Is Age Just a Number? Cognitive Reserve as a Predictor of Divergent Thinking in Late Adulthood

The purpose of the study was to test a model of causal relationships among cognitive reserve (CR), personality variables such as Neuroticism and Openness to experience, and divergent thinking (DT), independently evaluating performance in different domains (verbal and graphic). It was hypothesized that CR, Openness, and Neuroticism would each directly influence verbal and graphic DT. A total of 135 subjects between 55 and 84 years old participated in the study and were interviewed in individual sessions. For a correct fit Neuroticism was eliminated from the measurement model. The goodness-of-fit indexes of the measurement model, the adequate composite reliability index and the discriminant validity supported the viability of the structural equation model (SEM). The goodness-of-fit indexes confirmed the existence of a significant effect of CR and Openness to experience in predicting both verbal and graphic DT. The three CR indicators had high loadings in their theoretical factor, with the observed variables study-work and WAIS vocabulary showing the highest loads. In summary, subjects with CR and Openness to experience were more flexible and original when solving verbal problems, and to a lesser degree, graphic problems.     

Assessing the Helpfulness of One Parenting Assistance Helpline

This study examined the services provided by one statewide warmline established to assist parents and caregivers of children from birth through adolescence. Warmlines offer telephone-based, non-crisis support for individuals experiencing diverse issues that include parenting questions and concerns. The University of Alabama Child Development Resources collaborated with the Alabama State Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention to institute the Parenting Assistance Line to provide information and support to parents and caregivers of children, age birth through adolescence. Overall, the staff of the Parenting Assistance Line responded to 9487 calls during the 6 years of data reported here. Through a secondary data analysis of calls to the Parenting Assistance Line from June 2007 to July 2013, this study describes the concerns of callers in relation to the ages of the children about whom they are calling and also evaluates the perceptions of the helpfulness of the information and support provided by the warmline. We found that frequently calls involved parent support and parental stress for parents and caregivers of children from infancy through adolescence. The findings suggest that telephone assistance lines offer a viable choice for parents and caregivers seeking affordable and accessible resources when stressed by the responsibilities of caring for children and adolescents and/or seeking information related to parenting issues. The study identified the limitations of research involving secondary data collected for purposes other than research that program administrators and evaluators should consider when planning and implementing services of this nature.     

Differences in false recollection according to the cognitive reserve of healthy older people

We present an associative recognition experiment comparing three samples of healthy people (young people, older people with high cognitive reserve [HCR], and older people with low cognitive reserve [LCR], with each sample consisting of 40 people), manipulating stimuli repetition during the study phase. The results show significant differences among the three samples in their overall performance. However, these differences are not due to a different use of familiarity, but rather due to a different way of using recollection: although there are no differences in the hit rates between the HRC and LRC samples, the LCR group makes significantly more recollective false alarms than the HCR group. Moreover, repetition provokes an increase in the recollective false alarms in the LCR group, but this does not occur in the group of young people or in the HCR group. These findings are explained in terms of recollection-based monitoring errors and seem to provide support for the cognitive reserve hypothesis.     

Exploring Divergent Patterns in Racial Identity Profiles Between Caribbean Black American and African American Adolescents: The Links to Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Concerns

Using cluster analyses, this study explored the relations among racial identity, perceived discrimination, and psychological concerns among 189 Caribbean Black American and African American adolescents. Findings showed that for all participants, less mature racial identity profiles were significantly related to perceived discrimination and psychological concerns. However, nuances in racial identity profiles between Caribbean Black American and African American participants suggest subtle ethnic group differences in racial identity development. Implications for practitioners and research are discussed. Usando análisis cluster, este estudio exploró las relaciones entre identidad racial, discriminación percibida y preocupaciones psicológicas en 189 adolescentes afroamericanos y americanos negros caribeños. Los hallazgos mostraron que, para todos los participantes, los perfiles de identidad racial menos maduros estaban significativamente relacionados con una discriminación percibida y preocupaciones psicológicas. Sin embargo, los matices de los perfiles de identidad racial entre los participantes afroamericanos y americanos negros caribeños sugieren unas diferencias sutiles entre ambos grupos étnicos en el desarrollo de la identidad racial. Se discuten las implicaciones para practicantes e investigadores.     

Unique designs,errors and strategies in the Five-Point Test: The contribution of age,phonemic fluency and visuospatial abilities in Italian children aged 6–11 years

Performances on the Five-Point Test of 161 Italian children aged 6 to 11 years were investigated, along with phonemic fluency, visual-motor integration, visual perception, motor coordination, visuospatial memory, and fluid intelligence. Five-Point Test accuracy was significantly related to phonemic fluency and visual-motor integration, while phonemic fluency was linked to motor coordination. The two fluency measures increased linearly with age, but the developmental progression of Five-Point Test accuracy was less influenced by age. Different age effects were also found on the relationship between fluid intelligence and the two fluency measures. The inspection of qualitative aspects of Five-Point Test performance (errors and strategies) suggested that strategy usage enhanced both productivity and accuracy in children; age-related changes were observed in the relationship between the number of errors and the total number of designs produced.     

The Ladder of Rationality

This paper is a review and critical discussion of John Broome’s Rationality Through Reasoning. In particular, it engages critically with (i) Broome’s view on the independence of normative reasons and rationality, (ii) his construal of the capacity, property, and requirement senses of “rationality”, and (iii) his account of reasoning as a conscious, rule-following operation on mental contents.     

Software for recording observational files

We offer the new software Codex, written in Visual Basic 3.0. It is a tool adequate in observational methodology. Its fundamental objective is to record motor and verbal behavior using the data types proposed by Bakeman and Quera (1995, 1996), together with the field formats proposed by Hall (1963), Weick (1968), Hutt and Hutt (1974), and Anguera (1979). It is designed to allow for data interchange between specific programs in use in observational methodology (SDIS-GSEQ, The Observer, and Theme) and other general programs (spread sheets, statistics applications, word processing programs, sound cards, etc.).