人格分化的智力假设

人格与智力是个体差异中相互关联的两个重要方面,人格随智力水平的提高而不断分化,智力影响了特定人格维度之间的相关。尽管人格分化的智力假设尚未获得一致性的证据,但它却暗示了智力对人格结构的潜在影响。由于人格测量工具的信度和效度可能因受测者的能力水平而异,因此未来的研究应在使用统一测量工具的基础上,尽量扩大被试的能力范围,采用多重评估或集合评定的方法,使人格测量真正独立于受测者的认知能力。     

智商常态人群的智力个体差异研究述评

智力功能个体差异星正态分布有不同观点：g因素决定特殊能力分化程度差异论、因素搭配差异论;单一认知机能、认知机能系统中的一个或者几个认知机能缺陷影响智力功能差异论;认知发展理论的要素功能大小和要素关联关系强弱、结构差异论;文化活动结构差异和遗传进化的神经效率差异论;神经活动特性水平和神经活动区域效率差异、人格中介情景任务和人     

认知速度在智力结构中重要性的发展研究

结合认知实验方法和心理测量学方法,探讨认知速度在智力结构中的重要性随着年龄增长而发生变化的趋势。研究结果表明,认知速度的确是智力结构中的重要因素,但并不是唯一起决定作用的因素;并且,随着年龄的增长,认知速度在智力结构中的重要性趋向于降低,而智力的元成份在智力结构中的重要性则趋向于提高。     

成人认知功能的发展与老化：一项控制同辈效应的横断研究

为探索成人认知功能的发展与认知老化轨迹,基于中华成人智力量表常模样本数据,统计控制教育水平和职业构成以部分消除同辈效应,考察智商和智力指数的年龄趋势。结果晶体智力指数(CI)在25~44岁间增加0.69分后缓慢递减,高低差值3.3分;注意记忆指数(AMI)在25~44岁间共减少3.3分,45岁后各组均数以3分左右的速度递减。流体智力指数(FI)和智商的年龄差异模式与AMI类似,幅度缩减。提示中国成人晶体智力在74岁前比较稳定,没有明显老化,流体智力和注意记忆能力可能在45岁开始明显线性老化。     

主观群体动力学模型述评

主观群体动力学模型(subjective group dynamics, SGD)探讨群际背景中个体的群体评价与群体成员评价的关系, 针对群际偏见、分化评估和分化接纳意识(awareness of differential inclusion, ADI)三个核心变量间的关系及其影响因素, 提出并验证了一系列理论假设。SGD的理论基础包括社会认同理论、复杂性–极端性假设和态度极化模型、“白乌鸦效应”和个体对人知觉的发展。SGD模型的研究结果深化了群内偏好研究, 支持了社会领域理论, 并从群体机制角度为同伴拒斥研究提供了新思路, 解释了群体同质性效应并修正了认知发展理论。该领域的发展需要从跨文化检验模型、完善模型结构、研究它与其他变量的关系等方面进行进一步探索。     

对上海市区儿童WISC-R及CRT智力测量的因素分析

本文用因素分析方法对学龄期儿童的智力结构进行了发展性探讨。以上海市区六岁、十二岁和十六岁儿童为对象,使用WISC-E测验和CRT测验进行了智力测量。以“一般因素理论”和“g_f-g_c理论”为框架,对其测量结果所进行的因素分析,可以为我们提供许多有价值的信息,是多种探讨智力发展的理论假设之组成部份。本研究的结果表明:学龄期儿童随着年龄的增长,智力因素逐渐分化,导致智力发展上个体差异和年龄差异的形成和发展,为智力发展的“分化理论”提供了一定的证据。     

儿童早期数学认知能力的结构及其特点

从北京市10所幼儿园中选取234名3、4岁的儿童为被试,采用个别测查的方法对儿童早期数学认知能力的结构及其特点进行了考察。经验证性因素分析发现：(1)儿童早期数学认知能力的结构模型是合理的,可接受的,具有较好的构想效度,具体讲,数、计算、测量、空间／几何和模式认知能力五个维度共同解释着儿童早期的数学认知能力;(2)不同年龄儿童早期数学认知能力的结构具有稳定性,但是结构模型并不完全一致,某些项目的解释率有所不同;(3)男、女儿童早期数学认知能力的结构模型具有一致性。     

人格分化假设:大学生样本的证据

基于智力差异的人格分化假设认为,高智力者比低智力者有更多可变的、更分化的人格。该研究在653名大学生样本中检验了这一假设,结果表明:(1)高IQ组比低IQ组倾向于获得更极端的人格分数,在大多数人格维度上,尤其是外倾性和开放性维度,高IQ组的人格结构更加分化。(2)除神经质与宜人性、外倾性与开放性的相关外,高IQ组在其他特质维度中都比低IQ组有更低的相关和更多的人格结构。(3)没有充分证据表明高IQ组比低IQ组在人格测量中有更高的信度。     

