Friday, January 30, 2009

IQs Corner Recent Literature of Interest 1-30-09


This weeks "recent literature of interest" is now available. Click here to access.

This is the second one this week....yes...I'd fallen behind.

Information regarding this feature, its basis, and the reasons for type of references included in each weekly installment can be found in a prior post.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Coffee buzz: It may be good for aging brains

Yippeee! My favorite drug may help me age better. I love this type of
research. Give me another cup of Joe.

http://www.psycport.com/showArticle.cfm?xmlFile=bhsuper%5F2009%5F01%5F28%5FNFLK%5F0000%2D1984%2DKEYWORD%2EMissing%2Exml&provider=


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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

New Books from the American Psychological Association



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Begin forwarded message:


Dear APA customer,

The following are new book releases from the American Psychological Association. These books are now available for purchase directly from theAmerican Psychological Association and local bookstores, as well as major distributors and wholesalers. To order directly from the American Psychological Association, call toll-free 1-800-374-2721 or to order online, visit www.apa.org/books.

APA books will be available for purchase at the following conferences in the month of
January and February:

American Library Association Midwinter, Booth #1744, Denver, CO
January 23–28, 2009

Ontario Library Association, Booth #705, Toronto, Canada
January 28–31, 2009

Southeastern Psychological Association, Bookstore, New Orleans, LA
February 18–21, 2009

National Association for School Psychologists, Booth #438, Boston, MA
February 24–28, 2009


Integrated Behavioral Heath in Primary Care
Step-by-Step Guidance for Assessment and Intervention
Christopher L. Hunter, Jeffrey L. Goodie, Mark S. Oordt,
and Anne C. Dobmeyer

Hardcover. 312 pages.
List: $99.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $59.95
Item # 4317177 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0428-1


Obesity in Youth
Causes, Consequences, and Cures
Edited by Leslie J. Heinberg and J. Kevin Thompson
Hardcover. 240 pages.
List: $59.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $49.95
Item # 4317176 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0427-4


The Development of Giftedness
and Talent Across the Life Span

Edited by Frances Degen Horowitz, Rena F. Subotnik,
and Dona J. Matthews

Hardcover. 248 pages.
List: $69.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $49.95
Item # 4318051 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0414-4


The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide
Guidance for Working With Suicidal Clients
Thomas E. Joiner, Jr., Kimberly A. Van Orden, Tracy K. Witte,
and M. David Rudd

Hardcover. 256 pages.
List: $59.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $49.95
Item # 4317175 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0426-7


Behavioral Emergencies
An Evidence-Based Resource for Evaluating and Managing
Suicidal Behavior, Violence, and Victimization

Edited by Phillip M. Kleespies
Hardcover. 472 pages.
List: $69.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $49.95
Item # 4317168 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0406-9


Correcting Fallacies About Educational
and Psychological Testing

Edited by Richard P. Phelps
Hardcover. 296 pages.
List: $69.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $49.95
Item # 4318046 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0392-5


Finish Your Dissertation Once and for All!
How to Overcome Psychological Barriers, Get Results,
and Move on With Your Life

Alison B. Miller
Softcover. 264 pages.
List: $29.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $24.95
Item # 4313022 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0415-1


Realizing Social Justice
The Challenge of Preventive Interventions
Edited by Maureen E. Kenny, Arthur M. Horne, Pamela Orpinas,
and Le'Roy E. Reese

Hardcover. 328 pages.
List: $69.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $49.95
Item # 4317174 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0411-3


Trauma Services for Women
in Substance Abuse Treatment

An Integrated Approach
Denise Hien, Lisa Caren Litt, Lisa R. Cohen, Gloria M. Miele,
and Aimee Campbell

Hardcover. 304 pages.
List: $69.95 • APA Member/Affiliate: $49.95
Item # 4317173 • ISBN: 978-1-4338-0410-6



www.apa.org/books • 1-800-374-2721

IQs Corner Recent Literature of Interest 1-28-09


This weeks "recent literature of interest" is now available. Click here to access.

Information regarding this feature, its basis, and the reasons for type of references included in each weekly installment can be found in a prior post.

