Friday, May 31, 2013

Article: INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: Georgia Inmate Appeals Intellectual Disability Claim to U.S. Supreme Court


INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: Georgia Inmate Appeals Intellectual Disability Claim to U.S. Supreme Court
http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/intellectual-disability-georgia-inmate-appeals-intellectual-disability-claim-us-supreme-court

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*******************************************
Kevin McGrew, PhD
Educational Psychologist
Director, IAP
*******************************************

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Special journal issue on the teenage brain

> Journal Name: CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE (ISSN: 0963-7214)
> Issue: Vol. 22 No. 2, 2013
> IDS#: 136HW
> Alert Expires: 10 JAN 2014
> Number of Articles in Issue: 15 (15 included in this e-mail)
> Organization ID: c4f3d919329a46768459d3e35b8102e6
> ========================================================================
> Note: Instructions on how to purchase the full text of an article and Thomson Reuters Science Contact information are at the end of the e-mail.
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 79-79 (Editorial Material)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000001
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Introduction to Special Issue on the Teenage Brain
>
> Authors:
> Engle, RW
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):79-79; SI APR 2013
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 80-81 (Editorial Material)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000002
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>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: An Overview
>
> Authors:
> Casey, BJ
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):80-81; SI APR 2013
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 82-87 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000003
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Self Control
>
> Authors:
> Casey, BJ; Caudle, K
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):82-87; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Adolescence refers to the transition from childhood to adulthood that
> begins with the onset of puberty and ends with successful independence
> from the parent. A paradox for human adolescence is why, during a time
> when the individual is probably faster, stronger, of higher reasoning
> capacity, and more resistant to disease, there is such an increase in
> mortality relative to childhood. This is due not to disease but, rather,
> to preventable forms of death (accidental fatalities, suicide, and
> homicide) associated with adolescents putting themselves in harm's way,
> in part because of diminished self-control-the ability to suppress
> inappropriate emotions, desires, and actions. This article highlights
> how self-control varies as a function of age, context, and the
> individual and delineates its neurobiological basis.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 88-93 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000004
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Sensitivity to Rewards
>
> Authors:
> Galvan, A
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):88-93; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Adolescence is characterized by heightened reward sensitivity.
> Accumulating evidence suggests that this behavior is associated with
> neurodevelopmental changes in reward-related neural circuitry. In this
> article, I review recent studies in animal models and humans that
> highlight the unique adolescent response to reward in the striatum, a
> reward-sensitive brain region. This work helps the field understand
> characteristic adolescent behavior and will be important in addressing
> policy questions related to this period of development.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 94-100 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000005
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Cognitive Control and Motivation
>
> Authors:
> Luna, B; Paulsen, DJ; Padmanabhan, A; Geier, C
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):94-100; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Adolescence is associated with heightened mortality rates due in large
> measure to negative consequences from risky behaviors. Theories of
> adolescent risk taking posit that it is driven by immature cognitive
> control coupled with heightened reward reactivity, yet surprisingly few
> empirical studies have examined these neurobiological systems together.
> In this article, we describe a series of studies from our laboratory
> aimed at further delineating the maturation of cognitive control through
> adolescence, as well as how rewards influence a key aspect of cognitive
> control: response inhibition. Our findings indicate that adolescents can
> exert adult-like control over their behavior but that they have
> limitations regarding the consistency with which they can generate
> optimal responses compared with adults. Moreover, we demonstrate that
> the brain circuitry supporting mature cognitive (inhibitory) control is
> still undergoing development. Our work using the rewarded antisaccade
> task, a paradigm that enables concurrent assessment of rewards and
> inhibitory control, indicates that adolescents show delayed but
> heightened responses in key reward regions along with concurrent
> activation in brain systems that support behaviors leading to reward
> acquisition. Considered together, our results highlight
> adolescent-specific differences in the integration of basic brain
> processes that may underlie decision making and more complex risk taking
> in adolescence.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 101-107 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000006
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Functional Connectivity
>
> Authors:
> Dosenbach, NUF; Petersen, SE; Schlaggar, BL
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):101-107; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Distant brain regions are organized into large-scale functional networks
> specialized for specific cognitive processes. The brain's
> functional-network architecture and its development can be investigated
> using functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI), which measures correlations
> in spontaneous fluctuations of brain activity. fcMRI studies have
