The nature of preschool phonological processing abilities and their relations to vocabulary, general cognitive abilities, and print knowledge.

The development of reading-related phonological processing abilities represents an important developmental milestone in the process of learning to read. In this cross-sectional study, confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the structure of phonological processing abilities in 129 younger preschoolers (M = 40.88 months, SD = 4.65) and 304 older preschoolers (M = 56.49 months, SD = 5.31). A 2-factor model in which Phonological Awareness and Phonological Memory were represented by 1 factor and Lexical Access was represented by a 2nd factor provided the best fit for both samples and was largely invariant across samples. Measures of vocabulary, cognitive abilities, and print knowledge were significantly correlated with both factors, but Phonological Awareness/Memory had unique relations with word reading. Despite significant development of phonological processing abilities across the preschool years and into kindergarten, these results show that the structure of these skills remains invariant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differentiation of cognitive abilities across the life span.

Existing representations of cognitive ability structure are exclusively based on linear patterns of interrelations. However, a number of developmental and cognitive theories predict that abilities are differentially related across ages (age differentiation–dedifferentiation) and across levels of functioning (ability differentiation). Nonlinear factor analytic models were applied to multivariate cognitive ability data from 6,273 individuals, ages 4 to 101 years, who were selected to be nationally representative of the U.S. population. Results consistently supported ability differentiation but were less clear with respect to age differentiation–dedifferentiation. Little evidence for age modification of ability differentiation was found. These findings are particularly informative about the nature of individual differences in cognition and about the developmental course of cognitive ability level and structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cattell-Horn-Carroll cognitive abilities and their effects on reading decoding skills: g has indirect effects, more specific abilities have direct effects.

This study employed structural equation modeling to examine the effects of Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) abilities on reading decoding skills using five age-differentiated subsamples from the standardization sample of the Woodcock-Johnson III (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001). Using the Spearman Model including only g, strong direct effects of g on reading decoding skills were demonstrated at all ages. Using the Two-Stratum Model including g and broad abilities, direct effects of the broad abilities Long-Term Storage and Retrieval, Processing Speed, Crystallized Intelligence, Short-Term Memory, and Auditory Processing on reading decoding skills were demonstrated at select ages. Using the Three-Stratum Model including g, broad abilities, and narrow abilities, direct effects of the broad ability Processing Speed and the narrow abilities Associative Memory, Listening Ability, General Information, Memory Span, and Phonetic Coding were demonstrated at select ages. Across both the Two-Stratum Model and the Three-Stratum Model at all ages, g had very large but indirect effects. The findings suggest that school psychologists should interpret measures of some specific cognitive abilities when conducting psychoeducational assessments designed to explain reading decoding skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The neuropsychological test performance of drug-abusing patients: An examination of latent cognitive abilities and associated risk factors.

The purpose of this study was to examine the latent structure of neuropsychological abilities of drug-abusing patients. Four factors were identified in an exploratory factor analysis (N = 329) and a subsequent confirmatory factor analysis (N = 258): Executive Functioning, Verbal Ability, Memory, and Speed. Education, years of regular alcohol use, number of substance use dependence disorders, percentage of days of heavy drinking in the previous year, depression, familial alcoholism, premorbid level of cognitive functioning, liver functioning, and previous head injuries were identified as risk factors to these latent abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal employment and child cognitive outcomes: The importance of analytic approach.

J. Brooks-Gunn, W. J. Han, and J. Waldfogel (2002; see record 2002-17576-005) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network (ECCRN; 2000b; see record 2000-02736-015) came to different conclusions about the effects of maternal employment--although they were addressing similar questions using the same data set. Brooks-Gunn et al. concluded that maternal employment in infancy has a negative effect on children's cognitive abilities at age 3, whereas the ECCRN found that early nonmaternal care is not related to children's cognitive abilities in their first 3 years. The authors account for this difference by comparing 2 approaches to data analysis: a top-down testing of continuous variables (the approach used by the ECCRN, 2000b) and an a priori comparison approach that involves pairwise testing of specific dichotomous contrasts (the approach used by Brooks-Gunn et al., 2002). This comparison illustrates the critical importance of analytic approach. It also suggests that Brooks-Gunn et al.'s conclusion from this data set is overstated and should not be used on its own as the basis for practical or policy decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The cognitive differentiation-integration effort hypothesis: A synthesis between the fitness indicator and life history models of human intelligence.

