Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030035
Authors: Konrad Kulikowski Yoav Ganzach
Understanding how personality [...]
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030034
Authors: Alina N. Stamate Pascale L. Denis Geneviève Sauvé
The differentiation of personality by the cognitive ability hypothesis proposes that individuals with higher cognitive ability have more variability in their personality structure than those with lower cognitive ability. A large sample of actual job candidates (n = 14,462) who participated in an online proctored test session, providing socio-demographic information and completing cognitive ability, personality, and language proficiency assessments, was used to test this hypothesis. The total sample was divided into three equal groups (low, average, high) using percentiles as the cutoff point to investigate the effects of cognitive ability. An ANCOVA demonstrated the significant effect of cognitive ability on personality traits, controlling for language proficiency. Principal component analyses showed that the personality structure differed between the cognitive ability groups, with the high-cognitive-ability group having an additional personality component. Similarly, analyses across job complexity levels indicated more personality components for high-job-complexity positions. The implications, limitations, and future directions of this study are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030033
Authors: Krisztián Józsa Tun Zaw Oo Diana Borbélyová Judit Podráczky
Young children possess the fundamental deductive reasoning skills for solving their upcoming problems in their daily lives. These skills are of great importance for their school readiness and academic development. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the age differences and predictive variables of deductive reasoning skills in young Hungarian children aged 4–8 years old who reside in Hungary and Slovakia. Face-to-face data were collected from 3050 participants. The instrument of deductive reasoning skills assessment was extracted from the school readiness test, DIFER (Diagnostic System for Assessing Development). Utilizing various statistical analyses with R, AMOS, and MPlus8 packages, it was found that there were significant differences in young children’s deductive reasoning skills across countries and age groups. Parents’ education levels had significant positive relationships with children’s deductive reasoning skills development. And the variables of country and age were identified as significant predictors of children’s deductive reasoning skills. And children’s family background variables such as parental education played a significant role in predicting children’s deductive reasoning skills in Hungary. The implications of this study emphasize the importance of educational contexts, parental involvement, cross-cultural exchange, and further research, with the potential to enhance young children’s educational experiences and prospects in Hungary, Slovakia, and beyond.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030032
Authors: Manqian Liao Hong Jiao Qiwei He
Item quality is crucial to psychometric analyses for cognitive diagnosis. In cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs), item quality is often quantified in terms of item parameters (e.g., guessing and slipping parameters). Calibrating the item parameters with only item response data, as a common practice, could result in challenges in identifying the cause of low-quality items (e.g., the correct answer is easy to be guessed) or devising an effective plan to improve the item quality. To resolve these challenges, we propose the item explanatory CDMs where the CDM item parameters are explained with item features such that item features can serve as an additional source of information for item parameters. The utility of the proposed models is demonstrated with the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)-released items and response data: around 20 item linguistic features were extracted from the item stem with natural language processing techniques, and the item feature engineering process is elaborated in the paper. The proposed models are used to examine the relationships between the guessing/slipping item parameters of the higher-order DINA model and eight of the item features. The findings from a follow-up simulation study are presented, which corroborate the validity of the inferences drawn from the empirical data analysis. Finally, future research directions are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030031
Authors: Okan Bulut
Psycho-educational assessments, such as intelligence tests, cognitive test batteries, and behavioral measures, serve as invaluable tools for school psychologists and educators [...]
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030030
Authors: Cynthia M. Fioriti Raeanne N. Martell Richard J. Daker Eleanor P. Malone H. Moriah Sokolowski Adam E. Green Susan C. Levine Erin A. Maloney Gerardo Ramirez Ian M. Lyons
Women reliably perform worse than men on measures of spatial ability, particularly those involving mental rotation. At the same time, females also report higher levels of spatial anxiety than males. What remains unclear, however, is whether and in what ways gender differences in these cognitive and affective aspects of spatial processing may be interrelated. Here, we tested for robust gender differences across six different datasets in spatial ability and spatial anxiety (N = 1257, 830 females). Further, we tested for bidirectional mediation effects. We identified indirect relations between gender and spatial skills through spatial anxiety, as well as between gender and spatial anxiety through spatial skills. In the gender → spatial anxiety → spatial ability direction, spatial anxiety explained an average of 22.4% of gender differences in spatial ability. In the gender → spatial ability → spatial anxiety direction, spatial ability explained an average of 25.9% of gender differences in spatial anxiety. Broadly, these results support a strong relation between cognitive and affective factors when explaining gender differences in the spatial domain. However, the nature of this relation may be more complex than has been assumed in previous literature. On a practical level, the results of this study caution the development of interventions to address gender differences in spatial processing which focus primarily on either spatial anxiety or spatial ability until such further research can be conducted. Our results also speak to the need for future longitudinal work to determine the precise mechanisms linking cognitive and affective factors in spatial processing.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030029
Authors: Andra Biesok Matthias Ziegler Christiane Montag Ivan Nenchev
The study aimed to investigate the allocation of figurative language comprehension (FLC) within the Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) model of cognitive abilities, using three newly developed tests: the Reverse Paraphrase Test (RPT), the Literal Paraphrase Test (LPT), and the Proverb Test (PT). The analysis of a sample of 909 participants revealed that the RPT and LPT measured a unidimensional construct of FLC, while the PT was excluded due to insufficient fit. Combining RPT and LPT items, various models were evaluated, with a bifactor S-1 model showing the best fit, indicating the influence of a general factor (representing FLC) and test-specific method factors. The study explored FLC allocation within the CHC model, supporting its consideration as a distinct factor under the g factor. Examining the nomological network, significant correlations emerged between the Intellectual Curiosity and Aesthetic Sensitivity facets of Openness and FLC, which were comparable in size to the relation with general ability. In conclusion, the study enhances the understanding of FLC within the CHC model, advocating its recognition as a distinct factor. Correlations with Openness facets suggest valuable insights into the interplay between cognitive abilities and personality, necessitating further research for a deeper exploration of this relation.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030028
Authors: Beth H. Richardson Linden J. Ball
Metareasoning refers to processes that monitor and control ongoing thinking and reasoning. The “metareasoning framework” that was established in the literature in 2017 has been useful in explaining how monitoring processes during reasoning are sensitive to an individual’s fluctuating feelings of certainty and uncertainty. The framework was developed to capture metareasoning at an individual level. It does not capture metareasoning during collaborative activities. We argue this is significant, given the many domains in which team-based reasoning is critical, including design, innovation, process control, defence and security. Currently, there is no conceptual framework that addresses the nature of collaborative metareasoning in these kinds of domains. We advance a framework of collaborative metareasoning that develops an understanding of how teams respond to the demands and opportunities of the task at hand, as well as to the demands and opportunities afforded by interlocuters who have different perspectives, knowledge, skills and experiences. We point to the importance of a tripartite distinction between “self-monitoring”, “other monitoring” and “joint monitoring”. We also highlight a parallel distinction between “self-focused control”, “other-focused control” and “joint control”. In elaborating upon these distinctions, we discuss the prospects for developing a comprehensive collaborative metareasoning framework with a unique focus on language as a measure of both uncertainty and misalignment.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030027
Authors: Mattis Geiger Sally Gayle Olderbak Oliver Wilhelm
Just as receptive emotional abilities, productive emotional abilities are essential for social communication. Although individual differences in receptive emotional abilities, such as perceiving and recognizing emotions, are well-investigated, individual differences in productive emotional abilities, such as the ability to express emotions in the face, are largely neglected. Consequently, little is known about how emotion expression abilities fit in a nomological network of related abilities and typical behavior. We developed a multitask battery for measuring the ability to pose emotional expressions scored with facial expression recognition software. With three multivariate studies (n1 = 237; n2 = 141; n3 = 123), we test competing measurement models of emotion posing and relate this construct with other socio-emotional traits and cognitive abilities. We replicate the measurement model that includes a general factor of emotion posing, a nested task-specific factor, and emotion-specific factors. The emotion-posing ability factor is moderately to strongly related to receptive socio-emotional abilities, weakly related to general cognitive abilities, and weakly related to extraversion. This is strong evidence that emotion posing is a cognitive interpersonal ability. This new understanding of abilities in emotion communication opens a gateway for studying individual differences in social interaction.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030026
Authors: Cengiz Zopluoglu J. R. Lockwood
Language proficiency assessments are pivotal in educational and professional decision-making. With the integration of AI-driven technologies, these assessments can more frequently use item types, such as dictation tasks, producing response features with a mixture of discrete and continuous distributions. This study evaluates novel measurement models tailored to these unique response features. Specifically, we evaluated the performance of the zero-and-one-inflated extensions of the Beta, Simplex, and Samejima’s Continuous item response models and incorporated collateral information into the estimation using latent regression. Our findings highlight that while all models provided highly correlated results regarding item and person parameters, the Beta item response model showcased superior out-of-sample predictive accuracy. However, a significant challenge was the absence of established benchmarks for evaluating model and item fit for these novel item response models. There is a need for further research to establish benchmarks for evaluating the fit of these innovative models to ensure their reliability and validity in real-world applications.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030025
Authors: Henry Markovits
There is little consensus about the underlying parameters of human reasoning. Two major theories have been proposed that suppose very different mechanisms. The mental model theory proposes that people use working memory intensive processes in order to construct limited models of problem parameters. Probabilistic theories propose that reasoning is a process by which people use the sum of their existing knowledge in order to generate an estimate of the probability of a conclusion given problem parameters. Following an initial proposition by Verschueren et al., the dual-strategy model supposes that these different approaches to reasoning are in fact an important individual difference. Specifically, a recently developed diagnostic questionnaire has identified two major categories of reasoners: Counterexample reasoners use a mental model form of processing, while Statistical reasoners use a probabilistic form of processing. In the following, I describe results that show that the Counterexample/Statistical distinction affects information processing across a variety of reasoning and judgment tasks. In addition, strategy use correlates with performance on very different kinds of thinking, such as contingency judgments, processing of negative emotions, or susceptibility to social biases. Although this distinction is related to differences in cognitive ability, it has been found to predict performance over and above these differences. More recent results have shown that it is possible to experimentally modify strategy use. These results suggest that strategy use is an important individual difference that can affect performance in a wide variety of contexts.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12030024
Authors: Hao Yao Yabing Fan Shifei Duan
Creativity is a universal core higher-order cognitive ability in the 21st century, which reflects a country’s core competitiveness and soft power. Mindfulness, as an important concept in positive psychology, has also received attention for its potential effect on research creativity. Using structural equation modeling and bootstrap methods, this study investigated the relationship between mindfulness and research creativity among 1210 Chinese graduate students. Additionally, we explored the mediating effect of flow experience and creative self-efficacy in this relationship. The research results showed that mindfulness had a direct positive effect on graduate students’ scientific research creativity. The mediating effect of flow experience and creative self-efficacy, as well as the chain mediating effect, were established, with the mediating ratio being 13.1% and 30.0%, respectively, and the indirect effect of chain mediating accounting for 34.1%. Interestingly, the effect mechanism at the gender level was various, with the mediating effect of mindfulness on scientific research creativity being higher among male graduate students. The results of this study revealed the mechanism of mindfulness on graduate students’ scientific research creativity, offering valuable insights for enhancing their creative capabilities in the realm of scientific research.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020023
Authors: Nana Kim Minjeong Jeon Ivailo Partchev
There recently have been many studies examining conditional dependence between response accuracy and response times in cognitive tests. While most previous research has focused on revealing a general pattern of conditional dependence for all respondents and items, it is plausible that the pattern may vary across respondents and items. In this paper, we attend to its potential heterogeneity and examine the item and person specificities involved in the conditional dependence between item responses and response times. To this end, we use a latent space item response theory (LSIRT) approach with an interaction map that visualizes conditional dependence in response data in the form of item–respondent interactions. We incorporate response time information into the interaction map by applying LSIRT models to slow and fast item responses. Through empirical illustrations with three cognitive test datasets, we confirm the presence and patterns of conditional dependence between item responses and response times, a result consistent with previous studies. Our results further illustrate the heterogeneity in the conditional dependence across respondents, which provides insights into understanding individuals’ underlying item-solving processes in cognitive tests. Some practical implications of the results and the use of interaction maps in cognitive tests are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020022
Authors: Jessica Scott Tim Jay Christopher M. Spray
Research has demonstrated positive relationships between fundamental movement skills (FMS) and mathematics achievement in children, and this relationship may be mediated by spatial ability. Engaging in physical activity (PA) may also have positive outcomes on mathematics achievement; however, no study has investigated this network of relationships together. This study aimed to examine the relationship between PA and mathematics achievement, and the mediating effects of FMS and spatial abilities, in primary school children. Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 182 children (aged 7 to 8 years old) across four schools in England. Objective moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) levels and subjective parental reports of their children’s PA participation were collected. Children’s FMS were assessed, along with their performance on four spatial ability tasks and a mathematics test. Mediation analyses revealed no significant mediation effects of FMS and spatial abilities on the positive significant relationship between MVPA and mathematics achievement; however, spatial ability partially mediated the relationship between FMS and mathematics achievement. These results suggest that FMS and spatial ability may not be related to MVPA in this network of relationships, but children with more mature FMS perform better in mathematics due to them performing better on specific spatial ability tasks.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020021
