Research Byte: Development of #Arithmetic Across the #Lifespan: A Registered Report. - #Gq #CHC #Gwm #EF #Gs #schoolpsychology #SPED #SLD

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Development of Arithmetic Across the Lifespan: A Registered Report.  

Open access paper available at Developmental Psychology journal.  Click here to access

Abstract

 

Arithmetic skills are needed at any age. In everyday life, children to older adults calculate and deal with numbers. The processes underlying arithmetic seem to change with age. From childhood to younger adulthood, children get better in domain-specific numerical skills such as place-value processing. From younger to older adulthood, domain-general cognitive skills such as working memory decline. These skills are needed for complex arithmetic such as addition with carrying and subtraction with borrowing. This study investigates how the domain-specific (number magnitude, place-value processing) and domain-general (working memory, processing speed, inhibition) processes of arithmetic change across the lifespan. Thereby, arithmetic effects (carry and borrow effects), numerical effects (distance and compatibility effects), and cognitive skills were assessed in children, younger and older adolescents, and younger, middle-aged and older adults. The results showed that numerical and arithmetic skills improve from childhood to young adulthood and remain relatively stable throughout adulthood, even though domain-general pro-cesses, particularly working memory and processing speed, decline with age. While number magnitude and place-value processing both develop until adulthood, number magnitude processing shows deficits during aging, whereas place-value processing remains intact even in old age. The carry effect shifts from a categorical all-or-none decision (whether or not a carry operation is needed) to a more continuous magnitude process in adulthood, reflecting increasing reliance on domain-specific skills. In contrast, the borrow effect remains largely categorical across all age groups, depending on general cognitive processes. These results provide critical insights into how arithmetic skills change over the lifespan, relying on both domain-specific and domain-general processes.

Public Significance Statement 

Numerical and arithmetic skills improve significantly during school and are mostly preserved throughout adulthood—despite a decline in cognitive skills such as working memory and processing speed during aging. When facing complex arithmetic, all—from children up to older adults—need longer to calculate, but lifelong experience helps in dealing with arithmetic complexity. Throughout the lifespan, arithmetic requires both cognitive skills as well as numeric skills.

Research Byte: Age-related change in #inhibitory processes when controlling for #workingmemory (#Gwm) capacity and #processingspeed (#Gs) - #cognition #intelligence #CHC #executivefunctions #Gwm #Gs #schoolpsychology

 

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This is a nice study/paper.  And it is open access and can be downloaded for reading by clicking here.

I recommend reading, if not the entire article, at least the introductory lit review.  The introductory lit review is worth a read if one wants to understand the basic literature re the definition, theories, and research regarding the relations between cognitive inhibition, working memory capacity (Gwm), and processing speed (Gs) in a developmental context.  

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine the age-related changes in inhibitory control of 450 children at the ages of 7–8, 11–12, and 14–16 when controlling for working memory capacity (WMC) and processing speed to determine whether inhibition is an independent factor far beyond its possible reliance on the other two factors. This examination is important for several reasons. First, empirical evidence about age-related changes of inhibitory control is controversial. Second, there are no studies that explore the organization of inhibitory functions by controlling for the influence of processing speed and WMC in these age groups. Third, the construct of inhibition has been questioned in recent research. Multigroup confirmatory analyses suggested that inhibition can be organized as a one-dimension factor in which processing speed and WMC modulate the variability of some inhibition tasks. The partial reliance of inhibitory processes on processing speed and WMC demonstrates that the inhibition factor partially explains the variance of inhibitory tasks even when WMC and processing speed are controlled and some methodological concerns are addressed.

“Be and see” the #WISC-V correlation matrix: Unpublished analyses of the WISC-V #intelligence test

 I often “play around” with data sets until I satisfy my curiosity…and never submit the results for publication.  These WISC-V analyses were completed 3+ years ago.  I stumbled upon the folder today and decided to simply post the information for assessment professionals interested in the WISC-V.  These results have not been peer-reviewed.  One must know the WISC-V subtest names to decipher the test abbreviations in some of the figures.  

This is a Gv (visual; 8 slides) summary a set of exploratory structural analyses I completed with the WISC-V summary correlation matrix (Table 5.1 in WISC-V manual). View and enjoy. 

