Changes in test-taking patterns over time

The current study aims to investigate the relationship between right, wrong and missing answers to cognitive test items (test-taking patterns) in the context of the Flynn Effect (FE). We compare two cohorts of Estonian students (1933/36, n = 890; 2006, n = 913) using an Estonian adaptation of the National Intelligence Tests and document three simultaneous trends: fewer missing answers (− 1 Cohen's d averaged over subtests), and a rise in the number of right and wrong answers to the subtests (average ds of .86 and .30, respectively). In the Arithmetical Reasoning and Vocabulary subtests, adjustments for false-positive answers (the number of right minus the number of wrong answers) reduced the size of the Flynn Effect by half. These subtests were supposed to be high g-loading subtests. Our conclusion is that rapid guessing has risen over time and influenced tests scores more strongly over the years. The FE is partly explained by changes in test-taking behavior over time.     

Developing a measure of interpretation bias for depressed mood: An ambiguous scenarios test

The tendency to interpret ambiguous everyday situations in a relatively negative manner (negative interpretation bias) is central to cognitive models of depression. Limited tools are available to measure this bias, either experimentally or in the clinic. This study aimed to develop a pragmatic interpretation bias measure using an ambiguous scenarios test relevant to depressed mood (the AST-D).¹ In Study 1, after a pilot phase (N = 53), the AST-D was presented via a web-based survey (N = 208). Participants imagined and rated each AST-D ambiguous scenario. As predicted, higher dysphoric mood was associated with lower pleasantness ratings (more negative bias), independent of mental imagery measures. In Study 2, self-report ratings were compared with objective ratings of participants’ imagined outcomes of the ambiguous scenarios (N = 41). Data were collected in the experimental context of a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner. Consistent with subjective bias scores, independent judges rated more sentences as negatively valenced for the high versus low dysphoric group. Overall, results suggest the potential utility of the AST-D in assessing interpretation bias associated with depressed mood.     

Is the Flynn effect on g?: A meta-analysis

Black/White differences in mean IQ have been clearly shown to strongly correlate with g loadings, so large group differences on subtests of high cognitive complexity and small group differences on subtests of low cognitive complexity. IQ scores have been increasing over the last half century, a phenomenon known as the Flynn effect. Flynn effect gains are predominantly driven by environmental factors. Might these factors also be responsible for group differences in intelligence? The empirical studies on whether the pattern of Flynn effect gains is the same as the pattern of group differences yield conflicting findings. A psychometric meta-analysis on all studies with seven or more subtests reporting correlations between g loadings and standardized score gains was carried out, based on 5 papers, yielding 11 data points (total N = 16,663). It yielded a true correlation of − .38, and none of the variance between the studies could be attributed to moderators. It appears that the Flynn effect and group differences have different causes. Suggestions for future research are discussed.     

An item-level examination of the Flynn effect on the National Intelligence Test in Estonia

This study examined the Flynn effect (FE; i.e., the rise in IQ scores over time) in Estonia using the Estonian version of the National Intelligence Tests (NIT;  and ). Using secondary data from two cohorts (1934, n = 890 and 2006, n = 913) of students, we analyzed the NIT's subtests using item response theory (IRT). For each subtest, we first examined invariance in all the items and then linked the latent variable (θ) scores between the two cohorts using the invariant items. The results showed that there was a FE in θ for all subtests except one, although there was much variability in the FE magnitude, ranging from an effect size of 0.24 (3.60 IQ points) to 1.05 (15.75 IQ points). In addition, this study showed there was a decrease in the variability of θ for all the subtests, although only two of the subtests showed large decreases (approximately .50 standard deviations). Last, the subtests' precision of measuring θ was very similar at both time points.     