Dissertation dish: Self-regulation and college achievement

A small and select sample....but interesting findings, particularly as they relate to the domain of self-regulation in the Model of Academic Competence and Motivation (MACM) in the Beyond IQ project
Research also related to recent special issue of Educational Psychology Review on self-regulation

The relationship of self-regulation and academic achievement in college students with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A brain-behavior perspective
by Chang, Wen-Pin, Ph.D., Colorado State University, 2008, 218 pages; AAT 3332741
Abstract (Summary)

  • Abstract: The main purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationships among three constructs: (a) the underlying executive processes of self-regulation, (b) self-regulation behaviors, and (c) academic achievement in college students with and without ADHD.
  • Thirty-two adult college students (16 males and 16 females) between the age of 18 and 30 years (mean = 23.68 ± 3.65) who reported no known disorders participated in this study. Thirty-six adult college students (18 males and 18 females) between the age of 18 and 30 years (mean = 23.69 ± 3.73) who had been diagnosed with ADHD also participated in this study. All participants had an estimated IQ above 96 measured by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). They also filled out the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) and the Adult Self-Report (ASR) to confirm their current ADHD symptoms and other comorbid problems. The participants performed three event-related potential (ERP) tasks; i.e., the Posner cue attention task, visual letter flanker task, and go/no-go task during electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. They also filled out several self-repot questionnaires; i.e., the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ), Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A), Self-Regulation Scale (SRS), and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The participants were also given the Woodcock Johnson III - Tests of Achievement Form C/Brief Battery (WJ III Brief Battery).
  • The results revealed that (a) for control students, the ERP components accounted for 36.6% of the variance of the letter-word identification score, 37.4% of the variance of the spelling score, 63.9% of the variance of the calculation score and 59.6% of the variance of the academic skill score, and (b) for students with ADHD, the ERP components accounted for 38.3% of the variance of the spelling score, and 31% of the variance of the academic skill score.
  • In conclusion, the results of this study supported that there is a relationship between self-regulation and academic achievement in college students with and without ADHD. The ERP components, representative of the executive processes of self-regulation, accounted for a significant amount of the variance in performance on academic achievement tests.
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Monday, January 26, 2009

Wide noise

Interesting research on relation between environmental noise and health. Also cool little tech app for iPhone to moniter. Thanks to

http://gaggio.blogspirit.com/archive/2009/01/26/widenoise.html

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Google brain change!

This research has been making the blog and mainstream media rounds for
a few months. I decided to post just in case you missed it. Thanks
totl the ENL blog.

http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/google-is-changing-your-brain.html


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Saturday, January 24, 2009

CHC Cog-Ach relaltions project update II: BRS/RC-by-CHC domain comparisons added

[double click image to enlarge]


I just posted anohter update to the on-line PPT SlideShare show that I mentioned the past two days. The show now presents my current interpretation of the results of this research synthesis project in the area of basic reading skills and reading comprehension. The new addition is a set of slides (like the one above) where the broad and narrow CHC ability findings for each domain are presented side-by-side for basic reading skills (BRS) and readingn comprehension (RC). The show is called CHC Cog-Ach Relations: Reading Achievement Analysis (click here to access)

This presentation presents an update of the "CHC COG-ACH correlates research synthesis" project described and hosted at IQ's Corner and IAP. The viewer should first read the background materials regarding this project at these sites (how to access is also included in first slide). The current slides present my preliminary analysis and conclusions re: the relations between CHC cognitive abilities and basic reading skills as a function of age (developmental status). The results are part of a manuscript that is in preparation with Barb Wendling.

Revisit IQ's Corner to keep abreast of updates.


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Blogging on the brain blog carnival

Check it out at the DI blog.

http://scienceblogs.com/developingintelligence/2009/01/blogging_on_the_brain_finally.php


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Friday, January 23, 2009

Brain teasers for your mind

Thanks SHARP BRAINS.

http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2009/01/23/brain-teaser-to-exercise-your-memory-and-reasoning-skills/


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Reading and dyslexia: Should RAN run and hide?

I just read an excellent article that investigated the relative importance of phonological awareness, naming speed (RAN-rapid automatized naming), orthographic knowledge, and morphological awareness in understanding reading achievement. Although caution is in order given the total sample size (n=93), this study is an excellent example of the type of research we need more of in educational psychology.

First.....one great feature of the article is the description and definition of the four different reading-related constructs that have recently become recognized as important in learning to read. I would recommend reading the introduction just to better one's understanding of phonological awareness, etc.