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More support for the Gs—>Gwm—>—Gf/ Gc developmental cascade model as per CHC taxonomy

 More support for the developmental cascade model

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289620300817?via%3Dihub

Speed of processing, control of processing, working memory and crystallized and fluid intelligence: Evidence for a developmental cascade 

Anna Tourva, George Spanoudis

 

Keywords: Fluid intelligence Crystallized intelligence Working memory Speed of processing Executive attention Developmental-cascade model 

A B S T R A C T  

The present study investigated the causal relations among age, speed of processing, control of processing, working memory and intelligence, fluid and crystallized. 158 participants aged from 7 to 18 years old completed a large battery of tests measuring latent factors of speed, control of processing and working memory. Intelligence was assessed using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. Structural equation modeling was performed to determine whether there is a cognitive-developmental cascade in which age-related increases in processing speed lead to improvements in control of processing that leads to increases in working memory, and whether improved working memory, in turn, leads to increases in both fluid and crystallized intelligence. Several alternative models of a different cascade order of the above factors were also tested. The results of the present study provide evidence of a cognitive-developmental cascade, confirming that this model describes cognitive development during childhood and adolescence.  

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CHC theory update: Significant changes to the narrow Gs abilities

See my chapter with Joel Schneider for discussion.

******************************************************

Kevin McGrew, PhD

Educational Psychologist

Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics

IAP

www.themindhub.com

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Using Gt distribution parameters to predict executive functions in AHDH: Study consistent with Schneider & McGrew 2018 CHC update chapter

Interesting article consistent with what Joel Schneider and I discussed in our latest CHC Intelligence theory update chapter. Click here for info.

Using inspection time and ex-Gaussian parameters of reaction time to predict executive functions in children with ADHD. Intelligence, 69 (2018) 186–194.

Hilary Galloway-Long, Cynthia Huang-Pollock


A B S T R A C T

Slower and more variable performance in speeded reaction time tasks is a prominent cognitive signature among children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and is often also negatively associated with executive functioning ability. In the current study, we utilize a visual inspection time task and an ex-Gaussian decomposition of the reaction time data from the same task to better understand which of several cognitive subprocesses (i.e., perceptual encoding, decision-making, or fine-motor output) may be responsible for these important relationships. Consistent with previous research, children with ADHD (n = 190; 68 girls) had longer/ slower SD and tau than non-ADHD peers (n = 76; 42 girls), but there were no group differences in inspection time, mu, or sigma. Smaller mu, greater sigma, longer tau, and slower inspection time together predicted worse performance on a latent executive function factor, but only tau partially mediated the relationship between ADHD symptomology and EF. These results suggest that the speed of information accumulation during the decision-making process may be an important mechanism that explains ADHD-related deficits in executive control.

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Assessment Recommendations for Gt (from Schneider & McGrew, 2018)

To be published shortly in:




Tasks measuring Gt are not typically used in clinical settings (except perhaps in CPTs). With the increasing use of low-cost mobile computing devices (i.e., smartphones and iPads/other slate notebook computers), we predict that practical measures of Gt will soon be available for clinical use. Some potential clinical applications are already apparent. We present three examples.

Gregory, Nettelbeck, and Wilson (2009) demonstrated that initial level of and rate of changes in inspection time might serve as an important biomarker of aging. Briefly, a biomarker for the aging process “is a biological parameter, like blood pressure or visual acuity that measures a basic biological process of ageing and predicts later functional capabilities more effectively than can chronological age . . . a valid biomarker should predict a range of important age-related outcomes including cognitive functioning, everyday independence and mortality, in that order of salience” (p. 999). In a small sample of elderly individuals, initial inspection time level and rate of slowing (over repeated testing) was related to cognitive functioning and everyday competence. Repeated, relatively low-cost assessment of adults' inspection times might serve a useful function in cognitive aging research and serve as a routine measure (much like blood pressure) to detect possible early signs of cognitive decline.