Authors: Carlo Chiorri Manila Vannucci
The investigation of the phenomenology of autobiographical memories (i.e., how a memory is subjectively experienced and its meaning) has provided an important contribution to our understanding of autobiographical remembering. Over the last two decades, the study of phenomenology has received widespread scientific attention, and the field has undergone quite relevant conceptual and methodological changes. In the present work, we (1) review some basic and well-established research findings and methodological achievements; (2) discuss new theoretical and methodological challenges, with a special focus on the issue of the phenomenological experience of the retrieval process and its relationship with the phenomenology of the products of retrieval; and (3) propose an alternative way of conceptualizing and understanding it in the framework of experimental phenomenology.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020020
Authors: Garry Hornby James M. Kauffman
Inclusive education has developed worldwide popularity in education for learners with various disabilities but is particularly controversial for students with intellectual disabilities because of their unique needs. The foremost of these are the development of the social, vocational and life skills needed to facilitate their transition to adulthood. This article presents a discussion that focuses on theory, practice and research relevant to inclusive education for students with intellectual disabilities. It points out that the movement for full inclusion started by focusing on students with intellectual disabilities and has encountered roadblocks to further progress because of its difficulties in addressing their special needs. This is explored by considering the theory underpinning the international drivers of the full inclusion movement, the reality of the implementation of inclusion policies worldwide, and research on the effects of inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in mainstream schools.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020019
Authors: Raymond M. Klein Samantha R. Good John J. Christie
Three Posnerian networks of attention (alerting, orienting, and executive control) have been distinguished on the bases of behavioural, neuropsychological, and neuroscientific evidence. Here, we examined the trajectories of these networks throughout the human lifespan using the various Attention Network Tests (ANTs), which were specifically developed to measure the efficacy of these networks. The ANT Database was used to identify relevant research, resulting in the inclusion of 36 publications. We conducted a graphical meta-analysis using network scores from each study, based on reaction time plotted as a function of age group. Evaluation of attentional networks from childhood to early adulthood suggests that the alerting network develops relatively quickly, and reaches near-adult level by the age of 12. The developmental pattern of the orienting network seems to depend on the information value of the spatial cues. Executive control network scores show a consistent decrease (improvement) with age in childhood. During adulthood (ages 19–75), changes in alerting depend on the modality of the warning signal, while a moderate increase in orienting scores was seen with increasing age. Whereas executive control scores, as measured in reaction time, increase (deterioration) from young adulthood into later adulthood an opposite trend is seen when scores are based on error rates.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020018
Authors: Kees-Jan Kan Anastasios Psychogyiopoulos Lennert J. Groot Hannelies de Jonge Debby ten Hove
Bi-factor models of intelligence tend to outperform higher-order g factor models statistically. The literature provides the following rivalling explanations: (i) the bi-factor model represents or closely approximates the true underlying data-generating mechanism; (ii) fit indices are biased against the higher-order g factor model in favor of the bi-factor model; (iii) a network structure underlies the data. We used a Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the validity and plausibility of each of these explanations, while controlling for their rivals. To this end, we generated 1000 sample data sets according to three competing models—a bi-factor model, a (nested) higher-order factor model, and a (non-nested) network model—with 3000 data sets in total. Parameter values were based on the confirmatory analyses of the Wechsler Scale of Intelligence IV. On each simulated data set, we (1) refitted the three models, (2) obtained the fit statistics, and (3) performed a model selection procedure. We found no evidence that the fit measures themselves are biased, but conclude that biased inferences can arise when approximate or incremental fit indices are used as if they were relative fit measures. The validity of the network explanation was established while the outcomes of our network simulations were consistent with previously reported empirical findings, indicating that the network explanation is also a plausible one. The empirical findings are inconsistent with the (also validated) hypothesis that a bi-factor model is the true model. In future model selection procedures, we recommend that researchers consider network models of intelligence, especially when a higher-order g factor model is rejected in favor of a bi-factor model.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020017
Authors: John Eigenauer
Humans make many decisions in everyday life, some of which require careful use of evidence. Because emotional and heuristic mental processes dominate human cognition, it is common to suggest that there is little hope that critical thinking tools will be widely used. However, the concept of “mindware” gives hope to the idea that critical thinking skills may be more widely deployed than they currently are. This article reflects on some impediments to critical thinking, assesses some future challenges to critical thinking being more widely used, and suggests that “mindware” modules can be used widely both in and out of educational settings to significantly enhance critical thinking in everyday life.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020016
Authors: Heather A. Butler
Our ability to think critically and our disposition to do so can have major implications for our everyday lives. Research across the globe has shown the impact of critical thinking on decisions about our health, politics, relationships, finances, consumer purchases, education, work, and more. This chapter will review some of that research. Given the importance of critical thinking to our everyday lives, the fair and unbiased assessment of critical thinking is useful for guiding educators in their classrooms, for the sake of self-improvement, and in employment decisions. This chapter will also review the psychometric properties of several critical thinking assessments, with a special emphasis on the everyday behaviors predicted by these assessments. The practical challenges faced by test adopters and future directions in the assessment of critical thinking will be discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020015
Authors: Tiziano Agostini Fabrizio Sors Mauro Murgia Alessandra Galmonte
Starting approximately from the beginning of the new millennium, a series of studies highlighted that auditory information deriving from biological motion can significantly influence the behavioral, cognitive and neurophysiological processes involved in the perception and execution of complex movements. In particular, it was observed that an appropriate use of sounds deriving from one’s own movement promotes improvements in the movement execution itself. Two main approaches can be used, namely the sonification one or the ecological sound one; the former is based on the conversion of physiological and/or physical movement data into sound, while the latter is based on the use of auditory recordings of movement sounds as models. In the present article, some of the main applications of both approaches—especially the latter—to the domains of sport and motor rehabilitation are reviewed, with the aim of addressing two questions: Is it possible to consider rhythm as a Gestalt of human movement? If so, is it possible to build up cognitive strategies to improve/standardize movement performance from this Gestalt? As with most topics in science, a definitive answer is not possible, yet the evidence leads us to lean toward a positive answer to both questions.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020014
Authors: Delphine Sasanguie Charlotte Larmuseau Fien Depaepe Brenda R. J. Jansen
It was investigated whether test anxiety (TA), mathematics anxiety (MA), and reading anxiety (RA) can be traced back to some type of general academic anxiety or whether these are separable. A total of 776 fifth graders (Mage = 10.9 years) completed questionnaires on TA, MA, and RA, as well as a mathematics test. Also, mathematics and reading performance results from the National Tracking System were requested. The sample was randomly split into two halves. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that a three-factor model (factors: TA, MA, RA) had superior model fit compared with a one-factor model (factor: “Academic anxiety”), in both halves. The resulting anxiety factors were related to math performance measures using structural equation models. A scarcity of data on reading performance prevented the analysis of links between anxiety and reading performance. Anxiety–math performance relations were stronger for MA than for TA and MA. We concluded that TA, MA, and RA are separable constructs.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020013
Authors: Sara D. Hodges Murat Kezer Judith A. Hall Jacquie D. Vorauer
The term “empathic accuracy” has been applied to people’s ability to infer the contents of other people’s minds—that is, other people’s varying feelings and/or thoughts over the course of a social interaction. However, despite the ease of intuitively linking this skill to competence in helping professions such as counseling, the “empathic” prefix in its name may have contributed to overestimating its association with prosocial traits and behaviors. Accuracy in reading others’ thoughts and feelings, like many other skills, can be used toward prosocial—but also malevolent or morally neutral—ends. Prosocial intentions can direct attention towards other people’s thoughts and feelings, which may, in turn, increase accuracy in inferring those thoughts and feelings, but attention to others’ thoughts and feelings does not necessarily heighten prosocial intentions, let alone outcomes.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12020012
Authors: Maria Tilkeridou Despina Moraitou Vasileios Papaliagkas Nikoleta Frantzi Evdokia Emmanouilidou Magdalini Tsolaki
The aim of the present study was to examine how a person with amnestic mild cognitive impairment perceives the phenomenon of deception. Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) usually represents the prodromal phase of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with patients showing memory impairment but with normal activities of daily living. It was expected that aMCI patients would face difficulties in the attribution and interpretation of deceptive behavior due to deficits regarding their diagnosis. The main sample of the study consisted of 76 older adults who were patients of a daycare center diagnosed with aMCI. A sample of 55 highly educated young adults was also examined in the same experiment to qualitatively compare their performance with that of aMCI patients. Participants were assigned a scenario where a hypothetical partner (either a friend or a stranger) was engaged in a task in which the partner could lie to boost their earnings at the expense of the participant. The results showed that aMCI patients, even if they understood that something was going wrong, did not invest in interpretations of potential deception and tended to avoid searching for confirmative information related to the hypothetical lie of their partner compared to highly educated young adults. It seems that aMCI patients become somehow “innocent”, and this is discussed in terms of cognitive impairment and/or socioemotional selectivity.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010011
Authors: Selina Weiss Martin Böhnisch
Previous studies show that students’ goal orientation and conscientiousness are related to academic performance. Few studies, however, allow conclusions to be drawn about the factor structure of goal orientation and its distinctions from conscientiousness. In a study with N = 145 secondary school students (M = 13.9, SD = 0.85; 41% male), we investigated if the residuals of latent factors of goal orientation are still meaningfully correlated with academic performance and reasoning. Based on structural equation models, we have replicated the theoretically derived four-factor structure and showed that conscientiousness explains 29% of the variance in learning goals and 40% of the variance in work avoidance. Furthermore, we show that the residuals of goal orientation are mainly not significantly related to reasoning or educational standards (only work avoidance correlated with reasoning, and performance goals correlated with educational standards). Educational standards were highly correlated with reasoning. Implications for school practice and possible interventions are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010010
Authors: Xin Xu Susu Zhang Jinxin Guo Tao Xin
Computer-based assessments provide the opportunity to collect a new source of behavioral data related to the problem-solving process, known as log file data. To understand the behavioral patterns that can be uncovered from these process data, many studies have employed clustering methods. In contrast to one-mode clustering algorithms, this study utilized biclustering methods, enabling simultaneous classification of test takers and features extracted from log files. By applying the biclustering algorithms to the “Ticket” task in the PISA 2012 CPS assessment, we evaluated the potential of biclustering algorithms in identifying and interpreting homogeneous biclusters from the process data. Compared with one-mode clustering algorithms, the biclustering methods could uncover clusters of individuals who are homogeneous on a subset of feature variables, holding promise for gaining fine-grained insights into students’ problem-solving behavior patterns. Empirical results revealed that specific subsets of features played a crucial role in identifying biclusters. Additionally, the study explored the utilization of biclustering on both the action sequence data and timing data, and the inclusion of time-based features enhanced the understanding of students’ action sequences and scores in the context of the analysis.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010009
Authors: Sandra Oberleiter Sabine Patzl Jonathan Fries Jennifer Diedrich Martin Voracek Jakob Pietschnig
Generational IQ test scores in the general population were observed to increase over time (i.e., the Flynn effect) across most of the 1900s. However, according to more recent reports, Flynn effect patterns have seemingly become less consistent. So far, most available evidence on this phenomenon has been categorized by drawing on the classic fluid vs. crystallized intelligence taxonomy. However, recent evidence suggests that subdomain-specific trajectories of IQ change may well be more complex. Here, we present evidence for cross-temporal changes in measurement-invariant figural reasoning tasks in three large-scale, population-representative samples of German secondary school students (total N = 19,474). Analyses revealed a consistent pattern of significant and meaningful declines in performance from 2012 to 2022. Results indicate a decrease in figural reasoning of 4.68 to 5.17 IQ points per decade (corresponding to small-to-medium effects, Cohen ds from 0.34 to 0.38). These findings may be interpreted as tentative evidence for a decreasing strength of the positive manifold of intelligence as a potential cause of the increasing number of recent reports about inconsistent IQ change trajectories.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010008
Authors: David H. Uttal Kiley McKee Nina Simms Mary Hegarty Nora S. Newcombe
Spatial thinking skills are associated with performance, persistence, and achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) school subjects. Because STEM knowledge and skills are integral to developing a well-trained workforce within and beyond STEM, spatial skills have become a major focus of cognitive, developmental, and educational research. However, these efforts are greatly hampered by the current lack of access to reliable, valid, and well-normed spatial tests. Although there are hundreds of spatial tests, they are often hard to access and use, and information about their psychometric properties is frequently lacking. Additional problems include (1) substantial disagreement about what different spatial tests measure—even two tests with similar names may measure very different constructs; (2) the inability to measure some STEM-relevant spatial skills by any existing tests; and (3) many tests only being available for specific age groups. The first part of this report delineates these problems, as documented in a series of structured and open-ended interviews and surveys with colleagues. The second part outlines a roadmap for addressing the problems. We present possibilities for developing shared testing systems that would allow researchers to test many participants through the internet. We discuss technological innovations, such as virtual reality, which could facilitate the testing of navigation and other spatial skills. Developing a bank of testing resources will empower researchers and educators to explore and support spatial thinking in their disciplines, as well as drive the development of a comprehensive and coherent theoretical understanding of spatial thinking.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010007
Authors: Nils Myszkowski Martin Storme
