Showing papers on "Verbal reasoning published in 2013"

Creativity and Technical Innovation: Spatial Ability’s Unique Role

Abstract: In the late 1970s, 563 intellectually talented 13-year-olds (identified by the SAT as in the top 0.5% of ability) were assessed on spatial ability. More than 30 years later, the present study evaluated whether spatial ability provided incremental validity (beyond the SAT's mathematical and verbal reasoning subtests) for differentially predicting which of these individuals had patents and three classes of refereed publications. A two-step discriminant-function analysis revealed that the SAT subtests jointly accounted for 10.8% of the variance among these outcomes (p < .01); when spatial ability was added, an additional 7.6% was accounted for--a statistically significant increase (p < .01). The findings indicate that spatial ability has a unique role in the development of creativity, beyond the roles played by the abilities traditionally measured in educational selection, counseling, and industrial-organizational psychology. Spatial ability plays a key and unique role in structuring many important psychological phenomena and should be examined more broadly across the applied and basic psychological sciences.

Physically Developed and Exploratory Young Infants Contribute to Their Own Long-Term Academic Achievement:

Abstract: A developmental cascade defines a longitudinal relation in which one psychological characteristic uniquely affects another psychological characteristic later in time, separately from other intrapersonal and extrapersonal factors. Here, we report results of a large-scale (N = 374), normative, prospective, 14-year longitudinal, multivariate, multisource, controlled study of a developmental cascade from infant motor-exploratory competence at 5 months to adolescent academic achievement at 14 years, through conceptually related and age-appropriate measures of psychometric intelligence at 4 and 10 years and academic achievement at 10 years. This developmental cascade applied equally to girls and boys and was independent of children's behavioral adjustment and social competence; mothers' supportive caregiving, verbal intelligence, education, and parenting knowledge; and the material home environment. Infants who were more motorically mature and who explored more actively at 5 months of age achieved higher academic levels as 14-year-olds.

Early Executive Function Predicts Reasoning Development

Abstract: Analogical reasoning is a core cognitive skill that distinguishes humans from all other species and contributes to general fluid intelligence, creativity, and adaptive learning capacities. Yet its origins are not well understood. In the study reported here, we analyzed large-scale longitudinal data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to test predictors of growth in analogical-reasoning skill from third grade to adolescence. Our results suggest an integrative resolution to the theoretical debate regarding contributory factors arising from smaller-scale, cross-sectional experiments on analogy development. Children with greater executive-function skills (both composite and inhibitory control) and vocabulary knowledge in early elementary school displayed higher scores on a verbal analogies task at age 15 years, even after adjusting for key covariates. We posit that knowledge is a prerequisite to analogy performance, but strong executive-functioning resources during early childhood are related to long-term gains in fundamental reasoning skills.

Early teacher expectations disproportionately affect poor children's high school performance

Abstract: This research used prospective longitudinal data to examine the associations between first-grade teachers' over- and underestimation of their students' math abilities, basic reading abilities, and language skills and the students' high school academic performance, with special attention to the subject area and moderating effects of student demographic characteristics. Teachers' inaccurate expectations in first grade predicted students' math, reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, and verbal reasoning standardized test scores at age 15. Significant interactions between students' family income and teachers' misperceptions of students' math and language skills were found, such that teachers' over- and underestimation of abilities had a stronger impact on students from lower income families than on students from more affluent homes. In contrast, the effects of teachers' misperceptions of students' basic reading abilities on performance at age 15 did not differ by income. These results have implications for understanding the complexities of self-fulfilling prophecies and for understanding the achievement gap between students from disadvantaged and advantaged homes.

A route to well-being: intelligence versus wise reasoning.

Abstract: Laypeople and many social scientists assume that superior reasoning abilities lead to greater well-being. However, previous research has been inconclusive. This may be because prior investigators used operationalizations of reasoning that favored analytic as opposed to wise thinking. We assessed wisdom in terms of the degree to which people use various pragmatic schemas to deal with social conflicts. With a random sample of Americans, we found that wise reasoning is associated with greater life satisfaction, less negative affect, better social relationships, less depressive rumination, more positive versus negative words used in speech, and greater longevity. The relationship between wise reasoning and well-being held even when controlling for socioeconomic factors, verbal abilities, and several personality traits. As in prior work, there was no association between intelligence and well-being. Further, wise reasoning mediated age-related differences in well-being, particularly among middle-aged and older adults. Implications for research on reasoning, well-being, and aging are discussed.