Researchers have demonstrated how to harness the typical non-normal distributions of RT as a potential aid in diagnosis of certain clinical disorders. Most RT response distributions are not normally distributed in the classic sense. They are virtually always positively skewed, with most RTs falling at the faster end of the distribution. These distributions are called ex-Gaussian, which is a mathematical combination of Gaussian and exponential distributions. It can be characterized by the mean (m), the standard deviation (s),and an exponential function (t) that reflects the mean and standard deviation exponential component (Balota & Yap, 2011). (Don't worry; one does not need to under-stand this statistics-as-a-second-language brief description to appreciate the potential application.) The important finding is that “individuals carry with them their own characteristic RT distributions that are relatively stable over time” (p. 162). Thus, given the ease an efficiency with which RT tests could be repeatedly administered to individu-als (via smart devices and portable computers), it would be possible to readily obtain each person's RT distribution signature. Of most importance is the finding that all three RT distribution parameters are relatively stable, and t is very stable (e.g., test–retest correlations in the high .80s to low .90s). Furthermore, there is a robust relation between t and working memory performance that is consistent with the worst-performance rule (WPR) discovered in the intelligence literature. The WPR states that on repeated trial testing on cognitive tasks, the trials where a person does poorest (worst) are better predictors of intelligence than the best-performance trials (Coyle, 2003). It has been demonstrated, in keeping with the WPR, that the portion of each person's RT distribution representing the slowest RTs is strongly related to fluid intelligence and working memory.

In the not-too-distant future, assessment personal armed with portable smart devices or computers could test an individual repeatedly over time with RT paradigms. Then, via magical software or app algorithms, a person's RT distribution signature could be obtained (and compared against the normative distribution) to gain insights into the person's general intelligence, Gf, or working memory over time. This could have im-portant applications in monitoring of age-related cognitive changes, responses to medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or other disorders, the effectiveness of brain fitness programs, and so forth. Finally, using the same general RT paradigms and metrics, research has indicated that it may be possible to differentiate children with ADHD from typically developing children (Kofler et al., 2013) and children with ADHD from those with dyslexia (Gooch, Snowling, & Hulme, 2012), based on the RT variability—not the mean level of performance. It is also possible that RT variability might simply be a general marker for a number of underlying neurocognitive disorders.

We have the technology. We have the capability to build portable, low-cost assessment technology based on Gt assessment paradigms. With more efficient and better assessments than before, build it . . . and they (assessment professionals) will come.


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Practice effects and progressive error practice effects on speeded tests

Journal of Intelligence

Response Time Reduction Due to Retesting in Mental Speed Tests: A Meta-Analysis (article link)

Jana Scharfen, Diego Blum and Heinz Holling


Abstract

As retest effects in cognitive ability tests have been investigated by various primary and meta-analytic studies, most studies from this area focus on score gains as a result of retesting. To the best of our knowledge, no meta-analytic study has been reported that provides sizable estimates of response time (RT) reductions due to retesting. This multilevel meta-analysis focuses on mental speed tasks, for which outcome measures often consist of RTs. The size of RT reduction due to retesting in mental speed tasks for up to four test administrations was analyzed based on 36 studies including 49 samples and 212 outcomes for a total sample size of 21,810. Significant RT reductions were found, which increased with the number of test administrations, without reaching a plateau. Larger RT reductions were observed in more complex mental speed tasks compared to simple ones, whereas age and test-retest interval mostly did not moderate the size of the effect. Although a high heterogeneity of effects exists, retest effects were shown to occur for mental speed tasks regarding RT outcomes and should thus be more thoroughly accounted for in applied and research settings.

Keywords: meta-analysis; mental speed; processing speed; retest effect; practice effect; response time; reaction time; automatization


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Speed and the Flynn effect research study

Speed and the Flynn Effect (article link)

Olev Must and Aasa Must


Keywords: Flynn Effect NIT Speed Tork Estonia

A B S T R A C T

We investigated the role of test-taking speed on the Flynn Effect (FE). Our study compared two cohorts of Estonian students (1933/36, n = 888; 2006, n = 912) using 9 subtests from the Estonian adaptation of the National Intelligence Tests (NIT). The speededness of the items and the subtests was found by determining the proportion of unreached items from among the total number of errors (Stafford, 1971). The test-taking speed of the younger cohort was higher in all 9 of the subtests. This suggests that the younger cohort is able to solve more items than the older one. The lack of measurement invariance at the item and subtest level was quantitatively estimated using a method proposed by Dimitrov (2017). The test-taking speed and the non-invariance of the items was strongly, yet inversely correlated (up to - 0.89). The subtests versions that consisted of only invariant items showed no, or a small positive, FE. The subtest versions consisting of only speeded items showed a large positive FE, with cohort differences of up to 50%. If the requirement of measurement invariance is ignored then this effect becomes apparent. The rise in test-taking speed between cohorts can be attributed to an increase in automated responses, which is an outgrowth of modern education (differences in the mandatory age of school attendance, and in the student's readiness to solve abstract items also affected the test-taking speed of the cohorts). We were able to conclude that the younger cohort is faster than the older one.