However, my real excitement for this article is that it directly attempts to deal (at least partially) with the problem of specification error, a type of research design error that occurs when potentially important variables in predictive or explanatory studies are omitted. This type of error can lead to biased estimates of the effects (relative importance) of predictive variables. I've soap-boxed about this before and will not repeat my lengthy diatribe here. Long story short - I believe that much of the "hot" reading/dyslexia research that has recently dominated the educational, special education, and school psychology fields may have too quickly anointed some emperors (phonemic awareness; RAN) and gave them too much credit. Read my prior post at the link above. Unless you've been living under a rock (and you work with kids with reading problems), it seems like there is constant chatter about "RAN this...RAN that...RAN is it....etc." Yes....I am exaggerating to make my point.

Why do I like this current article (or why does it soothe my ranting a tad)? Simple. It did not just study RAN and/or phonemic awareness in isolation as predictors of reading....it allowed them to compete for the explanation of reading together with orthographic knowledge and morphological awareness. And guess what? RAN failed to place in the race! When entered in a simultaneous regression model to predict reading, RAN added nothing to the prediction of reading when phonemic awareness, orthographic knowledge, and morphological awareness where also in the running.

This article suggests that the hype around RAN may have been over-exaggerated, due to specification error in a ton of the hot and sexy reading research that has dominated our professional journals and conferences this past decade.

But don't get me wrong, there is a good body of evidence that suggests that the processes underlying RAN are probably important for early reading. My point, which is buttressed by this article, is that maybe it has been given too much credit....and needs to be knocked down a notch.

I would be remiss if I did not also criticize this current study for also failing to include other potentially important predictors of reading. For example, I would have liked to see the authors also include measures of working memory (Gsm-MW), lexical knowledge (Gc-VL) or vocabulary, perceptual speed (Gs-P), and associative memory (Glr-MA)....based on my reading of the extant reading literature.

I will now get down from my specification error soap box. The take away message is that we need more studies that take off the blinders and include a more comprehensive array of research-based indicators of important constructs related to reading (and all areas of school learning)...so we can ascertain which constructs/abilities are important, and to what degree. Also...I would prefer if these researchers had specified a research- or theoretically-based causal SEM model (with possible direct and indirect causal paths between the constructs)---maybe RAN would be seen as being more important...possibly as a direct or indirect cause (or outcome) of the other predictors.

Below is the article reference, abstract and link for your reading.


Roman, A. A., Kirby, J. R., Parrila, R. K., WadeWoolley, L., & Deacon, S. H. (2009). Toward a comprehensive view of the skills involved in word reading in Grades 4, 6, and 8. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 102(1), 96-113. (click here to view/read)

  • Abstract: Research to date has proposed four main variables involved in reading development: phonological awareness, naming speed, orthographic knowledge, and morphological awareness. Although each of these variables has been examined in the context of one or two of the other variables, this study examines all four factors together to assess their unique contribution to reading. A sample of children in Grades 4, 6, and 8 (ages 10, 12, and 14 years) completed a battery of tests that included at least one measure of each of the four variables and two measures of reading accuracy. Phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, and morphological awareness each contributed uniquely to real word and pseudoword reading beyond the other variables, whereas naming speed did not survive these stringent controls. The results support the sustained importance of these three skills in reading by older readers.
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Cognitive plasticity (brain fitness) in adulthood: Special journal issue



As noted previously, the journal Psychology and Aging recently had a special section devoted to plasticity, cognition, brain fitness and aging. I simply don't have time to read it all...nor is adulthood my area of focus (I'm more focused on school-age children). Click here if you want to read the editors introduction article re: the various articles.

PDF-Guest Post Quid-Pro-Quo offer......you want to read one or all of these articles? I'll make pdf copies available to you (via email) in exchange for a guest blog post summary. Any takers?


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CHC Cog-Ach relations project update II: All reading results now posted


I just posted an update to the on-line PPT SlideShare show that I mentioned yesterday. The show now presents my current interpretation of the results of this research synthesis project in the area of basic reading skills AND reading comprehension. The show is called CHC Cog-Ach Relations: Reading Achievement Analysis (click here to access)

This presentation presents an update of the "CHC COG-ACH correlates research synthesis" project described and hosted at IQ's Corner and IAP. The viewer should first read the background materials regarding this project at these sites (how to access is also included in first slide). The current slides present my preliminary analysis and conclusions re: the relations between CHC cognitive abilities and basic reading skills as a function of age (developmental status). The results are part of a manuscript that is in preparation with Barb Wendling.