幼儿元认知发展的几个问题

一般认为,儿童的认知和元认知能力随儿童年龄的增长而有所提高。但值得注意的是,较为晚近的研究发现,直到学前末期甚至学龄初期,儿童才表现出元认知和智力之间的一致关系。如何理解幼儿普遍存在的元认知水平低现象成了儿童认知发展研究的一个重要问题。     

口语产生中词频效应、音节频率效应和语音促进效应的认知年老化

采用图画-词汇干扰实验范式,考察了汉语口语产生过程中词频与音节频率效应、语音促进效应的认知年老化现象及其认知机制。结果发现,老年组的图画命名时间长于青年组,且老年组的词频效应和音节频率效应高于青年组,而语音相关效应低于青年组。老年组中词频和音节频率存在两因素交互作用,青年组则没有,这表明随着年龄增加,老年人的心理词典中不仅语义水平和音韵水平之间的联结强度变弱,而且信息之间的作用模式发生了变化。研究结果为激活不充分假设或传输不足假设提供了证据。     

Does g variance change in adulthood? Testing the age de-differentiation hypothesis across sex

In the last decade, changes in the structure of intelligence across the life-span has become a central topic in the research on human intelligence. One of the main hypotheses that has arisen to account for such changes has been the age de-differentiation hypothesis [Balinsky, Genetic Psychology Monographs 23 1941, 191]. It predicts an increase in the importance of g, and a decrease in the number and importance of the lower-order abilities from early maturity to senescence. Despite of the research effort to test this hypothesis, no study has ever been conducted controlling by sex. For that purpose, males and females of the Spanish standardisation sample of the WAIS-III were analysed separately. Results show that the importance of g does not change with age irrespective of sex. Thus, the age de-differentiation hypothesis is rejected for both males and females. The indifferentiation hypothesis is supported as a more appropriate view of the changes in the structure of intelligence across adulthood.     

Dramatic Increase in Heritability of Cognitive Development From Early to Middle Childhood: An 8-Year Longitudinal Study of 8,700 Pairs of Twins

ABSTRACT— The generalist genes hypothesis implies that general cognitive ability ( g ) is an essential target for understanding how genetic polymorphisms influence the development of the human brain. Using 8,791 twin pairs from the Twins Early Development Study, we examine genetic stability and change in the etiology of g assessed by diverse measures during the critical transition from early to middle childhood. The heritability of a latent g factor in early childhood is 23%, whereas shared environment accounts for 74% of the variance. In contrast, in middle childhood, heritability of a latent g factor is 62%, and shared environment accounts for 33%. Despite increasing importance of genetic influences and declining influence of shared environment, similar genetic and shared environmental factors affect g from early to middle childhood, as indicated by a cross-age genetic correlation of .57 and a shared environmental correlation of .65. These findings set constraints on how genetic and environmental variation affects the developing brain.     

A dynamical model of general intelligence: the positive manifold of intelligence by mutualism

Scores on cognitive tasks used in intelligence tests correlate positively with each other, that is, they display a positive manifold of correlations. The positive manifold is often explained by positing a dominant latent variable, the g factor, associated with a single quantitative cognitive or biological process or capacity. In this article, a new explanation of the positive manifold based on a dynamical model is proposed, in which reciprocal causation or mutualism plays a central role. It is shown that the positive manifold emerges purely by positive beneficial interactions between cognitive processes during development. A single underlying g factor plays no role in the model. The model offers explanations of important findings in intelligence research, such as the hierarchical factor structure of intelligence, the low predictability of intelligence from early childhood performance, the integration/differentiation effect, the increase in heritability of g, and the Jensen effect, and is consistent with current explanations of the Flynn effect.     

Aging, attention, and intelligence

The aims of this study were (a) to find out if attentional ability factors that are separate from the well-established ability factors (e.g., fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and short-term acquisition and retrieval function) can be identified, and (b) to establish, through the use of part correlations, whether attentional abilities play a role in the changes in fluid and crystallized intelligence that occur with increasing age. A battery of 36 tests (19 psychometric tests and 17 measures of attentional processes) were given to 100 people. 20 of whom were in each age decade between 20 and 70. Results indicated that three attentional factors--Search, Concentration, and Attentional Flexibility--exist at the primary-ability level and that all three define fluid intelligence at the second-order level. Results also indicate that the decline in fluid intelligence with increasing age disappears if attentional factors are parted-out. Similarly, the increase in crystallized intelligence with increasing age becomes even greater if one controls for attentional processes. I conclude that changes in attentional processes play an important part in changes in human intelligence with age.     