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CHC theory evolution: Processing speed-Gs

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Research Byte: The relations between CHC cognitive abilities and aspects of social support

Which aspects of social support are associated with which cognitive abilities for which people?

Article in The Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences · January 2016 with 12 Reads

Impact Factor: 3.21 · DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbv119

Abstract

Objectives.
To assess the relations between 11 aspects of social support and five cognitive abilities (vocabulary, reasoning, spatial visualization, memory, and speed of processing) and to determine whether these relations between social support and cognition are moderated by age or sex.

Method.
A sample of 2,613 individuals between the ages of 18 and 99 years completed a battery of cognitive tests and a questionnaire assessing aspects of social support. A measure of general intelligence was computed using principal components analysis. Multiple regressions were used to evaluate whether each aspect of support and/or its interactions with age or sex predicted each cognitive ability and g.

Results.
Several aspects of social support were significantly related to all five cognitive abilities and to g. When g was included as a predictor, there were few relations with specific cognitive abilities. Age and sex did not moderate any of the relations.

Discussion.
These results suggest that contact with family and friends, emotional and informational support, anticipated support, and negative interactions are related to cognition, whereas satisfaction with and tangible support were not. In addition, these aspects of support were primarily related to g, with the exception of family contact. Social support– cognition relations are comparable across the life span and the sexes.

Research byte: Working memory (Gwm), Gs (processing speed), fluid intelligence (Gf) and ADHD

Working memory – not processing speed – mediates fluid intelligence deficits associated with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms

1. Christopher R. Brydges^1,2,*,
2. Krista L. Ozolnieks¹ and
3. Gareth Roberts¹

Article first published online: 31 DEC 2015

DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12096

© 2015 The British Psychological Society

Issue

Journal of Neuropsychology

Keywords:

• attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder;
• fluid intelligence;
• working memory;
• processing speed

Abstract

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a psychological condition characterized by inattention and hyperactivity. Cognitive deficits are commonly observed in ADHD patients, including impaired working memory, processing speed, and fluid intelligence, the three of which are theorized to be closely associated with one another. In this study, we aimed to determine if decreased fluid intelligence was associated with ADHD, and was mediated by deficits in working memory and processing speed. This study tested 142 young adults from the general population on a range of working memory, processing speed, and fluid intelligence tasks, and an ADHD self-report symptoms questionnaire. Results showed that total and hyperactive ADHD symptoms correlated significantly and negatively with fluid intelligence, but this association was fully mediated by working memory. However, inattentive symptoms were not associated with fluid intelligence. Additionally, processing speed was not associated with ADHD symptoms at all, and was not uniquely predictive of fluid intelligence. The results provide implications for working memory training programs for ADHD patients, and highlight potential differences between the neuropsychological profiles of ADHD subtypes.

More research support for the P-FIT neuro-model of intelligence (Gf and Gwm)

Another study, with an excellent integration of other research, supporting the parietal-frontal integration (P-FIT) neuro-model of intelligence, specifically the networks involvement in fluid reasoning (Gf) and working memory capacity (Gwm), but not Gs.  Click here for prior P-FIT related posts.  The amount of research providing some support for the P-FIT model can not be ignored.

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Temporal g and the temporal resoultion hypotheses support brain clock concept: An OBG post

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[This is an OBG post (oldie but goodie post) that was first posted June 29, 2009 at IQs Corner sister blog - the Brain Clock blog]

I've previously blogged, with considerable excitement, about recent research that has suggested that the temporal resolution of one's internal "brain clock" may be more closely associated with intelligence scholars search for the neural underpinnings of general intelligence (g). Traditionally, and overwhelmingly, intelligence scholars have studied and focused on mental reaction time, largely based on the seminal work of Arthur Jensen. Then, along came recent research led primarily by mental timing scholar Rammsayer and colleagues...research that suggested that temporal g (vs. reaction time g) may be more important in attempts to identify the underlying mechanism of neural efficiency.. the focus of the search for the "holy grail" of general intelligence for decades.

The following just published journal article continues to add to the evidence that temporal processing, temporal g, and/or temporal resolution, may be critically important in understanding human intellectual performance. Below is the article reference, abstract, and my paraphrased comments from a reading of the article.