> provided important insights into typical brain organization and
> development, as well as insights into the atypical organization of the
> brain in neuropsychiatric disorders. fcMRI data can be easily collected
> and carry much information. Therefore, they are now being analyzed using
> powerful multivariate-pattern-analysis (MVPA) methods, with the goal of
> one day being able to diagnose disease states in individuals. However,
> great care must be taken during these analyses to eliminate confounds
> such as head movement.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 108-113 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000007
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: A Neuroeconomic Approach to Adolescent Decision Making
>
> Authors:
> Van Duijvenvoorde, ACK; Crone, EA
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):108-113; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Recent neuroscientific studies have pinpointed a relative imbalance
> between the development of subcortical-affective and prefrontal-control
> brain networks that creates specific sensitivities during adolescence.
> Despite these advances in understanding adolescent brain development,
> there is a strong need for a more mechanistic understanding of the way
> these limbic and frontal-cortical areas interact and contribute to
> adolescents' risky and social decision-making. We discuss a
> neuroeconomic approach that has the potential to significantly forward
> the understanding of decision making in adolescence.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 114-120 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000008
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Peer Influences on Adolescent Decision Making
>
> Authors:
> Albert, D; Chein, J; Steinberg, L
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):114-120; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Research efforts to account for elevated risk behavior among adolescents
> have arrived at an exciting new stage. Moving beyond laboratory studies
> of age differences in risk perception and reasoning, new approaches have
> shifted their focus to the influence of social and emotional factors on
> adolescent decision making. We review recent research suggesting that
> adolescent risk-taking propensity derives in part from a maturational
> gap between early adolescent remodeling of the brain's socioemotional
> reward system and a gradual, prolonged strengthening of the
> cognitive-control system. Research has suggested that in adolescence, a
> time when individuals spend an increasing amount of time with their
> peers, peer-related stimuli may sensitize the reward system to respond
> to the reward value of risky behavior. As the cognitive-control system
> gradually matures over the course of the teenage years, adolescents grow
> in their capacity to coordinate affect and cognition and to exercise
> self-regulation, even in emotionally arousing situations. These
> capacities are reflected in gradual growth in the capacity to resist
> peer influence.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 121-127 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000009
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Sensitivity to Social Evaluation
>
> Authors:
> Somerville, LH
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):121-127; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Relative to childhood, peer relationships take on a heightened
> importance during adolescence. Might adolescents be highly attuned to
> information that concerns when and how they are being evaluated and what
> their peers think of them? This review evaluates how continuing brain
> development-which influences brain function-partially explains and
> reflects adolescents' attunement to social evaluation. Though
> preliminary, evidence is mounting to suggest that while processing
> information relevant to social evaluation and the internal states of
> other people, adolescents respond with heightened emotional intensity
> and corresponding nonlinear recruitment of socioaffective brain
> circuitry. This review highlights research findings that relate
> trajectories of brain development to social behavior and discusses
> promising avenues of future research that will inform how brain
> development might lead adolescents to be sensitized to social
> evaluation.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 128-133 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000010
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Social Reorientation and the Adolescent Brain-The Role of Gonadal Hormones in the Male Syrian Hamster
>
> Authors:
> De Lorme, K; Bell, MR; Sisk, CL
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):128-133; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Maturation of social cognition and a gain in social proficiency are
> universal aspects of adolescent development that prepare individuals for
> adulthood. Social cognition involves the perception and interpretation
> of social cues, followed by the generation of a behavioral response.
> Social proficiency is acquired through the ability to make behavioral
> adaptations as one learns from social experience; increased social
> proficiency facilitates successful social interactions. In males, the
> neuroendocrine bases of these developmental changes involve both
> activational and organizational influences of testicular hormones. Using
> the male Syrian hamster as a model, this review provides evidence that
> social stimuli acquire rewarding properties during adolescence via
> activational effects of pubertal testosterone, whereas the adolescent
> gain in social proficiency depends on organizational actions of pubertal
> testosterone.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 134-139 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000011
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Surging Hormones-Brain-Behavior Interactions During Puberty
>
> Authors:
> Peper, JS; Dahl, RE
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):134-139; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> In this paper, we discuss the surging hormones of puberty and their
> influences on adolescent behavior. We describe why these issues
> represent an interesting and important area of investigation,
> emphasizing their contributions to a specific set of developmental
> processes at the heart of the transition from childhood to adolescence.
> We briefly review the neuroendocrine underpinnings of human puberty. Our
> review focuses on evidence for behavioral (and neurobehavioral) effects
