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Descriptors:
Brain Hemisphere Functions; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Child Behavior; Brain; Neurology; Inhibition; Executive Function; Infants; Check Lists; Short Term Memory; Diagnostic Tests; Correlation; Young Children; Cognitive Processes; Emotional Response; Planning; Age Differences; Predictor Variables; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
Background: Neuroimaging findings have provided evidence for a relation between variations in brain structures and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, longitudinal neuroimaging studies are typically confined to children who have already been diagnosed with ADHD. In a population-based study, we aimed to characterize the prospective association between brain structures measured during infancy and executive function and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems assessed at preschool age. Methods: In the Generation R Study, the corpus callosum length, the gangliothalamic ovoid diameter (encompassing the basal ganglia and thalamus), and the ventricular volume were measured in 784 6-week-old children using cranial postnatal ultrasounds. Parents rated executive functioning at 4 years using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version in five dimensions: inhibition, shifting, emotional control, working memory, and planning/organizing. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems were assessed at ages 3 and 5 years using the Child Behavior Checklist. Results: A smaller corpus callosum length during infancy was associated with greater deficits in executive functioning at 4 years. This was accounted for by higher problem scores on inhibition and emotional control. The corpus callosum length during infancy did not predict Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problem at 3 and 5 years, when controlling for the confounders. We did not find any relation between gangliothalamic ovoid diameter and executive function or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problem. Conclusions: Variations in brain structures detectible in infants predicted subtle impairments in inhibition and emotional control. However, in this population-based study, we could not demonstrate that early structural brain variations precede symptoms of ADHD. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Identification; Pregnancy; Adolescents; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Empathy; Females; Behavior Disorders; Correlation; Early Parenthood; Personality Problems; Antisocial Behavior; Diagnostic Tests; Neurology; Control Groups; Aggression; Emotional Response; Rewards; Cognitive Processes

Abstract:
Background: Conduct disorder (CD) in female adolescents is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including teenage pregnancy and antisocial personality disorder. Although recent studies have documented changes in brain structure and function in male adolescents with CD, there have been no neuroimaging studies of female adolescents with CD. Our primary objective was to investigate whether female adolescents with CD show changes in grey matter volume. Our secondary aim was to assess for sex differences in the relationship between CD and brain structure. Methods: Female adolescents with CD (n = 22) and healthy control participants matched in age, performance IQ and handedness (n = 20) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Group comparisons of grey matter volume were performed using voxel-based morphometry. We also tested for sex differences using archive data obtained from male CD and control participants. Results: Female adolescents with CD showed reduced bilateral anterior insula and right striatal grey matter volumes compared with healthy controls. Aggressive CD symptoms were negatively correlated with right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex volume, whereas callous-unemotional traits were positively correlated with bilateral orbitofrontal cortex volume. The sex differences analyses revealed a main effect of diagnosis on right amygdala volume (reflecting reduced amygdala volume in the combined CD group relative to controls) and sex-by-diagnosis interactions in bilateral anterior insula. Conclusions: We observed structural abnormalities in brain regions involved in emotion processing, reward and empathy in female adolescents with CD, which broadly overlap with those reported in previous studies of CD in male adolescents. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Factor Analysis; Cognitive Processes; Foreign Countries; Novelty (Stimulus Dimension); Creativity; Young Children; Preschool Teachers; Teacher Attitudes; Problem Solving; Teacher Characteristics; Teacher Education Programs; Preschool Education

Abstract:
The study aimed to uncover the conceptions of creativity among early childhood teachers in Hong Kong. The sample comprised 563 early childhood teachers. Factor analysis supported the multidimensional hypothesis of teachers' conceptions of creativity. Five dimensions were found: novelty, product, problem solving, cognitive processes and personal attributes. Early childhood teachers in Hong Kong ascribed high importance to these dimensions as defining characteristics of creativity, with a person's cognitive processes and personal attributes being ascribed relatively more important while product as relatively less importance. In particular, imagination, multiple perspectives and curiosity were perceived as very important concepts of creativity. Teachers with different teaching backgrounds shared very similar conceptions of creativity. Significant results were found with regard to product only. The findings have implications for early childhood teacher education programmes and professional development in Hong Kong. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Language Tests; Reading Processes; Reading Tests; Test Format; Integrated Activities; Reading Comprehension; Language Usage; Writing (Composition); English for Academic Purposes; Test Validity; Cognitive Processes; Foreign Students; English Language Learners; College Students

Abstract:
Integrated reading/writing tasks are becoming more common in large-scale language tests. Much of the research on these tasks has focused on writing through reading; assessing reading through writing is a less explored area. In this article we describe a reading-into-writing task that is intended to measure both reading comprehension and language use on an academic English test. The task involves responding to short-answer questions (SAQs) that require examinees to use their own words to state the main idea of a text, draw inferences, or synthesize information across multiple texts. The article presents results of a two-part study addressing the validity of this method of assessing reading by investigating the cognitive processes involved in responding to SAQs. First, we present the results of a qualitative study of five nonnative English-speaking students, who provided verbal protocols as they read the texts and responded to the SAQs. Next, we present data from a larger sample of students focusing specifically on the cognitive processes used when reading the texts for the purpose of responding to SAQs. Implications of the study for the validity of this method of testing are discussed. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Art Therapy; Psychotherapy; Group Therapy; Veterans; Humor; Creativity; Psychological Patterns; Cognitive Processes; Self Concept; Outcomes of Treatment; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
This article presents findings from a study of the therapeutic effects of group art therapy in a psychotherapy unit of a Russian hospital for war veterans. The researchers randomly assigned 112 veterans being treated for stress-related disorders to an experimental group (art therapy) and a control group. The emphasis was on the use of humor in the Draw A Story assessment and the Silver Drawing Test with respect to cognition, emotions, creativity, and self-image. Findings included a high frequency of humorous responses in both groups, and an increase of humor in the art therapy group post treatment. Results suggest that image formation and artistic activity foster cognitive and creative problem solving and increased self-esteem, and that humor serves as an important therapeutic function in this population. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Cognitive Processes; Attention; Neonates; Numbers; Visual Discrimination; Role; Visual Stimuli

