragmatic schemas to deal with social conflicts. With a random sample of Americans we found that wise reasoning is associated with greater life satisfaction, less negative affect, better social relationships, less depressive rumination, more positive vs. negative words used in speech, and greater longevity. The relationship between wise reasoning and well-being held even when controlling for socio-economic factors, verbal abilities, and several personality traits. As in prior work there was no association between intelligence and well-being. Further, wise reasoning mediated age-related differences in well-being, particularly among the middle-aged and older adults. Implications for research on reasoning, well-being and aging are discussed. PMID:22866683

Psychological consequences of aggression in pre-hospital emergency care: cross sectional survey.

PubMed

Bernaldo-De-Quirós, Mónica; Piccini, Ana T; Gómez, M Mar; Cerdeira, Jose C

2015-01-01

Pre-hospital emergency care is a particularly vulnerable setting for workplace violence. However, there is no literature available to date on the psychological consequences of violence in pre-hospital emergency care. To evaluate the psychological consequences of exposure to workplace violence from patients and those accompanying them in pre-hospital emergency care. A retrospective cross-sectional study. 70 pre-hospital emergency care services located in Madrid region. A randomized sample of 441 health care workers (135 physicians, 127 nurses and 179 emergency care assistants). Data were collected from February to May 2012. The survey was divided into four sections: demographic/professional information, level of burnout determined by Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), mental health status using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and frequency and type of violent behaviour experienced by staff members. The health care professionals who had been exposed to physical and verbal violence presented a significantly higher percentage of anxiety, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and burnout syndrome compared with those who had not been subjected to any aggression. Frequency of verbal violence (more than five times) was related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Type of violence (i.e. physical aggression) is especially related to high anxiety levels and frequency of verbal aggression is associated with burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization). Psychological counselling should be made available to professional staff who have been subjected to physical aggression or frequent verbal violence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Framework for Assessing High School Students' Statistical Reasoning.

PubMed

Chan, Shiau Wei; Ismail, Zaleha; Sumintono, Bambang

2016-01-01

Based on a synthesis of literature, earlier studies, analyses and observations on high school students, this study developed an initial framework for assessing students' statistical reasoning about descriptive statistics. Framework descriptors were established across five levels of statistical reasoning and four key constructs. The former consisted of idiosyncratic reasoning, verbal reasoning, transitional reasoning, procedural reasoning, and integrated process reasoning. The latter include describing data, organizing and reducing data, representing data, and analyzing and interpreting data. In contrast to earlier studies, this initial framework formulated a complete and coherent statistical reasoning framework. A statistical reasoning assessment tool was then constructed from this initial framework. The tool was administered to 10 tenth-grade students in a task-based interview. The initial framework was refined, and the statistical reasoning assessment tool was revised. The ten students then participated in the second task-based interview, and the data obtained were used to validate the framework. The findings showed that the students' statistical reasoning levels were consistent across the four constructs, and this result confirmed the framework's cohesion. Developed to contribute to statistics education, this newly developed statistical reasoning framework provides a guide for planning learning goals and designing instruction and assessments.

A Framework for Assessing High School Students' Statistical Reasoning

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Based on a synthesis of literature, earlier studies, analyses and observations on high school students, this study developed an initial framework for assessing students’ statistical reasoning about descriptive statistics. Framework descriptors were established across five levels of statistical reasoning and four key constructs. The former consisted of idiosyncratic reasoning, verbal reasoning, transitional reasoning, procedural reasoning, and integrated process reasoning. The latter include describing data, organizing and reducing data, representing data, and analyzing and interpreting data. In contrast to earlier studies, this initial framework formulated a complete and coherent statistical reasoning framework. A statistical reasoning assessment tool was then constructed from this initial framework. The tool was administered to 10 tenth-grade students in a task-based interview. The initial framework was refined, and the statistical reasoning assessment tool was revised. The ten students then participated in the second task-based interview, and the data obtained were used to validate the framework. The findings showed that the students’ statistical reasoning levels were consistent across the four constructs, and this result confirmed the framework’s cohesion. Developed to contribute to statistics education, this newly developed statistical reasoning framework provides a guide for planning learning goals and designing instruction and assessments. PMID:27812091

An evaluation of a caffeinated taurine drink on mood, memory and information processing in healthy volunteers without caffeine abstinence.

PubMed

Warburton, D M; Bersellini, E; Sweeney, E

2001-11-01

Caffeine is present in a wide variety of beverages, often together with a number of other ingredients, such as sugars, taurine, glucuronolactone and vitamins. However, the majority of psychopharmacological studies have used pure caffeine tablets or drinks with doses in excess of those normally consumed in daily life. In addition, all the participants are usually deprived of caffeine for 10 h or more before the study. Consequently, it has been argued that any improvement in performance is only due to a reversal of caffeine withdrawal. The present two studies tested participants who had minimal deprivation from caffeine (an hour or less) with an 80-mg caffeinated (80 mg/250 ml), taurine-containing beverage (commercially available) verum, which also contained sugars, glucuronolactone and vitamins. The placebos in the two studies were a sugar-free and a sugar-containing drink, in order to examine the effects of the sugar. In total, 42 participants were tested with a rapid visual information test, a verbal reasoning test, a verbal and non-verbal memory test and a set of mood measures. Prior to testing, they were allowed ad libitum caffeinated beverages until 1 h before testing (study 1) and unrestricted caffeine use before testing (study 2). In both studies, the caffeinated, taurine-containing beverage produced improved attention and verbal reasoning, in comparison with a sugar-free and the sugar-containing drinks. The improvement with the verum drink was manifested in terms of both the mean number correct and the reaction times. Another important finding was the reduction in the variability of attentional performance between participants. No effects on memory were found. There were no differences in performance between the glucose and sugar-free drinks. Moderate doses of caffeine and taurine can improve information processing in individuals who could not have been in caffeine withdrawal.

Job stability in skilled work and communication ability after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Meulenbroek, Peter; Turkstra, Lyn S

2016-01-01

Communication deficits may play a critical role in maintaining employment after traumatic brain injury (TBI), but links between specific communication deficits and employment outcomes have not been determined. This study identified communication measures that distinguished stably employed versus unstably employed adults with TBI. Participants were 31 adults with moderate-severe TBI who were employed full-time for at least 12 consecutive months before injury in skilled jobs and had attempted return to skilled jobs after injury. Sixteen had achieved stable employment (SE) post-injury, defined as full-time employment for ≥12 consecutive months; and 15 had unstable employment (UE). Participants completed a battery of communication tests identified in a prior qualitative study of communication skills required for skilled work. Measures of spoken language comprehension, verbal reasoning, social inference, reading and politeness in spoken discourse significantly discriminated between SE and UE groups. Two nested models were completed and compared. The first model excluded discourse data because of missing data for two UE and one SE participant. This model revealed that measures of verbal reasoning speed (β = -0.18, p = 0.05) and social inference (β = 0.19, p = 0.05) were predictive independent of the overall model. The second model included discourse politeness data and was a better overall predictor of group membership (Likelihood ratio test, Model 1: 3.824, Model 2: 2.865). Communication measures were positively associated with SE in skilled jobs after TBI. Clinicians should include assessment of communication for adults attempting return to work after TBI, paying specific attention to social inference and speed of verbal reasoning skills. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often results in communication impairments associated with the cognitive skills underlying interpersonal skills. Communication impairment after TBI has been anecdotally associated with job instability. This research associate communication functioning with work stability after TBI in skilled jobs. These findings indicate that communication impairment should be assessed in persons with TBI returning to skilled employment after injury.

Relationships between Dietary Intake and Cognitive Function in Healthy Korean Children and Adolescents

PubMed Central

Kim, Jin Young; Kang, Seung Wan

2017-01-01

Background It has long been theorized that a relatively robust dietary intake impacts cognitive function. The aim of the study was to explore dietary intake and cognitive function in healthy Korean children and adolescents. Methods Three hundred and seventeen healthy children with no previous diagnosis of neurologic or psychiatric disorders were evaluated (167 girls and 150 boys with a mean age of 11.8 ± 3.3 years). Analysis indicators including food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) consisting of 76 items and neurocognitive tests including symbol digit modalities (SDMT), verbal memory, visual memory, shift attention, reasoning, and digit span (forward and backward) tests were observed and recorded. Results The standard deviation in reaction time was significantly shorter in girls than in boys (p < 0.05). Verbal memory and SDMT percentile results were significantly higher in girls than in boys (p < 0.05). Vitamin C and potassium intake showed positive correlation with SDMT results (p < 0.05). Vitamin B1 intake showed positive correlation with the results of digit span forward tasks and SDMT (p < 0.01). Vitamin B6 intake showed positive correlation with the results of digit span forward tasks (p < 0.01). The consumption of noodles showed negative correlation with verbal memory, SDMT, shift attention, and reasoning test results (p < 0.05). The consumption of fast food showed negative correlation with SDMT and reasoning test results (p < 0.05). The consumption of Coca-Cola showed negative correlation with the results of verbal memory tests (p < 0.05). The consumption of mushrooms showed positive correlation with visual memory and reasoning test results (p < 0.05). The consumption of nuts showed positive correlation with SDMT results (p < 0.01). Omission errors were negatively correlated with the intake of protein, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, and vitamin B6 (p < 0.05), as well as with vitamin D and zinc intake (p < 0.01). Reaction time showed positive correlation with caffeine intake (p < 0.05). Omission errors were positively correlated with the consumption of rice and ramyeon (p < 0.01). Reaction time showed positive correlation with the consumption of snacks (p < 0.05). Standard deviations in reaction times showed positive correlation with the consumption of rice (p < 0.01), snacks, and chocolate (p < 0.05). Omission errors were negatively correlated with the consumption of rice with mixed grains (p < 0.01) and eggs (p < 0.05). Conclusion The relationship between dietary intake and cognitive function is generally better observed in girls than in boys. The consumption of healthy foods is correlated with good cognitive function. These results suggest that diet is closely related to cognitive function, even in healthy children and adolescents. PMID:28261556

Relationships between Dietary Intake and Cognitive Function in Healthy Korean Children and Adolescents.

PubMed

Kim, Jin Young; Kang, Seung Wan

2017-01-01

It has long been theorized that a relatively robust dietary intake impacts cognitive function. The aim of the study was to explore dietary intake and cognitive function in healthy Korean children and adolescents. Three hundred and seventeen healthy children with no previous diagnosis of neurologic or psychiatric disorders were evaluated (167 girls and 150 boys with a mean age of 11.8 ± 3.3 years). Analysis indicators including food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) consisting of 76 items and neurocognitive tests including symbol digit modalities (SDMT), verbal memory, visual memory, shift attention, reasoning, and digit span (forward and backward) tests were observed and recorded. The standard deviation in reaction time was significantly shorter in girls than in boys (p < 0.05). Verbal memory and SDMT percentile results were significantly higher in girls than in boys (p < 0.05). Vitamin C and potassium intake showed positive correlation with SDMT results (p < 0.05). Vitamin B1 intake showed positive correlation with the results of digit span forward tasks and SDMT (p < 0.01). Vitamin B6 intake showed positive correlation with the results of digit span forward tasks (p < 0.01). The consumption of noodles showed negative correlation with verbal memory, SDMT, shift attention, and reasoning test results (p < 0.05). The consumption of fast food showed negative correlation with SDMT and reasoning test results (p < 0.05). The consumption of Coca-Cola showed negative correlation with the results of verbal memory tests (p < 0.05). The consumption of mushrooms showed positive correlation with visual memory and reasoning test results (p < 0.05). The consumption of nuts showed positive correlation with SDMT results (p < 0.01). Omission errors were negatively correlated with the intake of protein, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, and vitamin B6 (p < 0.05), as well as with vitamin D and zinc intake (p < 0.01). Reaction time showed positive correlation with caffeine intake (p < 0.05). Omission errors were positively correlated with the consumption of rice and ramyeon (p < 0.01). Reaction time showed positive correlation with the consumption of snacks (p < 0.05). Standard deviations in reaction times showed positive correlation with the consumption of rice (p < 0.01), snacks, and chocolate (p < 0.05). Omission errors were negatively correlated with the consumption of rice with mixed grains (p < 0.01) and eggs (p < 0.05). The relationship between dietary intake and cognitive function is generally better observed in girls than in boys. The consumption of healthy foods is correlated with good cognitive function. These results suggest that diet is closely related to cognitive function, even in healthy children and adolescents.

Does targeted cognitive training reduce educational disparities in cognitive function among cognitively normal older adults?

PubMed

Clark, Daniel O; Xu, Huiping; Unverzagt, Frederick W; Hendrie, Hugh

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to investigate educational differences in treatment responses to memory, reasoning, and speed of processing cognitive training relative to no-contact control. Secondary analyses of the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly trial were conducted. Two thousand eight hundred older adults were randomized to memory, reasoning, or speed of processing training or no-contact control. A repeated-measures mixed-effects model was used to investigate immediate post-training and 1-year outcomes with sensitivity analyses out to 10 years. Outcomes were as follows: (1) memory composite of Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test; (2) reasoning composite of letter series, letter sets, and word series; and (3) speed of processing measured using three trials of useful field of view and the digit symbol substitution test. The effects of reasoning and memory training did not differ by educational attainment. The effect of speed of processing training did. Those with fewer than 12 years of education experienced a 50% greater effect on the useful field of view test compared with those with 16 or more years of education. The training advantage for those with fewer than 12 years of education was maintained to 3 years post-training. Older adults with less than a secondary education are at elevated risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. The analyses here indicate that speed of processing training is effective in older adults with low educational attainment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Exploring clinical reasoning in novices: a self-regulated learning microanalytic assessment approach

PubMed Central

Artino, Anthony R; Cleary, Timothy J; Dong, Ting; Hemmer, Paul A; Durning, Steven J

2014-01-01

Objectives The primary objectives of this study were to examine the regulatory processes of medical students as they completed a diagnostic reasoning task and to examine whether the strategic quality of these regulatory processes were related to short-term and longer-term medical education outcomes. Methods A self-regulated learning (SRL) microanalytic assessment was administered to 71 second-year medical students while they read a clinical case and worked to formulate the most probable diagnosis. Verbal responses to open-ended questions targeting forethought and performance phase processes of a cyclical model of SRL were recorded verbatim and subsequently coded using a framework from prior research. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression models were used to examine the relationships between the SRL processes and several outcomes. Results Most participants (90%) reported focusing on specific diagnostic reasoning strategies during the task (metacognitive monitoring), but only about one-third of students referenced these strategies (e.g. identifying symptoms, integration) in relation to their task goals and plans for completing the task. After accounting for prior undergraduate achievement and verbal reasoning ability, strategic planning explained significant additional variance in course grade (ΔR2 = 0.15, p < 0.01), second-year grade point average (ΔR2 = 0.14, p < 0.01), United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 score (ΔR2 = 0.08, p < 0.05) and National Board of Medical Examiner subject examination score in internal medicine (ΔR2 = 0.10, p < 0.05). Conclusions These findings suggest that most students in the formative stages of learning diagnostic reasoning skills are aware of and think about at least one key diagnostic reasoning process or strategy while solving a clinical case, but a substantially smaller percentage set goals or develop plans that incorporate such strategies. Given that students who developed more strategic plans achieved better outcomes, the potential importance of forethought regulatory processes is underscored. PMID:24528463

Causes of Mortality for Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims: Comparison between Routine Death Certificate and Verbal Autopsy Findings

PubMed Central

Pane, Masdalina; Imari, Sholah; Alwi, Qomariah; Nyoman Kandun, I; Cook, Alex R.; Samaan, Gina

2013-01-01

Background Indonesia provides the largest single source of pilgrims for the Hajj (10%). In the last two decades, mortality rates for Indonesian pilgrims ranged between 200–380 deaths per 100,000 pilgrims over the 10-week Hajj period. Reasons for high mortality are not well understood. In 2008, verbal autopsy was introduced to complement routine death certificates to explore cause of death diagnoses. This study presents the patterns and causes of death for Indonesian pilgrims, and compares routine death certificates to verbal autopsy findings. Methods Public health surveillance was conducted by Indonesian public health authorities accompanying pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, with daily reporting of hospitalizations and deaths. Surveillance data from 2008 were analyzed for timing, geographic location and site of death. Percentages for each cause of death category from death certificates were compared to that from verbal autopsy. Results In 2008, 206,831 Indonesian undertook the Hajj. There were 446 deaths, equivalent to 1,968 deaths per 100,000 pilgrim years. Most pilgrims died in Mecca (68%) and Medinah (24%). There was no statistically discernible difference in the total mortality risk for the two pilgrimage routes (Mecca or Medinah first), but the number of deaths peaked earlier for those traveling to Mecca first (p=0.002). Most deaths were due to cardiovascular (66%) and respiratory (28%) diseases. A greater proportion of deaths were attributed to cardiovascular disease by death certificate compared to the verbal autopsy method (p<0.001). Significantly more deaths had ill-defined cause based on verbal autopsy method (p<0.001). Conclusions Despite pre-departure health screening and other medical services, Indonesian pilgrim mortality rates were very high. Correct classification of cause of death is critical for the development of risk mitigation strategies. Since verbal autopsy classified causes of death differently to death certificates, further studies are needed to assess the method’s utility in this setting. PMID:23991182

Verbal and non-verbal intelligence changes in the teenage brain.

PubMed

Ramsden, Sue; Richardson, Fiona M; Josse, Goulven; Thomas, Michael S C; Ellis, Caroline; Shakeshaft, Clare; Seghier, Mohamed L; Price, Cathy J

2011-10-19

Intelligence quotient (IQ) is a standardized measure of human intellectual capacity that takes into account a wide range of cognitive skills. IQ is generally considered to be stable across the lifespan, with scores at one time point used to predict educational achievement and employment prospects in later years. Neuroimaging allows us to test whether unexpected longitudinal fluctuations in measured IQ are related to brain development. Here we show that verbal and non-verbal IQ can rise or fall in the teenage years, with these changes in performance validated by their close correlation with changes in local brain structure. A combination of structural and functional imaging showed that verbal IQ changed with grey matter in a region that was activated by speech, whereas non-verbal IQ changed with grey matter in a region that was activated by finger movements. By using longitudinal assessments of the same individuals, we obviated the many sources of variation in brain structure that confound cross-sectional studies. This allowed us to dissociate neural markers for the two types of IQ and to show that general verbal and non-verbal abilities are closely linked to the sensorimotor skills involved in learning. More generally, our results emphasize the possibility that an individual's intellectual capacity relative to their peers can decrease or increase in the teenage years. This would be encouraging to those whose intellectual potential may improve, and would be a warning that early achievers may not maintain their potential.

Counseling parents about childhood discipline.

PubMed

Leung, A K; Robson, W L; Lim, S H

1992-03-01

Traditional disciplinary methods include rewards to reinforce good behavior and punishment for unacceptable behavior. Rewards may take the form of verbal praise, a smile, special attention or activities, physical affection, extra privileges or material benefits. Punishment may include verbal disapproval, an unhappy look, ignoring the behavior (extinction), temporary isolation ("time-out") or temporary removal of a privilege. Rewards are more effective than punishment. Discipline should be consistent, reasonable and appropriate to the child's age. Rules should be as few and as clear as possible. Parents should be exemplary role models for their children. Punishment, when required, should be immediate and inevitable. Punishment should be just and directed toward the undesired behavior rather than the child. Parents should discipline their children with love, understanding, patience and tolerance.

How Do Maternal Reasoning and Physical Punishment Contribute to Development of Verbal Competence and Behavior Problems?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jester, Jennifer M.; Muzik, Maria; Berube, Renee; Narang, Sonia; Tuttle, Brenda; Jacobson, Joseph

As part of a longitudinal investigation of the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on children's cognitive and socioemotional development, this study examined the role of physical punishment on the development of children's externalizing behavior. Participating in this phase were 296 inner-city African-American families with 7-year-olds who had…

Knowledge Citizens? Intellectual Disability and the Production of Social Meanings within Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Ashley

2018-01-01

Intellectual disability may appear to many as a barrier to participation in or the production of educational research. Indeed, a common perception of individuals seen as having cognitive impairments, and especially those with minimal or no verbal communication, is that they are incapable of the reasoning or lack the deliberative capacities…

The Role of Cognitive Ability and Preferred Mode of Processing in Students' Calculus Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haciomeroglu, Erhan Selcuk

2015-01-01

The present study sought to design calculus tasks to determine students' preference for visual or analytic processing as well as examine the role of preferred mode of processing in calculus performance and its relationship to spatial ability and verbal-logical reasoning ability. Data were collected from 150 high school students who were enrolled…

Argumentative Writing in Pre-Adolescents: The Role of Verbal Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nippold, Marilyn A.; Ward-Lonergan, Jeannene M.

2010-01-01

Argumentative writing is a challenging communication task that calls upon sophisticated cognitive and linguistic abilities. Pre-adolescents (n = 80; mean age = 11;10; range = 10;6-13:5) were asked to write an argumentative essay on the controversial topic of training animals to perform in circuses. Additionally, they were asked to solve a set of…

Franz Kafka in the Design Studio: A Hermeneutic-Phenomenological Approach to Architectural Design Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hisarligil, Beyhan Bolak

2012-01-01

This article demonstrates the outcomes of taking a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to architectural design and discusses the potentials for imaginative reasoning in design education. This study tests the use of literature as a verbal form of art and design and the contribution it can make to imaginative design processes--which are all too…

Linking Teacher and Parent Ratings of Teacher-Nominated Gifted Elementary School Students to Each Other and to School Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothenbusch, Sandra; Voss, Thamar; Golle, Jessika; Zettler, Ingo

2018-01-01

This study investigated teacher and parent ratings of teacher-nominated gifted elementary school students' verbal abilities, mathematical abilities, deductive reasoning, creative thinking, and engagement, and connected these ratings to school grades. Teacher and parent ratings were compared with regard to accuracy levels and halo effects.…

An Investigation of Media Influences on Elementary Students Representations of Scientists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farland-Smith, Donna; Finson, Kevin; Boone, William J.; Yale, Melissa

2014-01-01

Even long before children are able to verbalize which careers may be interesting to them, they collect and store ideas about scientists. For these reasons, asking children to Draw-A-Scientist has become an accepted method to provide a glimpse into how children represent and identify with those in the science fields. Years later these…

Learning about Probability from Text and Tables: Do Color Coding and Labeling through an Interactive-User Interface Help?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clinton, Virginia; Morsanyi, Kinga; Alibali, Martha W.; Nathan, Mitchell J.

2016-01-01

Learning from visual representations is enhanced when learners appropriately integrate corresponding visual and verbal information. This study examined the effects of two methods of promoting integration, color coding and labeling, on learning about probabilistic reasoning from a table and text. Undergraduate students (N = 98) were randomly…

THE DEVELOPMENT AND TEST OF A SPECIAL PURPOSE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINING CONCEPT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ROCKLYN, EUGENE H.

THIS ARTICLE TRACES THE ORIGIN AND EVALUATION OF A SPECIAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINING CONCEPT THAT EVOLVED OUT OF A SPECIFIC MILITARY NEED TO INTERROGATE NEWLY CAPTURED PRISONERS OF WAR TO ACQUIRE IMMEDIATE TACTICAL INFORMATION. THROUGH AN INITIAL FEASIBILITY STUDY, A REASONABLE SET OF VERBAL MATERIALS WAS SELECTED AS COURSE CONTENT, AND A…

The Role of Causal and Intentional Judgments in Moral Reasoning in Individuals with High Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buon, Marine; Dupoux, Emmanuel; Jacob, Pierre; Chaste, Pauline; Leboyer, Marion; Zalla, Tiziana

2013-01-01

In the present study, we investigated the ability to assign moral responsibility and punishment in adults with high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome (HFA/AS), using non-verbal cartoons depicting an aggression, an accidental harm or a mere coincidence. Participants were asked to evaluate the agent's causal and intentional roles, his…

The Predictive Accuracy of Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal Reasoning Tests: Consequences for Talent Identification and Program Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lakin, Joni M.; Lohman, David F.

2011-01-01

Effective talent-identification procedures minimize the proportion of students whose subsequent performance indicates that they were mistakenly included in or excluded from the program. Classification errors occur when students who were predicted to excel subsequently do not excel or when students who were not predicted to excel do. Using a…

Know Your Rights: Legal Protections Against Bullying in New Jersey Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Education Law Center, 2007

2007-01-01

Bullying is a common and damaging form of violence among children. New Jersey state law defines "harassment, intimidation or bullying" as any gesture or written, verbal or physical act that is reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived distinguishing characteristic and has the effect of causing harm to a student…

Is Relational Reasoning Dependent on Language? A Voxel-Based Lesion Symptom Mapping Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baldo, Juliana V.; Bunge, Silvia A.; Wilson, Stephen M.; Dronkers, Nina F.

2010-01-01

Previous studies with brain-injured patients have suggested that language abilities are necessary for complex problem-solving, even when tasks are non-verbal. In the current study, we tested this notion by analyzing behavioral and neuroimaging data from a large group of left-hemisphere stroke patients (n = 107) suffering from a range of language…

The Incidence of Dyslexia among Young Offenders in Kuwait

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elbeheri, Gad; Everatt, John; Malki, Mohammad Al

2009-01-01

This paper investigates the incidence of dyslexia among young offenders in Kuwait. A total of 91 children/young adults from 8 juvenile delinquent welfare centres across Kuwait were interviewed and tested. A measure of non-verbal reasoning ability was used to exclude those with low general ability. The remaining 53 participants were tested on their…

The Matrix Analogies Test: A Validity Study with the K-ABC.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Douglas K.

The Matrix Analogies Test-Expanded Form (MAT-EF) and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) were administered in counterbalanced order to two randomly selected samples of students in grades 2 through 5. The MAT-EF was recently developed to measure non-verbal reasoning. The samples included 26 non-handicapped second graders in a rural…

Mothers' Knowledge of Their Children's Evaluations of Discipline: The Role of Type of Discipline and Misdeed, and Parenting Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidov, Maayan; Grusec, Joan E.; Wolfe, Janis L.

2012-01-01

Fifty-nine 6- to 9-year-old children evaluated three discipline strategies (reasoning, verbal power assertion, acknowledgment of feelings), and mothers were asked to predict their children's evaluations. Maternal knowledge scores were derived. Mothers were less accurate at predicting their children's perceptions of discipline when the misdeed in…

Proofreading as an Index of Crystallised Intelligence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furnham, Adrian

2010-01-01

This paper reports on four studies that were all concerned with cognitive and non-cognitive correlates of proofreading (PR) ability. A new, five-minute PR test was devised and piloted. In the first pilot study (N = 191) it was correlated with a verbal reasoning test. In the second study (N = 103) PR scores were regressed onto measures of…

Making Connections among Multiple Graphical Representations of Fractions: Sense-Making Competencies Enhance Perceptual Fluency, but Not Vice Versa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rau, Martina A.; Aleven, Vincent; Rummel, Nikol

2017-01-01

Prior research shows that representational competencies that enable students to use graphical representations to reason and solve tasks is key to learning in many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics domains. We focus on two types of representational competencies: (1) "sense making" of connections by verbally explaining how…

NAEP Literacy Data: Students Deficient in Using Language. Why?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Leon E.

Concerned with what can be done to help produce more thoughtful, critical readers, this report first presents an historical overview of theories on the origin of language, referring to B. F. Skinner, Noam Chomsky, and Jean Piaget, among others. It then discusses biological reasons for the evolution of language and the impact of verbal language on…

From Words to Text: Inference Making Mediates the Role of Vocabulary in Children's Reading Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daugaard, Hanne Trebbien; Cain, Kate; Elbro, Carsten

2017-01-01

We examined the relationship between inference making, vocabulary knowledge, and verbal working memory on children's reading comprehension in 62 6th graders (aged 12). The effect of vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension was predicted to be partly mediated by inference making for two reasons: Inference making often taps the semantic…

Prenatal Marijuana Exposure and Intelligence Test Performance at Age 6

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldschmidt, Lidush; Richardson, Gale A.; Willford, Jennifer; Day, Nancy L.

2008-01-01

A study was conducted on lower income population women who were moderate users of marijuana to examine the effects of prenatal marijuana exposure on children's intellectual development at the age of six. Results concluded that the Cognitive deficits noticed at the age of six were specific to verbal and quantitative reasoning and short-term memory.

How logical reasoning mediates the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension.

PubMed

Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

The present study aimed to examine the role of logical reasoning in the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension in 146 fourth grade Dutch children. We assessed their standardized reading comprehension measure, along with their decoding efficiency and vocabulary as measures of lexical quality, syllogistic reasoning as measure of (verbal) logical reasoning, and nonverbal reasoning as a control measure. Syllogistic reasoning was divided into a measure tapping basic, coherence inferencing skill using logical syllogisms, and a measure tapping elaborative inferencing skill using indeterminate syllogisms. Results showed that both types of syllogisms partly mediated the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension, but also had a unique additional effect on reading comprehension. The indirect effect of lexical quality on reading comprehension via syllogisms was driven by vocabulary knowledge. It is concluded that measures of syllogistic reasoning account for higher-order thinking processes that are needed to make inferences in reading comprehension. The role of lexical quality appears to be pivotal in explaining the variation in reading comprehension both directly and indirectly via syllogistic reasoning.

Tacit knowledge and visual expertise in medical diagnostic reasoning: implications for medical education.

PubMed

Heiberg Engel, Peter Johan

2008-01-01

Much education--especially at the university level--has been criticized for having primarily dealt with explicit knowledge, i.e. those aspects of mental activities, which are verbal and conscious. Furthermore, research in medical diagnostic reasoning has been criticized for having focused on the specialty of intern medicine, while specialties with other skills, i.e. perceptive skills within pathology and radiology, have been ignored. To show that the concept of tacit knowledge is important in medical education-at all levels and in medical diagnostic reasoning. Describing how tacit knowledge according to Michael Polany, is experienced and expressed in day-to-day life, it is shown that there is a tacit dimension to all knowledge. Reviewing recent literature on medical diagnostic reasoning, it is shown that tacit knowledge is recognized in connection with concepts such as "non-analytical reasoning" and "dual process of reasoning." It is important that educators are trained in how explicit and implicit knowledge is attained and that tacit knowledge is included in educational programmes of all medical specialties.

The probability heuristics model of syllogistic reasoning.

PubMed

Chater, N; Oaksford, M

1999-03-01

A probability heuristic model (PHM) for syllogistic reasoning is proposed. An informational ordering over quantified statements suggests simple probability based heuristics for syllogistic reasoning. The most important is the "min-heuristic": choose the type of the least informative premise as the type of the conclusion. The rationality of this heuristic is confirmed by an analysis of the probabilistic validity of syllogistic reasoning which treats logical inference as a limiting case of probabilistic inference. A meta-analysis of past experiments reveals close fits with PHM. PHM also compares favorably with alternative accounts, including mental logics, mental models, and deduction as verbal reasoning. Crucially, PHM extends naturally to generalized quantifiers, such as Most and Few, which have not been characterized logically and are, consequently, beyond the scope of current mental logic and mental model theories. Two experiments confirm the novel predictions of PHM when generalized quantifiers are used in syllogistic arguments. PHM suggests that syllogistic reasoning performance may be determined by simple but rational informational strategies justified by probability theory rather than by logic. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

WISC-IV and WIAT-II profiles in children with high-functioning autism.

PubMed

Mayes, Susan Dickerson; Calhoun, Susan L

2008-03-01

Children with high-functioning autism earned above normal scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) Perceptual Reasoning and Verbal Comprehension Indexes and below normal scores on the Working Memory and Processing Speed Indexes and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II) Written Expression. Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) and reading and math scores were similar to the norm. Profiles were consistent with previous WISC-III research, except that the new WISC-IV motor-free visual reasoning subtests (Matrix Reasoning and Picture Concepts) were the highest of the nonverbal subtests. The WISC-IV may be an improvement over the WISC-III for children with high-functioning autism because it captures their visual reasoning strength, while identifying their attention, graphomotor, and processing speed weaknesses. FSIQ was the best single predictor of academic achievement.

Theory of mind and its relation to schizotypy.

PubMed

Pickup, Graham J

2006-03-01

Frith (1992) suggested that many psychotic symptoms are associated with impaired theory of mind (ToM), the ability to represent the mental states of others. Langdon and Coltheart (1999) found an association in a nonclinical adult population between schizotypal traits and poorer ToM on a picture-sequencing task. The present study attempted to replicate and extend this finding using a ToM story task. A total of 62 nonclinical individuals completed a schizotypy questionnaire (the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences; O-LIFE) and a set of ToM stories. Matched "physical" control stories were administered to control for general reasoning ability. Executive function and current verbal IQ were assessed using the Cognitive Estimates Test and the Quick Test, respectively. Schizotypal traits analogous to positive symptoms of schizophrenia (UE scale of the O-LIFE) predicted poorer scores on the ToM task, but were unrelated to scores on physical stories. Individuals with high scores for total schizotypy on the O-LIFE did not differ in ToM from those with low total scores. There was no association between poorer ToM and schizotypal traits analogous to the "behavioural signs" of schizophrenia. Executive function and verbal IQ did not significantly predict story scores. Positive schizotypal traits in the normal population are associated with subtle impairments in ToM, independent of reasoning ability, executive function, or verbal IQ. A strong association between poor ToM and "behavioural signs" may only appear in studies of schizophrenic patients, and not in studies of nonclinical individuals. The findings are discussed in relation to Frith's (1992) cognitive neuropsychological model of schizophrenia.

Serum high-density lipoprotein is associated with better cognitive function in a cross-sectional study of aging women.

PubMed

Bates, Kristyn A; Sohrabi, Hamid R; Rainey-Smith, Stephanie R; Weinborn, Michael; Bucks, Romola S; Rodrigues, Mark; Beilby, John; Howard, Matthew; Taddei, Kevin; Martins, Georgia; Paton, Athena; Shah, Tejal; Dhaliwal, Satvinder S; Foster, Jonathan K; Martins, Ian J; Lautenschlager, Nicola T; Mastaglia, Frank L; Gandy, Samuel E; Martins, Ralph N

2017-03-01

Purpose/Aim of the study: Poor cardiovascular health, including obesity and altered lipid profiles at mid-life, are linked to increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The biological mechanisms linking cardiovascular health and cognitive function are unclear though are likely to be multifactorial. This study examined the association between various lipoproteins and cognitive functioning in ageing women. We investigated the relationship between readily available biomarkers (i.e. serum lipoprotein) and cognitive decline in domains associated with increased risk of AD (e.g. episodic verbal memory performance and subjective memory complaint). We report cross-sectional data investigating the relationship between serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein with verbal memory and learning ability in 130 women with and without memory complaints (n = 71 and 59, respectively) drawn from a study investigating cognitively healthy Western Australians (average age 62.5 years old). After statistical modelling that controlled for the effects of age, depression and apolipoprotein E genotype, HDL-C was significantly associated with better verbal learning and memory performance, specifically short and long delay-free recalls (F = 3.062; p < .05 and F = 3.2670; p < .05, respectively). Our cross-sectional findings suggest that the positive effect of HDL-C on verbal memory may be present much earlier than previously reported and provide further support for the role of HDL-C in healthy brain ageing. Further exploration of the protective effect of HDL-C on cognitive function in ageing is warranted through follow-up, longitudinal studies.

