Measures Of Verbal Intelligence Research Articles

Connectome-based predictive modelling of cognitive reserve using task-based functional connectivity.

Cognitive reserve supports cognitive function in the presence of pathology or atrophy. Functional neuroimaging may enable direct and accurate measurement of cognitive reserve which could have considerable clinical potential. The present study aimed to develop and validate a measure of cognitive reserve using task-based fMRI data that could then be applied to independent resting-state data. Connectome-based predictive modelling with leave-one-out cross-validation was applied to predict a residual measure of cognitive reserve using task-based functional connectivity from the Cognitive Reserve/Reference Ability Neural Network studies (n = 220, mean age = 51.91 years, SD = 17.04 years). This model generated summary measures of connectivity strength that accurately predicted a residual measure of cognitive reserve in unseen participants. The theoretical validity of these measures was established via a positive correlation with a socio-behavioural proxy of cognitive reserve (verbal intelligence) and a positive correlation with global cognition, independent of brain structure. This fitted model was then applied to external test data: resting-state functional connectivity data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA, n = 294, mean age = 68.3 years, SD = 7.18 years). The network-strength predicted measures were not positively associated with a residual measure of cognitive reserve nor with measures of verbal intelligence and global cognition. The present study demonstrated that task-based functional connectivity data can be used to generate theoretically valid measures of cognitive reserve. Further work is needed to establish if, and how, measures of cognitive reserve derived from task-based functional connectivity can be applied to independent resting-state data.

Financial literacy mediates the effect between verbal intelligence and financial anxiety

Financial anxiety can impact financial decision-making negatively. Theoretically, knowledge is considered to help mitigate stress in making decisions. However, the empirical results are inconsistent with respect to the association between financial literacy (knowledge of financial terms and concepts) and financial anxiety, perhaps because of the employment of limited psychometric measures. Furthermore, cognitive intelligence and financial literacy inter-correlate positively, suggesting that any effect between financial literacy and financial anxiety may be accounted for by intelligence, a construct known to facilitate problem solving. Consequently, measures of verbal intelligence (vocabulary and verbal reasoning), financial literacy, and financial anxiety were administered to a sample of 553 adults. Vocabulary and verbal reasoning were found to associate positively with financial literacy, however, only vocabulary associated with financial literacy uniquely. Furthermore, while vocabulary and financial literacy correlated negatively with financial anxiety, the effect between vocabulary and financial anxiety was fully mediated by financial literacy, controlling for education and age. We conclude that financial literacy appears to have a direct effect onto financial anxiety, independently of the effects of verbal intelligence, formal education, and age, supporting the potential usefulness of financial literacy training.

Dyslexia: Links with schizotypy and neurological soft signs.

Abnormalities in language processing, psychological distress, and subtle neurodevelopmental features called neurological soft signs (NSS) are expressed by people with dyslexia and those scoring highly on schizotypy. We investigated whether the expression of NSS, distress, and schizotypy predicted dyslexia status. Participants (N=96, 48 dyslexic) selected to be age and sex matched, completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire, Neurological Evaluation Scale, and the National Adult Reading Test (NART; a measure of verbal intelligence). Dyslexia status was predicted by higher total NSS and disorganized schizotypy scores in the absence of NART. However, even with the inclusion of NART, disorganized schizotypy remained a significant predictor. The findings suggest that disorganized features of schizotypy could be a significant factor for those with dyslexia. Conversely, more attention needs to be given to developmental language disorders in those who score highly on schizotypy.

"Why do dogs pant?": Characteristics of parental explanations about science predict children's knowledge.

Using a new method for examining parental explanations in a laboratory setting, the prompted explanation task, this study examines how characteristics of parental explanations about biology relate to children's knowledge. Parents (N = 148; M age = 38; 84% female, 16% male; 67% having completed college) of children ages 7–10 (M age = 8.92; 47% female, 53% male; 58% White, 9.5% Black, 9.5% Asian) provided answers to eight how and why questions about biology. Parents used a number of different approaches to address the questions, including providing more mechanistic responses to how questions and more teleological responses to why questions. The characteristics of parental explanations—most notably, how frequently parents provided correct responses—predicted children's performance on measures of verbal intelligence and biological knowledge. Additional exploratory analyses and implications for children's learning are discussed.

