How smart do you think you are? A meta-analysis on the validity of self-estimates of cognitive ability

Individuals' perceptions of their own level of cognitive ability are expressed through self-estimates. They play an important role in a person's self-concept because they facilitate an understanding of how one's own abilities relate to those of others. People evaluate their own and other persons' abilities all the time, but self-estimates are also used in formal settings, such as, for instance, career counseling. We examine the relationship between self-estimated and psychometrically measured cognitive ability by conducting a random-effects, multilevel meta-analysis including a total of 154 effect sizes reported in 41 published studies. Moderator variables are specified in a mixed-effects model both at the level of the individual effect size and at the study level. The overall relationship is estimated at r = .33. There is significant heterogeneity at both levels (i.e., the true effect sizes vary within and between studies), and the results of the moderator analysis show that the validity of self-estimates is especially enhanced when relative scales with clearly specified comparison groups are used and when numerical ability is assessed rather than general cognitive ability. The assessment of less frequently considered dimensions of cognitive ability (e.g., reasoning speed) significantly decreases the magnitude of the relationship. From a theoretical perspective, Festinger's (1954) theory of social comparison and Lecky's (1945) theory of self-consistency receive empirical support. For practitioners, the assessment of self-estimates appears to provide diagnostic information about a person's self-concept that goes beyond a simple "test-and-tell" approach. This information is potentially relevant for career counselors, personnel recruiters, and teachers.     

Conflict Resolution as a Dyadic Mediator: Considering the Partner Perspective on Conflict Resolution

So far, relationship research has only considered an intrapersonal perspective on links between adult attachment, conflict resolution and relationship satisfaction. This study investigated the mediating effects of partner‐reported conflict resolution styles among the attachment dimensions of avoidance and anxiety, and relationship satisfaction in a sample of 207 heterosexual couples. Dyadic and structural aspects of mediation were tested using the Actor–Partner Mediator Model with latent variables. Few significant partner‐related meditational pathways were found indicating compensating effects of positive problem solving and compliance. More frequent positive problem solving could improve relationship satisfaction, even when the partner showed higher scores on anxious attachment. In addition, the use of compliance could suppress the negative effects of attachment avoidance on partner's relationship satisfaction. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Applying sampling theories to attitude learning in a virtual school class environment

According to sampling theories of attitude formation, evaluative learning depends on the sampling in the environment. We investigated teachers’ student evaluations in a simulated school class. Two experiments were designed to test distinct implications of experience-sampling models. While the model advanced by Fazio, Eiser, and Shook (2004) and Denrell (2005) led to the prediction of a negativity effect through asymmetric depolarization, another model (Fiedler, 1996) suggested a positivity effect through asymmetric polarization. Findings supported the latter contention. The selective tendency to oversample good students while neglecting weaker students was not radical enough to prevent the correction of negative impressions, precluding a negativity effect. Instead, extended selective sampling led to gradually increasing polarization of positive impressions, and facilitated detection of positive performance changes. While these findings can be reconciled with the Fazio–Denrell model, they highlight the crucial role of auxiliary psychological assumptions about attitude learning, as distinguished from the formal model itself.     

Transmission electron microscopy study of a new silicon nitride phase

An abnormally large phase, which was found in the precursor-derived Si 3.0 B 1.1 C 5.3 N 3.0 ceramics after crystallization under a nitrogen pressure of 100bar at 1800C for 3h, has been characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy and electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). EELS analysis shows that this phase consists of only silicon and nitrogen, no other elements being detected. The analysis of selected-area diffraction and convergent-beam electron diffraction in conjunction with EELS reveals that the unknown phase is a variant of silicon nitride. It has a hexagonal structure with lattice parameters a =0.737nm and c =0.536nm, and the space group P62c. .     

Adaptive memory: enhanced source memory for animate entities

ABSTRACT

The animacy effect refers to enhanced memory for animate over inanimate items. In two studies, we examined whether this memory advantage generalises to source memory. A multinomial processing tree model was used to disentangle item recognition, source memory, and guessing processes. In Study 1, animate and inanimate words were presented at different spatial locations on the screen. Animacy was associated with enhanced source memory for the spatial locations of the items. In Study 2, pseudowords were associated with animate and inanimate properties. Replicating previous results, the pseudowords were better remembered when they were associated with animate properties than when they were associated with inanimate properties. What is more, participants had enhanced source memory for the association between the pseudowords and the animate properties. The results strengthen the idea that animate items are associated with richer mnemonic representations than inanimate items.     