Measurement models traditionally make the assumption that item responses are independent from one another, conditional upon the common factor. They typically explore for violations of this assumption using various methods, but rarely do they account for the possibility that an item predicts the next. Extending the development of auto-regressive models in the context of personality and judgment tests, we propose to extend binary item response models—using, as an example, the 2-parameter logistic (2PL) model—to include auto-regressive sequential dependencies. We motivate such models and illustrate them in the context of a publicly available progressive matrices dataset. We find an auto-regressive lag-1 2PL model to outperform a traditional 2PL model in fit as well as to provide more conservative discrimination parameters and standard errors. We conclude that sequential effects are likely overlooked in the context of cognitive ability testing in general and progressive matrices tests in particular. We discuss extensions, notably models with multiple lag effects and variable lag effects.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010006
Authors: Angelika Beate Christiane Becker Jenny Maurer Monika Daseking Franz Pauls
Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) 10-primary subtest battery was analyzed across a group of children and adolescents with ADHD (n = 91) and a control group (n = 91) matched by sex, age, migration background, and parental education or type of school. First, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were performed to establish the model fit for the WISC-V second-order five-factor model in each group. A sufficiently good fit of the model was found for the data in both groups. Subsequently, multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFAs) were conducted to test for measurement invariance across the ADHD and control group. Results of these analyses indicated configural and metric invariance but did not support full scalar invariance. However, after relaxing equality constraints on the Vocabulary (VC), Digit Span (DS), Coding (CD), Symbol Search (SS), and Picture Span (PS) subtest intercepts as well as on the intercepts of the first-order factors Working Memory (WM) and Processing Speed (PS), partial scalar invariance could be obtained. Furthermore, model-based reliability coefficients indicated that the WISC-V provides a more precise measurement of general intelligence (e.g., represented by the Full-Scale IQ, FSIQ) than it does for cognitive subdomains (e.g., represented by the WISC-V indexes). Group comparisons revealed that the ADHD group scored significantly lower than the control group on four primary subtests, thus achieving significantly lower scores on the corresponding primary indexes and the FSIQ. Given that measurement invariance across the ADHD and the control group could not be fully confirmed for the German WISC-V, clinical interpretations based on the WISC-V primary indexes are limited and should only be made with great caution regarding the cognitive profiles of children and adolescents with ADHD.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010005
Authors: Suqin Lin Wenjin Duan Yifan Wang Haijun Duan
The classroom environment significantly affects the development of creativity. This study examined the impact of the classroom environment on students’ creativity and the moderating role of thinking styles in this relationship. For this study, we recruited 451 students from six secondary schools. Data were collected using the Chinese Language Creativity Test, Classroom Environment Inventory, and Thinking Styles Inventory. Hierarchical regression analysis examined the moderating effect of thinking styles on the relationship between the classroom environment and creativity. The results showed that peer relationships in the classroom environment negatively influence students’ fluency and originality in creativity. At the same time, teachers’ evaluation and teaching methods positively affect the fluency of creativity. Thinking styles moderated the impact of the classroom environment on language creativity. This study identified four different moderating effects: the thinking styles matching the classroom environment can enhance language creativity, whereas the mismatched ones hinder it. However, matching would limit language creativity for individuals with creative thinking styles (e.g., legislative and anarchic thinking styles), while a mismatch can boost creative performance. The findings help educators understand students’ creativity with different thinking styles in various classroom environments and provide individualized and effective strategies for optimizing educational environments and enhancing language creativity.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010004
Authors: Minyu Chang Charles Brainerd
Judgments of learning (JOLs) reactivity refers to the finding that the mere solicitation of JOLs modifies subsequent memory performance. One theoretical explanation is the item-specific processing hypothesis, which posits that item-level JOLs redound to the benefit of later memory performance because they enhance item-specific processing. The current study was designed to test this account. We factorially manipulated the organization (blocked vs. randomized) of categorized lists and JOL condition (item-JOLs, list-JOLs, no-JOLs) between participants, and fit the dual-retrieval model to free recall data to pinpoint the underlying memory processes that were affected by JOL solicitation. Our results showed that item-level JOLs produced positive reactivity for randomized but not for blocked categorized lists. Moreover, we found that the positive JOL reactivity for randomized categorized lists was tied to a familiarity judgment process that is associated with gist processing, rather than to item-specific recollective processes. Thus, our results pose a challenge to the item-specific processing explanation of JOL reactivity. We argue that JOL reactivity is not restricted to item-specific processing; instead, whether JOLs predominantly engage participants with item-specific or relational processing depends on the interaction between learning stimuli and JOLs.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010003
Authors: Samuel O. Ortiz Sarah K. Cehelyk
A fundamental concept in psychological and intelligence testing involves the assumption of comparability in which performance on a test is compared to a normative standard derived from prior testing on individuals who are comparable to the examinee. When evaluating cognitive abilities, the primary variable used for establishing comparability and, in turn, validity is age, given that intellectual abilities develop largely as a function of general physical growth and neuromaturation. When an individual has been raised only in the language of the test, language development is effectively controlled by age. For example, when measuring vocabulary, a 12-year-old will be compared only to other 12-year-olds, all of whom have been learning the language of the test for approximately 12 years—hence, they remain comparable. The same cannot be said when measuring the same or other abilities in a 12-year-old who has been raised only in a different language or raised partly with a different language and partly with the language of the test. In such cases, a 12-year-old may have been learning the language of the test at some point shortly after birth, or they might have just begun learning the language a week ago. Their respective development in the language of the test thus varies considerably, and it can no longer be assumed that they are comparable in this respect to others simply because they are of the same age. Psychologists noted early on that language differences could affect test performance, but it was viewed mostly as an issue regarding basic comprehension. Early efforts were made to address this issue, which typically involved simplification of the instructions or reliance on mostly nonverbal methods of administration and measurement. Other procedures that followed included working around language via test modifications or alterations (e.g., use of an interpreter), testing in the dominant language, or use of tests translated into other languages. None of these approaches, however, have succeeded in establishing validity and fairness in the testing of multilinguals, primarily because they fail to recognize that language difference is not the same as language development, much like cultural difference is not the same as acquisition of acculturative knowledge. Current research demonstrates that the test performance of multilinguals is moderated primarily by the amount of exposure to and development in the language of the test. Moreover, language development, specifically receptive vocabulary, accounts for more variance in test performance than age or any other variable. There is further evidence that when the influence of differential language development is examined and controlled, historical attributions to race-based performance disappear. Advances in fairness in the testing of multilinguals rest on true peer comparisons that control for differences in language development within and among multilinguals. The BESA and the Ortiz PVAT are the only two examples where norms have been created that control for both age and degree of development in the language(s) of the test. Together, they provide a blueprint for future tests and test construction wherein the creation of true peer norms is possible and, when done correctly, exhibits significant influence in equalizing test performance across diverse groups, irrespective of racial/ethnic background or language development. Current research demonstrates convincingly that with deliberate and careful attention to differences that exist, not only between monolinguals and multilinguals of the same age but also among multilinguals themselves, tests can be developed to support claims of validity and fairness for use with individuals who were in fact not raised exclusively in the language or the culture of the test.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010002
Authors: Eva Landmann Alina Krahmer Anne Böckler
Feeling with our conspecifics and understanding their sentiments and intentions is a crucial part of our lives. What is the basis for these forms of social understanding? If individuals ground their understanding of others’ thoughts and feelings in their own perceptual and factual experiences, it could present a challenge to empathize and mentalize with those whose reality of life is significantly different. This preregistered study compared two groups of participants who differed in a central perceptual feature, their visual abilities (visually impaired vs. unimpaired; total N = 56), concerning their social understanding of others who were themselves either visually impaired or unimpaired. Employing an adjusted version of the EmpaToM task, participants heard short, autobiographic narrations by visually impaired or unimpaired individuals, and we assessed their empathic responding and mentalizing performance. Our findings did not reveal heightened empathy and mentalizing proclivities when the narrator’s visual abilities aligned with those of the participant. However, in some circumstances, cognitive understanding of others’ narrations benefitted from familiarity with the situation. Overall, our findings suggest that social understanding does not mainly rely on perceptual familiarity with concrete situations but is likely grounded in sharing emotions and experiences on a more fundamental level.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12010001
Authors: Francisco J. Román Pablo Gutiérrez Juan Ramos-Cejudo Pedro Antonio González-Calero Pedro Pablo Gómez-Martín Cristina Larroy Ramón Martín-Brufau Carlos López-Cavada María Ángeles Quiroga
This study assesses cognitive abilities through video games for entertainment (Blek, Edge, and Unpossible) that were programmed from scratch to record players’ behavior and the levels achieved in a sample without emotional problems and in one with emotional problems. The non-emotional-problem sample was recruited from three universities and two bachelor’s degree programs. The emotional-problem sample was recruited from two outpatient centers. The participants in the emotional-problem sample completed reduced versions of the ability tests and video games, as required by their emotional problems. Three subtests of the Differential Aptitude Test that assessed abstract reasoning, visuospatial reasoning, and perceptual speed were selected as ability tests. All participants were required to complete a mental health questionnaire (PROMIS) and a brief questionnaire on their gaming habits and previous experience with the video games used. The results that were obtained showed good convergent validity of the video games as measures of cognitive abilities, and they showed that the behavior of players in the sample without emotional problems while playing predicted the level achieved in the Blek and Unpossible game fragments, but this was only true for Unpossible in the emotional-problem sample; finally, shorter versions of the Blek and Edge game fragments can be used because they maintain their good psychometric properties.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120226
Authors: Miguel H. Guamanga Fabián A. González Carlos Saiz Silvia F. Rivas
In our daily lives, we are often faced with the need to explain various phenomena, but we do not always select the most accurate explanation. For example, let us consider a “toxic” relationship with physical and psychological abuse, where one of the partners is reluctant to end it. Explanations for this situation can range from emotional or economic dependency to irrational hypotheses such as witchcraft. Surprisingly, some people may turn to the latter explanation and consequently seek ineffective solutions, such as visiting a witch doctor instead of a psychologist. This choice of an inappropriate explanation can lead to actions that are not only ineffective but potentially harmful. This example underscores the importance of inference to the best explanation (IBE) in everyday decision making. IBE involves selecting the hypothesis that would best explain the available body of data or evidence, a process that is crucial to making sound decisions but is also vulnerable to bias and errors of judgment. Within this context, the purpose of our article is to explore how the IBE process and the selection of appropriate explanations impact decision making and problem solving in real life. To this end, we systematically analyze the role of IBE in the ARDESOS-DIAPROVE program, evaluating how this approach can enhance the teaching and practice of critical thinking.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120225
Authors: David Z. Hambrick Alexander P. Burgoyne Erik M. Altmann Tyler J. Matteson
Scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) predict military job (and training) performance better than any single variable so far identified. However, it remains unclear what factors explain this predictive relationship. Here, we investigated the contributions of fluid intelligence (Gf) and two executive functions—placekeeping ability and attention control—to the relationship between the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score from the ASVAB and job-relevant multitasking performance. Psychometric network analyses revealed that Gf and placekeeping ability independently contributed to and largely explained the AFQT–multitasking performance relationship. The contribution of attention control to this relationship was negligible. However, attention control did relate positively and significantly to Gf and placekeeping ability, consistent with the hypothesis that it is a cognitive “primitive” underlying the individual differences in higher-level cognition. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed stronger evidence for the incremental validity of Gf and placekeeping ability in the prediction of multitasking performance than for the incremental validity of attention control. The results shed light on factors that may underlie the predictive validity of global measures of cognitive ability and suggest how the ASVAB might be augmented to improve its predictive validity.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120224
Authors: Mary Vitello Carola Salvi
The Gestalt psychologists’ theory of insight problem-solving was based on a direct parallelism between perceptual experience and higher-order forms of cognition (e.g., problem-solving). Similarly, albeit not exclusively, to the sudden recognition of bistable figures, these psychologists contended that problem-solving involves a restructuring of one’s initial representation of the problem’s elements, leading to a sudden leap of understanding phenomenologically indexed by the “Aha!” feeling. Over the last century, different scholars have discussed the validity of the Gestalt psychologists’ perspective, foremost using the behavioral measures available at the time. However, in the last two decades, scientists have gained a deeper understanding of insight problem-solving due to the advancements in cognitive neuroscience. This review aims to provide a retrospective reading of Gestalt theory based on the knowledge accrued by adopting novel paradigms of research and investigating their neurophysiological correlates. Among several key points that the Gestalt psychologists underscored, we focus specifically on the role of the visual system in marking a discrete switch of knowledge into awareness, as well as the perceptual experience and holistic standpoints. While the main goal of this paper is to read the previous theory in light of new evidence, we also hope to initiate an academic discussion and encourage further research about the points we raise.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120223
Authors: Eleonora Pizzigallo Cesare Cornoldi Serafino Buono Santina Città Francesco Viola Enrico Toffalini