Workplace aggression, psychological distress, and job satisfaction among Palestinian nurses: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Jaradat, Yousef; Nielsen, Morten Birkeland; Kristensen, Petter; Nijem, Khaldoun; Bjertness, Espen; Stigum, Hein; Bast-Pettersen, Rita

2016-11-01

Nurses can be exposed to aggressive behavior from patients, patient's relatives, colleagues and visitors. To determine the prevalence of workplace aggression among Palestinian nurses in the Hebron district and to examine cross-sectional associations between exposure to workplace aggression and the occurrence of psychological distress and job satisfaction. Of 372 nurses eligible for the study, 343 were included (response rate of 92.2%). The sample comprised 62% females and 38% males. The participants responded to questions about their socio-demographic status, workplace aggression (WHO questionnaires), psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-30), and job satisfaction (Generic Job Satisfaction Scale). Ninety-three (27.1%) of the respondents reported exposure to workplace aggression of any kind. Seventeen (5%) reported exposure to physical aggression, 83 (24.2%) reported exposure to verbal aggression, and 25 (7.3%) reported exposure to bullying. The patients and the patients' relatives were the main sources of physical and verbal aggression, whereas colleagues were the main source of bullying. Males reported a higher prevalence of bullying than females. Younger nurses reported a higher prevalence of exposure to physical aggression, verbal aggression and bullying. Verbal aggression was associated with more psychological distress. Bullying was associated with lower job satisfaction. More than a quarter of the nurses reported that they had been subject to some sort of aggression at the workplace. Verbal aggression was associated with higher psychological distress. Workplace bullying was associated with lower job satisfaction. Increased awareness and preventive measures to address this problem among health care workers are warranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Minimally verbal school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder: the neglected end of the spectrum.

PubMed

Tager-Flusberg, Helen; Kasari, Connie

2013-12-01

It is currently estimated that about 30% of children with autism spectrum disorder remain minimally verbal, even after receiving years of interventions and a range of educational opportunities. Very little is known about the individuals at this end of the autism spectrum, in part because this is a highly variable population with no single set of defining characteristics or patterns of skills or deficits, and in part because it is extremely challenging to provide reliable or valid assessments of their developmental functioning. In this paper, we summarize current knowledge based on research including minimally verbal children. We review promising new novel methods for assessing the verbal and nonverbal abilities of minimally verbal school-aged children, including eye-tracking and brain-imaging methods that do not require overt responses. We then review what is known about interventions that may be effective in improving language and communication skills, including discussion of both nonaugmentative and augmentative methods. In the final section of the paper, we discuss the gaps in the literature and needs for future research. © 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effect of white matter hyperintensities on verbal memory: Mediation by temporal lobe atrophy.

PubMed

Swardfager, Walter; Cogo-Moreira, Hugo; Masellis, Mario; Ramirez, Joel; Herrmann, Nathan; Edwards, Jodi D; Saleem, Mahwesh; Chan, Parco; Yu, Di; Nestor, Sean M; Scott, Christopher J M; Holmes, Melissa F; Sahlas, Demetrios J; Kiss, Alexander; Oh, Paul I; Strother, Stephen C; Gao, Fuqiang; Stefanovic, Bojana; Keith, Julia; Symons, Sean; Swartz, Richard H; Lanctôt, Krista L; Stuss, Donald T; Black, Sandra E

2018-02-20

To determine the relationship between white matter hyperintensities (WMH) presumed to indicate disease of the cerebral small vessels, temporal lobe atrophy, and verbal memory deficits in Alzheimer disease (AD) and other dementias. We recruited groups of participants with and without AD, including strata with extensive WMH and minimal WMH, into a cross-sectional proof-of-principle study (n = 118). A consecutive case series from a memory clinic was used as an independent validation sample (n = 702; Sunnybrook Dementia Study; NCT01800214). We assessed WMH volume and left temporal lobe atrophy (measured as the brain parenchymal fraction) using structural MRI and verbal memory using the California Verbal Learning Test. Using path modeling with an inferential bootstrapping procedure, we tested an indirect effect of WMH on verbal recall that depends sequentially on temporal lobe atrophy and verbal learning. In both samples, WMH predicted poorer verbal recall, specifically due to temporal lobe atrophy and poorer verbal learning (proof-of-principle -1.53, 95% bootstrap confidence interval [CI] -2.45 to -0.88; and confirmation -0.66, 95% CI [-0.95 to -0.41] words). This pathway was significant in subgroups with (-0.20, 95% CI [-0.38 to -0.07] words, n = 363) and without (-0.71, 95% CI [-1.12 to -0.37] words, n = 339) AD. Via the identical pathway, WMH contributed to deficits in recognition memory (-1.82%, 95% CI [-2.64% to -1.11%]), a sensitive and specific sign of AD. Across dementia syndromes, WMH contribute indirectly to verbal memory deficits considered pathognomonic of Alzheimer disease, specifically by contributing to temporal lobe atrophy. © 2018 American Academy of Neurology.

The Control of Anti-Social Behavior in Inner-City Classrooms Through the Use of Verbally Mediated Self-Control (Teaching Verbally Mediated Self-Control in the Classroom). Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackwood, Ralph O.

This is a report on the application of operant condition methods to classroom discipline problems. The setting was Clara Tagg Brewer Elementary School in CLEVELAND, Ohio. The school is located in a community consisting mostly of lower-middle class black families. A few children come from a "run down" section of the community, including…

Interaction between MAOA and FOXP2 in association with autism and verbal communication in a Korean population.

PubMed

Park, YoungJoon; Won, SeongSik; Nam, Min; Chung, Joo-Ho; Kwack, KyuBum

2014-12-01

Expression levels of monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), the enzyme that related to monoamine neurotransmitters metabolism such as serotonin, are related to schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. Forkhead box protein P2 (FOXP2), a transcription factor, is associated with abnormal language development and is expressed in several areas of the central nervous system in response to serotonin. For this reason, we undertook interaction analysis between MAOA and FOXP2 in autism spectrum disorder, including testing the verbal communication score of the childhood autism rating scale. In interaction analysis, the FOXP2-TCGC (rs12531289-rs1350135-rs10230087-rs2061183) diplotype and MAOA-TCG (rs6323-rs1801291-rs3027407) haplotype were significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder in males. However, when the interaction term was omitted, neither MAOA nor FOXP2 was associated with autism spectrum disorder or verbal communication. These results indicate that language and speech ability is affected by an interaction between FOXP2 and MAOA, but not by either gene separately. © The Author(s) 2013.

Deficits in verbal long-term memory and learning in children with poor phonological short-term memory skills.

PubMed

Gathercole, Susan E; Briscoe, Josie; Thorn, Annabel; Tiffany, Claire

2008-03-01

Possible links between phonological short-term memory and both longer term memory and learning in 8-year-old children were investigated in this study. Performance on a range of tests of long-term memory and learning was compared for a group of 16 children with poor phonological short-term memory skills and a comparison group of children of the same age with matched nonverbal reasoning abilities but memory scores in the average range. The low-phonological-memory group were impaired on longer term memory and learning tasks that taxed memory for arbitrary verbal material such as names and nonwords. However, the two groups performed at comparable levels on tasks requiring the retention of visuo-spatial information and of meaningful material and at carrying out prospective memory tasks in which the children were asked to carry out actions at a future point in time. The results are consistent with the view that poor short-term memory function impairs the longer-term retention and ease of learning of novel verbal material.

Undetected cognitive impairment and decision-making capacity in patients receiving hospice care.

PubMed

Burton, Cynthia Z; Twamley, Elizabeth W; Lee, Lana C; Palmer, Barton W; Jeste, Dilip V; Dunn, Laura B; Irwin, Scott A

2012-04-01

: Cognitive dysfunction is common in patients with advanced, life-threatening illness and can be attributed to a variety of factors (e.g., advanced age, opiate medication). Such dysfunction likely affects decisional capacity, which is a crucial consideration as the end-of-life approaches and patients face multiple choices regarding treatment, family, and estate planning. This study examined the prevalence of cognitive impairment and its impact on decision-making abilities among hospice patients with neither a chart diagnosis of a cognitive disorder nor clinically apparent cognitive impairment (e.g., delirium, unresponsiveness). : A total of 110 participants receiving hospice services completed a 1-hour neuropsychological battery, a measure of decisional capacity, and accompanying interviews. : In general, participants were mildly impaired on measures of verbal learning, verbal memory, and verbal fluency; 54% of the sample was classified as having significant, previously undetected cognitive impairment. These individuals performed significantly worse than the other participants on all neuropsychological and decisional capacity measures, with effect sizes ranging from medium to very large (0.43-2.70). A number of verbal abilities as well as global cognitive functioning significantly predicted decision-making capacity. : Despite an absence of documented or clinically obvious impairment, more than half of the sample had significant cognitive impairments. Assessment of cognition in hospice patients is warranted, including assessment of verbal abilities that may interfere with understanding or reasoning related to treatment decisions. Identification of patients at risk for impaired cognition and decision making may lead to effective interventions to improve decision making and honor the wishes of patients and families.

An fMRI study of sex differences in regional activation to a verbal and a spatial task.

PubMed

Gur, R C; Alsop, D; Glahn, D; Petty, R; Swanson, C L; Maldjian, J A; Turetsky, B I; Detre, J A; Gee, J; Gur, R E

2000-09-01

Sex differences in cognitive performance have been documented, women performing better on some phonological tasks and men on spatial tasks. An earlier fMRI study suggested sex differences in distributed brain activation during phonological processing, with bilateral activation seen in women while men showed primarily left-lateralized activation. This blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI study examined sex differences (14 men, 13 women) in activation for a spatial task (judgment of line orientation) compared to a verbal-reasoning task (analogies) that does not typically show sex differences. Task difficulty was manipulated. Hypothesized ROI-based analysis documented the expected left-lateralized changes for the verbal task in the inferior parietal and planum temporal regions in both men and women, but only men showed right-lateralized increase for the spatial task in these regions. Image-based analysis revealed a distributed network of cortical regions activated by the tasks, which consisted of the lateral frontal, medial frontal, mid-temporal, occipitoparietal, and occipital regions. The activation was more left lateralized for the verbal and more right for the spatial tasks, but men also showed some left activation for the spatial task, which was not seen in women. Increased task difficulty produced more distributed activation for the verbal and more circumscribed activation for the spatial task. The results suggest that failure to activate the appropriate hemisphere in regions directly involved in task performance may explain certain sex differences in performance. They also extend, for a spatial task, the principle that bilateral activation in a distributed cognitive system underlies sex differences in performance. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Ineffective initiation contributes to deficient verbal and non-verbal fluency in patients with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Krukow, Paweł; Harciarek, Michał; Morylowska-Topolska, Justyna; Karakuła-Juchnowicz, Hanna; Jonak, Kamil

2017-09-01

Patients with schizophrenia (SCH) show impaired verbal and non-verbal fluency. However, these individuals' fluctuations in words or designs generation efficiency over time, a phenomenon that may significantly affect fluency, have never been studied. Thus, the aim of this research was to investigate if individuals with SCH may present with alternations in the dynamics of the information production and its control as well as to test if the potential abnormalities in this regard might affect these patients' overall performance on both verbal and non-verbal fluency tasks. Forty-four patients with SCH and 40 healthy controls (HC) completed both verbal (phonological, semantic) and non-verbal fluency tests. To analyse processing efficiency changes over time, the period in which subjects had to generate words or designs (60 s) has been divided into 15-s sections. In comparison to HCs, individuals with SCH obtained significantly lower total scores for all fluency measures. Furthermore, group differences in the dynamics of the test performance also emerged, with SCH patients having a significantly worse production during the initial 15 s of each fluency task. Additionally, the initial production deficiency seen in patients with SCH has accounted for these individuals' total performance. Moreover, comparisons of errors distribution over time during the phonemic and figural fluency performance also revealed differences, suggesting there was a rapid depletion in maintaining of cognitive control in the SCH sample. Inefficient fluency in SCH may arise from a more general initiation deficits that may partly account for these patients' cognitive problems.

Ethnicity and Sex Distinctions in Patterns of Aptitude Factor Scores in a Sample of Urban High School Seniors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hennessy, James J.; Merrifield, Philip R.

1978-01-01

Three aptitude factor scores for each of 2,985 college bound urban high school seniors were used to compare patterns and levels of performance by sex and ethnic group membership. Significant differences in levels of performance between Blacks, Hispanics, Caucasian Jewish, and Caucasian Gentile were found on factors labeled Verbal, Reasoning, and…

Item and Error Analysis on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices in Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Herwegen, Jo; Farran, Emily; Annaz, Dagmara

2011-01-01

Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) is a standardised test that is commonly used to obtain a non-verbal reasoning score for children. As the RCPM involves the matching of a target to a pattern it is also considered to be a visuo-spatial perception task. RCPM is therefore frequently used in studies in Williams Syndrome (WS), in order to…

Effects of Labeling on Preschoolers' Explicit False Belief Performance: Outcomes of Cognitive Flexibility or Inhibitory Control?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Low, Jason; Simpson, Samantha

2012-01-01

Executive function mechanisms underpinning language-related effects on theory of mind understanding were examined in a sample of 165 preschoolers. Verbal labels were manipulated to identify relevant perspectives on an explicit false belief task. In Experiment 1 with 4-year-olds (N = 74), false belief reasoning was superior in the fully and…

Sex Differences on "g" and Non-"g" Intellectual Performance Reveal Potential Sources of STEM Discrepancies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lemos, Gina C.; Abad, Francisco J.; Almeida, Leandro S.; Colom, Roberto

2013-01-01

The analysis of sex differences in cognitive abilities is largely confusing because these differences are masked by the pervasive influence of the general factor of intelligence (g). In this study a battery of five reasoning tests (abstract [AR], numerical [NR], verbal [VR], mechanical [MR], and spatial [SR]) was completed by a sample of 3233…

Constructing an Online MCAT Preparation Program as an Alternative to On-Site Preparation for Medical School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Navarre, Berengaria; Perez, Norma A.; Smith, Sarah Toombs

2017-01-01

Based on a successful five-week summer program, we constructed an online alternative to prepare Hispanic students to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). We used input from student premed advisors, students, a faculty mentor, a Verbal Reasoning coach, and the program administrator. Online activities were provided to support the student…

Science and Technology Text Mining: Text Mining of the Journal Cortex

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

Amnesia Retrograde Amnesia GENERAL Semantic Memory Episodic Memory Working Memory TEST Serial Position Curve...in Cortex can be reasonably divided into four categories (papers in each category in parenthesis): Semantic Memory (151); Handedness (145); Amnesia ... Semantic Memory (151) is divided into Verbal/ Numerical (76) and Visual/ Spatial (75). Amnesia (119) is divided into Amnesia Symptoms (50) and

The reality of Mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ligomenides, Panos A.

2009-05-01

The power of mathematics is discussed as a way of expressing reasoning, aesthetics and insight in symbolic non-verbal communication. The human culture of discovering mathematical ways of thinking in the enterprise of exploring the understanding of the nature and the evolution of our world through hypotheses, theories and experimental affirmation of the scientific notion of algorithmic and non-algorithmic [`]computation', is examined and commended upon.

Evidence for Knowledge of the Syntax of Large Numbers in Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrouillet, Pierre; Thevenot, Catherine; Fayol, Michel

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to provide evidence for knowledge of the syntax governing the verbal form of large numbers in preschoolers long before they are able to count up to these numbers. We reasoned that if such knowledge exists, it should facilitate the maintenance in short-term memory of lists of lexical primitives that constitute a number…

New Directions in Evaluating Social Problem Solving in Childhood: Early Precursors and Links to Adolescent Social Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landry, Susan H.; Smith, Karen E.; Swank, Paul R.

2009-01-01

A major objective of this chapter is to present a novel, ecologically sensitive social problem-solving task for school-aged children that captures the complexity of social and cognitive demands placed on children in naturalistic situations. Competence on this task correlates with a range of skills including executive functions, verbal reasoning,…

The effects of concurrent cannabis use among ecstasy users: neuroprotective or neurotoxic?

PubMed

Fisk, John E; Montgomery, Catharine; Wareing, Michelle; Murphy, Philip N

2006-08-01

The research evidence regarding the potential effects of ecstasy suggests that it may be neurotoxic and that its use is associated with cognitive impairment. In recent years evidence has emerged suggesting that cannabinoids, the active ingredients in cannabis, can be neuroprotective under certain conditions. Given that many ecstasy users also consume cannabis at the same time, the possibility emerges that these individuals might be less susceptible to ecstasy-related impairment. The present paper reanalyses the data from a number of previous studies, contrasting the performance of those individuals who generally consume cannabis and ecstasy at the same time with those who generally consume ecstasy on its own. The two ecstasy-using groups are compared with non-ecstasy users on a range of measures including processing speed, random letter generation, verbal and visuo-spatial working memory span, reasoning and associative learning. The two ecstasy user groups did not differ significantly from each other on any of the measures. Both user groups were significantly worse than non-ecstasy users on measures of associative learning, verbal and visuo-spatial working memory and reasoning. The results suggest that consuming cannabis at the same time as ecstasy does not reduce the likelihood of cognitive impairment.

Probabilistic reasoning under time pressure: an assessment in Italian, Spanish and English psychology undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agus, M.; Hitchcott, P. K.; Penna, M. P.; Peró-Cebollero, M.; Guàrdia-Olmos, J.

2016-11-01

Many studies have investigated the features of probabilistic reasoning developed in relation to different formats of problem presentation, showing that it is affected by various individual and contextual factors. Incomplete understanding of the identity and role of these factors may explain the inconsistent evidence concerning the effect of problem presentation format. Thus, superior performance has sometimes been observed for graphically, rather than verbally, presented problems. The present study was undertaken to address this issue. Psychology undergraduates without any statistical expertise (N = 173 in Italy; N = 118 in Spain; N = 55 in England) were administered statistical problems in two formats (verbal-numerical and graphical-pictorial) under a condition of time pressure. Students also completed additional measures indexing several potentially relevant individual dimensions (statistical ability, statistical anxiety, attitudes towards statistics and confidence). Interestingly, a facilitatory effect of graphical presentation was observed in the Italian and Spanish samples but not in the English one. Significantly, the individual dimensions predicting statistical performance also differed between the samples, highlighting a different role of confidence. Hence, these findings confirm previous observations concerning problem presentation format while simultaneously highlighting the importance of individual dimensions.

Conceptual elaboration versus direct lexical access in WAIS-similarities: differential effects of white-matter lesions and gray matter volumes.

PubMed

Fernaeus, Sven-Erik; Hellström, Åke

2017-09-18

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) subscale Similarities have been classified as a test of either verbal comprehension or of inductive reasoning. The reason may be that items divide into two categories. We tested the hypothesis of heterogeneity of items in WAIS-Similarities. Consecutive patients at a memory clinic and healthy controls participated in the study. White-matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and normalized temporal lobe volumes were measured based on Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI), and tests of verbal memory and attention were used in addition to WAIS-Similarities to collect behavioural data. Factor analysis supported the hypothesis that two factors are involved in the performance of WAIS-similarities: (1) semiautomatic lexical access and (2) conceptual elaboration. These factors were highly correlated but provided discriminative diagnostic information: In logistic regression analyses, scores of the lexical access factor and of the conceptual elaboration factor discriminated patients with mild cognitive impairment from Alzheimer's disease patients and from healthy controls, respectively. High scores of WMH, indicating periventricular white-matter lesions, predicted factor scores of direct lexical access but not those of conceptual elaboration, which were predicted only by medial and lateral temporal lobe volumes.

Transsylvian selective amygdalohippocampectomy in children with hippocampal sclerosis: seizure, intellectual and memory outcome.

PubMed

Beaton, Anne E; Durnford, Andrew; Heffer-Rahn, Phillip E; Kirkham, Fenella; Griffin, Angela; Gray, William P; Gray, W L S

2012-11-01

This study investigates the efficacy of transylvian selective amygdalohippocampectomy (TS SAH) in children with medically intractable epilepsy due to unilateral hippocampal sclerosis. Post-surgical seizure control, intellectual and memory outcomes are examined. This study reports on pre- and post-surgical clinical data from 10 patients who underwent TS SAH between 2002 and 2010 after 24 months follow-up. Pre- and post-operative change in seizure frequency, AED use, intellect and memory are compared. At 12 months and 24 months post-surgery, 9/10 (90%) and 7/8 (87.5%) patients respectively, were seizure free (Engel I). No patients were classed as Engel III or IV. No significant improvement or decline at a group level was found on measures of intellect or verbal or visual memory. One hundred per cent improved or remained within 1 SD of their pre-operatives score on verbal and perceptual reasoning learning and reasoning measures. Significant improvement was found post-operatively for both immediate and delayed facial memory. Our findings of good post-surgical seizure control and favourable cognitive outcome provides evidence against previous findings that SAH in children may not be effective. Copyright © 2012 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The UK Clinical Aptitude Test and clinical course performance at Nottingham: a prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Yates, Janet; James, David

2013-02-26

The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) was introduced in 2006 as an additional tool for the selection of medical students. It tests mental ability in four distinct domains (Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, and Decision Analysis), and the results are available to students and admission panels in advance of the selection process. Our first study showed little evidence of any predictive validity for performance in the first two years of the Nottingham undergraduate course.The study objective was to determine whether the UKCAT scores had any predictive value for the later parts of the course, largely delivered via clinical placements. Students entering the course in 2007 and who had taken the UKCAT were asked for permission to use their anonymised data in research. The UKCAT scores were incorporated into a database with routine pre-admission socio-demographics and subsequent course performance data. Correlation analysis was followed by hierarchical multivariate linear regression. The original study group comprised 204/254 (80%) of the full entry cohort. With attrition over the five years of the course this fell to 185 (73%) by Year 5. The Verbal Reasoning score and the UKCAT Total score both demonstrated some univariate correlations with clinical knowledge marks, and slightly less with clinical skills. No parts of the UKCAT proved to be an independent predictor of clinical course marks, whereas prior attainment was a highly significant predictor (p <0.001). This study of one cohort of Nottingham medical students showed that UKCAT scores at admission did not independently predict subsequent performance on the course. Whilst the test adds another dimension to the selection process, its fairness and validity in selecting promising students remains unproven, and requires wider investigation and debate by other schools.

Moral understanding in children with autism.

PubMed

Grant, Cathy M; Boucher, Jill; Riggs, Kevin J; Grayson, Andrew

2005-07-01

Children with autism were compared with control groups on their ability to make moral judgements. Participants were presented with pairs of vignettes in which actions were either deliberate or accidental and caused injury to a person or damage to property. Participants were asked to judge which protagonist was the naughtier and to verbally justify this judgement. Results showed that the children with autism were as likely as controls to judge culpability on the basis of motive, and to judge injury to persons as more culpable than damage to property. Children with autism also offered some appropriate verbal justifications for their judgments although most justifications were of poor quality and reiterated the story. Results are discussed in terms of theory of mind and the possible role of deficits in complex reasoning and executive functions.

[The role in verbal communication].

PubMed

Panini, Roberta; Fiorini, Fulvio

2015-01-01

The content of the thought is expressed by words articulated correctly according to grammar and syntax. The meanings are conveyed through words but also through the way they are used, the manner of communication. The real reason of communication is the intention, the purpose, often implicit, which determines the source of a speech. It is possible to identify a direct aim (the purpose of communicating) and an indirect objective (the role intention), understood as keeping a role between the speaker and the listener. The role is also indicated by the non-verbal or paraverbal component of the message, that is the tone of voice, the emphasis and the posture of the communicator. In the multitude of possible relationship (affective, social, business, political, religious), frequently bounded together, we can recognize three categories of relations: symmetrical, reciprocal and complementary.

PATTERNS OF CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN HOARDING DISORDER.

PubMed

Mackin, R Scott; Vigil, Ofilio; Insel, Philip; Kivowitz, Alana; Kupferman, Eve; Hough, Christina M; Fekri, Shiva; Crothers, Ross; Bickford, David; Delucchi, Kevin L; Mathews, Carol A

2016-03-01

The cognitive characteristics of individuals with hoarding disorder (HD) are not well understood. Existing studies are relatively few and somewhat inconsistent but suggest that individuals with HD may have specific dysfunction in the cognitive domains of categorization, speed of information processing, and decision making. However, there have been no studies evaluating the degree to which cognitive dysfunction in these domains reflects clinically significant cognitive impairment (CI). Participants included 78 individuals who met DSM-V criteria for HD and 70 age- and education-matched controls. Cognitive performance on measures of memory, attention, information processing speed, abstract reasoning, visuospatial processing, decision making, and categorization ability was evaluated for each participant. Rates of clinical impairment for each measure were compared, as were age- and education-corrected raw scores for each cognitive test. HD participants showed greater incidence of CI on measures of visual memory, visual detection, and visual categorization relative to controls. Raw-score comparisons between groups showed similar results with HD participants showing lower raw-score performance on each of these measures. In addition, in raw-score comparisons HD participants also demonstrated relative strengths compared to control participants on measures of verbal and visual abstract reasoning. These results suggest that HD is associated with a pattern of clinically significant CI in some visually mediated neurocognitive processes including visual memory, visual detection, and visual categorization. Additionally, these results suggest HD individuals may also exhibit relative strengths, perhaps compensatory, in abstract reasoning in both verbal and visual domains. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Processing of Sequential and Holistic Stimuli in Left and Right Visual Fields,

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

1 7 A-A091 588 AIR =FORCE ACADEMY CO IF/G 5/10 I PROCESSING OF SEQUENTIAL AND HOLISTIC STIMULI IN LEFT AND RIGHT--ETC( U ) OCT 80 E H GALLUSCIO. D A...neocortical commissures sectioned to reduce grand mal seizures have added significantly to 1.. ... . ....... .......- , l - ’ ’ . .... . .. ’ r U I l...REALISTIC AUTISTIC MASLOW RATIONAL INTUITIVE MILNER VERBAL NON-VERBAL NEISSER SEQUENTIAL MULTIPLE ORNSTEIN ANALYTIC HOLISTIC C. S. PEIRCE EXPLICATIVE

The long-term effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on verbal working memory: an fMRI study of young adults.

PubMed

A Longo, Carmelinda; A Fried, Peter; Cameron, Ian; M Smith, Andra

2014-11-01

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the long-term effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on verbal working memory were investigated in young adults. Participants were members of the Ottawa Prenatal Prospective Study, a longitudinal study that collected a unique body of information on participants from infancy to young adulthood. This allowed for the measurement of an unprecedented number of potentially confounding drug exposure variables including: prenatal marijuana and alcohol exposure and current marijuana, nicotine and alcohol use. Twelve young adults with prenatal nicotine exposure and 13 non-exposed controls performed a 2-Back working memory task while fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent responses were examined. Despite similar task performance, participants with more prenatal nicotine exposure demonstrated significantly greater activity in several regions of the brain that typically subserve verbal working memory including the middle frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, the inferior parietal lobe and the cingulate gyrus. These results suggest that prenatal nicotine exposure contributes to altered neural functioning during verbal working memory that continues into adulthood. Working memory is critical for a wide range of cognitive skills such as language comprehension, learning and reasoning. Thus, these findings highlight the need for continued educational programs and public awareness campaigns to reduce tobacco use among pregnant women. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parents' use of physical and verbal punishment: cross-sectional study in underprivileged neighborhoods.

PubMed

Santos, Vagner Dos; Silva, Paulo Henrique Dourado da; Gandolfi, Lenora

2017-09-25

To estimate the past-year prevalence of parental use of verbal and physical discipline in an urban sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two underprivileged neighborhoods with nearly 80,000 inhabitants. Complex sampling was used. The households were selected by applying two-stage probabilistic sampling with stratification. A total of 401 households (sample error=0.1) were selected by maximizing the variance (p=0.5). The cluster sampling indicated 33 census units (sample error=0.05). The Brazilian Portuguese version of the WorldSAFE Core Questionnaire was used to assess parental use of moderate verbal discipline, harsh verbal discipline, moderate physical discipline, and harsh physical discipline. This questionnaire asks how often mothers (respondent) and/or their husband or partner use specific disciplinary tactics. The mean age of children and adolescents was 9 years (SD: 4.5). The prevalence of harsh verbal discipline was approximately 37% (28.3% [95% CI: 23.4-33.3%] for more than three times). The prevalence of harsh physical discipline was approximately 30% (21.8% [CI: 18.2-25.4%] for more than three times). Boys had higher odds of receiving harsh physical discipline [OR: 1.56, p<0.05]. Children and adolescents with learning problems and developmental delays had higher odds of being exposed to harsh discipline than their peers without these problems. Children and adolescents with chronic health conditions (e.g., asthma) had lower odds of receiving harsh physical discipline (OR: 0.4; p<0.05). Parental abuse was embedded within CA rearing practices in these two underprivileged neighborhoods. Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Children's application of simultaneous and successive processing in inductive and deductive reasoning problems: Implications for developing scientific reasoning skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watters, James J.; English, Lyn D.

The research reported in this article was undertaken to obtain a better understanding of problem solving and scientific reasoning in 10-year-old children. The study involved measuring children's competence at syllogistic reasoning and in solving a series of problems requiring inductive reasoning. Children were also categorized on the basis of levels of simultaneous and successive synthesis. Simultaneous and successive synthesis represent two dimensions of information processing identified by Luria in a program of neuropsychological research. Simultaneous synthesis involves integration of information in a holistic or spatial fashion, whereas successive synthesis involves processing information sequentially with temporal links between stimuli. Analysis of the data generated in the study indicated that syllogistic reasoning and inductive reasoning were significantly correlated with both simultaneous and successive synthesis. However, the strongest correlation was found between simultaneous synthesis and inductive reasoning. These findings provide a basis for understanding the roles of spatial and verbal-logical ability as defined by Luria's neuropsychological theory in scientific problem solving. The results also highlight the need for teachers to provide experiences which are compatible with individual students' information processing styles.Received: 19 October 1993; Revised: 15 December 1994;

Neuropsychological deficits associated with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure are not exacerbated by ADHD.

PubMed

Glass, Leila; Ware, Ashley L; Crocker, Nicole; Deweese, Benjamin N; Coles, Claire D; Kable, Julie A; May, Philip A; Kalberg, Wendy O; Sowell, Elizabeth R; Jones, Kenneth Lyons; Riley, Edward P; Mattson, Sarah N

2013-11-01

Neuropsychological functioning of individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or heavy prenatal alcohol exposure has been well documented independently. This study examined the interaction between both factors on cognitive performance in children. As part of a multisite study, 344 children (8-16 y, M = 12.28, SD = 2.52) completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Four subject groups were tested: children with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (AE) and ADHD (AE+, n = 90), alcohol-exposed without ADHD, (AE-, n = 38), nonexposed with ADHD (ADHD, n = 80), and nonexposed without ADHD (CON, n = 136). Separate 2(AE) × 2(ADHD) MANCOVAs revealed significant main and interactive effects of ADHD and AE on overall WISC-IV, D-KEFS, and CANTAB performance. Individual ANOVAs revealed significant interactions on 2 WISC-IV indices [Verbal Comprehension (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning (PRI)], and four D-KEFS and CANTAB subtests [Design Fluency, Verbal Fluency, Trail Making, Spatial Working Memory]. Follow-up analyses demonstrated no difference between AE+ and AE- groups on these measures. The combined AE+/- group demonstrated more severe impairment than the ADHD group on VCI and PRI, but there were no other differences between clinical groups. These results support a combined AE+/- group for neuropsychological research and indicate that, in some cases, the neuropsychological effects seen in ADHD are altered by prenatal alcohol exposure. The effects of alcohol exposure on verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning were greater than those related to having ADHD without alcohol exposure, although both conditions independently resulted in cognitive impairment compared to controls. Clinically, these findings demonstrate task-dependent patterns of impairment across clinical disorders. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

A cross-cultural comparison between South African and British students on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales Third Edition (WAIS-III).

PubMed

Cockcroft, Kate; Alloway, Tracy; Copello, Evan; Milligan, Robyn

2015-01-01

There is debate regarding the appropriate use of Western cognitive measures with individuals from very diverse backgrounds to that of the norm population. Given the dated research in this area and the considerable socio-economic changes that South Africa has witnessed over the past 20 years, this paper reports on the use of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III), the most commonly used measure of intelligence, with an English second language, multilingual, low socio-economic group of black, South African university students. Their performance on the WAIS-III was compared to that of a predominantly white, British, monolingual, higher socio-economic group. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the WAIS-III lacks measurement invariance between the two groups, suggesting that it may be tapping different constructs in each group. The UK group significantly outperformed the SA group on the knowledge-based verbal, and some non-verbal subtests, while the SA group performed significantly better on measures of Processing Speed (PS). The groups did not differ significantly on the Matrix Reasoning subtest and on those working memory subtests with minimal reliance on language, which appear to be the least culturally biased. Group differences were investigated further in a set of principal components analyses, which revealed that the WAIS-III scores loaded differently for the UK and SA groups. While the SA group appeared to treat the PS subtests differently to those measuring perceptual organization and non-verbal reasoning, the UK group seemed to approach all of these subtests similarly. These results have important implications for the cognitive assessment of individuals from culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse circumstances.

Development and Field Test of the Modified Draw-a-Scientist Test and the Draw-a-Scientist Rubric

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farland-Smith, Donna

2012-01-01

Even long before children are able to verbalize which careers may be interesting to them, they collect and store ideas about scientists. For these reasons, asking children to draw a scientist has become an accepted method to provide a glimpse into how children represent and identify with those in the science fields. Years later, these…

School-Level Genetic Variation Predicts School-Level Verbal IQ Scores: Results from a Sample of American Middle and High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaver, Kevin M.; Wright, John Paul

2011-01-01

Research has consistently revealed that average IQ scores vary significantly across macro-level units, such as states and nations. The reason for this variation in IQ, however, has remained at the center of much controversy. One of the more provocative explanations is that IQ across macro-level units is the result of genetic differences, but…

The Relationship of Item-Level Response Times with Test-Taker and Item Variables in an Operational CAT Environment. LSAC Research Report Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swygert, Kimberly A.

In this study, data from an operational computerized adaptive test (CAT) were examined in order to gather information concerning item response times in a CAT environment. The CAT under study included multiple-choice items measuring verbal, quantitative, and analytical reasoning. The analyses included the fitting of regression models describing the…

Conference on Bio-Social Factors in the Development and Learning of Disadvantaged Children. Conference Proceedings (Syracuse, New York, April 19-21, 1967).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeshiva Univ., New York, NY. Ferkauf Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

These conference proceedings contain two major papers. The paper by Susan S. Stodolsky and Gerald S. Lesser, "Learning Patterns in the Disadvantaged," reports a study of effects of social class and ethnic group influences on levels and patterns of mental ability. Scores for verbal ability, reasoning, number facility, and space conceptualization of…

Internal Structure and Partial Invariance across Gender in the Spanish Version of the Reasoning Test Battery.

