A Study of low scores in Canadian children and adolescents on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children,Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)

Knowing the prevalence of low neurocognitive scores for the WISC-IV Canadian normative sample (WISC-IV^CDN) is an important supplement for clinical interpretation of test performance. On the WISC-IV^CDN, it is uncommon for children and adolescents to have 4 or more subtest scores or 2 or more Index scores ≤ 9th percentile when all scores on the battery are considered simultaneously. As the level of the child's intelligence increases or the number of years of parental education increases, the prevalence of low scores decreases. These results are consistent with existing studies of the base rates of low scores in children and adolescents on pediatric cognitive batteries, including the WISC-IV American normative sample. Tables provided are ready for clinical use.     

A comparison of cognitive/neuropsychological impairments of nonretarded autistic and schizophrenic children

The performance of children meeting DSM-III criteria for schizophrenic disorder and infantile autism and of normal children (ages 7 years 10 months to 14 years 4 months) was compared on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Rey's Tangled Line Test, Benton Judgment of Line Orientation, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The mean performance IQ of the schizophrenic and autistic children was equal and in the normal range. The normal children were of average intelligence as estimated by the PPVT. As compared to normal children, both autistic and schizophrenic children were impaired on the DSST and RTLT. The autistic children had significantly lower scores on the PPVT than schizophrenic and normal children. The schizophrenic children made significantly more perseverative responses on the WCST than did normal children. They significantly increased their nonperseverative errors on the second half of the WCST, after having been taught the correct sorting principles. It is argued that in schizophrenia a core deficit in momentary processing capacity underlies the above performance pattern. In contrast, in autism the core cognitive deficit involves an inability to use language to regulate and control ongoing behavior.Preparation of this article was supported in part by a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Grant to Robert Asarnow, and NIMH Grant MH 30897 to the UCLA Clinical Research Center for the Study of Childhood Psychoses. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Michael J. Goldstein, Ph.D., who acted as reseach advisor to the first author over the course of this study; Delores Adams, who assisted us in data analysis; and Sara Lerner, who enthusiastically helped us in data collection. We also acknowledge the assistance of the staff of the Clinical Research Center for the Study of Childhood Psychosis at UCLA, as well as the many children who participated in this study, and their parents.     

Dietary patterns and intelligence in early and middle childhood

The association between intelligence and diet at 3.5 and 7 years was examined in 591 children of European descent. Approximately half of the children were born small-for-gestational age (birth weight ≤ 10th percentile). The relationship between IQ and diet (measured by food frequency) was investigated using multiple regression analyses. Eating margarine at least daily was associated with significantly lower IQ scores at 3.5 years in the total sample and at 7 years in SGA children. For all children, eating the recommended daily number of breads and cereals was associated with significantly higher IQ scores at 3.5 years, and those who ate fish at least weekly had significantly higher IQ scores at 7 years than those who did not. The consumption of fish, breads and cereals commeasurable with nutritional guidelines may be beneficial to children's cognitive development. In contrast, consuming margarine daily was associated with poorer cognitive functioning. Further research is needed to identify the nutrients that may underlie this association.     

Impaired categorical perception of facial expressions in high-functioning adolescents with autism.

Categorical perception of facial expressions is studied in high-functioning adolescents with autism, using three continua of facial expressions obtained by morphing. In contrast to the results of normal adults, the performance on the identification task in autistic subjects did not predict performance on the discrimination task, an indication that autistic individuals do not perceive facial expressions categorically. Performance of autistic subjects with low social intelligence was more impaired than that of subjects with higher social IQ scores on the expression recognition of unmanipulated photographs. It is suggested that autistic subjects with higher social intelligence may use compensatory strategies that they have acquired in social training programs This may camouflage the deficits of this subgroup in the perception of facial expressions.     

