Average Cognitive Ability Research Articles

Does Happiness Boost the Impact of Intelligence on Economic Growth?

Previous studies have found that average cognitive ability at the national level, which has been called national intelligence and scaled as IQ, is an important determinant of economic growth at the cross-national level. The current study re-investigates the claim that being a happier society weakens the positive association between IQ and economic growth. It investigates whether there is a threshold effect of happiness on the relationship between national IQ and economic growth between 1960 and 2017. Controlling for endogeneity with instrumental variables (IVs), the results confirmed that the relationship between IQ and economic growth is weaker in countries with high levels of self-reported happiness. The diminishing returns of IQ for economic growth can be recognized above a threshold level of 6.25 on the zero-to-10 happiness scale. The suggested explanation is that higher levels of happiness tend to reduce the aspiration for higher productivity among the people, which reduces the impact of cognitive human capital on economic growth. Key Words: Intelligence; National IQ; Happiness; Economic growth; Threshold regression

Sex Differences in Intelligence in Young Children: Some Evidence from Taiwan

In the standardization sample of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence – Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV) in Taiwan, girls at the age of 2:5-3:11 years generally had higher average cognitive abilities than boys but this advantage was not present at the age of 4:0-7:0 years. These results are consistent with other studies reporting that among young children, girls have higher average cognitive abilities than boys. Girls had greater variability than boys in the majority of measures. Key Words: Taiwan; Wechsler tests; Sex differences; Intelligence; Young children; Variability

PENINGKATAN KEMAMPUAN KOGNITIF SISWA MELALUI PEMBELAJARAN ARIAS

The quality of education depends on competence of teachers in managing learning. Improving the quality of learning in class can improve the quality of education. Research conducted using classroom action research with qualitative descriptive approach thats aims to find out and describe the application of the ARIAS learning model in improving students' cognitive abilities. Subjects in the study were teachers and all students of class XI IPA 2 SMA Negeri 6 Palembang. The instruments used in the research were questionnaires, observation sheets, cognitive ability tests and documentation studies. Based on the treatment given by the teacher for three cycles, it was found that the average cognitive chemical ability of students in the first cycle was 69,66. In the second and third cycles, the average chemical cognitive abilities of students were 78,84 and 84.35. Meanwhile, the percentage of learning mastery obtained in the first, second and third cycles were 52,63%, 73,68%, and 86,84%. Based on the research and data analysis conducted, it is known that the ARIAS learning model can improve students' cognitive abilities. Besides that, it can develop students' self-confidence and enthusiasm in learning chemistry.

THE EFFECT OF LEARNING METHODS ON COGNITIVE CAPABILITY OF SCIENCE CONCEPT IN EARLY CHILDREN EDUCATION AMBON CITY

This study aims (1) Knowing cognitive abilities in early childhood science concepts taught by experimental methods in Ambon City PAUD (2) Knowing cognitive abilities in early childhood science concepts taught by demonstration methods in Ambon City PAUD (3) Test the significant difference in effect between the use of experimental and demonstration methods on cognitive abilities of early childhood science concepts in Ambon City PAUD. The research was carried out at KB Mawar FKIP Unpatti and TK Ambon Training Advisors. The method used is a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group design. The population of this research is all students of KB Mawar FKIP Unpatti and TK Kindergarten Ambon Training. Sampling of this study was carried out using proportional random sampling technique which was carried out randomly in 2 classes, namely 20 people. Data was collected through an instrument of observation of the cognitive abilities of scientific concepts. The reliability of achievement motivation instruments is 0.89, the learning achievement test is 0.90. Data from this study were processed using the t test analysis technique for independent samples at a significance level of α = 0.05. This research concludes that First. The experimental group children in KB Mawar have the cognitive ability of science concepts using the experimental method showing very good activity with the lowest score of 28 and the highest score of 40 obtained an average price of 35.4 with a Median of 35.5 and Mode of 35. Second. Control group children have the cognitive ability of science concepts using the demonstration method shows that activities develop well with the lowest score of 24 and the highest score of 38 obtained an average price of 30.4 with a median of 30.5 and a mode of 31. Third. 3. There are differences in the average cognitive ability of science concepts of children aged 5-6 years between students taught by the experimental method and students taught by the demonstration method with the price of tcount = 2.78 while the table of degrees of freedom n₁ + n₂ - 2 = 18 at the significance level α = 0.05, 1, 73, then t> t table, this means that the difference in the two means is significant at the 0.05 level. It can be concluded that there are differences in the average cognitive abilities of early childhood science concepts in the experimental and control groups. Thus it can be concluded that there is an effect of learning methods on the cognitive abilities of scientific concepts of children aged 5-6 years in Ambon City PAUD

Inequalities in educational outcomes in individuals with childhood experience of out-of-home care: What are driving the differences?

