Statistical Learning Is Not Affected by a Prior Bout of Physical Exercise

This study examined the effect of a prior bout of exercise on implicit cognition. Specifically, we examined whether a prior bout of moderate intensity exercise affected performance on a statistical learning task in healthy adults. A total of 42 participants were allocated to one of three conditions—a control group, a group that exercised for 15 min prior to the statistical learning task, and a group that exercised for 30 min prior to the statistical learning task. The participants in the exercise groups cycled at 60% of their respective O₂max. Each group demonstrated significant statistical learning, with similar levels of learning among the three groups. Contrary to previous research that has shown that a prior bout of exercise can affect performance on explicit cognitive tasks, the results of the current study suggest that the physiological stress induced by moderate‐intensity exercise does not affect implicit cognition as measured by statistical learning.     

Executive and attentional contributions to Theory of Mind deficit in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children has been associated with attentional and executive problems, but also with socioemotional difficulties possibly associated with deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM). Socioemotional problems in ADHD are associated with more negative prognoses, notably interpersonal, educational problems, and an increased risk of developing other psychiatric disorders that emphasize the need to clarify the nature of their ToM deficits. In this study, we hypothesized that ToM dysfunction in children with ADHD is largely attributable to their attentional and/or executive deficits. Thirty-one children with ADHD (8–12 years, IQ > 85) and 31 typically developing (TD) children were assessed using executive functions (inhibition, planning, and flexibility) and attentional tasks, as well as two advanced ToM tasks (Reading the Mind in the Eyes and Faux Pas) involving different levels of executive control. Children with ADHD performed more poorly than TD children in attentional, executive function, and ToM tasks. Linear regression analyses conducted in the ADHD group indicated that inhibition scores predicted performance on the “Faux Pas” task the best, while attention scores were the best for predicting performance on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task. When controlled for inhibition and attentional variables, ToM performance in children with ADHD was actually similar to TD children. Contrarily, controlling for ToM scores did not normalize performance for inhibition and attentional tasks in children with ADHD. This unidirectional relationship suggests that deficits in the EF and attentional domains are responsible for ToM deficits in ADHD, which therefore may contribute to their socioemotional difficulties.     

Dynamic testing of learning potential in adults with cognitive impairments: A systematic review of methodology and predictive value

Dynamic testing includes procedures that examine the effects of brief training on test performance where pre‐ to post‐training change reflects patients’ learning potential. The objective of this systematic review was to provide clinicians and researchers insight into the concept and methodology of dynamic testing and to explore its predictive validity in adult patients with cognitive impairments. The following electronic databases were searched: PubMed, PsychINFO, and Embase/Medline. Of 1141 potentially relevant articles, 24 studies met the inclusion criteria. The mean methodological quality score was 4.6 of 8. Eleven different dynamic tests were used. The majority of studies used dynamic versions of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The training mostly consisted of a combination of performance feedback, reinforcement, expanded instruction, or strategy training. Learning potential was quantified using numerical (post‐test score, difference score, gain score, regression residuals) and categorical (groups) indices. In five of six longitudinal studies, learning potential significantly predicted rehabilitation outcome. Three of four studies supported the added value of dynamic testing over conventional testing in predicting rehabilitation outcome. This review provides preliminary support that dynamic tests can provide a valuable addition to conventional tests to assess patients’ abilities. Although promising, there was a large variability in methods used for dynamic testing and, therefore, it remains unclear which dynamic testing methods are most appropriate for patients with cognitive impairments. More research is warranted to further evaluate and refine dynamic testing methodology and to further elucidate its predictive validity concerning rehabilitation outcomes relative to other cognitive and functional status indices.     

认知需求对个体信息加工倾向性的影响

认知需求指"个体参与和享受思考的倾向"。作为一种认知动机,研究者认为其影响了个体信息加工的倾向性。对国外近30年来的相关研究进行回顾,结果显示认知需求主要在努力程度、自主性和结果及其应用范围这三方面影响了个体的信息加工。最后,展望了认知需求的研究趋势,并从认知需求的测量、无关变量的控制、影响的长期性和稳定性,以及情感因素负荷四方面探讨了现有相关研究的不足。     

Are the aesthetic preferences towards snake species already formed in pre-school aged children?

This study explores aesthetic preferences towards boa and python species among pre-school children and adults, and compares the ratings between the two groups. A set of snake photographs was presented (56 species) to children and adult respondents. The respondents were asked to select the five most preferred and five least preferred species. The children’s agreement on which species were ‘beautiful’ and which were ‘ugly’ was statistically significant and a positive relationship between the mean ranks provided by children and adults was also found (r = .54, P < .001). Children preferred species with thick necks and inconspicuous heads, usually small species, harmless to children. Large pythons probably posed more danger to children than they did to adults during human evolution in African savannas and therefore we hypothesize that young children’s aesthetic preferences were shaped by natural selection through interactions with dangerous snakes.     

Re-conceptualizing Self,Speaker, and Body: Applying an Enactive and Conversation Analytic Approach to Selfhood and Cognition

In this article I review significant contributions to the subfield of Embodied Cognition that formulate an inclusive account of the body's role in cognitive processes. I argue that a reconceptualization of the mind–body problem must take into account some notion of the self as a nonlocalized, transient phenomenon that emerges through day-to-day interaction. Drawing on literature from epistemology, phenomenology, and Conversation Analysis, I aim to revise contributions that rely on essentialized notions of the self and speaker, in terms of an enactive and Conversation Analytic approach to selfhood and cognition.     

Les aspects pragmatiques de la communication chez les primates

Pragmatics is about how individuals use their inventory of semiotic devices, the strategic choices they make, in particular acts of communication. An interesting question is the degree to which other animal species, especially our nearest primate relatives, employ pragmatic strategies in their vocal and gestural communication. Based on a review of the evidence, it is concluded in this essay that primate communication displays almost none of the pragmatic dimensions that characterize human linguistic communication. The most fundamental reason is that nonhuman animal communication does not really take place on the mental or intersubjective plane at all. It is directed at the behavior and emotional states of others, not at their attentional or mental states.     

Role models in career development: New directions for theory and research

Career theory proposes the importance of role models as helping to guide individual development. Furthermore, the media often depict role models as essential to career success. However, research on role models as a construct distinct from developmental relationships with mentors and behavioral models has waned. This article makes the case for reinvigorating the role model construct. A revised definition is provided, depicting role models as cognitive constructions based on an individual’s needs, wants, and ambitions. Drawing on recent advances in social comparison and self-concept theories, a dimensional approach to role models integrates current theory and research, suggesting that role models should be construed along two cognitive dimensions (positive/negative, global/specific), and two structural dimensions (close/distant, up/across-down). The article concludes by suggesting new research directions prompted by this new view of the role model construct.