Abstract:
This study investigated processing of number and extent in newborns. Using visual preference, we showed that newborns discriminated between small sets of dot collections relying solely on implicit numerical information when non-numerical continuous variables were strictly controlled (Experiment 1), and solely on continuous information when numerical variables were controlled (Experiment 2). When number and extent were pitted against each other (Experiment 3), newborns showed no visual preference, suggesting that the two variables play comparable roles in attracting newborns' visual attention. In contrast to reports of dominance of continuous variables, these findings suggest that multiple dimensions attract newborns' attention and guide their visual exploration. (Contains 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Foreign Countries; Goal Orientation; Self Control; Cognitive Processes; Academic Achievement; College Freshmen; Engineering Education; Structural Equation Models; Longitudinal Studies

Abstract:
The aim of this study was to investigate the direction of the effect between goal orientation, self-regulation and deep processing strategies in order to understand the impact of these three constructs on students' achievement. The participants were 110 freshmen from the engineering faculty at the Universite catholique de Louvain in Belgium, who were followed during the first three years of their university studies. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The main finding was that mastery goal orientation increased students' subsequent deep processing which in turn enhanced subsequent self-regulation. Deep processing and self-regulation also appeared to be mutually influential from year 2 to year 3. The implications of our results for the understanding of the interplay between cognitive and motivational processes in higher education are discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 4 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Performance Factors; Cognitive Processes; Attention; Cognitive Psychology

Abstract:
Losses were found to improve cognitive performance, and this has been commonly explained by increased weighting of losses compared to gains (i.e., loss aversion). We examine whether effects of losses on performance could be modulated by two alternative processes: an attentional effect leading to increased sensitivity to task incentives; and a contrast-related effect. Empirical data from five studies show that losses improve performance even when the enhanced performance runs counter to the predictions of loss aversion. In Study 1-3 we show that in various settings, when an advantageous option produces large gains and small losses, participants select this alternative at a higher rate than when it does not produce losses. Consistent with the joint influence of attention and contrast-related processes, this effect is smaller when a disadvantageous alternative produces the losses. In Studies 4 and 5 we find a positive effect on performance even with no contrast effects (when a similar loss is added to all alternatives). These findings indicate that both attention and contrast-based processes are implicated in the effect of losses on performance, and that a positive effect of losses on performance is not tantamount to loss aversion. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Evidence; Bilingualism; Cognitive Processes; Executive Function; Comparative Analysis; Monolingualism; Task Analysis; Measures (Individuals); Language Fluency; Educational Attainment; Parent Background; Individual Differences; Inhibition; Correlation

Abstract:
Three studies compared bilinguals to monolinguals on 15 indicators of executive processing (EP). Most of the indicators compare a neutral or congruent baseline to a condition that should require EP. For each of the measures there was no main effect of group and a highly significant main effect of condition. The critical marker for a bilingual advantage, the Group x Condition interaction, was significant for only one indicator, but in a pattern indicative of a bilingual disadvantage. Tasks include antisaccade (Study 1), Simon (Studies 1-3), flanker (Study 3), and color-shape switching (Studies 1-3). The two groups performed identically on the Raven's Advanced Matrices test (Study 3). Analyses on the combined data selecting subsets that are precisely matched on parent's educational level or that include only highly fluent bilinguals reveal exactly the same pattern of results. A problem reconfirmed by the present study is that effects assumed to be indicators of a specific executive process in one task (e.g., inhibitory control in the flanker task) frequently do not predict individual differences in that same indicator on a related task (e.g., inhibitory control in the Simon task). The absence of consistent cross-task correlations undermines the interpretation that these are valid indicators of domain-general abilities. In a final discussion the underlying rationale for hypothesizing bilingual advantages in executive processing based on the special linguistic demands placed on bilinguals is interrogated. (Contains 11 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Evidence; Tests; Short Term Memory; Intervals; Long Term Memory; Hypothesis Testing; Cognitive Processes; Task Analysis; Responses; Models

Abstract:
The article investigates the mechanisms of selecting and updating representations in declarative and procedural working memory (WM). Declarative WM holds the objects of thought available, whereas procedural WM holds representations of what to do with these objects. Both systems consist of three embedded components: activated long-term memory, a central capacity-limited component for building structures through temporary bindings, and a single-element focus of attention. Five experiments test the hypothesis of analogous mechanisms in declarative and procedural WM, investigating repetition effects across trials for individual representations (objects and responses) and for sets (memory sets and task sets), as well as set-congruency effects. Evidence for analogous processes was obtained from three phenomena: (1) Costs of task switching and of list switching are reduced with longer preparation interval. (2) The effects of task congruency and of list congruency are undiminished with longer preparation interval. (3) Response repetition interacts with task repetition in procedural WM; here we show an analogous interaction of list repetition with item repetition in declarative WM. All three patterns were reproduced by a connectionist model implementing the assumed selection and updating mechanisms. The model consists of two modules, an item-selection module selecting individual items from a memory set, or responses from a task set, and a set-selection module for selecting memory sets or task sets. The model codes the matrix of binding weights in the item-selection module as a pattern of activation in the set-selection module, thereby providing a mechanism for building chunks in LTM, and for unpacking them as structures into working memory. (Contains 9 tables and 17 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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