Relational Reasoning and Its Manifestations in the Educational Context: a Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract: Relational reasoning, the ability to discern meaningful patterns within otherwise unconnected information, is regarded as central to human learning and cognition and as particularly critical for those functioning in today’s information age. However, the literature on this foundational ability is currently housed within a range of domains of inquiry, where divergent terminology and methodologies are commonplace. This dispersion has made it difficult to harness the power of existing work to inform future research or guide educational practice. In order to address this lack of consolidation, a systematic review of relational reasoning was undertaken. Specifically, 109 empirical studies dealing with relational reasoning in general or one of four manifestations (i.e., analogy, anomaly, antinomy, and antithesis) were analyzed. Resulting data revealed trends across fields of inquiry, including a degree of conceptual ambiguity, conceptual and operational misalignment, and a lack of ecological validity in certain research paradigms. There were also particular forms and measures of relational reasoning that were more commonly investigated, as well as certain domains that were more often studied. Implications for how future research can examine relational reasoning as a multidimensional construct within educational contexts are also discussed.

Diagnostic Reasoning: Where We've Been, Where We’re Going

Abstract: Recently, clinical diagnostic reasoning has been characterized by "dual processing" models, which postulate a fast, unconscious (System 1) component and a slow, logical, analytical (System 2) component. However, there are a number of variants of this basic model, which may lead to conflicting claims. This paper critically reviews current theories and evidence about the nature of clinical diagnostic reasoning. We begin by briefly discussing the history of research in clinical reasoning. We then focus more specifically on the evidence to support dual-processing models. We conclude by identifying knowledge gaps about clinical reasoning and provide suggestions for future research. In contrast to work on analytical and nonanalytical knowledge as a basis for reasoning, these theories focus on the thinking process, not the nature of the knowledge retrieved. Ironically, this appears to be a revival of an outdated concept. Rather than defining diagnostic performance by problem-solving skills, it is now being defined by processing strategy. The version of dual processing that has received most attention in the literature in medical diagnosis might be labeled a "default/interventionist" model,(17) which suggests that a default system of cognitive processes (System 1) is responsible for cognitive biases that lead to diagnostic errors and that System 2 intervenes to correct these errors. Consequently, from this model, the best strategy for reducing errors is to make students aware of the biases and to encourage them to rely more on System 2. However, an accumulation of evidence suggests that (a) strategies directed at increasing analytical (System 2) processing, by slowing down, reducing distractions, paying conscious attention, and (b) strategies directed at making students aware of the effect of cognitive biases, have no impact on error rates. Conversely, strategies based on increasing application of relevant knowledge appear to have some success and are consistent with basic research on concept formation.

The interplay among gestures, discourse, and diagrams in students’ geometrical reasoning

Abstract: This study explores interactions with diagrams that are involved in geometrical reasoning; more specifically, how students publicly make and justify conjectures through multimodal representations of diagrams. We describe how students interact with diagrams using both gestural and verbal modalities, and examine how such multimodal interactions with diagrams reveal their reasoning. We argue that when limited information is given in a diagram, students make use of gestural and verbal expressions to compensate for those limitations as they engage in making and proving conjectures. The constraints of a diagram, gestures and linguistic systems are semiotic resources that students may use to engage in geometrical reasoning.

Making predictions about chemical reactivity: Assumptions and heuristics

Abstract: Diverse implicit cognitive elements seem to support but also constrain reasoning in different domains. Many of these cognitive constraints can be thought of as either implicit assumptions about the nature of things or reasoning heuristics for decision-making. In this study we applied this framework to investigate college students' understanding of structure–property relationships in the context of chemical reactivity. The ability to understand and apply structure–property relationships to explain the behavior of physical, chemical, and biological systems is a core competence that many science and engineering majors are expected to develop. Core findings were derived from semi-structured interviews based on a ranking task. Study participants relied on intuitive, spurious, and valid assumptions about the nature of chemical entities in building their responses. In particular, many of students appeared to conceive chemical reactions as macroscopic reassembling processes thought to be more favored the easier it seemed to break reactants apart or put products together. Students also expressed spurious chemical assumptions based on the misinterpretation and overgeneralization of chemical ideas. Reasoning heuristics for decision-making also played a significant role in the construction of answers to ranking questions. Specifically, interviewees demonstrated strong over-reliance on variable reduction strategies and recognition memory in their reasoning. Our findings reveal the need for educational approaches that more effectively affect the conceptual sophistication and depth of reasoning about structure–property relationships of college students. Our research framework provides a productive approach for the analysis of student reasoning in scientific domains. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach

An exploratory prospective study of the association between communication skills and employment outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury.

