General Reasoning Ability Research Articles

The role of cognitive abilities in laparoscopic simulator training

Learning minimally invasive surgery (MIS) differs substantially from learning open surgery and trainees differ in their ability to learn MIS. Previous studies mainly focused on the role of visuo-spatial ability (VSA) on the learning curve for MIS. In the current study, the relationship between spatial memory, perceptual speed, and general reasoning ability, in addition to VSA, and performance on a MIS simulator is examined. Fifty-three laparoscopic novices were tested for cognitive aptitude. Laparoscopic performance was assessed with the LapSim simulator (Surgical Science Ltd., Gothenburg, Sweden). Participants trained multiple sessions on the simulator until proficiency was reached. Participants showed significant improvement on the time to complete the task and efficiency of movement. Performance was related to different cognitive abilities, depending on the performance measure and type of cognitive ability. No relationship between cognitive aptitude and duration of training or steepness of the learning curve was found. Cognitive aptitude mediates certain aspects of performance during training on a laparoscopic simulator. Based on the current study, we conclude that cognitive aptitude tests cannot be used for resident selection but are potentially useful for developing individualized training programs. More research will be performed to examine how cognitive aptitude testing can be used to design training programs.

Slower processing speed after treatment for pediatric brain tumor and acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and brain tumor (BT) survivors are at risk for post-treatment IQ declines. The extent to which lower scores represent global cognitive decline versus domain-specific impairment remains unclear. This study examined discrepancies between processing speed and estimated IQ (EIQ) scores and identified clinical characteristics associated with score discrepancies in a sample of pediatric cancer survivors. Survivors (50 ALL, 50 BT) ages 12-17 years completed cognitive testing. The Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence provided an untimed measure of general reasoning ability (EIQ). The age-appropriate Wechsler Intelligence Scale provided a Processing Speed Index (PSI) score. Scores were examined and compared. Survivors' PSI scores were lower than their EIQ scores (BT t(45) =6.3, p<0.001; ALL t(49) =6.9, p<0.001). For BT survivors, lower PSI scores were associated with history of craniospinal irradiation, t(44) =3.3, p<0.01. For ALL survivors, lower PSI scores were associated with male gender, grade retention, and time since diagnosis, F(3, 46) =10.1, p<0.001. Clinically significant EIQ-PSI score discrepancies were identified in 41.3% of BT and 14.0% of ALL survivors. Many pediatric BT and ALL survivors exhibit slower processing speed than expected for age, whereas general reasoning ability remains largely intact. Risk factors associated with larger EIQ-PSI discrepancies include the following: BT diagnosis, craniospinal irradiation (BT only), male gender, and younger age at diagnosis (ALL only). Grade retention was frequent and associated with lower EIQ scores (both groups) and PSI scores (ALL only). Describing post-treatment cognitive declines using global measures of intellectual ability may underestimate dysfunction or fail to isolate specific underlying deficits contributing to impairment.

Learning of content knowledge and development of scientific reasoning ability: A cross culture comparison

We report the results of our study of the connections between students’ learning of physics content knowledge and the development of general scientific reasoning abilities. In particular, we seek to determine whether and to what extent content learning affects the development of general reasoning abilities. Pre-college-instruction data of first-year college students in the United States and China were collected using the FCI, BEMA, and Lawson’s classroom test of scientific reasoning. We find that the rigorous learning of physics knowledge in middle and high schools has made a significant impact on the ability of students in China to solve physics problems, but this knowledge does not seem to have a direct effect on their general scientific reasoning ability, which is determined to be at the same level as that of the students in the United States.

Evaluation Strategies: Teaching Students to Assess Consistency

There is a growing consensus that introductory physics courses should help students develop general scientific reasoning abilities that transform them into lifelong learners, preparing them for careers and citizenship in a rapidly evolving world. Despite the sometimes daunting nature of this challenge, activities developed by various physics education researchers have demonstrated that it is, in fact, an achievable goal. Although some of these activities require specific course formats that may not be feasible for every instructor, this is not uniformly true. In this article, I describe the design and use of activities that may be used within an introductory algebra-based physics course of any format to encourage the development of students' evaluation abilities.

