Prosocial and creative play: Effects of a programme on the verbal and nonverbal intelligence of children aged 10–11 years

The objective of this research was to design a prosocial and creative play programme, in order to assess its effects on intellectual development. The study used a pretest–intervention–posttest design with control group. The sample was made up of 86 participants aged 10–11 years from two schools in the Basque Country, northern Spain. From the complete sample, 54 participants were assigned at random to the experimental condition, while 32 were assigned to the control condition. With the aim of assessing the effect of the programme, before and after its implementation, in the pretest phase and the posttest phase, two assessment instruments were administered to measure the dependent variables, that is, verbal intelligence, nonverbal intelligence, and verbal associative thinking related to verbal creativity. Subsequently, the experimental participants took part in the psychological intervention programme, which consisted of a weekly 2‐hour play session throughout the academic year. The session was structured with a sequence of two or three recreational activities and their subsequent debates. The games included in the programme stimulate communication, cohesion, confidence, and the development of creativity; underlying all of them is the idea of acceptance, cooperation, and sharing, while playing and inventing together. The games constituting this programme have five structural characteristics: participation, communication, cooperation, fiction‐creation, and fun. Results of the analysis of variance suggest significant impact of the programme on verbal intelligence, on the ability to form concepts or define words, and on the capacity for verbal associative thinking. Also confirmed was a greater effect of the intervention on participants who showed low intelligence levels in the pretest, but no differences were found according to sex. The results indicate a positive effect of interventions that stimulate prosocial play and behaviour on intellectual factors.     

Practice and Coaching on IQ Tests: Quite a Lot of g

In the present research two studies are used to investigate the relation between g loading of tests and practice (test‐retest) and coaching (active teaching) effects. The data on practice do not support the hypothesis that the higher a test’s g loading, the less susceptible it is to preparation, but the data on coaching support the hypothesis. There is evidence that practice and coaching reduce the g‐loadedness of a collection of tests. The implications of these results for predictive validity, practical usability of the tests, the relevance of traditional intelligence taxonomies, and for future research are discussed.     

The common factors in fifty-two mental tests

An analysis by Thurstone's centroid method of the intercorrelations of fifty-two tests was carried to ten factors. Included were tests of social intelligence, Philip's attention tests, and Seashore's tests of musical ability. After rotation of axes, the most important factors appeared to pertain to operations conventionally alluded to by the following terms: verbal facility; spatial ability; numerical ability; attention; musical ability; and memory (or memory span). The social intelligence tests proved to be mainly tests of the verbal factor. A factorial sex difference was indicated by the superiority of men in tests of spatial ability.     

Individual differences in working memory within a nomological network of cognitive and perceptual speed abilities

It has become fashionable to equate constructs of working memory (WM) and general intelligence (g). Few investigations have provided direct evidence that WM and g measures yield similar ordering of individuals. Correlational investigations have yielded mixed results. The authors assess the construct space for WM and g and demonstrate that WM shares substantial variance with perceptual speed (PS) constructs. Thirty-six ability tests representing verbal, numerical, spatial, and PS abilities; the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices; and 7 WM tests were administered to 135 adults. A nomological representation for WM is provided through a series of cognitive and PS ability models. Construct overlap between PS and WM is further investigated with attention to complexity, processing differences, and practice effects.     

How useful is executive control training? Age differences in near and far transfer of task‐switching training

Although executive functions can be improved by training, little is known about the extent to which these training‐related benefits can be transferred to other tasks, or whether this transfer can be modulated by the type of training. This study investigated lifespan changes in near transfer of task‐switching training to structurally similar tasks and its modulation by verbal self‐instructions and variable training, as well as far transfer to structurally dissimilar ‘executive’ tasks and fluid intelligence. Three age groups (8–10; 18–26; 62–76 years of age) were examined in a pretest‐training‐posttest design. We found near transfer of task‐switching training in all age groups, especially in children and older adults. Near transfer was enhanced in adults and impaired in children when training tasks were variable. We also found substantial far transfer to other executive tasks and fluid intelligence in all age groups, pointing to the transfer of relatively general executive control abilities after training.     