This article presents a potential synthesis between the fitness indicator and life history models of human intelligence through consideration of the phenomena of ability differentiation and integration. The cognitive differentiation-integration effort hypothesis proposes that these effects result from a life history tradeoff between cognitive integration effort, a mating effort component associated with strengthening the positive manifold amongst abilities; and cognitive differentiation effort, a somatic effort component associated with the cultivation of specific abilities. This represents one of two largely independent sources of genetic variance in intelligence; the other is mediated by general fitness and mutation load and is associated with individual differences in levels of 'genetic g'. These two sources (along with a common source of environmental variance) combine to give rise to a variety of cognitive phenotypes characterized by different combinations of high or low levels of 'genetic g' and cognitive specialism or generalism. Fundamental to this model is the assumption that measures of life history speed (K) and g are essentially independent, which is demonstrated via meta-analysis of 10 studies reporting correlations between the variables (ρ = .023, ns, n = 2056). The implications of the model are discussed in an evolutionary, ecological, and developmental context. Seven key predictions are made in the discussion which if tested could provide definitive evidence for the hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of cognitive change: A commentary on Keith et al. (2002).

There have been significant advances in the study of cognitive change in recent years, evolving from traditional group-level parametric methods to new techniques such as the reliable change index (RCI) and the standardized regression-based (SRB) change score. In the very interesting study of cognitive change following cardiopulmonary bypass, Keith et al. (2002) opted for a more traditional group-level analysis of change (the mixed factor analysis of variance). They cited several limitations of the individual-level analytic techniques such as the RCI. In this commentary, the author attempts to address these specific concerns as well as some of the more general difficulties presented by the analysis of cognitive change. Advantages and disadvantages of the RCI and SRB methods are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Common factors in the identification of an assortment of brief everyday sounds": Correction to Ballas (1993).

Reports an error in "Common factors in the identification of an assortment of brief everyday sounds" by James A. Ballas (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1993[Apr], Vol 19[2], 250-267). A previous notice regarding this article incorrectly identified the volume number and date of publication of the journal in which this article appeared. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1993-28211-001.) Acoustic, ecological, perceptual and cognitive factors that are common in the identification of 41 brief, varied sounds were evaluated. In Exp 1, identification time and accuracy, causal uncertainty values, and spectral and temporal properties of the sounds were obtained. Exp 2 was a survey to obtain ecological frequency counts. Exp 3 solicited perceptual–cognitive ratings. Factor analyses of spectral parameters and perceptual–cognitive ratings were performed. Identification time and causal uncertainty are highly interrelated, and both are related to ecological frequency and the presence of harmonics and similar spectral bursts. Exps 4 and 5 used a priming paradigm to verify correlational relationships between identification time and causal uncertainty and to assess the effect of sound typicality. Results support a hybrid approach for theories of everyday sound identification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative cognitive styles, dysfunctional attitudes, and the remitted depression paradigm: A search for the elusive cognitive vulnerability to depression factor among remitted depressives.

Results from studies using a behavioral high-risk design and approximations to it generally have corroborated the cognitive vulnerability hypothesis of depression, whereas results from remitted depression studies typically have not. Suspecting that design features of previously conducted remitted designs likely precluded them from detecting maladaptive cognitive patterns, the authors conducted a study featuring the remitted design that has been successful in studies of a biological vulnerability for depression. Participants' current depressive symptoms, negative cognitive styles (hopelessness theory), dysfunctional attitudes (Beck's theory), and lifetime prevalence of clinically significant depression were assessed. Participants who had remitted from an episode of clinically significant depression had more negative cognitive styles, but not greater levels of dysfunctional attitudes, than did never depressed individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A lively approach to vividness: A review of McKelvie, S. J. (1995). Vividness of visual imagery: Measurement, nature, function and dynamics.