Attention and executive functioning in infancy: Links to childhood executive function and reading achievement.

This study provides the first analyses connecting individual differences in infant attention to reading achievement through the development of executive functioning (EF) in infancy and early childhood. Five-month-old infants observed a video, and peak look duration and shift rate were video coded and assessed. At 10months, as well as 3, 4, and 6years, children completed age-appropriate EF tasks (A-not-B task, hand game, forward digit span, backwards digit span, and number Stroop). Children also completed a standardized reading assessment and a measure of verbal intelligence (IQ) at age 6. Path analyses on 157 participants showed that infant attention had a direct statistical predictive effect on EF at 10months, with EF showing a continuous pattern of development from 10months to 6years. EF and verbal IQ at 6years had a direct effect on reading achievement. Furthermore, EF at all time points mediated the relation between 5-month attention and reading achievement. These findings may inform reading interventions by suggesting earlier intervention time points and specific cognitive processes (i.e. 5-month attention).

Intelligence, Attention, and Behavioral Outcomes in Internationally Adopted Girls with a History of Institutionalization

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of neurocognitive functioning with internalizing and externalizing problems and school and social competence in children adopted internationally. Method: Participants included girls between the ages of 6–12 years who were internationally adopted from China (n = 32) or Eastern Europe (n = 25) and a control group of never-adopted girls (n = 25). Children completed the Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning subtests from the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence and the Score! and Sky Search subtests from the Test of Everyday Attention for Children. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist and the Home and Community Social Behavior Scales. Results: Compared to the controls, the Eastern European group evidenced significantly more problems with externalizing behaviors and school and social competence and poorer performance on measures of verbal intelligence, perceptual reasoning, and auditory attention. More internalizing problems were reported in the Chinese group compared to the controls. Using generalized linear regression, interaction terms were examined to determine whether the associations of neurocognitive functioning with behavior varied across groups. Eastern European group status was associated with more externalizing problems and poorer school and social competence, irrespective of neurocognitive test performance. In the Chinese group, poorer auditory attention was associated with more problems with social competence. Conclusions: Neurocognitive functioning may be related to behavior in children adopted internationally. Knowledge about neurocognitive functioning may further our understanding of the impact of early institutionalization on post-adoption behavior.

Cognitive ability and party identity in the United States

Carl (2014) analysed data from the U.S. General Social Survey (GSS), and found that individuals who identify as Republican have slightly higher verbal intelligence than those who identify as Democrat. An important qualification was that the measure of verbal intelligence used was relatively crude, namely a 10-word vocabulary test. This study examines three other measures of cognitive ability from the GSS: a test of probability knowledge, a test of verbal reasoning, and an assessment by the interviewer of how well the respondent understood the survey questions. In all three cases, individuals who identify as Republican score slightly higher than those who identify as Democrat; the unadjusted differences are 1–3 IQ points, 2–4 IQ points and 2–3 IQ points, respectively. Path analyses indicate that the associations between cognitive ability and party identity are largely but not totally accounted for by socio-economic position: individuals with higher cognitive ability tend to have better socio-economic positions, and individuals with better socio-economic positions are more likely to identify as Republican. These results are consistent with Carl's (2014) hypothesis that higher intelligence among classically liberal Republicans compensates for lower intelligence among socially conservative Republicans.