Despite growing research on adults with specific learning disabilities (SLDs), evidence concerning their intellectual profile remains scarce. The present study examined the results of the administration of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Fourth Edition to 301 adults diagnosed with SLDs and compared them to the results obtained from previous studies with a large sample of children with SLDs. The results showed that: (1) as observed among children, adults with SLDs also presented higher scores in the subtests implying reasoning (associated with the General Ability Index, GAI) and lower scores in the subtests involving working memory and processing speed; (2) the discrepancy between full-scale IQ and the GAI had a good predictive value in discriminating adults with and without SLDs; (3) the four-factor hierarchical structure of intelligence proposed for the general adult population held for adults with SLDs as well, even though there were substantial differences in the loadings and a five-factor structure could be more appropriate; (4) similarities as well as strong differences were present between adults and children with SLDs. In adults, scores on subtests were generally lower, particularly in working memory and processing speed. However, in some cases, scores were equal or even higher (as in the “Similarity” subtest) among adults, meaning that the discrepancy between the full scale and the GAI was accentuated.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120222
Authors: Siyu Sun Dandan Sun Tianshu Xu
Developing algebraic thinking in elementary school has gained consensus among mathematics educators. The objective of this study is to understand the developmental trajectory of early algebraic thinking in elementary school students so as to assist teachers and curriculum developers in implementing instruction that aligns with students’ cognitive development. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey approach, involving 526 students from grades three to five in Shanghai, who were tested using a 12-item assessment that measured three aspects: “generalized arithmetic”, “functional thinking”, and “quantitative reasoning”. Latent class analysis was used to analyze students’ response strategies, and, in conjunction with individual interviews, this study identified potential developmental pathways in students’ early algebraic thinking, progressing from “arithmetic thinking” to “concrete algebraic thinking”, “generalized algebraic thinking”, and finally to “symbolic algebraic thinking”. As thinking levels advanced, significant differences in students’ response strategies emerged, with notable improvements in “generalization abilities” and “symbolization abilities”. This study suggests that educational practices should encompass content in elementary arithmetic curricula that fosters generalization abilities. Additionally, providing students with opportunities for diverse representations can effectively stimulate the development of early algebraic thinking.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120221
Authors: Hannah L. Whitehead Zachary Hawes
There is an emerging consensus that numerical, executive function (EF), and spatial skills are foundational to children’s mathematical learning and development. Moreover, each skill has been theorized to relate to mathematics for different reasons. Thus, it is possible that each cognitive construct is related to mathematics through distinct pathways. The present study tests this hypothesis. One-hundred and eighty 4- to 9-year-olds (Mage = 6.21) completed a battery of numerical, EF, spatial, and mathematics measures. Factor analyses revealed strong, but separable, relations between children’s numerical, EF, and spatial skills. Moreover, the three-factor model (i.e., modelling numerical, EF, and spatial skills as separate latent variables) fit the data better than a general intelligence (g-factor) model. While EF skills were the only unique predictor of number line performance, spatial skills were the only unique predictor of arithmetic (addition) performance. Additionally, spatial skills were related to the use of more advanced addition strategies (e.g., composition/decomposition and retrieval), which in turn were related to children’s overall arithmetic performance. That is, children’s strategy use fully mediated the relation between spatial skills and arithmetic performance. Taken together, these findings provide new insights into the cognitive foundations of early mathematics, with implications for assessment and instruction moving forward.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120220
Authors: Mengjiao Wu Christopher A. Was
This study investigated the relationship between executive functions and metacognition. Both constructs have been well-studied, but little research has focused on their connections. The goal of the current investigation was to increase the understanding of the relationship between metacognition and executive functions by assessing the relationships between metacognitive monitoring accuracy and the three component executive functions (updating, inhibition, and shifting) among college students. Metacognitive monitoring accuracy was measured using a knowledge monitoring accuracy (KMA) test. The three components of executive functions, updating, inhibition, and shifting were measured, respectively, using the ABCD updating task, the Stroop color–word interference test, and the letter–number task. The Tower of Hanoi task was used to measure the complex executive functions (inhibition and updating). Correlation and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships. The results indicate that updating is the only component executive function that significantly correlated with metacognitive monitoring, suggesting that metacognition—specifically, metacognitive monitoring—is associated with at least one component of executive functioning.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120219
Authors: Carlos Saiz Silvia F. Rivas
In this paper, we propose an application of critical thinking (CT) to real-world problems, taking into account personal well-being (PB) and lifelong formation (FO). First, we raise a substantial problem with CT, which is that causal explanation is of little importance in solving everyday problems. If we care about everyday problems, we must treat the identification of causal relationships as a fundamental mechanism and action as a form of solution once the origin of the problem is unequivocally known. Decision-making and problem-solving skills should be the execution of the causal explanations reached. By acting this way, we change reality and achieve our goals, which are none other than those imposed by our PB. However, to achieve changes or results, we must have these fundamental competencies in CT, and these are not innate; we must acquire and develop them, that is, we must train ourselves to have CT competencies according to the demands of today’s world. Finally, in this paper we propose a causal model that seeks to identify and test the causal relationships that exist between the different factors or variables that determine the CT-PB-FO relationship. We present some results on the relevance of causality and how to effectively form and address real-world problems from causality. However, there are still questions to be clarified that need to be investigated in future studies.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120218
Authors: Xunwei Sun Qiufang Fu
People rely on multiple learning systems to complete weather prediction (WP) tasks with visual cues. However, how people perform in audio and audiovisual modalities remains elusive. The present research investigated how the cue modality influences performance in probabilistic category learning and conscious awareness about the category knowledge acquired. A modified weather prediction task was adopted, in which the cues included two dimensions from visual, auditory, or audiovisual modalities. The results of all three experiments revealed better performances in the visual modality relative to the audio and audiovisual modalities. Moreover, participants primarily acquired unconscious knowledge in the audio and audiovisual modalities, while conscious knowledge was acquired in the visual modality. Interestingly, factors such as the amount of training, the complexity of visual stimuli, and the number of objects to which the two cues belonged influenced the amount of conscious knowledge acquired but did not change the visual advantage effect. These findings suggest that individuals can learn probabilistic cues and category associations across different modalities, but a robust visual advantage persists. Specifically, visual associations can be learned more effectively, and are more likely to become conscious. The possible causes and implications of these effects are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11120217
Authors: Nathaniel von der Embse Stephen Kilgus Carly Oddleifson Jason D. Way Megan Welliver
The mental health needs of youth are both significant and increasing. Recent advancements have highlighted the need to reduce psychological distress while promoting the development of important social and emotional competencies. Current social and emotional assessment tools are limited in important ways that preclude their widespread use. In the current article, these limitations are discussed. A novel social and emotional learning assessment framework guided by methodological and theoretical innovations is presented. Future research directions and opportunities are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110216
Authors: Victoria L. Quirk Justin L. Kern
The measurement of psychological constructs is frequently based on self-report tests, which often have Likert-type items rated from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”. Recently, a family of item response theory (IRT) models called IRTree models have emerged that can parse out content traits (e.g., personality traits) from noise traits (e.g., response styles). In this study, we compare the selection validity and adverse impact consequences of noise traits on selection when scores are estimated using a generalized partial credit model (GPCM) or an IRTree model. First, we present a simulation which demonstrates that when noise traits do exist, the selection decisions made based on the IRTree model estimated scores have higher accuracy rates and have less instances of adverse impact based on extreme response style group membership when compared to the GPCM. Both models performed similarly when there was no influence of noise traits on the responses. Second, we present an application using data collected from the Open-Source Psychometrics Project Fisher Temperament Inventory dataset. We found that the IRTree model had a better fit, but a high agreement rate between the model decisions resulted in virtually identical impact ratios between the models. We offer considerations for applications of the IRTree model and future directions for research.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110215
Authors: Daniele Zavagno
Illusions are important ‘tools’ in the study of perceptual processes. Their conception is typically linked to the notion of veridicality in a dual-world framework, in which we either see the macro physical world as it is (ecological approaches) or we derive a faithful representation (cognitive approaches) of it. Within such theoretical views, illusions are errors caused by inadequate sensory information (because of poor quality, insufficient quantity, contradictory, etc.). From a phenomenological stance, however, experiencing an illusion does not relate to the physical quality of the distal or proximal stimulus; rather, it depends on a comparison between the actual perception and what one believes should be perceived given the knowledge s/he has gained about the physical stimulus. Within such a framework, illusions are still considered of extreme importance in the study of the processes underpinning perception, but they are not conceived as errors. They represent instead a cognitive clash between actual perception and hypothesized perception based on some sort of comparison, thus also showing their potential as a tool for studying the underpinnings of cognitive processes.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110214
Authors: Alessandro Soranzo Luca Taddio
This article explores the relationship between neurophysiology and phenomenology in the context of ambiguous figures. Divided into three parts, the study investigates new forms of stimulus and experience errors that arise from ambiguous figures. Part 1 discusses the limitations of a single-disciplinary approach and cautions against relying only on neurophysiological explanations for perceptions. A sole reliance on neurophysiological explanations can lead to stimulus and experience errors, as well as to the development of an unfounded mind/body dualism. Part 2 focusses on the stimulus error associated with ambiguous figures. It also shows how the Mona Lisa’s ambiguous expression can cause the experience error. Unlike other forms of ambiguous figures, different expressions of Mona Lisa are perceived when seen in different definitions. It is shown how assigning a higher ontological status to one of the expressions because it aligns with our knowledge of the nervous system, as conjectured by some authors, gives rise to the experience error. Part 3 emphasises the importance of complementing neurophysiological interpretations with phenomenological ones for a better understanding of perceptual phenomena. Phenomenology provides constraints and corrections to neurophysiology, whereas neurophysiology informs phenomenology through empirical findings. The theory of levels of reality is introduced as a framework to underlie the connections and dependencies between different perspectives. Using both neurophysiological and phenomenological approaches, a comprehensive understanding of perceptual phenomena emerges, surpassing the limitations of each discipline. This method encourages a holistic view of perception, where neurophysiology and phenomenology coexist, complementing and enriching each other’s insights.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110213
Authors: Emily L. Winter Jacqueline M. Caemmerer Sierra M. Trudel Johanna deLeyer-Tiarks Melissa A. Bray Brittany A. Dale Alan S. Kaufman
The literature on children born prematurely has consistently shown that full-term babies outperform preterm babies by about 12 IQ points, even when tested as adolescents, and this advantage for full-term infants extends to the language and motor domains as well. The results of comprehensive meta-analyses suggest that the degree of prematurity greatly influences later test performance, but these inferences are based on data from an array of separate studies with no control of potential confounding variables such as age. This study analyzed Bayley-4 data for 66 extremely premature infants and toddlers (<32 weeks), 70 moderately premature children (32–36 weeks), and 133 full-term children. All groups were carefully matched on key background variables by the test publisher during the standardization of the Bayley-4. This investigation analyzed data on the five subtests: cognitive, expressive communication, receptive communication, fine motor, and gross motor. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) assessed for group mean differences across the three subsamples, while controlling for the children’s age. Extremely premature children scored significantly lower than moderately premature children on all subtests, and both preterm groups were significantly outscored by the full-term sample across all domains. In each set of comparisons, the cognitive and motor subtests yielded the largest differences, whereas language development, both expressive and receptive, appeared the least impacted by prematurity. A follow-up MANOVA was conducted to examine full-term versus preterm discrepancies on the five subtests for infants (2–17 months) vs. toddlers (18–42 months). For that analysis, the two preterm groups were combined into a single preterm sample, and a significant interaction between the age level and group (full-term vs. preterm) was found. Premature infants scored lower than premature toddlers on receptive communication, fine motor, and cognitive. Neither expressive communication nor gross motor produced significant discrepancies between age groups The findings of this study enrich the preterm literature on the degree of prematurity; the age-based interactions have implications for which abilities are most likely to improve as infants grow into toddlerhood.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110212
Authors: Robert J. Sternberg Caleb Co Ilaria Siriner Arezoo Soleimani-Dashtaki Chak Haang Wong
Cultural intelligence is one’s ability to adapt when confronted with problems arising in interactions with people or artifacts of cultures other than one’s own. In this study, we explored two maximum-performance tests of cultural intelligence. One, used in previous research, measured cultural intelligence in the context of an individual conducting a business trip in another culture. The second, new to this research, measured cultural intelligence in the context of meeting someone from another culture while one is in the context of one’s own culture. So, the difference between the two tests was whether one was in one’s own culture or another and whether the individual who most had to adapt was oneself or someone else. We found that cultural intelligence in the two contexts was essentially the same construct. Cultural intelligence as measured by a typical-performance test is a different construct from cultural intelligence as measured by a maximum-performance test. In this research, general intelligence showed some limited correlation with cultural intelligence as measured by a maximum-performance, but not a typical-performance test. Cultural intelligence as an ability and as a disposition are not the same but rather complement each other.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110211
Authors: Patrick A. O’Connor Kinga Morsanyi Teresa McCormack
Mathematical anxiety (MA) and mathematics performance typically correlate negatively in studies of adolescents and adults, but not always amongst young children, with some theorists questioning the relevance of MA to mathematics performance in this age group. Evidence is also limited in relation to the developmental origins of MA and whether MA in young children can be linked to their earlier mathematics performance. To address these questions, the current study investigated whether basic and formal mathematics skills around 4 and 5 years of age were predictive of MA around the age of 7–8. Additionally, we also examined the cross-sectional relationships between MA and mathematics performance in 7–8-year-old children. Specifically, children in our study were assessed in their first (T1; aged 4–5), second (T2; aged 5–6), and fourth years of school (T3; aged 7–8). At T1 and T2, children completed measures of basic numerical skills, IQ, and working memory, as well as curriculum-based mathematics tests. At T3, children completed two self-reported MA questionnaires, together with a curriculum-based mathematics test. The results showed that MA could be reliably measured in a sample of 7–8-year-olds and demonstrated the typical negative correlation between MA and mathematical performance (although the strength of this relationship was dependent on the specific content domain). Importantly, although early formal mathematical skills were unrelated to later MA, there was evidence of a longitudinal relationship between basic early symbolic number skills and later MA, supporting the idea that poorer basic numerical skills relate to the development of MA.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110210