No transfer of calibration between action and perception in learning a golf putting task

We assessed calibration of perception and action in the context of a golf putting task. Previous research has shown that right-handed novice golfers make rightward errors both in the perception of the perfect aiming line from the ball to the hole and in the putting action. Right-handed experts, however, produce accurate putting actions but tend to make leftward errors in perception. In two experiments, we examined whether these skill-related differences in directional error reflect transfer of calibration from action to perception. In the main experiment, three groups of right-handed novice participants followed a pretest, practice, posttest, retention test design. During the tests, directional error for the putting action and the perception of the perfect aiming line were determined. During practice, participants were provided only with verbal outcome feedback about directional error; one group trained perception and the second trained action, whereas the third group did not practice. Practice led to a relatively permanent annihilation of directional error, but these improvements in accuracy were specific to the trained task. Hence, no transfer of calibration occurred between perception and action. The findings are discussed within the two-visual-system model for perception and action, and implications for perceptual learning in action are raised.     

Short-term music training enhances verbal intelligence and executive function

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

Test anxiety and intelligence testing: a closer examination of the stage-fright hypothesis and the influence of stressful instruction

The influence of test anxiety and the content of instruction (stressful versus reassuring) on measurements of intelligence were investigated. It was expected that components of test anxiety would show differential effects on test performance. A Latin Square design was used to unravel the effects of test type and test order. Furthermore, effects of type of instruction, stressful versus reassuring, were studied by means of a within-subjects design. Test anxiety was measured with the Revised Worry-Emotionality Questionnaire. Measurements for verbal ability, reasoning, and memory were administered. Performance on memory tests showed less vulnerability to test anxiety compared with the other tests, with a picture recall test being insensitive. The negative effect of test anxiety was mostly confined to the beginning of a test session, independent of the type of test. Partial support for the so-called stage-fright hypothesis was found. The effect of instructional content was equivocal.     

Multimedia learning trumps retrieval practice in psychology teaching

It is well established that studying with (vs. without) visual illustrations as well as taking tests (vs. restudying) is beneficial for learning, but on which strategy should one put the efforts, or should they be combined for best learning? Eighty‐eight upper secondary school students were given a brief lecture presented verbally (6 classes) or with the aid of a visual illustration (visuoverbal, 6 classes). The information was processed again by taking a memory test or by restudying. Recall and transfer tests were conducted after some few minutes and again after one week. The visuoverbal lecture resulted in better learning than verbal presentation only. A significant study strategy by retention interval interaction was found. However, this interaction was not qualified by a testing effect. Hence, taking tests (retrieval practice) did not lead to better learning than restudying. It was concluded that it is worthwhile to use visual illustrations in teaching. However, the present study did not reveal any synergistic effects from the combination of visuoverbal presentation and retrieval practice.     

Improvement in working memory is not related to increased intelligence scores

The acknowledged high relationship between working memory and intelligence suggests common underlying cognitive mechanisms and, perhaps, shared biological substrates. If this is the case, improvement in working memory by repeated exposure to challenging span tasks might be reflected in increased intelligence scores. Here we report a study in which 288 university undergraduates completed the odd numbered items of four intelligence tests on time 1 and the even numbered items of the same tests one month later (time 2). In between, 173 participants completed three sessions, separated by exactly one week, comprising verbal, numerical, and spatial short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WMC) tasks imposing high processing demands (STM–WMC group). 115 participants also completed three sessions, separated by exactly one week, but comprising verbal, numerical, and spatial simple speed tasks (processing speed, PS, and attention, ATT) with very low processing demands (PS-ATT group). The main finding reveals increased scores from the pre-test to the post-test intelligence session (more than half a standard deviation on average). However, there was no differential improvement on intelligence between the STM-WMC and PS-ATT groups.     