Testing the indifferentiation hypothesis during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood

The general (g) factor is the most general and relevant cognitive ability. This factor is considered to be one of the most important predictors of academic achievement and of many other socially relevant behavioral outcomes. In the last decades, many researchers have investigated the possible changes in the relevance of the g factor from childhood to adulthood. The indifferentiation hypothesis states that the variance attributed to the g factor and the main cognitive abilities will not change over the life span. In the present study, the authors tested that hypothesis in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood by using 2 different cognitive batteries (Test of Educational Ability [TEA; S. A. TEA, 1999], Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales [WAIS; D. Wechsler, 1955]), which they administered in 2 different countries--Spain (TEA) and the United States (WAIS). The ages of the participants (N = 2,384) ranged from 8 to 54 years. Results showed that the number of factors extracted and the relevance were the same for every age group in both batteries, as predicted by the indifferentiation hypothesis. The authors discuss implications of intelligence assessment.     

THE EFFECT OF PERFORMANCE TIME AND RETESTING UPON THE FACTOR STRUCTURE OF INTELLIGENCE TESTS

Changes in the factor structure of intelligence tests between early and later stages of performance and between testing and retesting were studied. In addition to factor analyses, correlations between the test scores of various time periods and the final factor scores were computed. The principal findings were the powerful influence of the verbal ability in the initial stages of most tests, the gradual 'purification' of the factors, and the occurrence of a shift of the highest factor loadings of some tests from one factor to another, particularly in tests with increasing item difficulty.     

Season of birth and childhood intelligence: Findings from the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s cohort study

Background. In this study, 2 main hypotheses have been put forward to explain the variation in childhood intelligence or school performance by season of birth. In the first hypothesis, it is suggested that it is due to school policy concerning school entry, whereas the second suggests that a seasonally patterned exposure such as temperature, maternal nutrition, or infection during critical periods of brain development have a lasting effect on intelligence. Aims. To determine whether childhood performance on tests of different domains of intelligence is patterned by season of birth and to examine possible mechanisms for any associations. Sample. 12,150 individuals born in Aberdeen, Scotland between 1950 and 1956. Methods. Birth cohort study in which the variation in different domains of childhood intelligence measured at ages 7, 9, and 11 by season of birth were examined. Results. Reading ability at age 9 and arithmetic ability at age 11 varied by season of birth, with lowest scores among those born in autumn or early winter (September–December) and highest scores among those born in later winter or spring (February–April); p = .002 for joint sine‐cosine functions for reading ability at age 9 and p = .05 for sine‐cosine function for arithmetic ability at age 11. The child's perception and understanding of pictorial differences at age 7, verbal reasoning at 11, and English language ability at 11 did not vary by season of birth. Age at starting primary school and age relative to class peers were both associated with the different measurements of childhood intelligence and both attenuated the association between month of birth and reading ability at age 9 and arithmetic ability at age 11 towards the null. Both adjusted and unadjusted differences in reading ability at age 9 and arithmetic ability at age 11 between those born from September to December compared with other times of the year were less than 0.1 of a standard deviation of the test scores. Ambient temperature around the time of conception, during gestation, and around the time of birth did not affect intelligence. Conclusion. Any variation in mean childhood intelligence by season of birth is weak and largely explained by age at school entry and age relative to class peers.     

The differentiation hypothesis and the Flynn effect

Many studies have shown that IQs have been increasing over the last half century. These increases have come to be known as "the Flynn effect". The "Flynn effect" represents a difference on ability-level between groups of the same age but different cohort. The ability-level differentiation hypothesis represents a difference on the relevance of cognitive factors between groups of high and low ability. Hence, it should be possible to imitate the ability-level differentiation effect by comparing groups of the same age but different cohort. The indifferentiation hypothesis represents no differences on the relevance of cognitive abilities in all age groups within the same cohort. The aim of the present study is to test the relationships between these phenomena. For this purpose we analyzed the American standardisation samples of the WISC, WISC-R and WISC-III. Results support the link between the Flynn effect and the differentiation hypothesis. Also, reported evidence replicate previous findings supporting the indifferentiation hypothesis. Implications for the assessment of the intelligence are discussed.     

Item-Position Effect in Raven’s Matrices: A Developmental Perspective

ABSTRACT

This study examined whether there is a developmental difference in the emergence of an item-position effect in intelligence testing. The item-position effect describes the dependency of the item’s characteristics on the positions of the items and is explained by learning. Data on fluid intelligence measured by Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) and data on working memory tasks were collected from both primary school age children (7–8 years old) and secondary school age adolescents (12–13 years old). The item-position effect of SPM was represented and separated from the ability component by the fixed-links model. The results indicated a clear age difference: whereas the item-position effect was observed in the adolescents, it was not found in the primary school children. In addition, separating the item-position effect detected in the adolescents from the ability component led to a larger correlation with working memory than otherwise. These results suggest that age differences in intelligence test performance may not only reflect differences in the general ability but also in the sources of the item-position effect.