> of gonadal hormones and emphasizes the social and affective dimensions
> of these hormonal effects. More broadly, we consider how these hormonal
> events contribute to brain-behavior interactions that can bias early
> adolescent trajectories in both positive and negative directions, and in
> ways that may begin as small influences but can spiral into large-scale
> effects over time. These influences also appear to play an important
> role in functional and structural brain development during adolescence.
> Finally, we offer some thoughts on directions for future research in
> these areas.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 140-145 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000012
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: The Stress Response and the Adolescent Brain
>
> Authors:
> Romeo, RD
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):140-145; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Adolescence is a time of many psychosocial and physiological changes.
> One such change is how an individual responds to stressors.
> Specifically, adolescence is marked by significant shifts in
> hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity, resulting in
> heightened stress-induced hormonal responses. It is presently unclear
> what mediates these changes in stress reactivity and what impacts they
> may have on an adolescent individual. However, stress-sensitive limbic
> and cortical brain areas that continue to mature during adolescence may
> be particularly vulnerable to these shifts in responsiveness.
> Consequently, perturbations of the maturing adolescent brain may
> contribute to the increase in stress-related psychological dysfunctions,
> such as anxiety, depression, and drug abuse, often observed during this
> stage of development. The purpose of this review is to describe the
> changes that occur in HPA function during adolescence, as well as to
> briefly discuss the possible ramifications of these changes on the
> developing brain and psychological health.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 146-151 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000013
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Altered Fear in Humans and Mice
>
> Authors:
> Pattwell, SS; Casey, BJ; Lee, FS
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):146-151; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Fear learning is an adaptive, evolutionarily conserved process that
> allows people to respond appropriately to threats in the environment.
> These threats can vary across different contexts and across the life
> course. Taking into account the high degree of neural and behavioral
> conservation across species in fear regulation and its underlying neural
> circuitry, we examined how fear learning changes across contexts and
> over the course of development, focusing specifically on the
> environmentally changing and challenging period of adolescence. We show
> two surprising developmental findings specific to adolescents, relative
> to older and younger individuals: (a) diminished fear to previously
> aversive contexts and (b) heightened fear to previously aversive cues.
> These behavioral changes are paralleled by developmental changes in
> frontolimbic circuitry. We discuss how these evolutionarily conserved
> mechanisms may be essential to survival of the species, given the
> changing environmental demands (social, sexual, and physical) of
> adolescence. Our findings also have important implications for
> unremitting forms of fear at the core of anxiety-related disorders,
> which peak during adolescence, and for when during development specific
> treatments for these disorders may be most effective.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 152-157 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000014
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Adolescents and Alcohol
>
> Authors:
> Spear, L
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):152-157; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> The high levels of alcohol consumption characteristic of adolescence may
> be in part biologically based, given that elevated consumption levels
> are evident during this developmental transition in other mammalian
> species as well. Studies conducted using a simple animal model of
> adolescence in the rat have shown adolescents to be more sensitive than
> adults to social facilitatory and rewarding effects of alcohol but less
> sensitive to numerous alcohol effects that may serve as cues to limit
> intake. These age-specific alcohol sensitivities appear related to
> differential rates of development of neural systems underlying different
> alcohol effects, as well as to an ontogenetic decline in rapid brain
> compensations to alcohol, termed acute tolerance. In contrast, these
> adolescent-typical sensitivities to alcohol do not appear to be notably
> influenced by pubertal increases in gonadal hormones. Although data are
> sparse, there are hints that similar alcohol sensitivities may be seen
> in human adolescents, with this developmentally decreased sensitivity to
> alcohol's intoxicating effects possibly exacerbated by genetic
> vulnerabilities also characterized by an insensitivity to alcohol
> intoxication, thereby perhaps permitting especially high levels of
> alcohol consumption among vulnerable youths.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 158-161 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318354000015
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The Teenage Brain: Adolescent Brain Research and the Law
>
> Authors:
> Bonnie, RJ; Scott, ES
>
> Source:
> *CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE*, 22 (2):158-161; SI APR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> In this article, we explore the emerging and potential influence of
> adolescent brain science on law and public policy. The primary
> importance of this research is in policy domains that implicate
> adolescent risk taking; these include drug and alcohol use, driver
> licensing, and criminal justice. We describe the emerging importance of
> brain science in the Supreme Court and other policy arenas. Finally, we
> argue that current research cannot contribute usefully to legal
> decisions about individual adolescents and should not be used in
> criminal trials at the present time, except to provide general
> developmental information.
>
> ========================================================================
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Journal alert: COGNITIVE PROCESSING