Revisit IQ's Corner to keep abreast of updates.

WJ III and CHC NASP (Boston) sessions: Mark your calendars

Mark your NASP/Boston calendars for WJ III and/or CHC related sessions. Below is a summary of sessions. Thanks to Barb Wendling for putting this together. [Conflict of interest - I'm a coauthor of the WJ III)

TUESDAY, 2/24/09
10:00-10:50 PAPER
Issues in Translating Tests Into Braille: WJ III Achievement-Braille (PA044)
Lynne Jaffe and Barbara Henderson
1:00-1:50 PAPER
Development and Interpretation of the WJ III Relative Proficiency Index (PA062)
Lynne Jaffe


THURSDAY, 2/26/09
8:00-8:50 PAPER
An Overview of the Human Cognitive Abilities Project (PA121)
Kevin McGrew
8-9:30 POSTERS
The DAS-II and WJ-III in Relation to the CHC Model (PO112)
Nancy Hollander
Adapting Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities for International Use (PO130)
Anton Furman
Predicting WJ-III Cognitive Test Performance From Personality Traits (PO140)
Scott Loe
Construct Validity of the WJ-III Cognitive Among Adjudicated Adolescents (PO189)
Erin Reid
CHC Abilities in Young Children Measured by the WJ III COG (PO374)
Myriah Rosengarten
General and Specific Effects on WJ III CHC Factor Clusters (PO399)
Randy Floyd
Understanding Early Childhood Assessment Tools from a CHC Perspective (PO422)
Laurie Ford
12:00-1:30 POSTERS
Beyond RAN and Phonological Awareness the Role of Processing Speed (PO 325)
Annmarie Urso
5:00-5:50 PAPER
Confirming the Factor Structure of ADHD in Young Adults (PA023)
Briley Proctor


FRIDAY 2/27/09
8:00-8:50 MINI-SKILLS
CHC Cognitive and Achievement Relations Meta Analysis (MS059)
Kevin McGrew
2:00-3:30 POSTERS
Convergent Validity of English Language Proficiency Measures: NYSESLAT and WMLS-R (PO064)
Sara Bracken
Cross-Battery Assessment of Diverse Children and Youth (PO169)
John Kranzler

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iAbstract: Excercising your brain review

Double click image to enlarge. See prior post for additional info on iAbstract deals.

iAbstract: Aging and cognitive plasticity

The most recent issue of Psychology and Aging had a special section devoted aging and cognitive plasticity. I offer my usual "I give you PDF copies of articles I'm exchange for guest blog posts about the articles" quid-pro-quo deal. Contact me if interested.

Double click on image to enlarge.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

CHC Cog-Ach relations project update: Basic reading skill analysis on-line show



I just posted an on-line PPT SlideShare show that presents my current interpretation of the results of this research synthesis project in the area of basic reading skills. The show is called CHC Cog-Ach Relations: Basic Reading Skills analysis (click here to access)

This presentation presents an update of the "CHC COG-ACH correlates research synthesis" project described and hosted at IQ's Corner and IAP. The viewer should first read the background materials regarding this project at these sites (how to access is also included in first slide). The current slides present my preliminary analysis and conclusions re: the relations between CHC cognitive abilities and basic reading skills as a function of age (developmental status). The results are part of a manuscript that is in preparation with Barb Wendling.

Revisit IQ's Corner to keep abreast of updates.

iAbstract: Data-based test analytic framework

DOUBLE CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE. From latest issue of Psych. Methods.

See two prior posts for more info on this feature.

iAbstract: Incubation and problem solving meta-analysis

DOUBLE CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE. From latest issue of Psych. Bulletin.
See prior post re: quid pro quo deal regarding accessing a copy.

Confidence and IQ test performance: iAbstract

Trying a new mobile blogging feature today-- the iAbstract

Below is an image of most of the abstract from an article in the
latest edition of the Journal of Educational Psychology. I read these
from the Bloglines RSS feed on my iPhone and can immediately capture
the image and then instantly email it to my blog. It saves me a ton of
time and allows me make use of small moments of down time--right now
my morning coffee.

DOUBLE CLICK on image to enlarge. If anyone wants to review the
article in exchange for a guest blog post at IQs Corner, contact me
and I'll get a PDF of the article to you.