PubMed

Elosua, Paula; Mujika, Josu

2015-10-13

The Reasoning Test Battery (BPR) is an instrument built on theories of the hierarchical organization of cognitive abilities and therefore consists of different tasks related with abstract, numerical, verbal, practical, spatial and mechanical reasoning. It was originally created in Belgium and later adapted to Portuguese. There are three forms of the battery consisting of different items and scales which cover an age range from 9 to 22. This paper focuses on the adaptation of the BPR to Spanish, and analyzes different aspects of its internal structure: (a) exploratory item factor analysis was applied to assess the presence of a dominant factor for each partial scale; (b) the general underlined model was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis, and (c) factorial invariance across gender was studied. The sample consisted of 2624 Spanish students. The results concluded the presence of a general factor beyond the scales, with equivalent values for men and women, and gender differences in the factorial structure which affect the numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning and mechanical reasoning scales.

Workplace physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing experienced by nurses at a university hospital.

PubMed

Aksakal, Fatma Nur Baran; Karaşahin, Emine Füsun; Dikmen, Asiye Uğraş; Avci, Emine; Ozkan, Seçil

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of and risk factors for physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing experienced by nurses in a university hospital. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Gazi University Medical Faculty Hospital. A questionnaire form recommended by the WHO and the International Labor Organization was administered through face-to-face interviews to determine the violence experienced in the past 12 months by nurses. The prevalence of physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing was 13.9%, 41.8%, and 17.1%, respectively. Working more than 40 h per week increased the risk of physical violence by 1.86 times. The majority of nurses who experienced verbal violence and mobbing were significantly more willing to change their work, their institution, and their profession if given the opportunity. Fewer than one-fourth of the victims indicated they reported any incident. We knew that the prevalence of physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing were high among nurses and that incidents were underreported, and the study corroborated this information. What this study adds to the topic is that long working hours increased the prevalence of physical violence and was defined as an important contributory factor.

Verbal Fluency Performance in Patients with Non-demented Parkinson's Disease

PubMed Central

Khatoonabadi, Ahmad Reza; Bakhtiyari, Jalal

2013-01-01

Objective While Parkinson's disease (PD) has traditionally been defined by motor symptoms, many researches have indicated that mild cognitive impairment is common in non-demented PD patients. The purpose of this study was to compare verbal fluency performance in non-demented Parkinson's disease patients with healthy controls. Method In this cross-sectional study thirty non-demented Parkinson's disease patients and 30 healthy controls, matched by age, gender and education, were compared on verbal fluency performance. Verbal fluency was studied with a Phonemic Fluency task using the letters F, A, and S, a semantic fluency task using the categories animals and fruits. The independent t-test was used for data analysis. Results Overall, participants generated more words in the semantic fluency task than in the phonemic fluency task. Results revealed significant differences between patients and controls in semantic fluency task (p<.05). In addition, PD patients showed a significant reduction of correctly generated words in letter fluency task. The total number of words produced was also significantly lower in the PD group (p<.05). Conclusion Verbal fluency disruption is implied in non-demented PD patients in association with incipient cognitive impairment. PMID:23682253

Effect of interaction with clowns on vital signs and non-verbal communication of hospitalized children

PubMed Central

Alcântara, Pauline Lima; Wogel, Ariane Zonho; Rossi, Maria Isabela Lobo; Neves, Isabela Rodrigues; Sabates, Ana Llonch; Puggina, Ana Cláudia

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective: Compare the non-verbal communication of children before and during interaction with clowns and compare their vital signs before and after this interaction. Methods: Uncontrolled, intervention, cross-sectional, quantitative study with children admitted to a public university hospital. The intervention was performed by medical students dressed as clowns and included magic tricks, juggling, singing with the children, making soap bubbles and comedic performances. The intervention time was 20min. Vital signs were assessed in two measurements with an interval of 1min immediately before and after the interaction. Non-verbal communication was observed before and during the interaction using the Non-Verbal Communication Template Chart, a tool in which non-verbal behaviors are assessed as effective or ineffective in the interactions. Results: The sample consisted of 41 children with a mean age of 7.6±2.7 years; most were aged 7-11 years (n=23; 56%) and were males (n=26; 63.4%). There was a statistically significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pain and non-verbal behavior of children with the intervention. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased and pain scales showed decreased scores. Conclusions: The playful interaction with clowns can be a therapeutic resource to minimize the effects of the stressing environment during the intervention, improve the children's emotional state and reduce the perception of pain. PMID:27080219

Long-Term Cognitive Impairment in Kleine-Levin Syndrome

PubMed Central

Uguccioni, Ginevra; Lavault, Sophie; Chaumereuil, Charlotte; Golmard, Jean-Louis; Gagnon, Jean-François; Arnulf, Isabelle

2016-01-01

Study Objectives: In Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS), episodes of hypersomnia, cognitive, and behavioral disturbances alternate with asymptomatic periods. Because 50% of patients report decreased academic performances, we evaluated their cognitive status during asymptomatic periods, determinants of deficits, and changes during follow-up. Methods: The cognitive assessment during asymptomatic periods in all consecutive patients with typical KLS and healthy controls included the non-verbal intelligence quotient (Raven Progressive Matrices), the Trail Making Test, the Stroop Color-Word Test, the Wechsler Memory Test, verbal fluencies, the Free and Cued Learning Memory Test, and the Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure. Cognitive status was reevaluated after 0.5 to 2 y in 44 patients. Results: At baseline, compared with the 42 controls, the 122 patients with KLS exhibited lower non-verbal intelligence quotient, speed of processing, attention, and reduced retrieval strategies in episodic memory. Higher episode frequency, shorter episode duration, shorter time since last episode, deeper sleep, and megaphagia during episodes predicted impaired memory. The visuoconstructional abilities and non-verbal memory were intact. After a mean follow-up of 1.7 ± 1.0 y, the episode frequency decreased from 4.6 ± 4.8 to 1.7 ± 1.9/y. The logical reasoning and attention improved, the processing speed remained low, and the retrieval strategies in verbal memory further worsened. Conclusions: In this field study, one-third of patients with KLS have long-term cognitive deficits affecting retrieval and processing speed. Cognitive function should be systematically tested in patients with KLS, which appears important to help patients in their academic studies. Citation: Uguccioni G, Lavault S, Chaumereuil C, Golmard JL, Gagnon JF, Arnulf I. Long-term cognitive impairment in kleine-levin syndrome. SLEEP 2016;39(2):429–438. PMID:26414895

Estimating verbal fluency and naming ability from the test of premorbid functioning and demographic variables: Regression equations derived from a regional UK sample.

PubMed

Jenkinson, Toni-Marie; Muncer, Steven; Wheeler, Miranda; Brechin, Don; Evans, Stephen

2018-06-01

Neuropsychological assessment requires accurate estimation of an individual's premorbid cognitive abilities. Oral word reading tests, such as the test of premorbid functioning (TOPF), and demographic variables, such as age, sex, and level of education, provide a reasonable indication of premorbid intelligence, but their ability to predict other related cognitive abilities is less well understood. This study aimed to develop regression equations, based on the TOPF and demographic variables, to predict scores on tests of verbal fluency and naming ability. A sample of 119 healthy adults provided demographic information and were tested using the TOPF, FAS, animal naming test (ANT), and graded naming test (GNT). Multiple regression analyses, using the TOPF and demographics as predictor variables, were used to estimate verbal fluency and naming ability test scores. Change scores and cases of significant impairment were calculated for two clinical samples with diagnosed neurological conditions (TBI and meningioma) using the method in Knight, McMahon, Green, and Skeaff (). Demographic variables provided a significant contribution to the prediction of all verbal fluency and naming ability test scores; however, adding TOPF score to the equation considerably improved prediction beyond that afforded by demographic variables alone. The percentage of variance accounted for by demographic variables and/or TOPF score varied from 19 per cent (FAS), 28 per cent (ANT), and 41 per cent (GNT). Change scores revealed significant differences in performance in the clinical groups, particularity the TBI group. Demographic variables, particularly education level, and scores on the TOPF should be taken into consideration when interpreting performance on tests of verbal fluency and naming ability. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

An analysis of science conceptual knowledge in journals of students with disabilities and normally achieving students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigg, Gail S.

Science education reforms of the last two decades have focused on raising the bar for ALL students which includes students with mild to moderate disabilities. Formative assessment can be used to assess the progress of these students to inquire, understand scientific concepts, reason scientifically, make decisions, and communicate effectively in science. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of science journals as a formative assessment in a guided inquiry unit of study for students with learning disabilities. Two normally achieving students (NA) and five students with learning disabilities (SLD) participated in a study of mammals that utilized journals to record the development of student knowledge through the course of study. Students were interviewed after the lessons were complete using the same prompts required in the journals. Themes were developed from the student writings and their verbal discourse using Grounded Theory. Journals and verbal discourse were rated following the themes of Knowledge Telling (KT) and Knowledge Transformation (KTR). Concept maps were developed for the Pre and Post test lessons (written and verbal discourses) by the raters in an attempt to further explain the knowledge that the students conveyed. The results of this study suggest that SLD are able to demonstrate knowledge about mammals better through verbal discourse than written discourse. While the NA students wrote more and used more technical discourse than did their SLD peers, the conceptual understanding of the topic by the SLD was no less inclusive than their NA peers when accessed verbally. The journals demonstrated limited conceptual growth for the SLD. Further, while lexical density is important to the development of knowledge in science, this study suggests the "conceptual density" may be another important indicator to examine.

The construction of power in family medicine bedside teaching: a video observation study.

PubMed

Rees, Charlotte E; Ajjawi, Rola; Monrouxe, Lynn V

2013-02-01

Bedside teaching is essential for helping students develop skills, reasoning and professionalism, and involves the learning triad of student, patient and clinical teacher. Although current rhetoric espouses the sharing of power, the medical workplace is imbued with power asymmetries. Power is context-specific and although previous research has explored some elements of the enactment and resistance of power within bedside teaching, this exploration has been conducted within hospital rather than general practice settings. Furthermore, previous research has employed audio-recorded rather than video-recorded observation and has therefore focused on language and para-language at the expense of non-verbal communication and human-material interaction. A qualitative design was adopted employing video- and audio-recorded observations of seven bedside teaching encounters (BTEs), followed by short individual interviews with students, patients and clinical teachers. Thematic and discourse analyses of BTEs were conducted. Power is constructed by students, patients and clinical teachers throughout different BTE activities through the use of linguistic, para-linguistic and non-verbal communication. In terms of language, participants construct power through the use of questions, orders, advice, pronouns and medical/health belief talk. With reference to para-language, participants construct power through the use of interruption and laughter. In terms of non-verbal communication, participants construct power through physical positioning and the possession or control of medical materials such as the stethoscope. Using this paper as a trigger for discussion, we encourage students and clinical teachers to reflect critically on how their verbal and non-verbal communication constructs power in bedside teaching. Students and clinical teachers need to develop their awareness of what power is, how it can be constructed and shared, and what it means for the student-patient-doctor relationship within bedside teaching. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013.

Impaired reasoning and problem-solving in individuals with language impairment due to aphasia or language delay

PubMed Central

Baldo, Juliana V.; Paulraj, Selvi R.; Curran, Brian C.; Dronkers, Nina F.

2015-01-01

The precise nature of the relationship between language and thought is an intriguing and challenging area of inquiry for scientists across many disciplines. In the realm of neuropsychology, research has investigated the inter-dependence of language and thought by testing individuals with compromised language abilities and observing whether performance in other cognitive domains is diminished. One group of such individuals is patients with aphasia who have an impairment in speech and language arising from a brain injury, such as a stroke. Our previous research has shown that the degree of language impairment in these individuals is strongly associated with the degree of impairment on complex reasoning tasks, such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) and Raven’s Matrices. In the current study, we present new data from a large group of individuals with aphasia that show a dissociation in performance between putatively non-verbal tasks on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) that require differing degrees of reasoning (Picture Completion vs. Picture Arrangement tasks). We also present an update and replication of our previous findings with the WCST showing that individuals with the most profound core language deficits (i.e., impaired comprehension and disordered language output) are particularly impaired on problem-solving tasks. In the second part of the paper, we present findings from a neurologically intact individual known as “Chelsea” who was not exposed to language due to an unaddressed hearing loss that was present since birth. At the age of 32, she was fitted with hearing aids and exposed to spoken and signed language for the first time, but she was only able to acquire a limited language capacity. Chelsea was tested on a series of standardized neuropsychological measures, including reasoning and problem-solving tasks. She was able to perform well on a number of visuospatial tasks but was disproportionately impaired on tasks that required reasoning, such as Raven’s Matrices and the WAIS Picture Arrangement task. Together, these findings suggest that language supports complex reasoning, possibly due to the facilitative role of verbal working memory and inner speech in higher mental processes. PMID:26578991

Exploring clinical reasoning in novices: a self-regulated learning microanalytic assessment approach.

PubMed

Artino, Anthony R; Cleary, Timothy J; Dong, Ting; Hemmer, Paul A; Durning, Steven J

2014-03-01

The primary objectives of this study were to examine the regulatory processes of medical students as they completed a diagnostic reasoning task and to examine whether the strategic quality of these regulatory processes were related to short-term and longer-term medical education outcomes. A self-regulated learning (SRL) microanalytic assessment was administered to 71 second-year medical students while they read a clinical case and worked to formulate the most probable diagnosis. Verbal responses to open-ended questions targeting forethought and performance phase processes of a cyclical model of SRL were recorded verbatim and subsequently coded using a framework from prior research. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression models were used to examine the relationships between the SRL processes and several outcomes. Most participants (90%) reported focusing on specific diagnostic reasoning strategies during the task (metacognitive monitoring), but only about one-third of students referenced these strategies (e.g. identifying symptoms, integration) in relation to their task goals and plans for completing the task. After accounting for prior undergraduate achievement and verbal reasoning ability, strategic planning explained significant additional variance in course grade (ΔR(2 ) = 0.15, p < 0.01), second-year grade point average (ΔR(2) = 0.14, p < 0.01), United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 score (ΔR(2) = 0.08, p < 0.05) and National Board of Medical Examiner subject examination score in internal medicine (ΔR(2) = 0.10, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that most students in the formative stages of learning diagnostic reasoning skills are aware of and think about at least one key diagnostic reasoning process or strategy while solving a clinical case, but a substantially smaller percentage set goals or develop plans that incorporate such strategies. Given that students who developed more strategic plans achieved better outcomes, the potential importance of forethought regulatory processes is underscored. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Medical Education published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Theory of mind in Williams syndrome assessed using a nonverbal task.

PubMed

Porter, Melanie A; Coltheart, Max; Langdon, Robyn

2008-05-01

This study examined Theory of Mind in Williams syndrome (WS) and in normal chronological age-matched and mental age-matched control groups, using a picture sequencing task. This task assesses understanding of pretence, intention and false belief, while controlling for social-script knowledge and physical cause-and-effect reasoning. The task was selected because it is entirely non-verbal, so that the WS individuals could not rely on their good verbal skills when performing the task. Results indicated a specific deficit in understanding of false belief within the WS group. There was also evidence of heterogeneity in the WS group, with the false belief impairment restricted to only a particular subgroup of WS individuals identified originally by Porter, M., & Coltheart, M. (2005). Cognitive heterogeneity in Williams syndrome. Developmental Neuropsychology, 27(2), 275-306.

[Communication Strategies in Dealing with Patients with Glaucoma].

PubMed

Sandner, J

2016-02-01

When patients with glaucoma meet doctors and their assistants in a doctor's office or a hospital all hope that this contact will be trouble-free, helpful, perhaps even happy and conducted in a constructive spirit. But this is not always the case. Words and gestures may accidently hurt or reject the patient. Often the communication results in harm instead of help and healing. For this reason, it is worthwhile to have a glimpse behind the curtain of the difficult interactions between people. The rules of communication in the medical context will help to facilitate the contact between doctors and patients. Verbal and non-verbal communication play an important role, for example in how to address the individual patient, as well as the timing and wording. Expertise in communication is a key qualification for medical professionals! Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The magic shrinking machine revisited: The presence of props at recall facilitates memory in 3-year-olds.

PubMed

Dahl, Jonna J; Kingo, Osman S; Krøjgaard, Peter

2015-12-01

In a seminal study Simcock and Hayne (2002) showed that 3-year-olds were unable to use newly acquired words to describe a "magic" event experienced 6 or 12 months earlier. In the reference study the children's verbal recall was tested without props being present. Inspired by recent evidence, the original design was replicated, testing 33-and 39-month-olds (n = 180), but with props present at recall while controlling for potential online reasoning. The results revealed that the children did use newly acquired words to describe their preverbal memory. Thus, the present study shows that nonverbal memories can be verbalized if the recall setting provides a high level of contextual support, a finding relevant to researchers investigating the offset of childhood amnesia. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Job strain and cognitive decline: a prospective study of the framingham offspring cohort.

PubMed

Agbenyikey, W; Karasek, R; Cifuentes, M; Wolf, P A; Seshadri, S; Taylor, J A; Beiser, A S; Au, R

2015-04-01

Workplace stress is known to be related with many behavioral and disease outcomes. However, little is known about its prospective relationship with measures of cognitive decline. To investigate the association of job strain, psychological demands and job control on cognitive decline. Participants from Framingham Offspring cohort (n=1429), were assessed on job strain, and received neuropsychological assessment approximately 15 years and 21 years afterwards. High job strain and low control were associated with decline in verbal learning and memory. Job strain was associated with decline in word recognition skills. Active job and passive job predicted decline in verbal learning and memory relative to low strain jobs in the younger subgroup. Active job and demands were positively associated with abstract reasoning skills. Job strain and job control may influence decline in cognitive performance.

Physical and verbal workplace violence against nurses in Jordan.

PubMed

Al-Omari, H

2015-03-01

To explore the prevalence of physical and verbal workplace violence among nurses working in general hospitals in Jordan, and to investigate the relation between physical violence, verbal violence, anxiety about violence, and some certain demographic variables. Violence against nurses at the workplace is an alarming problem in both developed and developing countries. This study explicates physical and psychological workplace violence and its relation to anxiety about violence at workplace and to some demographic variables. A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on a convenience sample of nurses working in general hospitals in Jordan. A total of 468 nurses completed the questionnaire, 52.8% of the participants reported that they were physically attacked, and 67.8% were verbally attacked in the last 12 months. Of those who were physically attacked, 26.5% reported a physical violence with a weapon. The logistic regression analysis revealed that female nurses were 0.5 times less likely to report being physically attacked and were 1.5 times more likely to report being verbally abused than male nurses. Violence against nurses is highly prevalent in Jordan. More than half of the participants were victims of violence at their workplace during the last year. Verbal abuse was more common among females than males. Nurses are in the frontline of the healthcare system and their safety is a high priority. They need to be involved in the development and formulation of workplace violence policy decisions. Physical and verbal workplace violence in Jordan, like other countries, is a dangerous behavior that negatively affects general hospital nurses. © 2015 International Council of Nurses.

Differential V-Q Ability: Twenty Years Later

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarthy, S. Viterbo

1975-01-01

The initial portion of this paper addresses itself to some of the methodological concerns associated with Verbal-Quantitative (V-Q) research. The second section focuses on studies using differential V-Q ability as an independent variable. The final section focuses on reasearch using V-Q ability measures as dependent variables. (Author/BJG)

Predictors of reading fluency in Italian orthography: evidence from a cross-sectional study of primary school students.

PubMed

Tobia, Valentina; Marzocchi, Gian Marco

2014-01-01

This study investigates the role of linguistic and visuospatial attentional processes in predicting reading fluency in typical Italian readers attending primary school. Tasks were administered to 651 children with reading fluency z scores > -1.5 standard deviation to evaluate their phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), verbal short-term memory, vocabulary, visual search skills, verbal-visual recall, and visual-spatial attention. Hybrid models combining confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis were used to evaluate the data obtained from younger (first and second grade) and older (third-fifth grade) children, respectively. The results showed that phonological awareness and RAN played a significant role among younger children, while also vocabulary, verbal short-term memory, and visuospatial attention were significant factors among older children.

Mathematics Literacy of Secondary Students in Solving Simultanenous Linear Equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitompul, R. S. I.; Budayasa, I. K.; Masriyah

2018-01-01

This study examines the profile of secondary students’ mathematical literacy in solving simultanenous linear equations problems in terms of cognitive style of visualizer and verbalizer. This research is a descriptive research with qualitative approach. The subjects in this research consist of one student with cognitive style of visualizer and one student with cognitive style of verbalizer. The main instrument in this research is the researcher herself and supporting instruments are cognitive style tests, mathematics skills tests, problem-solving tests and interview guidelines. Research was begun by determining the cognitive style test and mathematics skill test. The subjects chosen were given problem-solving test about simultaneous linear equations and continued with interview. To ensure the validity of the data, the researcher conducted data triangulation; the steps of data reduction, data presentation, data interpretation, and conclusion drawing. The results show that there is a similarity of visualizer and verbalizer-cognitive style in identifying and understanding the mathematical structure in the process of formulating. There are differences in how to represent problems in the process of implementing, there are differences in designing strategies and in the process of interpreting, and there are differences in explaining the logical reasons.

Increasing verbal knowledge mediates development of multidimensional emotion representations

PubMed Central

Nook, Erik C.; Sasse, Stephanie F.; Lambert, Hilary K.; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Somerville, Leah H.

2017-01-01

How do people represent their own and others’ emotional experiences? Contemporary emotion theories and growing evidence suggest that the conceptual representation of emotion plays a central role in how people understand the emotions both they and other people feel.1–6 Although decades of research indicate that adults typically represent emotion concepts as multidimensional, with valence (positive—negative) and arousal (activating—deactivating) as two primary dimensions,7–10 little is known about how this bidimensional (or circumplex) representation arises.11 Here we show that emotion representations develop from a monodimensional focus on valence to a bidimensional focus on both valence and arousal from age 6 to age 25. We investigated potential mechanisms underlying this effect and found that increasing verbal knowledge mediated emotion representation development over and above three other potential mediators: (i) fluid reasoning, (ii) the general ability to represent non-emotional stimuli bidimensionally, and (iii) task-related behaviors (e.g., using extreme ends of rating scales). These results suggest that verbal development facilitates the expansion of emotion concept representations (and potentially emotional experiences) from a “positive or negative” dichotomy in childhood to a multidimensional organization in adulthood. PMID:29399639

Communication tips for the job search and on the job.

PubMed

Linney, B J

2000-01-01

Listening, speaking, and nonverbal skills are the most important success factors in getting a job or being effective in your current position. If you don't communicate well, your technical knowledge won't ever be put to good use. Recruiters, hiring organizations, and bosses are looking for people who can play well with others and can sell. Playing well with others involves listening and having self-control about what you say. To sell yourself and your ideas or products, you must speak well. You also must be well-groomed, look energetic, and sound reasonably happy to be at work. Good listeners: Stop talking; ask open-ended questions; para-phrase, restate, or summarize some of what the person had said; and talk about feelings. Effective speakers: Have voice mail etiquette; are courteous and tactful; don't react to a verbal attack; don't engage in verbal attacks; use the right amount of words; don't say too much; prepare ahead of time; and decide whether they should speak or write their message. And remember the power of body language or non-verbal skills--how you look and sound. Experts estimate that 65 to 90 percent of what you communicate is nonverbal.

Psychological variables and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV performance.

PubMed

Gass, Carlton S; Gutierrez, Laura

2017-01-01

The MMPI-2 and WAIS-IV are commonly used together in neuropsychological evaluations yet little is known about their interrelationships. This study explored the potential influence of psychological factors on WAIS-IV performance in a sample of 180 predominantly male veteran referrals that underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological examination in a VA Medical Center. Exclusionary criteria included failed performance validity testing and self-report distortion on the MMPI-2. A Principal Components Analysis was performed on the 15 MMPI-2 content scales, yielding three broader higher-order psychological dimensions: Internalized Emotional Dysfunction (IED), Externalized Emotional Dysfunction (EED), and Fear. Level of IED was not related to performance on the WAIS-IV Full Scale IQ or its four indexes: (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, and Processing Speed). EED was not related to WAIS-IV performance. Level of Fear, which encompasses health preoccupations (HEA) and distorted perceptions (BIZ), was significantly related to WAIS-IV Full Scale IQ and Verbal Comprehension. These results challenge the common use of high scores on the MMPI-2 IED measures (chiefly depression and anxiety) to explain deficient WAIS-IV performance. In addition, they provide impetus for further investigation of the relation between verbal intelligence and Fear.

Evaluating 1-, 2- and 3- Parameter Logistic Models Using Model-Based and Empirically-Based Simulations under Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Set Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rizavi, Saba; Way, Walter D.; Lu, Ying; Pitoniak, Mary; Steffen, Manfred

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to use realistically simulated data to evaluate various CAT designs for use with the verbal reasoning measure of the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). Factors such as item pool depth, content constraints, and item formats often cause repeated adaptive administrations of an item at ability levels that are not…

Visual/Verbal-Analytic Reasoning Bias as a Function of Self-Reported Autistic-Like Traits: A Study of Typically Developing Individuals Solving Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fugard, Andrew J. B.; Stewart, Mary E.; Stenning, Keith

2011-01-01

People with autism spectrum condition (ASC) perform well on Raven's matrices, a test which loads highly on the general factor in intelligence. However, the mechanisms supporting enhanced performance on the test are poorly understood. Evidence is accumulating that milder variants of the ASC phenotype are present in typically developing individuals,…

Cognitive models of medical decision-making capacity in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Okonkwo, O C; Griffith, H R; Belue, K; Lanza, S; Zamrini, E Y; Harrell, L E; Brockington, J C; Clark, D; Raman, R; Marson, D C

2008-03-01

This study investigated cognitive predictors of medical decision-making capacity (MDC) in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A total of 56 healthy controls, 60 patients with MCI, and 31 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) were administered the Capacity to Consent to Treatment Instrument (CCTI) and a neuropsychological test battery. The CCTI assesses MDC across four established treatment consent standards--S1 (expressing choice), S3 (appreciation), S4 (reasoning), and S5 (understanding)--and one experimental standard [S2] (reasonable choice). Scores on neuropsychological measures were correlated with scores on each CCTI standard. Significant bivariate correlates were subsequently entered into stepwise regression analyses to identity group-specific multivariable predictors of MDC across CCTI standards. Different multivariable cognitive models emerged across groups and consent standards. For the MCI group, measures of short-term verbal memory were key predictors of MDC for each of the three clinically relevant standards (S3, S4, and S5). Secondary predictors were measures of executive function. In contrast, in the mild AD group, measures tapping executive function and processing speed were primary predictors of S3, S4, and S5. MDC in patients with MCI is supported primarily by short-term verbal memory. The findings demonstrate the impact of amnestic deficits on MDC in patients with MCI.

Mental object rotation in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Crucian, Gregory P; Barrett, Anna M; Burks, David W; Riestra, Alonso R; Roth, Heidi L; Schwartz, Ronald L; Triggs, William J; Bowers, Dawn; Friedman, William; Greer, Melvin; Heilman, Kenneth M

2003-11-01

Deficits in visual-spatial ability can be associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), and there are several possible reasons for these deficits. Dysfunction in frontal-striatal and/or frontal-parietal systems, associated with dopamine deficiency, might disrupt cognitive processes either supporting (e.g., working memory) or subserving visual-spatial computations. The goal of this study was to assess visual-spatial orientation ability in individuals with PD using the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), along with other measures of cognitive function. Non-demented men with PD were significantly less accurate on this test than matched control men. In contrast, women with PD performed similarly to matched control women, but both groups of women did not perform much better than chance. Further, mental rotation accuracy in men correlated with their executive skills involving mental processing and psychomotor speed. In women with PD, however, mental rotation accuracy correlated negatively with verbal memory, indicating that higher mental rotation performance was associated with lower ability in verbal memory. These results indicate that PD is associated with visual-spatial orientation deficits in men. Women with PD and control women both performed poorly on the MRT, possibly reflecting a floor effect. Although men and women with PD appear to engage different cognitive processes in this task, the reason for the sex difference remains to be elucidated.

Distributed neural representations of logical arguments in school-age children

PubMed Central

Mathieu, Romain; Booth, James R.; Prado, Jérôme

2016-01-01

Children’s understanding of linear-order (e.g., Dan is taller than Lisa, Lisa is taller than Jess) and set-inclusion (i.e., All tulips are flowers, All flowers are plants) relationships is critical for the acquisition of deductive reasoning, i.e., the ability to reach logically valid conclusions from given premises. Behavioral and neuroimaging studies in adults suggest processing differences between these relations: While arguments that involve linear-orders may be preferentially associated with spatial processing, arguments that involve set-inclusions may be preferentially associated with verbal processing. In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether these processing differences appear during the period of elementary school in development. Consistent with previous studies in adults, we found that arguments that involve linear-order and set-inclusion relationships preferentially involve spatial and verbal brain mechanisms (respectively) in school-age children (9 to 14 year olds). Because this neural sensitivity was not related to age, it likely emerges before the period of elementary education. However, the period of elementary education might play an important role in shaping the neural processing of logical reasoning, as indicated by developmental changes in frontal and parietal regions that were dependent upon the type of relation. PMID:25355487

Organisational justice and cognitive function in middle-aged employees: the Whitehall II study.

PubMed

Elovainio, Marko; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Ferrie, Jane E; Shipley, Martin; Gimeno, David; De Vogli, Roberto; Vahtera, Jussi; Virtanen, Marianna; Jokela, Markus; Marmot, Michael G; Kivimäki, Mika

2012-06-01

Little is known about the role that work-related factors play in the decline of cognitive function. This study examined the association between perceived organisational justice and cognitive function among middle-aged men and women. Perceived organisational justice was measured at phases 1 (1985-8) and 2 (1989-90) of the Whitehall II study when the participants were 35-55 years old. Assessment of cognitive function at the screening clinic at phases 5 (1997-9) and 7 (2003-4) included the following tests in the screening clinic: memory, inductive reasoning (Alice Heim 4), vocabulary (Mill Hill), and verbal fluency (phonemic and semantic). Mean exposure to lower organisational justice at phases 1 and 2 in relation to cognitive function at phases 5 and 7 were analysed using linear regression analyses. The final sample included 4531 men and women. Lower mean levels of justice at phases 1 and 2 were associated with worse cognitive function in terms of memory, inductive reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency at both phases 5 and 7. These associations were independent of covariates, such as age, occupational grade, behavioural risks, depression, hypertension and job strain. This study suggests an association between perceived organisational justice and cognitive function. Further studies are needed to examine whether interventions designed to improve organisational justice would affect employees' cognition function favourably.

Medical decision-making capacity in patients with malignant glioma.

PubMed

Triebel, Kristen L; Martin, Roy C; Nabors, Louis B; Marson, Daniel C

2009-12-15

Patients with malignant glioma (MG) must make ongoing medical treatment decisions concerning a progressive disease that erodes cognition. We prospectively assessed medical decision-making capacity (MDC) in patients with MG using a standardized psychometric instrument. Participants were 22 healthy controls and 26 patients with histologically verified MG. Group performance was compared on the Capacity to Consent to Treatment Instrument (CCTI), a psychometric measure of MDC incorporating 4 standards (choice, understanding, reasoning, and appreciation), and on neuropsychological and demographic variables. Capacity outcomes (capable, marginally capable, or incapable) on the CCTI standards were identified for the MG group. Within the MG group, scores on demographic, clinical, and neuropsychological variables were correlated with scores on each CCTI standard, and significant bivariate correlates were subsequently entered into exploratory stepwise regression analyses to identify multivariate cognitive predictors of the CCTI standards. Patients with MG performed significantly below controls on consent standards of understanding and reasoning, and showed a trend on appreciation. Relative to controls, more than 50% of the patients with MG demonstrated capacity compromise (marginally capable or incapable outcomes) in MDC. In the MG group, cognitive measures of verbal acquisition/recall and, to a lesser extent, semantic fluency predicted performance on the appreciation, reasoning, and understanding standards. Karnofsky score was also associated with CCTI performance. Soon after diagnosis, patients with malignant glioma (MG) have impaired capacity to make treatment decisions relative to controls. Medical decision-making capacity (MDC) impairment in MG seems to be primarily related to the effects of short-term verbal memory deficits. Ongoing assessment of MDC in patients with MG is strongly recommended.

Stunting, selenium deficiency and anemia are associated with poor cognitive performance in preschool children from rural Ethiopia.

PubMed

Gashu, Dawd; Stoecker, Barbara J; Bougma, Karim; Adish, Abdulaziz; Haki, Gulelat D; Marquis, Grace S

2016-04-12

Anthropometric characteristics and iron status affect cognitive performance in children. In addition, selenium can influence cognitive outcomes; protection of the brain from oxidative stress and its role in thyroid hormone metabolism are putative mechanisms. To investigate their association with cognitive performance, anthropometric indicators, iron biomarkers, and serum selenium of children (n = 541) of 54-60mo of age from rural Ethiopia were assessed. Cognitive assessment was conducted with the administration of two reasoning subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and the school readiness test. Stunting was found in 41.4 % of children, 28.7 % were underweight, and 6.3 % were wasted. The mean score of stunted children was lower than that of non-stunted children on non-verbal reasoning (7.0 ± 3.2vs7.9 ± 3.1; p = 0.01) and the school readiness tests (4.3 ± 2.2 vs 3.3 ± 2.1; p < 0.001). Compared to non-anemic children, anemic children had lower score for the verbal reasoning test (9.5 ± 1.7 vs 8.9 ± 2.2; p = 0.02). However, except for hemoglobin, none of the iron biomarkers had significant associations with the cognitive score of the study children (p > 0.05). Selenium deficient children had lower scores on all cognitive tests than normal children (p < 0.05). The present study finding linking chronic undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency to cognitive deficits suggests the need for designing effective intervention programmes to control for protein energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency and address cognitive development in children.

Contrasting preschoolers' verbal reasoning in an object-individuation task with young infants' preverbal feats.

PubMed

Krist, Horst; Karl, Karoline; Krüger, Markus

2016-12-01

Young infants infer a second object if shown an object apparently moving on a discontinuous path (Aguiar & Baillargeon, 2002; Spelke, Kestenbaum, Simons, & Wein, 1995). In three experiments, we examined whether children aged 3-6 years and adults would do the same in their verbal explanations of an apparent continuity violation. Presenting participants with video clips (Exp. 1 and 3) as well as live events (Exp. 2) of a toy locomotive apparently passing through a tunnel without appearing in a large opening in the middle, we found virtually no evidence for generations of two-object explanations of the critical test event in preschoolers. Some of the younger children even denied a continuity violation at first. When participants were familiarized to two identical objects instead of just one, they were more likely to realize that a second object was involved in the test events but, unlike adults (Exp. 3), most children nonetheless adhered to a one-object interpretation. Analyzing 3- and 5-year-old children's and adults' eye movements (Exp. 3), we found that children's difficulties to infer a second object from an apparent continuity violation were not caused by inappropriate looking strategies. We conclude that preschoolers' physical reasoning about the numerical identity of objects is not continuous with the preverbal reasoning of infants. Rather than being exclusively constrained by the output of basic object-individuation processes, as in infants, it is also strongly influenced, in a top-down manner, by prior beliefs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Birth weight and cognitive development in adolescence: causal relationship or social selection?