• Troche, S. & Rammsayer, T. (2009). Temporal and non-temporal sensory discrimination and their predictions of capacity-and speed-related aspects of psychometric intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences,47, 52–57

Abstract

The temporal resolution power hypothesis explains individual differences in psychometric intelligence in terms of temporal acuity of the brain. This approach was supported by high correlations between temporal discrimination and psychometric intelligence. Psychometric intelligence, however, was frequently found to be related to non-temporal discrimination (e.g., frequency, intensity, brightness discrimination). The present study investigated 100 female and 100 male participants with the aim to elucidate the functional relations between psychometric intelligence and temporal and non-temporal discrimination ability. Supporting the assumption of dissociable mechanisms, non-temporal discrimination predicted directly capacity – but not speed-related aspects of psychometric intelligence whereas temporal discrimination predicted both aspects. A substantial correlation between temporal and non-temporal discrimination suggested that general discrimination ability might account for the relations of psychometric intelligence to temporal and non-temporal discrimination abilities. Findings point to an internal structure of general discrimination ability with some dimensions of discrimination more predictive to certain aspects of psychometric intelligence than others.

Introduction/background summary

The neural efficiency hypothesis, based on Jensen's model of neuronal oscillations, has stood front and center as the defacto explanation of individual differences in processing speed and psychometric intelligence. This model suggests that individuals differ in the rate of rate of oscillation between refractory and excitatory states of neurons. The efficiency of oscillation rate, in turn, determines the speed/efficiency of transmission of neurally encoded information. The bottom line is that individuals with higher neural oscillate rates are believed to process information more efficiently, which leads to better intellectual performance.

In contrast, according to the articles authors, the more recent "temporal resolution power (TRP) hypothesis also refers to a hypothetical oscillatory process in the brain to account for the relationship between efficiency and speed of information processing as well as psychometric intelligence (Rammsayer & Brandler, 2002, 2007). According to this view, higher neural temporal resolution leads to faster information processing and to better coordination of mental operations resulting in better performance on intelligence tests. Rammsayer and Brandler (2002) proposed that psychophysical timing tasks, assessing temporal sensitivity and timing accuracy, are the most direct behavioral measures of TRP. The TRP hypothesis has been supported by subsequent studies which found substantial correlations between psychometric intelligence and timing performance (Helmbold, Troche, & Rammsayer, 2006, 2007; Rammsayer &  Brandler, 2007)." Most of these studies have been described previously at the IQ Brain Clock blog under the label temporal g.

An important issue for the TRP hypothesis to address is the fact that the most frequently used mental timing tasks also imply some form of simple sensory discrimination (together with the timing component). In order for the TRP hypothesis to have merit, the model must address (explain) the established relation between sensory discrimination and psychometric (tested) intelligence not only for the temporal domain but also for other non-temporal sensory dimensions. As summarized by the author, "associations with psychometric intelligence were shown for color (r = .08 to r = .32; Acton & Schroeder, 2001), pitch (r = .42 to r = .54; Raz, Willerman, & Yama, 1987), or texture and shape in the tactile modality (r = .08 to r = .29; Stankov, Seizova-Cajic´, & Roberts, 2001)."

Purpose of study

The purpose of the current study was to disentangle the relations between temporal processing and sensory discrimination via the evaluation and testing of two different structural models. As described by the authors, "the first model expanded the investigation of Helmbold et al. (2006) to the level of latent variables by factorizing various non-temporal and temporal discrimination tasks. It is assumed that temporal and non-temporal discrimination abilities predict psychometric intelligence as two disocciable factors which, however, can be related to each other. The TRP hypothesis postulates that TRP affects both capacity- and speed-related aspects of psychometric intelligence (Helmbold & Rammsayer, 2006)."

Alternatively "Model 2 proceeds from Spearman’s (1904) assumption that a general discrimination ability predicts psychometric intelligence. In accordance with this view, temporal discrimination constitutes a factor indicsociable from non-temporal discrimination. In other words, temporal and non-temporal discrimination tasks build a common factor referred to as GDA."

Method summary

The subjects were 100 male and 100 female volunteers (18 to 30 years of age; mean ± SD = 22.2 ± 3.3 years). The sample comprised 93 university students, 89 vocational school students and apprentices, while the remaining participants were working individuals of different professions. All participants reported normal hearing and normal or corrected-to-normal sight. The authors employed structural equation modeling (SEM) methods to evaluate and compare the two models.