BackgroundPrior research has shown that individuals with experience of out-of-home care (foster family care or residential care) in childhood are educationally disadvantaged compared to their peers. In order to be better equipped to design interventions aimed at improving the educational outcomes of children for whom society has assumed responsibility, this study seeks to further our understanding about which factors that contribute to the educational disparities throughout the life course.MethodsUsing longitudinal data from a cohort of more than 13,000 Swedes, of which around 7% have childhood experience of out-of-home care, Peters-Belson decomposition is utilized to quantify the extent to which the gap in educational achievement in school (age 16) and midlife educational attainment (age 50) captures differences in the prevalence of factors influencing educational outcomes, and differences in the impacts between these factors.ResultsWe find that the achievement and the attainment gap was around 13% and 9% respectively. These gaps were to a large extent explained by differences in the distribution of predictors. The major explanatory factor for placed children’s lower achievement was a lower average cognitive ability. Yet there were some evidence that the rewards of cognitive ability in these children differed across the life course. While the lower returns of cognitive ability suggest that they were underperforming in compulsory school, the higher returns of cognitive ability on midlife attainment indicate that–given previous underperformance–their attainment at age 50 reflects their cognitive capacity more accurately than their achievement at age 16 do.ConclusionThe large influence of the unequal distribution of predictors suggests that policy efforts are needed to promote equity in the distribution of factors contributing to educational achievement and attainment. Since cognitive ability was found to be an important contributory factor, such efforts may include promoting cognitive and intellectual development among children in out-of-home care, preferably starting at a young age.

The Profiling of PASS Cognitive Processing among Children with Learning Difficulties

his study is aimed to explore the profiles of PASS cognitive processes for children with learning difficulties in among primary schools children. The four cognitive processes which are Planning, Attention, Simultaneous and Successive (PASS) operate mental processing in most of the academic tasks. This study had included 279 children with LD among those who follow Literacy and Numeracy Screening System (LINUS) programme in schools. There were 12 schools from 4 clusters of peninsular Malaysia which are Northern, Southern, Central and East Coast of Malaysia selected in this study. The participants were identified through LINUS achievement and recommendation of remedial class teachers according to the criteria of learning difficulties. The identified children were administered with CAS-2 as the instrument to measure general cognitive ability with specific PASS cognitive processes. The individual administered test was conducted on one on one basis by eight research assistants. The findings of the study showed 22.6% of the children who were categorised in LD group had average and above average cognitive ability level. Children with LD showed poor processing in all aspects of cognitive processes especially simultaneous processing. The policymakers, school administrators and teachers need to take individual differences into consideration while designing the curriculum especially for children with LD. Through identification of general cognitive ability level and specific cognitive processing of cognitive ability components would be able to help the children more objectively and meaningfully

The Good Country Index, Cognitive Ability and Culture

Abstract The Good Country Index (GCI) measures countries’ contributions to global prosperity in domains such as peace, climate and health. It is known that political institutions and wealth can enhance a country’s ability to be ‘good’. However, past research has shown that the cognitive ability of a society – and of its intellectual classes in particular – as well as education and background factors such as culture and evolutionary history, may be particularly important for socio-economic development. Using correlations, cross-sectional path analyses and longitudinal path analyses, we examined the GCI’s relationships with the following variables: average cognitive ability, cognitive level of intellectual classes, evolutionary history, culture (indicated by religion), consanguinity, education, politics (rule of law, freedom, democracy) and wealth (GDP per capita). There was considerable overlap between measures of politics and the GCI (e.g., freedom; empirically r = .76 to .84). The most important variable for explaining international differences in the GCI was the cognitive level of intellectual classes (around r = .72), followed by indicators of culture (r = .64 to .69). Benefits and limitations of the intellectual class approach are discussed.