PubMed

Gorman, Bridget K

2002-01-01

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health), I investigate the relationship between birth weight and cognitive development among adolescents aged 12-17. Initial OLS regression models reveal a significant, positive relationship between low birth weight and verbal ability. Controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and other adolescent characteristics modifies, but does not eliminate, this relationship. Additional models that stratify the sample by parental education illustrate the greater importance of other family and adolescent characteristics for cognitive development in adolescence, and a diminished role of birth weight. In the final section of the paper, fixed effects models of non-twin full siblings indicate no significant association between birth weight and verbal ability, suggesting that traditional cross-sectional models overstate the influence of birth weight for cognitive development in adolescence.

Age-related differences in neuropsychological assessment of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Taylor, Nicole M; Enns, Leah N

2018-04-01

This cross-sectional study examined 6 key areas of neuropsychological functioning (cognitive, academic, attention, executive function, adaptive skills) comparing adolescents and school-age children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The aims were: (i) to examine which neuropsychological measures were predictive of an FASD diagnosis in adolescents and school-age children with PAE, and (ii) to compare the neuropsychological performance of adolescents and children diagnosed with FASD. Hierarchical logistic regressions determined that the Full-Scale IQ, Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Reasoning indices, basic reading and math skills, adaptive functioning at school, and components of executive functioning (dependent on age) improved the probability of an accurate FASD diagnosis in both groups: 9.1% to 19.2% for adolescents and 10.9% to 19.4% for school-age children (61.5%-80.9% correct classifications overall). For the age comparison analyses (ANOVAs/MANOVAs), a significant difference was observed in the cognitive domain, as well as with basic math skills (trend) in the sample diagnosed with FASD, with lower scores observed for adolescents across these measures. These findings provide further evidence for age differences in neuropsychological assessment as well as increased neuropsychological difficulties in adolescence by comparison with childhood with FASD. Longitudinal studies will be needed to make further inferences about developmental changes in neuropsychological functioning in FASD.

Peer Victimization and Academic Performance in Primary School Children.

PubMed

Mundy, Lisa K; Canterford, Louise; Kosola, Silja; Degenhardt, Louisa; Allen, Nicholas B; Patton, George C

Peer victimization is a common antecedent of poor social and emotional adjustment. Its relationship with objectively measured academic performance is unclear. In this study we aimed to quantify the cross-sectional associations between peer victimization and academic performance in a large population sample of children. Eight- to 9-year-old children were recruited from a stratified random sample of primary schools in Australia. Academic performance was measured on a national achievement test (1 year of learning equals 40 points). Physical and verbal victimization were measured according to child self-report. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analyses were conducted. For female children, verbal victimization was associated with poorer academic performance on writing (β = 17.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], -28.2 to -6.2) and grammar/punctuation (β = -20.8; 95% CI, -40.1 to -1.6). Physical victimization was associated with poorer performance on numeracy (male children: β = -29.0; 95% CI, -53.8 to -4.1; female children: β = -30.1; 95% CI, -56.6 to -3.5), and writing (female children: β = -21.5; 95% CI, -40.4 to -2.7). Verbal and physical victimization were associated with poorer performance on reading (male children: β = -31.5; 95% CI, -59.9 to -3.1; female children: β = -30.2; 95% CI, -58.6 to -1.8), writing (female children: β = -25.5; 95% CI, -42.8 to -8.2), spelling (female children: β = -32.3; 95% CI, -59.6 to -4.9), and grammar/punctuation (female children: β = -32.2; 95% CI, -62.4 to -2.0). Children who were physically victimized were 6 to 9 months behind their non-victimized peers on measures of academic performance. There are growing reasons for education systems to invest in the prevention of bullying and promotion of positive peer relationships from the earliest years of school. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cognitive and adaptive correlates of an ADOS-derived joint attention composite

PubMed Central

Harrison, Ashley Johnson; Lu, Zhenqiu (Laura); McLean, Rebecca L.; Sheinkopf, Stephen J.

2016-01-01

Joint attention skills have been shown to predict language outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Less is known about the relationship between joint attention (JA) abilities in children with ASD and cognitive and adaptive abilities. In the current study, a subset of items from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), designed to quantify JA abilities, were used to investigate social attention among an unusually large cross-sectional sample of children with ASD (n = 1061). An examination of the association between JA and a range of functional correlates (cognitive and adaptive) revealed JA was significantly related to verbal (VIQ) and non-verbal (NVIQ) cognitive ability as well as all domains of adaptive functioning (socialization, communication, and daily living skills). Additional analyses examined the degree to which the relation between adaptive abilities (socialization, communication, and daily living skills) and JA was maintained after taking into account the potentially mediating role of verbal and nonverbal cognitive ability. Results revealed that VIQ fully mediated the relation between JA and adaptive functioning, whereas the relation between these adaptive variables and JA was only partially mediated by NVIQ. Moderation analyses were also conducted to examine how verbal and non-verbal cognitive ability and gender impacted the relation between JA and adaptive functioning. In line with research showing a relation between language and JA, this indicates that while JA is significantly related to functional outcomes, this appears to be mediated specifically through a verbal cognitive pathway. PMID:28168003

Memory and linguistic/executive functions of children with borderline intellectual functioning.

PubMed

Água Dias, Andrea B; Albuquerque, Cristina P; Simões, Mário R

2017-11-08

Children with Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF) have received a minimal amount of research attention and have been studied in conjunction with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The present study intends to broaden the knowledge of BIF, by analyzing domains such as verbal memory and visual memory, as well as tasks that rely simultaneously on memory, executive functions, and language. A cross-sectional, comparison study was carried out between a group of 40 children with BIF (mean age = 10.03; 24 male and 16 female), and a control group of 40 normal children of the same age, gender, and socioeconomic level as the BIF group. The WISC-III Full Scale IQs of the BIF group ranged from 71 to 84. The following instruments were used: Word List, Narrative Memory, Rey Complex Figure, Face Memory, Rapid Naming (both RAN and RAS tests), and Verbal Fluency. The results showed deficits in children with BIF in verbal short-term memory, rapid naming, phonemic verbal fluency, and visual short-term memory, specifically in a visual recognition task, when compared with the control group. Long-term verbal memory was impaired only in older children with BIF and long-term visual memory showed no deficit. Verbal short-term memory stands out as a limitation and visual long-term memory as a strength. Correlations between the WISC-III and neuropsychological tests scores were predominantly low. The study expands the neuropsychological characterization of children with BIF and the implications of the deficits and strengths are stressed.

An Examination of Juveniles' Miranda Abilities: Investigating Differences in Miranda Recall and Reasoning.

PubMed

Rogers, Richard; Steadham, Jennifer A; Carter, Rachel M; Henry, Sarah A; Drogin, Eric Y; Robinson, Emily V

2016-07-01

Juvenile suspects are routinely expected to possess an accurate recall of written or oral Miranda warnings. This study addresses the Miranda-related comprehension recall and reasoning of legally involved juveniles. It is the first juvenile research to compare systematically two levels of complexity for Miranda warnings with the three modalities (oral, written, or combined) of administration. Unexpectedly, easily read written warnings marginally outperformed the combined modality. In order to examine Miranda reasoning, three juvenile groups were operationalized: impaired, questionable, and likely adequate. Predictably, the impaired and questionable groups possessed significantly lower verbal abilities than the likely-adequate reasoning group. In addition, the likely-adequate group exhibited the strongest appreciation of the adversarial context in which Miranda waiver decisions are rendered. The discussion addresses the marked disparities in Miranda recall from a total recall versus component-by-component understanding of Miranda rights. It also considers more generally how crucially important Miranda misconceptions might be remedied. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Deductive and inductive reasoning in Parkinson's disease patients and normal controls: review and experimental evidence.

PubMed

Natsopoulos, D; Katsarou, Z; Alevriadou, A; Grouios, G; Bostantzopoulou, S; Mentenopoulos, G

1997-09-01

In the present study, fifty-four subjects were tested; twenty-seven with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and twenty-seven normal controls matched in age, education, verbal ability, level of depression, sex and socio-economic status. The subjects were tested on eight tasks. Five of the tasks were the classic deductive reasoning syllogisms, modus ponens, modus tollendo tollens, affirming the consequent, denying the antecedent and three-term series problems phrased in a factual context (brief scripts). Three of the tasks were inductive reasoning, including logical inferences, metaphors and similes. All tasks were presented to subjects in a multiple choice format. The results, overall, have shown nonsignificant differences between the two groups in deductive and inductive reasoning, an ability traditionally associated with frontal lobes involvement. Of the comparisons performed between subgroups of the patients and normal controls concerning disease duration, disease onset and predominant involvement of the left and/or right hemisphere, significant differences were found between patients with earlier disease onset and normal controls and between bilaterally affected patients and normal controls, demonstrating an additive effect of lateralization to reasoning ability.

Verbal fluency, naming and verbal comprehension: three aspects of language as predictors of cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Maseda, Ana; Lodeiro-Fernández, Leire; Lorenzo-López, Laura; Núñez-Naveira, Laura; Balo, Aránzazu; Millán-Calenti, Jose C

2014-01-01

To establish the possible relationship among three components of language (verbal fluency, naming and comprehension) and cognitive impairment as well as to determine the usefulness of language assessment tests to predict or monitor the development of cognitive impairment. A comparative, descriptive and cross-sectional study was performed on 82 subjects ≥ 65 years of age who were cognitively assessed with the Mini Mental State Examination and were divided into two groups: Group A comprised of subjects classified as levels 1, 2 and 3 on the Reisberg's Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and group B comprised of subjects at levels 4 and 5 of the GDS. Language skills were assessed by the Verbal Fluency Test, Boston Naming Test and Token Test. An inverse relationship between performance on language tests and cognitive impairment level was observed with a more pronounced effect observed on fluency and comprehension tests. Language assessments, especially fluency and comprehension, were good indicators of cognitive impairment. The use of these assessments as predictors of the degree of cognitive impairment is discussed in-depth.

Cognitive Attributes, Attention, and Self-Efficacy of Adequate and Inadequate Responders in a Fourth Grade Reading Intervention

PubMed Central

Cho, Eunsoo; Roberts, Garrett J.; Capin, Philip; Roberts, Greg; Miciak, Jeremy; Vaughn, Sharon

2015-01-01

We examined cognitive attributes, attention, and self-efficacy of fourth grade struggling readers who were identified as adequate responders (n = 27), inadequate responders with comprehension only deficits (n = 46), and inadequate responders with comprehension and word reading deficits (n = 52) after receiving a multicomponent reading intervention. We also included typical readers (n = 40). These four groups were compared on measures of nonverbal reasoning, working memory, verbal knowledge, listening comprehension, phonological awareness, and rapid naming as well as on teacher ratings of attention problems and self-reported self-efficacy. The two inadequate responder groups demonstrated difficulties primarily with verbal knowledge and listening comprehension compared to typical readers and adequate responders. Phonological awareness and rapid naming differentiated the two inadequate responder groups. In addition, both inadequate responder groups showed more attention problems and low self-efficacy compared to typical readers. PMID:26997755

Job Strain and Cognitive Decline: A Prospective Study of the Framingham Offspring Cohort

PubMed Central

Agbenyikey, W; Karasek, R; Cifuentes, M; Wolf, PA; Seshadri, S; Taylor, JA; Beiser, AS; Au, R

2017-01-01

Background Workplace stress is known to be related with many behavioral and disease outcomes. However, little is known about its prospective relationship with measures of cognitive decline. Objective To investigate the association of job strain, psychological demands and job control on cognitive decline. Methods Participants from Framingham Offspring cohort (n=1429), were assessed on job strain, and received neuropsychological assessment approximately 15 years and 21 years afterwards. Results High job strain and low control were associated with decline in verbal learning and memory. Job strain was associated with decline in word recognition skills. Active job and passive job predicted decline in verbal learning and memory relative to low strain jobs in the younger subgroup. Active job and demands were positively associated with abstract reasoning skills. Conclusions Job strain and job control may infuence decline in cognitive performance. PMID:25890602

Refusal skill ability: an examination of adolescent perceptions of effectiveness.

PubMed

Nichols, Tracy R; Birnel, Sara; Graber, Julia A; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Botvin, Gilbert J

2010-06-01

This pilot study examined whether refusal assertion as defined by a proven drug prevention program was associated with adolescent perceptions of effectiveness by comparing two sets of coded responses to adolescent videotaped refusal role-plays (N = 63). The original set of codes was defined by programmatic standards of refusal assertion and the second by a group of high school interns. Consistency with programming criteria was found for interns' ratings of several indicators of verbal and non-verbal assertiveness. However, a strategy previously defined by the program as effective was perceived as ineffective by adolescents while another deemed ineffective and problematic by intervention developers was viewed as effective. Interns endorsed presenting detailed and reasonable arguments as an effective refusal strategy while short, simple statements were deemed ineffective. This study suggests the importance of including adolescent perspectives in the design, delivery, and evaluation of drug prevention strategies.

Quantifying Novice and Expert Differences in Visual Diagnostic Reasoning in Veterinary Pathology Using Eye-Tracking Technology.

PubMed

Warren, Amy L; Donnon, Tyrone L; Wagg, Catherine R; Priest, Heather; Fernandez, Nicole J

2018-01-18

Visual diagnostic reasoning is the cognitive process by which pathologists reach a diagnosis based on visual stimuli (cytologic, histopathologic, or gross imagery). Currently, there is little to no literature examining visual reasoning in veterinary pathology. The objective of the study was to use eye tracking to establish baseline quantitative and qualitative differences between the visual reasoning processes of novice and expert veterinary pathologists viewing cytology specimens. Novice and expert participants were each shown 10 cytology images and asked to formulate a diagnosis while wearing eye-tracking equipment (10 slides) and while concurrently verbalizing their thought processes using the think-aloud protocol (5 slides). Compared to novices, experts demonstrated significantly higher diagnostic accuracy (p<.017), shorter time to diagnosis (p<.017), and a higher percentage of time spent viewing areas of diagnostic interest (p<.017). Experts elicited more key diagnostic features in the think-aloud protocol and had more efficient patterns of eye movement. These findings suggest that experts' fast time to diagnosis, efficient eye-movement patterns, and preference for viewing areas of interest supports system 1 (pattern-recognition) reasoning and script-inductive knowledge structures with system 2 (analytic) reasoning to verify their diagnosis.

Singaporean Mothers’ Perception of Their Three-year-old Child’s Weight Status: A Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Cheung, Yin Bun; Chan, Jerry Kok Yen; Tint, Mya Thway; Godfrey, Keith M.; Gluckman, Peter D.; Kwek, Kenneth; Saw, Seang Mei; Chong, Yap-Seng; Lee, Yung Seng; Yap, Fabian; Lek, Ngee

2016-01-01

Objective Inaccurate parental perception of their child’s weight status is commonly reported in Western countries. It is unclear whether similar misperception exists in Asian populations. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of Singaporean mothers to accurately describe their three-year-old child’s weight status verbally and visually. Methods At three years post-delivery, weight and height of the children were measured. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and converted into actual weight status using International Obesity Task Force criteria. The mothers were blinded to their child’s measurements and asked to verbally and visually describe what they perceived was their child’s actual weight status. Agreement between actual and described weight status was assessed using Cohen’s Kappa statistic (κ). Results Of 1237 recruited participants, 66.4% (n = 821) with complete data on mothers’ verbal and visual perceptions and children’s anthropometric measurements were analysed. Nearly thirty percent of the mothers were unable to describe their child’s weight status accurately. In verbal description, 17.9% under-estimated and 11.8% over-estimated their child’s weight status. In visual description, 10.4% under-estimated and 19.6% over-estimated their child’s weight status. Many mothers of underweight children over-estimated (verbal 51.6%; visual 88.8%), and many mothers of overweight and obese children under-estimated (verbal 82.6%; visual 73.9%), their child’s weight status. In contrast, significantly fewer mothers of normal-weight children were inaccurate (verbal 16.8%; visual 8.8%). Birth order (p<0.001), maternal (p = 0.004) and child’s weight status (p<0.001) were associated with consistently inaccurate verbal and visual descriptions. Conclusions Singaporean mothers, especially those of underweight and overweight children, may not be able to perceive their young child’s weight status accurately. To facilitate prevention of childhood obesity, educating parents and caregivers about their child’s weight status is needed. PMID:26820665

Human Processing of Knowledge from Texts: Acquisition, Integration, and Reasoning

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-06-01

comprehension. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1977. Craik , F.I.M., and Lockhart , R. S. Levels of processing : for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning A...Table 5.9 presents summary data regarding the performance levels and memory and search processes of individual subjects. The first row in Table 5.9...R-2256-ARP A June 1979 ARPA Order No.: 189-1 9020 Cybernetics Technology Human Processing of Knowledge from Texts: Acquisition, Integration, and

Neuropsychological profiles of children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Stadskleiv, Kristine; Jahnsen, Reidun; Andersen, Guro L; von Tetzchner, Stephen

2018-02-01

To explore factors contributing to variability in cognitive functioning in children with cerebral palsy (CP). A geographical cohort of 70 children with CP was assessed with tests of language comprehension, visual-spatial reasoning, attention, working memory, memory, and executive functioning. Mean age was 9;9 years (range 5;1-17;7), 54.3% were girls, and 50.0% had hemiplegic, 25.7% diplegic, 12.9% quadriplegic, and 11.4% dyskinetic CP. For the participants with severe motor impairments, assessments were adapted for gaze pointing. A cognitive quotient (CQ) was computed. Mean CQ was 78.5 (range 19-123). Gross motor functioning, epilepsy, and type of brain injury explained 35.5% of the variance in CQ (F = 10.643, p = .000). Twenty-four percent had an intellectual disability, most of them were children with quadriplegic CP. Verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning scores did only differ for the 21% with an uneven profile, of whom two-thirds had challenges with perceptual reasoning.

Engineering, technology and science disciplines and gender difference: a case study among Indian students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheruvalath, Reena

2018-01-01

It is proposed to examine the argument that females cannot perform better in engineering and science fields because of their poor mathematical or logical reasoning. The major reason for the reduced number of females in the above fields in India is the socio-cultural aversion towards females choosing the field and restriction in providing higher education for them by their parents. The present study shows that the females who get the opportunity to study engineering and science perform equal to or better than their male counterparts. An analysis of CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of 2631 students who have completed their engineering or science programme in one of the top engineering colleges in India for five years shows that female academic performance is equal to or better than that of males. Mathematical, logical, verbal and mechanical reasoning are tested while calculating CGPA.

Prevalence of inter-hemispheric asymetry in children and adolescents with interdisciplinary diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorder.

PubMed

Wajnsztejn, Alessandra Bernardes Caturani; Bianco, Bianca; Barbosa, Caio Parente

2016-01-01

To describe clinical and epidemiological features of children and adolescents with interdisciplinary diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorder and to investigate the prevalence of inter-hemispheric asymmetry in this population group. Cross-sectional study including children and adolescents referred for interdisciplinary assessment with learning difficulty complaints, who were given an interdisciplinary diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorder. The following variables were included in the analysis: sex-related prevalence, educational system, initial presumptive diagnoses and respective prevalence, overall non-verbal learning disorder prevalence, prevalence according to school year, age range at the time of assessment, major family complaints, presence of inter-hemispheric asymmetry, arithmetic deficits, visuoconstruction impairments and major signs and symptoms of non-verbal learning disorder. Out of 810 medical records analyzed, 14 were from individuals who met the diagnostic criteria for non-verbal learning disorder, including the presence of inter-hemispheric asymmetry. Of these 14 patients, 8 were male. The high prevalence of inter-hemispheric asymmetry suggests this parameter can be used to predict or support the diagnosis of non-verbal learning disorder. Descrever as características clínicas e epidemiológicas de crianças e adolescentes com transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal, e investigar a prevalência de assimetria inter-hemisférica neste grupo populacional. Estudo transversal que incluiu crianças e adolescentes encaminhados para uma avaliação interdisciplinar, com queixas de dificuldades de aprendizagem e que receberam diagnóstico interdisciplinar de transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal. As variáveis avaliadas foram prevalência por sexo, sistema de ensino, hipóteses diagnósticas iniciais e respectivas prevalências, prevalência de condições em relação à amostra total, prevalência geral do transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal, prevalência de acordo com ano escolar, faixa etária no momento da avaliação, principais queixas familiares, presença assimetria inter-hemisférica, dificuldade em aritmética, alterações em visuoconstrução, e principais sinais e sintomas do transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal. Dos 810 prontuários médicos analisados, 14 eram de indivíduos que preencheram os critérios diagnósticos para transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal, incluindo a assimetria inter-hemisférica. Destes 14 pacientes, 8 eram do sexo masculino. A alta prevalência de assimetria inter-hemisférica sugere que este parâmetro possa ser usado como preditor ou reforçador para diagnóstico de transtorno de aprendizagem não verbal.

The Influence of Witnessing Inter-parental Violence and Bullying Victimization in Involvement in Fighting among Adolescents: Evidence from a School-based Cross-sectional Survey in Peru

PubMed Central

Sharma, Bimala; Nam, Eun Woo; Kim, Ha Yun; Kim, Jong Koo

2016-01-01

Background Witnessing inter-parental violence and bullying victimization is common for many children and adolescents. This study examines the role of witnessing inter-parental violence and bullying victimization in involvement in physical fighting among Peruvian adolescents. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,368 randomly selected adolescents in 2015. We conducted logistic regression analyses to obtain crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for involvement in fighting among male and female adolescents. Results Among all adolescents, 35.8% had been involved in fighting in the last 12 months, 32.9% had been victim of verbal bullying and 37.9% had been the victim of physical bullying. Additionally, 39.2% and 27.8% of adolescents witnessed violence against their mother and father, respectively, at least once in their lives. Multivariate logistic regression analyses found that late adolescence, participation in economic activities, being the victim of verbal bullying, stress, and witnessing violence against the father among male adolescents, and self-rated academic performance and being the victim of physical or verbal bullying among female adolescents were associated with higher odds of being involved in fighting. Conclusion Verbal bullying victimization and witnessing violence against the father in males and bullying victimization in females were associated with greater odds of adolescents being involved in fighting. Creating a non-violent environment at both home and school would be an effective strategy for reducing fighting among the adolescent population. PMID:27358837

Model Based Reasoning by Introductory Students When Analyzing Earth Systems and Societal Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holder, L. N.; Herbert, B. E.

2014-12-01

Understanding how students use their conceptual models to reason about societal challenges involving societal issues such as natural hazard risk assessment, environmental policy and management, and energy resources can improve instructional activity design that directly impacts student motivation and literacy. To address this question, we created four laboratory exercises for an introductory physical geology course at Texas A&M University that engages students in authentic scientific practices by using real world problems and issues that affect societies based on the theory of situated cognition. Our case-study design allows us to investigate the various ways that students utilize model based reasoning to identify and propose solutions to societally relevant issues. In each of the four interventions, approximately 60 students in three sections of introductory physical geology were expected to represent and evaluate scientific data, make evidence-based claims about the data trends, use those claims to express conceptual models, and use their models to analyze societal challenges. Throughout each step of the laboratory exercise students were asked to justify their claims, models, and data representations using evidence and through the use of argumentation with peers. Cognitive apprenticeship was the foundation for instruction used to scaffold students so that in the first exercise they are given a partially completed model and in the last exercise students are asked to generate a conceptual model on their own. Student artifacts, including representation of earth systems, representation of scientific data, verbal and written explanations of models and scientific arguments, and written solutions to specific societal issues or environmental problems surrounding earth systems, were analyzed through the use of a rubric that modeled authentic expertise and students were sorted into three categories. Written artifacts were examined to identify student argumentation and justifications of solutions through the use of evidence and reasoning. Higher scoring students justified their solutions through evidence-based claims, while lower scoring students typically justified their solutions using anecdotal evidence, emotional ideologies, and naive and incomplete conceptions of earth systems.

Impaired conditional reasoning in alcoholics: a negative impact on social interactions and risky behaviors?

PubMed

Kornreich, Charles; Delle-Vigne, Dyna; Knittel, Julian; Nerincx, Aurore; Campanella, Salvatore; Noel, Xavier; Hanak, Catherine; Verbanck, Paul; Ermer, Elsa

2011-05-01

To study the 'social brain' in alcoholics by investigating social contract reasoning, theory of mind and emotional intelligence. A behavioral study comparing recently detoxified alcoholics with normal, healthy controls. Emotional intelligence and decoding of emotional non-verbal cues have been shown to be impaired in alcoholics. This study explores whether these deficits extend to conditional reasoning about social contracts. Twenty-five recently detoxified alcoholics (17 men and eight women) were compared with 25 normal controls (17 men and eight women) matched for sex, age and education level. Wason selection task investigating conditional reasoning on three different rule types (social contract, precautionary and descriptive), revised Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (modified version) and additional control measures. Conditional reasoning was impaired in alcoholics. Performance on descriptive rules was not above chance. Reasoning performance was markedly better on social contract and precautionary rules, but this performance was still significantly lower than in controls. Several emotional intelligence measures were lower in alcoholics compared to controls, but these were not correlated with reasoning performance. Conditional reasoning, including reasoning about social contracts and emotional intelligence appear to be impaired in alcoholics. Impairment seems to be particularly severe on descriptive rules. Impairment in social contract reasoning might lead to misunderstandings and frustration in social interactions, and reasoning difficulties about precautionary rules might contribute to risky behaviors in this population. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Cognitive models of physicians' legal standard and personal judgments of competency in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Earnst, K S; Marson, D C; Harrell, L E

2000-08-01

To investigate measures of patient cognitive abilities as predictors of physician judgments of medical treatment consent capacity (competency) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Predictor models of legal standards (LS) and personal competency judgments were developed for each study physician using independent neuropsychological test measures and logistic regression analyses. A university medical center. Five physicians with experience assessing the competency of AD patients were recruited to make competency judgments of videotaped vignettes from 10 older controls and 21 patients with AD (10 with mild and 11 with moderate dementia). The 31 patient and control videotapes of performance on a measure of treatment consent capacity (Capacity to Consent to Treatment Instrument) (CCTI) were rated by the five physicians. The CCTI consists of two clinical vignettes (A-neoplasm and B-cardiac) that test competency under five LS. Each study physician viewed each vignette videotape individually, made judgments of competent or incompetent under each of the LS, and then made his/her own personal competency judgment. Physicians were blinded to participant diagnosis and neuropsychological test performance. Stepwise logistic regression was conducted to identify cognitive predictors of each physician's LS and personal competency judgments for Vignette A using the full sample (n = 31). Classification logistic regression analysis was used to determine how well these cognitive predictor models classified each physician's competency judgments for Vignette A. These classification models were then cross-validated using physician's Vignette B judgments. Cognitive predictor models for Vignette A competency judgments differed across individual physicians, and were related to difficulty of LS and to incompetency outcome rates across LS for AD patients. Measures of semantic knowledge and receptive language predicted judgments under less difficult LS of evidencing a treatment choice (LS1) and making the reasonable treatment choice (LS2). Measures of semantic knowledge, short-term verbal recall, and simple reasoning ability predicted judgments under more difficult and clinically relevant LS of appreciating consequences of a treatment choice (LS3), providing rational reasons for a treatment choice (LS4), and understanding the treatment situation and choices (LSS). Cognitive models for physicians' personal competency judgments were virtually identical to their respective models for LS5 judgments. For AD patients, shortterm memory predictors were associated with high incompetency outcome rates (over 70%), a simple reasoning measure was associated with moderately high incompetency outcome rates (60-70%), and a semantic knowledge measure was associated with lower incompetency outcome rates (30-60%). Overall, single predictor models were relatively robust, correctly classifying an average of 83% of physician judgments for Vignette A and 80% of judgments for Vignette B. Multiple cognitive functions predicted physicians' LS and personal competency judgments. Declines in semantic knowledge, short-term verbal recall, and simple reasoning ability predicted physicians' judgments on the three most difficult and clinically most relevant LS (LS3-LS5), as well as their personal competency judgments. Our findings suggest that clinical assessment of competency should include evaluation of semantic knowledge, verbal recall, and simple reasoning abilities.

Semantics, pragmatics, and formal thought disorders in people with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Salavera, Carlos; Puyuelo, Miguel; Antoñanzas, José L; Teruel, Pilar

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyze how formal thought disorders (FTD) affect semantics and pragmatics in patients with schizophrenia. The sample comprised subjects with schizophrenia (n = 102) who met the criteria for the disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition Text Revision. In the research process, the following scales were used: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for psychopathology measurements; the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language, and Communication (TLC) for FTD, Word Accentuation Test (WAT), System for the Behavioral Evaluation of Social Skills (SECHS), the pragmatics section of the Objective Criteria Language Battery (BLOC-SR) and the verbal sections of the Wechsler Adults Intelligence Scale (WAIS) III, for assessment of semantics and pragmatics. The results in the semantics and pragmatics sections were inferior to the average values obtained in the general population. Our data demonstrated that the more serious the FTD, the worse the performances in the Verbal-WAIS tests (particularly in its vocabulary, similarities, and comprehension sections), SECHS, and BLOC-SR, indicating that FTD affects semantics and pragmatics, although the results of the WAT indicated good premorbid language skills. The principal conclusion we can draw from this study is the evidence that in schizophrenia the superior level of language structure seems to be compromised, and that this level is related to semantics and pragmatics; when there is an alteration in this level, symptoms of FTD appear, with a wide-ranging relationship between both language and FTD. The second conclusion is that the subject's language is affected by the disorder and rules out the possibility of a previous verbal impairment.

Semantics, pragmatics, and formal thought disorders in people with schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Salavera, Carlos; Puyuelo, Miguel; Antoñanzas, José L; Teruel, Pilar

2013-01-01

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze how formal thought disorders (FTD) affect semantics and pragmatics in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: The sample comprised subjects with schizophrenia (n = 102) who met the criteria for the disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition Text Revision. In the research process, the following scales were used: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for psychopathology measurements; the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language, and Communication (TLC) for FTD, Word Accentuation Test (WAT), System for the Behavioral Evaluation of Social Skills (SECHS), the pragmatics section of the Objective Criteria Language Battery (BLOC-SR) and the verbal sections of the Wechsler Adults Intelligence Scale (WAIS) III, for assessment of semantics and pragmatics. Results: The results in the semantics and pragmatics sections were inferior to the average values obtained in the general population. Our data demonstrated that the more serious the FTD, the worse the performances in the Verbal-WAIS tests (particularly in its vocabulary, similarities, and comprehension sections), SECHS, and BLOC-SR, indicating that FTD affects semantics and pragmatics, although the results of the WAT indicated good premorbid language skills. Conclusion: The principal conclusion we can draw from this study is the evidence that in schizophrenia the superior level of language structure seems to be compromised, and that this level is related to semantics and pragmatics; when there is an alteration in this level, symptoms of FTD appear, with a wide-ranging relationship between both language and FTD. The second conclusion is that the subject’s language is affected by the disorder and rules out the possibility of a previous verbal impairment. PMID:23430043

The efficacy of a volunteer-administered cognitive stimulation program in long-term care homes.

PubMed

van Zon, Lorraine; Kirby, John R; Anderson, Nicole

2016-06-01

Cognitive impairment (CI) that arises in some older adults limits independence and decreases quality of life. Cognitive stimulation programs delivered by professional therapists have been shown to help maintain cognitive abilities, but the costs of such programming are prohibitive. The present study explored the feasibility and efficacy of using long-term care homes' volunteers to administer a cognitive stimulation program to residents. Thirty-six resident participants and 16 volunteers were alternately assigned to one of two parallel groups: a control group (CG) or stimulation group (SG). For eight weeks, three times each week, CG participants met for standard "friendly visits" (casual conversation between a resident and volunteer) and SG participants met to work through a variety of exercises to stimulate residents' reasoning, attention, and memory abilities. Resident participants were pre- and post-tested using the Weschler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-Second Edition, Test of Memory, and Learning-Senior Edition, a modified Letter Sorting test (LS), Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and the Action Word Verbal Fluency Test. Two-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) controlling for dementia diagnosis indicated statistically greater improvements in the stimulation participants than in the control participants in Immediate Verbal Memory, p = 0.011; Non-Verbal Memory, p = 0.012; Learning, p = 0.016; and Verbal Fluency, p = 0.024. The feasibility and efficiency of a volunteer-administered cognitive stimulation program was demonstrated. Longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are recommended in order to continue investigating the breadth and depth volunteer roles in the maintenance of the cognitive abilities of older adults.

Contribution of neurocognition to 18-month employment outcomes in first-episode psychosis.

PubMed

Karambelas, George J; Cotton, Sue M; Farhall, John; Killackey, Eóin; Allott, Kelly A

2017-10-27

To examine whether baseline neurocognition predicts vocational outcomes over 18 months in patients with first-episode psychosis enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of Individual Placement and Support or treatment as usual. One-hundred and thirty-four first-episode psychosis participants completed an extensive neurocognitive battery. Principal axis factor analysis using PROMAX rotation was used to determine the underlying structure of the battery. Setwise (hierarchical) multiple linear and logistic regressions were used to examine predictors of (1) total hours employed over 18 months and (2) employment status, respectively. Neurocognition factors were entered in the models after accounting for age, gender, premorbid IQ, negative symptoms, treatment group allocation and employment status at baseline. Five neurocognitive factors were extracted: (1) processing speed, (2) verbal learning and memory, (3) knowledge and reasoning, (4) attention and working memory and (5) visual organization and memory. Employment status over 18 months was not significantly predicted by any of the predictors in the final model. Total hours employed over 18 months were significantly predicted by gender (P = .027), negative symptoms (P = .032) and verbal learning and memory (P = .040). Every step of the regression model was a significant predictor of total hours worked overall (final model: P = .013). Verbal learning and memory, negative symptoms and gender were implicated in duration of employment in first-episode psychosis. The other neurocognitive domains did not significantly contribute to the prediction of vocational outcomes over 18 months. Interventions targeting verbal memory may improve vocational outcomes in early psychosis. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Cognitive, sensory, and psychosocial characteristics in patients with Bardet-Biedl syndrome.