Abstract: Primary objective: The aim of this pilot study was to explore possible correlations between measures of functional communication skills in the first year post-injury and later employment outcome.Design: A preliminary observational study employing a prospective longitudinal design.Methods: Fourteen adults with traumatic brain injury completed an assessment involving two functional communication measures: an objective test of cognitive communication skills (Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies, FAVRES) and self-ratings of communication impairment (LaTrobe Communication Questionnaire, LCQ). Follow-up of participants’ employment outcome was conducted 9–18 months after the initial assessment.Results: At follow-up, eight participants had returned to employment (working a similar number of hours to their pre-injury status), five were unemployed and one was lost to follow-up. Employment status at follow-up was strongly correlated with both FAVRES Total Accuracy scores (r = 0....

Perspectives on thinking and reasoning : essays in honour of Peter Wason

Abstract: Creating a psychology of reasoning - the contribution of Peter Wason, J.St.B.T. Evans, S.E. Newstead the effects of rule clarification, decision justification and selection instructions on Wason's abstract selection task, R. A. Griggs content effects in Wason's selection task, R.L. Dominowski pragmatic reasoning about human voluntary action - evidence from Wason's selection task, K.J. Holyoak, P.W. Cheng deontic reasoning, K.I. Manktelow, D. E. Over inference and mental models, P.N. Johnson-Laird relevance and reasoning, J.St.B.T. Evans the abstract selection - thesis, antithesis and synthesis, D.W. Green finding logic in human reasoning requires looking in the right places - a mental logic view of logical reasoning tasks, D.P. O'Brien hypothesis testing, M.E. Gorman scientific reasoning, R.D. Tweney, S.T. Chitwood the THOG problem and its implications for human reasoning, S.E. Newstead, V. Girotto, P. Legrenzi creativity in research, P.C. Wason.

Differences Between Children With Dyslexia Who Are and Are Not Gifted in Verbal Reasoning

Abstract: New findings are presented for children in grades 1 to 9 who qualified their families for a multi-generational family genetics study of dyslexia (impaired word decoding/spelling) who had either superior verbal reasoning (n=33 at or above 1 2/3 standard deviation, superior or better range; 19% of these children) or average verbal reasoning (n=31 below population mean, but above - 2/3 standard deviation, average range; 18% of these children). Evidence-based rationale and results supporting the tested hypotheses are provided: (a) twice exceptional students with superior verbal reasoning and dyslexia significantly outperformed those with average verbal reasoning and dyslexia on reading, spelling, morphological, and syntactic skills, (b) but not on verbal working-memory behavioral markers of genetically based dyslexia related to impaired phonological and orthographic word-form storage and processing, naming orthographic symbols (phonological loop), writing orthographic symbols (orthographic loop), and supervisory attention (focus, switch, sustain, or monitor attention). Superior verbal reasoning may mask dyslexia if only very low achievement is used to identify this disorder of oral word reading and written spelling. Instruction for twice exceptional students who have dyslexia, but are also verbally gifted, should focus not only on oral word reading and written spelling but also the impaired working memory components within intellectually engaging lesson sets. These findings for gifted students with dyslexia are situated within the broader context of the many kinds of twice exceptionalities related to specific learning disabilities that exist in school-age children and youth.

Evolutionary modules and Bayesian facilitation: The role of general cognitive resources

Abstract: Although decisions based on uncertain events are critical in everyday life, people perform remarkably badly when reasoning with probabilistic information. A well-documented example is performance on Bayesian reasoning problems, where people fail to take into account the base-rate. However, framing these problems as frequencies improves performance spectacularly. Popular evolutionary theories have explained this facilitation by positing a specialised module that automatically operates on natural frequencies. Here we test the key prediction from these accounts, namely that the performance of the module functions independently from general-purpose reasoning mechanisms. In three experiments we examined the relationship between cognitive capacity and performance on Bayesian reasoning tasks in various question formats, and experimentally manipulated cognitive resources in a dual task paradigm. Results consistently indicated that performance on classical Bayesian reasoning tasks depends on participants’ availabl...