Capacity and speed components of psychometric IQ (g) were measured with 12 subtests of the Berlin model of intelligence structure (BIS) test (Jäger, Süß & Beauducel, 1997). Four temporal (temporal generalization, duration, temporal-order judgment, rhythm perception) and three non-temporal sensory discrimination tasks (pitch discrimination, intensity discrimination, rightness discrimination) were used to operationally define temporal processing and sensory discrimination, respectively.


Conclusions/discussion summary (emphasis added by blogmaster)

Evaluation and comparison of the two models suggested the following conclusions (as per the authors)

• The relation between non-temporal discrimination and speed was completely mediated by temporal discrimination. The association between temporal discrimination and capacity was twofold. There was a weak but reliable direct association as well as a stronger indirect relation mediated by non-temporal discrimination.

• Although Model 1 revealed a high correlation between temporal and non-temporal discrimination, the different relations of temporal and non-temporal discrimination to speed and capacity suggest that the two factors are disocciable. Our finding of a strong correlational link between temporal discrimination ability and psychometric intelligence is in line with the outcome of previous studies investigating the TRP hypothesis...according to this account, higher TRP entails increased speed and efficiency of information processing resulting in higher scores on both speed- and capacity-related intelligence tests. Thus, our finding that Model 1 fitted the data well is in line with the TRP hypothesis.

• The present results corroborate Helmbold and Rammsayer’s (2006) finding of a stronger relationship between temporal discrimination ability and capacity compared to speed. On the contrary, shared variance with non-temporal discrimination accounted for the association between capacity and temporal discrimination whereas the direct link between temporal discrimination and capacity was rather weak. Thus, the strong relation between TRP and psychometric intelligence is probably due to the fact that TRP, when measured as a factor derived from temporal discrimination tasks, taps both temporal and unspecific discrimination abilities. From this perspective, time-related aspects of TRP may account for the association to speed whereas rather unspecific discrimination-related aspects mainly account for the association with capacity.

• The more parsimonious Model 2 should be preferred over Model 1. Model 2 suggests that temporal and non-temporal discrimination tasks constitute a common factor of unspecific, general discrimination performance referred to as GDA. The close association between this factor and psychometric intelligence is supported by the outcome of previous studies.

• The finding, that both temporal and non-temporal discrimination share a common source, supports the notion that general discrimination ability is somehow associated with higher-order mental ability.

• The finding of a close association between GDA and psychometric intelligence suggests, that already at a very early sensory stage of information processing, higher neural efficiency can be observed as a correlate of psychometric intelligence

• The high correlations between GDA and speed- as well as capacity-related aspects of psychometric intelligence, as revealed by Model 2, emphasize the importance of sensory performance as a correlate of higher-order mental ability. Nevertheless, differential relations between temporal and non-temporal discrimination and aspects of psychometric intelligence, as suggested by Model 1, may help to elucidate the internal structure of GDA. This is, certain sensory processes appear to be more predictive for certain aspects of psychometric intelligence than others. Such a conclusion is in line with the results of Stankov et al. (2001) who reported differential relations between cognitive abilities and aspects of tactile and kinesthetic perceptual processing. In the face of the available data, mapping of differential relationships between distinct sensory performances and components of psychometric intelligence represent a promising strategy to further explore the significance of sensory processes for human mental abilities.

Bottom line: This study continues to support the importance of temporal g, temporal processing, or the TRP hypothesis in explaining neural efficiency, which in turn is believed to play a major role in facilitating better (higher) intellectual performance. Understanding the intenral IQ Brain Clock, and interventions/treatments that may help "fine tune" the brain clock (increase its timing resolution), appears an important avenue to pursue both for theoretical and applied (cognitive enhancement interventions) research. To pat myself on the back, I've previously summarized the potential link between increased resolution of the brain clock and higher cognitive functioning in prior professional presentations (click here to visit a SlideShare PPT show)

Technorati Tags: psychology, education, educational psychology, school psychology, neuroscience, neuropsychology, neurotechnology, Arthur Jensen, g, general intelligence, psychometric intelligence, temporal processing, temporal g, temporal resolution hypothesis, brain clock, IQ Brain Clock, sensory discrimination

Pilot study for measure of auditory processing speed

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Research Byte: Strong working memory (WM)--fluid intelligence (Gf) relationship not due to time allowed on both sets of tasks

Very good article that does not support Chuderski's research that had suggested a relationship between time on task (not the same as cognitive processing speed-Gs) and fluid reasoning or working memory. The current study reinforces the very high (but not 1.0) effect size from working memory to Gf. However, how much time an individual (at least for young adults) spends on working memory or fluid tasks does not explain the strong WM--Gf relation. Generalization to children and the elderly cannot be made without further research.

