Differences In Verbal Ability Research Articles

Verbal Abilities: Sex Differences in Children at Different Ages.

The assertion of sex differences in verbal abilities is a highly controversial subject. Some studies have demonstrated a female advantage; other studies have found higher rates in males. The results depended on the type of verbal ability that was studied, the cultural context, and the ages of the subjects. There are two types of theories that have been developed to explain the existence of sex differences in cognitive abilities. Social theories explain the differences as caused by social determinants. Biological theories consider biological factors such as prenatal development conditions and hormone levels, among others, as the cause of sex differences. To investigate sex differences in verbal abilities in children of different ages. Two different editions of Wechsler tests were used. For children age 2.5 to 5 years, the Wechsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV) was used. For children age 6 and older, we administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V). The total sample included 313 children. The study found significant sex differences in performance on the Verbal Comprehension Scale in children of different ages. At the age of 2 to 4 years, the girls performed better than the boys. In the group of boys, there was a significant increase in verbal abilities at the age of 8-9 years. By the age of 10-11 years, boys began outperforming girls on the Verbal Comprehension Index. Scores on the Verbal Comprehension and Visual Spatial subtests for the boy sample showed stronger correlations than in the girl sample in all age groups. Sex differences in verbal abilities varied depending on the age of the children. The boys showed a stronger integration of their verbal abilities into the structure of their intelligence than the girls.

Sex Differences in Verbal Abilities in the Wechsler Tests: A Review

It has frequently been asserted that females have higher verbal abilities than males. A review of studies of sex differences in verbal abilities in the Wechsler tests shows there was no difference of Verbal IQ on the WPPSI for 4 to 6 year olds. On the WISC for 6 to 16 year olds, males obtained a higher median than females on the Verbal IQ of .16d, and in the WAIS tests for adults males obtained a higher median score than females of .28d. Males obtained higher average scores than females on the Information, Vocabulary, Arithmetic, Comprehension and Similarities subtests of WISC and WAIS.

Sex Differences on the Mill-Hill Vocabulary Scale and Scholastic Achievement in Nigerian Public School Students

Sex differences in verbal ability and scholastic achievement have rarely been examined in African populations. The present study investigated sex differences on the British Mill Hill Vocabulary Scale (MHVS) and scholastic achievement in English and Mathematics in a sample of 5,389 Nigerian public school students aged 11 to 19 years. The MHVS was significantly positively correlated with English and Mathematics, but the correlation was greater for English (r = .39, p < .01) than for Mathematics (r = .19, p < .01). Except for the 11-12 year olds, females obtained consistently higher scores than males on the MHVS and English. However, the differences were modest (average d = -0.11 for MHVS, d = -0.06 for English). There was a slight male superiority in performance in mathematics (d = 0.06). These results were largely consistent with findings from many Western samples. Keywords: Sex differences; Vocabulary; Verbal ability; Mathematics; Nigeria; Simber effect

Associations between theory of mind and conduct problems in autistic and nonautistic youth.

Many autistic young people exhibit co-occurring behavior difficulties, characterized by conduct problems and oppositional behavior. However, the causes of these co-occurring difficulties are not well understood. Impairments in theory of mind (ToM) are often reported in autistic individuals and have been linked to conduct problems in nonautistic individuals. Whether an association between ToM ability and conduct problems exists in autistic populations, whether this association is similar between individuals who are autistic versus nonautistic, and whether these associations are specific to conduct problems (as opposed to other domains of psychopathology) remains unclear. ToM ability was assessed using the Frith-Happé Triangles task in a pooled sample of autistic (N = 128; mean age 14.78 years) and nonautistic youth (N = 50; mean age 15.48 years), along with parent-rated psychiatric symptoms of conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention and emotional problems. Analyses tested ToM ability between autistic versus nonautistic participants, and compared associations between ToM performance and conduct problems between the two groups. Where no significant group differences in associations were found, the pooled association between ToM and conduct problems was estimated in the combined sample. Results showed no evidence of moderation in associations by diagnostic status, and an association between poorer ToM ability and higher levels of conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention and emotional problems across the total sample. However, these associations became nonsignificant when adjusting for verbal IQ. Results provide support for theoretical models of co-occurring psychopathology in autistic populations, and suggest targets for intervention for conduct problems in autistic youth. LAY SUMMARY: Many young people with autism spectrum disorder show co-occurring behavior problems, but the causes of these are not well understood. This paper found an association between difficulties recognizing what others think and intend (so-called "theory of mind") in a simple animated task, and emotional and behavioral problems in autistic and nonautistic young people. However, a substantial part of this association was explained by individual differences in verbal ability. These findings may have implications for intervention efforts to improve young people's mental health.