Who Are the Children Most Vulnerable to Social Exclusion? The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem,Popularity, and Nonverbal Intelligence on Cognitive Performance Following Social Exclusion

Social exclusion has a profound emotional impact on children. However, there is still limited and partly conflicting experimental evidence for the possible effect of social exclusion on children’s cognitive performance. In the present study, we tested the possibility that some children are more vulnerable than others to the negative effects of social exclusion on cognitive performance. We selected 4 potential candidates that could moderate the effects of social exclusion: relational self-esteem, peer ratings of popularity, rejection sensitivity and nonverbal intelligence. Individual differences in these 4 potential moderating factors were first assessed in a sample of 318 children (45.6 % females; mean age = 9.92 years). Then, in a subsequent experimental session, the participants were either socially included or excluded using a typical manipulation (i.e., the Cyberball paradigm). Following the manipulation, the children’s cognitive performance was assessed using a logical reasoning test. The results showed that the children with lower scores for relational self-esteem (the bottom 37.46 % of the sample), lower popularity (43.49 %) or weaker nonverbal intelligence (37.80 %) performed worse on the logical reasoning test following social exclusion. Moreover, children with combined low self-esteem, popularity and nonverbal intelligence were the most affected by social exclusion. This study identified factors that make some children more vulnerable to the negative effects of social exclusion. Overall, the present work underscores the value of considering basic cognitive and relational individual differences when developing interventions aimed at preventing the negative effects of social exclusion among children.     

Sensorimotor skills and language comprehension in autistic children

The objectives of this study were to examine the level of sensorimotor concepts of young autistic children and to relate these concepts to language comprehension. A sample of 16 autistic children with a mean mental age of 24.8 months was administered a standardized scale of sensorimotor intelligence and of receptive language. The autistic children demonstrated surprisingly sophisticated sensorimotor skills, particularly object permanence. While their initial performance was inferior to that of normal controls matched on mental age, particularly in their use of objects in combination, the difference between groups diminished on the second test administration. On the receptive language measure, the autistic children were less able to identify words correctly. The sensorimotor behavior of autistic children who demonstrated language comprehension did not differ from those who showed no language comprehension, except that the former group tended to use an object as an instrument somewhat more frequently. The fact that the autistic children were so impaired in language even with fairly good sensorimotor skills suggests that these skills, particularly object permanence, play a minor role in their language acquisition.Support for this research was provided by Biobehavioral Research Support Grant 516, Grant 12–41 from the March of Dimes, NIMH Postdoctoral Fellowship No. 1 F32 MH07550-01 (Ungerer), and NIMH Grant MH 33815-01. Subjects were recruited from the UCLA Research Center for the Study of Childhood Psychosis, funded by NIMH Grant MH 30897. We would like to thank members of the CRC, particularly Dr. Peter Tanguay, Dr. Barbara Fish, and Dr. B. J. Freeman, for their support of our research efforts.     

Effort as Person-Focused Praise: “Hard Worker” Has Negative Effects for Adults After a Failure

Although work with children demonstrates a benefit of process-focused praise relative to person-focused praise on post-failure motivation, few studies have examined this result in adults. We tested the effect of three types of praise on adults' post-failure outcomes: person-focused intelligence (“high intelligence”), person-focused effort (“hard worker”), and process-focused effort (“worked hard”) in a sample of 156 adults recruited from Amazon's MTurk. Participants completed a set of easy visual pattern recognition problems and were told that they performed better than most adults and were given one of the three types of feedback. They then completed more difficult problems and were told that they had not performed well. Participants in the “hard worker” condition (compared to “worked hard”) were more likely to endorse intelligence as a reason for failure. They also reported lower perceived success and less enjoyment than participants in other conditions. Participants in the “high intelligence” condition were more likely to attribute their failure to intelligence than participants in the “worked hard” condition. The results suggest that the benefit of process-focused praise typically found in children (worked hard compared to intelligent) was mostly not replicated in adults, and person-focused effort praise was detrimental in a non-college student adult sample.     