Authors: Marcello Mortillaro Katja Schlegel
Emotional intelligence (EI) has gained significant popularity as a scientific construct over the past three decades, yet its conceptualization and measurement still face limitations. Applied EI research often overlooks its components, treating it as a global characteristic, and there are few widely used performance-based tests for assessing ability EI. The present paper proposes avenues for advancing ability EI measurement by connecting the main EI components to models and theories from the emotion science literature and related fields. For emotion understanding and emotion recognition, we discuss the implications of basic emotion theory, dimensional models, and appraisal models of emotion for creating stimuli, scenarios, and response options. For the regulation and management of one’s own and others’ emotions, we discuss how the process model of emotion regulation and its extensions to interpersonal processes can inform the creation of situational judgment items. In addition, we emphasize the importance of incorporating context, cross-cultural variability, and attentional and motivational factors into future models and measures of ability EI. We hope this article will foster exchange among scholars in the fields of ability EI, basic emotion science, social cognition, and emotion regulation, leading to an enhanced understanding of the individual differences in successful emotional functioning and communication.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110209
Authors: Alexandra Karousou Dimitra Economacou Nikos Makris
Performance in semantic verbal fluency (SVF) tasks, mainly measured by the number of words of a particular semantic category produced within a limited time, is a widely accepted measure of cognitive functioning used in the neuropsychological assessment of children and adults. Two strategic processes, Clustering and Switching (C&S) have been proposed to underlie fluency processes and affect performance in the task. However, few studies have reported on the development of those cognitive strategies and their relationship with word productivity in typically developing children. Even fewer studies have covered a broad developmental period from preschool to adolescence or measured the effect of contextual factors in this relationship. Based on a sample of 472 typically developing Greek-speaking children aged 4;0 to 16;11 years, we investigated the development of SVF performance and reported on the degree to which it is affected by C&S strategies, children’s sex, and level of parental education. Results revealed a large effect of age on word productivity and on the use of C&S strategies. Two switching factors (number of clusters and number of switches) and two clustering factors (mean cluster size and a novel measure, maximum cluster size), appeared to be significantly associated with word productivity, with the largest effect being attributed to the two switching factors. C&S factors, together with children’s age and parental education, predicted 91.7% of the variance in the SVF score. Children’s sex was not found to have a significant effect on either word productivity or C&S strategies. Results are discussed for their theoretical implications on the strategic processes underlying word production in typically developing children.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110208
Authors: Federica Biassoni Michela Gandola Martina Gnerre
This paper proposes an integration of embodied and phenomenological perspectives to understand the restorative capacity of natural environments. It emphasizes the role of embodied simulation mechanisms in evoking positive affects and cognitive functioning. Perceptual symbols play a crucial role in generating the restorative potential in environments, highlighting the significance of the encounter between the embodied individual and the environment. This study reviews Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) and Attention Restoration Theory (ART), finding commonalities in perceptual fluency and connectedness to nature. It also explores a potential model based on physiognomic perception, where the environment’s pervasive qualities elicit an affective response. Restorativeness arises from a direct encounter between the environment’s phenomenal structure and the embodied perceptual processes of individuals. Overall, this integrative approach sheds light on the intrinsic affective value of environmental elements and their influence on human well-being.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110207
Authors: D. Alan Bensley
A review of the research shows that critical thinking is a more inclusive construct than intelligence, going beyond what general cognitive ability can account for. For instance, critical thinking can more completely account for many everyday outcomes, such as how thinkers reject false conspiracy theories, paranormal and pseudoscientific claims, psychological misconceptions, and other unsubstantiated claims. Deficiencies in the components of critical thinking (in specific reasoning skills, dispositions, and relevant knowledge) contribute to unsubstantiated belief endorsement in ways that go beyond what standardized intelligence tests test. Specifically, people who endorse unsubstantiated claims less tend to show better critical thinking skills, possess more relevant knowledge, and are more disposed to think critically. They tend to be more scientifically skeptical and possess a more rational–analytic cognitive style, while those who accept unsubstantiated claims more tend to be more cynical and adopt a more intuitive–experiential cognitive style. These findings suggest that for a fuller understanding of unsubstantiated beliefs, researchers and instructors should also assess specific reasoning skills, relevant knowledge, and dispositions which go beyond what intelligence tests test.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110206
Authors: Carsten Kronborg Bak Simon Schulin Jeanne Krammer
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of online learning self-regulation on learning outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown among university college students. Quantitative k-means cluster analysis was used to examine the relationship among students in three different clusters based on their preferences toward online learning. The results indicated that online learning self-regulation had a significant positive effect on learning outcomes due to the shift to online learning. Thus, we identified a “learning gradient” among students, showing that cluster 1 students (preferences for 100% online) have the most positive preferences toward online teaching and the highest degree of self-regulation and learning outcome, cluster 2 students (moderate preferences for both physical and online teaching) are mixed (both positive and negative experiences) and moderate self-regulation and learning outcomes while cluster 3 students (preferences for physical classroom teaching) have the most negative preferences and the lowest self-regulation and learning outcome. The results from this study show that students’ self-regulated learning strategies during online teaching environments are important for their learning outcomes and that cluster 1 and 2 students especially profited from the more flexible online learning environment with organized and deep learning approaches. Cluster 3 students need more support from their educators to foster their self-regulation skills to enhance their learning outcomes in online teaching environments.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110205
Authors: Mitchell E. Munns Chuanxiuyue He Alexis Topete Mary Hegarty
Spatial ability is important for success in STEM fields but is typically measured using a small number of tests that were not developed in the STEM context, have not been normed with recent samples, or have not been subjected to modern psychometric analyses. Here, an approach to developing valid, reliable, and efficient computer-based tests of spatial skills is proposed and illustrated via the development of an efficient test of the ability to visualize cross-sections of three-dimensional (3D) objects. After pilot testing, three measures of this ability were administered online to 498 participants (256 females, aged 18–20). Two of the measures, the Santa Barbara Solids and Planes of Reference tests had good psychometric properties and measured a domain-general ability to visualize cross-sections, with sub-factors related to item difficulty. Item-level statistics informed the development of the refined versions of these tests and a combined measure composed of the most informative test items. Sex and ethnicity had no significant effects on the combined measure after controlling for mathematics education, verbal ability, and age. The measures ofcross-sectioning ability developed in the context of geology education were found to be too difficult, likely because they measured domain knowledge in addition to cross-sectioning ability. Recommendations are made for the use of cross-section tests in selection and training and for the more general development of spatial ability measures.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11110204
Authors: Burcu Arslan Bridgid Finn
In educational settings, students rely on metacognitive processes to determine whether or not to exert effort. We investigated ways to minimize cognitively disengaged responses (i.e., not-fully-effortful responses) during a low-stakes mathematics assessment. Initially, we established theory-driven time thresholds for each item to detect such responses. We then administered the test to 800 eighth-graders across three conditions: (a) control (n = 271); (b) instruction (n = 267); and (c) nudge (n = 262). In the instruction condition, students were told to exert their best effort before starting the assessment. In the nudge condition, students were prompted to give their best effort following each first-attempt response that was both incorrect and not-fully-effortful. Therefore, students had multiple opportunities to adjust their level of effort. Nudges, but not effort instruction, significantly reduced students’ not-fully-effortful responses. Neither the nudges nor the effort instruction significantly impacted performance. In a post-test survey, most students reported that they received nudges whenever they did not know the answer (55%). Overall, these findings suggest that while nudges reduce cognitively disengaged responses, most students appear to strategically modulate their level of effort based on self-monitoring their knowledge and response effort.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100203
Authors: Kit S. Double
Judgments of learning (JOL) are one of the most commonly used measures of metamemory. There is mixed evidence that eliciting JOLs while participants are studying word pairs influences their subsequent recall, a phenomenon known as reactivity. The majority of studies have found that positive reactivity occurs when word pairs are related. This finding suggests that when the final test is sensitive to the cues used to make a JOL (e.g., pair relatedness), a benefit to recall is observed. Here, in three experiments, JOL reactivity is examined in the presence of a salient, yet non-diagnostic cue—font size. The results show that when study time is limited and font size is made salient, eliciting JOLs impairs future recall. It is argued that JOLs prompt participants to evaluate salient cues in the learning environment to evaluate whether they will affect future recall. This increased processing of salient cues can impair recall if it comes at the expense of processing less salient but more informative cues. These findings suggest that the relevance to the test of the cues processed when JOLs are performed determines the direction of reactivity effects, with both positive and negative reactivity being possible depending on how diagnostic the salient metacognitive cues are for recall.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100202
Authors: José Carlos Vázquez-Parra Marco Cruz-Sandoval Paloma Suárez-Brito
Complex thinking is a cognitive skill that focuses on the integrated analysis and synthesis of information with a systemic and critical perspective that enables creative decision-making in the face of complex realities or challenges. At the educational level, it is valued as a transdisciplinary competency, meaning it is relevant for individuals regardless of their profession or field of study. This article presents the results of measuring the perceived achievement of complex thinking among 830 graduating students from a technological university in Mexico, aiming to identify possible significant differences based on their discipline or major. Methodologically, a multivariate descriptive statistical analysis was performed using R and RStudio software, including calculation of means and standard deviations, violin plots, boxplot and ANOVA significance analysis, and t-test. The results show that the differences were not statistically significant in all the disciplines, although it is possible to note significant differences, which reveals a differentiated behavior in the process of formation and development of complex thinking according to the discipline of study. In conclusion, the present study shows that the students’ areas of training are associated with differences in perception of complex thinking and its associated sub-competencies, thus differentiating this ability in their graduation profile. This article contributes to the existing literature on the formation and development of complex thinking and its sub-competencies as relevant professional skills for lifelong learning.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100201
Authors: Laura Szücs-Bencze Teodóra Vékony Orsolya Pesthy Nikoletta Szabó Tamás Zsigmond Kincses Zsolt Turi Dezso Nemeth
Predictive processes and numerous cognitive, motor, and social skills depend heavily on sequence learning. The visuomotor Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT) can measure this fundamental cognitive process. To comprehend the neural underpinnings of the SRTT, non-invasive brain stimulation stands out as one of the most effective methodologies. Nevertheless, a systematic list of considerations for the design of such interventional studies is currently lacking. To address this gap, this review aimed to investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a viable method of modulating visuomotor sequence learning and to identify the factors that mediate its efficacy. We systematically analyzed the eligible records (n = 17) that attempted to modulate the performance of the SRTT with rTMS. The purpose of the analysis was to determine how the following factors affected SRTT performance: (1) stimulated brain regions, (2) rTMS protocols, (3) stimulated hemisphere, (4) timing of the stimulation, (5) SRTT sequence properties, and (6) other methodological features. The primary motor cortex (M1) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were found to be the most promising stimulation targets. Low-frequency protocols over M1 usually weaken performance, but the results are less consistent for the DLPFC. This review provides a comprehensive discussion about the behavioral effects of six factors that are crucial in designing future studies to modulate sequence learning with rTMS. Future studies may preferentially and synergistically combine functional neuroimaging with rTMS to adequately link the rTMS-induced network effects with behavioral findings, which are crucial to develop a unified cognitive model of visuomotor sequence learning.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100200
Authors: Eliza L. Congdon Susan C. Levine
Gestures are hand movements that are produced simultaneously with spoken language and can supplement it by representing semantic information, emphasizing important points, or showing spatial locations and relations. Gestures’ specific features make them a promising tool to improve spatial thinking. Yet, there is recent work showing that not all learners benefit equally from gesture instruction and that this may be driven, in part, by children’s difficulty understanding what an instructor’s gesture is intended to represent. The current study directly compares instruction with gestures to instruction with plastic unit chips (Action) in a linear measurement learning paradigm aimed at teaching children the concept of spatial units. Some children performed only one type of movement, and some children performed both: Action-then-Gesture [AG] or Gesture-then-Action [GA]. Children learned most from the Gesture-then-Action [GA] and Action only [A] training conditions. After controlling for initial differences in learning, the gesture-then-action condition outperformed all three other training conditions on a transfer task. While gesture is cognitively challenging for some learners, that challenge may be desirable—immediately following gesture with a concrete representation to clarify that gesture’s meaning is an especially effective way to unlock the power of this spatial tool and lead to deep, generalizable learning.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100199
Authors: Fabrizio Bracco Martina Ivaldi
