Numerical and nonnumerical estimation in children with and without mathematical learning disabilities

There are currently multiple explanations for mathematical learning disabilities (MLD). The present study focused on those assuming that MLD are due to a basic numerical deficit affecting the ability to represent and to manipulate number magnitude ( Butterworth, 1999 , 2005 ; A. J. Wilson & Dehaene, 2007 ) and/or to access that number magnitude representation from numerical symbols ( Rousselle & No?l, 2007 ). The present study provides an original contribution to this issue by testing MLD children (carefully selected on the basis of preserved abilities in other domains) on numerical estimation tasks with contrasting symbolic (Arabic numerals) and nonsymbolic (collection of dots) numbers used as input or output. MLD children performed consistently less accurately than control children on all the estimation tasks. However, MLD children were even weaker when the task involved the mapping between symbolic and nonsymbolic numbers than when the task required a mapping between two nonsymbolic numerical formats. Moreover, in the estimation of nonsymbolic numerosities, MLD children relied more than control children on perceptual cues such as the cumulative area of the dots. Finally, the task requiring a mapping from a nonsymbolic format to a symbolic format was the best predictor of MLD. In order to explain these present results, as well as those reported in the literature, we propose that the impoverished number magnitude representation of MLD children may arise from an initial mapping deficit between number symbols and that magnitude representation.     

Emotional time distortions: The fundamental role of arousal

An emotion-based lengthening effect on the perception of durations of emotional pictures has been assumed to result from an arousal-based mechanism, involving the activation of an internal clock system. The aim of this study was to systematically examine the arousal effect on time perception when different discrete emotions were considered. The participants were asked to verbally estimate the duration of emotional pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). The pictures varied either in arousal level, i.e., high/low-arousal, for the same discrete emotion (disgust or sadness) or in the depicted emotion, e.g., disgust/fear for pictures matched for arousal (high-arousal). The results systematically revealed a lengthening effect on the perception of the duration of the emotional compared to the neutral pictures and indicated that the magnitude of this effect increased with arousal level. Nevertheless, variations in time perception were observed for one and the same arousal level, with the duration of disgust-inducing pictures (e.g., body mutilation) being judged longer than that of fear-inducing pictures (e.g., snake). These results suggest that arousal is a fundamental mechanism mediating the effect of emotion on time perception. However, the effect cannot be reduced to arousal, since the impact of the content of pictures also plays a critical role.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging study of Piaget's conservation-of-number task in preschool and school-age children: a neo-Piagetian approach

Jean Piaget’s theory is a central reference point in the study of logico-mathematical development in children. One of the most famous Piagetian tasks is number conservation. Failures and successes in this task reveal two fundamental stages in children’s thinking and judgment, shifting at approximately 7 years of age from visuospatial intuition to number conservation. In the current study, preschool children (nonconservers, 5-6 years of age) and school-age children (conservers, 9-10 years of age) were presented with Piaget’s conservation-of-number task and monitored by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The cognitive change allowing children to access conservation was shown to be related to the neural contribution of a bilateral parietofrontal network involved in numerical and executive functions. These fMRI results highlight how the behavioral and cognitive stages Piaget formulated during the 20th century manifest in the brain with age.     

Career exploration in adolescents: The role of anxiety, attachment, and parenting style

The aim of the study was to examine the role of parent-adolescent attachment, adolescent anxiety and parenting style in the career exploration process and in career satisfaction. Three kinds of anxiety were considered: general trait anxiety, fear of failing in one’s career and fear of disappointing one’s parents. The participants were 283 French high school students on the threshold of one of the most important school transitions. The results varied by gender. For girls, general anxiety and neglectful style were negatively related to career exploration; secure attachment and fear of failing were positively related to it. For boys, fear of disappointing parents was positively related to career exploration. Attachment to parents, authoritative style, general anxiety, and fear of failing were related to some career exploration satisfaction scores, though differently for boys and girls. The differences between boys and girls in the roles played by anxiety, attachment and parenting style are discussed.     

Spontaneous response to and expressive regulation of mirth elicited by humorous cartoons in younger and older adults

Many studies have examined the effect of aging on the ability to regulate negative emotions but less is known about the way the elderly people control their positive affects. Thirty-eight younger and 38 older adults were compared on their affective, expressive, physiological, and behavioral spontaneous responses to and in expressive regulation of mirth elicited by humorous cartoons. Compared to younger adults, older adults were equally amused and aroused but showed lower expressivity in their spontaneous reaction. They were similarly successful in implementing expressive regulation but they had lower physiological activation under amplification condition and more gaze avoidance from the key areas of the cartoons under suppression condition. This indicates that in older, amplification skills are disjointed from the physiological responses and suppression skills seem supplanted by a less costly strategy of attention redeployment. This also suggests that older adults’ behavior is not driven by a greater preference for positive information.     