Feedback on this feature is welcomed.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Let's hear it for science, data and statistics

I heard a few exciting phrases in Obama's speech yesterday. One was restoring science to it's proper place as noted in the article at link below. The other was substantiating things that are "subject to data and statistics"

Soothing words to this quantoid.

http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=we-will-restore-science-to-its-righ-09-01-21


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Off task: Why we hicupp

This post strays off my beaten blog path but I found it interesting.
Thanks to the MINDBLOG.

http://mindblog.dericbownds.net/2009/01/why-we-hiccup.html


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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Brain fitness tipping point ?

Interesting post at SHARP BRAINS

http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2009/01/19/brain-fitness-training-heads-towards-its-tipping-point/


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Obama work day

One computer for work and one to monitor the Obama stuff. Technology
is great

Monday, January 19, 2009

Nmber sense (Gq/Gf-RQ): Special issue of BBS

The recent issue of Behavioral and Brain Sciences was devoted to the development of number concepts and number sense in children.  If you are not familiar with this journal, its format is to have one main article that is then followed by dozens of "open commentaries" by other scholars.  The TOC for this issue can be viewed by clicking here.

The main article is listed below (along with abstract).  If any IQs Corner reader would like to read the issue and provide a guest blog post, email me and I'll provide a copy.

From numerical concepts to concepts of number

Lance J. Rips, Amber Bloomfield and Jennifer Asmuth

Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 31, Issue 06, December 2008, pp 623-642
  • Abstract: Many experiments with infants suggest that they possess quantitative abilities, and many experimentalists believe that these abilities set the stage for later mathematics: natural numbers and arithmetic. However, the connection between these early and later skills is far from obvious. We evaluate two possible routes to mathematics and argue that neither is sufficient: (1) We first sketch what we think is the most likely model for infant abilities in this domain, and we examine proposals for extrapolating the natural number concept from these beginnings. Proposals for arriving at natural number by (empirical) induction presuppose the mathematical concepts they seek to explain. Moreover, standard experimental tests for children’s understanding of number terms do not necessarily tap these concepts. (2) True concepts of number do appear, however, when children are able to understand generalizations over all numbers; for example, the principle of additive commutativity (a þ b ¼ b þ a). Theories of how children learn such principles usually rely on a process of mapping from physical object groupings. But both experimental results and theoretical considerations imply that direct mapping is insufficient for acquiring these principles. We suggest instead that children may arrive at natural numbers and arithmetic in a more top-down way, by constructing mathematical schemas.
  • Here is a description of the journal as lifted from its official site.  BBS is the internationally renowned journal with the innovative format known as Open Peer Commentary. Particularly significant and controversial pieces of work are published from researchers in any area of psychology, neuroscience, behavioural biology or cognitive science, together with 10-25 commentaries on each article from specialists within and across these disciplines, plus the author's response to them. The result is a fascinating and unique forum for the communication, criticism, stimulation, and particularly the unification of research in behavioural and brain sciences from molecular neurobiology to artificial intelligence and the philosophy of the mind. As Cambridge continues its philosophy of moving towards fully online submission, refereeing and commentary, see preprints of articles currently undergoing commentary at http://www.bbsonline.org
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g or general intelligence bibliography



I recently ran a keyword search of the IAP Reference Database for all articles that included the terms "g" or "general intelligence." I've made the unfiltered reference list available for download (click here). Enjoy.

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ISIR contributor interviews


Every year at the annual ISIR conference a 1-1 interview is conducted with a leading ISIR scholar.  I had not realized (due to my lack of diligence) that these are all available on-line at the ISIR web site under "conference archives."  You can view them by clicking here and then selecting the "Distinguished Contributor Interview" link for each year.  This years interview with Ted Nettelbeck is not yet "up."

Others available include James Flynn, John Loehlin, Earl Hunt, Thomas Bouchard, and Julian Stanley.

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Sunday, January 18, 2009

IQs Corner Recent Literature of Interest 1-18-09


This weeks "recent literature of interest" is now available. Click here to access.

Information regarding this feature, its basis, and the reasons for type of references included in each weekly installment can be found in a prior post.

