Individual Differences In Verbal Ability Research Articles

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Using Hierarchical Classes to Analyze Organization of the Self-Concept

This study evaluated in several ways the concurrent and discriminant validity of measuring self-concept organization via Hierarchical Classes (HICLAS) analysis of interview-derived self-descriptions. College students (N = 85) listed and then described using their own words various self-aspects, and they completed standardized measures of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and verbal ability. As expected, self-views were multifaceted and hierarchically organized. The proportion of negative self-descriptors provided was positively correlated with depressive symptoms and negatively correlated with self-esteem. Positive and negative self-descriptors were compartmentalized across self-aspects. These results supported the concurrent validity of the information yielded by HICLAS analysis. Supporting the discriminant validity of the method, indices of the elaboration of the self-concept were not correlated with depressive symptoms. No HICLAS variables were significantly confounded by individual differences in verbal ability. We conclude that HICLAS analysis of self-generated descriptors is a promising, flexible method of idiographic assessment of self-concept organization.

Sex differences in early verbal and non‐verbal cognitive development

The present study of over 3000 2‐year‐old twin pairs used a sex‐limitation model to examine genetic and environmental origins of sex differences in verbal and non‐verbal cognitive ability. Girls scored significantly higher on both measures (p<0.0001), although gender only accounted for approximately 3% of the variance in verbal ability and 1% of the variance in non‐verbal cognitive ability. For the verbal measure boys showed greater heritability than girls. Also the twin‐pair correlation is significantly lower for opposite‐sex twins than for non‐identical same‐sex twins. This indicates that individual differences in verbal ability include some sex‐specific factors. Non‐verbal cognitive ability did not differ in aetiology for boys and girls. We conclude that genetic and environmental influences differ for girls and boys for early verbal but not non‐verbal development.

Spatial ability and laterality effects on a face recognition task

This study examined the hypothesis that high spatial visualization ability is associated with superior functioning of the right hemisphere of the brain, using a face recognition task. It also explored whether individual differences in verbal ability play a role in face recognition. Accuracy and response latency analyses of same and different judgements yielded no evidence of the expected ability-lateralization relationship. Instead, low spatials were more sensitive to the visual field manipulation, and it was male low spatials who showed a left-visual-field effect in the experimental condition designed to yield the strongest right-hemisphere advantage. Individual differences in verbal fluency, but not vocabulary, predicted response latencies. For female high spatials only, verbal fluency also tended to be associated with the accuracy of their judgements. The results confirmed the need to examine the lateralization correlates of spatial visualization ability in the context of sex differences as well as the need to study further the bases of sex differences within high- and low-ability groups, particularly the high-spatial group.

Hunting for individual differences in cognitive processes: Verbal ability and semantic processing of pictures and words

Semantic category decisions were examined for single picture and word stimuli. Consistent with previous research, pictures yielded faster latencies than words and both showed significant taxonomic frequency effects for positive decisions. The results are interpreted in terms of general models for semantic verification, in which both pictures and words involve access to the same underlying semantic knowledge base. The latter conclusion was supported by correlation-regression analyses on individual item latencies. Variations in processing latency as a function of stimulus mode, taxonomic frequency, and type of decision were analyzed with respect to adult individual differences in verbal ability, The results uniformly failed to show a significant relationship between verbal ability and any processing speed measure. The lack of any significant relationship is discussed in light of previous results on verbal ability and processing speed, suggesting obvious qualifications of past results and possible reinterpretations of the meaning of previously obtained speed differences.

Individual Differences in Verbal and Imagery Abilities: Paired-Associate Recall as a Function of Stimulus and Response Concreteness

Individual differences in verbal ability measured by Verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test score and imagery ability measured by Betts' Questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery and Marks' Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire were determined. The latter two were positively correlated, and neither correlated with the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Subjects high in verbal ability and high in imagery independently increased paired-associate recall over those low in verbal ability and imagery when the Marks scale was used as the measure of imagery. Paivio's dual-coding hypothesis was generally supported, and the conceptual-peg function of concrete stimuli was especially beneficial to subjects of low verbal ability and high imagery. The Marks scale was superior to the shortened Betts scale for predicting the effects of ability to image on recall for these 4 groups of 20 subjects each.