Establishing an association between the Flynn effect and ability differentiation

The relationship between the Flynn effect and ability differentiation is investigated in a reanalysis of published data on Estonian student cohorts tested in 1933/36, 1997/98 and 2006 on the National Intelligence Test (Must, te Nijenhuis, Must, & van Vianen, 2009). To determine whether there was a relationship we computed the vector correlation between the Flynn effects (d) and the change in the g loading (Δg) between measurement occasions for each of the 10 NIT subtests and for each of the seven cohort comparisons, giving a total N of 70 effect sizes. The association between d and Δg was robustly negative (indicating that the Flynn effects were negatively associated with changes in the g loading of subtests) for all cohort comparisons, with values of r ranging from −.100 to −.461 (N = 10). When all effect sizes were analyzed together, the vector correlation was found to be −.281 (p ? .05, N = 70). This indicates a significant association between the Flynn effect and ability differentiation. Possible causes of this association are discussed.     

Efficacy of Attention Bias Modification Using Threat and Appetitive Stimuli: A Meta-Analytic Review

Attention bias modification (ABM) protocols aim to modify attentional biases underlying many forms of pathology. Our objective was to conduct an effect size analysis of ABM across a wide range of samples and psychological problems. We conducted a literature search using PubMed, PsycInfo, and author searches to identify randomized studies that examined the effects of ABM on attention and subjective experiences. We identified 37 studies (41 experiments) totaling 2,135 participants who were randomized to training toward neutral, positive, threat, or appetitive stimuli or to a control condition. The effect size estimate for changes in attentional bias was large for the neutral versus threat comparisons (g = 1.06), neutral versus appetitive (g = 1.41), and neutral versus control comparisons (g = 0.80), and small for positive versus control (g = 0.24). The effects of ABM on attention bias were moderated by stimulus type (words vs. pictures) and sample characteristics (healthy vs. high symptomatology). Effect sizes of ABM on subjective experiences ranged from 0.03 to 0.60 for postchallenge outcomes, –0.31 to 0.51 for posttreatment, and were moderated by number of training sessions, stimulus type, and stimulus orientation (top/bottom vs. left/right). Fail-safe N calculations suggested that the effect size estimates were robust for the training effects on attentional biases, but not for the effect on subjective experiences. ABM studies using threat stimuli produced significant effects on attention bias across comparison conditions, whereas appetitive stimuli produced changes in attention only when comparing appetitive versus neutral conditions. ABM has a moderate and robust effect on attention bias when using threat stimuli. Further studies are needed to determine whether these effects are also robust when using appetitive stimuli and for affecting subjective experiences.     

RIASEC interest and confidence cutoff scores: Implications for career counseling

One strategy commonly used to simplify the joint interpretation of interest and confidence inventories is the use of cutoff scores to classify individuals dichotomously as having high or low levels of confidence and interest, respectively. The present study examined the adequacy of cutoff scores currently recommended for the joint interpretation of the Strong Interest Inventory (SII: Donnay, Morris, Schaubhut, & Thompson, 2005) and the Skills Confidence Inventory (SCI: [Betz, Borgen et al., 1996] and [Betz et al., 2005]). Cutoff score criteria were evaluated based on a sample of college students and employed adults (n = 1000), and cross-validated with a second sample of college students (n = 1, 149) who completed an experimental measure of RIASEC interests and confidence. Results were interpreted in the context of social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) by testing predictions regarding the relative frequency of individuals with either matched or mismatched levels of interest and confidence.     

Four successful tests of the Cognitive Differentiation–Integration Effort hypothesis

