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A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology, University of Regina. 20 p. In the past, monitoring for human and non-human animals was crucial for survival. Accordingly, despite limited competitive engagement with animals today, the Animate Monitoring Hypothesis (AMH) purports that cognitive adaptations evolved to direct quicker and more accurate attention towards animate beings as opposed to inanimates. Minimal information regarding this phenomenon in children drives a need for further insights, especially in the context of motion as an alternative mechanism for this bias. As such, in the present study I aimed to measure the extent to which recall of an action sequence is impacted by differences in animacy and degree of motion for children 4- to 5.5-years-old. Using a deferred imitation task children (N = 50) were told that an object was either a mobile animate, an incapacitated animate, or a mobile robot. This object was then used in an action sequence which children observed and then replicated themselves. In line with predictions, recall in the animate conditions was superior to the robot condition, providing support for the AMH, but recall was only significantly higher in the mobile animate condition. Thus, there is a need for future research to further delineate the role of motion and animacy in memory. Student no

The current study investigates the emergence of value-based remembering (i.e., the ability to prioritize remembering information based on value) in children ages 3.5-5. We will examine whether value-based remembering emerges and develops within this age range, and underlying factors that contribute to this skill (e.g., encoding strategies, executive function).

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology, University of Regina. 49 p. A pattern of reduced accuracy in children’s lineup decisions has been a consistent issue in developmental eyewitness literature. Apart from a handful of studies (e.g., Price et al., 2020), explorations into children’s looking behaviours have been overlooked. Identifying looking behaviours in child eyewitnesses may help researchers to understand why mistakes are occurring. The present study examined the connection between Looking Behaviours of Fixation Frequency (i.e., number of looks) and Fixation Time (i.e., duration of looks) and lineup decision accuracy in children. Child participants (N = 123, 6- to 12-years-old, Mage = 9.26, SD = 1.59, 42% male) viewed a 90-second video containing one male and one female target. Children were then asked to identify two targets from either target-present (containing the target face) or target-absent (target face was absent) simultaneous lineups. Looking Behaviour data were measured during encoding (i.e., while children watched the video) and retrieval (i.e., while children viewed the lineups) using tobii eyetracking software. No significant relationship was found for the number of looks or the duration of looks during encoding. During the retrieval portion of the study, significant relationships were found for both the number of looks and the duration of looks and lineup decision accuracy. As the number and duration of looks increased, so did children’s lineup decision accuracy for target-present lineups only. However, for target-absent conditions, the reverse effect, or a decrease in accuracy, was observed. The findings suggest that looking behaviours may be indicative of accuracy in child eyewitnesses and should be expanded upon in future literature. Student no

Children are able to recall a past event by the age of three (Bauer, 2007). The ability to recall past events is influenced by many factors, such as parent-child memory conversations (Fivush & Fromhoff, 1988; Fivush, Haden & Reese, 2006) and children's development of language (Simcock & Hayne, 2002, 2003). Another factor that contributes to children's memory skills is their conversations with their parents about past events. Conversational skills are developed over a period of time and through a variety of sources. Children learn how to communicate from their parents, a skill which develops sometime between the ages of three to five (Fivush, 2007). The style of conversation the parent uses plays a large role in not only how their children communicate, but also in how their personality develops (Buckner & Fivush; 1998). Parent-child memory conversations shape the way children recall and actually help to "teach" children how to remember (Fivush & Fromhoff, 1988).

The purpose of the present study was to compare the predictive power of working memory and IQ in children identified as having learning difficulties. The term “working memory” refers to the capacity to store and manipulate information in mind for brief periods of time. Working-memory capacity is strongly related to learning abilities and academic progress, predicting current and subsequent scholastic attainment of children across the school years in both literacy and numeracy. Children aged between 7 and 11 years were tested at Time 1 on measures of working memory, IQ, and learning. They were then retested 2 years later on the learning measures. The findings indicated that working-memory capacity and domain-specific knowledge at Time 1, but not IQ, were significant predictors of learning at Time 2. The implications for screening and intervention are discussed.

