Validity of the Rey Visual Design Learning Test in Primary and Secondary School Children

Studies on adults have revealed a disadvantageous effect of negative emotional stimuli on executive functions (EF), and it is suggested that this effect is amplified in children. The present study’s aim was to assess how emotional facial expressions affected working memory in 9- to 12-year-olds, using a working memory task with emotional facial expressions as stimuli. Additionally, we explored how degree of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in typically developing children was related to performance on the same task. Before employing the working memory task with emotional facial expressions as stimuli, an independent sample of 9- to 12-year-olds was asked to recognize the facial expressions intended to serve as stimuli for the working memory task and to rate the facial expressions on the degree to which the emotion was expressed and for arousal to obtain a baseline for how children during this age recognize and react to facial expressions. The first study revealed that children rated the facial expressions with similar intensity and arousal across age. When employing the working memory task with facial expressions, results revealed that negatively valenced expressions impaired working memory more than neutral and positively valenced expressions. The ability to successfully complete the working memory task increased between 9 to 12 years of age. Children’s total problems were associated with poorer performance on the working memory task with facial expressions. Results on the effect of emotion on working memory are discussed in light of recent models and empirical findings on how emotional information might interact and interfere with cognitive processes such as working memory.     

The clinical utility of the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test in medical rehabilitation

Recent research has reported the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test Trial V (RAVLT-V) score to be a sensitive indicator of global cognitive functioning, not merely verbal learning skills. The concurrent validity of the RAVLT-V relative to other neuropsychological measures frequently utilized in medical rehabilitation was investigated in a sample of 64 outpatients diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The sample was predominantly male (77%), white (97%), youthful (31.4±11.5 years), high school educated, and an average of 53 months postinjury. Using stepwise multiple regression analysis, a three-variable model consisting of gender, Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised Delayed Memory Index, and Trailmaking Part B (time) accounted for 61% of the variance in RAVLT-V scores. These findings suggest that in TBI patients, the RAVLT taps not only specific verbal learning and memory, but also global cognitive functions. Sensitivity to diffuse neuropsychological changes and ease/speed of administration make the RAVLT a valuable tool in medical rehabilitation settings.     

Dementia and mental retardation markers on the Rey 15-item Visual Memory Test

This study examined the qualitative errors of repetitions and confabulations on the Rey 15-item Visual Memory Test among 500 psychiatric patients who were divided into groups with (1) low IQ scores, (2) a diagnosis of dementia, and (3) other psychiatric diagnoses. These groups were compared on the presence of confabulated figures and repetitions on the Rey. The low IQ patients had the highest rate for both confabulations (48.2%) and repetitions (43.6%). Demented patients had the next highest rate of confabulations (39.8%) and repetitions (39.8%). The general psychiatric patients had the lowest rates on confabulations (16.2%) and repetitions (26.8%). Chi squared analysis showed that both confabulations and repetitions significantly differentiated these patients of low IQ and demented patients from general psychiatric patients. These results suggest that clinicians who use the Rey 15-item Visual Memory Test and find either confabulated or repeated figures should further explore the possibility that the patient might have low intellectual functioning or dementia.     

Performances on Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Rey Complex Figure Test in a healthy, elderly Danish sample--reference data and validity issues

This study presents Danish data for Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) from 100 subjects aged 60-87 years. Education and estimated verbal intelligence (DART score) had a significant impact on the RAVLT trial 1-5 score but not on other RAVLT measures. The RCFT copy score was significantly related to age and the DART score. On RCFT recall a highly significant difference was found between persons who could make a faultless copy and persons with incomplete copy performance. Thus, this study presents separate data for RCFT recall scores according to the subjects' copying performance (in separate tables for age and education groups). For all measures on both RAVLT and RCFT wide distributions of scores were found and the impact of this broad score range on the tests' discriminative validity is discussed. RAVLT performances for elderly were similar to previous published meta-norms, but the included sample of elderly Danes performed better on RCFT (copy and recall) than elderly from the United States.     

