Can decline in adult intellectual functioning be reversed?

Examined whether or not cognitive decline in the elderly that has been reliably demonstrated over a 14-yr period can be reversed. 97 male and 132 female participants (aged 64–95 yrs) in a long-term longitudinal study were classified into those who had declined (n?=?122) and those who had remained stable (n?=?107) on the abilities of inductive reasoning and spatial orientation, based on their performances on the Primary Mental Ability Reasoning and Spatial Orientation Tests. Ss were assigned to 5-hr training programs on either ability in a pretest–posttest design that used Ss trained on 1 target ability as controls for those trained on the other. Results show that cognitive training techniques reliably reverse decline in spatial and reasoning ability documented over a 14-yr period in a substantial number of Ss. Training procedures also enhanced the performance of many Ss who had remained stable. Training improvement on spatial orientation was found to be greater for decliners than for those who remained stable and greater for females than for males. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in cognitive abilities and brain organization: I. Sex and handedness differences in ability.

Analyzed data on cognitive abilities from 3 samples of normal Ss: (1) 195 undergraduates, (2) 215 18–30 yr old newly married couples, and (3) 122 pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins (aged 12–38 yrs). Findings reveal a common Sex by Handedness by Reasoning-Ability interaction: For Ss with above-median reasoning ability, spatial scores of left-handed males were reduced but those of left-handed females were raised, relative to their right-handed counterparts; the opposite pattern was found for Ss with below-median reasoning ability. The dependence of handedness effects on reasoning ability level appears to explain some of the inconsistent findings in the literature. Verbal fluency, perceptual speed, and visual memory also showed sex and handedness effects, which often interacted with level of reasoning ability or other cognitive variables. Results strongly suggest that sex and handedness differences in cognitive ability are partly neurological in origin. Variations in the effects of handedness across levels of reasoning ability (or other abilities) may indicate that different trade-offs among structural, and thus cognitive, characteristics will be found in different subsamples: There may be many kinds of normal brain organization. (French abstract) (98 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive abilities in Inuit and White children from similar environments.

Previous studies have emphasized the differential abilities of Inuit and White children, concluding that the Inuit have well developed spatial abilities and less well developed verbal-educational and inductive reasoning abilities when compared with White Ss. However, in many studies White and Inuit Ss have not been matched for either socioeconomic status or grade placement. The present study examined Inuit and White Ss from subsistence level fishing communities. Ss were 22 Inuit 1st graders with a mean age of 84.2 mo and White 1st graders as follows: 14 with a mean age of 89.4 mo, 16 with a mean of 83.1, and 22 with a mean of 86 mo. Vocabulary and arithmetic tests adapted from the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence were utilized. There were no significant differences between Inuit and White Ss in spatial, verbal-educational, or inductive reasoning abilities. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cooperative peer interaction versus individual competition and individualistic efforts: Effects on the acquisition of cognitive reasoning strategies.

Compared the relative effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures on (a) achievement and (b) the acquisition of high-level cognitive reasoning strategies. Reasoning strategies involved in categorization and retrieval, language development, and mathematical tasks were examined. In the cooperative condition, Ss worked with peers of equal or diverse abilities. In the competitive condition Ss competed with peers of equal or diverse abilities. 86 1st-grade children were randomly assigned to conditions stratified by sex and academic ability. Results indicate that cooperative interaction, compared with competitive and individualistic learning, promoted higher achievement and the discovery of superior cognitive reasoning strategies. No differential effects were found concerning whether Ss were cooperating or competing with peers of equal, lower, or higher ability. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age difference patterns of psychometric intelligence in adulthood: Generalizability within and across ability domains.

Cross-sectional data from the 5th wave (1984) of the Seattle Longitudinal Study are reported with regard to the generalizability of age differences in psychometric intelligence within and across ability domains. Ss were 1,628 community-dwelling individuals drawn from a Pacific Northwest HMO. Age difference patterns of 9 groups with mean ages from 29 to 88 yrs are examined for the ability domains of verbal ability, spatial orientation, inductive reasoning, numeric ability, verbal memory, and perceptual speed. Each ability is marked by 3 or 4 observed variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental and individual differences in conditional reasoning: The role of contradiction training and cognitive style.