A Novel Approach to Dream Content Analysis Reveals Links Between Learning-Related Dream Incorporation and Cognitive Abilities.

Can dreams reveal insight into our cognitive abilities and aptitudes (i.e., “human intelligence”)? The relationship between dream production and trait-like cognitive abilities is the foundation of several long-standing theories on the neurocognitive and cognitive-psychological basis of dreaming. However, direct experimental evidence is sparse and remains contentious. On the other hand, recent research has provided compelling evidence demonstrating a link between dream content and new learning, suggesting that dreams reflect memory processing during sleep. It remains to be investigated whether the extent of learning-related dream incorporation (i.e., the semantic similarity between waking experiences and dream content) is related to inter-individual differences in cognitive abilities. The relationship between pre–post sleep memory performance improvements and learning-related dream incorporation was investigated (N = 24) to determine if this relationship could be explained by inter-individual differences in intellectual abilities (e.g., reasoning, short term memory (STM), and verbal abilities). The extent of dream incorporation using a novel and objective method of dream content analysis, employed a computational linguistic approach to measure the semantic relatedness between verbal reports describing the experience on a spatial (e.g., maze navigation) or a motor memory task (e.g., tennis simulator) with subsequent hypnagogic reverie dream reports and waking “daydream” reports, obtained during a daytime nap opportunity. Consistent with previous studies, the extent to which something new was learned was related (r = 0.47) to how richly these novel experiences were incorporated into the content of dreams. This was significant for early (the first 4 dream reports) but not late dreams (the last 4 dream reports). Notably, here, we show for the first time that the extent of this incorporation for early dreams was related (r = 0.41) to inter-individual differences in reasoning abilities. On the other hand, late dream incorporation was related (r = 0.46) to inter-individual differences in verbal abilities. There was no relationship between performance improvements and intellectual abilities, and thus, inter-individual differences in cognitive abilities did not mediate the relationship between performance improvements and dream incorporation; suggesting a direct relationship between reasoning abilities and dream incorporation. This study provides the first evidence that learning-related dream production is related to inter-individual differences in cognitive abilities.

Memory Strategies for Serial Recall in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

This study was conducted to investigate the memory strategy for serial recall in adults with general intellectual disability (ID) using the picture memory span task. Relations between memory strategies and two aspects of intellectual abilities, i.e., verbal and nonverbal abilities, were investigated. Study participants were 19 adults with general ID (i.e., ID of unknown etiologies). The picture memory span task, which can assess features of memory coding, was administered under four conditions: control, visually similar, phonologically similar, and long-name condition. The picture vocabulary test – revised (PVTR) and Raven color progressive matrices (RCPM) were conducted. Performance on the picture memory span task revealed that participants with ID used visual and verbal strategies for memory coding. Individual differences in verbal ability were interrelated with the degree of verbal strategy use. Results of this study suggest that features of memory coding of adults with ID do not contradict their level of intellectual development.

The Influence of task Demands, Verbal Ability and Executive Functions on Item and Source Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is generally associated with difficulties in contextual source memory but not single item memory. There are surprising inconsistencies in the literature, however, that the current study seeks to address by examining item and source memory in age and ability matched groups of 22 ASD and 21 comparison adults. Results show that group differences in source memory are moderated by task demands but not by individual differences in verbal ability, executive function or item memory. By contrast, unexpected group differences in item memory could largely be explained by individual differences in source memory. These observations shed light on the factors underlying inconsistent findings in the memory literature in ASD, which has important implications for theory and practice.

Variations of planum temporale asymmetries with Heschl’s Gyri duplications and association with cognitive abilities: MRI investigation of 428 healthy volunteers