Assessment of cognitive function across pregnancy using CANTAB: A longitudinal study

Significant changes in endogenous plasma hormone levels are required to sustain pregnancy which provides a unique opportunity to study their effect on cognitive function.Four carefully selected tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Automated Test Battery (CANTAB) were administered to assess the cognitive function of a group of 23 women during each trimester of pregnancy and at three months following birth. Test scores were compared with a control group of 24 non-pregnant women. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was administered to assess anxiety and risk of depression. The National Adult Reading Test (NART) was used as a measure of verbal intelligence. Plasma hormone levels were measured at each time-point.The pregnant group scored significantly lower than the control group on the Spatial Recognition Memory (SRM) test at the second trimester and postpartum assessments (p⩽0.004). A significant pregnant group-time interaction (p=0.005) for SRM performance was demonstrated. Compared to their first trimester assessment, the pregnant group scored on average 11.7% less on each subsequent SRM test. The pregnant group reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to the control group (EPDS-4 point increase in mean score at each assessment, p=0.002). There were no plasma hormone levels and test score associations identified.These data suggest SRM performance is adversely affected by pregnancy. Other aspects of executive function seem to be unaffected. Although the pregnant group reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to the control group, analysis indicates that this confounder is not responsible for the SRM differences.

In This Issue

In This Issue

Detecting deception in written statements

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the most recently published and most comprehensively designed study of scientific content analysis (SCAN), a widely used but rarely researched method of content analysis for detecting deception in written statements.Design/methodology/approachThe author reviewed the design, data, and findings of the study and performed statistical re‐analysis of the raw data. Prior citations and critiques of the study by scholars also were reviewed.FindingsThe design and data analysis of the British Home Office study are in part deficient. The design includes features of a quasi‐experimental study which were operationalized poorly, and the data aggregation and analysis produced an incomplete and problematic interpretation of the raw data. Prior reviewers of the Home Office study erred in part in their understanding of the study's findings and deficiencies.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was limited to the raw data of the study, but even so, the results justify additional research on SCAN. In particular, studies should be designed that control for variables such as length of law enforcement career, educational level, number of written statements taken during the career, measures of verbal intelligence, and pre‐SCAN‐training ability to detect deception in statements. The design and analysis flaws of the Home Office study which are identified in the paper would also need to be avoided.Originality/valueThis is the first published paper to identify the full range of design and data analysis deficiencies of the Home Office study and to argue that its data nonetheless support the recommendation that SCAN be researched more thoroughly.

Short-Term Music Training Enhances Verbal Intelligence and Executive Function

Researchers have designed training methods that can be used to improve mental health and to test the efficacy of education programs. However, few studies have demonstrated broad transfer from such training to performance on untrained cognitive activities. Here we report the effects of two interactive computerized training programs developed for preschool children: one for music and one for visual art. After only 20 days of training, only children in the music group exhibited enhanced performance on a measure of verbal intelligence, with 90% of the sample showing this improvement. These improvements in verbal intelligence were positively correlated with changes in functional brain plasticity during an executive-function task. Our findings demonstrate that transfer of a high-level cognitive skill is possible in early childhood.

The Relationship of Intimate Partner Aggression to Head Injury, Executive Functioning, and Intelligence

Measures of head injury, executive functioning, and intelligence were given to a community sample composed of 102 male perpetrators of intimate partner aggression (IPA) and 62 nonaggressive men. A history of head injury and lower mean score on a measure of verbal intelligence were associated with the frequency of male-perpetrated physical IPA as reported by male perpetrators and their female partners. Lower mean scores on a measure of verbal intelligence also predicted frequency of psychological IPA perpetration. Using the perpetrator subtypes outlined by Holtzworth-Munroe et al. (2000), analyses revealed that compared with other groups, the most severely aggressive subtypes (i.e., borderline-dysphoric and generally violent-antisocial) were the most likely to report a history of head injury and to have significantly lower mean scores on a neuropsychological test of verbal intelligence. The possible role of neuropsychological factors in IPA perpetration and implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.

Consistency of hand-preference across the early years: Long-term relationship to verbal intelligence and reading achievement in girls.

The relationship between consistency of hand preference, left hemispheric specialization, and cognitive functioning was examined in an ongoing longitudinal investigation. Children were classified as consistent or inconsistent in their hand preference across 5 assessments from ages 18 to 42 months. Findings demonstrated that (a) this early classification continued to reveal differences in cognitive functioning from 10 to 17 years but only for girls, (b) consistent girls' performances were continually higher relative to the inconsistent girls on measures of verbal intelligence and reading achievement, (c) differences between the female groups were specifically related to left-hemispheric language specialization, and (d) one factor influencing the consistent girls' development may be the amount of reading exposure received during infancy.

