1,720,992 research outputs found
The Impasse on Gender Differences in Intelligence: a Meta-Analysis on WISC Batteries
Full text linkThis meta-analysis reviews 79 studies (N = 46,605) that examined the existence of gender difference on intelligence in school-aged children. To do so, we limited the literature search to works that assessed the construct of intelligence through the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) batteries, evaluating eventual gender differences in indices and subtests. The theoretical framework we adopted is the cross-battery approach which locates cognitive abilities into different levels, also considering the possible mediating effect of the version of the WISC being used. As for broad abilities, a notable discrepancy emerged in favour of males for visual and crystallized intelligence, while female/male differences on fluid intelligence were negligible. Conversely, females’ performance on the processing speed factor was superior. Interesting results emerged at the subtest levels, albeit with less pronounced differences in performance. Results generally showed that older versions of WISC batteries displayed larger gender differences compared to the most recent ones
L'apprendimento della geometria in bambini dai 4 ai 6 anni
No full textIl presente lavoro si propone di fornire, attraverso un nuovo
strumento, un’analisi delle prestazioni dei bambini dai 4 ai 6 anni. Nello specifico gli obiettivi della ricerca erano contribuire alla standardizzazione dello strumento, analizzare le differenze legate all’età e verificare se le competenze geometriche testate potessero essere distinte in conoscenze geometriche di tipo dichiarativo e abilità visuospaziali. A tale scopo lo strumento è stato somministrato a 269 bambini frequentanti le ultime due classi della scuola dell’infanzia e il primo anno di scuola primaria. I risultati indicano che lo strumento possiede buone proprietà psicometriche e che esiste un trend evolutivo dai 4 ai 6 anni. Infine, attraverso l’analisi fattoriale sono stati individuati due fattori, uno relativo alle conoscenze geometriche e uno alle abilità visuospaziali
The Crucial Role of Working Memory in Intellectual Functioning
No full textCognitive psychology offers an important contribution to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying intelligence. In this paper, we synthesize the research showing that, among the different cognitive mechanisms associated with intelligence, working memory has a particularly high explanatory power, especially when considered in its active component involving not only the maintenance (as in short-term memory) but also the manipulation of information. The paper considers two main implications of this finding for the applied and clinical fields. For a start, we examine how intelligence tests take into consideration working memory. Secondly, we consider the highly debated literature on the effects of working memory training on intellectual performance. Theoretical and applied implications for the relationship between working memory and intelligence are discussed
Reliability of the g factor over time in Italian INVALSI data (2010-2022): What can achievement-g tell us about the Flynn effect?
No full textGenerational intelligence test score gains over large parts of the 20th century have been observed to be negatively associated with psychometric g. Recent reports about changes in the cross-temporal IQ trajectory suggest that ability differentiation may be responsible for both changes in g as well as increasingly (sub-)domain-specific and inconsistent trajectories. Schooling is considered to be a main candidate cause for the Flynn effect, which suggests that school achievement might be expected to show similar cross-temporal developments. In the present study, we investigated evidence for cross-temporal changes in achievement-based g in a formal large-scale student assessment in Italy (i.e., the INVALSI assessment; N = 1,900,000+). Based on data of four school grades (i.e., grades 2, 5, 8, and 10) over 13 years (2010–2022), we observed little evidence for changes in achievement g in general. However, cross-temporal trajectories were differentiated according to school grade, indicating cross-temporal g decreases for lower grade students whilst changes for higher grade students were positive. These findings may be interpreted as tentative evidence for age-dependent achievement-g differentiation. The presently observed achievement g trajectory appears to be consistent with recently observed evidence for a potential stagnation or reversal of cognitive test score gains
Pros and Cons of Using Intelligence Batteries for the Study of Clinical Populations: A Response to Beaujean (2017)
No full textIn his commentary to our study (Toffalini, Giofrè, & Cornoldi, 2017), Beaujean (2017) raised some important issues. In particular, he suggested that the reliability of the WISC-IV indexes may be inadequate for clinical interpretation, that abnormal differences should be discussed rather than statistical significance, and that evidence of the treatment utility of WISC-IV indexes is limited. We agree with Beaujean that using cognitive strengths and weaknesses in isolation for individual clinical decisions is dangerous. However, investigation of groups is somewhat different; comparing group performances under different subtests or conditions, without definitive conclusions, can enhance clinical psychological research
Autopercezioni di abilità e disagio in ragazzi con basse abilità visuospaziali
Full text linkIl disturbo non verbale di apprendimento (NLD) sembra essere correlato con il rischio di sviluppare disagio emotivo e depressione. La presente ricerca studia la relazione tra basso indice visuospaziale, che caratterizza il disturbo non verbale, e la presenza di disagio emotivo in ragazzi delle scuole secondarie. Il campione era costituito da 202 soggetti (di cui 95 maschi e 107 femmine) frequentanti le classi I, II e III della scuola secondaria di primo grado. Sono stati somministrati due strumenti di valutazione delle abilità visuospaziali – Shortened Visual-Spatial (SVS) e il Questionario sulle Difficoltà nelle Attività Scolastiche (QDS) – ed un questionario per valutare i sintomi depressivi – Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Dalle analisi risulta una relazione significativa tra basse abilità visuospaziali e la presenza di tratti depressivi. Inoltre, soggetti con basse abilità spaziali tendono a presentare maggiori sintomi depressivi
Entia Non Sunt Multiplicanda . . . Shall I look for clusters in my cognitive data?