A Revised Discrepancy Method for Identifying Dyslexia

The issue of how to reliably identify students with developmental dyslexia in order that they may serve in research studies and receive appropriate intervention has been unresolved for decades. The primary issue is how to distinguish students who are likely to have dyslexia from the considerable number of students who are simply poor readers. The present study explores the feasibility of developing a valid method for selecting students with dyslexia to serve as subjects in research studies and to enroll in special intervention programs. After consulting 16 definitions of dyslexia, five common elements were identified, and operational criteria were developed for four of the elements. These criteria were applied to 70 school-identified students with dyslexia residing in eight states. The results were used to establish three categories of likelihood for dyslexia: very likely, likely, and not very likely. According to our revised discrepancy method, 51% of the students currently receiving services under the dyslexia label satisfied the dyslexia likelihood criteria of very likely or likely. The remaining 49% did not satisfy the dyslexia likelihood criteria (i.e., they were not very likely to have dyslexia). Most researchers would probably agree that the students identified by this revised discrepancy method do in fact have dyslexia (i.e., seriously low reading ability, average or better cognitive ability, and a standard score difference of 15 to 29 points [for likely] and 30 points or more [for very likely]).

Friendship and Female Education: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Bangladeshi Primary Schools

Abstract We randomly assigned 115 primary schools in Bangladesh to one of two settings: children studying in groups with friends and children studying in groups with peers. The groups consisted of four people with similar average cognitive abilities and household characteristics. While the achievement of male students was not affected by the group assignment, low-ability females with friends outperformed low-ability females working with peers by roughly 0.4 standard deviations of the test score distribution. This is not due to the fact that friends tend to be of the same gender or to a higher frequency of interactions among friends.

Compensatory strategy use improves real-world functional performance in community dwelling older adults.

Compensatory strategies such as assistive technology, external reminders, and environmental cues may help support instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and independence. However, functional ability is most often evaluated in clinical settings where everyday compensation cannot be readily observed. The present study used a novel, real-world evaluation of everyday activities (prospective memory, household chores, complex IADLs, and planning tasks) to examine the impact of compensation. Fifty community dwelling older adults were recruited with cognitive status ranging from healthy to mildly impaired. Participants completed a battery of validated performance-based and cognitive tasks, an IADL questionnaire (also completed by an informant), and real-world activities carried out in their own homes. The real-world evaluation demonstrated adequate interrater reliability (intraclass coefficient = 0.92) and construct validity (r = 0.55). Compensation improved real-world task outcome on prospective memory and household chores tasks. Further, cognition emerged as a moderator between compensation and prospective memory task outcome. Participants' ratings on an IADL questionnaire were related to real-world and performance-based functioning whereas informants' ratings were related to performance-based tasks and cognition. Our results suggest that proxy measures of functional ability (i.e., performance-based, cognitive, and IADL questionnaire measures) do not fully capture the complexity of real-world performance for nondemented community dwelling older adults. Compensation appeared to improve prospective memory performance, particularly for individuals with average to low average cognitive abilities. A difference in IADL questionnaire ratings suggest that participants may be better able to judge their real-world performance than informants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Pengaruh Terapi Perilaku Kognitif terhadap Kemampuan Interaksi Sosial pada Klien Isolasi Sosial di Provinsi Bengkulu

Social isolation is a condition of isolation from someone with schizophrenia so that the ability to interact with others decreases to be something negative. This study aims to determine the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on the social interaction ability of social isolation clients in Bengkulu Province. The research method, this research is a quantitative study using a Quasi Experiment research design with a pre test and post test approach design without control group. The sample of this study was 30 people with total sampling techniques. The results of the study of social interaction ability of patients social isolation seen from the variables of cognitive abilities, affective and behavior. The average cognitive ability before giving therapy is 13.79, while after therapy is 19.88. The average affective ability before therapy was 14.58 while after therapy was 17.33. The average behavioral ability before therapy is 9.64 while after therapy is an average of 11.06. Based on the results of the t-dependent test, there were differences in the average score before and after the administration of Cognitive Behavior therapy, with the ρ value of each variable 0,000 (α = 0.05). Conclusion, Cognitive Behavior therapy has a significant effect on the ability of social interactions of social isolation patients in Bengkulu Province. Cognitive behavioral therapy is recommended as nursing therapy in treating social isolation clients with decreased social interaction abilities. Keywords: Cognitive behavioral therapy, Social interaction ability, Client social isolation