The history of safety science has seen the flourishing of several models and metaphors aimed at describing organizational accidents’ dynamics. Metaphors and their graphical representations are powerful tools to frame risks and adverse events in socio-technical systems; they help in coping with systemic complexity but can also become a constraint and even bias the understanding of our environment. This paper aims to investigate how metaphors and their graphical representations influence the comprehension of organizational accidents, how they could be misinterpreted, and, as a result, generate misunderstandings of events. To address these questions, we analyze three paradigmatic accident causation models, typical of three phases in the evolution of models in the last century, describing how the related metaphors and depictions could influence the perception and understanding of risk factors. In addition, we present some possible misunderstandings that could be produced by the metaphor and graphical features of representations, with a particular focus on safety outcomes. Eventually, we provide a framework with the basic characteristics of an effective model and metaphor for the description and analysis of organizational accidents in modern complex socio-technical systems. This framework could be used as a guide for proposing new and more effective models in safety science.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100198
Authors: Marina Fiori Ashley K. Vesely-Maillefer Maroussia Nicolet-Dit-Félix Christelle Gillioz
With the goal of furthering the understanding and investigation of emotional intelligence (EI), the present paper aims to address some of the characteristics that make EI a useful skill and, ultimately, a predictor of important life outcomes. Recently, the construct of hypersensitivity has been presented as one such necessary function, suggesting that high-EI individuals are more sensitive to emotions and emotional information than low-EI individuals. In this contribution, we aim to shift the perception of hypersensitivity, which is mostly seen with a negative connotation in the literature, to the perspective that hypersensitivity has the capacity to result in both negative and positive outcomes. We advance this possibility by discussing the characteristics that distinguish hypersensitive individuals who are also emotionally intelligent from those who are not. Based on an emotion information processing approach, we posit that emotional intelligence stems from the ability to manage one’s level of hypersensitivity: high-EI individuals are those who are better able to use hypersensitivity as an adaptive rather than a disabling feature. Ultimately, we propose that hypersensitivity can represent a sort of “superpower” that, when paired with regulatory processes that balance this hypersensitivity, characterizes the functioning of high-EI individuals and accounts for the positive outcomes reported in the literature.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100197
Authors: Marco Bertamini
There are many situations in which we interact with collections of objects, from a crowd of people to a bowl of blackberries. There is an experience of the quantity of these items, although not a precise number, and we have this impression quickly and effortlessly. It can be described as an expressive property of the whole. In the literature, the study of this sense of numerosity has a long history, which is reviewed here with examples. I argue that numerosity is a direct perceptual experience, and that all experiences of numerosity, not only estimations, are affected by perceptual organisation.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100196
Authors: Nathaniel S. Eckland Renee J. Thompson
Emotional clarity is one facet of emotional intelligence that refers to one’s meta-understanding of and ability to identify and describe feelings. The existing research has largely focused on trait emotional clarity and its benefits for greater psychological well-being, more successful emotion regulation/coping, and diminished psychopathology. Researchers have begun to examine state or momentary emotional clarity in daily life. In this paper, we situate emotional clarity within the larger literature on emotional intelligence abilities. Then, we argue that state clarity relies on the ability to incorporate information from the dynamic contexts that emotions unfold in and should more closely reflect one’s emotional intelligence ability relative to traditional trait measures. In addition, we review and make recommendations for measuring state emotional clarity in daily life and propose future research directions, focusing on how state emotional clarity could inform the study of emotion regulation, decision making, and goal pursuit in daily life.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100195
Authors: James L. Floman Marc A. Brackett Matthew L. LaPalme Annette R. Ponnock Sigal G. Barsade Aidan Doyle
Emotion understanding (EU) ability is associated with healthy social functioning and psychological well-being. Across three studies, we develop and present validity evidence for the Core Relational Themes of Emotions (CORE) Test. The test measures people’s ability to identify relational themes underlying 19 positive and negative emotions. Relational themes are consistencies in the meaning people assign to emotional experiences. In Study 1, we developed and refined the test items employing a literature review, expert panel, and confusion matrix with a demographically diverse sample. Correctness criteria were determined using theory and prior research, and a progressive (degrees of correctness) paradigm was utilized to score the test. In Study 2, the CORE demonstrated high internal consistency and a confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensional factor structure. The CORE showed evidence of convergence with established EU ability measures and divergent relationships with verbal intelligence and demographic characteristics, supporting its construct validity. Also, the CORE was associated with less relational conflict. In Study 3, the CORE was associated with more adaptive and less maladaptive coping and higher well-being on multiple indicators. A set of effects remained, accounting for variance from a widely used EU test, supporting the CORE’s incremental validity. Theoretical and methodological contributions are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100194
Authors: Daniela Dumitru Diane F. Halpern
In this study, we explore the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the job market and argue for the growing importance of critical thinking skills in the face of job automation and changing work dynamics. Advancements in AI have the potential to disrupt various professions, including, for example, programming, legal work, and radiology. However, solely relying on AI systems can lead to errors and misjudgments, emphasizing the need for human oversight. The concept of “job-proof skills” is introduced, highlighting the importance of critical thinking, problem-solving, empathy, ethics, and other human attributes that machines cannot replicate with the same standards and agility. We maintain that critical thinking can be taught and learned through appropriate classroom instruction and transfer-focused approaches. The need for critical thinking skills is further reinforced by the influx of information and the spread of misinformation in the age of social media. Moreover, employers increasingly value critical thinking skills in their workforce, yet there exists a gap between the demand for these skills and the preparedness of college graduates. Critical thinking is not only essential for the future of work, but also for informed citizenship in an increasingly complex world. The potential impact of AI on job disruption, wages, and employment polarization is discussed, highlighting the correlation between jobs requiring critical thinking skills and their resistance to automation. We conclude by discussing collaborative efforts between universities and labor market organizations to adapt curricula and promote the development of critical thinking skills, drawing on examples from European initiatives. The need to prioritize critical thinking skills in education and address the evolving demands of the labor market is emphasized as a crucial step for navigating the future of work and opportunities for workers.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100193
Authors: Jing Tian Grace Bennett-Pierre Nadia Tavassolie Nora S. Newcombe Marsha Weinraub Annemarie H. Hindman Kristie J. Newton Elizabeth A. Gunderson
Prior research has shown that the home learning environment (HLE) is critical in the development of spatial skills and that various parental beliefs influence the HLE. However, a comprehensive analysis of the impact of different parental beliefs on the spatial HLE remains lacking, leaving unanswered questions about which specific parental beliefs are most influential and whether inducing a growth mindset can enhance the spatial HLE. To address these gaps, we conducted an online study with parents of 3- to 5-year-olds. We found that parents’ growth mindset about their children’s ability strongly predicted the spatial HLE after controlling for parents’ motivational beliefs about their children, beliefs about their own ability, children’s age, children’s gender, and family SES. Further, reading an article about growth mindset led parents to choose more challenging spatial learning activities for their children. These findings highlight the critical role of parents’ growth mindset in the spatial HLE. Crucially, these findings demonstrate that general growth mindset messages without specific suggestions for parental practices can influence parental behavior intentions. Further, these effects were also observed in the control domain of literacy, underscoring the broad relevance of the growth mindset in the HLE.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100192
Authors: Corinne A. Bower Lynn S. Liben
Complex and often unobservable STEM constructs and processes are represented using a variety of representations, including iconic gestures in which the body is configured or moved to resemble a referent’s spatial properties or actions. Earlier researchers have suggested links between gesturing and expertise, leading some to recommend instructional gestures. Earlier research, however, has been largely correlational; furthermore, some gestures may be made with misleading positions or movements. Using the illustrative topic of strike in structural geology, we investigated the existence and impact of inaccurate instructional gestures. In Study 1, we examined videotapes of participants who had been asked to explain strikes to another person. We observed inaccurate (non-horizontal) strike gestures not only among novices (first introduced to strike during the study itself, n = 68) but also among participants who had greater expertise in geology (n = 21). In Study 2, we randomly assigned novices (N = 167) to watch video lessons in which the instructor accompanied verbal explanations of strikes with accurate, inaccurate, or no iconic gestures and tested students’ learning on a strike-mapping task. Students with low spatial-perception skills showed no impact of their gestural condition on performance. Students with high spatial-perception skills showed no advantage from accurate gestures but performed significantly worse in the inaccurate-gesture condition. Findings suggest that recommendations to use gestures during instruction should include professional development programs that reduce the occurrence of inaccurate gestures.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100191
Authors: Kendall A. Mather David M. Condon
Despite their known influence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, spatial abilities remain an underassessed aspect of cognition, particularly in educational settings. One explanation could be a lack of affordable, valid instruments for measuring various aspects of spatial ability. We evaluate the validity of a set of public-domain, algorithmically generated two-dimensional rotation items using a sample from the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment (SAPA) Project (N = 1,020,195). We examine the psychometric properties of the items and their relationship with various other cognitive abilities and personality traits. In addition, we identify the highest performing college majors and occupations on the 2D rotation items and on a set of 3D rotation items. Findings suggest strong unidimensionality for the 2D rotation items and the presence of lower-order factors which reflect differences across items in mental rotation demands. The highest scoring majors and occupations were similar—but not identical—across the 2D and 3D rotation measures and point to potentially meaningful differences across areas of expertise.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100190
Authors: Wenbo Zhao Muzi Xu Chenyuqi Xu Baike Li Xiao Hu Chunliang Yang Liang Luo
Testing (i.e., retrieval practice) is one of the most powerful strategies to boost learning. A recent study observed an incidental finding that making judgments of learning (JOLs) following retrieval practice further enhanced learning of education-related texts to a medium extent (Cohen’s d = 0.44) by comparison with retrieval practice itself, suggesting that making JOLs may serve as an easy-to-implement educational intervention to improve the benefits of testing. Three experiments (one pre-registered) were conducted to test the replicability of Ariel et al.’s incidental finding and to further determine whether making JOLs following retrieval practice reactively enhances the benefits of testing for text learning. The three experiments consistently provided Bayesian evidence supporting no reactivity effect of JOLs following retrieval practice, regardless of whether the replication experiments were conducted in a laboratory (Experiment 1) or online (Experiments 2 and 3), whether the stimuli were presented in the same language (Experiments 2 and 3) or not (Experiment 1), and whether participants were recruited from the sample pool (Experiment 2) or not (Experiments 1 and 3) as in the original study. These null findings imply that making JOLs cannot be utilized as a practical strategy to enhance the benefits of testing for learning of educationally related materials. Possible explanations for the null reactivity effect of JOLs following retrieval practice are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100189
Authors: Krisztián Józsa Tun Zaw Oo Diana Borbélyová Gabriella Zentai
This study focuses on examining the psychometric properties of the DIFER test, a widely used assessment tool for measuring school readiness. DIFER, which stands for Diagnostic Assessment Systems for Development, has gained prominence in Hungary and some European countries as an effective means of evaluating children’s readiness for school. By investigating the reliability and validity of the DIFER test, this study aims to enhance the understanding of the suitability of the DIFER test for cross-cultural and longitudinal studies in assessing school readiness. Conducted as a survey study, the research involved 3050 Hungarian students from Slovakia and Hungary. Employing Rasch analysis and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) aid in verifying the precision of the DIFER test as a valuable assessment instrument for determining school readiness. The results revealed a strong alignment between the difficulty level of the test and students’ actual abilities, demonstrating its reliability and validity. Importantly, the analysis found measurement invariance across various factors, including country, gender, and age. This indicates the consistent performance of the DIFER test in assessing school readiness across diverse groups. However, mean differences in latent abilities were observed among different age groups, indicating that older students exhibited notably higher proficiency in pre-mathematical skills compared to their younger counterparts. The findings offer valuable insights to educators, providing a reliable tool for assessing school readiness and identifying areas for improvement.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100188
Authors: Meltem Karaca Lisa Geraci Nayantara Kurpad Marcus P. G. Lithander Steve Balsis
When asked to predict how they will perform on an upcoming exam, students are often poorly calibrated, typically in the direction of overpredicting their performance. Research shows that low-performing students’ calibration tends to remain poor across multiple tests over the course of a semester. We tested whether these students remain confident in these erroneously high grade predictions across the semester or whether their confidence wanes, suggesting some degree of metacognitive awareness. In two studies, students made grade predictions prior to taking four in-class exams and then rated their level of confidence in their predictions. Results from both studies showed that miscalibration and confidence remained stable across tests, suggesting that low-performing students continued to believe that they would perform well on upcoming exams despite prior evidence to the contrary.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100187
Authors: Michele Vicovaro
This review article explores the foundation of laypeople’s understanding of the physical world rooted in perceptual experience. Beginning with a concise historical overview of the study of intuitive physics, the article presents the hypothesis that laypeople possess accurate internalized representations of physical laws. A key aspect of this hypothesis is the contention that correct representations of physical laws emerge in ecological experimental conditions, where the scenario being examined resembles everyday life experiences. The article critically examines empirical evidence both supporting and challenging this claim, revealing that despite everyday-life-like conditions, fundamental misconceptions often persist. Many of these misconceptions can be attributed to a domain-general heuristic that arises from the overgeneralization of perceptual-motor experiences with physical objects. To conclude, the article delves into ongoing controversies and highlights promising future avenues in the field of intuitive physics, including action–judgment dissociations, insights from developmental psychology, and computational models integrating artificial intelligence.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11100186
Authors: Kate Walton Jeff Allen Maxwell Box Dana Murano Jeremy Burrus