Coping in relationships: the interplay between individual and dyadic coping and their effects on relationship satisfaction

The main aim of the present study was to determine how individual and dyadic coping efforts are related in the context of relationships. This aim was achieved by studying partners simultaneously and taking into account the interdependent nature of couple data. Specifically tested was whether dyadic coping mediates the influence of individual coping, and whether there is a mutual influence of partners' dyadic coping. Cross-sectional data of 240 German couples were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that dyadic coping is a stronger predictor of relationship satisfaction than individual coping, and that it mediates the individual coping efforts. Mutual influence could be demonstrated for pragmatic coping but not for emotional coping. This research highlights the importance of dyadic coping by focusing on the ways in which couples cope together.     

Gender differences in the mean level,variability, and profile shape of student achievement: Results from 41 countries

A domain-specific hierarchical conceptualization of mathematics achievement can be represented by the standard psychometric model in which a single latent dimension accounts for observed individual differences in scores on the respective subdomains (e.g., quantity). Alternatively, a fully hierarchical conceptualization of achievement can be represented by a nested-factor model in which individual differences in subdomain-specific scores are explained by both general student achievement and specific mathematics achievement. The authors applied both models to study the gender similarity hypothesis, the greater male variability hypothesis, and the masking hypothesis, which predicts that gender differences in general student achievement mask gender differences in both the means and the variability of specific mathematics achievement. Representative data were obtained from 275,369 15-year-old students in 41 countries. The results supported these hypotheses in most countries, demonstrating that a fully hierarchical conceptualization of achievement in terms of the nested-factor model significantly contributes to a better understanding of gender differences in the mean level, variability, and shape of students' achievement profiles.     

Relations between Preschool Children’s Fine Motor Skills and General Cognitive Abilities

ABSTRACT

An increasing number of findings suggest that cognition is grounded in sensorimotor experiences. Research suggests that fine motor skills (FMS) link to cognitive abilities. Existing studies, however, lack conceptual and methodological differentiation regarding FMS and little is known about the directional nature of links. In study 1, we measured three types of FMS, namely dexterity, grapho-motor skill, speed-dominated FMS in a sample of preschool children (n = 78) aged 4.42 years, and analyzed their links with nonverbal reasoning and general knowledge. Factor analyses verified the existence of these three distinct subsets of FMS. A unique link was found for dexterity and reasoning after controlling for age, attention and processing speed. In study 2, using a cross-lagged-panel design with two measurement points one year apart in preschool (n = 84), a cross-lagged link from four-year-old children’s dexterity to their reasoning skills at age five was demonstrated. Findings support the idea of FMS being involved in the development of cognitive abilities.     

Implicit expectations influence target detection in children and adults

When a sound occurs at a predictable time, it gets processed more efficiently. Predictability of the temporal structure of acoustic inflow has been found to influence the P3b of event‐related potentials in young adults, such that highly predictable compared to less predictable input leads to earlier P3b peak latencies. In our study, we wanted to investigate the influence of predictability on target processing indexed by the P3b in children (10–12 years old) and young adults. To do that, we used an oddball paradigm with two conditions of predictability (high and low). In the High‐predictability condition, a high‐pitched target tone occurred most of the time in the fifth position of a five‐tone pattern (after four low‐pitched non‐target sounds), whereas in the Low‐predictability condition, no such rule was implemented. The target tone occurred randomly following 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 non‐target tones. In both age groups, reaction time to predictable targets was faster than to non‐predictable targets. Remarkably, this effect was largest in children. Consistent with the behavioral responses, the onset latency of the P3b response elicited by targets in both groups was earlier in the predictable than the unpredictable conditions. However, only the children had significantly earlier peak latency responses for predictable targets. Our results demonstrate that target stimulus predictability increases processing speed in children and adults even when predictability was only implicitly derived by the stimulus statistics. Children did have larger effects of predictability, seeming to benefit more from predictability for target detection.