The Cognitive Differentiation–Integration Effort (CD–IE) hypothesis predicts that the dimension of life history speed (K) regulates the strength of the correlation among cognitive abilities, such that individuals with higher K exhibit more weakly integrated abilities than those with lower K. It is predicted that this effect takes place independently of the level of g owing to the absence of an individual differences level correlation between K and g. CD–IE was examined using two student samples: (1) an all female sample (N = 121), using the ALHB as a measure of K and the two SILS subtests of g; and (2) a combined male and female sample (N = 346), using a shorter three-indicator (“Trifecta”) measure of K, a general creativity measure comprised of two subscales (writing and drawing “creative performance”), and the APM-18 measure of fluid cognition. A third, population-representative sample was obtained from the NLSY (N = 11,907). A K-Factor was constructed from convergent measures of subjective well-being, sociability, interpersonal trust, internal locus of control, and delay of gratification, and a g-factor was constructed from the 10 subscales of the ASVAB. A fourth sample, addressing the question of ethnic differences was collected encompassing eight different ethnic groups with a combined 107 specific ability correlations with g. An aggregate K-Factor was constructed for this sample based on convergent population-level indicators of longevity, total fertility rates and infant mortality. Utilizing the Continuous Parameter Estimation Model, in student sample 1 a significant CD–IE effect was found on the SILS Abstract subtest (β = − .215), but not on the SILS Verbal subtest (β = .069). In student sample 2, CD–IE was observed on the general creativity measure (β = − .127), but not on the fluid cognitive ability measure (β = − .057). Significant effects were also observed on both the written and drawing creative output subscales (β = − .189 and − .183 respectively). In sample 3 (the NLSY), generally statistically significant but small-magnitude CD–IE effects were observed among all 10 ASVAB subtests (mean effect size β = − .032). In sample four, a near-significant CD–IE effect was detected (β = − .167). Controlling for subtest skew reduces the mean effect sizes across individual differences samples (β = − .071 in the student samples, − .027 in the NLSY), but boosted it to significance in the ethnic differences sample (β = − .179). Controlling for the skew of residuals reversed the signs of the CD–IE effects on the ASVAB Words and Comprehension subscales, and also on the SILS Verbal subscale, but amplified the magnitudes of the mean effects in the student and NLSY samples (β = − .036 and − .131), while reducing the effect size slightly in the ethnic-differences sample (β = − .172). In the individual differences samples, these effects were demonstrated to be unconfounded with sex of respondent and also unrelated to the Jensen effect. The apparent independence of the effect from both level of g and subtest g-loading suggests intriguing commonalities with the Lynn–Flynn effect.     

Cognitive adjustment as an indicator of psychological health at work: Development and validation of a measure

Based on organizational socialization literature (e.g., Bauer, Bodner, Erdogan, Truxillo, & Tucker, 2007; Kammeyer-Mueller & Wanberg, 2003; Saks, Uggerslev, & Fassina, 2007) and Conservation of Resources theory (COR theory; Hobfoll, 1989, 2001), this article aims to develop a conceptualization and a measurement of cognitive adjustment at work (CAW), as an indicator of psychological health in the workplace. Two studies, including three independent samples (N_A = 296, N_B = 350, N_C = 139), were conducted to test an operational proposal of CAW. In Study 1, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as reliability and temporal invariance analyses, were performed to test the structure of both the construct and the instrument. In Study 2, nomological network analysis was conducted. Results suggest strong empirical support for the structure and validity of CAW, defined as a second-order factor, which includes task adjustment, work group adjustment and organizational adjustment.     

In the Netherlands the anti-Flynn effect is a Jensen effect

In this study, 63 observations of secular IQ changes (both Flynn and anti-Flynn effects) are collected from three demographically diverse studies of the Dutch population for the period 1975–2005 (representing the 1950–1990 birth cohorts), along with data on g loadings and subtest reliabilities. The method of correlated vectors is used to explore the association between Flynn and anti-Flynn effect magnitudes, both independently and together, and the g loadings of subtests. Despite a positive vector correlation the Flynn effects are not associated with the Jensen effect (r = .307, ns, N = 36), however the anti-Flynn effects are (r = .406, P = .05, N = 27). Combined, the vector correlation becomes negative but non-significant (r = −.111, ns, N = 63). Declines due to the anti-Flynn effect are estimated at −4.515 points per decade, whereas gains due to the Flynn effect are estimated at 2.175 points per decade. The N-weighted net of these is a loss of −1.350 points per decade, suggesting an overall tendency towards decreasing IQ in the Netherlands with respect to these cohorts. The Jensen effect on the anti-Flynn effect suggests that it may be related to bio-demographic changes within the Netherlands which have reduced ‘genetic-g’, despite the presence of large, parallel gains on subtests that may be relatively more sensitive to cultural-environmental improvements.     