Good sleep = good learning !

http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2009/01/slumber-quality-important-for-learning.html


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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Interactive brain tour

Thanks to HAPPY NEURON for the tip regarding this resource.

http://blog.happy-neuron.com/brain-anatomy-and-imaging/how-does-the-brain-work/


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Is crying good for you? It depends


[double click to enlarge image]

This post about crying behavior is way off task for the focus of my blog. But the title of the article captured my attention, and upon further review, I discovered, much to my delight (and preference for good model-based research) that the article presented a nice conceptual/theoretical model for understanding crying behavior.


Bottom line---according to Rottenberg et al. (2008) a "good cry" may be beneficial...but sometimes it is not and it may exacerbate stress. Crying, like many human behaviors, is the result of a complex interaction of personal individual difference variables and environmental settings. The authors model (see nice visual-graphic represenation above) suggests that the pros/cons of crying are a function of (a) how crying behavior is measured in research, (b) the conditions in the social environment in which a person is operating, (c) individual personality traits of the crier, and (d) the affective (emotional) state of the crier at the time.

Having a "good cry" is not always beneficial...but sometimes it is. Again...the complexity of human behavior is confirmed.

It all "depends"..........

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Premorbid prediction of WISC-IV IQs in children: Be careful


The post-hoc, retrospective prediction of a person's global IQ score, after significant brain injury (TBI), has been an ongoing area of study and discussion in the adult neuropsychology literature for many years. A new small scale study (n=40 TBI and 40 controls; thus, significant caution is thus urged) in Psychological Assessment reports an attemp to predict "premorid IQ" in children on the WISC-IV.

The abstract for the article by Schoenberg et al. (2008) is below. The bottom line message appears to be caution in attempts to predict a child's intelligence prior to TBI after TBI has occurred. Statistical formula's are available, but do not always provide decent estimates. The authors urge appropriate caution and the need to develop premorbid estimates that include more than just post-injury WISC-IV scores and select subject demographics (plugged into equations) ---e.g., consideration of prior group achievement tests scores; school grades; etc.

As per usual, the authors make a call for further research....which appears appropriate given the small sample sizes and the accuracy of the WISC-IV equation based prediction methods.
  • Abstract: Determination of neuropsychological impairment involves contrasting obtained performances with a comparison standard, which is often an estimate of premorbid IQ. M. R. Schoenberg, R. T. Lange, T. A. Brickell, and D. H. Saklofske (2007) proposed the Child Premorbid Intelligence Estimate (CPIE) to predict premorbid Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—4th Edition (WISC–IV; Wechsler, 2003). The CPIE includes 12 algorithms to predict FSIQ, 1 using demographic variables and 11 algorithms combining WISC–IV subtest raw scores with demographic variables. The CPIE was applied to a sample of children with acquired traumatic brain injury (TBI sample; n  40) and a healthy demographically matched sample (n  40). Pairedsamples t tests found estimated premorbid FSIQ differed from obtained FSIQ when applied to the TBI sample (ps.01). When applied to healthy peers, estimated and obtained FSIQ did not differ (ps.02). The demographic only algorithm performed well at a group level, but estimates were restricted in range. Algorithms combining single subtest scores with demographics performed adequately. Results support the clinical application of the CPIE algorithms. However, limitations to estimating individual premorbid ability, including statistical and developmental factors, must be considered.
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IQ Research Byte # 7: I "see" what you are saying: Multimodal speech perception (Ga-US).

A research morsel to "byte" on:

  • "I 'see' what you are saying". Understanding speech (speech perception; Ga-US) is not just auditory, but is multimodal and involves our eyes (vision) and at times even kinesthetic senses. Speech perception is mult-model. Check out Rosenblum (2008)
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Are older drivers dangerous

Check out post at SHARP BRAINS

http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2009/01/13/research-on-older-drivers-safety/


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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

APA PsycCRITIQUES - Volume 54, Issue 2 is now available online



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January 14, 2009
Volume 54, Issue 2


Book Reviews
1. Treatment of Chronic Medical Conditions: Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy Strategies and Integrative Treatment Protocols
Author: Len Sperry
Reviewer: Patrick L. Kerr

2. Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib
Author: Larry C. James, with Gregory A. Freeman
Reviewer: Rodney L. Lowman

3. Dyslexia, Learning, and the Brain
Authors: Roderick I. Nicolson and Angela J. Fawcett
Reviewer: Catherine Scott

4. Cultural Competence in Health Education and Health Promotion
Authors: Miguel A. Perez and Raffy R. Luquis (Eds.)
Reviewer: Mary Ann Cook