In a large sample of 428 healthy adults balanced for gender and manual preference (MP), we investigated planum temporale (PT) surface area variability in relation with Heschl's gyrus (HG) duplication pattern, MP, and familial sinistrality (FS), considering different PT definitions. In a sub-sample of 362 participants, we also investigated whether variability of PT asymmetry was associated with differences in verbal abilities. On each participant brain hemisphere MRI, we delineated a posterior PT area (PTpost), excluding the second Heschl gyrus in case of either complete posterior duplication (CPD) or common stem partial duplication (CSD). We then defined a total PT area (PTtot) as the union of PTpost and of the second HG when present, and a HGPT area as the union of PTtot and of the first HG. The HG duplication pattern of one hemisphere was found to significantly affect the PTpost surface area of the same hemisphere, a larger reduction being present in case of CPD than in case of CSD, leading to a strong impact of both left and right HG duplication patterns on PTpost asymmetry. The HG duplication pattern had no effect on PTtot surface areas, while a significant effect of the left HG duplication was present on PTtot asymmetry that was larger in case of a CSD as compared to a single HG. By contrast, the type of HG duplication did not affect HGPT and neither left nor right HG duplication pattern had an effect on HGPT asymmetry. Meanwhile, MP had no effect on PTpost, PTtot, HGPT, or their asymmetries. The absence of a left PTpost was associated with existence of FS (FS+) (7FS+ among nine without PTpost). Removing the nine individuals lacking PTpost, a lower left PTpost surface area was observed in FS+ participants with left CPD. In the sub-sample of 362 participants, we observed a significant interaction between PTpost asymmetry and cognitive abilities due to poorer lexical performances in individuals having a symmetric PTpost as compared to individuals having either a leftward or a rightward asymmetric PTpost. By contrast, there was no significant effect of PTtot or HGPT asymmetry on cognitive abilities. This study shows that HG duplication pattern mainly affects the surface area of the most posterior part of PT and its asymmetry, this PTpost area being specifically associated with variability in verbal performances. This study also shows, for the first time, an association between decreased performances and lack of PTpost anatomical asymmetry, being rightward asymmetrical having no deleterious effect on verbal abilities, thereby supporting the idea that anatomical lateralization is necessary for optimal verbal performances.

STRAIGHT-A STUDENTS DISLIKE PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN ADOLESCENCE: MYTH OR TRUTH? THE AVENA, AFINOS AND UP&DOWN STUDIES.

to examine if those adolescents who dislike physical education classes get better results on academic and cognitive performance than their peers. participants included 4 226 adolescents from the AVENA, AFINOS and UP&DOWN studies. Physical education enjoyment was assessed with a 7-point Likert scale. Cognitive performance in the AVENA study was assessed using the Spanish version of the SRA Test of Educational Ability. Academic performance in the AFINOS and UP&DOWN studies was assessed through Mathematics and Language grades and the average of both subjects. in the AVENA study we found differences in verbal ability among girls who dislike physical education and their peers (P = 0.033). In the AFINOS study, boys who dislike physical education had higher scores in Language than their peers (P = 0.024). In the UP&DOWN study girls who disliked physical education had higher scores in Language and in the average of Language and Mathematics than their peers (P < 0.001). in the AVENA and AFINOS studies adolescents who disliked physical education had similar results in cognitive and academic performance than their peers, but in the UP&DOWN study girls who disliked physical education showed higher results in academic performance than their peers.

Family Correlates of False Belief Understanding in Early Childhood: A Meta-Analysis.

This meta-analysis seeks to integrate findings from 25years of research on family correlates of young children's false belief understanding (FBU). Using data from 93 studies of 3- to 7-year-old children, we examined the correlations between FBU and four of the most widely studied family factors: parental socioeconomic status, number of siblings, parental mental-state talk, and mind-mindedness. FBU exhibited modest associations with each family variable and these associations held even when individual differences in verbal ability were taken into account. Moderator analyses revealed key child-related factors (e.g., age, gender) as well as methodological factors that amplified or attenuated the relations between FBU and each family variable. Crucially, available longitudinal data highlight the importance of family factors in the development of FBU.

Under Pressure: Individual Differences in Children's Suggestibility in Response to Intense Social Influence

AbstractPrior research on the relation between children's suggestibility and verbal skills has yielded mixed results. This study examined children's suggestibility in a high social pressure context in conjunction with individual differences in verbal ability and social understanding. Sixty‐nine children were read a story by a classroom visitor. One week later children were asked suggestive questions about the visit and pressured to respond ‘yes’. One week after the first interview, children were re‐asked the same questions, this time with no pressure. Children's suggestibility in response to social pressure was found to be significantly and negatively correlated with receptive vocabulary knowledge, but not with social understanding, the ability to understand and interpret social interactions. In addition, suggestibility scores exhibited a distinctly bimodal distribution, with many children acquiescing to all pressured suggestions, many children acquiescing to no suggestions, and few children falling between these two extremes.