Concurrent validity of the differential ability scales,second edition with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning in young children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders

Estimates of intelligence in young children with neurodevelopmental disorders are critical for making diagnoses, in characterizing symptoms of disorders, and in predicting future outcomes. The limitations of standardized testing for children with developmental delay or cognitive impairment are well known: Tests do not exist that provide developmentally appropriate material along with norms that extend to the lower reaches of ability. Two commonly used and interchanged instruments are the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), a test of developmental level, and the Differential Ability Scales, second edition (DAS-II), a more traditional cognitive test. We evaluated the correspondence of contemporaneous MSEL and the DAS-II scores in a mixed sample of children aged 2–10 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), non-ASD developmental delays, and typically developing children across the full spectrum of cognitive ability. Consistent with published data on the original DAS and the MSEL, scores on the DAS-II and MSEL were highly correlated. However, curve estimation revealed large mean differences that varied as a function of the child’s cognitive ability level. We conclude that interchanging MSEL and DAS-II scores without regard to the discrepancy in scores may produce misleading results in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of children with and without ASD, and, thus, this practice should be implemented with caution.     

Basic level and superordinate level categorization by autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children

Three experiments designed to test autistic children's nonverbal and verbal categorization abilities are reported in this paper. In the first two experiments, 14 autistic children were compared to 14 retarded and 14 normal children matched on verbal mental age. Their ability to categorize pictures from basic level categories and from biological and artifactual superordinate level categories was assessed using a matching-to-sample procedure. The three groups of subjects were similar in their performance. Basic level categorization was easier than more abstract categorization, and for all three groups, prototypicality played a role in categorizing superordinate level concepts; that is, children in all three groups made more errors categorizing peripheral examples. In the third experiment, a subgroup of 7 autistic children showed evidence that their lexicons were well organized and that they appreciated the meaning relationships among words at the superordinate level. These findings suggest that autistic children do not suffer a specific cognitive deficit in the ability to categorize and form abstract concepts, as has been previously suggested in the literature.     

Criterion Validity of the Rorschach Developmental Index With Children

The Rorschach Developmental Index (DI) is a composite measure of psychological development. The aim of this study was to examine the criterion validity of the DI by investigating its relationship with age, nonverbal intelligence, and the impact of institutionalization in a sample of Brazilian children. The sample included 231 children, ages 7 to 11, who were either living with their families or in an institutionalized setting. The results indicated that the DI is strongly associated with nonverbal intelligence. Multiple regression analysis revealed that 71% of the variability in the DI was associated with nonverbal intelligence, whereas age explained only 2%. Moreover, the DI scores and nonverbal intelligence scores were significantly lower for children living in institutionalized settings. The DI appears to be effective in assessing various levels of psychological development, especially when expressed in cognitive ability. The DI was developed in the United States, and this study suggests that the DI can be adapted to diverse cultures, regions, or languages.     

Parents think their sons are brighter than their daughters: sex differences in parental self-estimations and estimations of their children's multiple intelligences

In this study, 156 participants, predominantly White British adults (M age = 44.3 years) rated themselves on overall IQ and on H. Gardner's (1983) 7 intelligence subtypes. Parents (n = 120) also estimated the intelligence of their children. Men's self-estimates were significantly higher than women's (110.15 vs. 104.84). Participants thought their verbal, mathematical, and spatial intelligence scores were the best indicators of their own overall intelligence. Parents estimated that their sons had significantly higher IQs than their daughters (115.21 vs. 107.49). Self-estimates and estimates of children's multiple intelligences were higher for men and sons, significantly so for logical-mathematical and spatial intelligence. Parents rated 2nd-born daughters as having significantly higher verbal and musical intelligence than their male counterparts. Higher parental IQ self-estimates corresponded with higher IQ estimates for children. Results for 1st-born children were clearest and showed the most significant differences. The findings are interpreted in terms of sociocultural and familial influences and the possibility of actual sex differences in particular abilities.     