Australian Norms and Retest Data for the Rey Auditory and Verbal Learning Test

This article presents normative data for the Rey Auditory and Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). A representative sample of 390 healthy young adults aged between 18 and 34 living within the Sydney metropolitan area, Australia, completed Form AB of the RAVLT as part of the Macquarie University Neurological Normative Study. Retest data were collected from a subsample of 98 participants after an interval of 1 year. Norms were derived for commonly used measures of the RAVLT and are presented for the whole sample as well as separately for males and females with different levels of education. Age was not found to impact significantly on test performance for this group of young adults, and therefore age‐adjusted norms are not provided. An excel program to calculate RAVLT standard scores (mean of 10 and standard deviation of 3) can be downloaded from http://www.psy.mq.edu.au/RAVLT . Poor test–retest reliability raises concerns about the use of the RAVLT in clinical diagnosis.     

Characterization of memory impairment following closed-head injury in children using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT).

Memory impairment following closed-head injury (CHI) in children is well documented. Characterization of the memory deficits of children with CHI could contribute to the prediction of academic performance and rehabilitation of these children. Twenty-five children who sustained closed-head injury and 25 matched controls were administered the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). The advantage of this memory test is that a number of memory components are measured simultaneously, thus enabling us to study the relations between different aspects of memory within the same patient sample. The findings indicate that the Rey AVLT is a good test for characterization of impaired verbal memory in children following CHI. Transformation of scores derived from the Rey AVLT to Z-scores enables us to determine the relative effect of CHI in children on different memory scores. Raw scores were more vulnerable than relational ones, derived as the difference between two raw scores (e.g., learning, Trial 5 - 1), to closed-head injury in children, and scores reflecting word span were the least vulnerable. The results are discussed in terms of the possible contribution of the frontal lobes, which are frequently affected in closed-head injuries, to memory performance.     

Alternative forms of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test: a review

Practice effects in memory testing complicate the interpretation of score changes over repeated testings, particularly in clinical applications. Consequently, several alternative forms of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) have been developed. Studies of these typically indicate that the forms examined are equivalent. However, the implication that the forms in the literature are interchangeable must be tempered by several caveats. Few studies of equivalence have been undertaken; most are restricted to the comparison of single pairs of forms, and the pairings vary across studies. These limitations are exacerbated by the minimal overlapping across studies in variables reported, or in the analyses of equivalence undertaken. The data generated by these studies are nonetheless valuable, as significant practice effects result from serial use of the same form. The available data on alternative AVLT forms are summarized, and recommendations regarding form development and the determination of form equivalence are offered.     

Analysis of mean learning of normal participants on the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test

Analysis of the mean performance of 58 groups of normal adults and children on the free-recall trials of the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test shows that the mean auditory-verbal learning of each group is described by the function R1 + Sln(t), where R1 is a measure of the mean immediate memory span, S is the slope of the mean logarithmic learning curve, and ln(t) is the natural logarithm of the trial number t. The analysis also shows that R1 varies with age and other demographic factors, whereas S is almost a constant, and it yields equations for estimating the effect of these factors on R1. Potential use of these findings for assessment of auditory-verbal memory and learning in comparative clinical studies is discussed.     

Correlates of Children's Eating Attitude Test scores among primary school children

A total of 107 Malay primary school girls (8-9 yr. old) completed a set of measurements on eating behavior (ChEAT, food neophobia scales, and dieting experience), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, body shape satisfaction, dietary intake, weight, and height. About 38% of the girls scored 20 and more on the ChEAT, and 46% of them reported dieting by reducing sugar and sweets (73%), skipping meals (67%), reducing fat foods (60%) and snacks (53%) as the most frequent methods practiced. In general, those girls with higher ChEAT scores tended to have lower self-esteem (r=.39), indicating they were more unwilling to try new foods (food neophobic) (r=.29), chose a smaller figure for desired body size (r=-.25), and were more dissatisfied with their body size (r=.31).     