Clinical reasoning and case-based decision making: the fundamental challenge to veterinary educators.

Abstract: Confusion about the nature of human reasoning and its appropriate application to patients has hampered veterinary students' development of these skills. Expertise is associated with greater ability to deploy pattern recognition (type 1 reasoning), which is aided by progressive development of data-driven, forward reasoning (in contrast to scientific, backward reasoning), analytical approaches that lead to schema acquisition. The associative nature of type 1 reasoning makes it prone to bias, particularly in the face of "cognitive miserliness," when clues that indicate the need for triangulation with an analytical approach are ignored. However, combined reasoning approaches, from the earliest stages, are more successful than one approach alone, so it is important that those involved in curricular design and delivery promote student understanding of reasoning generally, and the situations in which reasoning goes awry, and develop students' ability to reason safely and accurately whether presented with a familiar case or with a case that they have never seen before.

Heartless and cunning? Intelligence in adolescents with antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits

Abstract: Clinical theory predicts that individuals high in psychopathic traits possess average or above average intelligence; however findings in adult and child samples have been mixed The present study aimed to investigate (1) the relationship between verbal and nonverbal intelligence and the three dimensions of psychopathy (callous-unemotional (CU) traits, narcissism, impulsivity); and (2) whether these dimensions moderate the association between verbal and nonverbal intelligence and the severity of antisocial behavior Participants were 361 adolescents aged 9–18 years (68% boys) and their parents, drawn from four samples with different levels of risk for antisocial behavior Families were disadvantaged and 25% were from an ethnic minority Verbal intelligence was unrelated to parent-reported CU traits, narcissism or impulsivity after controlling for gender, sociodemographic disadvantage, sample, antisocial behavior and hyperactivity Narcissism, but not CU traits or impulsivity, was significantly related to lower nonverbal IQ None of the three psychopathic trait dimensions moderated the relationship between verbal or nonverbal IQ and antisocial behavior CU traits, narcissism, hyperactivity and inclusion in the very high or high risk samples were significantly related to more severe antisocial behavior Results contradict the widely held view that psychopathic traits are associated with better than average verbal or nonverbal intelligence

Historical reasoning in the classroom: What does it look like and how can we enhance it?

Abstract: The article discusses methods for improving history students' historical reasoning skills. The authors suggest of the use of whole-class discussions and inquiry-based methods in promotion historical reasoning. They also explain how historical reasoning can be represented in both writing and speech and the importance of utilizing evidence to support claims made about history.

Qualitative Spatial Reasoning in Interpreting Text and Narrative

Abstract: Simple natural language texts and narratives often raise problems in commonsense spatial knowledge and reasoning of surprising logical complexity and geometric richness. In this article, I consider a dozen short texts—five taken from literature, the remainder contrived as illustrations—and discuss the spatial reasoning involved in understanding them. I conclude by summarizing their common features, and by tentatively drawing some morals for research in this area.

Development and application of a two-tier diagnostic instrument to assess middle-years students' proportional reasoning

Abstract: Proportional reasoning involves the use of ratios in the comparison of quantities. While it is a key aspect of numeracy, particularly in the middle years of schooling, students do not always develop proportional reasoning naturally. Research suggests that many students do not apply proportional methods appropriately and that they often erroneously apply both multiplicative and additive thinking. Further, students cannot always distinguish non-proportional situations from those that are proportional. Understanding the situations in which students mistakenly use additive or multiplicative thinking and the nature of the proportional reasoning that students apply to different problem types is important for teachers seeking to support their students to develop proportional reasoning in the classroom. This paper describes the development and use of a two-tier diagnostic instrument to identify situations in which students could and could not apply proportional reasoning and the types of reasoning they used. It presents data from an Australian study involving over 2000 middle-years students (Years 5 to 9) as a means of illustrating the use of the instrument for diagnosing students’ reasoning in different situations. The findings showed that the instrument was useful for identifying problem types in which students of different ages were able to apply correct reasoning. It also allowed identification of the types of incorrect reasoning used by students. The paper also describes useful applications of the instrument, including its use as a diagnostic instrument by classroom teachers and its use in the design of classroom activities included in teacher professional learning workshops.