A-68 Yoga Therapy in Pediatric Epilepsy

Abstract Objective This pilot study examines the effects of yoga therapy on anxiety, depression symptoms, inattention, and seizure frequency in children diagnosed with Epilepsy. Data Selection The sample consisted of 5 participants (4 male, 1 female), ages 7-12 years old, with diagnoses of generalized epilepsy, absence epilepsy, and complex partial epilepsy. Participants all had average cognitive abilities (IQ SS = 100.7; VCI SS = 106.3; PRI SS = 108.3), a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and clinically significant levels of anxiety and depression. Participants participated in 30-45-minute-long yoga sessions over a 6-week period with 2-3 home sessions each week. Differences in hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and inattention were measured via parent rating Likert scales (0-poor, 10-best) at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Participants also completed weekly self-report measures to assess anxiety and depression (Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety, Second Edition (RCMAS-2) and Children’s Depression Inventory, Second Edition (CDI-2)). Data Synthesis No significant reliable change differences were found between sessions; however, a downward trend was visible in reduction of anxiety (RCMAS-2; first session M = 16.4, last session M = 9.4) and depression symptoms (CDI-2; first session M = 52.8, last session M = 49.2). Further, parents reported a decrease in anxiety (first session M = 4.8, last session M = 6.4). No seizures were reported during the study. Conclusions There is no previous research using pediatric populations and yoga therapy effects on reducing seizure frequency, anxiety, depression, and attention problems. This pilot study showed promising results in reducing anxiety, and depression symptoms. Limitations of study include small sample size and attrition, which are both important to consider when conducting another study.

Effects of short-term exposure to particulate matter air pollution on cognitive performance

This paper assesses the effect of short-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution on human cognitive performance via a double cross over experimental design. Two distinct experiments were performed, both of which exposed subjects to low and high concentrations of PM. Firstly, subjects completed a series of cognitive tests after being exposed to low ambient indoor PM concentrations and elevated PM concentrations generated via candle burning, which is a well-known source of PM. Secondly, a different cohort underwent cognitive tests after being exposed to low ambient indoor PM concentrations and elevated ambient outdoor PM concentrations via commuting on or next to roads. Three tests were used to assess cognitive performance: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Stroop Color and Word test, and Ruff 2 & 7 test. The results from the MMSE test showed a statistically robust decline in cognitive function after exposure to both the candle burning and outdoor commuting compared to ambient indoor conditions. The similarity in the results between the two experiments suggests that PM exposure is the cause of the short-term cognitive decline observed in both. The outdoor commuting experiment also showed a statistically significant short-term cognitive decline in automatic detection speed from the Ruff 2 and 7 selective attention test. The other cognitive tests, for both the candle and commuting experiments, showed no statistically significant difference between the high and low PM exposure conditions. The findings from this study are potentially far reaching; they suggest that elevated PM pollution levels significantly affect short term cognition. This implies average human cognitive ability will vary from city to city and country to country as a function of PM air pollution exposure.

The Fallacy of Equating the Hereditarian Hypothesis with Racism

There is a large amount of evidence that groups differ in average cognitive ability. The hereditarian hypothesis states that these differences are partly or substantially explained by genetics. Despite being a positive claim about the world, this hypothesis is frequently equated with racism, and scholars who defend it are frequently denounced as racists. Yet equating the hereditarian hypothesis with racism is a logical fallacy. The present article identifies ten common arguments for why the hereditarian hypothesis is racist and demonstrates that each one is fallacious. The article concludes that society will be better served if the hereditarian hypothesis is treated the same way as any other scientific claim—critically, but dispassionately.

Cognitive ability and corruption: rule of law (still) matters

This study shows that the “longer time horizon” argument proposed by Potrafke (Econ Lett, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2019.02.026 ) with regard to the negative effect of a higher national average cognitive ability on corruption holds only for countries with a relatively high quality of legal systems. Using a sample of 94 countries from around the world, our cross-country regression analyses show the moderating role of rule of law in the final effects of cognitive abilities on corruption. The results are robust after using different indicators of corruption, rule of law and cognitive skills.

Parent Reports of Executive Function Associated with Functional Communication and Conversational Skills Among School Age Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Despite average or above cognitive and verbal abilities, many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience difficulties in functional and social communication. Executive functioning (EF) may be the cognitive and regulatory mechanism that underlies these difficulties. Parents rated 92 children with ASD as demonstrating significantly more challenges than 94 typically developing children on measures of EF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function; BRIEF), functional communication (FC), and verbal conversation (VC) skills. For both groups, the BRIEF metacognition scale emerged as a strong predictor of FC, while the BRIEF behavior regulation and the inhibit scale were predictive of VC skills. These findings suggest that targeting EF domains specifically may improve FC and VC skills in children with ASD.