Cerebellar Tasks do not Distinguish Between Children with Developmental Dyslexia and Children with Intellectual Disability

This paper explored the claim that only children with developmental dyslexia, whose reading ability is discrepant from their average general reasoning ability show specific deficits in motor tasks assessing cerebellar functioning (Fawcett et al., 2001, Cerebellar tests differentiate between groups of poor readers with and without IQ discrepancy. J. Learning Disabilities, 34, 119) and rapid serial naming (RAN, Wolf & Bowers, 1999, The double deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. J. Educ. Psychol., 91, 1). All available children between the ages of 11 and 14 were recruited from two special schools for children with either (a) formally-diagnosed intellectual disabilities (N = 18); or (b) formal diagnoses of developmental dyslexia (N = 25). These two groups of children did not differ on gender, age, pseudoword decoding abilities, or on 7 of 8 literacy measures, but did differ significantly, as expected on verbal and non-verbal reasoning tasks. Importantly, there were no deficits in bead threading ability or postural stability in the children with developmental dyslexia compared to the children with intellectual disabilities. There were also no between-group differences in rapid naming measures. The present results therefore provide no support for the claim that cerebellar deficits or RAN distinguish between children with dyslexia and children with intellectual disabilities that include reading.

Modeling individual differences in contrapositive reasoning with continuous latent state and trait variables

Recent developments in the psychology of judgment and reasoning have emphasized the importance of individual differences in responses to reasoning experiments. This shift in emphasis, from the modal performance to variations in performance, raises some methodological concerns about the reliability and validity of the scores obtained when measuring reasoning performance: Differences in these scores might reflect measurement errors or reactions to pragmatic and semantic contextualization rather than differences in reasoning ability. This article shows how latent state-trait modeling can be applied to the responses collected in standard reasoning experiments. A latent state-trait analysis of contrapositive reasoning (“if p then q; not- q; what follows?”) revealed that the variables used to assess contrapositive reasoning ability showed remarkably good reliability and are only weakly affected by situation-specific influences. Consequently, they are appropriate for assessing stable interindividual differences in abilities. Moreover, the hypothesis of the existence of a general task-independent reasoning ability has to be rejected because the different task-specific abilities are only moderately correlated (between .27 and .63).

Psychological processes and paranoia: implications for forensic behavioural science

Paranoid delusions have recently become the focus of empirical research. In this article, we review studies of the psychological mechanisms that might be involved in paranoid thinking and discuss their implications for forensic behaviour science. Paranoia has not been consistently associated with any specific neuropsychological abnormality. However, evidence supports three broad types of mechanism that might be involved in delusional thinking in general and paranoia in particular: anomalous perceptual experiences, abnormal reasoning, and motivational factors. There is some evidence that paranoia may be associated with hearing loss, and good evidence that paranoid patients attend excessively to threatening information. Although general reasoning ability seems to be unaffected, there is strong evidence that a jumping- to-conclusions style of reasoning about data is implicated in delusions in general, but less consistent evidence specifically linking paranoia to impaired theory of mind. Finally, there appears to be a strong association between paranoia and negative self-esteem, and some evidence that attempts to protect self-esteem by attributing negative events to external causes are implicated. Some of these processes have recently been implicated in violent behaviour, and they therefore have the potential to explain the apparent association between paranoid delusions and offending.

