Growing evidence indicates that executive functions, metacognition, and reading comprehension are crucial for academic success; however, their contribution to academic achievement in gifted children remains insufficiently understood. The main aim of this study was to compare planning processes and metacognitive abilities among gifted children with high academic achievement, gifted children with low academic achievement, and typically developing children with high academic achievement. A secondary aim was to examine reading comprehension in gifted children compared to typically developing peers. Seventy-three children (34 males, 39 females), aged between 8 and 11 years (M = 9.5, SD = 0.91), were divided into three groups: gifted children with high academic achievement, gifted children with low academic achievement, and typically developing children. Participants completed the Tower of London task, the MT Reading Comprehension Test, and the Me and My Mind metacognition questionnaire. Results showed that both groups of gifted children performed significantly better than typically developing peers in planning efficiency and reading comprehension. No significant differences emerged between high- and low-achieving gifted children in planning, reading comprehension, or metacognition. Overall, the findings suggest that planning abilities and reading comprehension represent cognitive strengths that distinguish gifted children from typically developing high achievers, whereas differences in academic achievement within the gifted population may be more closely related to metacognitive regulation and other non-cognitive factors rather than to planning or reading comprehension alone.

This study examined associations between vocabulary knowledge, reading fluency, cognitive flexibility, and metacognitive monitoring accuracy in reading comprehension among fifth-grade students. Participants (N = 104) completed measures of cognitive-linguistic abilities and reading comprehension, with global metacomprehension judgments after reading and item-level confidence ratings. Metacognitive monitoring accuracy was assessed using calibration of global metacomprehension judgments and item-level confidence ratings. Calibration bias (confidence minus performance) indexed miscalibration direction, and its absolute value indexed calibration accuracy. Resolution reflected discrimination between correct and incorrect item-level responses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used exploratorily to examine theoretically motivated direct and indirect pathways via reading comprehension. Vocabulary knowledge showed the strongest associations with calibration accuracy and resolution, fully mediated by comprehension. Reading fluency showed a dual pattern: it contributed positively to resolution through comprehension, while also showing direct associations with lower calibration accuracy, indicating greater miscalibration and overconfident judgment tendencies among more fluent readers. Cognitive flexibility was not significantly related to any monitoring index. By jointly examining distinct indices of monitoring accuracy and separating comprehension-mediated from direct pathways, the study clarifies how cognitive-linguistic abilities may support or bias metacognitive monitoring in developing readers. Linguistic abilities, particularly vocabulary and fluency were central to students' comprehension monitoring accuracy.

Number sense, the ability to rapidly perceive, estimate, and understand relationships between quantities, constitutes a fundamental basis for mathematical cognition. However, the extent to which it is modulated by top-down regulatory processes remains poorly understood. Rewards inherently carry quantitative attributes of abundance and scarcity, and prospect theory further suggests that individuals tend to underestimate rewards and overestimate punishments of equal magnitude, implying that the perception of reward quantities may be systematically biased. To address this issue, the present study employed EEG to examine how reward-related properties of stimuli modulate number sense, using socially relevant reward stimuli as experimental materials. Behavioral results demonstrated that rewarding stimuli were underestimated compared to neutral and punishing stimuli, while punishing stimuli were overestimated relative to neutral stimuli. EEG analyses revealed that at number-sensitive electrodes (PO7, PO8, Oz), the C1 component was sensitive to reward properties; the N1 component at PO7 was specifically sensitive to punishment; and in the P2p time window, neutral stimuli elicited the largest amplitudes, suggesting inhibitory processing of reward-related attributes during quantity perception. Together, these findings indicate that reward-based modulation of number sense occurs unconsciously and follows a dynamic temporal profile.

Creativity involves generating ideas that are both original and useful, relying on intertwined cognitive and metacognitive processes. We examined how individual differences in semantic memory structure and ideation fluency predict creative performance and self-evaluations across two studies. In Study 1, participants completed a creative problem-solving (CPS) task, with semantic memory networks estimated from a relatedness judgment task. Creative output was assessed for originality and usefulness, alongside participants' self-evaluations. In Study 2, a within-subjects design compared participants' output and self-evaluation of their performance in a divergent thinking task (alternative uses task) and CPS. Results revealed that ideation fluency and semantic memory network integration consistently predicted originality across tasks. In contrast, usefulness was less reliably predicted, showing task-specific associations with semantic memory network properties primarily in CPS. Importantly, self-evaluations often diverged from objective outcomes, reflecting metacognitive biases shaped by heuristic cues. These findings highlight both stable and context-sensitive mechanisms in creative performance and self-evaluation.