Predictors of posttraumatic stress in children following injury: The influence of appraisals, heart rate, and morphine use

Prospective studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children that investigate simultaneously both cognitive and biological or psychophysiological predictors are rare. The present research reports on the impact of cognitive factors (trauma-related appraisals) and biological indicators (heart rate, morphine use) in predicting PTSD and depression symptoms following single-incident trauma. Children and adolescents (N = 48) were assessed within 4 weeks of an injury that led to hospital treatment and followed up 6-months later. While morphine did not predict initial PTSD severity, it was associated with lower levels of PTSD at follow-up. Reductions in PTSD symptoms (change scores) between assessments were similarly associated with morphine dosage. Trauma-related appraisals also contributed to PTSD and depression symptom severity. While slightly different patterns of results were obtained depending on whether static or change scores were examined, as a whole the study adds to a growing literature that morphine has the potential to reduce PTSD symptoms severity. Likewise the relationship between unhelpful trauma appraisals and posttrauma psychopathology was replicated.     

Timing matters: Negative emotion elicited 5 min but not 30 min or 45 min after learning enhances consolidation of internal-monitoring source memory

Two experiments examined the time-dependent effects of negative emotion on consolidation of item and internal-monitoring source memory. In Experiment 1, participants (n = 121) learned a list of words. They were asked to read aloud half of the words and to think about the remaining half. They were instructed to memorize each word and its associative cognitive operation (“reading” versus “thinking”). Immediately following learning they conducted free recall and then watched a 3-min either neutral or negative video clip when 5 min, 30 min or 45 min had elapsed after learning. Twenty-four hours later they returned to take surprise tests for item and source memory. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except that participants, without conducting an immediate test of free recall, took tests of source memory for all encoded words both immediately and 24 h after learning. Experiment 1 showed that negative emotion enhanced consolidation of item memory (as measured by retention ratio of free recall) regardless of delay of emotion elicitation and that negative emotion enhanced consolidation of source memory when it was elicited at a 5 min delay but reduced consolidation of source memory when it was elicited at a 30 min delay; when elicited at a 45 min delay, negative emotion had little effect. Furthermore, Experiment 2 replicated the enhancement effect on source memory in the 5 min delay even when participants were tested on all the encoded words. The current study partially replicated prior studies on item memory and extends the literature by providing evidence for a time-dependent effect of negative emotion on consolidation of source memory based on internal monitoring.     

Age-related changes in cognitive processing of moral and social conventional violations

Moral and conventional violations are usually judged differently: Only moral violations are treated as independent of social rules. To investigate the cognitive processing involved in the development of this distinction, undergraduates (N = 34), adolescents (N = 34), and children (N = 14) read scenarios presented on a computer that had 1 of 3 endings: moral violations, conventional violations, or neutral acts. Participants judged whether the act was acceptable or unacceptable in a condition in which social rules were assumed, or in a condition in which they imagined the absence of rules (rule-removed condition). At all ages reaction times (RTs) were faster for moral than conventional violations when a rule was assumed. RTs in the rule-removed condition were longer than in the rule-assumed condition, only for adults’ moral judgments. In addition to this age difference, adolescents made more normative judgments than children. These findings extend previous work by showing different time courses of processing conventional versus moral violations and revealing age-related differences in the tendency to make normative judgments.     

Distributed attentional deficits in chronic methamphetamine abusers: evidence from the Attentional Network Task (ANT)

Objective

The goal of the present study was to examine distributed attentional functions in long-term but currently abstinent methamphetamine (MA) abusers using a task that measures attentional alertness, orienting, and conflict resolution.

Methods

Thirty currently abstinent MA abusers (1 month-5 years) and 22 healthy non-substance using adults were administered a multimodal version of the Attentional Network Task (ANT-I). In this task subjects identified the direction of a centrally presented arrow using a key press. Analyses examined the interaction between alerting tones, location cueing and congruency between the target arrows and flanking distractor stimuli.