Validity of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration Supplemental Developmental Test of Visual Perception

Visual perceptual skills of school-age children are often assessed using the Supplemental Developmental Test of Visual Perception of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration. The study purpose was to consider the construct validity of this test by evaluating its scalability (interval level measurement), unidimensionality, differential item functioning, and hierarchical ordering of its items. Visual perceptual performance scores from a sample of 356 typically developing children (171 boys and 185 girls ages 5 to 11 years) were used to complete a Rasch analysis of the test. Seven items were discarded for poor fit, while none of the items exhibited differential item functioning by sex. The construct validity, scalability, hierarchical ordering, and lack of differential item functioning requirements were met by the final test version. Since 7 test items did not fit the Rasch analysis specifications, the clinical value of the test is questionable and limited.     

Improving attention behaviour in primary and secondary school children with a Computer Assisted Instruction procedure

Attention disorders are one of the major sources of poor school performance. This research project was designed to examine whether a Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) approach would be successful in achieving higher rates of attention. In order to increase attention behaviour during school time, psychologically‐designed software was developed. The software, called “How to improve your mental skills,” consists of three games based on multimedia perception tasks. First, 155 elementary school children with an average age of 12.4 years, from Cadiz (Spain) School District, were evaluated with two attention tests, the Perception Differences Test (PDT), and the subtest Spatial of Primary Mental Aptitude (S‐PMA). Students were divided and balanced into one experimental and two control groups, according to their scores on the PDT. Then, 10 training sessions, of 25 minutes each, with the software “How to improve your mental skills”, were administered to the experimental group. Children from control group 1 played with a well‐known computer game during the same period of time, whereas children from control group 2 remained in the classroom with nonspecific training. Finally, after the experimental sessions, all the children were re‐evaluated with standard attention tests. Analyses of data included: (1) pre‐ and post‐training comparison of the experimental group scores on the PDT; (2) comparison of the experimental and control group 1 and 2 scores on the PDT and S‐PMA tests after training; and (3) gender and grade interference effects on attention behaviour. Results suggest that children from the experimental group significantly improved their attention behaviour as assessed by the PDT and S‐PMA tests after 10 training sessions with the specific computer software. No gender and grade interference effects on attention behaviour were found. Les désordres d'attention sont une des sources majeures de pauvre performance scolaire. Ce projet de recherche fut conçu pour examiner comment une approche d'enseignement assisté par ordinateur peut être efficace pour obtenir de plus hauts niveaux d'attention. Afin d'augmenter le comportement d'attention en classe, un programme informatique intitulé «Comment améliorer vos habiletés mentales» fut développé. Ce programme, basé sur la psychologie de la peception, consiste en trois jeux multimédias interactifs. L'étude s'est déroulée en trois phases. Premièrement, 155 enfants de L'école primaire, âgés en moyenne de 12,4 ans et issus du district scolaire de Cadiz, en Espagne, furent évalués à partir de deux tests d'attention: le Perception Differences Test (PDT) et le sous‐test Spatial of Primary Mental Aptitude (S‐PMA). Les élèves furent divisés en trois groupes, un groupe expérimental et deux groupes contrôle, en fonction de leur score au PDT. En deuxième lieu, le groupe expérimental fut soumis à 10 sessions d'entraînement, chacune d'une durée de 25 minutes, lors desquelles le programme informatique « Comment améliorer vos habiletés mentales » fut administré. Les enfants du premier groupe contrôle ont joué avec un autre programme informatique bien connu durant ces mêmes sessions, tandis que les enfants du second groupe contrôle demeuraient en classe sans recevoir d'entraînement particulier. En troisième lieu, tous les enfants furent réévalués à L'aide de tests d'attention standardisés. Trois séries d'analyses furent menées. La première visait à comparer les scores obtenus au PDT, au pré‐test et au post‐test, pour le groupe expérimental. La seconde consistait à comparer les scores obtenus au PDT et au S‐PMA, au post‐test, par les trois groupes. La troisième série d'analyses visait à examiner les effets du genre et du niveau de scolarité sur le comportement d'attention. Les résultats suggèrent que les enfants du groupe expérimental ont significativement amélioré leur comportement d'attention suite aux sessions d'entraînement avec le programme informatique. De plus, aucune interférence du genre et du niveau de scolarité ne fut observée. Los déficits de atención son una de las causas más frecuentes de fracaso escolar. La presente investigación se diseñó para someter a prueba si la Enseñanza Asistida por Ordenador (CAI) puede ser un procedimiento eficaz para conseguir mayores niveles de atención. Con el fin de conseguir una mejora de la atención en la escuela, se ha desarrollado un programa informático fundamentado en la psicología de la percepción que consiste en tres juegos interactivos multimedia. El estudio se realizó en tres fases. Primero, se evaluó a 155 niños de edad escolar del distrito de Cádiz (España) con dos pruebas estandarizadas de atención, Perception Differences Test (PDT), y sub‐test Spatial of Primary Mental Aptitude (S‐PMA). Tras ello, se formó un grupo experimental al que se realizaron 10 sesiones de entrenamiento de 25 minutos de duración cada una con el programa “Cómo mejorar tus habilidades mentales.” Otro grupo de alumnos a los que se les denominó control‐1 permanecieron jugando con un conocido juego informático durante el mismo período de tiempo. Los niños del grupo control‐2 permanecieron en sus clases sin un entrenamiento específico. Tras las sesiones experimentales, se evaluó de nuevo a todos los niños con las pruebas estandarizadas de atención. Primero, se comparó las calificaciones del grupo experimental en la PDT antes del entrenamiento y después del entrenamiento; segundo, se comparó las calificaciones del grupo experimental y de los grupos control 1 y 2 en las pruebas PDT y S‐PMA después del entrenamiento; y tercero, se analizó los efectos de interferencia del grado escolar y el género. Los resultados indican que los participantes del grupo experimental mejoraron su conducta atencional tras las sesiones de entrenamiento con el programa informático. No se encontraron efectos de interferencia del grado escolar o del género sobre la conducta de atención.     