Learning a spatial skill for surgery: how the contributions of abilities change with practice

AbstractWe examined changes in performance as people learned to use an angled laparoscope, a challenging spatial skill that must be mastered by surgeons who perform minimally invasive techniques. In Experiment 1, novices took tests of spatial and general reasoning ability, and then learned to operate an angled laparoscope, simulated in a virtual environment, over 12 learning sessions. Initial performance showed considerable variability among learners, with performance related to general and spatial abilities. As learning progressed, interindividual variability diminished and all learners attained proficiency; the correlation with general ability diminished but the correlation with spatial ability remained significant. In Experiment 2, performance by highly experienced surgeons on the simulation was excellent from the first session, confirming its ecological validity. The findings contribute to theories of skill acquisition. They also have practical implications for the selection of surgeons and for the potential use of virtual environments in surgical training. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Theory of mind and its relation to schizotypy

Introduction. Frith (1992) suggested that many psychotic symptoms are associated with impaired theory of mind (ToM), the ability to represent the mental states of others. Langdon and Coltheart (1999) found an association in a nonclinical adult population between schizotypal traits and poorer ToM on a picture-sequencing task. The present study attempted to replicate and extend this finding using a ToM story task. Methods. A total of 62 nonclinical individuals completed a schizotypy questionnaire (the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences; O-LIFE) and a set of ToM stories. Matched “physical” control stories were administered to control for general reasoning ability. Executive function and current verbal IQ were assessed using the Cognitive Estimates Test and the Quick Test, respectively. Results. Schizotypal traits analogous to positive symptoms of schizophrenia (UE scale of the O-LIFE) predicted poorer scores on the ToM task, but were unrelated to scores on physical stories. Individuals with high scores for total schizotypy on the O-LIFE did not differ in ToM from those with low total scores. There was no association between poorer ToM and schizotypal traits analogous to the “behavioural signs” of schizophrenia. Executive function and verbal IQ did not significantly predict story scores. Conclusions. Positive schizotypal traits in the normal population are associated with subtle impairments in ToM, independent of reasoning ability, executive function, or verbal IQ. A strong association between poor ToM and “behavioural signs” may only appear in studies of schizophrenic patients, and not in studies of nonclinical individuals. The findings are discussed in relation to Frith's (1992) cognitive neuropsychological model of schizophrenia.

The intelligent brain in conflict

Can individual differences in general reasoning ability be reduced to an elementary cognitive process or isolated to a neural circuit? A breakthrough neuroimaging study finds that fluid intelligence and attention control are behaviorally linked via the neural activity in brain areas involved in resolving cognitive conflict.

How chronic self-views influence (and potentially mislead) estimates of performance.

An important source of people's perceptions of their performance, and potential errors in those perceptions, are chronic views people hold regarding their abilities. In support of this observation, manipulating people's general views of their ability, or altering which view seemed most relevant to a task, changed performance estimates independently of any impact on actual performance. A final study extended this analysis to why women disproportionately avoid careers in science. Women performed equally to men on a science quiz, yet underestimated their performance because they thought less of their general scientific reasoning ability than did men. They, consequently, were more likely to refuse to enter a science competition.

Matching training methods and factors of cognitive ability: A means to improve training outcomes

AbstractThe author examines the relationship between training methods and factors of cognitive ability in order to determine whether a match between these variables will increase learning. Lecture‐based and case‐study‐based training were conducted using a repeated‐measure design. Predictive validity of verbal comprehension, verbal reasoning, and general reasoning abilities for learning from the two training methods were examined by way of MANOVA and multiple regression. Results indicate that knowledge gained in lecture‐based training was significantly related to verbal comprehension ability, and knowledge gained in case‐study‐based training was significantly related to general reasoning ability. The article discusses implications for designing training programs and for future research.

Recreational use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or 'ecstasy': evidence for cognitive impairment.