Priming God-Related Concepts Increases Anxiety and Task Persistence

Research on the relationship between religiosity and anxiety has been mixed, with some studies revealing a positive relation and other studies revealing a negative relation. The current research used an experimental design, perhaps for the first time, to examine anxiety and task persistence during a stressful situation. Christians and Atheists/Agnostics/Others were primed with God-related or neutral (non-God related) concepts before completing an unsolvable anagram task described as a measure of verbal intelligence. The results revealed that the God-related primes increased both task persistence and anxiousness, which suggests that experimentally induced God-related thoughts caused participants to persist longer on a stressful task, but also to feel more anxious after finishing it. No effect of religious affiliation was found, however, indicating that God-related priming affected Christians and non-Christians in a similar fashion.

The Relationship Between Reading and Intelligence in Primary School Aged Children: Implications for Definitional Models of Dyslexia

The validity of definitional models of development dyslexia (DD) derived from the difference between intelligence and reading quotients, is challenged by the failure of these models to consider expected developmental changes in the relationship between these constructs. The purpose of this study was to examine age-related changes in the correlations between verbal and nonverbal intelligence and reading ability. One hundred and twenty six children aged between 7 11 years of age were administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Third Edition (PPVT-III, a measure of verbal intelligence) the Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM, as a measure of non-verbal intelligence) and various measures of reading ability (the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability Revised, NARA, and selected subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of AchievementRevised, WJ-Ach). The PPVT-III had significantly stronger correlations than the CPM with reading rate, single word reading, and a measure of text comprehension. Both measures correlated poorly with pseudo-word reading. Despite differences between the two intelligence measures, both correlated more strongly with measures of reading comprehension than with traditionally defined measures of decoding ability. These results are discussed in the context of the validity of current definitions of DD. The need for greater consideration of the appropriateness of certain assessment measures at various ages both in testing and in the interpretation of previous studies,

Estimating verbal intelligence in unipolar depression: Comparison of word definition and word recognition

Depression is known to be associated with deficits in effortful processing and word fluency. Automatic processes, instead, appear largely intact in depressed patients. It was investigated whether active word definition could be a less appropriate method than passive word recognition as a measure of verbal intelligence in depression. The valid assessment of premorbid IQ is important for correct comparison with current cognitive efficiency of depressed individuals, since premorbid IQ serves as baseline or control parameter to estimate the extent and severity of acquired cognitive impairments, both in the clinical and the research context. Two vocabulary tests were administered to 90 patients (31 women) with unipolar depression and 30 control subjects (15 women): a word definition task [the vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R)] and a word recognition task [the Multiple choice vocabulary test (MWT)]. In the depressed sample, scores of the MWT tended to be higher than WAIS-R scores. For depressed women, the MWT score was significantly higher than the WAIS-R score. In the control sample, no differences between MWT and WAIS-R scores were observed. Our findings indicate that word definition tasks could underestimate verbal intelligence especially in depressed women. For depressed women, it could be more appropriate to administer word recognition than word definition as an estimate of premorbid or verbal intelligence.

Environmental Correlates of Cognition and Behavior in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

ABSTRACT The physical, cognitive, and behavioral correlates of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) have been well-researched. However, there is minimal investigation of the non-biological correlates of cognition and behavior in this population. The association between foster care placement history and cognitive and behavioral functioning was explored using archival data from 136 children with FASD. Significant cognitive and behavioral abnormalities were found in the overall sample. Children with one foster care placement performed significantly better on measures of verbal intelligence, mathematics achievement, and impulse control and endorsed fewer symptoms of internalizing disorders compared to children who were never removed from their biological home. Children with multiple foster home placements generally fell between the other two groups on assessment measures. It may be important to consider placement history of children with FASD when attempting to understand their cognitive and behavioral abnormalities.