This study investigates whether working memory skills of children are related to teacher ratings of their progress towards learning goals at the time of school entry, at 4 or 5 years of age. A sample of 194 children was tested on measures of working memory, phonological awareness, and non-verbal ability, in addition to the school-based baseline assessments in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, speaking and listening, and personal and social development. Various aspects of cognitive functioning formed unique associations with baseline assessments; for example complex memory span with rated writing skills, phonological short-term memory with both reading and speaking and listening skills, and sentence repetition scores with both mathematics and personal and social skills. Rated reading skills were also uniquely associated with phonological awareness scores. The findings indicate that the capacity to store and process material over short periods of time, referred to as working memory, and also the awareness of phonological structure, may play a crucial role in key learning areas for children at the beginning of formal education.

M.A. (Psychology) Please refer to full text to view abstract

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:28:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-08-23Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:58:54Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ribeiro_fs_me_bauru.pdf: 1806321 bytes, checksum: 50d8f54fee8c25aee0afa0060eda13c9 (MD5) Há evidências de que o treino musical é subsidiado pela capacidade da memória operacional e envolve conceitos matemáticos. Entretanto não se tem muito conhecimento sobre a relação entre as habilidades matemáticas e a memória operacional durante o desenvolvimento das habilidades musicais em crianças com discalculia do desenvolvimento. Foram realizados dois estudos: Estudo pré-treino: O objetivo foi investigar o perfil de prejuízos das crianças com discalculia do desenvolvimento típico (DT) na capacidade intelectual, desempenho escolar, funções executivas, memória operacional, cognição numérica e comportamento emocional. Foram avaliadas 58 crianças de 8 anos etários: grupo DD (N=28) e DT (n=30). Por meio de testes cognitivos e escalas de comportamento. Os resultados demonstraram que o grupo DD apresentou piores resultados no subteste aritmética do TDE e seu total, assim, como em 11 subtestes e no total da Zareki-R em comparação com o grupo DT, em contraste com os dados normativos as crianças com DD apresentaram resultados abaixo do esperado para faixa etária nos subtestes Contagem Oral em Ordem inversa, Estimativa Contextual, Cálculo Mental e no Total da Zareki-R em comparação com o grupo DT, em contraste com os dados normativos as crainças com DD apresentaram resultados abaixo do esperado para faixa etária nos subtestes Contagem Oral em Ordem inversa, Estimativa Contextual Mental e no Total da Zareki-R. Crianças com DD apresentaram déficits específicos no processamento numérico e cálculo, resultado compatível com diagnóstico. Além disso, as crianças com DD possuíam reconhecimento sobre sua dificuldade, sendo assim, os sinais de incompetência podem levar a uma visão exacerbada de suas dificuldades, portanto, é necessário um diagnóstico especializado para um tratamento adequado. Estudo pós-treino:... There are evidences that musical training is subsidized by the capacity of working memory and involves mathematical concepts. However do not have much knowledge about