Results

All participants were faster when an auditory tone preceded the trial onset (p < 0.001), on trials in which a valid cue preceded the location of the target arrow (p < 0.001), and on congruent trials (i.e., when all display arrows faced in the same direction) (p < 0.001). Of primary interest was the finding that MA abusers were more influenced by the conflict between the peripheral arrows and the central target arrow (p = 0.009). There were also correlations between length of drug sobriety and executive function as well as between drug-induced psychiatric symptoms and alertness.

Conclusions

These results suggest that chronic MA abusers display cognitive deficits that may reflect a specific vulnerability to distraction on a task of executive function. These findings are consistent with other studies that have reported deficits in anterior attentional systems and top-down cognitive control.     

Antecedents and consequences of retirement planning and decision-making: A meta-analysis and model

In this study, meta-analytic procedures were used to examine the relationships between retirement planning, retirement decision and their antecedent and consequences. Our review of the literature generated 341 independent samples obtained from 99 primary studies with 188,222 participants. A small effect size (ES) for antecedents of retirement planning (poor health, negative working conditions and positive attitudes toward retirement) was obtained (ranging from r = .05 to r = .19), whereas a medium ES was obtained for work involvement and job satisfaction (r = −.31 and r = −.34). Regarding retirement decision, lower effect sizes were obtained. Effect sizes for the relationships with consequences were medium for retirement planning and bridge employment (r = .28), for retirement decision-volunteer work (r = .26), and for retirement decision-retirement satisfaction (r = .26). Structural equation analysis using the pooled correlation matrix allowed us to test a more complex model. Potential moderator variables were examined, and it was found that they explained only a small percentage of variability of primary studies. Results are discussed, and theoretical and empirical implications are suggested.     

Associations between cortical thickness and general intelligence in children,adolescents and young adults

Neuroimaging research indicates that human intellectual ability is related to brain structure including the thickness of the cerebral cortex. Most studies indicate that general intelligence is positively associated with cortical thickness in areas of association cortex distributed throughout both brain hemispheres. In this study, we performed a cortical thickness mapping analysis on data from 182 healthy typically developing males and females ages 9 to 24 years to identify correlates of general intelligence (g) scores. To determine if these correlates also mediate associations of specific cognitive abilities with cortical thickness, we regressed specific cognitive test scores on g scores and analyzed the residuals with respect to cortical thickness. The effect of age on the association between cortical thickness and intelligence was examined. We found a widely distributed pattern of positive associations between cortical thickness and g scores, as derived from the first unrotated principal factor of a factor analysis of Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) subtest scores. After WASI specific cognitive subtest scores were regressed on g factor scores, the residual score variances did not correlate significantly with cortical thickness in the full sample with age covaried. When participants were grouped at the age median, significant positive associations of cortical thickness were obtained in the older group for g-residualized scores on Block Design (a measure of visual-motor integrative processing) while significant negative associations of cortical thickness were observed in the younger group for g-residualized Vocabulary scores. These results regarding correlates of general intelligence are concordant with the existing literature, while the findings from younger versus older subgroups have implications for future research on brain structural correlates of specific cognitive abilities, as well as the cognitive domain specificity of behavioral performance correlates of normative gray matter thinning during adolescence.     

Exposure to severe urban air pollution influences cognitive outcomes, brain volume and systemic inflammation in clinically healthy children

Exposure to severe air pollution produces neuroinflammation and structural brain alterations in children. We tested whether patterns of brain growth, cognitive deficits and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) are associated with exposures to severe air pollution. Baseline and 1 year follow-up measurements of global and regional brain MRI volumes, cognitive abilities (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, WISC-R), and serum inflammatory mediators were collected in 20 Mexico City (MC) children (10 with white matter hyperintensities, WMH⁺, and 10 without, WMH⁻) and 10 matched controls (CTL) from a low polluted city. There were significant differences in white matter volumes between CTL and MC children - both WMH⁺ and WMH⁻ - in right parietal and bilateral temporal areas. Both WMH⁻ and WMH⁺ MC children showed progressive deficits, compared to CTL children, on the WISC-R Vocabulary and Digit Span subtests. The cognitive deficits in highly exposed children match the localization of the volumetric differences detected over the 1 year follow-up, since the deficits observed are consistent with impairment of parietal and temporal lobe functions. Regardless of the presence of prefrontal WMH, Mexico City children performed more poorly across a variety of cognitive tests, compared to CTL children, thus WMH⁺ is likely only partially identifying underlying white matter pathology. Together these findings reveal that exposure to air pollution may perturb the trajectory of cerebral development and result in cognitive deficits during childhood.     