The comparability of intelligence test results: Group- and individual-level comparisons of seven intelligence tests

A significant body of research has demonstrated that IQs obtained from different intelligence tests substantially correlate at the group level. Yet, there is minimal research investigating whether different intelligence tests yield comparable results for individuals. Examining this issue is paramount given that high-stakes decisions are based on individual test results. Consequently, we investigated whether seven current and widely used intelligence tests yielded comparable results for individuals between the ages of 4–20 years. Results mostly indicated substantial correlations between tests, although several significant mean differences at the group level were identified. Results associated with individual-level comparability indicated that the interpretation of exact IQ scores cannot be empirically supported, as the 95% confidence intervals could not be reliably replicated with different intelligence tests. Similar patterns also appeared for the individual-level comparability of nonverbal and verbal intelligence factor scores. Furthermore, the nominal level of intelligence systematically predicted IQ differences between tests, with above- and below-average IQ scores associated with larger differences as compared to average IQ scores. Analyses based on continuous data confirmed that differences appeared to increase toward the above-average IQ score range. These findings are critical as these are the ranges in which diagnostic questions most often arise in practice. Implications for test interpretation and test construction are discussed.     

Working memory training in older adults: evidence of transfer and maintenance effects

Few studies have examined working memory (WM) training-related gains and their transfer and maintenance effects in older adults. This present research investigates the efficacy of a verbal WM training program in adults aged 65-75 years, considering specific training gains on a verbal WM (criterion) task as well as transfer effects on measures of visuospatial WM, short-term memory, inhibition, processing speed, and fluid intelligence. Maintenance of training benefits was evaluated at 8-month follow-up. Trained older adults showed higher performance than did controls on the criterion task and maintained this benefit after 8 months. Substantial general transfer effects were found for the trained group, but not for the control one. Transfer maintenance gains were found at follow-up, but only for fluid intelligence and processing speed tasks. The results are discussed in terms of cognitive plasticity in older adults.     

Knox's cube imitation test: a historical review and an experimental analysis

The cube imitation test was developed by as a nonverbal test of intelligence. Many variants show satisfactory reliability, but performance is correlated both with Verbal IQ and with Performance IQ. Performance is impaired by cerebral lesions but unrelated to the side of lesion. Examinees describe both verbal and visuospatial strategies. In a new experiment, performance was disrupted by concurrent random generation, manual tapping, and articulatory suppression. The cube imitation test is not simply a measure of the ability to retain visuospatial information but also depends on verbal representations as well as attentional capacity. Even so, the test was central to the modern appreciation that any adequate measure of intelligence must incorporate both verbal tests and performance tests.     

The relationship between psychometric intelligence and inspection time

The relationship between psychometric intelligence and inspection time (IT) is reviewed. Results are contradictory, which makes questionable the reliability of this relation. Moreover, the hope that IT constitutes a measure of ‘culture fair’ intelligence has not been confirmed and its correlation with tests considered to be culture fair and tests supposedly influenced by culture are not very different. The results do not allow us to establish a greater correlation between IT and specific factors of intelligence like verbal, spatial or numerical ability. Procedural problems apparent in measuting IT could explain, in part, the variability in results.     

Behavioral interventions to improve performance in collegiate football

Using a multitreatment withdrawal design, this study evaluated the differential effects of publicly posted plus verbal feedback, goal setting plus verbal feedback, and publicly posted feedback, verbal feedback, and goal setting together on the performance of 3 collegiate football players in practice scrimmages. Also assessed was whether the changes in practice behavior generalized to games. The dependent variables were performances on three wide receiver skills. The results show that public posting with verbal feedback, goal setting, and public posting with verbal feedback and goal setting were effective in improving player performance to a 90% criterion level during practice, and these changes generalized to game performance.     

A Developmental Comparison of Social Class and Verbal Ability Influences on Piagetian Tasks

Summary

The present investigation attempted to evaluate the respective influences of socioeconomic status and verbal ability levels, as determinants of performance on Piagetian concrete operations tasks. A sample of 160 subjects (kindergarten to fourth grade) were matched on socioeconomic status and verbal ability levels. A battery of Piagetian tasks was administered, including a relational terms pretest, provoked and unprovoked numerical correspondence, unidimensional seriation, height and width, multiple seriation, and conservation of surface area. Results of factorial (grade level × sodoeconomic status × verbal ability × sex) analyses of variance indicated (a) an absence of significant socioeconomic status effects for any of the Piagetian tasks, (6) a significant main effect for the verbal ability and age-grade level factors on the majority of tasks excluding unidimensional height seriation, (c) a general absence of sex main effects or higher order interactions. The lack of difference with regard to socioeconomic-status levels indicates that the previous research which revealed notable socioeconomic-status influences may have had socioeconomic status confounded to varying degrees with differences in underlying verbal skills.     