the relationship between working memory and mathematical skills during the development of musical abilities in children with developmental dyscalculia. Two studies were conducted. Pre-training study: The objective was to asses the damage profile of children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) compared to children with typical development (DT) in intellectual ability, school performance, executive function, working memory, numerical cognition and emotional behavior. The study included 58 children, age of 8 years, divided into two groups, DD group (N=28) and DT (N=30). Children were evaluated by cognitive taks and behavior scales. The results showed that the DD group the worst results in arithmetic subtest and TDE total, as well as 11 subtests and total Zareki-R, compared with DT, in constrast to normative data, the results were lower than expected for the age, in subtests Oral Count in reverse Order, Contextual Estimation, Mental Calculation and Total Zareki-R DD children showed specific deficits in number processing and calculation, compatible with dvscalculia. In addition, children with DD have recognition of their difficulty, so the signs of inadequacy can lead to a heightened view of the difficulties, thus requires a specialized diagnosis for adequate treatment. Post-training study: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of two techniques of musical training on the ability of intelligence, shool performance, executive functions, working memory, numerical cognition and emotional behavior, through pre and post musical training in children DD and DT. The study included 53 children, divided into four groups according to the order of the musical training received: Typical... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Περιέχει βιβλιογραφία (σ. 173-183). Αριθμός δεδηλωμένων πηγών στη βιβλιογραφία: 144 Διατριβή (Διδακτορική) -- Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου, Σχολή Κοινωνικών Επιστημών και Επιστημών Αγωγής, Τμήμα Ψυχολογίας, 2013. Η βιβλιοθήκη διαθέτει αντίτυπο της διατριβής σε έντυπη μορφή. Στην έρευνα των γνωστικών συμμεταβλητών της νοημοσύνης γίνονται προσπάθειες για τον προσδιορισμό των γνωστικών διαδικασιών που προβλέπουν την επίδοση στα ψυχομετρικά τεστ ευφυΐας. Το θέμα που αφορά στο ποιες γνωστικές λειτουργίες είναι σημαντικές για την ευφυΐα απασχολεί την τρέχουσα βιβλιογραφία στο χώρο. Γνωστικές λειτουργίες όπως η εργαζόμενη μνήμη, η ταχύτητα επεξεργασίας και ο έλεγχος επεξεργασίας (προσοχή) έχουν προταθεί ως σχετικές σ’ αυτή την έρευνα τόσο στους ενήλικες όσο και στα παιδιά. Η σχέση που υπάρχει ανάμεσα σ’ αυτές τις προβλεπτικές παραμέτρους απαιτεί τη συμπερίληψη όλων των προβλεπτικών παραμέτρων στην ίδια έρευνα, προκειμένου να εκτιμηθεί η συνεισφορά της καθεμιάς στην ευφυΐα, όταν ελέγχονται οι άλλες δύο. Παρόλο που το θέμα των γνωστικών βάσεων της ευφυΐας θα έπρεπε να αποτελεί πηγή ιδιαίτερου ενδιαφέροντος σε αναπτυξιακό επίπεδο, η έρευνα στα παιδιά είναι περιορισμένη. Η παρούσα έρευνα εξέτασε τις σχέσεις που έχουν η γενική, η ρέουσα και η αποκρυσταλλωμένη ευφυΐα με τρεις γνωστικές λειτουργίες – την ταχύτητα επεξεργασίας, τον έλεγχο επεξεργασίας και την εργαζόμενη μνήμη – σε δείγμα 158 παιδιών και εφήβων ηλικίας από 7 μέχρι 18 χρόνων. Για κάθε γνωστική λειτουργία λήφθηκαν ποικίλες μετρήσεις. Η νοημοσύνη μετρήθηκε με τη Συντομευμένη Κλίμακα Νοημοσύνης Wechsler. Η τεχνική των Μοντέλων Δομικών Εξισώσεων (ΜΔΕ) επιλέχθηκε για τον προσδιορισμό του ποια γνωστική λειτουργία συνιστά την καλύτερη προβλεπτική παράμετρο της ευφυΐας. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι μόνο η εργαζόμενη μνήμη προέβλεπε τη γενική, τη ρέουσα και την αποκρυσταλλωμένη ευφυΐα. Ούτε η ταχύτητα ούτε ο έλεγχος επεξεργασίας (προσοχή) προέβλεπαν σημαντικά την ευφυΐα. Η εργαζόμενη μνήμη εξηγούσε τόσο τις αναπτυξιακές όσο και τις ατομικές διαφορές στη ρέουσα και την αποκρυσταλλωμένη ευφυΐα. Οι πολυμεταβλητές αναλύσεις διακύμανσης έδειξαν ότι η επίδοση στα έργα ταχύτητας, ελέγχου, εργαζόμενης μνήμης και ευφυΐας βελτιώνεται με την ηλικία. Τα αποτελέσματα των ΜΔΕ υποστήριξαν την υπόθεση που τέθηκε, επιβεβαιώνοντας την ύπαρξη μίας γνωστικής αναπτυξιακής διαδοχής, στην οποία με την πρόοδο της ηλικίας η ταχύτητα επεξεργασίας αυξάνεται, οδηγώντας σε βελτιώσεις στον έλεγχο επεξεργασίας, οι οποίες οδηγούν σε βελτιώσεις στην εργαζόμενη μνήμη, οι οποίες στη συνέχεια οδηγούν σε αυξήσεις στη νοημοσύνη. Τα ευρήματα υποστηρίζουν την ύπαρξη μιας αιτιώδους αλυσίδας όπου η εργαζόμενη μνήμη επηρεάζει τις αναπτυξιακές αλλαγές στην ευφυΐα άμεσα, ενώ η ταχύτητα και ο έλεγχος επεξεργασίας τις επηρεάζουν έμμεσα. In cognitive correlates research on intelligence, one attempts to identify the cognitive processes that predict psychometric test scores. The issue of which specific cognitive functions are essential to intelligence is currently challenging the intelligence literature. Cognitive functions such as working memory, speed of processing and control of processing (attention) have been suggested as being relevant in this research on both adults and children. The relationship among these predictors requires the inclusion of all the predictors in the same study in order to evaluate their individual contributions to intelligence, when controlling for the other two cognitive functions. Although the issue of specific cognitive underpinnings of intelligence should be of particular interest in the developmental context, research on children is limited. The present study examined the relationships of general, fluid and crystallized intelligence to three cognitive functions – speed of processing, control of processing and working memory – in 158 7- to 18-year-old children and adolescents. Multiple measures of each of these cognitive functions were obtained. Intelligence was assessed using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). Structural equation modeling was performed to determine which cognitive function served as the best predictor of intelligence. The results showed that only working memory predicted general, fluid and crystallized intelligence when controlling for the other two cognitive functions. Neither processing speed nor control of processing (attention) significantly predicted intelligence. Working memory accounted for both developmental differences and individual differences in fluid and crystallized intelligence. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that performance on the tasks of processing speed, control of processing, working memory and intelligence improved with age. The results of structural equation modeling supported hypothesis, confirming a cognitive developmental cascade, in which increasing chronological age is accompanied by faster processing speed, which leads to improvements in control of processing that lead to improvements in working memory, and improved working memory, in turn, leads to increases in both fluid and crystallized intelligence. The findings provided evidence for a causal chain in which working memory affects developmental change in fluid and crystallized intelligence directly and processing speed and control of processing do so indirectly.