Are stepfathers’ education levels associated with the intelligence of their stepsons? A register‐based study of Norwegian half‐brothers

We examined the relationship between the parents’ education levels and the adult intelligence of their children in a population‐based, nationwide sample of Norwegian half‐brothers with different fathers (2,016 pairs of half‐brothers). In a family where the mother has two children with different men, the firstborn child usually lives with the younger child's father during a period of their childhood. This makes it possible to study the non‐genetic effects of paternal education on children's development. Results showed that the education level of the younger half‐brother's father was positively associated with the intelligence score of the older half‐brother. The education level of the older half‐brother's father was not associated with the intelligence score of the younger half‐brother. Firstborn men whose half‐brothers’ fathers had high levels of education had intelligence scores that were 33% (95% confidence interval: 18–47%) of a standard deviation higher than those of firstborn men whose half‐brothers’ fathers had low levels of education, after adjustment for the biological fathers’ education levels, mothers’ education levels, and other background factors. These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that a child's family environment exerts an effect on the cognitive abilities of the child that lasts into adulthood.     

Relation of birth weight, maternal intelligence and mother–child interactions to cognitive and play competence of Jamaican two-year old children

The present study assessed whether birth weight, maternal child rearing behaviors, and maternal intelligence combine in an additive or in a non-linear interactive fashion to influence cognitive performance in a sample of 24-month old full-term appropriate and low birth weight Jamaican children. Child cognitive performance was measured using the Griffiths Scale and a laboratory based assessment of the amount of time the child utilized different levels of play behavior. Mothers were videotaped while playing with their children under different instructional conditions and videotapes were coded for 8 maternal interaction patterns. Maternal verbal intelligence was assessed using the PPVT. Results supported the operation of both additive co-action as well as non-linear interactive processes. Birth weight, maternal behaviors toward her child and maternal intelligence predicted child cognitive performance. In addition, low birth weight infants were either less sensitive to facilitative aspects of maternal behaviors and/or more sensitive to maternal inhibitory behaviors than were appropriate birth weight infants. Further, child rearing behaviors of more intelligent mothers were a stronger influence on their child's cognitive performance than those of less intelligent mothers, even when there were no differences in the level of behaviors of more or less intelligent mothers.     

Superior fluid intelligence in children with Asperger's disorder

Asperger's disorder is one of autistic spectrum disorders; sharing clinical features with autism, but without developmental delay in language acquisition. There have been some studies of intellectual functioning in autism so far, but very few in Asperger's disorder. In the present study, we investigated abstract reasoning ability, whose form of intelligence has been labeled fluid intelligence in the theory of Cattell [Cattell, R. B. (1963). Theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence: A critical experiment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 54, 1-22.], in children with Asperger's disorder. A test of fluid intelligence, the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices Test, was administered to 17 children with Asperger's disorder and 17 age-, gender-, and FIQ-matched normal children. The results showed that children with Asperger's disorder outperformed on the test of fluid reasoning than typically developing children. We suggest that individuals with Asperger's disorder have higher fluid reasoning ability than normal individuals, highlighting superior fluid intelligence.     

Working memory and fluid intelligence in young children

The present study investigates how working memory and fluid intelligence are related in young children and how these links develop over time. The major aim is to determine which aspect of the working memory system—short-term storage or cognitive control—drives the relationship with fluid intelligence. A sample of 119 children was followed from kindergarten to second grade and completed multiple assessments of working memory, short-term memory, and fluid intelligence. The data showed that working memory, short-term memory, and fluid intelligence were highly related but separate constructs in young children. The results further showed that when the common variance between working memory and short-term memory was controlled, the residual working memory factor manifested significant links with fluid intelligence whereas the residual short-term memory factor did not. These findings suggest that in young children cognitive control mechanisms rather than the storage component of working memory span tasks are the source of their link with fluid intelligence.     