On the nature of crystallized intelligence: the relationship between verbal ability and factual knowledge

While crystallized intelligence (gc) is recognized in many contemporary intelligence frameworks, there is no consensus as to the nature and contents of the construct. Originally conceptualized as capturing acquired skills and declarative knowledge in different content domains, more recent definitions and typical indicators focus on verbal ability. We investigated the relationship between verbal ability and declarative knowledge under consideration of individual differences in fluid intelligence in a large-scale assessment study with 6,701 adolescents. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the factorial distinctness of verbal ability and declarative knowledge with three analytical strategies: (i) Estimating correlations between latent variables, (ii) estimating the amount of unique variance in each factor after accounting for differences in the other ability constructs, and (iii) investigating associations with covariates including school achievement, students’ characteristics, and psychological traits. The correlation between latent variables representing verbal ability, measured with items from six language domains, and knowledge in 16 content domains was very high (ρ=.91), but significantly different from unity. About 17% of the variance in the knowledge factor was independent of individual differences in verbal ability and fluid intelligence. Associations with covariates revealed unique correlational patterns for each ability construct. The findings suggest that verbal ability and knowledge are closely related, but empirically distinguishable facets of crystallized intelligence. The discussion focuses on the construct validity of verbal tests for the measurement of gc and the interpretation of the common factor of a broad knowledge assessment as a causal variable.

Using cognitive pretesting to explore causes for ethnic differences on role-plays

This study used cognitive pretesting to assess what factors could be causing score differences between ethnic majority and ethnic minority applicants on role-plays. In a laboratory room, equipped with a video camera, cognitive interviews were conducted among 12 ethnic majority and 12 ethnic minority students to examine ethnic differences in the interpretation of the instructional texts of two role-plays. Four trained assessors independently rated the participants’ videotaped responses. The assessors were asked to indicate whether the participants had understood the instructional text in general, the intended meaning of specific words or phrases, the problem, the job role, and the context of the situation. Ethnic differences were found for almost all of these aspects of the instructional texts (d-values varied between −0.02 and 0.89), indicating that the texts often did not activate the same concepts in the ethnic minority group as in the ethnic majority group. Ethnic differences in verbal ability explained only part of the ethnic differences in the interpretation of the instruction of the role-plays. Cognitive pretesting seems to be a valuable method to assess differences between ethnic majority and ethnic minority applicants in how they interpret test items and instructional texts.

Understanding misunderstanding: a study of sex differences in meaning attribution

There are biologically based sex differences in verbal abilities and in neuropsychological systems of verbal processing. Measurement of observable behaviour, however, does not say much about sex differences in the internal, semantic processing of verbal material. The present study, which was conducted in Canada, China and Russia, investigated sex differences in connotative meaning attribution to the most common concepts using an object scale symmetry in the choice of the nouns and bipolar adjectives (projective semantic method). The results showed that males had a tendency to estimate reality- and work-related concepts more negatively and social- and physical attractors more positively than women. The paper hypothesizes that at the level of the most fundamental semantic processing men favour more exceptional objects than women, and women favour more predictable objects, including rules and routines.

Gender Stereotyping Enhances Verbal Fluency Performance in Men (and Women)

Numerous studies have demonstrated that fear of confirming negative stereotypes (stereotype threat) can hamper women’s performance in certain mathematical and spatial tasks in which men usually excel. By contrast, very little is known about how men are affected by stereotype threat in tasks in which women excel. We therefore asked 36 men and 39 women, recruited at the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany, to complete two tests of verbal fluency (word fluency, four-word sentences). Prior to testing, participants were either told that gender differences in verbal abilities were going to be investigated or they received gender-neutral task instructions. We hypothesized that this would trigger the gender stereotype of women’s verbal superiority and, as a consequence, lead to a stereotype threat effect with decreased verbal fluency performance in men. However, men’s verbal fluency scores were higher under gender difference instructions than in the control condition. Since women showed a similar pattern and had generally higher scores, the gender difference remained stable across conditions. The findings may reflect (a) that gender stereotyping induced a competitive situation and, as a result, enhanced performance in all participants or (b) stereotype reactance in men, which would suggest that men and women react differently to gender stereotype activations in gender-sensitive cognitive abilities. Either way, the findings imply that cognitive performance changes significantly if participants are aware that cognitive gender differences are investigated, which is probably the case in many studies investigating gender differences.