What I find particularly interesting is the authors hypothesis that one possible general mechanism explanation for the WM-->Gf link is temporal based processing of information. This is consistent with the temporal power resolution hypotheses (or temporal g) of Rammsayer and colleagues and a large body of research I have reported at the Brain Clock blog. If you visit that link, pay particular attention to the MindHub Pub2 that presents a three-level hypothesized model for understanding the IM effect. Note that at the lowest neurocognitive and biological level of intelligence research, I have hypothesized that temporal g (and not Jensen's reaction time g) may be one of the key domain-general mechanisms driving critical cognitive abilities, especially working memory and fluid intelligence.

As per the recent four-level reductionistic framework (see brief 10 minute video explanation) I have offered to organize intelligence related research (adapted from Earl Hunt's work), the current study links research at the psychometric, information processing, and neurocognitive and biological (neural efficiency) levels.

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More support for the developmental cascade model (Gs, Gwm, Glr and Gf)

As readers of this blog know, I am partial to research that continues to support Fry and Hale's developmental cascade model, which indicates that processing speed (Gs) has a direct effect on working memory (Gwm/Gsm), which in turn has direct effect on fluid reasoning (Gf) or general intelligence (g). Gs influence is indirect--mediated by Gwm. Another study continues to support this model but adds the wrinkle of secondary memory (some Glr abilities), which also only has an indirect effect on Gf as mediated by Gwm.

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Gs->working memory->Gf developmental-differential psych developmental cascade model

Very interesting research that suggests a developmental (neo-Piagetian) wrinkle to the developmental cascade model, a model that has shown that Gs influences working memory (Gwm), and working memory in turn influences Gf (but Gs has no direct influencee on Gf).

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"However, the exact role of speed and working memory is still debated. Some researchers emphasize speed as a purer index of the quality of information processing in the brain (e.g., Jensen, 1998). This interpretation is based on studies which estimate the relation between speed and intelligence without involving working memory. Others emphasize working memory because it is the workspace of thinking (Kyllonen & Christal, 1990). Studies emphasizing working memory usually measure all three constructs in young adults, when working memory is the dominant predictor of Gf, according to the patterns to be described below. Finally, others assume a causal linear relation between them such that changes in speed cause changes (or differences) in working memory which, in turn, cause changes (or differences) in Gf (Case, 1985; Coyle, Pillow, Snyder, & Kochunov, 2011; Kail, 1991; Kail & Ferrer, 2007). However, this chain of relations may only reflect the fact that working memory tasks are both timed, like speed tasks, and require information management, like Gf tasks, rather than a causal sequence. In fact, there is evidence that control of attention is common to all, speed, WM, and Gf, explaining their relations (Cowan, Morey, Chen, & Bunting, 2007; Engle et al., 1999; Stankov & Roberts, 1997)"

Note. Attentional control (AC) is now proposed to represent a narrow ability under the broad CHC domain of Gwm (short-term working memory) by the authors of the forthcoming WJ IV [Conflict of interest disclosure--I am one of the coauthors of the WJ III and WJ IV). This is consistent with Schneider and McGrew's (2012) recent book chapter CHC model update.

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"Demetriou et al. (2013) showed recently that the relations between these constructs are more complicated than originally assumed, because they vary with growth. Specifically, speed increases and WM expands. Gf evolves along a reconceptuali-zation sequence (ReConceP) where changes in the nature of representations alternate with changes in the command and interlinking of representations constructed earlier."

"These patterns provide support for an integrated developmental–differential theory of intelligence that would explicate why Gf changes coalesce with speed at the beginning of developmental cycles and with WM changes at the end. Gf undergoes three types of change: representational, inferential, and complexity."

I previously presented (McGrew, 2005) support for the developmental cascade model in 5 age-differentiated WJ III norm samples (see one of the sample models below). Instead of causal models with Gf as the criterion, I specified a criterion g-factor defined by Gv, Ga, Glr, Gf, and Gc. The results strongly supported the Gwm->g link, and significant causal links from Gs to working memory. Gs did not dispaly a direct link to g in the childhood samples, but did demonstrate small significant direct paths to g in the adolescent and adult samples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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