Inferential language processes across adolescence: A test with novel idioms

Idiom comprehension relies on the ability to draw inferences from different cues in a communication situation. Adopting a developmental perspective, we investigated how this ability changes across adolescence. To this end, we designed a computerized system that allowed us to simulate a communication situation through short videos placing participants at the center of the interaction. Four groups of participants (11, 13, 15, and adult students) performed an idiomatic expression comprehension task, in which idiom familiarity was controlled. We manipulated the idioms’ transparency (vs. opacity) and presentation (supportive narrative context inducing an idiomatic interpretation of the expression vs. nonsupportive narrative context). Analyses revealed an improvement in idiom comprehension in terms of contextual inferences but they failed to reveal any significant difference in terms of semantic inferences. This study yields fresh arguments in support of the notion that inferential ability based on context continues to develop beyond childhood.     

Contribution of the priming paradigm to the understanding of the conceptual developmental shift from 5 to 9 years of age

We conducted three experiments to study the role of instrumental (e.g. knife–bread) and categorical (e.g. cake–bread) relations in the development of conceptual organization with a priming paradigm, by varying the nature of the task (naming – Experiment 1 – or categorical decision – Experiments 2 and 3). The participants were 5‐, 7‐ and 9‐year‐old children and adults. The results showed that on both types of task, adults and 9‐year‐old children presented instrumental and categorical priming effects, whereas 5‐year‐old children presented mainly instrumental priming effects, with categorical effects remaining marginal. Moreover, the magnitude of the instrumental priming effects decreased with age. Finally, the priming effects observed for 7‐year‐old children depended on the task, especially for the categorical effects. The theoretical implications of these results for our understanding of conceptual reorganization from 5 to 9 years of age are discussed.     

Does making a conversation asynchronous reduce the negative impact of phone call on driving?

Mobile phone use at the wheel has a proven negative impact on driving. This paper aims to assess whether using an answerphone instead of a normal phone reduces this negative impact. The answerphone makes communication asynchronous and splits it into three disconnected and successive phases: interaction with the voice interface, listening to the message and answering, which have been evaluated separately.The experiment was conducted on a fixed base simulator, with 30 participants (half male and female, aged from 18 to 50 years, driving at least 5000 km per year).The results show better scores for correct responses to stimuli for answerphone communications than for phone communications, although response times were higher in both communication conditions than in the driving alone condition. When the three phases of answerphone use were compared, interacting with the answerphone and listening to the message were found to be significantly less disturbing than answering, in terms of correct responses and response times.By making the conversation asynchronous, the answerphone avoids direct interaction between driver and caller. The fact that communication is under the driver’s control allows him/her to pace the interaction better. Lastly, splitting up the conversation into different phases decreases the overall task difficulty.     

Age-related changes in duration reproduction: involvement of working memory processes

The aim of the present research was to study age-related changes in duration reproduction by differentiating the working memory processes underlying this time estimation task. We compared performances of young and elderly adults in a duration reproduction task performed in simple and concurrent task conditions. Participants were also administered working memory tests to measure storage and central executive functions. Findings indicated a differential involvement of working memory storage and central executive functions in age-related differences in temporal tasks. The limited storage capacities explained age-related changes in the simple task of duration reproduction, and the dysfunctioning of central executive functions accounted for age-related changes in duration reproduction performed in a concurrent task condition, which involves greater attentional resources.     

Embodied temporal perception of emotion

The role of embodiment in the perception of the duration of emotional stimuli was investigated with a temporal bisection task. Previous research has shown that individuals overestimate the duration of emotional, compared with neutral, faces (S. Droit-Volet, S. Brunot, & P. M. Niedenthal, 2004). The authors tested a role for embodiment in this effect. Participants estimated the duration of angry, happy, and neutral faces by comparing them to 2 durations learned during a training phase. Experimental participants held a pen in their mouths so as to inhibit imitation of the faces, whereas control participants could imitate freely. Results revealed that participants overestimated the duration of emotional faces relative to the neutral faces only when imitation was possible. Implications for the role of embodiment in emotional perception are discussed.