Introduction. Social and emotional (SE) skills are known to be linked to important life outcomes, many of which fall into the academic domain. For example, meta-analytic data show that the skill of Sustaining Effort is nearly or just as important for academic performance as intelligence. In a recent study with long-term tracking of high school students, those who came from schools with a strong emphasis on SE skill development were more likely to enroll in college within two years of high school graduation. Longitudinal studies like this one are rare, however. Method. The focus of the present study is on the SE skills of 6662 students assessed during high school and their relationship with high school academic performance, standardized college admissions test performance, and ultimately postsecondary enrollment and retention. Results. We examined mean-level differences in household income, high school GPA, ACT Composite scores, and SE skills by college enrollment and retention status and found several significant differences, often favoring the enrolled or retained group. Moreover, we found support for the incremental validity of SE skills as they predicted enrollment and retention above household income, high school GPA, and ACT scores. Discussion. Understanding SE skills’ effects on later academic outcomes is important to help inform early SE skill intervention and development efforts in secondary and postsecondary settings. Additional implications and future directions are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090184
Authors: Grigoria Bampa Magdalini Tsolaki Despina Moraitou Panagiota Metallidou Elvira Masoura Maria Mintziviri Konstantinos Paparis Dorothea Tsourou Georgia Papantoniou Maria Sofologi Vasileios Papaliagkas Georgios Kougioumtzis Efthymios Papatzikis
This study aimed to examine metacognitive abilities in individuals diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) by using online metacognitive measures during cognitive tasks. A total of 100 participants were enrolled, all aged 50 or older (mean age = 61.98; SD = 6.27), and with a minimum of six years of education (mean = 14.95; SD = 2.94). The sample included 50 individuals with aMCI (34 females) and 50 healthy controls (HC) (33 females). Both groups underwent metacognitive versions of memory tasks (Doors and People) and executive functions tasks (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). Metacognition was assessed through confidence ratings given after each answer (referred to as metacognitive monitoring) and the accuracy of the participants’ decisions to include or exclude answers from their final scores (known as metacognitive control). The results showed that although individuals with aMCI were aware of their cognitive limitations—evidenced by their lower confidence ratings across all tasks—they still exhibited overconfidence relative to their actual performance. Moreover, they included a greater number of incorrect answers in their final scores compared to the healthy control group. These findings suggest that while individuals with aMCI retain some level of awareness, their self-evaluations appear to lack precision. This observation was consistent across both types of cognitive tasks. The results underscore the need for additional research to better understand metacognition in MCI as well as the interplay between metacognitive monitoring and control.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090185
Authors: Jessica L. Atkins Teresa Vega-Uriostegui Daniel Norwood Maria Adamuti-Trache
A central component of adolescents’ social and emotional learning (SEL) consists of their ability to foster positive relationship skills through connectedness with their school community. This study focuses on the assessment of student’s SEL competencies in relation to their socio-demographic characteristics, formal and informal socialization behaviors, and academic outcomes in both public and private schools. The research is based on the secondary analysis of large-scale nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:2009) and focuses on ninth graders experiencing the transition to secondary education. Guided by both SEL and school climate frameworks, we identified survey items that describe students’ feelings of acceptance, pride, and support in their grade nine learning environment as indicators of perceptions of school climate and builders of SEL skills and used multivariate statistical analysis to examine how SEL skills and behavioral socialization affect school achievement. Study findings should inform school practitioners in developing academic and socio-cultural programs that incorporate SEL skills development.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090183
Authors: Emiliano Bruner
Brain evolution is a key topic in evolutionary anthropology. Unfortunately, in this sense the fossil record can usually support limited anatomical and behavioral inferences. Nonetheless, information from fossil species is, in any case, particularly valuable, because it represents the only direct proof of cerebral and behavioral changes throughout the human phylogeny. Recently, archeology and psychology have been integrated in the field of cognitive archeology, which aims to interpret current cognitive models according to the evidence we have on extinct human species. In this article, such evidence is reviewed in order to consider whether and to what extent the archeological record can supply information regarding changes of the attentional system in different taxa of the human genus. In particular, behavioral correlates associated with the fronto-parietal system and working memory are employed to consider recent changes in our species, Homo sapiens, and a mismatch between attentional and visuospatial ability is hypothesized. These two functional systems support present-moment awareness and mind-wandering, respectively, and their evolutionary unbalance can explain a structural sensitivity to psychological distress in our species.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090182
Authors: Foteini Aikaterini Pikouli Despina Moraitou Georgia Papantoniou Maria Sofologi Vasileios Papaliagkas Georgios Kougioumtzis Eleni Poptsi Magdalini Tsolaki
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with deficits in decision-making, which is of utmost importance for daily functioning. Despite evidence of declined decision-making abilities, research on decision-making interventions for MCI is scarce. As metacognition seems to play an important role in decision-making, the present study’s aim was to examine whether a metacognitive strategy training can improve MCI patients’ decision-making abilities. Older adults—patients of a day care center, diagnosed with amnestic MCI (n = 55) were randomly allocated in two groups, which were matched in gender, age and educational level. Τhe experimental group (n = 27, 18 women, mean age = 70.63, mean years of education = 13.44) received the metacognitive strategy training in parallel with the cognitive and physical training programs of the day care center, and the active control group (n = 28, 21 women, mean age = 70.86, mean years of education = 13.71) received only the cognitive and physical training of the center. The metacognitive strategy training included three online meeting sessions that took place once per week. The basis of the intervention was using analytical thinking, by answering four metacognitive-strategic questions, to make decisions about everyday situations. To examine the efficacy of the training, the ability to make decisions about everyday decision-making situations and the ability to apply decision rules were measured. Both groups participated in a pre-test session and a post-test session, while the experimental group also participated in a follow-up session, one month after the post-test session. The results showed that the experimental group improved its ability to decide, based on analytical thinking, about economic and healthcare-related everyday decision-making situations after they received the metacognitive strategy training. This improvement was maintained one month later. However, the ability to apply decision rules, which requires high cognitive effort, did not improve. In conclusion, it is important that some aspects of the analytical decision-making ability of amnestic MCI patients were improved due to the present metacognitive intervention.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090181
Authors: Tao Coll-Martín Rafael Román-Caballero María del Rocío Martínez-Caballero Paulina del Carmen Martín-Sánchez Laura Trujillo Luis Cásedas M. Concepción Castellanos Klara Hemmerich Greta Manini María Julieta Aguirre Fabiano Botta Andrea Marotta Elisa Martín-Arévalo Fernando G. Luna Juan Lupiáñez
The Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance—executive and arousal components (ANTI-Vea) is a computerized task of 32 min duration in the standard format. The task simultaneously assesses the main effects and interactions of the three attentional networks (i.e., phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control) and two dissociated components of vigilance with reasonable reliability (executive and arousal vigilance). We present this free and publicly accessible resource (ANTI-Vea-UGR; https://anti-vea.ugr.es/) developed to easily run, collect, and analyze data with the ANTI-Vea (or its subtasks measuring some attentional and/or vigilance components embedded in the ANTI-Vea). Available in six different languages, the platform allows for the adaptation of stimulus timing and procedure to facilitate data collection from different populations (e.g., clinical patients, children). Collected data can be freely downloaded and easily analyzed with the provided scripts and tools, including a Shiny app. We discuss previous evidence supporting that attention and vigilance components can be assessed in typical lab conditions as well as online and outside the laboratory. We hope this tutorial will help researchers interested in measuring attention and vigilance with a tool useful to collect data from large sample sizes and easy to use in applied contexts.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090179
Authors: Maria Sofologi Evaggelia Foutsitzi Aphrodite Papantoniou Georgios Kougioumtzis Harilaos Zaragas Magdalini Tsolaki Despina Moraitou Georgia Papantoniou
The present study investigated the pattern of relations among the tacit knowledge of high school teachers, their professional development, and their metacognitive knowledge concerning their teaching practices. Two hundred and seventy-nine secondary school teachers of both sexes, between the ages of 30 and 59 years, with teaching experience of between 1 and 19 years, participated in the study. Teachers’ tacit knowledge was evaluated through the hypothetical scenarios of the Tacit Knowledge Inventory for High School Teachers (TKI-HS), which has been developed for the estimation of teachers’ practical strategies. For the evaluation of teachers’ metacognitive knowledge and professional development, self-report questionnaires were administered to the participants. Path analysis indicated relationships between teachers’ metacognitive knowledge regarding difficulties in classroom management and in the use of modern methods and technologies on the one hand, and the use of certain tacit knowledge strategies on the other. In addition, teachers’ professional development, especially their ability to interact in socially heterogeneous groups, was also found to have an effect on their tacit knowledge strategies.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090180
Authors: Marcela Rodríguez-Cancino Andrés Concha-Salgado
This study sought to verify whether the constructs measured on the WISC-V are equivalent according to sex and age group in Chilean students to substantiate intergroup comparisons. For this, the measurement invariance of two variants of the five-factor intelligence model was explored with the ten primary subtests (hierarchical and oblique) using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Seven hundred and forty participants between 6 and 16 years of age from the Chilean standardization sample were assessed. The results show complete invariance according to sex, but incomplete according to the age group. The implications of these findings in both the professional area of psychology and future research are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090178
Authors: David Giofrè Enrico Toffalini Lorenzo Esposito Cesare Cornoldi
Despite being repeatedly investigated in children with typical development, research on gender differences in intellectual abilities in specific groups of children, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has been scarce. In this paper, we evaluated the performance of a large group of Italian children with ADHD using the WISC-IV. We aimed at investigating the presence of gender differences using a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis approach. Results showed that the WISC is largely gender-invariant. However, some tasks present non-invariant patterns (block design and coding). Differences at the latent level also showed some differences (favoring boys) in the verbal comprehension index. Conversely, differences at the latent level were not found in the full-scale IQ or in the other main indices. These results have theoretical and practical implications.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090177
Authors: Daniel B. Hajovsky Christopher R. Niileksela Sunny C. Olsen Morgan K. Sekula
Cognitive–achievement relations research has been instrumental in understanding the development of academic skills and learning difficulties. Most cognitive–achievement relations research has been conducted with large samples and represent average relations across the ability spectrum. A notable gap in the literature is whether these relations vary by cognitive ability levels (IQ). This study examined cognitive–achievement relations across different general ability levels (Low, Average, and High) to fill this gap. Based on Spearman’s Law of Diminishing Returns, it would be expected that general intelligence would be a stronger predictor of academic skills at lower levels of IQ, and more specific abilities would be stronger predictors of academic skills at higher levels of IQ. To test this, multi-group path analysis and structural equation modeling were used to examine whether integrated models of cognitive–reading relations are differentiated by IQ levels in the Woodcock–Johnson III and Woodcock–Johnson IV standardization samples. Global and broad cognitive abilities were used as predictors of basic reading skills and reading comprehension for elementary and secondary school students. The magnitude of prediction differed across ability groups in some cases, but not all. Importantly, the variance explained in basic reading skills and reading comprehension tended to be larger for the Low group compared to the Average and High groups. When variance accounted for by general intelligence was removed from the broad abilities, the effects of the broad abilities were similar across ability groups, but the indirect effects of g were higher for the Low group. Additionally, g had stronger relative effects on reading in the Low group, and broad abilities had stronger relative effects on reading in the Average and High groups. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090176
Authors: Hao Yao Shuzhen Chen Ang Liu
In the 21st century, creativity is a core competence and key thinking quality. Researchers and educators have been interested in exploring the effects of different stressors on individual creativity for decades. Using structural equation modeling and quantile regression, this study investigated the relationship between academic challenge stress and self-rated creativity of graduate students among 1210 Chinese graduate students. The study separately tested the mediating effect of resilience, the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy, and the chained mediating effect of both. This study analyzed the heterogeneity of the effects of academic challenge stress, academic self-efficacy, and resilience on self-rated creativity of different students. The research results showed that academic challenge stress had a direct positive effect on graduate students’ self-rated creativity. The mediating effect of resilience and academic self-efficacy and the chain mediating effect were established. The quantile regression revealed a decreasing marginal benefit of academic challenge stress and resilience for self-rated creativity and an inverted U-shaped relationship between academic self-efficacy and self-rated creativity.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090175
Authors: Alexander Robitzsch
Local structural equation models (LSEM) are structural equation models that study model parameters as a function of a moderator. This article reviews and extends LSEM estimation methods and discusses the implementation in the R package sirt. In previous studies, LSEM was fitted as a sequence of models separately evaluated as each value of the moderator variables. In this article, a joint estimation approach is proposed that is a simultaneous estimation method across all moderator values and also allows some model parameters to be invariant with respect to the moderator. Moreover, sufficient details on the main estimation functions in the R package sirt are provided. The practical implementation of LSEM is demonstrated using illustrative datasets and an empirical example. Moreover, two simulation studies investigate the statistical properties of parameter estimation and significance testing in LSEM.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090174
Authors: Rebecca Heinemann
This article examines the concept of intelligence and giftedness of the German psychologist and philosopher William Stern, the leading intelligence and giftedness researcher in Germany from the early 20th century to 1933. Stern developed a multifactorial giftedness model that integrated empirical and philosophical perspectives and was thus far ahead of his time. This concept was not taken up for a long time—not least because of the break that the research on giftedness suffered in Germany in 1933—and has not yet been presented with the required complexity and interdisciplinarity. In the USA, Stern’s research has so far been reduced to the IQ formula he created. The author presents Stern’s concept of giftedness in the context of the particular scientific–historical and educational–political situation in Germany in the first third of the 20th century. The pedagogical conclusions that Stern associated with the research on giftedness, and which essentially referred to the requirement to support all gifted children, regardless of social class, are also illuminated.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090173
Authors: Wenwu Dai Zhaolan Li Ning Jia