Examined the development of conditional reasoning from the perspective of the competence-moderator-performance approach discussed by W. F. Overton (1985) and Overton and J. L. Newman (1982). The effects of task interpretation and cognitive style as moderator variables for conditional reasoning were examined, using 36 8th-, 36 10th-, and 36 12th-grade male students as Ss. Ss were given an inference task, and half the Ss at each grade level received training with contradictory evidence to alert them to faulty task interpretations. Generalization of training was assessed with a 2nd conditional reasoning task, and cognitive style was assessed with the Matching Familiar Figures Test. Results indicate that only the 12th graders benefited from contradiction training, and this training generalized to the subsequent task. A reflective style enhanced performance at each grade level for the initial task. However, the beneficial effects of a reflective style were restricted on the generalization task to 12th graders who had received contradiction training. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of security of attachment to exploration and cognitive mapping abilities in 2-year-olds.

28 children aged 30–34 mo who had been assessed at 12 mo of age for security of attachment were observed exploring with their mothers in a large-scale laboratory space and were then given tasks to assess their knowledge of that space. After learning a specific route through the space to a goal, Ss were required to invent new routes to the goal. Results indicate that Ss who had been classified as securely attached explored relatively more independently and had less restricted patterns of exploration than did anxiously attached Ss. They also scored higher on tasks on spatial ability. It is proposed that individual differences in security of attachment, mode of exploration, and cognitive mapping abilities exert mutual effects on each other throughout early development. Findings indicate that security of attachment affects later competence in environmental adaptation. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic memory content in permastore: Fifty years of memory for Spanish learned in school.

Tested retention of Spanish among 587 Ss who had studied the language in high school or college 1–50 yrs previously. Also tested were 146 Ss currently studying Spanish and 40 who had never studied Spanish. Tests of reading comprehension, recall, recognition vocabulary, and grammar were administered together with a questionnaire to determine the level of original training, the grades received, and rehearsals during the retention interval in the form of reading, writing, speaking, or listening to Spanish. Analysis showed that retention throughout the 50-yr period was predictable on the basis of the level of original training. Data reveal no significant rehearsal effects. The analysis yielded memory curves that declined exponentially for the 1st 3–6 yrs of the retention interval. After that, retention remained unchanged for up to 30 yrs before showing a final decline. Large portions of the originally acquired information remained accessible; the portion of the information in a "permastore" state was a function of the level of original training, the grades received in Spanish courses, and the method of testing (recall vs recognition). (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonological awareness and reading: A chicken and egg problem?

Investigated the causal relationship between metaphonological skills (sound blending and segmentation) and reading/spelling in 2 experiments. In Exp I, data on 46 dyslexic and 44 control Ss in Grades 1–6 were drawn from a longitudinal study in Sweden of 723 Ss so that a number of causal models could be tested by LISREL. Results show that early spelling ability is primarily dependent on metaphonological abilities and only indirectly affected by linguistic and cognitive development. The causal model for reading obtaining empirical support was similar with the exception that it also included a direct causal path from cognitive development to reading. In Exp II, 38 1st graders were assigned to metaphonological training for 8 sessions or to general language activities (control). Ss were pre- and posttested on reading, spelling, sound blending, and segmentation. Results show that training had significant effects on metaphonological skills. Among Ss with the lowest metaphonological pretest performance, specific metaphonological training improved spelling performance more than did general language activities. Findings show that metaphonological abilities have a causal effect on reading and spelling, but no support was found for the reverse causal influence. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Length conservation and speed concepts: Organizational disequilibrium training between concepts.

Administered training to Ss at varying levels of cognitive organization. Ss were 60 middle-class Israeli 6-7 yr olds. The training condition exploited structural mix between operational length and intuitive speed concepts, such that Ss successively alternated partial structures underlying these concepts. Findings were that (a) training was effective for operational speed concept acquisition among Ss with structural mix; (b) training was not effective for Ss without structural mix; (c) those who acquired the operational speed concept also acquired operational reasoning for the concept of movement; and (d) all Ss who employed an integration strategy during training became operational for speed on the posttest, while none who used other strategies acquired operational reasoning for the speed concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schemata training and transfer of an intellectual skill.