PubMed

Brinckman, Danielle D; Keppler-Noreuil, Kim M; Blumhorst, Catherine; Biesecker, Leslie G; Sapp, Julie C; Johnston, Jennifer J; Wiggs, Edythe A

2013-12-01

Forty-two patients with a clinical diagnosis of Bardet-Biedl syndrome ages 2-61 years were given a neuropsychological test battery to evaluate cognitive, sensory, and behavioral functioning. These tests included the Wechsler scales of intelligence, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Boston Naming Test, D-KEFS Verbal Fluency Test, D-KEFS Color-Word Interference Test, D-KEFS Sorting Test, Wide Range Achievement Test: Math and Reading Subtests, Purdue Pegboard, The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, Social Communication Questionnaire, Social Responsiveness Scale, and Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition, Parent Rating Scale. On the age appropriate Wechsler scale, the mean Verbal Comprehension was 81 (n = 36), Working Memory was 81 (n = 36), Perceptual Reasoning was 78 (n = 24) and Full Scale IQ was 75 (n = 26). Memory for a word list (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) was in the average range with a mean of 89 (n = 19). Fine motor speed was slow on the Purdue with mean scores 3-4 standard deviations below norms. All subjects were microsmic on the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test. Of these 42 patients, only 6 were able to complete all auditory and visual tests; 52% were unable to complete the visual tests due to impaired vision. A wide range of behavioral issues were endorsed on questionnaires given to parents. Most had social skill deficits but no pattern of either externalizing or internalizing problems. We identify a characteristic neuro-behavioral profile in our cohort comprised of reduced IQ, impaired fine-motor function, and decreased olfaction. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Bullying Victimization and Suicide Ideation and Behavior Among Adolescents in Europe: A 10-Country Study.

PubMed

Barzilay, Shira; Brunstein Klomek, Anat; Apter, Alan; Carli, Vladimir; Wasserman, Camilla; Hadlaczky, Gergö; Hoven, Christina W; Sarchiapone, Marco; Balazs, Judit; Kereszteny, Agnes; Brunner, Romuald; Kaess, Michael; Bobes, Julio; Saiz, Pilar; Cosman, Doina; Haring, Christian; Banzer, Raphaela; Corcoran, Paul; Kahn, Jean-Pierre; Postuvan, Vita; Podlogar, Tina; Sisask, Merike; Varnik, Airi; Wasserman, Danuta

2017-08-01

To examine risk and protective factors moderating the associations between three types of bullying victimization (physical, verbal, and relational bullying) with suicide ideation/attempts in a large representative sample of European adolescents. We analyzed cross-sectional data on 11,110 students (mean age = 14.9, standard deviation = .89) recruited from 168 schools in 10 European Union countries involved in the Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe study. A self-report questionnaire was used to measure victimization types, depression, anxiety, parental and peer support, and suicide ideation and attempts. For each outcome, we applied hierarchical nonlinear models controlling for sociodemographics. Prevalence of victimization was 9.4% physical, 36.1% verbal, and 33.0% relational. Boys were more likely to be physically and verbally victimized, whereas girls were more prone to relational victimization. Physical victimization was associated with suicide ideation, and relational victimization was associated with suicide attempts. Other associations between victimization and suicidality (ideation/attempts) were identified through analysis of interactions with additional risk and protective factors. Specifically, verbal victimization was associated with suicide ideation among adolescents with depression who perceived low parental support. Similarly, low peer support increased the associations between verbal victimization and suicide ideation. Verbal victimization was associated with suicide attempts among adolescents with anxiety who perceived low parental support. Findings support the development of prevention strategies for adolescent victims of bullying who may be at elevated risk for suicide ideation/behavior, by taking into account gender, the type of bullying, symptomatology, and availability of interpersonal support. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Resident experience of abuse and harassment in emergency medicine: ten years later.

PubMed

Li, Siu Fai; Grant, Kelly; Bhoj, Tanuja; Lent, Gretchen; Garrick, Jocelyn Freeman; Greenwald, Peter; Haber, Marc; Singh, Malini; Prodany, Karla; Sanchez, Leon; Dickman, Eitan; Spencer, James; Perera, Tom; Cowan, Ethan

2010-02-01

In 1995, a Society for Academic Emergency Medicine in-service survey reported high rates of verbal and physical abuse experienced by Emergency Medicine (EM) residents. We sought to determine the prevalence of abuse and harassment 10 years later to bring attention to these issues and determine if there has been a change in the prevalence of abuse over this time period. To determine the prevalence of abuse and harassment in a sample of EM residencies. We conducted a cross-section survey of EM residents from 10 residencies. EM residents were asked about their experience with verbal abuse, verbal threats, physical threats, physical attacks, sexual harassment, and racial harassment; and by whom. The primary outcome of the study was the prevalence of abuse and harassment as reported by EM residents. There were 196 of 380 residents (52%) who completed the survey. The prevalence of any type of abuse experienced was 91%; 86% of residents experienced verbal abuse, 65% verbal threats, 50% physical threats, 26% physical attacks, 23% sexual harassment, and 26% racial harassment. Women were more likely than men to encounter sexual harassment (37% [38/102] vs. 8% [7/92]; p < 0.001). Racial harassment was not limited to minorities (23% [16/60] for Caucasians vs. 26% [29/126] for non-Caucasians; p = 0.59). Senior residents were more likely to have encountered verbal and physical abuse. Only 12% of residents formally reported the abuse they experienced. Abuse and harassment during EM residency continues to be commonplace and is underreported. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pupil Diameter Tracks the Exploration-Exploitation Trade-off during Analogical Reasoning and Explains Individual Differences in Fluid Intelligence.

PubMed

Hayes, Taylor R; Petrov, Alexander A

2016-02-01

The ability to adaptively shift between exploration and exploitation control states is critical for optimizing behavioral performance. Converging evidence from primate electrophysiology and computational neural modeling has suggested that this ability may be mediated by the broad norepinephrine projections emanating from the locus coeruleus (LC) [Aston-Jones, G., & Cohen, J. D. An integrative theory of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function: Adaptive gain and optimal performance. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 28, 403-450, 2005]. There is also evidence that pupil diameter covaries systematically with LC activity. Although imperfect and indirect, this link makes pupillometry a useful tool for studying the locus coeruleus norepinephrine system in humans and in high-level tasks. Here, we present a novel paradigm that examines how the pupillary response during exploration and exploitation covaries with individual differences in fluid intelligence during analogical reasoning on Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. Pupillometry was used as a noninvasive proxy for LC activity, and concurrent think-aloud verbal protocols were used to identify exploratory and exploitative solution periods. This novel combination of pupillometry and verbal protocols from 40 participants revealed a decrease in pupil diameter during exploitation and an increase during exploration. The temporal dynamics of the pupillary response was characterized by a steep increase during the transition to exploratory periods, sustained dilation for many seconds afterward, and followed by gradual return to baseline. Moreover, the individual differences in the relative magnitude of pupillary dilation accounted for 16% of the variance in Advanced Progressive Matrices scores. Assuming that pupil diameter is a valid index of LC activity, these results establish promising preliminary connections between the literature on locus coeruleus norepinephrine-mediated cognitive control and the literature on analogical reasoning and fluid intelligence.

Effects of 50 Hz electric currents on mood and verbal reasoning skills.

PubMed Central

Stollery, B T

1986-01-01

Seventy-six male volunteers were studied in a crossover trial to assess the impact on the central system of electric currents such as might be induced by exposure to an intense power frequency electric field. Currents totalling 500 microamperes (50 Hz) were passed through electrodes attached to the head, upper arms, and feet, simulating exposure of and average man to a vertical electric field of about 36 kV/m. Exposure was continuous for a single day (5.5 hours) and the experiment was based on a double blind, counterbalanced, within subject design. A series of psychological tests examining self reports of both stress and arousal (mood checklist) and performance tests of memory, attention, and verbal skills were administered. Although the double blind conditions were compromised to some extent by reported sensations at electrode sites, the duration of these sensations was small in relation to the overall exposure or sham exposure time and did not interact with the effects apparently associated with exposure that were found. No significant difference between the exposed and sham-exposed groups was found on the first day, but on the second day the sham exposed group felt more aroused at the end of the day and their response times had improved more on the complex problems of a syntactic reasoning test. No exposure effects were apparent in self reports of stress or in performance in a semantic reasoning test, although both showed some influence of sensations. Interpretation of the exposure effects is complicated by their apparent restriction of the second test day, which may indicate some type of state dependent transfer phenomenon. PMID:3707872

Music practice is associated with development of working memory during childhood and adolescence.

PubMed

Bergman Nutley, Sissela; Darki, Fahimeh; Klingberg, Torkel

2014-01-07

Practicing a musical instrument is associated with cognitive benefits and structural brain changes in correlational and interventional trials; however, the effect of musical training on cognition during childhood is still unclear. In this longitudinal study of child development we analyzed the association between musical practice and performance on reasoning, processing speed and working memory (WM) during development. Subjects (n = 352) between the ages of 6 and 25 years participated in neuropsychological assessments and neuroimaging investigations (n = 64) on two or three occasions, 2 years apart. Mixed model regression showed that musical practice had an overall positive association with WM capacity (visuo-spatial WM, F = 4.59, p = 0.033, verbal WM, F = 9.69, p = 0.002), processing speed, (F = 4.91, p = 0.027) and reasoning (Raven's progressive matrices, F = 28.34, p < 0.001) across all three time points, after correcting for the effect of parental education and other after school activities. Music players also had larger gray matter volume in the temporo-occipital and insular cortex (p = 0.008), areas previously reported to be related to musical notation reading. The change in WM between the time points was proportional to the weekly hours spent on music practice for both WM tests (VSWM, β = 0.351, p = 0.003, verbal WM, β = 0.261, p = 0.006) but this was not significant for reasoning ability (β = 0.021, p = 0.090). These effects remained when controlling for parental education and other after school activities. In conclusion, these results indicate that music practice positively affects WM development and support the importance of practice for the development of WM during childhood and adolescence.

Patient initiated aggression - prevalence and impact for general practice staff.

PubMed

Herath, Pushpani; Forrest, Laura; McRae, Ian; Parker, Rhian

2011-06-01

Patient initiated aggression toward general practice staff can cause distress among staff, however, it is unknown how frequently practice staff experience patient aggression in the workplace. The aim of this study is to determine the national prevalence of patient aggression toward general practice staff. A clustered cross sectional survey involving general practice staff working in Australia. A questionnaire was posted to 1109 general practices nationally and 217 questionnaires were completed and returned (19.6% response rate). It was found that verbal aggression is commonly experienced by practice staff, particularly receptionists, whereas physical aggression is infrequent. Staff working in larger practices experience more verbal aggression and property damage or theft and it was reported that verbal aggression has a greater impact on staff wellbeing than physical aggression. This study provides some national evidence of the prevalence of patient aggression toward general practice staff. This may inform the development of policy and procedures.

Surgical decision making in a teaching hospital: a linguistic analysis.

PubMed

Bezemer, Jeff; Murtagh, Ged; Cope, Alexandra; Kneebone, Roger

2016-10-01

The aim of the study was to gain insight in the involvement of non-operating surgeons in intraoperative surgical decision making at a teaching hospital. The decision to proceed to clip and cut the cystic duct during laparoscopic cholecystectomy was investigated through direct observation of team work. Eleven laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed by consultant surgeons and specialty trainees at a London teaching hospital were audio and video recorded. Talk among the surgical team was transcribed and subjected to linguistic analysis, in conjunction with observational analysis of the video material, sequentially marking the unfolding operation. Two components of decision making were identified, participation and rationalization. Participation refers to the degree to which agreement was sought within the surgical team prior to clipping the cystic duct. Rationalization refers to the degree to which the evidential grounds for clipping and cutting were verbalized. The decision to clip and cut the cystic duct was jointly made by members of the surgical team, rather than a solitary surgeon in the majority of cases, involving verbal explication of clinical reasoning and verbal agreement. The extent of joint decision making appears to have been mitigated by two factors: trainee's level of training and duration of the case. © 2014 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Measuring an artificial intelligence system's performance on a Verbal IQ test for young children

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohlsson, Stellan; Sloan, Robert H.; Turán, György; Urasky, Aaron

2017-07-01

We administered the Verbal IQ (VIQ) part of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-III) to the ConceptNet 4 artificial intelligence (AI) system. The test questions (e.g. "Why do we shake hands?") were translated into ConceptNet 4 inputs using a combination of the simple natural language processing tools that come with ConceptNet together with short Python programs that we wrote. The question answering used a version of ConceptNet based on spectral methods. The ConceptNet system scored a WPPSI-III VIQ that is average for a four-year-old child, but below average for 5-7 year olds. Large variations among subtests indicate potential areas of improvement. In particular, results were strongest for the Vocabulary and Similarities subtests, intermediate for the Information subtest and lowest for the Comprehension and Word Reasoning subtests. Comprehension is the subtest most strongly associated with common sense. The large variations among subtests and ordinary common sense strongly suggest that the WPPSI-III VIQ results do not show that "ConceptNet has the verbal abilities of a four-year-old". Rather, children's IQ tests offer one objective metric for the evaluation and comparison of AI systems. Also, this work continues previous research on psychometric AI.

The Use of Technology for Phone and Face-to-Face Communication After Total Laryngectomy.

PubMed

Childes, Jana M; Palmer, Andrew D; Fried-Oken, Melanie; Graville, Donna J

2017-02-01

The purpose of this article is to describe the characteristics and experiences of individuals who use technology to support telephone or face-to-face communication after total laryngectomy. An online questionnaire was used to identify potential participants. Seventeen individuals met inclusion criteria and participated in an in-depth survey. They were compared with a reference group matched for age, gender, and time postsurgery who did not use these technologies. Open-ended responses were summarized. Compared with the matched reference group, individuals who used technology to support verbal communication had undergone more aggressive cancer treatment and used more communication methods. They were less likely to use an alaryngeal speech method, had greater difficulty over the telephone, and used more repair strategies in face-to-face communication. The 2 groups did not differ significantly in the frequency or success of their communication, however. Open-ended responses revealed great variety with regard to their reasons, purposes, and timing of technology use. There is a subset of individuals using technology to support verbal communication very successfully after laryngectomy. Usage was not limited to those who were unable to communicate verbally and often continued long after the initial postoperative period in many settings, for various purposes, and in combination with other methods of communication.

Auditory Pitch Perception in Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Associated With Nonverbal Abilities.

PubMed

Chowdhury, Rakhee; Sharda, Megha; Foster, Nicholas E V; Germain, Esther; Tryfon, Ana; Doyle-Thomas, Krissy; Anagnostou, Evdokia; Hyde, Krista L

2017-11-01

Atypical sensory perception and heterogeneous cognitive profiles are common features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, previous findings on auditory sensory processing in ASD are mixed. Accordingly, auditory perception and its relation to cognitive abilities in ASD remain poorly understood. Here, children with ASD, and age- and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched typically developing children, were tested on a low- and a higher level pitch processing task. Verbal and nonverbal cognitive abilities were measured using the Wechsler's Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. There were no group differences in performance on either auditory task or IQ measure. However, there was significant variability in performance on the auditory tasks in both groups that was predicted by nonverbal, not verbal skills. These results suggest that auditory perception is related to nonverbal reasoning rather than verbal abilities in ASD and typically developing children. In addition, these findings provide evidence for preserved pitch processing in school-age children with ASD with average IQ, supporting the idea that there may be a subgroup of individuals with ASD that do not present perceptual or cognitive difficulties. Future directions involve examining whether similar perceptual-cognitive relationships might be observed in a broader sample of individuals with ASD, such as those with language impairment or lower IQ.

Mental Imagery Scale: a new measurement tool to assess structural features of mental representations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Ercole, Martina; Castelli, Paolo; Giannini, Anna Maria; Sbrilli, Antonella

2010-05-01

Mental imagery is a quasi-perceptual experience which resembles perceptual experience, but occurring without (appropriate) external stimuli. It is a form of mental representation and is often considered centrally involved in visuo-spatial reasoning and inventive and creative thought. Although imagery ability is assumed to be functionally independent of verbal systems, it is still considered to interact with verbal representations, enabling objects to be named and names to evoke images. In literature, most measurement tools for evaluating imagery capacity are self-report instruments focusing on differences in individuals. In the present work, we applied a Mental Imagery Scale (MIS) to mental images derived from verbal descriptions in order to assess the structural features of such mental representations. This is a key theme for those disciplines which need to turn objects and representations into words and vice versa, such as art or architectural didactics. To this aim, an MIS questionnaire was administered to 262 participants. The questionnaire, originally consisting of a 33-item 5-step Likert scale, was reduced to 28 items covering six areas: (1) Image Formation Speed, (2) Permanence/Stability, (3) Dimensions, (4) Level of Detail/Grain, (5) Distance and (6) Depth of Field or Perspective. Factor analysis confirmed our six-factor hypothesis underlying the 28 items.

Visual-spatial cognition in children using aided communication.

PubMed

Stadskleiv, Kristine; Batorowicz, Beata; Massaro, Munique; van Balkom, Hans; von Tetzchner, Stephen

2018-03-01

Children with severe motor impairments are restricted in their manipulation and exploration of objects, but little is known about how such limitations influence cognitive development. This study investigated visual-constructional abilities in 75 children and adolescents, aged 5;0-15;11 (years;months), with severe speech impairments and no intellectual disabilities (aided group) and in 56 children and adolescents with typical development (reference group). Verbal comprehension, non-verbal reasoning, and visual-spatial perception were assessed with standardized tests. The task of the participants was to verbally instruct communication partners to make physical constructions identical to models that the partner could not see. In the aided group, 55.7% of the constructions were identical to the models participants described, compared to 91.3% in the reference group. In the aided group, test results explained 51.4% of the variance in construction errors. The results indicate that the participants' language skills were decisive for construction success. Visual-perceptual challenges were common among the aided communicators, and their instructions included little information about size and spatial relations. This may reflect less experience with object manipulation and construction than children with typical development, and using aided communication to instruct others to make three-dimensional constructions. The results imply a need for interventions that compensate for the lack of relevant experience.

Do cognitive deficits predict negative emotionality and aggression in schizophrenia?

PubMed

Ahmed, Anthony O; Richardson, Jenae; Buckner, Alex; Romanoff, Sabrina; Feder, Michelle; Oragunye, Njideka; Ilnicki, Andriana; Bhat, Ishrat; Hoptman, Matthew J; Lindenmayer, Jean-Pierre

2018-01-01

Schizophrenia is associated with an elevated risk of aggression. Cognitive deficits have been associated with inpatient aggression and future violence. The relationship between cognitive deficits and violent behavior has however been inconsistent across studies. In addition, studies have failed to inform how cognitive deficits may contribute to aggression in schizophrenia. The current study examined the association of cognitive deficits with schizophrenia-related aggression and violent offending. It also explored the putative mediating role of negative emotionality on the impact of cognitive deficits on aggression. People with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (N = 78) were recruited from a state hospital. Participants were classified based on their history of violent offending. Participants completed measures of cognition, symptoms, and aggression. Deficits in working memory, reasoning/problem-solving, and verbal learning were the most prioritized for the prediction of violent offender status. Violent offenders demonstrated greater impairments in most cognitive domains especially working memory and verbal learning. Offenders also demonstrated greater negative emotionality, excitement/agitation, and incidents of verbal and physical aggression. Negative emotionality and excitement/agitation fully transmitted the effect of cognitive deficits on impulsive aggression in meditational models. Cognitive deficits increase the risk of impulsive aggression in schizophrenia via inefficient regulation of negative affective states. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mental health symptoms and verbal fluency in elderly people: Evidence from the Spanish longitudinal study of aging.

PubMed

Simpson, Ian Craig; Dumitrache, Cristina Gabriela; Calet, Nuria

2018-04-10

Depression and loneliness are highly prevalent in old age. Moreover these mental health symptoms adversely affect the verbal fluency of the elderly. We examined the relationship between depression and loneliness with verbal fluency in people aged 50 years or older. Research data were collected during the pilot study of the Longitudinal Aging Study in Spain (ELES) in which a representative sample of non-institutionalized Spanish older people was assessed. Here, the cross-sectional data for 962 participants were analysed using hierarchical regressions, controlling for age, education level, overall cognitive functioning, social networks and satisfaction with family. Higher levels of cognitive functioning were associated with higher verbal fluency. Females showed higher levels of phonological fluency. Neither depression nor loneliness were significant predictors of phonological fluency but loneliness was a significant predictor of semantic fluency. For mild levels of loneliness, the rate of decline in semantic fluency slows in the oldest ages. In contrast, for severe loneliness the rate of decline in semantic fluency increases in the oldest ages. Depressive symptoms, loneliness and cognitive impairment are all prominent in ageing and therefore their impact on ageing needs to be better understood. Early detection of loneliness, along with the implementation of intervention for individuals diagnosed with loneliness is advisable in order to avoid negative repercussions for the verbal fluency of these individuals.

Alcohol Expectancies and Evaluations of Aggression in Alcohol-Related Intimate-Partner Verbal and Physical Aggression

PubMed Central

Kachadourian, Lorig K; Quigley, Brian M; Leonard, Kenneth E

2014-01-01

Objective: Alcohol aggression expectancies have been found to be associated with increases in aggressive behavior. However, research has not consistently examined evaluations of such behavior. This is unfortunate as both expectancies and evaluations may play a role in whether such behavior will occur. Given this, the current study cross-sectionally examined the associations between alcohol aggression expectancies, evaluations of alcohol-related aggression, indicators of excessive drinking, and alcohol-related verbal and physical aggression. Method: The sample consisted of 280 married and cohabiting couples. These couples reported on excessive drinking indicators, alcohol expectancies and evaluations, and alcohol-related verbal and physical aggression during the past year. Results: Findings showed that verbal aggression was positively associated with indicators of excessive drinking among females and with alcohol aggression expectancies for females who evaluated such aggression positively. For males, aggression expectancies and indicators of excessive drinking were positively associated with verbal aggression. For physical aggression, results showed that indicators of excessive drinking and aggression expectancies were associated with physical aggression for females. For males, aggression expectancies were positively associated and evaluations were negatively associated with physical aggression. Conclusions: These findings add to previous research on alcohol aggression expectancies in close relationships and emphasize the importance of considering evaluations of alcohol-related behavior and how they may play a role in intimate-partner violence and aggression. PMID:25208191

The Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT): Examining the effects of age on a new measure of theory of mind and social norm understanding

PubMed Central

Abrahams, Sharon; Auyeung, Bonnie; MacPherson, Sarah E.

2018-01-01

Current measures of social cognition have shown inconsistent findings regarding the effects of healthy aging. Moreover, no tests are currently available that allow clinicians and researchers to examine cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM) and understanding of social norms within the same test. To address these limitations, we present the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) which assesses cognitive and affective ToM and inter- and intrapersonal understanding of social norms. We examined the effects of age, measures of intelligence and the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) on the ESCoT and established tests of social cognition. Additionally, we investigated the convergent validity of the ESCoT based on traditional social cognition measures. The ESCoT was administered alongside Reading the Mind in Films (RMF), Reading the Mind in Eyes (RME), Judgement of Preference and Social Norm Questionnaire to 91 participants (30 aged 18–35 years, 30 aged 45–60 years and 31 aged 65–85 years). Poorer performance on the cognitive and affective ToM ESCoT subtests were predicted by increasing age. The affective ToM ESCoT subtest and RMF were predicted by gender, where being female predicted better performance. Unlike the ESCoT, better performance on the RMF was predicted by higher verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning abilities, while better performance on the RME was predicted by higher verbal comprehension scores. Lower scores on inter-and intrapersonal understanding of social norms were both predicted by the presence of more autism-like traits while poorer interpersonal understanding of social norms performance was predicted by increasing age. These findings show that the ESCoT is a useful measure of social cognition and, unlike established tests of social cognition, performance is not predicted by measures of verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning. This is particularly valuable to obtain an accurate assessment of the influence of age on our social cognitive abilities. PMID:29664917

The impact of social activities, social networks, social support and social relationships on the cognitive functioning of healthy older adults: a systematic review.

PubMed

Kelly, Michelle E; Duff, Hollie; Kelly, Sara; McHugh Power, Joanna E; Brennan, Sabina; Lawlor, Brian A; Loughrey, David G

2017-12-19

Social relationships, which are contingent on access to social networks, promote engagement in social activities and provide access to social support. These social factors have been shown to positively impact health outcomes. In the current systematic review, we offer a comprehensive overview of the impact of social activities, social networks and social support on the cognitive functioning of healthy older adults (50+) and examine the differential effects of aspects of social relationships on various cognitive domains. We followed PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines, and collated data from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), genetic and observational studies. Independent variables of interest included subjective measures of social activities, social networks, and social support, and composite measures of social relationships (CMSR). The primary outcome of interest was cognitive function divided into domains of episodic memory, semantic memory, overall memory ability, working memory, verbal fluency, reasoning, attention, processing speed, visuospatial abilities, overall executive functioning and global cognition. Thirty-nine studies were included in the review; three RCTs, 34 observational studies, and two genetic studies. Evidence suggests a relationship between (1) social activity and global cognition and overall executive functioning, working memory, visuospatial abilities and processing speed but not episodic memory, verbal fluency, reasoning or attention; (2) social networks and global cognition but not episodic memory, attention or processing speed; (3) social support and global cognition and episodic memory but not attention or processing speed; and (4) CMSR and episodic memory and verbal fluency but not global cognition. The results support prior conclusions that there is an association between social relationships and cognitive function but the exact nature of this association remains unclear. Implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research provided. PROSPERO 2012: CRD42012003248 .

The Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT): Examining the effects of age on a new measure of theory of mind and social norm understanding.

PubMed

Baksh, R Asaad; Abrahams, Sharon; Auyeung, Bonnie; MacPherson, Sarah E

2018-01-01

Current measures of social cognition have shown inconsistent findings regarding the effects of healthy aging. Moreover, no tests are currently available that allow clinicians and researchers to examine cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM) and understanding of social norms within the same test. To address these limitations, we present the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) which assesses cognitive and affective ToM and inter- and intrapersonal understanding of social norms. We examined the effects of age, measures of intelligence and the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) on the ESCoT and established tests of social cognition. Additionally, we investigated the convergent validity of the ESCoT based on traditional social cognition measures. The ESCoT was administered alongside Reading the Mind in Films (RMF), Reading the Mind in Eyes (RME), Judgement of Preference and Social Norm Questionnaire to 91 participants (30 aged 18-35 years, 30 aged 45-60 years and 31 aged 65-85 years). Poorer performance on the cognitive and affective ToM ESCoT subtests were predicted by increasing age. The affective ToM ESCoT subtest and RMF were predicted by gender, where being female predicted better performance. Unlike the ESCoT, better performance on the RMF was predicted by higher verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning abilities, while better performance on the RME was predicted by higher verbal comprehension scores. Lower scores on inter-and intrapersonal understanding of social norms were both predicted by the presence of more autism-like traits while poorer interpersonal understanding of social norms performance was predicted by increasing age. These findings show that the ESCoT is a useful measure of social cognition and, unlike established tests of social cognition, performance is not predicted by measures of verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning. This is particularly valuable to obtain an accurate assessment of the influence of age on our social cognitive abilities.

Non-Verbal Reasoning Ability and Academic Achievement as Moderators of the Relation between Adverse Life Events and Emotional and Behavioural Problems in Early Adolescence: The Importance of Moderator and Outcome Specificity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flouri, Eirini; Tzavidis, Nikos

2011-01-01

This study was carried out to model the functional form of the effect of contextual risk (number of adverse life events) on emotional and behavioural problems in early adolescence, and to test how intelligence and academic achievement compare as moderators of this effect. The effect of number of adverse life events on emotional and behavioural…

The Validity of Scores from the "GRE"® revised General Test for Forecasting Performance in Business Schools: Phase One. ETS GRE® Board Research Report. ETS GRE®-14-01. ETS Research Report. RR-14-17

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, John W.; Klieger, David; Bochenek, Jennifer; Li, Chen; Cline, Fred

2014-01-01

Scores from the "GRE"® revised General Test provide important information regarding the verbal and quantitative reasoning abilities and analytical writing skills of applicants to graduate programs. The validity and utility of these scores depend upon the degree to which the scores predict success in graduate and business school in…

Documentation of psychotropic PRN medication administration: An evaluation of electronic health records compared with paper charts and verbal reports.

PubMed

Martin, Krystle; Ham, Elke; Hilton, Zoe

2018-05-12

To describe the documentation of pro re nata (PRN) medication for anxiety, and to compare documentation at two hospitals providing similar psychiatric services, one that used paper charts and another that used an electronic health record (EHR). We also assessed congruence between nursing documentation and verbal reports from staff about the PRN administration process. The ability to accurately document patients' symptoms and the care given is considered a core competency of the nursing profession (Wilkinson, 2007); however, researchers have found poor concordance between nursing notes and verbal reports or observations of events (e.g., De Marinis, Piredda, Pascarella et al., 2009) and considerable information missing (e.g., Marinis et al., 2010). Additionally, the administration of PRN medication has consistently been noted to be poorly documented (e.g., Baker, Lovell, & Harris, 2008). The project was a mixed method, two-phase study that collected data from two sites. In phase 1, nursing documentation of PRN medication administrations was reviewed in patient charts; phase 2 included verbal reports from staff about this practice. Nurses using EHR documented more information than those using paper charts, including the reason for PRN administration, who initiated the administration, and effectiveness. There were some differences between written and verbal reports, including whether potential side effects were explained to patients prior to PRN administration. We continue the calls for attention to be paid to improving the quality of nursing documentation. Our results support the shift to using EHR, yet not relying on this method completely to ensure comprehensiveness of documentation. Efforts to address the quality of documentation, particularly for PRN administration, are needed. This could be done through training, using structured report templates, and switching to electronic databases. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Semantics of the visual environment encoded in parahippocampal cortex

PubMed Central

Bonner, Michael F.; Price, Amy Rose; Peelle, Jonathan E.; Grossman, Murray

2016-01-01

Semantic representations capture the statistics of experience and store this information in memory. A fundamental component of this memory system is knowledge of the visual environment, including knowledge of objects and their associations. Visual semantic information underlies a range of behaviors, from perceptual categorization to cognitive processes such as language and reasoning. Here we examine the neuroanatomic system that encodes visual semantics. Across three experiments, we found converging evidence indicating that knowledge of verbally mediated visual concepts relies on information encoded in a region of the ventral-medial temporal lobe centered on parahippocampal cortex. In an fMRI study, this region was strongly engaged by the processing of concepts relying on visual knowledge but not by concepts relying on other sensory modalities. In a study of patients with the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (semantic dementia), atrophy that encompassed this region was associated with a specific impairment in verbally mediated visual semantic knowledge. Finally, in a structural study of healthy adults from the fMRI experiment, gray matter density in this region related to individual variability in the processing of visual concepts. The anatomic location of these findings aligns with recent work linking the ventral-medial temporal lobe with high-level visual representation, contextual associations, and reasoning through imagination. Together this work suggests a critical role for parahippocampal cortex in linking the visual environment with knowledge systems in the human brain. PMID:26679216

Semantics of the Visual Environment Encoded in Parahippocampal Cortex.

PubMed

Bonner, Michael F; Price, Amy Rose; Peelle, Jonathan E; Grossman, Murray

2016-03-01

Semantic representations capture the statistics of experience and store this information in memory. A fundamental component of this memory system is knowledge of the visual environment, including knowledge of objects and their associations. Visual semantic information underlies a range of behaviors, from perceptual categorization to cognitive processes such as language and reasoning. Here we examine the neuroanatomic system that encodes visual semantics. Across three experiments, we found converging evidence indicating that knowledge of verbally mediated visual concepts relies on information encoded in a region of the ventral-medial temporal lobe centered on parahippocampal cortex. In an fMRI study, this region was strongly engaged by the processing of concepts relying on visual knowledge but not by concepts relying on other sensory modalities. In a study of patients with the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (semantic dementia), atrophy that encompassed this region was associated with a specific impairment in verbally mediated visual semantic knowledge. Finally, in a structural study of healthy adults from the fMRI experiment, gray matter density in this region related to individual variability in the processing of visual concepts. The anatomic location of these findings aligns with recent work linking the ventral-medial temporal lobe with high-level visual representation, contextual associations, and reasoning through imagination. Together, this work suggests a critical role for parahippocampal cortex in linking the visual environment with knowledge systems in the human brain.

Organisationalbis justice and cognitive function in middle-aged employees: the Whitehall II study

PubMed Central

Elovainio, Marko; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Ferrie, Jane E; Shipley, Martin; Gimeno, David; Vahtera, Jussi; Virtanen, Marianna; Jokela, Markus; Marmot, Michael G; Kivimäki, Mika; De Vogli, Roberto

2012-01-01

Background Little is known about the role work-related factors play in the decline cognitive function. We examined the association between perceived organizational justice and cognitive function among middle-aged men and women. Methods Perceived organizational justice was measured at Phases 1 (1985–1988) and 2 (1989–1990) of the Whitehall II study when the participants were 35–55 years old. Assessment of cognitive function at the screening clinic at Phases 5 (1997–1999) and 7 (2003–2004) included the following tests in screening clinic: memory, inductive reasoning (Alice Heim 4), vocabulary (Mill Hill), and verbal fluency (phonemic and semantic). Mean exposure to lower organizational justice at Phases 1 and 2 in relation to cognitive function at Phases 5 and 7 were analysed using linear regression analyses. The final sample included 4531 men and women. Results Lower mean levels of justice at Phases 1 and 2 were associated with worse cognitive function in terms of memory, inductive reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency at both Phases 5 and 7. These associations were independent of covariates, such as age, occupational grade, behavioural risks, depression, hypertension and job strain. Conclusions This study suggests an association between perceived organizational justice and cognitive function. Further studies are needed to examine whether interventions designed to improve organizational justice would affect employees’ cognition function favourably. PMID:21084589

Impaired conditional reasoning in alcoholics: A negative impact on social interactions and risky behaviors?

PubMed Central

Kornreich, C; Delle-Vigne, D; Knittel, J; Nerincx, A; Campanella, S; Noel, X; Hanak, C; Verbanck, P; Ermer, E

2011-01-01

Aims To study the “social brain” in alcoholics by investigating social contract reasoning, theory of mind, and emotional intelligence. Design A behavioral study comparing recently detoxified alcoholics with normal, healthy controls. Setting Emotional intelligence and decoding of emotional non-verbal cues have been shown to be impaired in alcoholics. This study explores whether these deficits extend to conditional reasoning about social contracts. Participants 25 recently detoxified alcoholics (17 men and 8 women) were compared with 25 normal controls (17 men and 8 women) matched for sex, age, and education level. Measurements Wason Selection Task investigating conditional reasoning on three different rule types (social contract, precautionary, and descriptive), Revised Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (modified version), and additional control measures. Findings Conditional reasoning was impaired in alcoholics. Performance on descriptive rules was not above chance. Reasoning performance was markedly better on social contract and precautionary rules, but this performance was still significantly lower than in controls. Several emotional intelligence measures were lower in alcoholics compared to controls, but these were not correlated with reasoning performance. Conclusions Conditional reasoning and emotional intelligence appear impaired in alcoholics. Impairment was particularly severe on descriptive rules. Though alcoholics' performance was better on social contract and precautionary rules, overall reasoning performance was still low. Differential performance is consistent with distinct neurocognitive reasoning mechanisms and partial resilience of evolutionarily-relevant functions. Impairment in social contract reasoning might lead to misunderstandings and frustration in social interactions, and reasoning difficulties about precautionary rules might contribute to risky behaviors in this population. PMID:21205056

Linking Scores from Tests of Similar Content Given in Different Languages: An Illustration Involving Methodological Alternatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cascallar, Alicia S.; Dorans, Neil J.