Auxiliary line construction has been identified as a crucial approach to fostering mathematical creative thinking. However, existing studies have only focused on the correlations between auxiliary line construction tasks and mathematical creative thinking, without investigating whether engaging in auxiliary line construction can improve mathematical creativity. As a well-established research paradigm, cognitive priming can elicit changes in thinking within a short period. Based on this idea, the present study adopted the cognitive priming paradigm combined with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology, and randomly assigned 42 Chinese college students to an auxiliary line group or a control group. The students' brain activity was monitored in real time during the priming phase (the auxiliary line group completed geometric problems requiring auxiliary line construction, while the control group finished proof problems with pre-set auxiliary lines) and the post-test phase (both groups completed a mathematical creative thinking test). The behavioral results showed that the auxiliary line group achieved significantly higher scores in fluency and originality of mathematical creative thinking than the control group in the post-test phase. The fNIRS data revealed that during the priming phase, the auxiliary line group exhibited stronger activation of the right superior frontal gyrus and higher variability in dynamic functional connectivity; meanwhile, in the post-test phase, the right superior frontal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus maintained robust neural activation, and brain functional connectivity exhibited a lower clustering coefficient and attenuated small-world network properties. This study confirms that short-term engagement in auxiliary line construction exerts a priming effect on the fluency and originality of mathematical creative thinking, which may be associated with the enhanced activation of specific brain regions and the dynamic adjustment of brain functional connectivity. These findings provide theoretical and empirical evidence for the cultivation of mathematical creative thinking.

This study draws from two cohorts of students (total N = 10,508) to examine cognitive ability and achievement inequality around the COVID-19 pandemic. Before and after the pandemic, two groups of Arkansas students were given both the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), which is considered more of an ability or reasoning measure, and the ACT-Aspire, which is considered more of an achievement measure. We use a quantile regression framework to examine possible distributional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results demonstrate that the cognitive ability and/or achievement gaps did not widen after the pandemic, instead they stayed stable or narrowed moderately across groups. Results also indicate that cognitive ability was a significant and consistent predictor of achievement before COVID-19, but the strength of this relationship attenuated noticeably after the pandemic. This work helps add to the literature on COVID learning changes (large losses for many students), drawing from a large database of students in one state.

Numerous studies have aimed to improve mathematical achievement via musical interventions because it is argued that music and mathematics draw on related representations and similar skills. However, findings on their effectiveness are inconclusive. This might be because studies neglect to investigate the cognitive mechanisms that might link musical and mathematical abilities. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically investigate the relationships between facets of musical and mathematical ability while taking into account intelligence as a possible explanation for this link. Among 170 young adults with backgrounds in mathematics and/or music, as well as control subjects, we measured mathematical abilities using basic numerical abilities, arithmetic fluency, and higher mathematical competencies. Musical abilities were assessed using beat alignment, mistuning perception, and melodic discrimination. Intelligence was assessed using a verbal, figural, and numerical scale of an intelligence test. Using a latent variable model, we found a moderate to strong positive association between mathematical and musical abilities. However, after including intelligence as a predictor for both mathematical and musical abilities in our model, the relationship between mathematics and music became nonsignificant. These results imply that intelligence accounts for a substantial proportion of the association between mathematical and musical abilities.

Previous research indicates that cognitive and affective-motivational factors, along with gender, influence students' educational choices, especially regarding STEM tracks. However, few longitudinal studies have examined these factors during middle school, a critical stage in shaping future academic trajectories. This study investigated the longitudinal contribution of gender, cognitive abilities, and affective-motivational factors, such as self-concept, math interest, and math anxiety, in predicting students' school choice between STEM and non-STEM tracks at the end of middle school. Data were collected from 159 Italian students, followed from seventh to eighth grade. Findings indicated that gender and positive attitudes toward math were strongly associated with STEM school choice. Boys were more likely than girls to choose STEM tracks (b = 5.048). Higher levels of math self-concept (b = 4.848) and interest (b = 0.887) significantly predicted the likelihood of choosing a STEM school. These results highlight how gender and affective-motivational factors shape educational pathways during adolescence.

The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Lithuanian adaptation of the TEIQue-SF. The analyses were performed using a sample of 199 preschool teachers (100% women; mean age = 46.70, SD = 11.70 years, age range = 21-69 years) from across Lithuania. The Teacher Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire was also administered as an external validation measure. The reliability of the TEIQue-SF was assessed by Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω. Finally, we examined the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and global trait emotional intelligence. Confirmatory factor analysis of the Lithuanian TEIQue-SF supported the one-factor structure of trait emotional intelligence (CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.98, IFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.04, SRMR = 0.02). Good internal consistency was observed for global trait emotional intelligence (α = 0.85, ω = 0.84). Global trait emotional intelligence was significantly and positively associated with the teacher general well-being (β = 0.28), school connectedness (β = 0.26), and teaching efficacy (β = 0.28). Age was the only sociodemographic indicator positively related to global trait EI (β = 0.26). Our research showed that the Lithuanian version of the TEIQue-SF is a valid and reliable instrument to measure trait emotional intelligence and can be recommended for research and practical use.

The present study examined the cognitive mechanisms underlying decision-making in number-line estimation in 26 preschoolers through the lens of the evidence-accumulation paradigm. Children completed a traditional Number Line Estimation Task (NLET) and the Numeracy Screener test, which assessed symbolic and nonsymbolic abilities. They also completed a novel two-alternative forced-choice version of the Number Line Estimation Task (dual-NLET), which is introduced in this study as a tool for investigating decision-making processes in number-line estimation by enabling two-choice diffusion modeling. Results showed that accuracy in the traditional NLET correlated with both accuracy and decision efficiency in the dual task. Moreover, symbolic and nonsymbolic numerical abilities were differentially associated with distinct decision-making aspects: symbolic skills correlated with decision efficiency, while nonsymbolic skills correlated with decision threshold. These findings provide new insights into the roles of symbolic and nonsymbolic numerical systems in number-line decision-making and support the utility of the evidence-accumulation approach in developmental numerical cognition research.