> Journal Name: COGNITIVE PROCESSING (ISSN: 1612-4782)
> Issue: Vol. 14 No. 2, 2013
> IDS#: 135GV
> Alert Expires: 10 JAN 2014
> Number of Articles in Issue: 15 (15 included in this e-mail)
> Organization ID: c4f3d919329a46768459d3e35b8102e6
> ========================================================================
> Note: Instructions on how to purchase the full text of an article and Thomson Reuters Science Contact information are at the end of the e-mail.
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 103-104 (Editorial Material)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500001
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Introduction to the special issue on spatial learning and reasoning processes
>
> Authors:
> Shipley, TF; Gentner, D
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):103-104; MAY 2013
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 105-115 (Review)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500002
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Understanding spatial transformations: similarities and differences between mental rotation and mental folding
>
> Authors:
> Harris, J; Hirsh-Pasek, K; Newcombe, NS
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):105-115; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Mental rotation and mental folding, two widely used measures of spatial
> ability, both require the dynamic spatial transformation of objects with
> respect to their internal spatial structure. Traditionally, however,
> these two skills have been considered quite distinct, based primarily on
> factor analyses of psychometric data. This paper reviews the
> similarities and differences between mental rotation and mental folding
> from a variety of perspectives, including their definitions, component
> cognitive processes, neurological bases, developmental trajectories,
> malleability, predictive validity, and psychometric properties. We
> conclude that mental rotation and mental folding are similar in many
> respects. However, the tasks differ in whether they require rigid or
> non-rigid transformations of objects. In addition, mental rotation shows
> robust sex-related differences whereas mental folding does not. We also
> identify specific questions for which research is lacking.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 117-127 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500003
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Using a touch screen paradigm to assess the development of mental rotation between 3A1/2 and 5A1/2A years of age
>
> Authors:
> Frick, A; Ferrara, K; Newcombe, NS
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):117-127; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Mental rotation is an important spatial skill. However, there is
> controversy concerning its early development and susceptibility to
> intervention. In the present study, we assessed individual differences
> in the mental rotation abilities of children between 3A1/2 and 5A1/2A
> years of age, using a touch screen paradigm to simplify task demands. A
> figure or its mirror image was presented in 8 different orientations,
> and children indicated in which of two holes the figure would fit by
> touching one of the holes on the screen. Task instructions were varied
> in three conditions, giving the children the opportunity to gather
> manual or observational experience with rotations of different stimuli,
> or giving no additional experience. Children's error rates and response
> times increased linearly with increasing angular disparity between the
> figure and the hole by the age of 5 years, but 4-year-olds were found to
> respond at chance for all angular disparities, despite the use of a
> touch screen paradigm. Both manual and observational experience
> increased the response accuracy of 5-year-olds, especially for children
> already performing well. However, there was no effect on 4-year-olds.
> Results point to an emerging readiness to use mental rotation and profit
> from observational and manual experience at age 5.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 129-142 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500004
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> When do spatial abilities support student comprehension of STEM visualizations?
>
> Authors:
> Hinze, SR; Williamson, VM; Shultz, MJ; Williamson, KC; Deslongchamps, G;
> Rapp, DN
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):129-142; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Spatial visualization abilities are positively related to performance on
> science, technology, engineering, and math tasks, but this relationship
> is influenced by task demands and learner strategies. In two studies, we
> illustrate these interactions by demonstrating situations in which
> greater spatial ability leads to problematic performance. In Study 1,
> chemistry students observed and explained sets of simultaneously
> presented displays depicting chemical phenomena at macroscopic and
> particulate levels of representation. Prior to viewing, the students
> were asked to make predictions at the macroscopic level. Eye movement
> analyses revealed that greater spatial ability was associated with
> greater focus on the prediction-relevant macroscopic level.
> Unfortunately, that restricted focus was also associated with
> lower-quality explanations of the phenomena. In Study 2, we presented
> the same displays but manipulated whether participants were asked to
> make predictions prior to viewing. Spatial ability was again associated
> with restricted focus, but only for students who completed the
> prediction task. Eliminating the prediction task encouraged attempts to
> integrate the displays that related positively to performance,
> especially for participants with high spatial ability. Spatial abilities
> can be recruited in effective or ineffective ways depending on
> alignments between the demands of a task and the approaches individuals
> adopt for completing that task.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 143-152 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500005
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Breaking new ground in the mind: an initial study of mental brittle transformation and mental rigid rotation in science experts
>
> Authors:
> Resnick, I; Shipley, TF
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):143-152; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> The current study examines the spatial skills employed in different
> spatial reasoning tasks, by asking how science experts who are practiced
> in different types of visualizations perform on different spatial tasks.
> Specifically, the current study examines the varieties of mental
> transformations. We hypothesize that there may be two broad classes of
> mental transformations: rigid body mental transformations and non-rigid
> mental transformations. We focus on the disciplines of geology and
> organic chemistry because different types of transformations are central
> to the two disciplines: While geologists and organic chemists may both
> confront rotation in the practice of their profession, only geologists
> confront brittle transformations. A new instrument was developed to
> measure mental brittle transformation (visualizing breaking). Geologists
> and organic chemists performed similarly on a measure of mental
> rotation, while geologists outperformed organic chemists on the mental
> brittle transformation test. The differential pattern of skill on the
> two tests for the two groups of experts suggests that mental brittle
