Saturday, July 02, 2022

Can a Neandertal meditate? An evolutionary view of attention as a core component of general intelligence - ScienceDirect

 Can a Neandertal meditate? An evolutionary view of attention as a core component of general intelligence - ScienceDirect 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289622000496

Interesting speculations, particularly (IMHO) the role of attention in intelligence, which is related to contemporary research that has suggested that attentional control (Gwm-AC) may be one of the most central causal mechanisms of intelligence.

Attention might be considered a key component of intelligence, and its cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms probably underwent profound changes in the course of human evolution. Attention can be conceived as a "limiting factor" for general intelligence (g), as the ability to maintain a selective coordination of specific cognitive processes through time regardless of conflicting stimuli. In this perspective review, we consider the paleontological and archaeological evidence that may supply information on the evolution of the attention system in the human genus. In terms of anatomy, the paleoneurological record suggests that the parietal cortex experienced a relative enlargement in Neandertals and, most prominently, in modern humans. These anatomical variations match cultural changes associated with technological and social complexity. Inferences in cognitive archaeology indicate that Homo sapiens is also specialized for working memory and visuospatial integration, when compared with extinct human taxa. These features are likely associated with changes in the attention system, and in cognitive processes dealing with meta-awareness, conscious control of mind wandering, resistance to distractors, and management of emotional clues. Although these inferences are inevitably speculative, they might stimulate a comprehensive interpretation of the technological and social behaviours associated with the evolution of the human genus, bridging together psychology and evolutionary anthropology.

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Kevin S. McGrew, PhD
Educational & School Psychologist
Director
Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP)
https://www.themindhub.com
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Friday, July 01, 2022

Numerosity sense correlates with fluent mathematical abilities - ScienceDirect

 Numerosity sense correlates with fluent mathematical abilities - ScienceDirect 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691822001706?via%3Dihub

Abstract
Although a great deal of research has shown a relationship between numerosity sense and mathematical ability, some studies have failed to do so. The main source of this inconsistency could be the varied ways of measuring mathematical abilities. The current investigation explored several types of mathematical ability, from basic number processing and arithmetic computation to numerical reasoning and arithmetic learning. We hypothesized that the correlation between numerosity sense and mathematical ability depends on mathematical fluency. A total of 415 college students (178 males and 237 females, mean age = 20.42 years, range = 18.58–22.92 years) were recruited to complete seven mathematical tasks and two numerosity tasks, as well as other tasks that measured cognitive covariates. The results showed that after controlling for age, gender, and related general cognitive factors, numerosity sense still predicted substantial variation in parity judgment, visual digit comparison, and computation, but it did not predict variation in numerosity estimation, auditory digit comparison, number series completion, or digit associate learning. The results suggest that numerosity sense correlates with mathematical abilities that accompany fluency.

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Kevin S. McGrew, PhD
Educational & School Psychologist
Director
Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP)
https://www.themindhub.com
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