It has recently been shown that 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or 'ecstasy' causes long-lasting alterations to brain structure and function in animals, and there is mounting evidence that recreational users of the drug show impairments in some aspects of cognitive functioning including memory for verbal information. The present study investigates possible effects on other cognitive functions and explores the temporal course of development and resolution of these impairments by comparing novice, regular and abstaining users with a matched group of non-users. Eighty participants categorized as non-users, novice users, regular users or currently abstinent users of MDMA were assessed on tests of verbal IQ, reversed digit span, immediate and delayed recall of a prose passage and of a complex geometric figure and verbal fluency. The four groups were well-matched for verbal IQ and on demographic variables. They differed in frequency of cannabis use over the last month, but this did not correlate with any cognitive test scores. All three groups of MDMA users showed significantly poorer verbal fluency and immediate and delayed prose recall than non-users. Days since last use and total lifetime consumption of MDMA made separate contributions to the variance in recall scores, accounting jointly for almost half of the variance in delayed recall. By contrast, the groups did not differ on either visual recall or reversed digit span. The observed deficits provide further evidence of impairments of verbal but not visual memory in MDMA users, and indicate that the deficits are not attributable either to differences in general reasoning ability or to impairment of working memory. The data further suggest that the observed impairments may be attributable to a combination of reversible acute effects of MDMA resolving over a period of 2-3 weeks and more long-term changes associated with extent of lifetime consumption.

Personality and moral reasoning in young offenders

Abstract This study examined personality, moral reasoning maturity, intellectual capacity, and family background in 101 convicted male young offenders. In addition, the relationship between these variables and self-reported offending behaviour was investigated. The main aim of the investigation was to test predictions from the theories of criminality proposed by Kohlberg [Kohlberg, L. (1958). The development of modes of moral thinking and choice in the years ten to sixteen . Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago. Kohlberg, L. (1963). The development of children’s orientations towards a moral order-I: sequence in the development of human thought. Vita Humana , 6, 11–33. Kolhberg, L. (1969). Stage and sequence: the cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In D. Goslin, Handbook of socialization theory and research . New York: Rand McNally.] and H. J. Eysenck [Eysenck, H. J. (1964). Crime and personality . London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Eysenck, H. J. (1970). Crime and personality (2nd ed.). London: Granada. Eysenck, H. J. (1977). Crime and personality (3rd ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.] which associate offending behaviour with lower moral reasoning maturity and the personality characteristics of high psychoticism, extraversion and neuroticism. The results suggested that both official and self-reported measures of offending were related to high psychoticism and extraversion. Neuroticism was not found to be important in predicting offending in the age group used, but may nonetheless be involved in older individuals when offending behaviour has developed into a habit. While lower levels of moral reasoning maturity were found, no relationship to self-reported offending was apparent. It was concluded that moral reasoning may be associated with offending through the mediation of other variables, possibly psychoticism and general reasoning ability.

Comparison of Hualapai school children to national norms on measures of receptive vocabulary and verbal ability

Performance differences on receptive vocabulary and general verbal reasoning ability of Hualapai Indians as compared to national norms were investigated. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Revised and the Verbal portion of the Cognitive Abilities Test, Form 4 were administered to 206 Hualapai Indian children ranging in age from 5 years, 3 months to 15 years, 7 months. Their performance was compared at each grade level to the national norms for these measures. Results indicated that Hualapai children score significantly lower on both measures of verbal ability when compared to national samples. Results provide a long-needed archival record of the English language proficiency of the Hualapai, and support the notion of homogeneity of English language facility across American Indian tribes. Contributing factors to Hualapai and other Native American populations' weaker performance on measures of verbal ability are discussed.

Adolescents, place experience and visual intelligence: Implications for educators

Abstract The influence on thinking from the totality of informal contexts such as home, neighbourhood and community seems largely unexplored in research. Some neighbourhood differences have been observed in attitudes and achievement but these have been largely undefined or linked to one or two variables such as socioeconomic status and levels of general reasoning ability. In the research described two hundred and ten adolescents located in seven places were randomly selected for study. Data collected related to experience of, and attitudes towards, travel, leisure activities, visual skills, learning and study approaches, attention and concentration, and general reasoning ability. Statistically significant differences were recorded between all places in all thinking skills variables (p < .001) and three of the six learning approaches variables (p < .01). Data from the study evinced support for the hypothesis that interactions between people and places result in place‐specific skills and behaviour.