Longitudinal Predictive Validity of a Learning Potential Test

The aim of this article is to provide empirical psychometric evidence of the (longitudinal) predictive validity of a learning potential measure—the Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT)—in comparison with standard static tests with school aggregate results as the criterion measure. Participants were 79 boys (mean age 12.44, SD = 0.44) and 72 girls (mean age 11.18, SD = 0.42) attending two private schools. Correlation and regression analyses were used to evaluate the predictive validity of the learning potential and standard test scores for school aggregate academic results as criterion measure. Results indicate that learning potential scores were statistically significant predictors of aggregate academic results and provided results that were comparable to those of the standard test results—providing empirical support for the use of learning potential tests in mainstream educational settings.     

Learning with microcomputers: Training primary school children on a problem-solving program

This study investigated the effects of structured training at two informational levels on children's performance on a problem-solving computer program. An informed-training group (strategy training with detailed explanations) performed at a superior level to a blind-training group (strategy training with no explanations) and a control group. This superiority was maintained 3 weeks later on retest. The results are discussed in relation to the processes that mediate and facilitate training.     

Power stress in primary school children

Motivation and Emotion - In this paper, we demonstrate that, in accordance with research on adults, children with high implicit power motive show power stress when their need for influence cannot...     

Visual exploration and hazard search strategies in a simulated road crossing task among primary and secondary school students in Tanzania

Pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and other vulnerable road users represent more than half of all road fatalities globally. In Tanzania, pedestrians account for a significant proportion of the death toll, accounting for 30% of all traffic fatalities (WHO, 2018) and a 2016 study conducted in Dar Es Salaam found that 87% of school-aged children walk to school (Draisin, 2016), highlighting that school-aged children are exposed to a high level of risk.The present work reports the results of a study conducted in primary and secondary schools in the Arusha Region of Tanzania which investigates the students’ road crossing mental representation, as well as their level of hazard perception awareness, through their declared gaze behaviour. The students were asked to identify and tell the areas where hazards could come from within three road crossing scenarios, thus exploring the mental representation of the visual exploration strategies applied by children and teenagers when crossing the road. Results showed the tendency to apply the “compliant gaze behaviour” pattern in a flexible manner and to integrate it with the exploration of other areas in the visual field, particularly by the senior students. Practical implications for planning effective pedestrian road safety training programs are discussed.