Περιέχει βιβλιογραφία (σ. 425-456). Αριθμός δεδηλωμένων πηγών στη βιβλιογραφία: 369 Διατριβή (Διδακτορική) -- Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου, Σχολή Κοινωνικών Επιστημών και Επιστημών Αγωγής, Τμήμα Επιστημών της Αγωγής, 2013. Η βιβλιοθήκη διαθέτει αντίτυπο της διατριβής σε έντυπη μορφή. Η διατριβή αποσκοπούσε να μελετήσει τον τρόπο που ένα “ενιαίο γνωστικό σύστημα” συντονίζεται και μετασχηματίζεται κατά τη διάρκεια της επιστημονικής διερεύνησης. Για το σκοπό αυτό, μαθητές Στ΄ τάξης δημοτικού σχολείου εργάστηκαν είτε σε δυάδες (διερεύνηση σε δυάδες), είτε ατομικά (ατομική διερεύνηση), επιδιώκοντας να διερευνήσουν τη λειτουργία μιας άγνωστης συσκευής. Για την επιλογή του τελικού δείγματος της έρευνας, χορηγήθηκε το δοκίμιο των “Σταθερών Μήτρων” του Raven σε 530 μαθητές της Στ΄ τάξης δημοτικού σχολείου, για τη μέτρηση της γενικής γνωστικής ικανότητάς (ΓΓΙ) τους. Με κριτήριο την ΓΓΙ, επιλέγηκε ένα μικρότερο δείγμα που αποτελείτο από 180 μαθητές. Με βάση το δείγμα αυτό, σχηματίστηκαν 60 δυάδες μαθητών τριών διαφορετικών τύπων (20 δυάδες με μαθητές υψηλής ΓΓΙ (YY), 20 δυάδες με μαθητές χαμηλής ΓΓΙ (XX) και 20 δυάδες με ένα μαθητή με υψηλή και ένα μαθητή με χαμηλή ΓΓΙ (YX)), ενώ οι υπόλοιποι 60 μαθητές (20 μαθητές με υψηλή ΓΓΙ, 20 μαθητές με μέτρια ΓΓΙ και 20 μαθητές με χαμηλή ΓΓΙ) εργάστηκαν ατομικά. Για τη συλλογή των δεδομένων διεξήχθησαν ατομικές ή “κατά δυάδα” διερευνήσεις με τη βοήθεια μιας πειραματικής συσκευής, που αποτελείτο από 8 λαμπτήρες και 5 διακόπτες οι οποίοι ήταν συνδεδεμένοι σε “κρυμμένο” κύκλωμα στο εσωτερικό της συσκευής. Έγινε ανάλυση των πρωτοκόλλων των ατομικών και των “κατά δυάδα” διερευνήσεων με τη Σταθερή Συγκριτική Μέθοδο ανάλυσης. Τα ποιοτικά αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι ο βαθμός συνεργασίας που αναπτύχθηκε ανάμεσα στα υποκείμενα κάθε δυάδας ήταν πολύ μικρός. Προέκυψε, ακόμη, ότι η κάθε “κατά δυάδα” διερεύνηση μπορούσε να διαχωριστεί σε τέσσερα διακριτά στάδια. Βασικό κριτήριο διαχωρισμού ήταν ο βαθμός συνεργασίας που αναπτύχθηκε ανάμεσα στα μέλη κάθε δυάδας. Επιπρόσθετα, διαπιστώθηκε ότι οι μαθητές, ανεξάρτητα αν εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες ή ατομικά, αντιμετώπισαν αρκετές δυσκολίες όσον αφορά τη δεξιότητα του ελέγχου των μεταβλητών, τη δεξιότητα συντονισμού υποθέσεων και πειραματικών δεδομένων, την ανάπτυξη της συνδυαστικής σκέψης, την αξιοποίηση των καταγραμμένων πειραματικών δεδομένων, ενώ δεν αντιλήφθηκαν τη χρησιμότητα του συστήματος εξωτερικής μνήμης. Tα ποσοτικά αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι οι μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες (ΥΥ) είχαν στατιστικά καλύτερες επιδόσεις από τους μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες (ΥΧ) και (ΧΧ), αντίστοιχα, ενώ οι μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες (ΥΧ) είχαν στατιστικά καλύτερες επιδόσεις από τους μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες (ΧΧ). Προέκυψε ακόμη ότι οι μαθητές με υψηλή ΓΓΙ είχαν στατιστικά καλύτερες επιδόσεις από τους μαθητές με μέτρια και χαμηλή ΓΓΙ, αντίστοιχα. Επιπρόσθετα, προέκυψε ότι οι μαθητές με μέτρια ΓΓΙ είχαν στατιστικά καλύτερες επιδόσεις από τους μαθητές με χαμηλή ΓΓΙ. Μια άλλη διαπίστωση της έρευνας ήταν ότι η μη ανάπτυξη συνεργασίας ανάμεσα στους μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες, είχε ως αποτέλεσμα οι επιδόσεις τους να μη διαφέρουν μεταξύ των δυάδων (ΥΥ) και των μαθητών με υψηλή ΓΓΙ που εργάστηκαν