Factors that Influence Mathematical Creativity

Creativity is a psychological construct that has gained research popularity (Akgul & Kaveci, 2016), however it remains a challenging one to define. The variety of definitions promulgated to understand creativity hints at the complexity of the mental process. Furthermore, as a subset of creativity, domain-specific mathematical creativity has also garnered a variety of definitions. The transdisciplinary research on creativity (Sriraman & Haavold, 2017) is seminal in this world of fast-paced innovation, invention, solution, and synthesis. Considering every human being with at least average cognitive abilities possesses the ability to think creatively (Baran, 2011), developing students’ creative talents and abilities must be high on a list of educational priorities. Much of the literature surrounding mathematical creative thinking is centered on trying to quantify an individual’s creative thinking abilities. There have also been studies conducted that enabled researchers to describe various traits and demonstrate multiple levels of creativity. The basis of this work will be to synthesize the characteristics of mathematical creativity, analyze the impact of specific teaching approaches on mathematical creativity, and examine the relationship between student affect and mathematical creativity.

Personality assessment of intellectually gifted adults: A dimensional trait approach

Personality is often assessed by measuring the severity of dimensional traits regardless of intellectual functioning. However, extreme deviations from average cognitive abilities affect biological, psychological, and social characteristics, to the extent that they may lead to atypical trajectories of development. The present study examined subclinical personality traits of intellectually gifted adults who unlikely fulfill traditional criteria for psychopathological diagnosis.Seventy-five intellectually gifted individuals (i.e., at least one WAIS-IV Index >130) completed the DAPP-BQ. Their scores were compared to a control group. Age range was the same across the two groups (18–45 years). Gender differences were then examined within the gifted group.The group of gifted individuals reported significant higher scores on eight DAPP-BQ scales. A large effect size was found on Rejection trait; medium effect sizes on Narcissism and Low Affiliation traits. Identity Problems, Callousness, Restricted Expression, Compulsivity, and Suspiciousness were associated with small effect sizes. Moreover, gifted women reported higher scores than gifted men.Dysfunctional traits of gifted adults may contribute to interpersonal maladjustments. This may be the consequence of poor emotional attunement and inappropriate support that they received in childhood for their superior intellectual abilities. Sociocultural issues may maintain these psychological vulnerabilities, especially within gifted women.

Special needs education and school mobility: School outcomes for children placed and not placed in out-of-home care

The aim of the study is to describe and discuss differences between children placed in out-of-home care and non-placed children in the Swedish compulsory school, with respect to special needs education, school mobility and academic achievement. Data was retrieved from the Swedish longitudinal Evaluation Through Follow-up (ETF) project, which includes a combination of survey and register data. Five cohorts were included in the study: children born 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987 and 1992. The results show that placed children with average cognitive ability have lower grades than could be expected. However, this group of children is not more exposed to special needs education focused on improving academic performances than non-placed children with corresponding cognitive ability. A hypothesis was formulated, that the many relocations that placed children are exposed to could affect the quality of special education services, and that the negative effects of school mobility on grades thus could be mediated through the special needs education students receive. Results from regression analyses suggest that early inclusive special needs education has a positive effect on student achievement in general and particularly so for children placed in out-of-home care. However, for inclusive special needs education in Grades 7 to 9 the estimated effect was negative.

The Importance of Adolescent Self-Report in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Integration of Questionnaire and Autonomic Measures.

Anxiety and sensory symptoms are highly prevalent and meaningful in the daily lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite the importance of carefully measuring, researching, and treating these symptoms, current methods in ASD seldom include self-report. This study investigated the consistency of adolescent and parent reports of anxiety and auditory sensitivity in individuals with ASD, and examined their validity via comparisons with sympathetic arousal at baseline and in response to an auditory challenge. Fifty adolescent-parent dyads (n = 26 ASD, n = 24 typically developing; 12-16years old; IQ>80) completed parallel versions of both anxiety and auditory hypersensitivity scales, which were compared to heart rate collected at rest and during an aversive noise task. Adolescents with ASD exhibited greater anxiety and auditory hypersensitivity than their peers, based on both self and parent report. Across groups, self-report was higher than parent report. In individuals with ASD, a significant relationship was found between self-reported anxiety and autonomic arousal at rest, and between self-reported auditory sensitivity and autonomic reactivity during the noise task. These relationships were not significant for parent-report. These findings extend past work by demonstrating greater self-reported (than parent-reported) anxiety and sensory symptoms. Furthermore, the presence of significant correlations between self-reported symptoms and sympathetic arousal supports the validity of self-report in adolescents with ASD with average or above average cognitive abilities. This indicates that adolescents with ASD have a unique perspective on their internal experience, which can complement parent reports and provide a more comprehensive assessment of symptoms in research and clinical settings.