Influence of research methods and statistics courses on everyday reasoning, critical abilities, and belief in unsubstantiated phenomena.

Do undergraduate courses in psychology Research Methods (RM) and Statistics (STAT) improve general reasoning skills and scientific abilities? Psychology students concurrently enrolled in introductory RM and STAT were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a baseline group was tested at the beginning of the semester; another group was tested after completion of KM and STAT; and a third group completed R M and STAT and also received 3 tutorial sessions that specifically emphasized transfer of the course material to reasoning in a more general context. A group of students in a humanities programme provided a general comparison group. All participants were assessed on tests of general reasoning and of critical abilities. Respondents also completed a questionnaire that assessed their willingness to endorse scientifically unsubstantiated phenomena. The KM and STAT courses by themselves did not enhance students' general reasoning or critical ability. The group receiving tutorial sessions in addition to the RM and STAT did, however, perform significantly better than the baseline group. Willingness to endorse belief in unsubstantiated phenomena was not affected by the courses.

Role of domain‐general reasoning ability and domain‐specific knowledge in students' ability to solve geographical problems

Abstract This study investigates the role of domain‐general reasoning ability and domain‐specific knowledge in students' ability to solve decision‐making problems in geography. The study was conducted with 178 ‘O’ level geography students in Singapore. Four tests were administered: a Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), a Concept Structure Analysis Task (ConSAT), a Knowledge‐Base Unit Test (UT), and a Decision‐Making Test (DMT). A 2 × 2 analysis of variance revealed significant main effects for general reasoning ability and domain knowledge on students' performance in the decision‐making test, but no significant interaction effect. Students with high general reasoning ability and high domain knowledge also performed significantly better on the decision‐tasks. Research findings suggest the need for Singapore schools to achieve a balance in the teaching of content and the teaching of strategies in the geography curriculum.

Cognitive factors involved in the first stage of programming skill acquisition

In this study we examined the relationship of general and specific cognitive abilities to programming skill acquisition. A sample of Air Force recruits was given a short computer-based tutorial on Pascal followed by a battery of computer-based tests assessing general abilities, e.g., working memory, reasoning, verbal knowledge, and specific abilities, e.g., components hypothesized to underlie algebra word problem solving. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that (1) working memory capacity, general reasoning, and verbal knowledge were distinguishable factors; and (2) three components underlie performance on the algebra word problem solving test, viz., problem type identification, decomposition and sequencing, and translation. These factors were then related to learning outcomes from the Pascal tutorial. Analyses indicated that algebra word problem translation skills added to more general abilities such as general reasoning, working memory, and verbal knowledge in predicting success in programming skill acquisition. The contribution of word problem translation skills was independent of these other abilities as well as independent of previous formal instruction in another programming language.

Mathematical problem solving by analogy.

We report the results of 2 experiments and a verbal protocol study examining the component processes of solving mathematical word problems by analogy. College students first studied a problem and its solution, which provided a potential source for analogical transfer. Then they attempted to solve several analogous problems. For some problems, subjects received one of a variety of hints designed to reduce or eliminate the difficulty of some of the major processes hypothesized to be involved in analogical transfer. Our studies yielded 4 major findings. First, the process of mapping the features of the source and target problems and the process of adapting the source solution procedure for use in solving the target problem were clearly distinguished: (a) Successful mapping was found to be insufficient for successful transfer and (b) adaptation was found to be a major source of transfer difficulty. Second, we obtained direct evidence that schema induction is a natural consequence of analogical transfer. The schema was found to co-exist with the problems from which it was induced, and both the schema and the individual problems facilitated later transfer. Third, for our multiple-solution problems, the relation between analogical transfer and solution accuracy was mediated by the degree of time pressure exerted for the test problems. Finally, mathematical expertise was a significant predictor of analogical transfer, but general analogical reasoning ability was not. The implications of the results for models of analogical transfer and for instruction were considered.