ατομικά, των δυάδων (ΥΧ) και των μαθητών με μέτρια ΓΓΙ που εργάστηκαν ατομικά και των δυάδων (ΧΧ) και των μαθητών με χαμηλή ΓΓΙ που εργάστηκαν ατομικά, αντίστοιχα. Με βάση τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας, αναλύονται οι εκπαιδευτικές προεκτάσεις της έρευνας και γίνονται συγκεκριμένες εισηγήσεις για το σχεδιασμό αποτελεσματικότερων ενιαίων γνωστικών συστημάτων. The study investigated how a "joint cognitive system" coordinated and transformed during the scientific investigation. For this purpose, sixth-grade students worked either in dyads (dyadic investigation), or individually (individual investigation), sought to explore the function of an unknown device. For the selection of the final sample of the study, Raven’s Progressive Matrices were administered to 530 sixth-grade students, as a way of measuring their general cognitive ability (GCA). Based on students’ GCA, a smaller sample of 180 students was selected. These students were assigned in 60 dyads, where 20 dyads consisted of students who had high GCA (HH), 20 other dyads consisted of students who had low GCA (LL), and the remaining 20 dyads consisted of one student having high and another student having low GCA (HL). The remaining 60 students (20 students having high GCA, 20 students having intermediate GCA and 20 students having low GCA) worked individually with the device. Data was collected with individual or dyadic investigations conducted with an unknown device. This device consisted of eight light bulbs and five switches in another line underneath. The light bulbs and the switches were connected with a battery in a hidden circuit inside the box, in a way that only one or none of the lamps could light on. The interview data was transcribed and analyzed using the Constant Comparative analysis method. The qualitative analysis of the data indicated that the degree of collaboration in each dyad was very small. Based on the degree of collaboration, each dyadic investigation could be divided in four discrete stages. Additionally, the results showed that students, working either in pairs or individually, faced several difficulties in terms of the control-of-variables strategy, the development of combinatorial reasoning, the ability to co-ordinate their hypotheses with the collected evidence, and they did not take full advantage of their recorded data, since, in many cases, they did not realize the usefulness of using an external memory system. The results of the quantitative analyses indicated that students assigned to HH dyads significally outperformed students assigned to the LH and the LL dyads, and students assigned to the HL dyads significantly outperformed students assigned to the LL dyads. The results also revealed that students with high GCA performed significantly better than the students with intermediate and low GCA, and students with intermediate GCA performed significantly better than students with low GCA, respectively. The lack of collaboration between students working in dyads justifies why the "Investigation37T Ability37T" did not significantly differ between HH dyads and students with high GCA who worked individually, or between HL dyads and students with intermediate GCA who worked individually and LL dyads and students with low GCA who also worked individually, respectively. Educational implications of the results of the study are clearly discussed and concrete suggestions for assigning students to groups and the design of optimal joint cognitive systems are also provided.