> transformation and mental rotation are different spatial skills. The
> roles of domain general cognitive resources (attentional control,
> spatial working memory, and perceptual filling in) and strategy in
> completing mental brittle transformation are discussed. The current
> study illustrates how ecological and interdisciplinary approaches
> complement traditional cognitive science to offer a comprehensive
> approach to understanding the nature of spatial thinking.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 153-162 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500006
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Individual differences in mental rotation: what does gesture tell us?
>
> Authors:
> Goksun, T; Goldin-Meadow, S; Newcombe, N; Shipley, T
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):153-162; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Gestures are common when people convey spatial information, for example,
> when they give directions or describe motion in space. Here, we examine
> the gestures speakers produce when they explain how they solved mental
> rotation problems (Shepard and Meltzer in Science 171:701-703, 1971). We
> asked whether speakers gesture differently while describing their
> problems as a function of their spatial abilities. We found that
> low-spatial individuals (as assessed by a standard paper-and-pencil
> measure) gestured more to explain their solutions than high-spatial
> individuals. While this finding may seem surprising, finer-grained
> analyses showed that low-spatial participants used gestures more often
> than high-spatial participants to convey "static only" information but
> less often than high-spatial participants to convey dynamic information.
> Furthermore, the groups differed in the types of gestures used to convey
> static information: high-spatial individuals were more likely than
> low-spatial individuals to use gestures that captured the internal
> structure of the block forms. Our gesture findings thus suggest that
> encoding block structure may be as important as rotating the blocks in
> mental spatial transformation.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 163-173 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500007
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Twisting space: are rigid and non-rigid mental transformations separate spatial skills?
>
> Authors:
> Atit, K; Shipley, TF; Tikoff, B
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):163-173; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Cognitive science has primarily studied the mental simulation of spatial
> transformations with tests that focus on rigid transformations (e.g.,
> mental rotation). However, the events of our world are not limited to
> rigid body movements. Objects can undergo complex non-rigid
> discontinuous and continuous changes, such as bending and breaking. We
> developed a new task to assess mental visualization of non-rigid
> transformations. The Non-rigid Bending test required participants to
> visualize a continuous non-rigid transformation applied to an array of
> objects by asking simple spatial questions about the position of two
> forms on a bent transparent sheet of plastic. Participants were to judge
> the relative position of the forms when the sheet was unbent. To study
> the cognitive skills needed to visualize rigid and non-rigid events, we
> employed four tests of mental transformations-the Non-rigid Bending test
> (a test of continuous non-rigid mental transformation), the Paper
> Folding test and the Mental Brittle Transformation test (two tests of
> non-rigid mental transformation with local rigid transformations), and
> the Vandenberg and Kuse (Percept Motor Skills 47:599-604, 1978) Mental
> Rotation test (a test of rigid mental transformation). Performance on
> the Mental Brittle Transformation test and the Paper Folding test
> independently predicted performance on the Non-rigid Bending test and
> performance on the Mental Rotation test; however, mental rotation
> performance was not a unique predictor of mental bending performance.
> Results are consistent with separable skills for rigid and non-rigid
> mental simulation and illustrate the value of an ecological approach to
> the analysis of the structure of spatial thinking.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 175-187 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500008
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Finding faults: analogical comparison supports spatial concept learning in geoscience
>
> Authors:
> Jee, BD; Uttal, DH; Gentner, D; Manduca, C; Shipley, TF; Sageman, B
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):175-187; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> A central issue in education is how to support the spatial thinking
> involved in learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
> (STEM). We investigated whether and how the cognitive process of
> analogical comparison supports learning of a basic spatial concept in
> geoscience, fault. Because of the high variability in the appearance of
> faults, it may be difficult for students to learn the category-relevant
> spatial structure. There is abundant evidence that comparing analogous
> examples can help students gain insight into important category-defining
> features (Gentner in Cogn Sci 34(5):752-775, 2010). Further, comparing
> high-similarity pairs can be especially effective at revealing key
> differences (Sagi et al. 2012). Across three experiments, we tested
> whether comparison of visually similar contrasting examples would help
> students learn the fault concept. Our main findings were that
> participants performed better at identifying faults when they (1)
> compared contrasting (fault/no fault) cases versus viewing each case
> separately (Experiment 1), (2) compared similar as opposed to dissimilar
> contrasting cases early in learning (Experiment 2), and (3) viewed a
> contrasting pair of schematic block diagrams as opposed to a single
> block diagram of a fault as part of an instructional text (Experiment
> 3). These results suggest that comparison of visually similar
> contrasting cases helped distinguish category-relevant from
> category-irrelevant features for participants. When such comparisons
> occurred early in learning, participants were more likely to form an
> accurate conceptual representation. Thus, analogical comparison of
> images may provide one powerful way to enhance spatial learning in
> geoscience and other STEM disciplines.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 189-191 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500009
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> The spatial thinking of origami: evidence from think-aloud protocols
>
> Authors:
> Taylor, HA; Tenbrink, T
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):189-191; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, involves spatial
> thinking to both interpret and carry out its instructions. As such, it
> has the potential to provide spatial training (Taylor and Hutton under
> review). The present work uses cognitive discourse analysis to reveal
> the spatial thinking involved in origami and to suggest how it may be
> beneficial for spatial training. Analysis of think-aloud data while
> participants folded origami and its relation to gender, spatial ability
> measures, and thinking style suggest that one way that people profit
> from spatial training is through the possibility to verbalize concepts
> needed to solve-related spatial tasks.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 193-195 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500010