Work style preferences among medical specialties

Strong Interest Inventory Personal Style Scales (SII-PSS) assess people's preferences for work style, learning environment, leadership style, and risk taking. We examined whether the SII-PSS predict medical specialty choice for college students. We administered the scales to 355 students when they began a combined Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Medicine program during the 2003–2005 academic years. Specialty choice was obtained when these students graduated from medical school during 2009–2011 academic years. In the end, 120 students (34%) provided useable data and were included in the analysis. The remaining students either did not graduate from the 6-year BS/MD program or entered preliminary or transitional specialties. Specialties included in the analysis were internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, surgery, pediatrics, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, and obstetrics/gynecology. Work style was the only PSS variable that showed differences across various specialties. A MANOVA showed that the work style scale was significantly different across various specialties (p < .05, Bonferroni correction p < .006). Students who went into internal medicine scored significantly higher on working with people rather than ideas or things (X = 53.08, SD = 8.90) compared to students who went into surgery (X = 46.25, SD = 7.44, F = 6.83) or anesthesiology (X = 42.38, SD = 5.15, F = 10.70). Students who entered obstetrics/gynecology also scored significantly higher on working with people (X = 54.25, SD = 7.62) than students who entered anesthesiology (X = 42.38, SD = 5.15, F = 12.13). In the realm of medical specialties, preferences for working with people versus things may underlie choices between the group of medical specialties categorized as primary-care versus those categorized as surgical and as technical specialties.     

Functional plasticity of sensorimotor representations following short-term immobilization of the dominant versus non-dominant hands

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the functional plasticity of sensorimotor representations for dominant versus non-dominant hands following short-term upper-limb sensorimotor deprivation. All participants were right-handed. A splint was placed either on the right hand or on the left hand of the participants during a brief period of 48 h and was used for the input/output signal restrictions. The participants were divided into 3 groups: right hand immobilization, left hand immobilization and control (without immobilization). The immobilized participants performed the hand laterality task before (pre-test) and immediately after (post-test) splint removal. The pre-/post-test procedure was similar for the control group. The main results showed a significant response time improvement when judging the laterality of hand stimuli in the control group. In contrast, the results showed a weaker response time improvement for the left-hand immobilization group and no significant improvement for the right-hand immobilization group. Overall, these results revealed that immobilization-induced effects were lower for the non-dominant hand and also suggested that 48 h of upper-limb immobilization led to an inter-limb transfer phenomenon regardless of the immobilized hand. The immobilization-induced effects were highlighted by the slowdown of the sensorimotor processes related to manual actions, probably due to an alteration in a general cognitive representation of hand movements.     

Functional imaging of working memory and peripheral endothelial function in middle-aged adults

The current study examined the relationship between a prognostic indicator of vascular health, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and working memory-related brain activation in healthy middle-aged adults. Forty-two participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while completing a 2-Back working memory task. Brachial artery endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was assessed using B-mode ultrasound. The relationship between FMD and task-related brain activation in a priori regions of interest was modeled using hierarchical linear regression. Brachial FMD, was significantly related to reduced working memory-related activation in the right superior parietal lobule (β = 0.338, p = 0.027), independent of age, sex, systolic blood pressure, and full scale IQ (F(5, 36) = 2.66, p = 0.038). These data provide preliminary support for the association between a preclinical marker of endothelial dysfunction and cerebral hemodynamic alterations in healthy middle-aged adults. Considering the modifiable nature of endothelial function, additional investigations on the prognostic significance of FMD on future cognitive impairment are warranted.