5. The Contested Boundaries of American Public Health
Authors: James Colgrove, Gerald Markowitz, and David Rosner (Eds.)
Reviewer: Bradford W. Hesse

6. Before Freud: Hysteria and Hypnosis in Later Nineteenth-Century Psychiatric Cases
Author: Lilian R. Furst
Reviewer: Robert A. Bischoff

7. Ain't I a Feminist? African American Men Speak Out on Fatherhood, Friendship, Forgiveness, and Freedom
Author: Aaronette M. White
Reviewer: William M. Harvey

8. Striving for the Whole: Creating Theoretical Syntheses
Authors: Rainer Diriwächter and Jaan Valsiner (Eds.)
Reviewers: Henderikus J. Stam and Dane Burns

Point/Counterpoint
9. Relational Theory and the Practice of Psychotherapy
Author: Paul L. Wachtel
Reviewer: Paul L. Wachtel

10. A Response to Paul L. Wachtel
Author: Luciano L'Abate

Film Review
11. Happy-Go-Lucky
Director: Mike Leigh
Reviewer: Robert Biswas-Diener

Boys are to pictures as girls are to _____?

Find answer at ENL blog

http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/boys-think-in-pictures-girls-think-in.html


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Adult ADHD at work

From BPS blog

http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2009/01/adult-adhd-leads-to-more-accidents-and.html


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Monday, January 12, 2009

CNTRICS: Consensus-based cognitive measurement in schizophrenia--a model worth examinig

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Schizophrenia is not my cup of tea...but good cognitive measurement is. Thus, I was intrigued when doing my weekly "IQs Recent Literature of Interest" searching when I stumbled across an intriguing set of articles in the Schizophrenia Bulletin [Vol. 35 (1) 2009].



I was impressed to find that a group of scientists studying a common disorder (schizophrenia) had engaged in a consensus-building process to identify common sets of cognitive measures to use across their various research labs. This was all part of the Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (CNTRICS) initiative. What a good model for improving the quality of research across researchers!

Maybe this model consensus-building activity could be adapted by those of us studying intelligence and cognitive related disorders in education. Instead of our constant problem in comparing research studies with different measures used by different researchers, we could, at a minimum, at least establish a core set of "marker" measures to embed in each others favorite research batteries. Yes....at times I can be naive....but I believe in the power of consensus-building to improve research...and, more importantly, the probability of improving the quality of life for individuals with cognitive-related deficits and learning disorders. I've made a related plea for the adaptation of a common cognitive nomenclature/taxonomy (CHC theory) in many articles/chapters, most recently in the journal Intelligence.

Below are the abstracts. I've provided a link to the editorial introductory article. If anyone is interested in reading one or more of the other articles, articles that focus on measuring executive control, working memory, social cognitive and affective measures, promising paradigms, and control of attention, let me know...and I'd send a copy, but only in exchange for a guest blog post. The articles are worth a read, if for on other reason, for the nifty way many of the tasks discussed are presented via visual figures (see example of stroop task at the top of this post)--nice stuff.

Below are the abstracts:

Selecting Paradigms From Cognitive Neuroscience for Translation into Use in Clinical Trials: Proceedings of the Third CNTRICS Meeting (click here to read introductory editorial)

  • This overview describes the goals and objectives of the third conference conducted as part of the Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (CNTRICS) initiative. This third conference was focused on selecting specific paradigms from cognitive neuroscience that measured the constructs identified in the first CNTRICS meeting, with the goal of facilitating the translation of these paradigms into use in clinical trials contexts. To identify such paradigms, we had an open nomination process in which the field was asked to nominate potentially relevant paradigms and to provide information on several domains relevant to selecting the most promising tasks for each construct (eg, construct validity, neural bases, psychometrics, availability of animal models). Our goal was to identify 1–2 promising tasks for each of the 11 constructs identified at the first CNTRICS meeting. In this overview article, we describe the on-line survey used to generate nominations for promising tasks, the criteria that were used to select the tasks, the rationale behind the criteria, and the ways in which breakout groups worked together to identify the most promising tasks from among those nominated. This article serves as an introduction to the set of 6 articles included in this special issue that provide information about the specific tasks discussed and selected for the constructs from each of 6 broad domains (working memory, executive control, attention, long-term memory, perception, and social cognition).