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Collaborating in spatial tasks: how partners coordinate their spatial memories and descriptions
>
> Authors:
> Galati, A; Avraamides, MN
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):193-195; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> We summarize findings from a study examining whether the availability of
> the conversational partner's spatial viewpoint influences the speaker's
> spatial memories, description strategies, their joint efficiency and
> accuracy on the task, as well as the partner's resulting spatial
> memories. In 18 pairs, Directors described to a misaligned Matcher
> arrays that they learned while either knowing their Matcher's viewpoint
> or not. Memory tests preceding descriptions revealed that Directors
> represented their Matcher's viewpoint when known in advance. Moreover,
> Directors adapted the perspective of their descriptions according to
> each other's cognitive demands, given their misalignment. The number of
> conversational turns pairs took to coordinate suggested that pairs'
> strategies were effective at minimizing their collective effort.
> Nonetheless, in terms of accuracy on the task, pairs reconstructed more
> distorted arrays the more partner-centered descriptions Directors used.
> The Directors' descriptions also predicted Matchers' facilitation for
> their own perspective in memory tests following the description.
> Together, these findings demonstrate that partners in collaborative
> spatial tasks adapt their respective memory representations and
> descriptions contingently with the aim of optimizing coordination.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 197-199 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500011
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Elimination of sex difference in direction giving
>
> Authors:
> Wan, XA; Newcombe, NS; Fitzhugh, S
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):197-199; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Past studies have shown that men provide more cardinal information and
> mileage estimates than women when describing routes learned from maps.
> In the current study, we examined whether this sex difference would
> persist if more legends were added to the maps. The participants looked
> at maps for 3 min and then wrote down directions from memory. Their
> usage of cardinal directions, mileage estimates, landmarks, and
> left-right directions was coded and analyzed. The results showed that
> men and women used cardinal directions equally for the 4-legend maps,
> whereas men used more cardinal directions than women for 1-legend maps
> as shown previously. Our results suggested that subtly drawing attention
> to cardinal directions successfully eliminated the sex difference in
> usage, although a different pattern was seen for mileage estimates. The
> underlying mechanisms are discussed.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 201-204 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500012
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Explaining sex differences in mental rotation: role of spatial activity experience
>
> Authors:
> Nazareth, A; Herrera, A; Pruden, SM
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):201-204; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Males consistently outperform females on mental rotation tasks, such as
> the Vandenberg and Kuse (1978) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 47(2),
> 599-604, mental rotation test (MRT; e.g. Voyer et al. 1995) in
> Psychological Bulletin, 117, 250-265. The present study investigates
> whether these sex differences in MRT scores can be explained in part by
> early spatial activity experience, particularly those spatial activities
> that have been sex-typed as masculine/male-oriented. Utilizing an online
> survey, 571 ethnically diverse adult university students completed a
> brief demographic survey, an 81-item spatial activity survey, and the
> MRT. Results suggest that the significant relation between sex of the
> participant and MRT score is partially mediated by the number of
> masculine spatial activities participants had engaged in as youth.
> Closing the gap between males and females in spatial ability, a skill
> linked to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics success, may
> be accomplished in part by encouraging female youth to engage in more
> particular kinds of spatial activities.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 205-208 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500013
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Spatial language and the psychological reality of schematization
>
> Authors:
> Holmes, KJ; Wolff, P
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):205-208; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Although the representations underlying spatial language are often
> assumed to be schematic in nature, empirical evidence for a schematic
> format of representation is lacking. In this research, we investigate
> the psychological reality of such a format, using simulated motion
> during scene processing-previously linked to schematization-as a
> diagnostic. One group of participants wrote a verbal description of a
> scene and then completed a change detection task assessing simulated
> motion, while another group completed only the latter task. We expected
> that effects of simulated motion would be stronger following language
> use than not, and specifically following the use of spatial, relative to
> non-spatial, language. Both predictions were supported. Further, the
> effect of language was scene independent, suggesting that language may
> encourage a general mode of schematic construal. The study and its
> findings illustrate a novel approach to examining the perceptual
> properties of mental representations.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 209-211 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500014
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Variable stability of preferences in spatial reasoning
>
> Authors:
> Schultheis, H; Barkowsky, T
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):209-211; MAY 2013
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 213-215 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000318277500015
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Effects of learning from interaction with physical or mediated devices
>
> Authors:
> Flanagan, R
>
> Source:
> *COGNITIVE PROCESSING*, 14 (2):213-215; MAY 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Online learning tools and course materials have not only taken root:
> they are fully established and thriving. However, some wonder whether
> the missing interaction with physical, rather than virtual, tools may be
> undermining the foundation of more abstract spatial and cognitive
> skills. Sixty third-grade (28 male and 32 female) children with a mean
> age of 8.95 years (SD = .56 years) were randomly assigned to practice
> new math skills on a physical wooden Chinese abacus or a virtual Chinese
> abacus, programmed using Hypercard. Later; the children did equally well
> on a paper and pencil recognition test, but the children who had
> practiced with the virtual Chinese abacus were significantly worse at
> building on their knowledge to figure out how to use the abacus for more
> advanced computation than those who had practiced with the wooden
> Chinese abacus. This could have important implications for the early
> development of the foundation of mathematical, spatial, and cognitive
> skills.
>
>
>