2005-01-01

This study compares two methods commonly used (concordance and prediction) to establish linkages between scores from tests of similar content given in different languages. Score linkages between the Verbal and Math sections of the SAT I and the corresponding sections of the Spanish-language admissions test, the Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA),…

Discrimination and abuse experienced by general internists in Canada.

PubMed

Cook, D J; Griffith, L E; Cohen, M; Guyatt, G H; O'Brien, B

1995-10-01

To identify the frequency of psychological and emotional abuse, gender discrimination, verbal sexual harassment, physical sexual harassment, physical assault, and homophobia experienced by general internists. Cross-sectional survey. Canadian general internal medicine practices. The overall response rate was 70.6% (984/1,393); the 501 respondents who classified themselves as general internists were studied. Three-fourths of the internists experienced psychological and emotional abuse at the hands of patients, and 38% of the women and 26% of the men experienced physical assault by patients. The majority of the female internists experienced gender discrimination by patients (67%) and by physician peers (56%). Forty-five percent of the women experienced verbal sexual harassment by patients, and 22% experienced physical sexual harassment by patients. The male internists experienced verbal sexual harassment from nurses slightly more often than the female internists did (19% vs 13%, p > 0.05). Verbal sexual harassment by male colleagues was reported by 35% of the female internists, and physical sexual harassment was reported by 11%. Approximately 40% of general internists reported homophobic remarks by both health care team members and patients. Abuse, discrimination, and homophobia are prevalent in the internal medicine workplace. A direct, progressive, multidisciplinary approach is necessary to label and address these problems.

A cognitive neuropsychological approach to the study of delusions in late-onset schizophrenia.

PubMed

Phillips, M L; Howard, R; David, A S

1997-09-01

Hypotheses to explain delusion formation include distorted perceptual processing of meaningful stimuli (e.g. faces), abnormal reasoning, or a combination of both. The study investigated these hypotheses using standardized neuropsychological tests. A three-patient case-study, compared with a small group (n = 8) of age-matched normal control subjects. Hospital in- and outpatients. Age-matched normal controls were from local residential homes. Three subjects with late-onset schizophrenia, two currently deluded and one in remission. Both deluded subjects had persecutory beliefs. One had a delusion of misidentification. All subjects were administered standardized neuropsychological tests of facial processing and tests of verbal reasoning. The test scores of the three patients were compared with published normal values and the age-matched control data. The tests demonstrated impaired matching of unfamiliar faces in deluded subjects, particularly in the subject with delusional misidentification. Increasing the emotional content of logical reasoning problems had a significant effect on the deluded subjects' reasoning but not that of the normal controls. The findings suggest impaired visual processing plus abnormal reasoning in deluded subjects. However, these impairments are relatively subtle given the severity of psychiatric disorder in the patients studied.

Using photo-elicitation to understand reasons for repeated self-harm: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Edmondson, Amanda J; Brennan, Cathy; House, Allan O

2018-04-11

Reasons for self-harm are not well understood. One of the reasons for this is that first-hand accounts are usually elicited using traditional interview and questionnaire methods. This study aims to explore the acceptability of using an approach (photo-elicitation) that does not rely on solely verbal or written techniques, and to make a preliminary assessment of whether people can usefully employ images to support a discussion about the reasons why they self-harm. Interviews with eight participants using photo elicitation, a method in which photographs produced by the participant are used as a stimulus and guide within the interview. Participants responded positively to using images to support a discussion about their self-harm and readily incorporated images in the interview. Four main themes were identified representing negative and positive or adaptive purposes of self-harm: self-harm as a response to distress, self-harm to achieve mastery, self-harm as protective and self-harm as a language or form of communication. Employing this novel approach was useful in broadening our understanding of self-harm.

Cerebral Glucose Metabolism is Associated with Verbal but not Visual Memory Performance in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

PubMed

Gardener, Samantha L; Sohrabi, Hamid R; Shen, Kai-Kai; Rainey-Smith, Stephanie R; Weinborn, Michael; Bates, Kristyn A; Shah, Tejal; Foster, Jonathan K; Lenzo, Nat; Salvado, Olivier; Laske, Christoph; Laws, Simon M; Taddei, Kevin; Verdile, Giuseppe; Martins, Ralph N

2016-03-31

Increasing evidence suggests that Alzheimer's disease (AD) sufferers show region-specific reductions in cerebral glucose metabolism, as measured by [18F]-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET). We investigated preclinical disease stage by cross-sectionally examining the association between global cognition, verbal and visual memory, and 18F-FDG PET standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) in 43 healthy control individuals, subsequently focusing on differences between subjective memory complainers and non-memory complainers. The 18F-FDG PET regions of interest investigated include the hippocampus, amygdala, posterior cingulate, superior parietal, entorhinal cortices, frontal cortex, temporal cortex, and inferior parietal region. In the cohort as a whole, verbal logical memory immediate recall was positively associated with 18F-FDG PET SUVR in both the left hippocampus and right amygdala. There were no associations observed between global cognition, delayed recall in logical memory, or visual reproduction and 18F-FDG PET SUVR. Following stratification of the cohort into subjective memory complainers and non-complainers, verbal logical memory immediate recall was positively associated with 18F-FDG PET SUVR in the right amygdala in those with subjective memory complaints. There were no significant associations observed in non-memory complainers between 18F-FDG PET SUVR in regions of interest and cognitive performance. We observed subjective memory complaint-specific associations between 18F-FDG PET SUVR and immediate verbal memory performance in our cohort, however found no associations between delayed recall of verbal memory performance or visual memory performance. It is here argued that the neural mechanisms underlying verbal and visual memory performance may in fact differ in their pathways, and the characteristic reduction of 18F-FDG PET SUVR observed in this and previous studies likely reflects the pathophysiological changes in specific brain regions that occur in preclinical AD.

Validity and Reliability of the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale for Children Aged 4 to 17 Years With Acute Pain.

PubMed

Tsze, Daniel S; von Baeyer, Carl L; Pahalyants, Vartan; Dayan, Peter S

2018-06-01

The Verbal Numerical Rating Scale is the most commonly used self-report measure of pain intensity. It is unclear how the validity and reliability of the scale scores vary across children's ages. We aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the scale for children presenting to the emergency department across a comprehensive spectrum of age. This was a cross-sectional study of children aged 4 to 17 years. Children self-reported their pain intensity, using the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale and Faces Pain Scale-Revised at 2 serial assessments. We evaluated convergent validity (strong validity defined as correlation coefficient ≥0.60), agreement (difference between concurrent Verbal Numerical Rating Scale and Faces Pain Scale-Revised scores), known-groups validity (difference in score between children with painful versus nonpainful conditions), responsivity (decrease in score after analgesic administration), and reliability (test-retest at 2 serial assessments) in the total sample and subgroups based on age. We enrolled 760 children; 27 did not understand the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale and were removed. Of the remainder, Pearson correlations were strong to very strong (0.62 to 0.96) in all years of age except 4 and 5 years, and agreement was strong for children aged 8 and older. Known-groups validity and responsivity were strong in all years of age. Reliability was strong in all age subgroups, including each year of age from 4 to 7 years. Convergent validity, known-groups validity, responsivity, and reliability of the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale were strong for children aged 6 to 17 years. Convergent validity was not strong for children aged 4 and 5 years. Our findings support the use of the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale for most children aged 6 years and older, but not for those aged 4 and 5 years. Copyright © 2017 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

26 CFR 1.412(c)(3)-2 - Effective dates and transitional rules relating to reasonable funding methods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... to reasonable funding methods. 1.412(c)(3)-2 Section 1.412(c)(3)-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE... reasonable funding methods. (a) Introduction. This section prescribes effective dates for rules relating to reasonable funding methods, under section 412(c)(3) and § 1.412(c)(3)-1. Also, this section sets forth rules...

26 CFR 1.412(c)(3)-2 - Effective dates and transitional rules relating to reasonable funding methods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... to reasonable funding methods. 1.412(c)(3)-2 Section 1.412(c)(3)-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE... to reasonable funding methods. (a) Introduction. This section prescribes effective dates for rules relating to reasonable funding methods, under section 412(c)(3) and § 1.412(c)(3)-1. Also, this section...

26 CFR 1.412(c)(3)-2 - Effective dates and transitional rules relating to reasonable funding methods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... to reasonable funding methods. 1.412(c)(3)-2 Section 1.412(c)(3)-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE... to reasonable funding methods. (a) Introduction. This section prescribes effective dates for rules relating to reasonable funding methods, under section 412(c)(3) and § 1.412(c)(3)-1. Also, this section...

26 CFR 1.412(c)(3)-2 - Effective dates and transitional rules relating to reasonable funding methods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... to reasonable funding methods. 1.412(c)(3)-2 Section 1.412(c)(3)-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE... to reasonable funding methods. (a) Introduction. This section prescribes effective dates for rules relating to reasonable funding methods, under section 412(c)(3) and § 1.412(c)(3)-1. Also, this section...

26 CFR 1.412(c)(3)-2 - Effective dates and transitional rules relating to reasonable funding methods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... to reasonable funding methods. 1.412(c)(3)-2 Section 1.412(c)(3)-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE... to reasonable funding methods. (a) Introduction. This section prescribes effective dates for rules relating to reasonable funding methods, under section 412(c)(3) and § 1.412(c)(3)-1. Also, this section...

Relationship between anthropometric indicators and cognitive performance in Southeast Asian school-aged children.

PubMed

Sandjaja; Poh, Bee Koon; Rojroonwasinkul, Nipa; Le Nyugen, Bao Khanh; Budiman, Basuki; Ng, Lai Oon; Soonthorndhada, Kusol; Xuyen, Hoang Thi; Deurenberg, Paul; Parikh, Panam

2013-09-01

Nutrition is an important factor in mental development and, as a consequence, in cognitive performance. Malnutrition is reflected in children's weight, height and BMI curves. The present cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the association between anthropometric indices and cognitive performance in 6746 school-aged children (aged 6-12 years) of four Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia; Malaysia; Thailand; Vietnam. Cognitive performance (non-verbal intelligence quotient (IQ)) was measured using Raven's Progressive Matrices test or Test of Non-Verbal Intelligence, third edition (TONI-3). Height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ) and BMI-for-age z-scores (BAZ) were used as anthropometric nutritional status indices. Data were weighted using age, sex and urban/rural weight factors to resemble the total primary school-aged population per country. Overall, 21% of the children in the four countries were underweight and 19% were stunted. Children with low WAZ were 3·5 times more likely to have a non-verbal IQ < 89 (OR 3·53 and 95% CI 3·52, 3·54). The chance of having a non-verbal IQ < 89 was also doubled with low BAZ and HAZ. In contrast, except for severe obesity, the relationship between high BAZ and IQ was less clear and differed per country. The odds of having non-verbal IQ levels < 89 also increased with severe obesity. In conclusion, undernourishment and non-verbal IQ are significantly associated in 6-12-year-old children. Effective strategies to improve nutrition in preschoolers and school-aged children can have a pronounced effect on cognition and, in the longer term, help in positively contributing to individual and national development.

Parental verbal abuse and the mediating role of self-criticism in adult internalizing disorders.

PubMed

Sachs-Ericsson, Natalie; Verona, Edelyn; Joiner, Thomas; Preacher, Kristopher J

2006-07-01

Researchers (e.g., [Gibb, B.E., 2002. Childhood maltreatment and negative cognitive styles. A quantitative and qualitative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 22 (2), 223-246]; [Rose, D.T., Abramson, L.Y., 1992. Developmental predictors of depressive cognitive styles: developmental perspectives on depression. In Cicchetti, D., Toth, S.L. (Eds.), Developmental Perspectives on Depression. Rochester symposium on developmental psychopathology, vol. 4, pp. 323-349]) have proposed that when childhood abuse is verbal (rather than sexual or physical), the child is more likely to develop a negative self-schema because the negative self-cognitions are directly supplied to the child by the abuser (e.g., "you are stupid"). In a test of this theory in adult participants, and drawing on the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) (N=5877), we investigate the mediating role of current levels of self-criticism on the relationship between retrospective reports of parental verbal abuse, as well as sexual and physical abuse, and adult internalizing symptoms. We found self-criticism, but not dependency traits, to fully mediate the relationship between childhood verbal abuse perpetrated by parents and internalizing (depression, anxiety) symptoms. On the other hand, self-criticism was only a partial mediator of the relationship between the other types of abuse and internalizing symptoms. The NCS data is cross-sectional, which limits any firm conclusions regarding causality. While these results are suggestive that self-criticism is a mediator of the relationship between abuse and internalizing symptoms, longitudinal data are necessary to help rule out alternative explanations. Results of this study suggest that childhood abuse experiences, and in particular verbal abuse, may confer risk for internalizing disorders in part because verbal abuse influences the development of a self-critical style.

Neurocognitive functioning over the course of trauma-focused psychotherapy for PTSD: Changes in verbal memory and executive functioning.

PubMed

Nijdam, Mirjam J; Martens, Irene J M; Reitsma, Johannes B; Gersons, Berthold P R; Olff, Miranda

2018-05-01

Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have neurocognitive deficits in verbal memory and executive functioning. In this study, we examined whether memory and executive functioning changed over the course of treatment and which clinical variables were associated with change. Neuropsychological assessments were administered at baseline and endpoint of a randomized controlled trial as secondary outcome. Trauma survivors (n = 88) diagnosed with PTSD received trauma-focused psychotherapy within a 17-week randomized controlled trial. Neuropsychological tests were the California Verbal Learning Test, Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test, Stroop Color Word Test, and Trail Making Test. Significant, small- to medium-sized improvements in verbal memory, information processing speed, and executive functioning were found after trauma-focused psychotherapy (Cohen's d 0.16-0.68). Greater PTSD symptom decrease was significantly related to better post-treatment neurocognitive performance (all p < .005). Patients with comorbid depression improved more than patients with PTSD alone on interference tasks (p < .01). No differences emerged between treatment conditions and between patients on serotonergic antidepressants and those who were not. This study suggests that neurocognitive deficits in PTSD can improve over the course of trauma-focused psychotherapy and are therefore at least partly reversible. Improvements over treatment are in line with previous neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies and effect sizes exceed those of practice effects. Future research should determine whether these changes translate into improved functioning in the daily lives of the patients. Patients with PTSD have difficulties performing verbal memory tasks (e.g., remembering a grocery list, recall of a story) and executive functioning tasks (e.g., shifting attention between two tasks, ignoring irrelevant information to complete a task). Verbal memory, information processing speed, and executive functioning significantly improved in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder over the course of trauma-focused psychotherapy. Improvements were equal in size for two different trauma-focused psychotherapies (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy and brief eclectic psychotherapy for PTSD). Medium-sized effects were found for recall of a story, whereas effects in other aspects of verbal memory, information processing speed, and executive functioning were small-sized. No causal attributions can be made because we could not include a control group without treatment for ethical reasons. Findings may be more reflective of patients who completed treatment than patients who prematurely dropped out as completers were overrepresented in our sample. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Using Motivational Interviewing to reduce threats in conversations about environmental behavior

PubMed Central

Klonek, Florian E.; Güntner, Amelie V.; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Kauffeld, Simone

2015-01-01

Human behavior contributes to a waste of environmental resources and our society is looking for ways to reduce this problem. However, humans may perceive feedback about their environmental behavior as threatening. According to self-determination theory (SDT), threats decrease intrinsic motivation for behavior change. According to self-affirmation theory (SAT), threats can harm individuals’ self-integrity. Therefore, individuals should show self-defensive biases, e.g., in terms of presenting counter-arguments when presented with environmental behavior change. The current study examines how change recipients respond to threats from change agents in interactions about environmental behavior change. Moreover, we investigate how Motivational Interviewing (MI) — an intervention aimed at increasing intrinsic motivation — can reduce threats at both the social and cognitive level. We videotaped 68 dyadic interactions with change agents who either did or did not use MI (control group). We coded agents verbal threats and recipients’ verbal expressions of motivation. Recipients also rated agents’ level of confrontation and empathy (i.e., cognitive reactions). As hypothesized, threats were significantly lower when change agents used MI. Perceived confrontations converged with observable social behavior of change agents in both groups. Moreover, behavioral threats showed a negative association with change recipients’ expressed motivation (i.e., reasons to change). Contrary to our expectations, we found no relation between change agents’ verbal threats and change recipients’ verbally expressed self-defenses (i.e., sustain talk). Our results imply that MI reduces the adverse impact of threats in conversations about environmental behavior change on both the social and cognitive level. We discuss theoretical implications of our study in the context of SAT and SDT and suggest practical implications for environmental change agents in organizations. PMID:26257676

Cognitive Impairment in Euthymic Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Elias, Liana R; Miskowiak, Kamilla W; Vale, Antônio M O; Köhler, Cristiano A; Kjærstad, Hanne L; Stubbs, Brendon; Kessing, Lars V; Vieta, Eduard; Maes, Michael; Goldstein, Benjamin I; Carvalho, André F

2017-04-01

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating neurocognition in euthymic youths with bipolar disorder (BD) compared to healthy controls (HCs). A systematic literature search was conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE databases from inception up until March 23, 2016, for original peer-reviewed articles that investigated neurocognition in euthymic youths with BD compared to HCs. Effect sizes (ES) for individual tests were extracted. In addition, results were grouped according to cognitive domain. This review complied with the PRISMA statement guidelines. A total of 24 studies met inclusion criteria (N = 1,146; 510 with BD). Overall, euthymic youths with BD were significantly impaired in verbal learning, verbal memory, working memory, visual learning, and visual memory, with moderate to large ESs (Hedge's g 0.76-0.99); significant impairments were not observed for attention/vigilance, reasoning and problem solving, and/or processing speed. Heterogeneity was moderate to large (I 2  ≥ 50%) for most ES estimates. Differences in the definition of euthymia across studies explained the heterogeneity in the ES estimate for verbal learning and memory. We also found evidence for other potential sources of heterogeneity in several ES estimates including co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety disorders, and the use of medications. In addition, the use of different neuropsychological tests appeared to contribute to heterogeneity of some estimates (e.g., attention/vigilance domain). Euthymic youths with BD exhibit significant cognitive dysfunction encompassing verbal learning and memory, working memory, and/or visual learning and memory domains. These data indicate that for a subset of individuals with BD, neurodevelopmental factors may contribute to cognitive dysfunction. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Motivational Interviewing to reduce threats in conversations about environmental behavior.

PubMed

Klonek, Florian E; Güntner, Amelie V; Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Kauffeld, Simone

2015-01-01

Human behavior contributes to a waste of environmental resources and our society is looking for ways to reduce this problem. However, humans may perceive feedback about their environmental behavior as threatening. According to self-determination theory (SDT), threats decrease intrinsic motivation for behavior change. According to self-affirmation theory (SAT), threats can harm individuals' self-integrity. Therefore, individuals should show self-defensive biases, e.g., in terms of presenting counter-arguments when presented with environmental behavior change. The current study examines how change recipients respond to threats from change agents in interactions about environmental behavior change. Moreover, we investigate how Motivational Interviewing (MI) - an intervention aimed at increasing intrinsic motivation - can reduce threats at both the social and cognitive level. We videotaped 68 dyadic interactions with change agents who either did or did not use MI (control group). We coded agents verbal threats and recipients' verbal expressions of motivation. Recipients also rated agents' level of confrontation and empathy (i.e., cognitive reactions). As hypothesized, threats were significantly lower when change agents used MI. Perceived confrontations converged with observable social behavior of change agents in both groups. Moreover, behavioral threats showed a negative association with change recipients' expressed motivation (i.e., reasons to change). Contrary to our expectations, we found no relation between change agents' verbal threats and change recipients' verbally expressed self-defenses (i.e., sustain talk). Our results imply that MI reduces the adverse impact of threats in conversations about environmental behavior change on both the social and cognitive level. We discuss theoretical implications of our study in the context of SAT and SDT and suggest practical implications for environmental change agents in organizations.

Effect of interaction with clowns on vital signs and non-verbal communication of hospitalized children.

PubMed

Alcântara, Pauline Lima; Wogel, Ariane Zonho; Rossi, Maria Isabela Lobo; Neves, Isabela Rodrigues; Sabates, Ana Llonch; Puggina, Ana Cláudia

2016-12-01

Compare the non-verbal communication of children before and during interaction with clowns and compare their vital signs before and after this interaction. Uncontrolled, intervention, cross-sectional, quantitative study with children admitted to a public university hospital. The intervention was performed by medical students dressed as clowns and included magic tricks, juggling, singing with the children, making soap bubbles and comedic performances. The intervention time was 20minutes. Vital signs were assessed in two measurements with an interval of one minute immediately before and after the interaction. Non-verbal communication was observed before and during the interaction using the Non-Verbal Communication Template Chart, a tool in which nonverbal behaviors are assessed as effective or ineffective in the interactions. The sample consisted of 41 children with a mean age of 7.6±2.7 years; most were aged 7 to 11 years (n=23; 56%) and were males (n=26; 63.4%). There was a statistically significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pain and non-verbal behavior of children with the intervention. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased and pain scales showed decreased scores. The playful interaction with clowns can be a therapeutic resource to minimize the effects of the stressing environment during the intervention, improve the children's emotional state and reduce the perception of pain. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

[Cognitive dysfunction in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism].

PubMed

Fernandes, Robertta Soares Miranda; Alvarenga, Nathália Bueno; Silva, Tamara Inácio da; Rocha, Felipe Filardi da

2011-04-01

Evaluate neuropsychological changes in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SH). Cross-sectional study comparing the results of the neuropsychological evaluation of 89 SH patients and 178 individuals without thyroid disease. The participants underwent the following neuropsychological assessment: Conner's Continuous Performance Test (CPT-II), Iowa Gambling Task, Stroop Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Verbal Fluency Test (semantic and phonologic categories) and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Among the neuropsychological tests, patients showed worse performance only in cognitive flexibility (WCST) and the ability to maintain sustained attention (omission errors on the CPT-II). These losses can cause detriments in the daily lives of patients, constituting potential treatment indications.

Is bad intent negligible? Linking victim justice sensitivity, hostile attribution bias, and aggression.

PubMed

Bondü, Rebecca

2018-05-03

The hostile attribution bias (HAB) is a well-established risk factor for aggression. It is considered part of the suspicious mindset that may cause highly victim-justice sensitive individuals to behave uncooperatively. Thus, links of victim justice sensitivity (JS) with negative behavior, such as aggression, may be better explained by HAB. The present study tested this hypothesis in N = 279 German adolescents who rated their JS, HAB, and physical, relational, verbal, reactive, and proactive aggression. Victim JS predicted physical, relational, verbal, reactive, and proactive aggression when HAB was controlled. HAB only predicted physical and proactive aggression. There were no moderator effects. Injustice seems an important reason for aggression irrespective of whether or not it is intentionally caused, particularly among those high in victim JS. Thus, victim JS should be considered as a potential important risk factor for aggression and receive more attention by research on aggression and preventive efforts. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cognitive Attributes of Adequate and Inadequate Responders to Reading Intervention in Middle School

PubMed Central

Miciak, Jeremy; Stuebing, Karla K.; Vaughn, Sharon; Roberts, Greg; Barth, Amy Elizabeth; Fletcher, Jack M.

2016-01-01

No studies have investigated the cognitive attributes of middle school students who are adequate and inadequate responders to Tier 2 reading intervention. We compared students in Grades 6 and 7 representing groups of adequate responders (n = 77) and inadequate responders who fell below criteria in (a) comprehension (n = 54); (b) fluency (n = 45); and (c) decoding, fluency, and comprehension (DFC; n = 45). These students received measures of phonological awareness, listening comprehension, rapid naming, processing speed, verbal knowledge, and nonverbal reasoning. Multivariate comparisons showed a significant Group-by-Task interaction: the comprehension-impaired group demonstrated primary difficulties with verbal knowledge and listening comprehension, the DFC group with phonological awareness, and the fluency-impaired group with phonological awareness and rapid naming. A series of regression models investigating whether responder status explained unique variation in cognitive skills yielded largely null results consistent with a continuum of severity associated with level of reading impairment, with no evidence for qualitative differences in the cognitive attributes of adequate and inadequate responders. PMID:28579668

Neurocognitive performance of children with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders on the NEPSY-II.

PubMed

Barron-Linnankoski, Sarianna; Reinvall, Outi; Lahervuori, Anne; Voutilainen, Arja; Lahti-Nuuttila, Pekka; Korkman, Marit

2015-01-01

This study examined patterns of strengths and weaknesses in the neurocognitive performance of children with higher functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The participants were 30 children with higher functioning ASD ranging from 6 to 11 years, and 60 typically developing (TD) children, who were matched with the children with higher functioning ASD in terms of age, gender, and maternal education. The TD children were drawn from the Finnish standardization sample for the NEPSY-II. The cognitive abilities of the children with higher functioning ASD were assessed with the WISC-III, and the neurocognitive performance of the children with higher functioning ASD and TD children on the NEPSY-II was compared. The children with higher functioning ASD were found to have strengths in verbal reasoning skills with respect to the population mean and weaknesses in set-shifting, verbal fluency, and narrative memory in comparison with the TD children. Minor weaknesses were also observed in facial memory and fine and visuomotor skills.

Cognitive Attributes of Adequate and Inadequate Responders to Reading Intervention in Middle School.

PubMed

Miciak, Jeremy; Stuebing, Karla K; Vaughn, Sharon; Roberts, Greg; Barth, Amy Elizabeth; Fletcher, Jack M

2014-12-01

No studies have investigated the cognitive attributes of middle school students who are adequate and inadequate responders to Tier 2 reading intervention. We compared students in Grades 6 and 7 representing groups of adequate responders ( n = 77) and inadequate responders who fell below criteria in (a) comprehension ( n = 54); (b) fluency ( n = 45); and (c) decoding, fluency, and comprehension (DFC; n = 45). These students received measures of phonological awareness, listening comprehension, rapid naming, processing speed, verbal knowledge, and nonverbal reasoning. Multivariate comparisons showed a significant Group-by-Task interaction: the comprehension-impaired group demonstrated primary difficulties with verbal knowledge and listening comprehension, the DFC group with phonological awareness, and the fluency-impaired group with phonological awareness and rapid naming. A series of regression models investigating whether responder status explained unique variation in cognitive skills yielded largely null results consistent with a continuum of severity associated with level of reading impairment, with no evidence for qualitative differences in the cognitive attributes of adequate and inadequate responders.

[Cognitive plasticity in Alzheimer's disease patients receiving cognitive stimulation programs].

PubMed

Zamarrón Cassinello, Ma Dolores; Tárraga Mestre, Luis; Fernández-Ballesteros, Rocío

2008-08-01

The main purpose of this article is to examine whether cognitive plasticity increases after cognitive training in Alzheimer's disease patients. Twenty six patients participated in this study, all of them diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's disease, 17 of them received a cognitive training program during 6 months, and the other 9 were assigned to the control group. Participants were assigned to experimental or control conditions for clinical reasons. In order to assess cognitive plasticity, all patients were assessed before and after treatment with three subtests from the "Bateria de Evaluación de Potencial de Aprendizaje en Demencias" [Assessment Battery of Learning Potential in Dementia] (BEPAD). After treatment, Alzheimer's disease patients improved their performance in all the tasks assessing cognitive plasticity: viso-spatial memory, audio-verbal memory and verbal fluency. However, the cognitive plasticity scores of the patients in the control group decreased. In conclusion, this study showed that cognitive stimulation programs can improve cognitive functioning in mildly demented patients, and patients who do not receive any cognitive interventions may reduce their cognitive functioning.

Challenging behaviors in young children: the father's role.

PubMed

Burbach, Ann D; Fox, Robert A; Nicholson, Bonnie C

2004-06-01

In this study, the authors examined the parenting practices, developmental expectations, and stress levels of 136 fathers and the challenging and prosocial behaviors of their 1- to 5-year-old children. In addition, the authors systematically addressed fathers' qualitative concerns about their parenting. The authors divided the participants into 4 groups and controlled for family socioeconomic status (SES) and the focus child's gender. Results showed a significantly higher use of corporal and verbal punishment and parenting stress among lower income fathers. Secondary analyses demonstrated a significant effect of paternal disciplinary practices that emphasized the frequent use of corporal and verbal punishment on child behavior problems, regardless of SES level. On a positive note, fathers from both lower and higher SES groups had reasonable developmental expectations for their boys and girls, and they reported similar frequencies of their children's prosocial behavior. The authors discuss the need for early parent education programs that include fathers and that teach specific strategies to address child behavior problems.

Emotional Understanding in School-Aged Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: A Promising Target for Intervention

PubMed Central

Petrenko, Christie L. M.; Pandolfino, Mary E.; Quamma, Julie; Olson, Heather Carmichael

2017-01-01

Background Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are at high risk for secondary conditions, including mental health difficulties. Data on both children with typical development and other clinical conditions suggest that limited emotional understanding (EU) raises risk for psychopathology, but little is known about EU in FASD. Objective Determine if EU is a reasonable treatment target for children with FASD. Methods 56 children (6–13 years) with FASD completed the Kusche Affective Interview-Revised, a verbal interview measure of EU. Results Children showed striking delays in EU (2–5 years delay) relative to published normative data, despite mean IQ (IQ=94.56) within normal limits. Individual variability was considerable even after accounting for age and verbal IQ. Conclusions Despite variability in individual differences, treatments targeting EU may benefit children with FASD as components within a comprehensive, tailored intervention focused on child self-regulation and caregiver behavior management. PMID:28594481

Category labels versus feature labels: category labels polarize inferential predictions.

PubMed

Yamauchi, Takashi; Yu, Na-Yung

2008-04-01

What makes category labels different from feature labels in predictive inference? This study suggests that category labels tend to make inductive reasoning polarized and homogeneous. In two experiments, participants were shown two schematic pictures of insects side by side and predicted the value of a hidden feature of one insect on the basis of the other insect. Arbitrary verbal labels were shown above the two pictures, and the meanings of the labels were manipulated in the instructions. In one condition, the labels represented the category membership of the insects, and in the other conditions, the same labels represented attributes of the insects. When the labels represented category membership, participants' responses became substantially polarized and homogeneous, indicating that the mere reference to category membership can modify reasoning processes.

A cross-sectional study of water arsenic exposure and intellectual function in adolescence in Araihazar, Bangladesh.

PubMed

Wasserman, Gail A; Liu, Xinhua; Parvez, Faruque; Chen, Yu; Factor-Litvak, Pam; LoIacono, Nancy J; Levy, Diane; Shahriar, Hasan; Uddin, Mohammed Nasir; Islam, Tariqul; Lomax, Angela; Saxena, Roheeni; Gibson, Elizabeth A; Kioumourtzoglou, Marianthi-Anna; Balac, Olgica; Sanchez, Tiffany; Kline, Jennie K; Santiago, David; Ellis, Tyler; van Geen, Alexander; Graziano, Joseph H

2018-06-19

Exposure to inorganic arsenic (As) from drinking water is associated with modest deficits in intellectual function in young children; it is unclear whether deficits occur during adolescence, when key brain functions are more fully developed. We sought to determine the degree to which As exposure is associated with adolescent intelligence, and the contributory roles of lead, cadmium, manganese and selenium. We recruited a cross-section of 726 14-16 year olds (mean age = 14.8 years) whose mothers are participants in the Bangladesh Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS), and whose household well water As levels, which varied widely, were well characterized. Using a culturally modified version of the WISC-IV, we examined raw Full Scale scores, and Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory and Processing Speed Indices. Blood levels of As (BAs), Mn, Pb, Cd and Se were assessed at the time of the visit, as was creatinine-adjusted urinary As (UAs/Cr). Linear regression analyses revealed that BAs was significantly negatively associated with all WISC-IV scores except for Perceptual Reasoning. With UAs/Cr as the exposure variable, we observed significantly negative associations for all WISC-IV scores. Except for Se, blood levels of other metals, were also associated with lower WISC-IV scores. Controlling for covariates, doubling BAs, or UAs/Cr, was associated with a mean decrement (95% CI) of 3.3 (1.1, 5.5), or 3.0 (1.2, 4.5) points, respectively, in raw Full scale scores with a sample mean of 177.6 (SD = 36.8). Confirmatory analyses using Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression, which identifies important mixture members, supported these findings; the primary contributor of the mixture was BAs, followed by BCd. Our data indicate that the adverse consequences of As exposure on neurodevelopment observed in other cross-sectional studies of younger children are also apparent during adolescence. They also implicate Cd as a neurotoxic element that deserves more attention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Testing the domain-specificity of a theory of mind deficit in brain-injured patients: evidence for consistent performance on non-verbal, "reality-unknown" false belief and false photograph tasks.

PubMed

Apperly, Ian A; Samson, Dana; Chiavarino, Claudia; Bickerton, Wai-Ling; Humphreys, Glyn W

2007-05-01

To test the domain-specificity of "theory of mind" abilities we compared the performance of a case-series of 11 brain-lesioned patients on a recently developed test of false belief reasoning () and on a matched false photograph task, which did not require belief reasoning and which addressed problems with existing false photograph methods. A strikingly similar pattern of performance was shown across the false belief and false photograph tests. Patients who were selectively impaired on false belief tasks were also impaired on false photograph tasks; patients spared on false belief tasks also showed preserved performance with false photographs. In some cases the impairment on false belief and false photograph tasks coincided with good performance on control tasks matched for executive demands. We discuss whether the patients have a domain-specific deficit in reasoning about representations common to both false belief and false photograph tasks.

2.5-year-olds Succeed at a Verbal Anticipatory-Looking False-Belief Task

PubMed Central

He, Zijing; Bolz, Matthias; Baillargeon, Renée

2012-01-01

Recent research suggests that infants and toddlers succeed at a wide range of nonelicited-response false-belief tasks (i.e., tasks that do not require children to answer a direct question about a mistaken agent’s likely behavior). However, one exception to this generalization comes from verbal anticipatory-looking tasks, which have produced inconsistent findings with toddlers. One possible explanation for these findings is that toddlers succeed when they correctly interpret the prompt as a self-addressed utterance (making the task a nonelicited-response task), but fail when they mistakenly interpret the prompt as a direct question (making the task an elicited-response task). Here, 2.5-year-old toddlers were tested in a verbal anticipatory-looking task that was designed to help them interpret the anticipatory prompt as a self-addressed utterance: the experimenter looked at the ceiling, chin in hand, during and after the prompt. Children gave evidence of false-belief understanding in this task, but failed when the experimenter looked at the child during and after the prompt. These results reinforce claims of robust continuity in early false-belief reasoning and provide additional support for the distinction between nonelicited- and elicited-response false-belief tasks. Three accounts of the discrepant results obtained with these tasks—and of early false-belief understanding more generally—are discussed. PMID:22429030

2.5-year-olds succeed at a verbal anticipatory-looking false-belief task.