CNTRICS Final Task Selection: Executive Control

  • The third meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (CNTRICS) was focused on selecting promising measures for each of the cognitive constructs selected in the first CNTRICS meeting. In the domain of executive control, the 2 constructs of interest were ‘‘rule generation and selection’’ and ‘‘dynamic adjustments in control.’’ CNTRICS received 4 task nominations for each of these constructs, and the breakout group for executive control evaluated the degree to which each of these tasks met prespecified criteria. For rule generation and selection, the breakout group for executive control recommended the intradimensional/ extradimensional shift task and the switching Stroop for translation for use in clinical trial contexts in schizophrenia research. For dynamic adjustments in control, the breakout group recommended conflict and error adaptation in the Stroop and the stop signal task for translation for use in clinical trials. This article describes the ways in which each of these tasks met the criteria used by the breakout group to recommend tasks for further development.

CNTRICS Final Task Selection: Working Memory

  • The third meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (CNTRICS) was focused on selecting promising measures for each of the cognitive constructs selected in the first CNTRICS meeting. In the domain of working memory, the 2 constructs of interest were goal maintenance and interference control. CNTRICS received 3 task nominations for each of these constructs, and the breakout group for working memory evaluated the degree to which each of these tasks met prespecified criteria. For goal maintenance, the breakout group for working memory recommended the AX-Continuous Performance Task/Dot Pattern Expectancy task for translation for use in clinical trial contexts in schizophrenia research. For interference control, the breakout group recommended the recent probes and operation/ symmetry span tasks for translation for use in clinical trials. This article describes the ways in which each of these tasks met the criteria used by the breakout group to recommend tasks for further development.


CNTRICS Final Task Selection: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience–Based
Measures

  • This article describes the results and recommendations of the third Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia meeting related to measuring treatment effects on social and affective processing. At the first meeting, it was recommended that measurement development focuses on the construct of emotion identification and responding. Five Tasks were nominated as candidate measures for this construct via the premeeting web-based survey. Two of the 5 tasks were recommended for immediate translation, the Penn Emotion Recognition Task and the Facial Affect Recognition and the Effects of Situational Context, which provides a measure of emotion identification and responding as well as a related, higher level construct, context-based modulation of emotional responding. This article summarizes the criteria-based, consensus building analysis of each nominated task that led to these 2 paradigms being recommended as priority tasks for development as measures of treatment effects on negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Perception Measurement in Clinical Trials of Schizophrenia: Promising Paradigms
From CNTRICS


  • The third meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (CNTRICS) focused on selecting promising measures for each of the cognitive constructs selected in the first CNTRICS meeting. In the domain of perception, the 2 constructs of interest were gain control and visual integration. CNTRICS received 5 task nominations for gain control and three task nominations for visual integration. The breakout group for perception evaluated the degree to which each of these tasks met prespecified criteria. For gain control, the breakout group for perception believed that 2 of the tasks (prepulse inhibition of startle and mismatch negativity) were already mature and in the process of being incorporated into multisite clinical trials. However, the breakout group recommended that steady-state visualevoked potentials be combined with contrast sensitivity to magnocellular vs parvocellular biased stimuli and that this combined task and the contrast-contrast effect task be recommended for translation for use in clinical trial contexts in schizophrenia research. For visual integration, the breakout group recommended the Contour Integration and Coherent Motion tasks for translation for use in clinical trials. This manuscript describes the ways in which each of these tasks met the criteria used by the breakout group to evaluate and recommend tasks for further development.


CNTRICS Final Task Selection: Control of Attention
  • The construct of attention has many facets that have been examined in human and animal research and in healthy and psychiatrically disordered conditions. The Cognitive Neuroscience Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (CNTRICS) group concluded that control of attention—the processes that guide selection of taskrelevant inputs—is particularly impaired in schizophrenia and could profit from further work with refined measurement tools. Thus, nominations for cognitive tasks that provide discrete measures of control of attention were sought and were then evaluated at the third CNTRICS meeting for their promise for future use in treatment development. This article describes the 5 nominated measures and their strengths and weaknesses for cognitive neuroscience work relevant to treatment development. Two paradigms, Guided Search and the Distractor Condition Sustained Attention Task, were viewed as having the greatest immediate promise for development into tools for treatment research in schizophrenia and are described in more detail by their nominators.
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