BrainBeat Launches Innovative "Brain Training" for Kids - Press Release - Digital Journal

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1273202

Press release story at link above.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure: I am a paid external Research and Science Advisor to Interactive Metronome, the parent company of Brain Beat.

Update: A Fresh Look at How to Enhance Brain & Mental Health


SharpBrains Logo
May 2013 eNewsletter
   
Time for SharpBrains' May e-newsletter. which features a variety of articles offering a more optimistic and evidence-based approach to brain and mental health than current practices.  

ScientificAmericanFirst of all, let us highlight that Scientific American just published an excellent review of our new book. The review author sums it up by saying that "...I wish I had read this awesome guide when I was much younger...I find the emerging field of neuroplasticity immensely exciting, and guides like this one are both hopeful and reasonable." As a reader points out, the word "awesome" does not appear often in science-oriented publications...so we are especially proud to see The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: How to Optimize Brain Health and Performance at Any Age (April 2013; 284 pages) merit such treatment. 
 
New thinking: New science: New tools:
  • Great Kirkus Review: "A stim­u­lat­ing, chal­leng­ing resource, full of solid infor­ma­tion and prac­ti­cal tips for improv­ing brain health."
  • "Reading this book will change the way you think about your brain, and perhaps the way you live." (R. Goodman, 5-star amazon review)  
  • "...help you invest in your own brain and mind...This book, at the very least, will make you wiser." (Julian L. Sevillano, 5-star amazon review)  
  • SharpBrains Guide "...this book is mandatory reading for the entire staff... an inspirational and educational goldmine." (Martin J. Pazzani, 5-star amazon review)  
  • "...straightforward and easy to understand for the person who hasn't been immersed in the study of neuroscience...tells exactly what a person can do to keep the brain healthy." (May Lou Hely, 5-star amazon review)
  • "You can read the book from front to back, from back to front, in chunks or paragraphs, use it as an encyclopedia...or use it as a very sophisticated self-help book that's solid and accurate, with no fluff or filler." (Judith C. Tingley, 5-star amazon review)
  
That's it for now. Have a stimulating June!
 
 
-- The SharpBrains Team
 
 
This email was sent to iapsych@charter.net by afernandez@sharpbrains.com |  
SharpBrains | 660 4th Street, Suite 205 | San Francisco | CA | 94107

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Article alert: Investigation of the link between higher order cognitive functions and handedne..., Beratis, Ion N. et. al

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13803395.2013.778231

Article alert: A Rhythmic Musical Intervention for Poor Readers: A Comparison of Efficacy With..., Bhide, Adeetee et. al

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/mbe.12016

Article alert: Ten Years of Research: A Systematic Review of Three Refereed LD Journals, McFarland, Laura et. al

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/ldrp.12007

Article alert: Cognitive predictors of rapid picture naming, Decker, Scott L.; Roberts, Alycia M.; Englund, Julia A.

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1041608013000459

Article alert: Are Cross-National Differences in IQ Profiles Stable? A Comparison of Finnish a..., Roivainen, Eka

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15305058.2012.657315

Alert alert :The Impact of APA and AERA Guidelines on Effect Size Reporting, Peng, Chao-Ying Joanne et. al

http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10648-013-9218-2

The Structural Consistency of a Six-Factor Model of Academic Self-Concept Among..., Ockey, G. J. et. al

http://jpa.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/0734282912462080

"Intelligent" test interpretation - We are the instrument

A quote that has often  been attributed to me, based on some comments I made on a Listserv many years ago and on a  slide I often use when presenting at workshops is...."we are the instrument"...with re: to the art and science of "intelligent" intelligence testing and interpretation by psychologists. It reminded me of a quote that captures a good portion of the variance of my "we are the instrument" mantra. It is reproduced below. The source is also listed.

Meyer et al. (2001). Psychological testing and psychological assessment. American Psychologist, February
  • "Tests do not think for themselves, nor do they directly communicate with patients. Like a stethoscope, a blood pressure gauge, or an MRI scan, a psychological test is a dumb tool, and the worth of the tool cannot be separated from the sophistication of the clinician who draws inferences from it and then communicates with patients and professionals”

Article: 12 Great New iPad Learning Apps for your Kids ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning


12 Great New iPad Learning Apps for your Kids ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/02/12-great-new-ipad-learning-apps-for.html?cid=dlvr.it

Shared from #apps on Flipboard. Download Flipboard for free here.



Article: 10 Best Math Apps for Kids


10 Best Math Apps for Kids
http://www.parents.com/kids/education/math-and-science/best-math-apps-for-kids/

Shared from #apps on Flipboard. Download Flipboard for free here.





Friday, May 24, 2013

Article: A new iOS game looks to kickstart neuroscience education




A useful taxonomy for classifying Gf tests: Oliver Wilhelm chapter

This is a post made early in the history of this blog.  Still relevant and important.

In a prior post I summarized a taxonomic lens for analyzing performance on figural/spatial matrix measures of fluid intelligence (Gf). Since then I have had the opportunity to read “Measuring Reasoning Ability” by Oliver Wilhelm (see early blog post on recommended books to read – this chapter is part of the Handbook of Understanding and Measuring Intelligence by Wilhelm and Engle). Below are a few select highlights.

The need for a more systematic framework for understanding Gf measures

As noted by Wilhelm, “there is certainly no lack of reasoning measures” (p. 379). Furthermore, as I learned when classifying tests as per CHC theory with Dr. Dawn Flanagan, the classificaiton of Gf tests as measures of general sequential (deductive) reasoning (RG) inductive reasoning (I), and quantitative reasoning (QR) is very difficult. Kyllonen and Christal’s 1990 statement (presented in the Wilhelm chapter) that the “development of good tests of reasoning ability has been almost an art form, owing more to empirical trial-and-error than to systematic delineation of the requirements which such tests must satisfy” (p.446 in Kyllonen and Christal; p. 379 in Wilhelm). It thus follows that the logical classification of Gf tests is often difficult…or, as we used to say when I was in high school..”no sh____ batman!!!!”