Full text linkUnsupervised clustering methods are increasingly being applied in psychology. Researchers may use such methods on multivariate data to reveal previously undetected sub-populations of individuals within a larger population. Realistic research scenarios in the cognitive science may not be ideally suited for a successful use of these methods, however, as they are characterized by modest effect sizes, limited sample sizes, and non-orthogonal indicators. This combination of characteristics even presents a high risk of detecting non-existing clusters. A systematic review showed that, among 191 studies published in 2016–2020 that used different clustering methods to classify human participants, the median sample size was only 322, and a median of 3 latent classes/clusters were detected. None of them concluded in favor of a one-cluster solution, potentially giving rise to an extreme publication bias. Dimensionality reduction techniques are almost never used before clustering. In a subsequent simulation study, we examined the performance of popular clustering techniques, including Gaussian mixture model, a partitioning, and a hierarchical agglomerative algorithm. We focused on their ability to detect the correct number of clusters, and on their classification accuracy. Under a reasoned set of scenarios that we considered plausible for the cognitive research, none of the methods adequately discriminates between one vs two true clusters. In addition, non-orthogonal indicators lead to a high risk of incorrectly detecting multiple clusters where none existed, even in the presence of only modest correlation (a frequent case in psychology). In conclusion, it is hard for researchers to be in a condition to achieve a valid unsupervised clustering for inferential purposes with a view to classifying individuals
Lumpers vs. splitters: Intelligence in children with specific learning disorders
No full textA multigroup bifactor model was used to compare the explained variance and the reliability of the general vs. specific factors of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-4th edition (WISC-IV) in 1617 Italian children diagnosed with specific learning disorder (SLD) and an Italian normative sample of typically-developing children (with the exclusion of IQ < 70). Results suggested that more than half of the common variance, 56.1%, was accounted for by the domain-specific factors in SLD, against only 39.5% in typical development. The reliability of both general and specific factors was rather limited in SLD, whereas the reliability of the g-factor was good in typical development. An additional analysis using previous information from American data showed very similar results. Our results suggest that the role of the specific factors, of VCI and PSI in particular and WMI to a lesser extent, should be considered as probably largely distinct from the g-factor in children with SLD. Results also seem to indicate that the PRI is a less distinctive factor, which is, in the SLD group, hardly distinguishable from the g-factor. The use of Bayesian priors from American data indicated that results on Italian and American samples of children with SLD were similar, and different from those on the normative samples of both countries, suggesting remarkable cross-cultural and cross-linguistic similarity of the structure of intelligence in children with SLD
Gender Differences in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children in a Large Group of Italian Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Full text linkDespite 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
Going Beyond Mathematics Anxiety in Primary and Middle School Students: The Role of Ego‐Resiliency in Mathematics
Full text linkPrevious research examined the influence of math anxiety (MA) on performance in mathematics, but few studies compared the contribution of MA to other forms of anxiety, such as test and general anxiety (GA). Unlike MA, ego‐resiliency promotes the management of challenges, and has been positively associated with mathematics performance. In this study, we investigated the specific influence of MA, test‐ and GA, and ego‐resiliency on mathematics performance after controlling for intelligence. Children from grades 5 to 8 (N = 274) were assessed with self‐report tools measuring MA, test and GA, and ego‐resiliency, and completed intelligence and mathematical tasks. The results of structural equation models showed that MA had a main negative effect on mathematics performance, over and above the effect of test‐ and GA. Ego‐resiliency had a positive effect on mathematics performance, and was negatively associated with GA. Our findings are discussed in terms of the implications for intervention programs to reduce anxiety and sustain ego‐resiliency
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