Subcortical cognitive impairment in dialysis patients

Given the high burden of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in dialysis patients, we hypothesized that cognitive testing would reveal subtle abnormalities in subcortical brain function, a measure frequently associated with cerebrovascular disease. Detailed neurocognitive testing was performed in 25 hemodialysis patients. All patients had Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores >24 and had no history of cerebrovascular disease. Where appropriate, scores were normalized for age, gender, and education. One-sample t tests were used to compare differences in cognitive function between dialysis patients and normative data. The mean age was 57 years, and the mean MMSE was 27.5. Fourteen subjects (56%) were females, and 15 white (60%). Results of the North American Adult Reading Test, a measure of verbal intelligence, were comparable with the general population. Similarly, measures of cortical function, namely retention and recognition scores from the Word List Learning subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III, were preserved when compared with normative data where reference = 10. Significant deficits were seen on tests assessing subcortical function: scores (mean+/-standard deviation) for block design, and symbol coding subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III were 7.0+/-1.7 and 7.7+/-3.1, respectively (p<0.001 for both comparisons with normative data). Similarly, adjusted scores on the trails A and B tests were 40.5+/-8.3 and 41.8+/-11.3, respectively (p<0.001 for both comparisons with normative data where reference= 50). These results suggest that, despite relatively normal MMSE scores, mild cognitive impairment may be prevalent in hemodialysis patients. The pattern of cognitive dysfunction is primarily subcortical in nature.

Verbal fluency deficits in multiple sclerosis

A quantitative review of 35 studies with 3673 participants was conducted to estimate and compare the magnitude of deficits upon tests of phonemic and semantic fluency for participants with multiple sclerosis (MS) relative to healthy controls. Participants with MS were substantially but similarly impaired on tests of phonemic and semantic fluency. These deficits were larger than deficits on measures of verbal intelligence, confrontation naming and another widely used measure of executive functioning, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, but were of a comparable or smaller magnitude relative to deficits on the oral version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). This is consistent with other research suggesting that measures of verbal fluency and the SDMT may be amongst the most sensitive neuropsychological measures to cognitive impairment in MS. Increased neurological disability and a chronic progressive (as opposed to a relapsing remitting) disease course were associated with larger deficits on tests of phonemic and semantic fluency. However, it is suggested that this latter finding is attributable to the distinct clinical features of chronic progressive and relapsing remitting sub-types. Thus, patients who follow a chronic progressive course tend to be older, have an increased duration of illness and experience greater neurological disability. Once these variables were controlled for, differences between the two sub-types were substantially attenuated.

Verbal fluency performance in dementia of the Alzheimer’s type: a meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of 153 studies with 15,990 participants was conducted to compare the magnitude of deficits upon tests of phonemic and semantic fluency for patients with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT) relative to healthy controls. As has been found for patients with focal temporal cortical lesions (but not for patients with focal frontal cortical lesions), DAT patients were significantly more impaired on tests of semantic relative to phonemic fluency ( r=0.73 and 0.57, respectively). Thus, since phonemic and semantic fluency are considered to impose comparable demands upon executive control processes such as effortful retrieval, but the latter is relatively more dependent upon the integrity of semantic memory, these results suggest that the semantic memory deficit in DAT reflects a degradation of the semantic store. Also supporting this conclusion, confrontation naming, a measure of semantic memory that imposes only minimal demands upon effortful retrieval, was significantly more impaired than phonemic fluency ( r=0.60 versus 0.55, respectively). However, since semantic fluency was also significantly more impaired than confrontation naming ( r=0.73 versus 0.61), deficits in semantic memory and effortful retrieval may be additive. Semantic, but not phonemic fluency, was significantly more impaired than measures of verbal intelligence and psychomotor speed. Thus, the semantic memory deficit in DAT qualifies as a differential deficit, but executive dysfunction as indexed by phonemic fluency does not constitute an additional isolated feature of the disorder. Dementia severity was not significantly related to the relative magnitude of deficits upon phonemic and semantic fluency.