Reviews the book, Vividness of visual imagery: Measurement, nature, function and dynamics by S. J. McKelvie (1995). This book consists of a target article by Stuart J. McKelvie followed by several reviews of that article, and finally followed by an author's response. The topic of the book is representative of an important strand in the history of Canadian psychology. "Vividness" is the aspect of imagery that McKelvie is concerned to elaborate, and he begins by considering the benchmark work of David F. Marks who invented the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (WIQ) in 1972. McKelvie's review of studies of the reliability of the VVIQ shows that it is adequate but not overwhelmingly impressive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mapping model: A cognitive theory of quantitative estimation.

How do people make quantitative estimations, such as estimating a car's selling price? Traditionally, linear-regression-type models have been used to answer this question. These models assume that people weight and integrate all information available to estimate a criterion. The authors propose an alternative cognitive theory for quantitative estimation. The mapping model, inspired by the work of N. R. Brown and R. S. Siegler (1993) on metrics and mappings, offers a heuristic approach to decision making. The authors test this model against established alternative models of estimation, namely, linear regression, an exemplar model, and a simple estimation heuristic. With 4 experimental studies the authors compare the models under different environmental conditions. The mapping model proves to be a valid model to predict people's estimates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, and control mastery prototypes to predict change: A new look at an old paradigm for long-term single-case research.

This article illustrates a method of testing models of change in individual long-term psychotherapy cases. A depressed client was treated with 208 sessions of control mastery therapy (CMT), an unmanualized approach that integrates elements of psychodynamic therapy (PDT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Panels of experts developed prototypes of ideal PDT, CBT, and CMT process using the Psychotherapy Process Q-set (PQS; J. S. Ablon & E. E. Jones, 1999; E. E. Jones, L. A. Parke, & S. Pulos, 1992; E. E. Jones & S. M. Pulos, 1993). Independent observers rated every 4th session (N = 53) with the PQS. Using correlations between ideal and actual PQS ratings followed by paired t tests, the authors compared adherence to the CMT prototype with adherence to plausible alternative models advocated by the PDT and CBT experts. Bivariate time series analyses determined whether prototype adherence predicted an estimated index of symptom change. Results showed that the therapist's behavior was most consistent with the CMT prototype and that this aspect of the CMT prototype along with particular aspects of the other prototypes influenced estimated symptom change. The results, which replicate and extend earlier findings, support the validity of this approach to studying long-term therapies but also highlight its limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Human Cognition and a Pile of Sand: A Discussion on Serial Correlations and Self-Organized Criticality.

Recently, G. C. Van Orden, J. G. Holden, and M. T. Turvey (2003) proposed to abandon the conventional framework of cognitive psychology in favor of the framework of nonlinear dynamical systems theory. Van Orden et al. presented evidence that "purposive behavior originates in self-organized criticality" (p. 333). Here, the authors show that Van Orden et al.'s analyses do not test their hypotheses. Further, the authors argue that a confirmation of Van Orden et al.'s hypotheses would not have constituted firm evidence in support of their framework. Finally, the absence of a specific model for how self-organized criticality produces the observed behavior makes it very difficult to derive testable predictions. The authors conclude that the proposed paradigm shift is presently unwarranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The group matters: A review of processes and outcomes in intelligence analysis.

The work of intelligence analysts is fundamentally cognitive in nature. Intelligence analysis consists largely of identifying problems, generating and evaluating hypotheses, identifying and assessing open source and classified information, recognizing patterns in large sets of data, aggregating information, and providing results in the form of judgments, forecasts, and insights to policymakers. These activities are often conducted by individuals; however, intelligence agencies and experts have called increasingly for the use of teams in intelligence analysis. This article reviews the research literature on group-level phenomena (that is, process losses) that are most relevant to the work of intelligence analysts, including productivity losses in brainstorming, the common knowledge effect, group polarization, confirmation bias, overconfidence, and pressures toward uniformity. We describe how features of intelligence analysis teams' tasks, context, and structure affect these processes, present methods to minimize these process losses and increase process gains, and discuss directions for future research. Although our focus is on intelligence analysis teams, these processes and interventions are relevant to a range of analytical teams that share common characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latent variable modeling of cognitive processes in true and false recognition of words: A developmental perspective.