Cognitive skills used to solve mathematical word problems and numerical operations: a study of 6- to 7-year-old children

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between skills that underpin mathematical word problems and those that underpin numerical operations, such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication Sixty children aged 6–7 years were tested on measures of mathematical ability, reading accuracy, reading comprehension, verbal intelligence and phonological awareness, using a mix of standardised and experimenter-designed tests The experimental hypothesis was that mathematical word problems will call upon cognitive skills that are different and additional to those required by numerical operations, in particular verbal ability and reading comprehension, while phonological awareness and reading accuracy will be associated with both types of mathematical problems The hypothesis is partly affirmed and partly rejected Reading comprehension was found to predict performance on mathematical word problems and not numerical operations, and phonological awareness was found to predict performance on both types of mathematics However, the predictive value of verbal ability and reading accuracy was found to be non-significant

When emotions improve reasoning: The possible roles of relevance and utility

Abstract: New paradigms in the psychology of reasoning have included a consideration for general contextual factors that may impact on the reasoning process, including individuals’ goals and motivations. We ...

The UK clinical aptitude test and clinical course performance at Nottingham: a prospective cohort study

Abstract: The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) was introduced in 2006 as an additional tool for the selection of medical students. It tests mental ability in four distinct domains (Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, and Decision Analysis), and the results are available to students and admission panels in advance of the selection process. Our first study showed little evidence of any predictive validity for performance in the first two years of the Nottingham undergraduate course. The study objective was to determine whether the UKCAT scores had any predictive value for the later parts of the course, largely delivered via clinical placements. Students entering the course in 2007 and who had taken the UKCAT were asked for permission to use their anonymised data in research. The UKCAT scores were incorporated into a database with routine pre-admission socio-demographics and subsequent course performance data. Correlation analysis was followed by hierarchical multivariate linear regression. The original study group comprised 204/254 (80%) of the full entry cohort. With attrition over the five years of the course this fell to 185 (73%) by Year 5. The Verbal Reasoning score and the UKCAT Total score both demonstrated some univariate correlations with clinical knowledge marks, and slightly less with clinical skills. No parts of the UKCAT proved to be an independent predictor of clinical course marks, whereas prior attainment was a highly significant predictor (p <0.001). This study of one cohort of Nottingham medical students showed that UKCAT scores at admission did not independently predict subsequent performance on the course. Whilst the test adds another dimension to the selection process, its fairness and validity in selecting promising students remains unproven, and requires wider investigation and debate by other schools.

Towards identifying a characteristic neuropsychological profile for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. 1. Analysis of the Motherisk FASD clinic.

Abstract: Objective Children with FASD display a heterogeneous profile and may have deficits in physical, behavioural, emotional, and social functioning, as the result of prenatal alcohol exposure. The major objective of the current study was to identify if a specific pattern of neuropsychological functioning exists among children prenatally exposed to alcohol who received a diagnosis, versus exposed children who did not. We compared groups on domains of intellectual functioning, memory, attention, executive functioning, motor functioning, language/communication and achievement. Methods One hundred and seventy children who were seen in the clinic between 2005 and 2009 were included in this study. Out of the total 170 children seen, 109 received an FASD diagnosis. Results We identified a specific neuropsychological profile that typifies children diagnosed with an FASD versus those exposed prenatally to alcohol, who did not receive a diagnosis. Diagnosed children displayed a neuropsychological profile characterized by weaknesses in the areas of verbal reasoning, memory, overall language functioning, math reasoning and calculation. Groups did not differ on measures of attention or executive functioning. Conclusion The information gained from these analyses, are essential for informing best practices for diagnosis and treatment.

IQ and delinquency: The differential detection hypothesis revisited

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the degree to which police arrest is influenced by an offenders' level of verbal intelligence. Concomitantly, we examine whether the level of concentrated disadvantage of the neighborhood where the offender resides moderates the effect of verbal intelligence on arrest. To accomplish this, we employed the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the extent to which persistent delinquent youths' self-reported arrests are significantly related to their verbal IQ scores. Furthermore, we also analyzed the interaction of verbal IQ scores and neighborhood disadvantage net of an array of theoretically relevant control variables. Language: en