As a result, “scientists and practitioners are left with little advice from test authors as to why a specific test has the form it has. It is easy to find two reasoning tests that are said to measure the same ability but that are vastly different in terms of their features, attributes, and requirements” (p. 379).

Wilhelm’s system for formally classifying reasoning measures

Wilhelm articulates four aspects to consider in the classification of reasoning measures. These are:
  • Formal operation task requirements – this is what most CHC assessment professionals have been encouraged to examine via the CHC lens. Is a test a measure of RG, I, RQ, or a mixture of more than one narrow ability?
  • Content of tasks – this is where Wilhelm’s research group has made one of its many significant contributations during the past decade. Wilhelm et al. have reminded us that just because the Rubik’s cube model of intelligence (Guilford’s SOI model) was found seriously wanting, the analyses of intelligence tests by operation (see above) and content facets is theoretically and empirically sound. I fear that many psychologists, having been burned by the unfulfilled promise of the SOI interpretative framework, have often thrown out the content facet with the SOI bath water. There is clear evidence (see my prior post that presents evidence for content facets based on the analysis of 50 CHC designed measures via a Carroll analyses of the data) that most psychometric tests can be meaningfully classified as per stimulus content – figural, verbal, and quantitative.
  • The instantiation of the reasoning tasks/problems – what is the formal underlying structure of the reasoning tasks? Space does not allow a detailed treatment here, but Wilhelm provides a flavor of this feature when he suggests that one must go through a “decision tree” to ascertain if the problems are concrete vs. abstract. Following the abstract branch, further differentiation might occur vis-à-vis the distinction of “nonsense” vs. “variable” instantiation. Following the concrete branch decision tree, reasoning problem instantiation can be differentiated as to whether they require prior knowledge or not. And so on.
    • As noted by Wilhelm, “it is well established that the form of the instantiation has substantial effects on the difficulty of structurally identical reasoning tasks” (p. 380).
  • Vulnerability of task to reasoning ‘strategies” – all good clinicians know, and have seen, that certain examinees often change the underlying nature of a psychometric task via the deployment of unique metacognitive/learning strategies. I often call this the “expansion of a tests specificity by the examinee.” According to Wilhelm, “if a subgroup of participants chooses a different approach to work on a given test, the consequence is that the test is measuring different abilities for different subgroups…depending on which strategy is chosen, different items are easy and hard, respectively” (p, 381). Unfortunately, research-based protocols for ascertaining which strategies are used during reasoning task performance are more-or-less non-existent.

Ok…that’s enough for this blog post. Readers are encouraged to chew on this taxonomic framework. I do plan (but don’t hold me to the promise…it is a benefit of being the benevolent blog dictator) to summarize additional information from this excellent chapter. Whilhelm’s taxonomy has obvious implications for those who engage in test development. Wilhelm’s framework suggests a structure from which to systematically design/specify Gf tests as per the four dimensions.

On the flip side (applied practice), Whilhelm’s work suggests that our understanding of the abilities measured by existing Gf tests might be facilitated via the classification of different Gf tests as per these dimensions. Work on the “operation” characteristic has been going strong since the mid 1990’s as per the CHC narrow ability classification of tests.

Might not a better understanding of Gf measures emerge if those leading the pack on how to best interpret intelligence tests add (to the CHC operation classifications of Gf tests) the analysis of tests as per the content and instantiation dimensions, as well as identifying the different types of cognitive strategies that might be elicited by different Gf tests by different individuals?

I smell a number of nicely focused and potentially important doctoral dissertations based on the administration of a large collection of available practical Gf measures (e.g., Gf tests from WJ III, KAIT, Wechslers, DAS, CAS, SB5, Ravens, and other prominent “nonverbal” Gf measures) to a decent sample, followed by exploratory and/or confirmatory factor analyses and multidimensional scaling (MDS). Heck….doesn’t someone out there have access to that ubiquitous pool of psychology experiment subjects --- viz., undergraduates in introductory psychology classes? This would be a good place to start.


On Serendipity in Science: Recommended book


A number of years ago I  read Merton ("On the shoulders of giants") and Barber's (2004) The travels and adventures of serendipity. Not an easy read, but a very insightful book that deals with the origins of the word "serendipity"......something that is often present in significant scientific discovers. Below is my favorite quote from the book.

I recommend this book to blogsters who have a historical interest in the development of ideas, words, and "happy accidents" in scientific discovers.

  • "Many a scientific adventurer sails the uncharted seas and sets his course for a certain objectives only to find unknown land and unsuspected ports in strange parts. To reach such harbors, he must ship and sail, do and dare; he must quest and question. These chance discoveries are called “accidental” but there is nothing fortuitous about them, for laggards drift by a haven that may be a heaven. They pass by ports of opportunity. Only the determined sailor, who is not afraid to seek, to work, to try, who is inquisitive and alert to find, will come back to his home port with discovery in his cargo" (p.177)

Quote to note: Measurement


"Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so"
  • Gottlob Frege (1848 - 1925) Quoted in H. Wey, "Mathematics and the Laws of Nature" in Gordon and S. Sorkin (eds.) The Armchair Science Reader, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959