Advice and feedback pertaining to analogical reasoning were manipulated to produce varying practice conditions for college-age Ss. Following training, Ss were administered a transfer task that was used to identify the transfer of a general or a specific procedural strategy for solving verbal analogies. Both a general transfer effect for verbal analogy solution and a procedural transfer effect for cause–effect relationships were obtained. These transfer effects were observed for both immediate and delayed transfer. Results are discussed within the theoretical context of schema theory (Royer, 1979, 1986) and Sternberg's (1985a) componential subtheory of intelligence. Data provide support for a schema-based interpretation of training and transfer within a subset and class of intellectual skills identified as inductive reasoning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of adult age and level of skill on the ability to cope with high-stress conditions in a precision sport.

12 younger (mean age 26.6 yrs) and 12 older (mean age 56.6 yrs) highly skilled and moderately skilled miniature golf players in Sweden were studied in training and competition. All of the Ss showed an increase of heart rate and rated anxiety from training to competition. A performance decline in competition was observed for both older players and less accomplished players. It is concluded that results from a cognitive task (incidental recall of shots) suggest that older players are less proficient in coping with the high-stress conditions in competition, due to an age-related decline in task-relevant cognitive abilities. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of clinician theoretical orientation and patient explanatory bias on initial clinical judgments.

18 behavioral (mean age 27.89 yrs), 18 cognitive (mean age 25.78 yrs), and 18 psychodynamic (mean age 29.22 yrs) clinical trainees viewed a videotaped intake interview with a female actress who explained her fear of going on elevators according to 1 of 3 explanatory biases: learned reactions, faulty thoughts, or underlying conflicts. After viewing the tape, Ss made judgments about the patient's responsiveness to therapy. Across all 3 experimental conditions, psychodynamic Ss expressed more "pessimistic" prognoses than both behavioral and cognitive Ss, who did not differ. However, among psychodynamic Ss, those who viewed the patient whose explanatory bias was consistent with a psychodynamic orientation were less pessimistic than were their colleagues exposed to patient explanatory biases inconsistent with a psychodynamic orientation. Implications for client–therapist matching, clinical training, and rapprochement between orientations are discussed. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An evaluation of spatial information processing in aged rats.

The spatial learning abilities of young, middle-age, and senescent rats were investigated in 2 experiments using several versions of the Morris water maze task. In Exp I, Long-Evans hooded rats were trained to find a submerged escape platform hidden within the water maze. Aged Ss exhibited acquisition deficits compared with either young or middle-age Ss. With continued training, all age groups eventually achieved comparable asymptotic levels of performance. To identify the basis of the age-related impairments observed in Exp I, naive young and aged Ss in Exp II were initially tested for their ability to locate a cued escape platform in the water maze. The escape latencies of both young and aged Ss rapidly decreased to equivalent asymptotic levels. Following cue training, young Ss exhibit a significant spatial bias for the region of the testing apparatus where the platform was positioned during training. In contrast, aged Ss showed no spatial bias. Training was continued in Exp II using a novel submerged platform location for each S. During these place training trials, the escape latencies of senescent Ss were longer than those of young Ss. These impairments were also accompanied by a lack of spatial bias among aged Ss relative to young controls. Results indicate that age-related impairments in water maze performance reflect a specific deficit in the ability of aged rats to utilize spatial information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inspecting expectancy: Some laboratory results of relevance for teacher training.

Because the principal requirement of any "purposive system" is feedback, the dynamic system of teacher-student interaction having as a purpose the advancement of student problem-solving abilities could, therefore, be expected to show the importance of feedback. 80 male college students were required to assist 1 "bright" and 1 "dull" hypothetical student on a problem-solving task. Dimensions of teacher-student feedback were evaluated as a function of teacher expectancy and awareness of possible expectancy effects. Results show that teacher expectancy effects were evident when Ss were unaware of the possibility of such effects and thus were unprepared to deal with students of differing abilities grouped together. Unaware Ss directed both greater levels of encouragement and criticism toward the student of presumed greater ability. Ss who were given special instruction that heightened awareness of expectancy effects were able to guard successfully against qualitatively different treatment of students of differing abilities. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of the performance of hypertensive and normotensive subjects on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.

Performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was followed over 2 5- to 6-year intervals for essential hypertensive Ss (EH; n?=?22) free from medical complications and for normotensive Ss (N; n?=?20). EH were treated with adrenergic beta-blocking drugs, diuretics, or both. Mean age was 46 years (SD?=?12.6 years), initially (Time 1). Results were unaltered by adjustment for initial age. N improved modestly on the Verbal scale, from Time 1 to Time 2 only. EH neither improved nor declined on the Verbal scale. Scores remained unchanged for both EH and N Ss for the Performance scale. Overall, and at Times 2 and 3, Verbal scores were lower for the EH group. It was concluded that neither decline nor improvement in cognitive function over time are necessary outcomes of modest, carefully treated, uncomplicated hypertension in the middle years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal mediation deficits: Relation to behavior and achievement in children.

Examined relationships between specific types of verbal mediation deficiency and patterns of behavior and achievement in 59 7–11 yr old children with deficits in verbal intelligence (as determined by the WISC). Ss were also given the Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude, the Wide Range Achievement Test, and the Behavioral Problem Checklist. Results show that abstract reasoning ability was positively related to self-control of acting-out behavior, inhibition of impulse, and adequate academic progress. Ss with reasoning deficits but adequate sequencing-memory abilities exhibited variable self-regulation behavior. Ss with both reasoning and sequencing-memory deficits showed relatively high levels of acting-out behavior, less inhibition, and low academic achievement. Findings suggest that different cognitive processes may underlie different patterns of behavioral self-control. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral reasoning and conduct problems in the classroom.

Assessed 60 6th-graders for their level of moral development using the Moral Judgment Interview. Ss were also rated by their teachers on classroom conduct. Two hypotheses were investigated: (a) Ss who employ lower stages of moral reasoning will display more conduct problems than those who reason at higher levels; and (b) those who reason at lower levels will display more variability in their conduct ratings than their higher reasoning counterparts. Results, both before and after the effects of sex, verbal ability, and social class were controlled statistically, support both hypotheses. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Information processing and human abilities.

An alternative model of cognitive abilities has been proposed by J. P. Das et al (1975). This model states that information is integrated in the brain in 2 ways, through simultaneous and successive processing. The present study, using 104 4th grade boys, compared this information-processing model of cognitive abilities with a traditional primary mental abilities model. A battery of tests was administered, including Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, Memory-for-Designs Test, digit span, figure copying, spatial relations, and serial recall. It was found that simultaneous processing was primarily related to spatial ability. It was also related, to a lesser extent, to both memory and inductive-reasoning abilities. Both simultaneous and successive processing were related to memory ability. No evidence was found to suggest that simultaneous and successive processing could be equated with, respectively, reasoning and memory, or, more generally, Level II and Level I abilities. It is suggested that Level II ability may be a conglomeration of reasoning, spatial ability, and some aspects of simultaneous processing. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual flexibility: Maintenance or recovery of the ability to discriminate non-native speech sounds.

Examined the influence of prior training and linguistic experience on the perception of nonnative speech in 2 experiments. Exp I assessed the effect of laboratory training on the ability of 30 English-speaking adults (aged 18–35 yrs) to discriminate 2 speech contrasts that are used to contrast meaning in Hindi but not in English. Short-term training resulted in an amelioration of the initial poor performance of Ss in discriminating a nonnative voicing contrast, but training had no such effect in the case of a Hindi contrast involving a place of articulation distinction. In Exp II, the performance of 3 groups of English-speaking adults (aged 20–38 yrs)—Ss who had studied Hindi for 5 yrs or more, Ss who were studying Hindi as a 2nd language with early experience of Hindi, and Ss studying Hindi as a 2nd language with no early experience of Hindi—was examined to investigate the effect of studying Hindi as a 2nd language for different periods. Ss who had studied Hindi for at least 5 yrs discriminated both Hindi speech contrasts. While 1 yr of 2nd language experience also improved performance of Ss with no early Hindi experience on the voicing contrast, it had little influence on their ability to discriminate the Hindi place contrast. Ss who had early experience hearing the contrasts being used, but no further exposure, could discriminate both the voicing and place distinctions prior to language study. Findings are discussed in terms of the recovery and maintenance of linguistic perceptual ability. (French abstract) (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)