Contribution Of Cognitive Abilities Research Articles

Oral Motor and Gesture Abilities Independently Associated With Preschool Language Skill: Longitudinal and Concurrent Relationships at 21 Months and 3-4 Years.

Purpose Early motor abilities (gesture, oral motor, and gross/fine skills) are related to language abilities, and this is not due to an association with cognitive or symbolic abilities: Oral motor skills are uniquely associated with language abilities at 21 months of age. It is important to determine whether this motor-language relationship continues beyond the earliest stage of language development to understand language acquisition better and better predict which children may have lasting language difficulties. Method In this longitudinal study, we assessed language comprehension and production, oral motor skill, gross/fine motor skill, and meaningless manual gesture at ages 3 years (N = 89) and 4 years (N = 71), comparing the contribution of motor skill and earlier (at 21 months of age) language ability. We also examined covariates: nonverbal cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, and stimulation in the home as measured on the Home Screening Questionnaire. Results Motor abilities continue to have a significant relationship with language abilities independent of other factors in the preschool years. Meaningless manual gesture ability, gross/fine motor skill, and oral motor skill were still associated with language skill at 3 years of age; these relationships are not explained by the contribution of cognitive abilities or earlier language abilities. Conclusions Relationships between early motor skill and language development persist into preschool years and are not explained by other cognitive or home factors, nor by a relationship with earlier language ability. This finding should lead to a better understanding of the origins of language abilities.

The contribution of cognitive abilities and general language proficiency to explaining listening comprehension in English as a foreign language

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between a number of cognitive abilities (auditory/visual attention, processing speed, and fluid intelligence) and listening comprehension. A ...

年長児のひらがなの読み書き習得に関わる認知能力と家庭での読み書き関連活動

年長児の読み書き習得に関わる認知能力と家庭内の読み書きに関連した環境要因を検討した．年長児243名に対し，ひらがな1から3文字の音読と書取，音韻認識課題（単語逆唱，非語復唱），RAN課題，図形の模写と記憶課題，語彙課題を実施した．保護者には，家庭内で子どもが読書活動に従事する頻度，および家庭内で子どもに文字の読み書きを教える頻度について聴取した．重回帰分析の結果，RAN，単語逆唱，非語復唱の成績は音読成績を有意に予測したものの，環境要因に関する尺度は，音読成績に有意な貢献を示さなかった．書取については，RAN，単語逆唱，非語復唱，図形模写の成績，および家庭での書き指導頻度が有意な予測変数であった．年長児におけるひらがなの読み書き習得には，これまでに報告されている認知能力の貢献度が高い一方，書字の習得においては，家庭での文字指導頻度も関与している可能性が示唆された．

Cognitive Modifiability and Ego Identity among Adolescents

This study examines differential relations of ego identity (EI) with cognitive ability, and cognitive modifiability among adolescents. A sample of 238 adolescents aged 16-18 was administered three dynamic assessment measures (Set-Variations II, Complex Figure, and the Organizer from the Learning Propensity Assessment Device) and the Adolescent Ego Identity Scale (AEIS). Canonical correlation analysis revealed positive correlation of AEIS factors with cognitive ability (Rc=0.40, p<0.05) and cognitive modifiability (Rc=0.39, p<0.05). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that cognitive modifiability contributed significantly (5%) to prediction of total EI score of the AEIS, beyond the contribution of cognitive ability (8%). The findings are discussed in relation to the common factors affecting cognitive modifiability and ego identity among adolescents. The findings indicate that adolescents with a higher cognitive ability and cognitive modifiability possess abstract resources to deal with normative identity crises and therefore can cope better with conflicts and reach better EI formation. Cognitive modifiability added significantly to the understanding of the mechanism of EI formation. This might add a novel perspective for psychotherapy as clinicians might use a mediated learning approach in enhancing adolescents’ modifiability, both cognitive and emotional as a venue for emotional changes and psychological resiliency.