Individual Differences in Verbal Abilities Associated with Regional Blurring of the Left Gray and White Matter Boundary

Blurring of the cortical gray and white matter border on MRI is associated with normal aging, pathological aging, and the presence of focal cortical dysplasia. However, it remains unclear whether normal variations in signal intensity contrast at the gray and white matter junction reflect the functional integrity of subjacent tissue. This study explores the relationship between verbal abilities and gray and white matter contrast (GWC) in healthy human adults. Participants were scanned at 3 T MRI and administered standardized measures of verbal expression and verbal working memory. GWC was estimated by calculating the non-normalized T1 image intensity contrast above and below the cortical gray/white matter interface. Spherical averaging and whole-brain correlational analyses were performed. Sulcal regions exhibited higher contrast compared to gyral regions. We found a strongly lateralized and regionally specific profile with reduced verbal expression abilities associated with blurring in left hemisphere inferior frontal cortex and temporal pole. Reduced verbal working memory was associated with blurring in widespread left frontal and temporal cortices. Such lateralized and focal results provide support for GWC as a measure of regional functional integrity and highlight its potential role in probing the neuroanatomical substrates of cognition in healthy and diseased populations.

Understanding words, understanding numbers: An exploration of the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders

Poor comprehenders are children who show significant deficits in their reading comprehension performance, despite average, or above-average word reading ability. To date, there have been no in-depth studies of the mathematical performance profiles of such children. This study aimed to explore the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders. Given that language impairment is associated with difficulties with mathematics, and that poor comprehenders tend to have oral language weaknesses, we hypothesized that poor comprehenders would show relative weaknesses in aspects of mathematical performance. From a sample of 109 children aged 7-8 years, we selected 14 poor comprehenders and 14 controls with age-appropriate reading comprehension ability. The groups were matched on non-verbal ability, multiple measures of reading accuracy, and chronological age. We compared the performance of the group of poor comprehenders with that of the matched controls on two standardized measures of mathematical ability, one measuring procedural arithmetic prowess and the other tapping higher-level mathematical reasoning. Although there were no group differences in performance on the arithmetic measure, the poor comprehenders showed significantly lower scores than the controls on the mathematical reasoning task. The poor comprehenders exhibited impaired verbal ability relative to controls, with these differences in verbal ability associated with the group differences found on the test of mathematical reasoning. Poor comprehenders' deficits are not limited to the domain of literacy; their underlying profile of impairments also seems to selectively impact on certain components of mathematical ability.

The Effects of Relevance Instructions and Verbal Ability on Text Processing

The authors examined whether relevance instructions compensate for differences in verbal ability on measures of reading time, text recall, and sentence recognition. College students (n = 81) with higher and lower verbal ability were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 relevance-instruction conditions before reading a text. They asked participants in each condition to focus on different categories of information within the same text. Relevant information took longer to read and was recalled and recognized better than nonrelevant information. Readers with higher verbal ability read faster and recalled and recognized more information correctly than did those readers with lower verbal ability. Results support the noncompensatory hypothesis, which states that relevance instructions and verbal ability make independent contributions to resource allocation and learning. Readers with lower verbal ability may need additional support even when given prereading relevance instructions.

Putative sex differences in verbal abilities and language cortex: A critical review

This review brings together evidence from a diverse field of methods for investigating sex differences in language processing. Differences are found in certain language-related deficits, such as stuttering, dyslexia, autism and schizophrenia. Common to these is that language problems may follow from, rather than cause the deficit. Large studies have been conducted on sex differences in verbal abilities within the normal population, and a careful reading of the results suggests that differences in language proficiency do not exist. Early differences in language acquisition show a slight advantage for girls, but this gradually disappears. A difference in language lateralization of brain structure and function in adults has also been suggested, perhaps following size differences in the corpus callosum. Neither of these claims is substantiated by evidence. In addition, overall results from studies on regional grey matter distribution using voxel-based morphometry, indicate no consistent differences between males and females in language-related cortical regions. Language function in Wada tests, aphasia, and in normal ageing also fails to show sex differentiation.

Verbal Ability and Structured Navigation on Learning with Hypertext

Learners bring their unique individual perceptions, preferences, and abilities to a learning situation. The effect of individual differences on learning depends in part on how the instructional system accommodates individual differences. The current study examined the role of individual differences in verbal ability and structured navigation in hypertext learning. It was predicted that learning would vary with how well the hypertext environment supported a learner's individual attributes. Ninety-seven participants participated in one of four groups of a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design, which focused on the interaction between levels of navigational structure (unconstrained or expert constrained) and levels of participants' verbal ability (high or low). Overall, learners with high-verbal ability performed better on an unconstrained navigation structure than those with low-verbal ability; whereas in an expert-constrained navigation this difference between verbal ability levels was smaller. The results have implications for the design of hypertext-based learning systems.