Journal of Intelligence

23 pages, 2444 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Peer and Teacher Support on Students’ Creative Thinking: Emotional Intelligence as a Mediator and Emotion Regulation Strategy as a Moderator

by Yafei Shi, Qi Cheng, Yantao Wei, Yunzhen Liang and Ke Zhu

J. Intell. 2025, 13(5), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13050053 - 25 Apr 2025

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Abstract

This study aimed to explore the relationships among peer and teacher support, emotional intelligence, and creative thinking. A total of 335 middle school students in grade seven were surveyed in China, including boys 187 (55.8%) and girls 148 (44.2%), aged from 11 to 14 years (M = 12.5; SD = 0.5). Results of the partial least square structural equation modeling showed that emotional intelligence was a positive mediator in the processes from peer and teacher support to middle school students’ creative thinking, and emotion regulation strategies moderated these processes from emotional intelligence to creative thinking. Specifically, both peer and teacher support had an indirect effect on creative thinking through emotional intelligence. Moreover, the four dimensions of emotional intelligence bore different mediating powers. Among them, emotion regulation exhibited the greatest mediating power, and self-emotion appraisal is the least. In addition, both reappraisal and suppression positively moderated the impact of emotional intelligence on creative thinking. Moreover, reappraisal had stronger moderating power than that of suppression. Interestingly, the direct effects of both peer and teacher support on creative thinking were not observed. This study offers knowledge about the mechanisms of peer and teacher support and students’ creative thinking, and implications for practitioners were also discussed in this study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Social and Emotional Intelligence)

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48 pages, 1149 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

The Relationship Between Children’s Indoor Loose Parts Play and Cognitive Development: A Systematic Review

by Ozlem Cankaya, Mackenzie Martin and Dana Haugen

J. Intell. 2025, 13(5), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13050052 (registering DOI) - 23 Apr 2025

Viewed by 112

Abstract

Children’s engagement with toys and play materials can contribute to the foundational cognitive processes that drive learning. Loose parts are interactive, open-ended materials originally not designed as toys but can be incorporated into children’s play (e.g., acorns, cardboard, and fabric). Practitioners and researchers widely endorse loose parts for fostering creativity, divergent thinking, and problem-solving skills. Despite these recommendations, research on their specific role in young children’s cognitive development remains limited. This systematic review examines how indoor loose parts play has been studied in relation to young children’s (0–6 years) cognitive development. Following PRISMA guidelines, searches in bibliographic databases and forward and backward citation tracking identified 5721 studies published until December 2024. We identified 25 studies and evaluated the quality and risk of bias. Studies focused on children’s general cognitive outcomes, language development, and specific cognitive subdomains, with many reporting positive associations between children’s play materials and cognitive development. However, five studies found no such associations, and another seven did not address the relationship between play materials and outcomes. Despite methodological variation across studies, our systematic review identified a relationship between play materials similar to loose parts and children’s problem-solving, creativity, academic skills (reading and math), and both convergent and divergent thinking. Notably, only one study explicitly used the term “loose parts.”Our review identified empirical and methodological gaps regarding the relationship between play materials and cognitive development, which can inform future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Studies on Cognitive Processes)

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18 pages, 1419 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Importance of Individual and Expert Knowledge Grows as Clan Identity Diminishes: The Bedouin of Southern Israel Adapt to Anthropocene Ecology

by Michael Weinstock, Turky Abu Aleon and Patricia M. Greenfield

J. Intell. 2025, 13(5), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13050051 - 23 Apr 2025

Viewed by 128

Abstract

Before the Anthropocene, Bedouin communities in Southern Israel were based on a clan structure—a kin-based social network; clans were culturally and socially homogenous communities with a strong authority structure. Work consisted of subsistence activities necessary for physical survival. Group-based authority and cooperative problem solving were adaptive in this ecology. Throughout the Anthropocene, the Bedouin of Southern Israel have had to adapt to diverse urban environments, expanded educational opportunity, and exposure to media emanating from different cultures. Our study explored the implications of these ecological shifts for epistemic thinking by comparing three generations of 60 Bedouin families: adolescent girls, their mothers, and their grandmothers (N = 180). Families were evenly divided among three residence types differing in degree of urbanization and degree of population homogeneity: unrecognized Bedouin villages consisting of single clans; recognized Bedouin villages, towns, or cities, consisting of multiple clans; and ethnically diverse cities. Results: Across the generations, media exposure and formally educated parents have weakened the epistemic authority of family elders, in turn weakening clan identity. Ethnically diverse cities have weakened extended family identity. At the same time, personal knowledge and professional expertise have gained new cultural importance. These changes in epistemology and identity are adaptive in the ecological environments that have multiplied in the Anthropocene era. Local identity was strongest both in diverse cities, with their many attractions, and in unrecognized villages, where the population continues to occupy ancestral lands. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding Higher-Order Cognitive Abilities and Their Development in the Anthropocene)

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J. Intell., Volume 13, Issue 5 (May 2025) – 3 articles

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