Cognitive Ability Predicts Older Adult Performance in a Complex Task but is Moderated by Social Interaction

Previous research has examined the effects of cognitive training on cognitive abilities. However, the contribution of cognitive abilities to learning to perform the tasks used as cognitive training, such as complex video games, is not completely understood. Additionally, social interaction while playing a video game may change the relationship between cognitive ability and game success by allowing players to learn from one another instead of solely their own abilities. As part of a larger cognitive intervention designed for older adults, the 50 participants included in our analysis were randomly assigned to either play games alone or take turns with a partner for one hour a day over fifteen days. Those playing with a partner outscored those playing alone. Multiple cognitive abilities predicted game success, but there was also evidence to suggest a moderating effect when playing with a partner on the predictive power of certain cognitive abilities.

Relation between perceived scholastic competence and social comparison mechanisms among elementary school children

According to the literature, among social comparison mechanisms, identification with an upward target would be the most frequent mechanism that students report to use. However, it remains unclear how the identification and the contrast mechanisms contribute to the construction of pupils’ scholastic perceived competence. The aim of this study was to test the two following hypotheses: (1) the more pupils report using downward identification and upward contrast, the lower their perceived scholastic competence; (2) the more pupils report using upward identification and downward contrast, the higher their perceived scholastic competence will be. Three hundred and eighty French-speaking pupils (147 fourth graders and 233 fifth graders) from public elementary schools in the district of Grenoble (France) were met in their school. Pupils responded to a standardized mental ability test and to a questionnaire about their perceived scholastic competence and their utilization of social comparison mechanisms: upward and downward identification and upward and downward contrast. Boys and girls differed on some of the social comparison mechanisms. However, the two hypotheses were confirmed and hold true for both boys and girls. Findings show that beyond the contribution of cognitive abilities, pupils’ responsiveness to these mechanisms contributed to the development of their perceived scholastic competence. One educational implication is the usefulness of analyzing the processes of social comparison as strategies to allow pupils to maintain a positive perception of their scholastic competence.

Contribution of cognitive abilities to performance and improvement on a substitution coding task.

Age-related performance variance on substitution coding tests has been found to account for much of the age-related variance in tests of fluid and other abilities, leading to the conclusion that cognitive decline is due to slowing. Although it is an easy task, which could easily be performed accurately given adequate time, the substitution coding task is not a pure measure of cognitive speed. Evidence from growth curve analyses involving 3,708 volunteers (49-95 years of age) from the Manchester and Newcastle Studies of Cognitive Aging (P. Rabbitt, C. Donlan, N. Bent, L. McInnes, & V. Abson, 1993) indicates that, with practice on this task, improvement is related more to memory than to age, reasoning, vocabulary, or perceptual speed. In other words, faster performances are related primarily to memory. Operational similarities between speeded measures and measures of higher order abilities, which weaken the argument for causal relationships, are discussed.

Older adults' acquisition of word processing: The contribution of cognitive abilities and computer anxiety

This study examined relationships between computer attitude, computer experience, gender, cognitive abilities, and the acquisition of word processing by older adults. A total of 28 older adults (Mg. = 68.70 years) completed computer attitude questionnaires before and after a 6-week word-processing course and, additionally, completed spatial scanning, deductive, and inductive reasoning tests during the course. Gender differences were observed for attitudes towards computers, with females having a less positive attitude than males. Greater computer experience was associated with a more positive attitude, and with learning more word-processing knowledge during the course, replicating previous findings with young adults. No overall change in attitudes was found across the course, with the exception of computer liking; subjects tended to like computers less after the course, suggesting that the type of computer exposure may be an important factor in determining attitudes. Spatial scanning was found to be important in rapidly locating control keys for editing. Inductive and deductive reasoning were important predictors of word-processing knowledge, accounting for 60% of the variance. Identification of individual difference factors is a first step towards suggesting design changes in word-processing programs for older adults.