Crossing the North Sea seems to make DCD disappear: Cross-validation of Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 norms

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children has been revised as the Movement ABC-2 (Henderson, Sugden, & Barnett, 2007). In Europe, the 15th percentile score on this test is recommended for one of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). A representative sample of Dutch and Flemish children was tested to cross-validate the UK standard scores, including the 15th percentile score. First, the mean, SD and percentile scores of Dutch children were compared to those of UK normative samples. Item standard scores of Dutch speaking children deviated from the UK reference values suggesting necessary adjustments. Except for very young children, the Dutch-speaking samples performed better. Second, based on the mean and SD and clinical relevant cut-off scores (5th and 15th percentile), norms were adjusted for the Dutch population. For diagnostic use, researchers and clinicians should use the reference norms that are valid for the group of children they are testing. The results indicate that there possibly is an effect of testing procedure in other countries that validated the UK norms and/or cultural influence on the age norms of the Movement ABC-2. It is suggested to formulate criterion-based norms for age groups in addition to statistical norms.     

The impact of finger counting habits on arithmetic in adults and children

Here, we explored the impact of finger counting habits on arithmetic in both adults and children. Two groups of participants were examined, those that begin counting with their left hand (left-starters) and those that begin counting with their right hand (right-starters). For the adults, performance on an addition task in which participants added 2 two-digit numbers was compared. The results revealed that left-starters were slower than right-starters when adding and they had lower forward and backward digit-span scores. The children (aged 5–12) showed similar results on a single-digit timed addition task—right-starters outperformed left-starters. However, the children did not reveal differences in working memory or verbal and non-verbal intelligence as a function of finger counting habit. We argue that the motor act of finger counting influences how number is represented and suggest that left-starters may have a more bilateral representation that accounts for the slower processing.     

自闭谱系障碍:一种主动性的社会认知控制缺陷

认知控制是一项高级的认知能力,是个体执行功能的一部分。包括认知控制在内的执行功能缺陷被认为是自闭谱系障碍的主要原因之一。本研究基于双重认知控制模型,通过非社会性和社会性两个领域的任务比较了自闭谱系障碍儿童（ASD）与正常发展儿童（TD）的认知控制能力的差异。结果发现：（1）ASD儿童在非社会性领域的认知控制上不存在缺陷,ASD儿童在社会性领域的认知控制上仅表现出了主动性认知控制缺陷,不存在反应性认知控制缺陷;(２)ASD儿童的主动性控制并不像TD儿童一样出现两个领域的加工分化,他们没有像TD儿童一样,表现出社会性领域的主动性控制的优势;（３）社会性领域的主动性控制和反应性控制可以显著从负正两个方向上预测自闭症状的严重程度。本研究认为,可以把ASD看成是一种主动性的社会认知控制缺陷。社会性领域的认知控制指标可为ASD的诊断与训练提供重要参考。     

Parents Think Their Sons Are Brighter Than Their Daughters: Sex Differences in Parental Self-Estimations and Estimations of Their Children's Multiple Intelligences

In this study, 156 participants, predominantly White British adults (M age = 44.3 years) rated themselves on overall IQ and on H. Gardner's (1983) 7 intelligence subtypes. Parents (n = 120) also estimated the intelligence of their children. Men's self-estimates were significantly higher than women's (110.15 vs. 104.84). Participants thought their verbal, mathematical, and spatial intelligence scores were the best indicators of their own overall intelligence. Parents estimated that their sons had significantly higher IQs than their daughters (115.21 vs. 107.49). Self-estimates and estimates of children's multiple intelligences were higher for men and sons, significantly so for logical-mathematical and spatial intelligence. Parents rated 2nd-born daughters as having significantly higher verbal and musical intelligence than their male counterparts. Higher parental IQ self-estimates corresponded with higher IQ estimates for children. Results for 1st-born children were clearest and showed the most significant differences. The findings are interpreted in terms of sociocultural and familial influences and the possibility of actual sex differences in particular abilities.