PubMed

He, Zijing; Bolz, Matthias; Baillargeon, Renée

2012-03-01

Recent research suggests that infants and toddlers succeed at a wide range of non-elicited-response false-belief tasks (i.e., tasks that do not require children to answer a direct question about a mistaken agent's likely behaviour). However, one exception to this generalization comes from verbal anticipatory-looking tasks, which have produced inconsistent findings with toddlers. One possible explanation for these findings is that toddlers succeed when they correctly interpret the prompt as a self-addressed utterance (making the task a non-elicited-response task), but fail when they mistakenly interpret the prompt as a direct question (making the task an elicited-response task). Here, 2.5-year-old toddlers were tested in a verbal anticipatory-looking task that was designed to help them interpret the anticipatory prompt as a self-addressed utterance: the experimenter looked at the ceiling, chin in hand, during and after the prompt. Children gave evidence of false-belief understanding in this task, but failed when the experimenter looked at the child during and after the prompt. These results reinforce claims of robust continuity in early false-belief reasoning and provide additional support for the distinction between non-elicited- and elicited-response false-belief tasks. Three accounts of the discrepant results obtained with these tasks - and of early false-belief understanding more generally - are discussed. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural effects on verbal working memory and vocabulary: testing language-minority children with an immigrant background.

PubMed

de Abreu, Pascale M J Engel; Baldassi, Martine; Puglisi, Marina L; Befi-Lopes, Debora M

2013-04-01

In this study, the authors explored the impact of test language and cultural status on vocabulary and working memory performance in multilingual language-minority children. Twenty 7-year-old Portuguese-speaking immigrant children living in Luxembourg completed several assessments of first (L1)- and second-language (L2) vocabulary (comprehension and production), executive-loaded working memory (counting recall and backward digit recall), and verbal short-term memory (digit recall and nonword repetition). Cross-linguistic task performance was compared within individuals. The language-minority children were also compared with multilingual language-majority children from Luxembourg and Portuguese-speaking monolinguals from Brazil without an immigrant background matched on age, sex, socioeconomic status, and nonverbal reasoning. Results showed that (a) verbal working memory measures involving numerical memoranda were relatively independent of test language and cultural status; (b) language status had an impact on the repetition of high- but not on low-wordlike L2 nonwords; (c) large cross-linguistic and cross-cultural effects emerged for productive vocabulary; (d) cross-cultural effects were less pronounced for vocabulary comprehension with no differences between groups if only L1 words relevant to the home context were considered. The study indicates that linguistic and cognitive assessments for language-minority children require careful choice among measures to ensure valid results. Implications for testing culturally and linguistically diverse children are discussed.

The Effect of Neurocognitive Function on Math Computation in Pediatric ADHD: Moderating Influences of Anxious Perfectionism and Gender.

PubMed

Sturm, Alexandra; Rozenman, Michelle; Piacentini, John C; McGough, James J; Loo, Sandra K; McCracken, James T

2018-03-20

Predictors of math achievement in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not well-known. To address this gap in the literature, we examined individual differences in neurocognitive functioning domains on math computation in a cross-sectional sample of youth with ADHD. Gender and anxiety symptoms were explored as potential moderators. The sample consisted of 281 youth (aged 8-15 years) diagnosed with ADHD. Neurocognitive tasks assessed auditory-verbal working memory, visuospatial working memory, and processing speed. Auditory-verbal working memory speed significantly predicted math computation. A three-way interaction revealed that at low levels of anxious perfectionism, slower processing speed predicted poorer math computation for boys compared to girls. These findings indicate the uniquely predictive values of auditory-verbal working memory and processing speed on math computation, and their differential moderation. These findings provide preliminary support that gender and anxious perfectionism may influence the relationship between neurocognitive functioning and academic achievement.

Motivated to do well: an examination of the relationships between motivation, effort, and cognitive performance in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Foussias, G; Siddiqui, I; Fervaha, G; Mann, S; McDonald, K; Agid, O; Zakzanis, K K; Remington, G

2015-08-01

The uncertain relationship between negative symptoms, and specifically motivational deficits, with cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia is in need of further elucidation as it pertains to the interpretation of cognitive test results. Findings to date have suggested a possible mediating role of motivational deficits on cognitive test measures, although findings from formal examinations of effort using performance validity measures have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between motivation, effort exerted during cognitive testing, and cognitive performance in schizophrenia. Sixty-nine outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were evaluated for psychopathology, severity of motivational deficits, effort exerted during cognitive testing, and cognitive performance. Motivation and degree of effort exerted during cognitive testing were significantly related to cognitive performance, specifically verbal fluency, verbal and working memory, attention and processing speed, and reasoning and problem solving. Further, effort accounted for 15% of the variance in cognitive performance, and partially mediated the relationship between motivation and cognitive performance. Examining cognitive performance profiles for individuals exerting normal or reduced effort revealed significant differences in global cognition, as well as attention/processing speed and reasoning and problem solving. These findings suggest that cognitive domains may be differentially affected by impairments in motivation and effort, and highlight the importance of understanding the interplay between motivation and cognitive performance deficits, which may guide the appropriate selection of symptom targets for promoting recovery in patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Can task-switching training enhance executive control functioning in children with attention deficit/-hyperactivity disorder?

PubMed

Kray, Jutta; Karbach, Julia; Haenig, Susann; Freitag, Christine

2011-01-01

The key cognitive impairments of children with attention deficit/-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) include executive control functions such as inhibitory control, task-switching, and working memory (WM). In this training study we examined whether task-switching training leads to improvements in these functions. Twenty children with combined type ADHD and stable methylphenidate medication performed a single-task and a task-switching training in a crossover training design. The children were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group started with the single-task training and then performed the task-switching training and the other group vice versa. The effectiveness of the task-switching training was measured as performance improvements (relative to the single-task training) on a structurally similar but new switching task and on other executive control tasks measuring inhibitory control and verbal WM as well as on fluid intelligence (reasoning). The children in both groups showed improvements in task-switching, that is, a reduction of switching costs, but not in performing the single-tasks across four training sessions. Moreover, the task-switching training lead to selective enhancements in task-switching performance, that is, the reduction of task-switching costs was found to be larger after task-switching than after single-task training. Similar selective improvements were observed for inhibitory control and verbal WM, but not for reasoning. Results of this study suggest that task-switching training is an effective cognitive intervention that helps to enhance executive control functioning in children with ADHD.

Can Task-Switching Training Enhance Executive Control Functioning in Children with Attention Deficit/-Hyperactivity Disorder?

PubMed Central

Kray, Jutta; Karbach, Julia; Haenig, Susann; Freitag, Christine

2012-01-01

The key cognitive impairments of children with attention deficit/-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) include executive control functions such as inhibitory control, task-switching, and working memory (WM). In this training study we examined whether task-switching training leads to improvements in these functions. Twenty children with combined type ADHD and stable methylphenidate medication performed a single-task and a task-switching training in a crossover training design. The children were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group started with the single-task training and then performed the task-switching training and the other group vice versa. The effectiveness of the task-switching training was measured as performance improvements (relative to the single-task training) on a structurally similar but new switching task and on other executive control tasks measuring inhibitory control and verbal WM as well as on fluid intelligence (reasoning). The children in both groups showed improvements in task-switching, that is, a reduction of switching costs, but not in performing the single-tasks across four training sessions. Moreover, the task-switching training lead to selective enhancements in task-switching performance, that is, the reduction of task-switching costs was found to be larger after task-switching than after single-task training. Similar selective improvements were observed for inhibitory control and verbal WM, but not for reasoning. Results of this study suggest that task-switching training is an effective cognitive intervention that helps to enhance executive control functioning in children with ADHD. PMID:22291628

Effects of the common cold on mood, psychomotor performance, the encoding of new information, speed of working memory and semantic processing.

PubMed

Smith, Andrew P

2012-10-01

Previous research has shown that people with the common cold report a more negative mood and psychomotor slowing. Recent research suggests that memory speed may also be impaired. This was examined in the study reported here. A prospective design was used and all participants (N=200; half male, half female; mean age 21 years, range 18-30 years) carried out a baseline session when healthy. The test battery involved mood rating, simple and choice reaction time, verbal reasoning and semantic processing. Volunteers returned when they developed an upper respiratory tract illness (URTI) and repeated the test battery. If they remained healthy they were recalled as a control. One hundred and eighty-nine participants completed the study and 48 developed URTIs and 141 were in the healthy control group. Symptoms and signs suggested that those who were ill had colds rather than influenza. The results showed that those with colds reported lower alertness, a more negative mood, and psychomotor slowing. They were also slower at encoding new information and slower on the verbal reasoning and semantic processing tasks. The magnitude of the mood changes associated with being ill were correlated with symptom severity. The performance changes were not correlated with symptom severity, sleep duration or mood changes. Further research is now needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the behavioral malaise associated with URTIs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Women's Perceptions and Experiences of Domestic Violence: An Observational Study From Hyderabad, Pakistan.

PubMed

Madhani, Farhana I; Karmaliani, Rozina; Patel, Cyra; Bann, Carla M; McClure, Elizabeth M; Pasha, Omrana; Goldenberg, Robert L

2017-01-01

This community-based observational study of 1,325 women seen for antenatal care examined how women in Pakistan define violence against women (VAW), with an emphasis on domestic violence, what an acceptable response to violence is, reasons for remaining silent, and whether participants are willing to disclose incidents of domestic violence to others. Nearly half of the study participants believed that physical violence was VAW. Verbal abuse, controlling behavior by the husband, conflict with in-laws, overburdening domestic work, and threatening to leave or remarry were also considered VAW. However, only five respondents (0.4%) considered sexual abuse to be VAW. Most women who screened positive for domestic violence responded by remaining silent or verbal fighting back. None sought professional help. Women who decided to remain silent feared that the abuse would escalate or that responding would not help them. Women cited social stigma and concerns about the impact of the violence on children as reasons for not disclosing violent incidents to others or seeking professional help. Women's lack of autonomy further reduced their ability to take steps against violence. Although societal norms, particularly patriarchal beliefs and women's subordination to men, likely explain women's tolerance of abuse, their recognition of physical abuse as violence indicates that they do not necessarily believe it is always justified. Educational interventions to drive changes in the social norms around gender violence along with effective and enforceable legal measures are likely required to ensure women's safety. © The Author(s) 2015.

Association between polygenic risk for schizophrenia, neurocognition and social cognition across development

PubMed Central

Germine, L; Robinson, E B; Smoller, J W; Calkins, M E; Moore, T M; Hakonarson, H; Daly, M J; Lee, P H; Holmes, A J; Buckner, R L; Gur, R C; Gur, R E

2016-01-01

Breakthroughs in genomics have begun to unravel the genetic architecture of schizophrenia risk, providing methods for quantifying schizophrenia polygenic risk based on common genetic variants. Our objective in the current study was to understand the relationship between schizophrenia genetic risk variants and neurocognitive development in healthy individuals. We first used combined genomic and neurocognitive data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (4303 participants ages 8–21 years) to screen 26 neurocognitive phenotypes for their association with schizophrenia polygenic risk. Schizophrenia polygenic risk was estimated for each participant based on summary statistics from the most recent schizophrenia genome-wide association analysis (Psychiatric Genomics Consortium 2014). After correction for multiple comparisons, greater schizophrenia polygenic risk was significantly associated with reduced speed of emotion identification and verbal reasoning. These associations were significant by age 9 years and there was no evidence of interaction between schizophrenia polygenic risk and age on neurocognitive performance. We then looked at the association between schizophrenia polygenic risk and emotion identification speed in the Harvard/MGH Brain Genomics Superstruct Project sample (695 participants ages 18–35 years), where we replicated the association between schizophrenia polygenic risk and emotion identification speed. These analyses provide evidence for a replicable association between polygenic risk for schizophrenia and a specific aspect of social cognition. Our findings indicate that individual differences in genetic risk for schizophrenia are linked with the development of aspects of social cognition and potentially verbal reasoning, and that these associations emerge relatively early in development. PMID:27754483

Women’s Perceptions and Experiences of Domestic Violence: An Observational Study From Hyderabad, Pakistan

PubMed Central

Madhani, Farhana I.; Karmaliani, Rozina; Patel, Cyra; Bann, Carla M.; McClure, Elizabeth M.; Pasha, Omrana; Goldenberg, Robert L.

2016-01-01

This community-based observational study of 1,325 women seen for antenatal care examined how women in Pakistan define violence against women (VAW), with an emphasis on domestic violence, what an acceptable response to violence is, reasons for remaining silent, and whether participants are willing to disclose incidents of domestic violence to others. Nearly half of the study participants believed that physical violence was VAW. Verbal abuse, controlling behavior by the husband, conflict with in-laws, overburdening domestic work, and threatening to leave or remarry were also considered VAW. However, only five respondents (0.4%) considered sexual abuse to be VAW. Most women who screened positive for domestic violence responded by remaining silent or verbal fighting back. None sought professional help. Women who decided to remain silent feared that the abuse would escalate or that responding would not help them. Women cited social stigma and concerns about the impact of the violence on children as reasons for not disclosing violent incidents to others or seeking professional help. Women’s lack of autonomy further reduced their ability to take steps against violence. Although societal norms, particularly patriarchal beliefs and women’s subordination to men, likely explain women’s tolerance of abuse, their recognition of physical abuse as violence indicates that they do not necessarily believe it is always justified. Educational interventions to drive changes in the social norms around gender violence along with effective and enforceable legal measures are likely required to ensure women’s safety. PMID:25979535

Association between polygenic risk for schizophrenia, neurocognition and social cognition across development.

PubMed

Germine, L; Robinson, E B; Smoller, J W; Calkins, M E; Moore, T M; Hakonarson, H; Daly, M J; Lee, P H; Holmes, A J; Buckner, R L; Gur, R C; Gur, R E

2016-10-18

Breakthroughs in genomics have begun to unravel the genetic architecture of schizophrenia risk, providing methods for quantifying schizophrenia polygenic risk based on common genetic variants. Our objective in the current study was to understand the relationship between schizophrenia genetic risk variants and neurocognitive development in healthy individuals. We first used combined genomic and neurocognitive data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (4303 participants ages 8-21 years) to screen 26 neurocognitive phenotypes for their association with schizophrenia polygenic risk. Schizophrenia polygenic risk was estimated for each participant based on summary statistics from the most recent schizophrenia genome-wide association analysis (Psychiatric Genomics Consortium 2014). After correction for multiple comparisons, greater schizophrenia polygenic risk was significantly associated with reduced speed of emotion identification and verbal reasoning. These associations were significant by age 9 years and there was no evidence of interaction between schizophrenia polygenic risk and age on neurocognitive performance. We then looked at the association between schizophrenia polygenic risk and emotion identification speed in the Harvard/MGH Brain Genomics Superstruct Project sample (695 participants ages 18-35 years), where we replicated the association between schizophrenia polygenic risk and emotion identification speed. These analyses provide evidence for a replicable association between polygenic risk for schizophrenia and a specific aspect of social cognition. Our findings indicate that individual differences in genetic risk for schizophrenia are linked with the development of aspects of social cognition and potentially verbal reasoning, and that these associations emerge relatively early in development.

The construct validity of HPAT-Ireland for the selection of medical students: unresolved issues and future research implications.

PubMed

Kelly, Maureen E; O'Flynn, Siun

2017-05-01

Aptitude tests are widely used in selection. However, despite certain advantages their use remains controversial. This paper aims to critically appraise five sources of evidence for the construct validity of the Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT)-Ireland, an aptitude test used for selecting undergraduate medical students. The objectives are to identify gaps in the evidence, draw comparisons with other aptitude tests and outline future research directions. Our appraisal of the literature found that stakeholder feedback indicates that there is reasonable evidence for test content validity for two of the three sections of HPAT-Ireland. By contrast the Non-Verbal Reasoning section is widely criticised as having limited relevance to medical school performance and future clinical practice. In terms of concurrent validity there is a significant small to medium, negative correlation with school exit examinations, but not consistently so across all studies (r = -0.18, -0.28, 0.017). Likewise predictive validity studies vary, from negative to moderate strength correlations with examination performance during early years at medical school. Five studies indicate that HPAT-Ireland is supported in principle by the majority of stakeholders. While one consequence of its introduction is that successful applicants are now coming from more diverse academic backgrounds, there is no evidence that the socio-economic background of medical school entrants has been altered significantly. Negative perceptions of unfairness relating to gender, coaching and socio-economics remain. The evidence to date suggests that while there are slight gender differences, initially favouring males, these vary year on year. In conclusion, the attitudes towards, and performance of, HPAT-Ireland is not unlike that of other aptitude tests widely used internationally. The main justifications for its introduction have been achieved, in that Ireland no longer relies exclusively on a single measure of academic record for selection to medical school. However a number of areas require further research and exploration.

Role of Two Types of Syntactic Embedding in Belief Attribution in Adults with or without Asperger Syndrome

PubMed Central

Burnel, Morgane Clémentine; Perrone-Bertolotti, Marcela; Durrleman, Stephanie; Reboul, Anne C.; Baciu, Monica

2017-01-01

The role of syntax in belief attribution (BA) is not completely understood in healthy adults and understudied in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Embedded syntax could be useful either for the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) (Emergence account) or more generally over the lifespan (Reasoning account). Two hypotheses have been explored, one suggesting that embedding itself (Relatives and Complement sentences and Metarepresentation account) is important for ToM and another one considering that the embedding of a false proposition into a true one (Complement sentences and Misrepresentation account) is important. The goals of this study were to evaluate (1) the role of syntax in ToM (Emergence vs. Reasoning account), (2) the type of syntax implied in ToM (Metarepresentation vs. Misrepresentation account), and (3) the verbally mediated strategies which compensate for ToM deficits in adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Fifty NeuroTypical (NT) adults and 22 adults with AS were involved in a forced-choice task including ±ToM tasks (BA and a control task, physical causation, PC) under four Interference conditions (silence, syllable repetition, relative sentences repetition, and complement sentences repetition). The non-significant ±ToM × Interference interaction effect in the NT group did not support the Reasoning account and thus suggests that syntax is useful only for ToM development (i.e., Emergence account). Results also indicated that repeating complement clauses put NT participants in a dual task whereas repeating relative clauses did not, suggesting that repeating relatives is easier for NT than repeating complements. This could be an argument in favor of the Misrepresentation account. However, this result should be interpreted with caution because our results did not support the Reasoning account. Moreover, AS participants (but not NT participants) were more disrupted by ±ToM tasks when asked to repeat complement sentences compared to relative clause sentences. This result is in favor of the Misrepresentation account and indirectly suggests verbally mediated strategies for ToM in AS. To summarize, our results are in favor of the Emergence account in NT and of Reasoning and Misrepresentation accounts in adults with AS. Overall, this suggests that adults with AS use complement syntax to compensate for ToM deficits. PMID:28553246

Role of Two Types of Syntactic Embedding in Belief Attribution in Adults with or without Asperger Syndrome.

PubMed

Burnel, Morgane Clémentine; Perrone-Bertolotti, Marcela; Durrleman, Stephanie; Reboul, Anne C; Baciu, Monica

2017-01-01

The role of syntax in belief attribution (BA) is not completely understood in healthy adults and understudied in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Embedded syntax could be useful either for the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) ( Emergence account) or more generally over the lifespan ( Reasoning account). Two hypotheses have been explored, one suggesting that embedding itself (Relatives and Complement sentences and Metarepresentation account) is important for ToM and another one considering that the embedding of a false proposition into a true one (Complement sentences and Misrepresentation account) is important. The goals of this study were to evaluate (1) the role of syntax in ToM ( Emergence vs. Reasoning account), (2) the type of syntax implied in ToM ( Metarepresentation vs. Misrepresentation account), and (3) the verbally mediated strategies which compensate for ToM deficits in adults with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Fifty NeuroTypical (NT) adults and 22 adults with AS were involved in a forced-choice task including ±ToM tasks (BA and a control task, physical causation, PC) under four Interference conditions (silence, syllable repetition, relative sentences repetition, and complement sentences repetition). The non-significant ±ToM × Interference interaction effect in the NT group did not support the Reasoning account and thus suggests that syntax is useful only for ToM development (i.e., Emergence account). Results also indicated that repeating complement clauses put NT participants in a dual task whereas repeating relative clauses did not, suggesting that repeating relatives is easier for NT than repeating complements. This could be an argument in favor of the Misrepresentation account. However, this result should be interpreted with caution because our results did not support the Reasoning account. Moreover, AS participants (but not NT participants) were more disrupted by ±ToM tasks when asked to repeat complement sentences compared to relative clause sentences. This result is in favor of the Misrepresentation account and indirectly suggests verbally mediated strategies for ToM in AS. To summarize, our results are in favor of the Emergence account in NT and of Reasoning and Misrepresentation accounts in adults with AS. Overall, this suggests that adults with AS use complement syntax to compensate for ToM deficits.

Remarques sur le Passif (suite) (Remarks on the Passive, Continued)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinchon, Jacqueline

1977-01-01

The continuation of articles on the passive voice appearing in the "Grammaire vivante" section of the periodical. The production of the passive sentence is considered under two headings: the simple verb and the complex verbal group. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Direct estimates of national neonatal and child cause–specific mortality proportions in Niger by expert algorithm and physician–coded analysis of verbal autopsy interviews

PubMed Central

Kalter, Henry D.; Roubanatou, Abdoulaye–Mamadou; Koffi, Alain; Black, Robert E.

2015-01-01

Background This study was one of a set of verbal autopsy investigations undertaken by the WHO/UNCEF–supported Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG) to derive direct estimates of the causes of neonatal and child deaths in high priority countries of sub–Saharan Africa. The objective of the study was to determine the cause distributions of neonatal (0–27 days) and child (1–59 months) mortality in Niger. Methods Verbal autopsy interviews were conducted of random samples of 453 neonatal deaths and 620 child deaths from 2007 to 2010 identified by the 2011 Niger National Mortality Survey. The cause of each death was assigned using two methods: computerized expert algorithms arranged in a hierarchy and physician completion of a death certificate for each child. The findings of the two methods were compared to each other, and plausibility checks were conducted to assess which is the preferred method. Comparison of some direct measures from this study with CHERG modeled cause of death estimates are discussed. Findings The cause distributions of neonatal deaths as determined by expert algorithms and the physician were similar, with the same top three causes by both methods and all but two other causes within one rank of each other. Although child causes of death differed more, the reasons often could be discerned by analyzing algorithmic criteria alongside the physician’s application of required minimal diagnostic criteria. Including all algorithmic (primary and co–morbid) and physician (direct, underlying and contributing) diagnoses in the comparison minimized the differences, with kappa coefficients greater than 0.40 for five of 11 neonatal diagnoses and nine of 13 child diagnoses. By algorithmic diagnosis, early onset neonatal infection was significantly associated (χ2 = 13.2, P < 0.001) with maternal infection, and the geographic distribution of child meningitis deaths closely corresponded with that for meningitis surveillance cases and deaths. Conclusions Verbal autopsy conducted in the context of a national mortality survey can provide useful estimates of the cause distributions of neonatal and child deaths. While the current study found reasonable agreement between the expert algorithm and physician analyses, it also demonstrated greater plausibility for two algorithmic diagnoses and validation work is needed to ascertain the findings. Direct, large–scale measurement of causes of death complement, can strengthen, and in some settings may be preferred over modeled estimates. PMID:25969734

26 CFR 1.6664-4T - Reasonable cause and good faith exception to section 6662 penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Reasonable cause and good faith exception to..., Additional Amounts, and Assessable Penalties § 1.6664-4T Reasonable cause and good faith exception to section... section 482 transfer price adjustments. For purposes of applying the reasonable cause and good faith...

26 CFR 1.6664-4T - Reasonable cause and good faith exception to section 6662 penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Reasonable cause and good faith exception to..., Additional Amounts, and Assessable Penalties § 1.6664-4T Reasonable cause and good faith exception to section... section 482 transfer price adjustments. For purposes of applying the reasonable cause and good faith...

26 CFR 1.6664-4T - Reasonable cause and good faith exception to section 6662 penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Reasonable cause and good faith exception to..., Additional Amounts, and Assessable Penalties § 1.6664-4T Reasonable cause and good faith exception to section... section 482 transfer price adjustments. For purposes of applying the reasonable cause and good faith...

26 CFR 1.6664-4T - Reasonable cause and good faith exception to section 6662 penalties.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Reasonable cause and good faith exception to..., Additional Amounts, and Assessable Penalties § 1.6664-4T Reasonable cause and good faith exception to section... section 482 transfer price adjustments. For purposes of applying the reasonable cause and good faith...

Social reasoning skills in adults with Down syndrome: the role of language, executive functions and socio-emotional behaviour.

PubMed

Hippolyte, L; Iglesias, K; Van der Linden, M; Barisnikov, K

2010-08-01

Although the prevalence of mental illness and behaviour problems is lower in adults with Down syndrome (DS) than in other populations with intellectual disabilities, they do present emotional and relational problems, as well as social integration difficulties. However, studies reporting on specific competences known to be central in developing appropriate social relationships (e.g. social reasoning, emotion processing, theory of mind) remain rare in the adult DS population and the mechanisms underlying these people's emotional and relational difficulties are unclear. The present study investigated the ability to understand the appropriateness of others' social behaviour in 34 adults with DS, using the Social Resolution Task (SRT). Their results were compared with those of 34 typically developing (TD) children matched for gender and receptive vocabulary. The relationships among the SRT experimental task, cognitive competences (receptive and productive vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning, inhibition, selective attention) and a caregiver-rated measure of socio-emotional behaviour were examined in the DS group. The DS participants' global SRT scores did not differ from those of the controls. However, analyses of the SRT subscores revealed that the DS group identified significantly fewer inappropriate situations than the control group. Nevertheless, when they correctly identified the behaviour as inappropriate, they were as well as the controls to explain the rules underlying their responses. Regression analyses showed that receptive vocabulary and selective attention and a specific dimension of the socio-emotional profile (social relating skills) constituted the best predictors of the DS adults' performance on the SRT. The main findings show that the DS participants demonstrate relatively good social reasoning skills in comparison with TD children matched for verbal age. However, the two groups present distinctions in their response patterns, and the influence of cognitive variables on success on the SRT also appears different. While selective attention skills are found to be significant predictors for both groups, the influence of receptive vocabulary level is much stronger in the DS group. The implications of particular cognitive and socio-emotional factors for success on the SRT in this group are considered in more detail.

The influence of causal connections between symptoms on the diagnosis of mental disorders: evidence from online and offline measures.

PubMed

Flores, Amanda; Cobos, Pedro L; López, Francisco J; Godoy, Antonio; González-Martín, Estrella

2014-09-01

An experiment conducted with students and experienced clinicians demonstrated very fast and online causal reasoning in the diagnosis of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) mental disorders. The experiment also demonstrated that clinicians' causal reasoning is triggered by information that is directly related to the causal structure that explains the symptoms, such as their temporal sequence. The use of causal theories was measured through explicit, verbal diagnostic judgments and through the online registration of participants' reading times of clinical reports. To detect both online and offline causal reasoning, the consistency of clinical reports was manipulated. This manipulation was made by varying the temporal order in which different symptoms developed in hypothetical clients, and by providing explicit information about causal connections between symptoms. The temporal order of symptoms affected the clinicians' but not the students' reading times. However, offline diagnostic judgments in both groups were influenced by the consistency manipulation. Overall, our results suggest that clinicians engage in fast and online causal reasoning processes when dealing with diagnostic information concerning mental disorders, and that both clinicians and students engage in causal reasoning in diagnostic judgment tasks. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Much ado about aha!: Insight problem solving is strongly related to working memory capacity and reasoning ability.

PubMed

Chuderski, Adam; Jastrzębski, Jan

2018-02-01

A battery comprising 4 fluid reasoning tests as well as 13 working memory (WM) tasks that involved storage, recall, updating, binding, and executive control, was applied to 318 adults in order to evaluate the true relationship of reasoning ability and WM capacity (WMC) to insight problem solving, measured using 40 verbal, spatial, math, matchstick, and remote associates problems (insight problems). WMC predicted 51.8% of variance in insight problem solving and virtually explained its almost isomorphic link to reasoning ability (84.6% of shared variance). The strong link between WMC and insight pertained generally to most WM tasks and insight problems, was identical for problems solved with and without reported insight, was linear throughout the ability levels, and was not mediated by age, motivation, anxiety, psychoticism, and openness to experience. In contrast to popular views on the sudden and holistic nature of insight, the solving of insight problems results primarily from typical operations carried out by the basic WM mechanisms that are responsible for the maintenance, retrieval, transformation, and control of information in the broad range of intellectual tasks (including fluid reasoning). Little above and beyond WM is unique about insight. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Transfer after process-based object-location memory training in healthy older adults.

PubMed

Zimmermann, Kathrin; von Bastian, Claudia C; Röcke, Christina; Martin, Mike; Eschen, Anne

2016-11-01

A substantial part of age-related episodic memory decline has been attributed to the decreasing ability of older adults to encode and retrieve associations among simultaneously processed information units from long-term memory. In addition, this ability seems to share unique variance with reasoning. In this study, we therefore examined whether process-based training of the ability to learn and remember associations has the potential to induce transfer effects to untrained episodic memory and reasoning tasks in healthy older adults (60-75 years). For this purpose, the experimental group (n = 36) completed 30 sessions of process-based object-location memory training, while the active control group (n = 31) practiced visual perception on the same material. Near (spatial episodic memory), intermediate (verbal episodic memory), and far transfer effects (reasoning) were each assessed with multiple tasks at four measurements (before, midway through, immediately after, and 4 months after training). Linear mixed-effects models revealed transfer effects on spatial episodic memory and reasoning that were still observed 4 months after training. These results provide first empirical evidence that process-based training can enhance healthy older adults' associative memory performance and positively affect untrained episodic memory and reasoning abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

42 CFR 418.52 - Condition of participation: Patient's rights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 42 Public Health 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Condition of participation: Patient's rights. 418.52 Section 418.52 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... alleged violations involving mistreatment, neglect, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse...

42 CFR 418.52 - Condition of participation: Patient's rights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 42 Public Health 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Condition of participation: Patient's rights. 418.52 Section 418.52 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... alleged violations involving mistreatment, neglect, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse...

42 CFR 418.52 - Condition of participation: Patient's rights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 42 Public Health 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Condition of participation: Patient's rights. 418.52 Section 418.52 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... alleged violations involving mistreatment, neglect, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse...

49 CFR 193.2519 - Communication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Communication systems. 193.2519 Section 193.2519...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Operations § 193.2519 Communication systems. (a) Each LNG plant must have a primary communication system that provides for verbal communications between all operating personnel at...

49 CFR 193.2519 - Communication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Communication systems. 193.2519 Section 193.2519...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Operations § 193.2519 Communication systems. (a) Each LNG plant must have a primary communication system that provides for verbal communications between all operating personnel at...

49 CFR 193.2519 - Communication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Operations § 193.2519 Communication systems. (a) Each LNG plant must have a primary communication system that provides for verbal communications between all operating personnel at... 49 Transportation 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Communication systems. 193.2519 Section 193.2519...

Biocybernetic Approach to the Communication Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malik, M. F.; Thwaites, H. M.

This paper presents an overview of biocybernetic communication research, which deals with the information impact of films, television, photographic pictures, paintings, exhibitions, texts, and verbal stimuli on human beings. The first section describes the biocybernetic basics of biometric research, and clarifies terms used in the field. The…

Working Memory Profiles in HIV-Exposed, Uninfected and HIV-Infected Children: A Comparison with Neurotypical Controls

PubMed Central

Milligan, Robyn; Cockcroft, Kate

2017-01-01

This study compared the working memory profiles of three groups of children, namely HIV-infected (HIV-I; n = 95), HIV-exposed, uninfected (HIV-EU; n = 86) and an HIV-unexposed, uninfected, (HIV-UU; n = 92) neurotypical control group. Working memory, an executive function, plays an important role in frontal lobe-controlled behaviors, such as motivation, planning, decision making, and social interaction, and is a strong predictor of academic success in school children. Memory impairments have been identified in HIV-I children, particularly in visuospatial processing. Verbal working memory has not been commonly investigated in this population, while it is unknown how the working memory profiles of HIV-EU children compare to their HIV-I and HIV-UU peers. Of interest was whether the working memory profiles of the HIV-EU children would be more similar to the HIV-I group or to the uninfected control group. The results revealed no significant differences in working memory performance between the HIV-I and HIV-EU groups. However, this does not mean that the etiology of the working memory deficits is the same in the two groups, as these groups showed important differences when compared to the control group. In comparison to the controls, the HIV-I group experienced difficulties with processing tasks irrespective of whether they drew on a verbal or visuospatial modality. This appears to stem from a generalized executive function deficit that also interferes with working memory. In the HIV-EU group, difficulties occurred with verbally based tasks, irrespective of whether they required storage or processing. For this group, the dual demands of complex processing and using a second language seem to result in demand exceeding capacity on verbal tasks. Both groups experienced the greatest difficulties with verbal processing tasks for these different reasons. Thus, disruption of different cognitive abilities could result in similar working memory profiles, as evidenced in this study. This has implications for the underlying developmental neurobiology of HIV-I and HIV-EU children, as well the choice of appropriate measures to assist affected children. PMID:28729828

Power and status within small groups: An analysis of students' verbal and nonverbal behavior and responses to one another

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, Lynnae Carol

The purpose of this research has been to determine the influence of verbal and nonverbal behavior on power and status within small groups. The interactions which took place within five small groups of students in a middle school spatial reasoning elective were analyzed. Verbal responses to requests for help were analyzed using sequential analysis techniques. Results indicated that the identity of the student asking a question or requesting help in some form or another is a better predictor of whether he/she will receive help than the type of questions he/she asks. Nonverbal behavior was analyzed for social gestures, body language, and shifts in possession of tools. Each nonverbal act was coded as either "positive" (encouraging participation) or "negative" (discouraging participation); and, the researchers found that in groups in which there was unequal participation and less "help" provided among peers (according to the verbal analysis results) there tended to be more "negative" nonverbal behavior demonstrated than in groups in which "shared talk time" and "helping behavior" were common characteristics of the norm. The combined results from the analyses of the verbal and nonverbal behavior of students within small groups were then reviewed through the conflict, power, status perspective of small group interactions in order to determine some common characteristics of high functioning (collaborative) and low functioning (non-collaborative) groups. Some common characteristics of the higher functioning groups include: few instances of conflict, shared "talk time" and decision making, inclusive leadership, frequent use of encouraging social gestures and body language, and more sharing of tools than seizing. Some shared traits among the lower functioning groups include: frequent occurrences of interpersonal conflict, a focus on process (rather than content), persuasive or alienating leadership, unequal participation and power, frequent use of discouraging social gestures and body language, and more seizing of tools than sharing. While "functionality" was easily defined, labeling groups according to this characteristic proved to be a more difficult task. Although there was clearly a "highest functioning" and a "lowest functioning" group among the five, the other three groups fell somewhere in between these two, along a continuum of group functioning.

Residents' Experiences of Abuse and Harassment in Emergency Departments.