The present study aimed at testing theoretical predictions of the fuzzy-trace theory about true and false recognition. The effects of semantic relatedness and study opportunity on true and false recognition of words from Deese, Roediger, McDermott lists (J. Deese, 1959; D. R. Read, 1996; H. L. Roediger & K. B. McDermott, 1995) were evaluated in 7- to 12-year-old children (N = 151). Instead of a traditional analysis of variance, the authors used a relatively novel statistical analysis technique, latent class factor analysis, to test the hypotheses pertaining to the effect of semantic relatedness and study opportunity on children's true and false recognition given their low or high verbatim-trace and gist-trace level. The results showed that variation in true recognition of target words from semantically related and unrelated word lists that were either studied once or repeated could be explained well by variation in verbatim-trace and gist-trace level. Variation in false recognition of semantically related distractors also could be explained by variation in gist-trace level, but the recollection-rejection hypothesis was not confirmed. The variable age was positively but weakly related to gist-trace level, but no significant relationship was found between age and verbatim-trace level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability to depression: Temperament, parenting, and negative life events in childhood as contributors to negative cognitive style.

Cognitive models of depression have been well supported with adults, but the developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability are not well understood. The authors hypothesized that temperament, parenting, and negative life events in childhood would contribute to the development of cognitive style, with withdrawal negativity and negative parental feedback moderating the effects of negative life events to predict more depressogenic cognitive styles. These constructs were assessed in 289 children and their parents followed longitudinally from infancy to 5th grade; a subsample (n = 120) also participated in a behavioral task in which maternal feedback to child failure was observed. Results indicated that greater withdrawal negativity in interaction with negative life events was associated with more negative cognitive styles. Self-reported maternal anger expression and observed negative maternal feedback to child's failure significantly interacted with child's negative events to predict greater cognitive vulnerability. There was little evidence of paternal parenting predicting child negative cognitive style. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing a measure of sluggish cognitive tempo for children: Content validity, factor structure, and reliability.

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is a construct that some researchers believe may be extremely useful in understanding the inattentive subtype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and may even help define a completely new disorder. However, the construct of SCT is as yet inadequately operationally or theoretically defined. The authors took the first steps toward developing an empirically supported measure of SCT in children. In Study 1, potential items to measure SCT were identified from a literature review, content validity of the items was evaluated by a group of experts, and a preliminary set of SCT items were selected. In Study 2, ratings completed by parents and teachers of 335 children (ages 4–13) were used to further develop and evaluate the SCT items by computing factor analyses, item-level analyses, reliability analyses, and preliminary validity analyses. The final SCT scale (14 items) produced a total scale score and 3 subscale scores: Slow, Sleepy, and Daydreamer. These scales were constructed with good content validity and were found to have strong reliability. Future directions include replication, extension into a clinical population, and further examination of validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Factor analysis as multivariate procedure: A review of multivariate analysis and psychological theory.

Reviews the book, Factor Analysis as Multivariate Procedure: A Review of Multivariate Analysis and Psychological Theory edited by Joseph R. Royce (1973). This publication represents a series of papers, along with competent discussions, presented at the Third Banff Conference on Theoretical Psychology. The conference included, appropriately enough, contributions by members of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology. It is fair to say that the contributions accurately reflect the general status of the field as of the end of 1971, when the conference was held. While the book is organized into two major parts, one dealing with "methodological, pre-theoretical and meta-theoretical issues" with the other aiming "toward a comprehensive, multivariate psychological theory", this organization will not communicate most effectively to the reader of this review. Instead, it seems to the reviewer that the papers can be most easily understood as falling into the categories of methodological contributions, presentations of general approaches to personality, and research and theory dealing with specific research areas. In the context of a large group of exciting papers, how can one single out individual papers for special praise, the reviewer believes that what is particularly praiseworthy will depend upon the eye of the beholder, his orientation to theory, and his relative interest in specific research areas. The empiricism/speculation ratio is quite high in most of the papers, and is consequently recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)