A shortened version of Raven’s standard progressive matrices for children and adolescents

Numerous developmental studies assess general cognitive ability, not as the primary variable of interest, but rather as a background variable. Raven’s Progressive Matrices is an easy to administer non-verbal test that is widely used to measure general cognitive ability. However, the relatively long administration time (up to 45 min) is still a drawback for developmental studies as it often leaves little time to assess the primary variable of interest. Therefore, we used a machine learning approach – regularized regression in combination with cross-validation – to develop a short 15-item version. We did so for two age groups, namely 9 to 12 years and 13 to 16 years. The short versions predicted the scores on the standard full 60-item versions to a very high degree r = 0.89 (9–12 years) and r = 0.93 (13–16 years). We, therefore, recommend using the short version to measure general cognitive ability as a background variable in developmental studies.     

Matrices with a given number of violations of Regular Minimality

A row (or column) of an n×n matrix complies with Regular Minimality (RM) if it has a unique minimum entry which is also a unique minimum entry in its column (respectively, row). The number of violations of RM in a matrix is defined as the number of rows (equivalently, columns) that do not comply with RM. We derive a formula for the proportion of n×n matrices with a given number of violations of RM among all n×n matrices with no tied entries. The proportion of matrices with no more than a given number of violations can be treated as the p-value of a permutation test whose null hypothesis states that all permutations of the entries of a matrix without ties are equiprobable, and the alternative hypothesis states that RM violations occur with lower probability than predicted by the null hypothesis. A matrix with ties is treated as being represented by all matrices without ties that have the same set of strict inequalities among their entries.     

The model of a simple self-reproducing system

The model of a simple self-reproducing system has been investigated. The current model has been developed in the framework of syser systems. The term syser is the abbreviation of the words “SYstem of SElf-Reproduction”. The syser model can be considered as a reasonable model of the prebiological macromolecular self-reproducing systems. The syser includes a polynucleotide matrix, a replication enzyme, a translation enzyme, and other enzymes and protein. Earlier, we studied the model of sysers with a large number of macromolecules. However, a large number of macromolecules is a certain disadvantage of models of prebiological systems. In order to overcome this disadvantage, a new syser model with a small number of macromolecules has been constructed and investigated in the present work. The macromolecules of the syser are located inside the protocell. Additionally, we consider special macromolecules that provide sysers with energy. There is a mechanism for duplication of protocells. We consider the evolution of the population of sysers. The dynamics of macromolecules in protocells and evolution of sysers populations have been analyzed by means of computer simulation. It was shown that during the evolution of the sysers population, the comparative number and rate of synthesis of macromolecules, which provide protocells with energy, could be increased. The decrease of the synthesis rate of polynucleotide matrices is also possible.     

整字和部件的语义关系对汉字认知的影响

等级汉字是指由小汉字组成的大汉字。依据Navon的复合刺激范式,实验1选取“生物和非生物范畴”的汉字构建等级汉字,探索语义范畴是否一致对刺激认知的影响。实验2选取“意义相反或无关”的汉字组成等级汉字,采用真假字判断任务探索语义关系对刺激加工的影响。实验结果发现,等级汉字加工受大小汉字语义范畴关系和语义关系的影响,同时,任务类型影响汉字认知。