PubMed

Sadrabad, Akram Zolfaghari; Bidarizerehpoosh, Farahnaz; Farahmand Rad, Reza; Kariman, Hamid; Hatamabadi, Hamidreza; Alimohammadi, Hossein

2016-04-21

The widespread epidemic of emerging abuse in Emergency Departments (ED) toward residents generates negative effects on the residents' health and welfare. The purpose of this study was to determine and highlight the high prevalence of abuse and harassment toward Emergency residents. In 2011, a multi-institutional, cross-sectional study was conducted at seven Emergency Residencies of central hospitals in Iran. Residents were asked about their age, marital status, postgraduate year (PGY) levels, and work experiences before residency. Prevalence of abuse in four categories was evaluated: verbal abuse; verbal and physical threat; physical assault and sexual harassment; and by whom. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 17.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Two hundred fifteen of the 296 residents (73%) completed the survey. The prevalence of any type of abuse experienced was 89%; 43% of residents experienced verbal and physical threats, 10% physical assault, and 31% sexual harassment. Verbal abuse and verbal and physical threats without the use of weapons were higher in men in comparison with women (p< .04). Women were more likely than men to encounter sexual harassment (31% vs. 7%, p< .01). Among the sexual harassment categories, sexual jokes (51%) were the most prevalent between residents. Junior residents (PGY-1) were more likely to experience abuse than senior residents (PGY-2 and PGY-3; p< .01). Patients and their companions were the main agents of abusive behaviors. Abuse and harassment during residency in ED are highly prevalent. Educational programs and effective preventive measures against this mistreatment are urgently required. © The Author(s) 2016.

Better verbal memory in women than men in MCI despite similar levels of hippocampal atrophy.

PubMed

Sundermann, Erin E; Biegon, Anat; Rubin, Leah H; Lipton, Richard B; Mowrey, Wenzhu; Landau, Susan; Maki, Pauline M

2016-04-12

To examine sex differences in the relationship between clinical symptoms related to Alzheimer disease (AD) (verbal memory deficits) and neurodegeneration (hippocampal volume/intracranial volume ratio [HpVR]) across AD stages. The sample included 379 healthy participants, 694 participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 235 participants with AD and dementia from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative who completed the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using linear regression to examine the interaction between sex and HpVR on RAVLT across and within diagnostic groups adjusting for age, education, and APOE ε4 status. Across groups, there were significant sex × HpVR interactions for immediate and delayed recall (p < 0.01). Women outperformed men among individuals with moderate to larger HpVR, but not among individuals with smaller HpVR. In diagnosis-stratified analyses, the HpVR × sex interaction was significant in the aMCI group, but not in the control or AD dementia groups, for immediate and delayed recall (p < 0.01). Among controls, women outperformed men on both outcomes irrespective of HpVR (p < 0.001). In AD dementia, better RAVLT performance was independently associated with female sex (immediate, p = 0.04) and larger HpVR (delayed, p = 0.001). Women showed an advantage in verbal memory despite evidence of moderate hippocampal atrophy. This advantage may represent a sex-specific form of cognitive reserve delaying verbal memory decline until more advanced disease stages. © 2016 American Academy of Neurology.

Context and clinical reasoning : Understanding the medical student perspective.

PubMed

McBee, Elexis; Ratcliffe, Temple; Schuwirth, Lambert; O'Neill, Daniel; Meyer, Holly; Madden, Shelby J; Durning, Steven J

2018-04-27

Studies have shown that a physician's clinical reasoning performance can be influenced by contextual factors. We explored how the clinical reasoning performance of medical students was impacted by contextual factors in order to expand upon previous findings in resident and board certified physicians. Using situated cognition as the theoretical framework, our aim was to evaluate the verbalized clinical reasoning processes of medical students in order to describe what impact the presence of contextual factors has on their reasoning performance. Seventeen medical student participants viewed three video recordings of clinical encounters portraying straightforward diagnostic cases in internal medicine with explicit contextual factors inserted. Participants completed a computerized post-encounter form as well as a think-aloud protocol. Three authors analyzed verbatim transcripts from the think-aloud protocols using a constant comparative approach. After iterative coding, utterances were analyzed and grouped into categories and themes. Six categories and ten associated themes emerged, which demonstrated overlap with findings from previous studies in resident and attending physicians. Four overlapping categories included emotional disturbances, behavioural inferences about the patient, doctor-patient relationship, and difficulty with closure. Two new categories emerged to include anchoring and misinterpretation of data. The presence of contextual factors appeared to impact clinical reasoning performance in medical students. The data suggest that a contextual factor can be innate to the clinical scenario, consistent with situated cognition theory. These findings build upon our understanding of clinical reasoning performance from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

Performance of motor imitation in children with and without dyspraxia.

PubMed

Ruttanathantong, Korrawan; Siritaratiwat, Wantana; Sriphetcharawut, Sarinya; Emasithi, Alongkot; Saengsuwan, Jiamjit; Saengsuwan, Jittima

2013-07-01

Motor imitation is truly essential for young children to learn new motor skills, social behavior and skilled acts or praxis. The present study aimed to investigate motor imitation ability between typically-developing children and dyspraxic children and to examine the development trends in both children groups. The comparison ofmotor imitation was studied in 55 typically-developing children and 59 dyspraxic children aged 5 to 8 years. The Motor Imitation subtest consisted of two sections, imitation of postures and imitation of verbal instructions. Typically-developing children and dyspraxic children were examined for developmental trends. The independent samples t-test was used to analyze the differences between both groups. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze inter-age differences for each age group. The results revealed significant differences between dyspraxic and typically-developing children. Both typically-developing and dyspraxic children demonstrated age trends. The older children scored higher than younger children. Imitation is a primary learning strategy of young children. It is essential that children with dyspraxia receive early detection and need effective intervention. Typically-developing children and dyspraxic children showed higher mean score on the Imitation of Posture section than the Verbal Instructions section. Motor imitation competency, therefore, changes and improves with age.

The role of emotions in clinical reasoning and decision making.

PubMed

Marcum, James A

2013-10-01

What role, if any, should emotions play in clinical reasoning and decision making? Traditionally, emotions have been excluded from clinical reasoning and decision making, but with recent advances in cognitive neuropsychology they are now considered an important component of them. Today, cognition is thought to be a set of complex processes relying on multiple types of intelligences. The role of mathematical logic (hypothetico-deductive thinking) or verbal linguistic intelligence in cognition, for example, is well documented and accepted; however, the role of emotional intelligence has received less attention-especially because its nature and function are not well understood. In this paper, I argue for the inclusion of emotions in clinical reasoning and decision making. To that end, developments in contemporary cognitive neuropsychology are initially examined and analyzed, followed by a review of the medical literature discussing the role of emotions in clinical practice. Next, a published clinical case is reconstructed and used to illustrate the recognition and regulation of emotions played during a series of clinical consultations, which resulted in a positive medical outcome. The paper's main thesis is that emotions, particularly in terms of emotional intelligence as a practical form of intelligence, afford clinical practitioners a robust cognitive resource for providing quality medical care.

Women's underrepresentation in science: sociocultural and biological considerations.

PubMed

Ceci, Stephen J; Williams, Wendy M; Barnett, Susan M

2009-03-01

The underrepresentation of women at the top of math-intensive fields is controversial, with competing claims of biological and sociocultural causation. The authors develop a framework to delineate possible causal pathways and evaluate evidence for each. Biological evidence is contradictory and inconclusive. Although cross-cultural and cross-cohort differences suggest a powerful effect of sociocultural context, evidence for specific factors is inconsistent and contradictory. Factors unique to underrepresentation in math-intensive fields include the following: (a) Math-proficient women disproportionately prefer careers in non-math-intensive fields and are more likely to leave math-intensive careers as they advance; (b) more men than women score in the extreme math-proficient range on gatekeeper tests, such as the SAT Mathematics and the Graduate Record Examinations Quantitative Reasoning sections; (c) women with high math competence are disproportionately more likely to have high verbal competence, allowing greater choice of professions; and (d) in some math-intensive fields, women with children are penalized in promotion rates. The evidence indicates that women's preferences, potentially representing both free and constrained choices, constitute the most powerful explanatory factor; a secondary factor is performance on gatekeeper tests, most likely resulting from sociocultural rather than biological causes. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

[Healthy eating and the difficulties faced in making it a reality: perceptions of parents/guardians of pre-school children in Belo Horizonte/MG, Brazil].

PubMed

Bento, Isabel Cristina; Esteves, Juliana Maria de Melo; França, Thaís Elias

2015-08-01

A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted to establish the perceptions of 77 guardians of preschool children enrolled in a Child Day Care Center in Belo Horizonte/Minas Gerais State, regarding what is a healthy diet and the difficulties faced in having a healthy diet. The instrument used was a pretested semi-structured questionnaire containing leading questions obtained in face-to-face interviews. For data analysis, the Collective Subject Discourse technique was used, which elicited data organization of a verbal nature. It was revealed that the guardians have a notion of what healthy diet is, however their answers implied inadequate eating habits. They attributed insufficient financial resources, lack of time and ingrained eating habits as being the main difficulties in having a healthy diet. These three difficulties are the reasons given by some guardians who do not believe they have a healthy diet. The conclusion drawn is that the guardians need to have a better diet, because their eating habits influence their children's eating habits. These findings revealed the need for food and nutrition education strategies to enable the guardians to recognize and have a healthy diet.

First preliminary results of an observation of Panax ginseng treatment in patients with autistic disorder.

PubMed

Niederhofer, Helmut

2009-01-01

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, with impairments in reciprocal social interaction and verbal and nonverbal communication. There is often the need of psychopharmacological intervention in addition to psychobehavioral therapies, but benefits are limited by adverse side effects. For that reason, Panax ginseng, which is comparable with Piracetam, a substance effective in the treatment of autism, was investigated for possible improvement of autistic symptoms. There was some improvement, which suggests some benefits of Panax ginseng, at least as an add-on therapy.

All for One: Contributions of Age, Socioeconomic Factors, Executive Functioning, and Social Cognition to Moral Reasoning in Childhood

PubMed Central

Vera-Estay, Evelyn; Seni, Anne G.; Champagne, Caroline; Beauchamp, Miriam H.

2016-01-01

Moral reasoning (MR) is a socio-cognitive skill essential to appropriate social functioning in childhood, and evolves in quality and complexity during ontogenetic development. Past research suggests that MR is related to age, socioeconomic factors, as well as some social and cognitive skills, such as executive functioning (EF), theory of mind (ToM), empathy, and affect recognition. However, their contributions have been studied in silos rather than comprehensively, with little integration of the relative and combined contribution of these skills to MR. Furthermore, few studies have addressed the putative links between these factors in childhood, a period during which these skills are in maturation. The aim of this study was to explore what factors predict moral maturity in typically developing children (n = 76, 47.4% males, M = 9.2, SD = 1.67 years), explore the potential moderating and mediating role of executive functions and social cognition in the relationship between age and MR maturity, and identify the specific contributions of age, socioeconomic factors, EF, and social cognition, using an innovative visual MR assessment tool (So-Moral). The results indicate that MR maturity was correlated with age, EF (inhibition, verbal fluency, and attentional control), and social cognition (ToM and affect recognition). Neither EF nor social cognition moderated the effect of age on MR maturity. However, verbal fluency and third-order false beliefs had a moderating role in this link. MR maturity in children was predicted by three variables from each of the three domains: age, verbal fluency, and third-order ToM. These results contribute to a better understanding of the underpinnings of MR during childhood, suggesting that MR is not reducible to general developmental factors such as age, but that higher order skills, such EF and social cognition also contribute to moral maturity. The findings have relevance for both typically developing and clinical populations in which social skills may be reduced, as well as for the identification of potential loci for intervention in children at-risk for socially maladaptive behaviors. PMID:27014110

Perceptual learning and human expertise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kellman, Philip J.; Garrigan, Patrick

2009-06-01

We consider perceptual learning: experience-induced changes in the way perceivers extract information. Often neglected in scientific accounts of learning and in instruction, perceptual learning is a fundamental contributor to human expertise and is crucial in domains where humans show remarkable levels of attainment, such as language, chess, music, and mathematics. In Section 2, we give a brief history and discuss the relation of perceptual learning to other forms of learning. We consider in Section 3 several specific phenomena, illustrating the scope and characteristics of perceptual learning, including both discovery and fluency effects. We describe abstract perceptual learning, in which structural relationships are discovered and recognized in novel instances that do not share constituent elements or basic features. In Section 4, we consider primary concepts that have been used to explain and model perceptual learning, including receptive field change, selection, and relational recoding. In Section 5, we consider the scope of perceptual learning, contrasting recent research, focused on simple sensory discriminations, with earlier work that emphasized extraction of invariance from varied instances in more complex tasks. Contrary to some recent views, we argue that perceptual learning should not be confined to changes in early sensory analyzers. Phenomena at various levels, we suggest, can be unified by models that emphasize discovery and selection of relevant information. In a final section, we consider the potential role of perceptual learning in educational settings. Most instruction emphasizes facts and procedures that can be verbalized, whereas expertise depends heavily on implicit pattern recognition and selective extraction skills acquired through perceptual learning. We consider reasons why perceptual learning has not been systematically addressed in traditional instruction, and we describe recent successful efforts to create a technology of perceptual learning in areas such as aviation, mathematics, and medicine. Research in perceptual learning promises to advance scientific accounts of learning, and perceptual learning technology may offer similar promise in improving education.

A cross-sectional survey of factors related to inpatient assault of staff in a forensic psychiatric hospital.

PubMed

Kelly, Erin L; Subica, Andrew M; Fulginiti, Anthony; Brekke, John S; Novaco, Raymond W

2015-05-01

To understand staff factors associated with patient aggression towards the staff of an inpatient forensic psychiatric hospital. Violence by patients is a serious concern in psychiatric hospitals and staff are the most frequent targets of physical and verbal assault. Assault and its consequences can severely disrupt the hospital environment and impair the functioning of staff members and patients. This study examined the interplay of staff dispositional and interpersonal factors associated with patient violence. This cross-sectional study surveyed the staff of a large public forensic hospital. A sample of 348 psychiatric staff participated in an online survey about their workplace experiences, psychosocial characteristics and well-being. Data were collected from November - December 2011. Nearly all staff reported verbal conflict with patients (99%) and 70% reported being assaulted during the previous 12 months. Verbal conflict with other staff (92%) was also high. Multiple regression analyses indicated that in addition to static risk factors (i.e. staff position, years of experience and gender), the risk of assault was associated with the frequency of conflicts with staff and patients, which in turn was moderated by personal stress reactivity. Physical violence by patients was a pervasive threat for a high proportion of staff. Frequent conflict interactions with volatile patients contributed the most risk, but reactivity to conflict was a dynamic risk factor. The strain associated with assault risk and stress reactivity could be prospectively mitigated by resilience enhancement programming for staff. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ability emotional intelligence and its relation to aggression across time and age groups.

PubMed

García-Sancho, Esperanza; Salguero, José M; Fernández-Berrocal, Pablo

2017-02-01

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been associated with several indicators of psychosocial adjustment, including aggressive behavior, but the relevant research has been mostly cross-sectional, focused on adults, and limited to trait EI measures (García-Sancho, Salguero & Fernández-Berrocal, 2014; Mayer, Roberts & Barsade, ). The present work explored the relationship between Ability Emotional Intelligence (AEI) and aggression in both adults and adolescents using cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. We conducted two studies. Study 1 aimed to provide preliminary evidence about the relationship between AEI and aggression in adults. As literature has shown personality traits act as a strong predictor of aggression, study 1 also examined the potential incremental validity of AEI beyond personality traits in 474 undergraduate students (M = 22.76, SD = 5.13). The results indicated AEI explains a significant amount of unique variance for physical aggression, but not for verbal aggression after controlling personality traits. Study 2 aimed a longitudinal analysis of the relationship between EI and aggression in 151 adolescents (M = 14.74, SD = 0.84). AEI predicted physical aggression over time, but it did not predict verbal aggression. Results from both studies suggest a negative and significant relationship between AEI and physical aggression, however contrary our expectations, it did not for verbal aggression. These results highlight the important explanatory role of emotional abilities in physical aggressive conducts and the implications of these findings are discussed. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The relationship between cultural individualism-collectivism and student aggression across 62 countries.

PubMed

Bergmüller, Silvia

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationship between countries' dominant cultural values (i.e., individualism and collectivism) and (a) school principals' perceptions of aggressive student behavior and (b) students' self-reports of being aggressively victimized in school. Data on student aggression and victimization were collected across 62 countries in nationally representative samples of fourth and eighth graders (N = 428,566) and their principals (N = 15,043) by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007. Students were asked about three forms of aggressive victimization: physical, verbal, and relational; principals about two forms of aggressive student behavior: physical and verbal. Country-level regression analyses revealed that the level of cultural individualism, according to the individualism index (IDV) by Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov (2010), was not significantly related to either form of student-reported victimization. However, school principals reported aggressive student behavior more often the more individualist, and hence less collectivist, their country's culture. This relation was evident in the principals' reports on 4th and 8th grade students' aggressive behavior for both physical and verbal aggression. Multilevel analyses revealed that cultural individualism was still a powerful predictor of principal-reported aggressive student behavior after controlling for school and country characteristics. The discussion outlines reasons why principals' reports of aggressive student behavior are probably more valid indicators of student aggression than student self-reports of victimization, thereby supporting the hypothesis of culture-dependency of aggression. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Identifying Factors Associated with Maternal Deaths in Jharkhand, India: A Verbal Autopsy Study

PubMed Central

Pradhan, Manas Ranjan

2013-01-01

Maternal mortality has been identified as a priority issue in health policy and research in India. The country, with an annual decrease of maternal mortality rate by 4.9% since 1990, now records 63,000 maternal deaths a year. India tops the list of countries with high maternal mortality. Based on a verbal autopsy study of 403 maternal deaths, conducted in 2008, this paper explores the missed opportunities to save maternal lives, besides probing into the socioeconomic factors contributing to maternal deaths in Jharkhand, India. This cross-sectional study was carried out in two phases, and a multistage sampling design was used in selecting deaths for verbal autopsy. Informed consent was taken into consideration before verbal autopsy. The analytical approach includes bivariate analysis using SPSS 15, besides triangulation of qualitative and quantitative findings. Most of the deceased were poor (89%), non-literates (85%), and housewives (74%). Again, 80% died in the community/at home, 28% died during pregnancy while another 26% died during delivery. Any antenatal care was received by merely 28% women, and only 20% of the deliveries were conducted by skilled birth attendants (doctors and midwives). Delays in decision-making, travel, and treatment compounded by ignorance of obstetric complications, inadequate use of maternal healthcare services, poor healthcare infrastructure, and harmful rituals are the major contributing factors of maternal deaths in India. PMID:23930345

Identifying factors associated with maternal deaths in Jharkhand, India: a verbal autopsy study.

PubMed

Khan, Nizamuddin; Pradhan, Manas Ranjan

2013-06-01

Maternal mortality has been identified as a priority issue in health policy and research in India. The country, with an annual decrease of maternal mortality rate by 4.9% since 1990, now records 63,000 maternal deaths a year. India tops the list of countries with high maternal mortality. Based on a verbal autopsy study of 403 maternal deaths, conducted in 2008, this paper explores the missed opportunities to save maternal lives, besides probing into the socioeconomic factors contributing to maternal deaths in Jharkhand, India. This cross-sectional study was carried out in two phases, and a multistage sampling design was used in selecting deaths for verbal autopsy. Informed consent was taken into consideration before verbal autopsy. The analytical approach includes bivariate analysis using SPSS 15, besides triangulation of qualitative and quantitative findings. Most of the deceased were poor (89%), non-literates (85%), and housewives (74%). Again, 80% died in the community/at home, 28% died during pregnancy while another 26% died during delivery. Any antenatal care was received by merely 28% women, and only 20% of the deliveries were conducted by skilled birth attendants (doctors and midwives). Delays in decision-making, travel, and treatment compounded by ignorance of obstetric complications, inadequate use of maternal healthcare services, poor healthcare infrastructure, and harmful rituals are the major contributing factors of maternal deaths in India.

Executive function predicts theory of mind but not social verbal communication in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Kouklari, Evangelia-Chrysanthi; Tsermentseli, Stella; Auyeung, Bonnie

2018-05-01

The association between Executive Function (EF) and Theory of Mind (ToM) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been mainly investigated using false belief tasks, whilst less is known about the EF effect on other ToM facets. Furthermore, the role EF plays in social communication in ASD is mainly assessed using parent-report EF ratings rather than direct assessment. The aim of this study was to shed more light on the effect of performance-based EF measures on ToM and social communication in middle childhood in ASD relative to neurotypical controls. Cross-sectional data were collected from 64 matched, school-aged children with and without ASD (8-12 years old), tested on measures of EF (inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility), ToM mental state/emotion recognition and social verbal communication. Significant group differences were observed only in selective EF skills (inhibition &cognitive flexibility) and social verbal communication. EF working memory contributed to the explained variance of ToM but not social verbal communication in middle childhood. These findings suggest that EF and ToM are still associated in middle childhood and EF may be a crucial predictor of ToM across childhood in ASD. Implications are discussed regarding the social-cognitive impairment relationship in ASD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A brief dietary assessment predicts executive dysfunction in an elderly cohort: results from the Einstein Aging Study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Objectives: To examine the association between diet and executive function, episodic memory and global verbal cognition in the Einstein Aging Study (EAS) cohort and determine whether race modifies this relationship. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Community. Participants: EAS participants without ...

45 CFR 73.735-306 - Sexual harassment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Sexual harassment. 73.735-306 Section 73.735-306 Public Welfare Department of Health and Human Services GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT Conduct on the Job § 73.735-306 Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is deliberate unsolicited verbal...

45 CFR 73.735-306 - Sexual harassment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Sexual harassment. 73.735-306 Section 73.735-306 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT Conduct on the Job § 73.735-306 Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is deliberate unsolicited verbal...

42 CFR 483.13 - Resident behavior and facility practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Resident behavior and facility practices. 483.13 Section 483.13 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, corporal punishment, and...

45 CFR 73.735-306 - Sexual harassment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Sexual harassment. 73.735-306 Section 73.735-306 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT Conduct on the Job § 73.735-306 Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is deliberate unsolicited verbal...

42 CFR 483.13 - Resident behavior and facility practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Resident behavior and facility practices. 483.13 Section 483.13 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, corporal punishment, and...

45 CFR 73.735-306 - Sexual harassment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Sexual harassment. 73.735-306 Section 73.735-306 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS OF CONDUCT Conduct on the Job § 73.735-306 Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is deliberate unsolicited verbal...

42 CFR 483.13 - Resident behavior and facility practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Resident behavior and facility practices. 483.13 Section 483.13 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, corporal punishment, and...

42 CFR 483.13 - Resident behavior and facility practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Resident behavior and facility practices. 483.13 Section 483.13 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, corporal punishment, and...

49 CFR 1019.5 - Sexual harassment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Sexual harassment. 1019.5 Section 1019.5... TRANSPORTATION BOARD EMPLOYEES § 1019.5 Sexual harassment. (a) Members and employees shall not engage in harassment on the basis of sex. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or...

45 CFR 73.735-306 - Sexual harassment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Sexual harassment. 73.735-306 Section 73.735-306... Conduct on the Job § 73.735-306 Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is deliberate unsolicited verbal comments, gestures, or physical contact of a sexual nature which are unwelcome. Sexual harassment is...

A Course in Baluchi. Volume Two

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker, Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman; Mengal, Aqil Khan

Volume Two contains Units XXI through XXX of the Baluchi course. Unit XXI introduces the Arabic script as adapted for Baluchi. Special conventions, abbreviations, numerals, and punctuation symbols are discussed next, and several sections are devoted to the orthography of certain substantive and verbal affies. A series of reading drills which…

The Graphics of Communication: Typography--Layout--Design. Third Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turnbull, Arthur T.; Baird, Russell N.

This book includes detailed explanations of the latest technological innovations as well as discussions of the theoretical bases of visual communication. The six sections of the book focus on the following: the theoretical aspects of graphic communication; the verbal elements of communication; the visual elements of communication; design, the…

Helping Your Child Learn Self-Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Linda; Corte, Suzanne Della

1987-01-01

Practical advice for parents of handicapped children is the focus of this issue on self-care skills including self-feeding, dressing, and personal hygiene. Ten initial tips for teaching skills to children include constant repetition, modeling, and keeping verbal instruction to a minimum. The section on self-feeding addresses the topics of…

76 FR 72710 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Draft Guidance...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-25

... violations of access, advertising, and promotion restrictions of regulations promulgated under section 906(d... advertising and promotion of, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products; (2) the health and economic effects... employees be notified both verbally and in writing of the importance of complying with laws prohibiting the...

Impact of videogame play on the brain's microstructural properties: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.

PubMed

Takeuchi, H; Taki, Y; Hashizume, H; Asano, K; Asano, M; Sassa, Y; Yokota, S; Kotozaki, Y; Nouchi, R; Kawashima, R

2016-12-01

Videogame play (VGP) has been associated with numerous preferred and non-preferred effects. However, the effects of VGP on the development of microstructural properties in children, particularly those associated with negative psychological consequences of VGP, have not been identified to date. The purpose of this study was to investigate this issue through cross-sectional and longitudinal prospective analyses. In the present study of humans, we used the diffusion tensor imaging mean diffusivity (MD) measurement to measure microstructural properties and examined cross-sectional correlations with the amount of VGP in 114 boys and 126 girls. We also assessed correlations between the amount of VGP and longitudinal changes in MD that developed after 3.0±0.3 (s.d.) years in 95 boys and 94 girls. After correcting for confounding factors, we found that the amount of VGP was associated with increased MD in the left middle, inferior and orbital frontal cortex; left pallidum; left putamen; left hippocampus; left caudate; right putamen; right insula; and thalamus in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Regardless of intelligence quotient type, higher MD in the areas of the left thalamus, left hippocampus, left putamen, left insula and left Heschl gyrus was associated with lower intelligence. We also confirmed an association between the amount of VGP and decreased verbal intelligence in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. In conclusion, increased VGP is directly or indirectly associated with delayed development of the microstructure in extensive brain regions and verbal intelligence.

Impact of videogame play on the brain's microstructural properties: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses

PubMed Central

Takeuchi, H; Taki, Y; Hashizume, H; Asano, K; Asano, M; Sassa, Y; Yokota, S; Kotozaki, Y; Nouchi, R; Kawashima, R

2016-01-01

Videogame play (VGP) has been associated with numerous preferred and non-preferred effects. However, the effects of VGP on the development of microstructural properties in children, particularly those associated with negative psychological consequences of VGP, have not been identified to date. The purpose of this study was to investigate this issue through cross-sectional and longitudinal prospective analyses. In the present study of humans, we used the diffusion tensor imaging mean diffusivity (MD) measurement to measure microstructural properties and examined cross-sectional correlations with the amount of VGP in 114 boys and 126 girls. We also assessed correlations between the amount of VGP and longitudinal changes in MD that developed after 3.0±0.3 (s.d.) years in 95 boys and 94 girls. After correcting for confounding factors, we found that the amount of VGP was associated with increased MD in the left middle, inferior and orbital frontal cortex; left pallidum; left putamen; left hippocampus; left caudate; right putamen; right insula; and thalamus in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Regardless of intelligence quotient type, higher MD in the areas of the left thalamus, left hippocampus, left putamen, left insula and left Heschl gyrus was associated with lower intelligence. We also confirmed an association between the amount of VGP and decreased verbal intelligence in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. In conclusion, increased VGP is directly or indirectly associated with delayed development of the microstructure in extensive brain regions and verbal intelligence. PMID:26728566

Attempted suicide, psychological health and exposure to harassment among Japanese homosexual, bisexual or other men questioning their sexual orientation recruited via the internet.

PubMed

Hidaka, Y; Operario, D

2006-11-01

To investigate the rates of attempted suicide and its association with psychological distress, experiences of bullying and verbal harassment, and demographic characteristics among Japanese homosexual, bisexual or other men questioning their sexual orientation. A cross-sectional design using Japanese participants recruited through the internet. Of the 1025 respondents, 154 (15%) of the men reported a history of attempted suicide, 716 (70%) showed high levels of anxiety and 133 (13%) showed high levels of depression. 851 (83%) experienced school bullying and 615 (60%) were verbally harassed because of being perceived by others as homosexual. Independent correlates of attempted suicide were psychological distress, history of being verbally harassed, history of sex with a woman, history of meeting a male through the internet, disclosing sexual orientation to six or more friends and not having a university degree. Mental health services and prevention programmes are needed to deal with the psychological consequences of social stigma for Japanese men who are homosexual, bisexual or questioning their sexual orientation.

Assessment of surgical competence in North American graduate periodontics programs: a survey of current practices.

PubMed

Ghiabi, Edmond; Taylor, K Lynn

2010-08-01

This cross-sectional study was designed to document the methods utilized by North American graduate periodontics programs in assessing their residents' surgical skills. A survey of clinical skills assessment was mailed to directors of all fifty-eight graduate periodontics programs in Canada and the United States. Thirty-four programs (59 percent) responded. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 15.0. The results demonstrate that the most common practice for providing feedback and documenting residents' surgical skills in the programs surveyed was daily one-on-one verbal feedback given by an instructor. The next two most commonly reported methods were a standard checklist developed at program level and a combination of a checklist and verbal comments. The majority of the programs reported that the instructors met collectively once per term to evaluate the residents' progress. The results suggest that graduate periodontics programs provide their residents frequent opportunities for daily practice with verbal feedback from instructors. However, assessment strategies identified in other health professions as beneficial in fostering the integration of clinical skills practices are not employed.

Intellectual Ability in Young Adulthood as an Antecedent of Physical Functioning in Older Age

PubMed Central

Poranen-Clark, Taina; von Bonsdorff, Mikaela B.; Törmäkangas, Timo; Lahti, Jari; Wasenius, Niko; Räikkönen, Katri; Osmond, Clive; Salonen, Minna K.; Rantanen, Taina; Kajantie, Eero; Eriksson, Johan G.

2016-01-01

Objectives Low cognitive ability is associated with subsequent functional disability. Whether this association extends across adult life has been little studied. The aim of this study was to examine the association between intellectual ability in young adulthood and physical functioning during a 10-year follow-up in older age. Methods 360 persons of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (HBCS) male members, born between 1934- 1944 and residing in Finland in 1971, took part in The Finnish Defence Forces Basic Intellectual Ability Test during the first two weeks of their military service training between 1952- 72. Their physical functioning was assessed twice using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire at average ages of 61 and 71 years. A longitudinal path model linking Intellectual Ability Test score to the physical functioning assessments was used to explore the effect of intellectual ability in young adulthood on physical functioning in older age. Results After adjustments for age at measurement, childhood socioeconomic status and adult BMI (kg/m2), better intellectual ability total and arithmetic and verbal reasoning subtest scores in young adulthood predicted better physical functioning at age 61 years (P-values < 0.021). Intellectual ability total and arithmetic and verbal reasoning subtest scores in young adulthood had indirect effects on physical functioning at age 71 years (P-values < 0.022) through better physical functioning at age 61 years. Adjustment for main chronic diseases did not change the results materially. Conclusion Better early life intellectual ability helps in maintaining better physical functioning in older age. PMID:27189726

MCAT Verbal Reasoning score: less predictive of medical school performance for English language learners.

PubMed

Winegarden, Babbi; Glaser, Dale; Schwartz, Alan; Kelly, Carolyn

2012-09-01

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores are widely used as part of the decision-making process for selecting candidates for admission to medical school. Applicants who learned English as a second language may be at a disadvantage when taking tests in their non-native language. Preliminary research found significant differences between English language learners (ELLs), applicants who learned English after the age of 11 years, and non-ELL examinees on the Verbal Reasoning (VR) sub-test of the MCAT. The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships between VR sub-test scores and measures of medical school performance differed between ELL and non-ELL students. Scores on the MCAT VR sub-test and student performance outcomes (grades, examination scores, and markers of distinction and difficulty) were extracted from University of California San Diego School of Medicine admissions files and the Association of American Medical Colleges database for 924 students who matriculated in 1998-2005 (graduation years 2002-2009). Regression models were fitted to determine whether MCAT VR sub-test scores predicted medical school performance similarly for ELLs and non-ELLs. For several outcomes, including pre-clerkship grades, academic distinction, US Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 Clinical Knowledge scores and two clerkship shelf examinations, ELL status significantly affects the ability of the VR score to predict performance. Higher correlations between VR score and medical school performance emerged for non-ELL students than for ELL students for each of these outcomes. The MCAT VR score should be used with discretion when assessing ELL applicants for admission to medical school. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose: retirement and the neurosurgeon.

PubMed

Rovit, Richard L

2004-06-01

Neurosurgery has designed a rigid curriculum that must be followed precisely by those who wish to enter the specialty. A similar process at the other end of the practice cycle has never been formalized except for mandatory retirement from certain administrative positions at a particular age. Basic considerations for strategic decision making about voluntary retirement from neurosurgery, especially operative neurosurgery, are investigated. Statistical data from the US Census Bureau and sources in the medical literature were reviewed regarding life expectancy and retirement ages. Age-related differences in verbal and performance intelligence quotients, attention span, verbal memory recall, and visuospatial facility were surveyed. A questionnaire was sent to 29 recently retired academic neurosurgeons about their age and reasons for retirement along with postretirement activities; 22 responses were received. Analysis of the data indicates that surgeons are now retiring at the age of approximately 60 years, whereas life expectancy is approximately 80 years. An individual thus may have 15 to 20 productive years after leaving active neurosurgical practice. Reasons for retirement among the 22 responding neurosurgeons included decreasing personal satisfaction and financial rewards, a desire to pursue other activities, local ground rules mandating age-specific retirement, the general sense that enough is enough, and, overall, a strong desire to stop performing surgery while at the top of one's game. The process of age-related competence assessment of commercial airline pilots is outlined, and a similar process of assessment of practicing surgeons may be warranted, with consideration for mandatory retirement from operative neurosurgery.

Theory-of-mind development influences suggestibility and source monitoring.

PubMed

Bright-Paul, Alexandra; Jarrold, Christopher; Wright, Daniel B

2008-07-01

According to the mental-state reasoning model of suggestibility, 2 components of theory of mind mediate reductions in suggestibility across the preschool years. The authors examined whether theory-of-mind performance may be legitimately separated into 2 components and explored the memory processes underlying the associations between theory of mind and suggestibility, independent of verbal ability. Children 3 to 6 years old completed 6 theory-of-mind tasks and a postevent misinformation procedure. Contrary to the model's prediction, a single latent theory-of-mind factor emerged, suggesting a single-component rather than a dual-component conceptualization of theory-of-mind performance. This factor provided statistical justification for computing a single composite theory-of-mind score. Improvements in theory of mind predicted reductions in suggestibility, independent of verbal ability (Study 1, n = 72). Furthermore, once attribution biases were controlled (Study 2, n = 45), there was also a positive relationship between theory of mind and source memory, but not recognition performance. The findings suggest a substantial, and possibly causal, association between theory-of-mind development and resistance to suggestion, driven specifically by improvements in source monitoring.