Application of motor learning principles to complex surgical tasks: searching for the optimal practice schedule

Practice of complex tasks can be scheduled in several ways: as whole-task practice or as practice of the individual skills composing the task in either a blocked or a random order. The authors used those 3 schedules to study 18 participants' learning of an orthopedic surgical task. They assessed learning by obtaining expert evaluation of performance and objective kinematic measures before, immediately after, and 1 week after practice (transfer test). During acquisition, the blocked group showed superior performance for simple skills but not for more complex skills. For the expert-based measures of performance, all groups improved from pretest to posttest and remained constant from posttest to transfer. Measures of the final product showed that the whole-practice group's outcomes were significantly better than those of the random group on transfer. All groups showed better efficiency of motions in the posttest than in the pretest. Those measures were also poorer on the transfer test than on the posttest. The present evidence does not support the contextual interference effect--hypothetically, because of the inherent cognitive effort effect associated with some of the component skills. The authors recommend that surgical tasks composed of several discrete skills be practiced as a whole. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of critically appraising basic theories in applied environments.     

TEACHING NAMING OF COIN VALUES—COMPREHENSION BEFORE PRODUCTION VERSUS PRODUCTION ALONE1

The purposes of this experiment were to determine whether (a) it would require fewer trials to teach verbal production of coin values directly or to teach auditory comprehension first, (b) comprehension training would generalize or transfer to production, and (c) production training would generalize to comprehension. Fourteen mentally retarded subjects participated. Their mean mental age was 4.83 yr (SD = 1.83), their mean chronological age was 12.67 yr (SD = 3.17), their mean IQ was 43.86 (SD = 7.81), and their mean arithmetic grade level was Kindergarten 0.1. A matched groups pretest-posttest design, as well as a multiple baseline across responses within each group were employed. The Comprehension-Production Group received coin-value training using two procedures sequentially: auditory comprehension (pointing to the correct coins in response to their verbally stated value) followed by verbal production (verbally stating the coins' value in response to a pointing prompt). The Production Group was trained on the production procedure only. Each subject was repeatedly administered coin-value comprehension and coin-value production tests, which provided the dependent measures. The results indicated that the two experimental groups improved significantly in their comprehension and production of coin values from pretest to posttest and maintained those increments on one- and four-week followup tests. Mean group performance on four-week followups ranged from 89 to 96% correct for the two dependent measures and two groups. Multiple-baseline data showed pronounced increases in performance only after training was initiated on a particular coin. A comparison of the number of trials required for both groups to complete their respective training programs indicated that teaching production alone (X? trials = 137.42) was significantly more efficient than training both comprehension and production (X? = 281.71). The failure of the comprehension procedure to facilitate production acquisition was evidenced by the fact that the Comprehension-Production Group required as many verbal naming trials to achieve mastery as did the Production Group. On the other hand, there was generalization from production training to comprehension. Subjects in the Production Group who were not trained to point to the coins in response to verbal instruction averaged 99% correct on the comprehension test. Research to this point may suggest an interaction between mental level and direction of transfer. The mentally retarded may experience facilitation from production to comprehension training, and for the nonretarded, the direction of transfer may be the converse.     

The effects-of repeatedly retesting the same group on the same intelligence test: II high grade mental defectives

Twelve mentally-defective schoolboys between 14 and 16 years of age took an intelligence test (AH 4) once a week, ten times. They took also Progressive Matrices once, after they had finished the AH 4 testing. Subjects of low intelligence were chosen in order to throw some light on the findings of a previous experiment on repeated retesting, in which the subjects were intelligent adults. The main aims of the schoolboy enquiry were to ascertain how far the flattening of the progress curves observed in the earlier enquiry was due to the artificial “ceiling” imposed and how far the part played by variation within the individuals varies with the level of intelligence of the group.

The mentally-defective subjects showed a gradual improvement in test performance with little sign of flattening towards the end; their individual progress curves were far less smooth than had been those of the more intelligent subjects. Other findings included relatively high proficiency on the diagrammatic part of the test, as opposed to the verbal and numerical, and some transfer of training from AH 4 to Progressive Matrices.