Social mentalizing plays a crucial role in two-person interactions. Depending on the target of inference and the content being inferred, social mentalizing primarily exists in two forms: first-order mentalizing and second-order mentalizing. Our research aims to investigate the cue sources and cue utilization patterns of social mentalizing during two-person interactions. Our study created an experimental situation of a two-person interaction and used the “Spot the difference” game to reveal our research question with multi-stage tasks. Our study was divided into two experiments, Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, which examined the cue sources and cue utilization patterns of first- and second-order mentalizing, respectively. The results of the experiments showed that (1) self-performance and other performance are significant cues utilized by individuals during social mentalizing. (2) Individuals employ discrepancies to modulate the relationship between self-performance and first-order mentalizing as well as to adjust the relationship between otherperformance and second-order mentalizing. The results of this study further complement the dual-processing model of mindreading and the anchoring and adjustment hypothesis during social inference.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090172
Authors: Ivana Bianchi Roberto Burro
After considering the pervasiveness of same/different relationships in Psychology and the experimental evidence of their perceptual foundation in Psychophysics and Infant and Comparative Psychology, this paper develops its main argument. Similarity and diversity do not complete the panorama since opposition constitutes a third relationship which is distinct from the other two. There is evidence of this in the previous literature investigating the perceptual basis of opposition and in the results of the two new studies presented in this paper. In these studies, the participants were asked to indicate to what extent pairs of simple bi-dimensional figures appeared to be similar, different or opposite to each other. A rating task was used in Study 1 and a pair comparison task was used in Study 2. Three main results consistently emerged: Firstly, opposition is distinct from similarity and difference which, conversely, are in a strictly inverse relationship. Secondly, opposition is specifically linked to something which points in an allocentrically opposite direction. Thirdly, alterations to the shape of an object are usually associated with the perception of diversity rather than opposition. The implications of a shift from a dyadic (same/different) to a triadic (similar/different/opposite) paradigm are discussed in the final section.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090171
Authors: Rakefet Ackerman Avital Binah-Pollak Tirza Lauterman
Success in cognitive tasks is associated with effort regulation and motivation. We employed the meta-reasoning approach to investigate metacognitive monitoring accuracy and effort regulation in problem solving across cultures. Adults from China, from Israel, and from Europe and North America (for simplicity: “Western countries”) solved nonverbal problems and rated their confidence in their answers. The task involved identifying geometric shapes within silhouettes and, thus, required overcoming interference from holistic processing. The Western group displayed the worst monitoring accuracy, with both the highest overconfidence and poorest resolution (discrimination in confidence between the correct and wrong solutions). The Israeli group resembled the Western group in many respects but exhibited better monitoring accuracy. The Chinese group invested the most time and achieved the best success rates, demonstrating exceptional motivation and determination to succeed. However, their efficiency suffered as they correctly solved the fewest problems per minute of work. Effort regulation analysis based on the Diminishing Criterion Model revealed distinct patterns: the Western participants invested the least amount of time regardless of item difficulty and the Israelis invested more time only when addressing the hardest items. The Chinese group allocated more time throughout but particularly in moderate to difficult items, hinting at their strategic determination to overcome the challenge. Understanding cultural differences in metacognitive processes carries implications for theory (e.g., motivational factors) and practice (e.g., international teams, education). The present findings can serve as a foundation for future research in these and other domains.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11090170
Authors: Wei Wang Liat Kofler Chapman Lindgren Max Lobel Amanda Murphy Qiwen Tong Kemar Pickering
AI, or artificial intelligence, is a technology of creating algorithms and computer systems that mimic human cognitive abilities to perform tasks. Many industries are undergoing revolutions due to the advances and applications of AI technology. The current study explored a burgeoning field—Psychometric AI, which integrates AI methodologies and psychological measurement to not only improve measurement accuracy, efficiency, and effectiveness but also help reduce human bias and increase objectivity in measurement. Specifically, by leveraging unobtrusive eye-tracking sensing techniques and performing 1470 runs with seven different machine-learning classifiers, the current study systematically examined the efficacy of various (ML) models in measuring different facets and measures of the emotional intelligence (EI) construct. Our results revealed an average accuracy ranging from 50–90%, largely depending on the percentile to dichotomize the EI scores. More importantly, our study found that AI algorithms were powerful enough to achieve high accuracy with as little as 5 or 2 s of eye-tracking data. The research also explored the effects of EI facets/measures on ML measurement accuracy and identified many eye-tracking features most predictive of EI scores. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11080169
Authors: Gary Neil Marks
Modernization and meritocratic theories contend that with modernization, socioeconomic background (SES) becomes less important for educational and socioeconomic attainments, while cognitive ability becomes more important. However, the evidence is mixed. This study investigates if the effects of SES and cognitive ability on educational and labor market outcomes have changed in the US by comparing two longitudinal cohort studies: the 1960 Project Talent and the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. For all outcomes—grades-at-school, educational and occupational attainment, and income—cognitive ability clearly has stronger effects than a composite and broad measure of SES. The effects of cognitive ability for grades-at-school and income are notably stronger in the more recent cohort, whereas its effects on educational and occupational attainment are similar. SES effects, net of ability, for educational and occupational attainment are only moderate and for school grades and income are very small (β < 0.10). However, for each outcome SES effects are stronger in the more recent NLSY79 cohort. This is attributed to ability being a stronger influence on the educational and socioeconomic attainments of NLSY79 parents compared to Project Talent parents. These analyses suggest that in the US, cognitive ability has long been an important, and SES a much weaker, influence on educational and subsequent socioeconomic outcomes.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11080168
Authors: Aaron G. Beckner Mary Katz David N. Tompkins Annika T. Voss Deaven Winebrake Vanessa LoBue Lisa M. Oakes Marianella Casasola
Mental rotation is a critically important, early developing spatial skill that is related to other spatial cognitive abilities. Understanding the early development of this skill, however, requires a developmentally appropriate assessment that can be used with infants, toddlers, and young children. We present here a new eye-tracking task that uses a staircase procedure to assess mental rotation in 12-, 24-, and 36-month-old children (N = 41). To ensure that all children understood the task, the session began with training and practice, in which the children learned to fixate which of two houses a giraffe, facing either left or right, would approach. The adaptive two-up, one-down staircase procedure assessed the children’s ability to fixate the correct house when the giraffe was rotated in 30° (up) or 15° (down) increments. The procedure was successful, with most children showing evidence of mental rotation. In addition, the children were less likely to succeed as the angle of rotation increased, and the older children succeeded at higher angles of rotation than the younger children, replicating previous findings with other procedures. The present study contributes a new paradigm that can assess the development of mental rotation in young children and holds promise for yielding insights into individual differences in mental rotation.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11080167
Authors: Yoshifumi Ikeda Yosuke Kita Yuhei Oi Hideyuki Okuzumi Silvia Lanfranchi Francesca Pulina Irene Cristina Mammarella Katie Allen David Giofrè
There is a host of research on the structure of working memory (WM) and its relationship with intelligence in adults, but only a few studies have involved children. In this paper, several different WM models were tested on 170 Japanese school children (from 7 years and 5 months to 11 years and 6 months). Results showed that a model distinguishing between modalities (i.e., verbal and spatial WM) fitted the data well and was therefore selected. Notably, a bi-factor model distinguishing between modalities, but also including a common WM factor, presented with a very good fit, but was less parsimonious. Subsequently, we tested the predictive power of the verbal and spatial WM factors on fluid and crystallized intelligence. Results indicated that the shared contribution of WM explained the largest portion of variance of fluid intelligence, with verbal and spatial WM independently explaining a residual portion of the variance. Concerning crystallized intelligence, however, verbal WM explained the largest portion of the variance, with the joint contribution of verbal and spatial WM explaining the residual part. The distinction between verbal and spatial WM could be important in clinical settings (e.g., children with atypical development might struggle selectively on some WM components) and in school settings (e.g., verbal and spatial WM might be differently implicated in mathematical achievement).
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11080166
Authors: Desirée Llamas-Díaz Rosario Cabello Raquel Gómez-Leal María José Gutiérrez-Cobo Alberto Megías-Robles Pablo Fernández-Berrocal
Adolescence is an increasingly vulnerable period for the onset of affective disorders and other mental health issues that can significantly impact an individual’s subjective well-being. This study aims to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (ability EI), measured with a performance-based instrument, and Subjective Happiness in adolescents. It also explores the mediating role of positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) in this association and the moderating role of gender. The sample consisted of 333 first-year secondary school students from five centers in Spain, with an average age of 12.11 years (SD = 0.64), ranging from 11–14 years. Path analysis revealed an indirect effect (through NA and PA jointly) of Total Ability EI on Subjective Happiness and a positive direct effect that was observed only in females. Furthermore, this association was explored through various branches of ability EI. The results of this study suggest that interventions aimed at improving emotional abilities in adolescents while modulating the intensity of their emotions could significantly impact their overall well-being.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11080165
Authors: Andrea Frick Stefan Pichelmann
Mental rotation (MR) and perspective taking (PT) are important spatial abilities and predictive of performance in other cognitive domains. Yet, age-appropriate measures to assess these spatial abilities in children are still rare. This study examined psychometric properties of four MR tasks in 6- to 9-year-olds (N = 96). Two were developed specifically for children and two were based on established assessments for adults; one of each was a computerized and one was a paper–pencil task. Furthermore, spatial perspective taking (PT)—a different but closely related ability—was assessed to determine discriminant validity. Factor analyses showed that all MR tasks loaded on one single factor, with PT only loading weakly on the same factor, suggesting high construct validity. The computerized task for adults showed moderate factor loadings, constituted its own (but correlated) factor when a two-factor solution was forced, and showed the lowest reliabilities, suggesting that it was very difficult for children. On average, the new MR tasks had good to excellent reliabilities, differentiated well between age groups, and proved to be well-suited to assess MR in this age range. The PT task also showed good reliability and a steep developmental progression. Relations to verbal skills, gaming experience, and TV consumption are discussed.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11080164
Authors: Michelle L. Rivers Jessica L. Janes John Dunlosky Amber E. Witherby Sarah K. Tauber
Making judgments of learning (JOLs) while studying related word pairs can enhance performance on tests that rely on cue-target associations (e.g., cued recall) compared to studying alone. One possible explanation for this positive JOL reactivity effect is that the prompt to make JOLs, which typically occurs halfway through the presentation of each pair, may encourage learners to devote more attention to the pair during the second half of the encoding episode, which may contribute to enhanced recall performance. To investigate this idea, an online sample of participants (Experiment 1) and undergraduate students (Experiment 2) studied a set of moderately related word pairs (e.g., dairy–cow) in preparation for a cued recall test. Some participants made JOLs for each pair halfway through the presentation, whereas other participants did not. Also, some participants were presented with a fixation point halfway through the presentation, whereas other participants were not. The goal of this fixation point was to simulate the possible “reorienting” effect of a JOL prompt halfway through each encoding episode. In both an unsupervised online context and a supervised laboratory context, cued recall performance was higher for participants who made JOLs compared to those who did not make JOLs. However, presenting a fixation point halfway through the presentation of each pair did not lead to reactive effects on memory. Thus, JOLs are more effective than a manipulation that reoriented participants to the word pairs in another way (i.e., via a fixation point), which provides some initial evidence that positive reactivity for related pairs is not solely driven by attentional reorienting during encoding.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11080163
Authors: Naidan Tu Bo Zhang Lawrence Angrave Tianjun Sun Mathew Neuman
Noncognitive constructs are commonly assessed in educational and organizational research. They are often measured by summing scores across items, which implicitly assumes a dominance item response process. However, research has shown that the unfolding response process may better characterize how people respond to noncognitive items. The Generalized Graded Unfolding Model (GGUM) representing the unfolding response process has therefore become increasingly popular. However, the current implementation of the GGUM is limited to unidimensional cases, while most noncognitive constructs are multidimensional. Fitting a unidimensional GGUM separately for each dimension and ignoring the multidimensional nature of noncognitive data may result in suboptimal parameter estimation. Recently, an R package bmggum was developed that enables the estimation of the Multidimensional Generalized Graded Unfolding Model (MGGUM) with covariates using a Bayesian algorithm. However, no simulation evidence is available to support the accuracy of the Bayesian algorithm implemented in bmggum. In this research, two simulation studies were conducted to examine the performance of bmggum. Results showed that bmggum can estimate MGGUM parameters accurately, and that multidimensional estimation and incorporating relevant covariates into the estimation process improved estimation accuracy. The effectiveness of two Bayesian model selection indices, WAIC and LOO, were also investigated and found to be satisfactory for model selection. Empirical data were used to demonstrate the use of bmggum and its performance was compared with three other GGUM software programs: GGUM2004, GGUM, and mirt.
]]>Journal of Intelligence doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11080162
Authors: Lan Jiang Chunliang Yang Zhongling Pi Yangping Li Shaohang Liu Xinfa Yi
Is metacognitive ability a predictor of creative performance? Previous studies have produced conflicting findings. To clarify whether this relationship exists, the current study used eye tracking techniques and vocal thinking reports to explore creativity differences in individuals with different levels of metacognitive ability. One hundred and twelve participants completed the Metacognitive Ability scale, and were divided into two groups (with thirty participants in each group) based on their metacognition scores (the highest and lowest 27% of metacognitive ability scores). Then, participants in both groups completed two creative thinking tasks (AUT and CCRAT) while their eye behaviors were recorded by eye tracking. The results showed that participants with high metacognitive ability were better at divergent thinking, as evidenced by greater fixation and saccade counts, as well as smaller saccade amplitudes in the AUT task. In addition, Bayesian analyses provide anecdotal evidence that participants with high metacognitive ability tended to be better at convergent thinking. Furthermore, eye tracking results demonstrated that they exhibited longer fixation duration and more fixation count on the materials in the CCRAT task. These findings reflect an important role of metacognition in creative thinking, especially in divergent thinking.
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