Περιέχει βιβλιογραφία (σ. 425-456). Αριθμός δεδηλωμένων πηγών στη βιβλιογραφία: 369 Διατριβή (Διδακτορική) -- Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου, Σχολή Κοινωνικών Επιστημών και Επιστημών Αγωγής, Τμήμα Επιστημών της Αγωγής, 2013. Η βιβλιοθήκη διαθέτει αντίτυπο της διατριβής σε έντυπη μορφή. Η διατριβή αποσκοπούσε να μελετήσει τον τρόπο που ένα “ενιαίο γνωστικό σύστημα” συντονίζεται και μετασχηματίζεται κατά τη διάρκεια της επιστημονικής διερεύνησης. Για το σκοπό αυτό, μαθητές Στ΄ τάξης δημοτικού σχολείου εργάστηκαν είτε σε δυάδες (διερεύνηση σε δυάδες), είτε ατομικά (ατομική διερεύνηση), επιδιώκοντας να διερευνήσουν τη λειτουργία μιας άγνωστης συσκευής. Για την επιλογή του τελικού δείγματος της έρευνας, χορηγήθηκε το δοκίμιο των “Σταθερών Μήτρων” του Raven σε 530 μαθητές της Στ΄ τάξης δημοτικού σχολείου, για τη μέτρηση της γενικής γνωστικής ικανότητάς (ΓΓΙ) τους. Με κριτήριο την ΓΓΙ, επιλέγηκε ένα μικρότερο δείγμα που αποτελείτο από 180 μαθητές. Με βάση το δείγμα αυτό, σχηματίστηκαν 60 δυάδες μαθητών τριών διαφορετικών τύπων (20 δυάδες με μαθητές υψηλής ΓΓΙ (YY), 20 δυάδες με μαθητές χαμηλής ΓΓΙ (XX) και 20 δυάδες με ένα μαθητή με υψηλή και ένα μαθητή με χαμηλή ΓΓΙ (YX)), ενώ οι υπόλοιποι 60 μαθητές (20 μαθητές με υψηλή ΓΓΙ, 20 μαθητές με μέτρια ΓΓΙ και 20 μαθητές με χαμηλή ΓΓΙ) εργάστηκαν ατομικά. Για τη συλλογή των δεδομένων διεξήχθησαν ατομικές ή “κατά δυάδα” διερευνήσεις με τη βοήθεια μιας πειραματικής συσκευής, που αποτελείτο από 8 λαμπτήρες και 5 διακόπτες οι οποίοι ήταν συνδεδεμένοι σε “κρυμμένο” κύκλωμα στο εσωτερικό της συσκευής. Έγινε ανάλυση των πρωτοκόλλων των ατομικών και των “κατά δυάδα” διερευνήσεων με τη Σταθερή Συγκριτική Μέθοδο ανάλυσης. Τα ποιοτικά αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι ο βαθμός συνεργασίας που αναπτύχθηκε ανάμεσα στα υποκείμενα κάθε δυάδας ήταν πολύ μικρός. Προέκυψε, ακόμη, ότι η κάθε “κατά δυάδα” διερεύνηση μπορούσε να διαχωριστεί σε τέσσερα διακριτά στάδια. Βασικό κριτήριο διαχωρισμού ήταν ο βαθμός συνεργασίας που αναπτύχθηκε ανάμεσα στα μέλη κάθε δυάδας. Επιπρόσθετα, διαπιστώθηκε ότι οι μαθητές, ανεξάρτητα αν εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες ή ατομικά, αντιμετώπισαν αρκετές δυσκολίες όσον αφορά τη δεξιότητα του ελέγχου των μεταβλητών, τη δεξιότητα συντονισμού υποθέσεων και πειραματικών δεδομένων, την ανάπτυξη της συνδυαστικής σκέψης, την αξιοποίηση των καταγραμμένων πειραματικών δεδομένων, ενώ δεν αντιλήφθηκαν τη χρησιμότητα του συστήματος εξωτερικής μνήμης. Tα ποσοτικά αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι οι μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες (ΥΥ) είχαν στατιστικά καλύτερες επιδόσεις από τους μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες (ΥΧ) και (ΧΧ), αντίστοιχα, ενώ οι μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες (ΥΧ) είχαν στατιστικά καλύτερες επιδόσεις από τους μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες (ΧΧ). Προέκυψε ακόμη ότι οι μαθητές με υψηλή ΓΓΙ είχαν στατιστικά καλύτερες επιδόσεις από τους μαθητές με μέτρια και χαμηλή ΓΓΙ, αντίστοιχα. Επιπρόσθετα, προέκυψε ότι οι μαθητές με μέτρια ΓΓΙ είχαν στατιστικά καλύτερες επιδόσεις από τους μαθητές με χαμηλή ΓΓΙ. Μια άλλη διαπίστωση της έρευνας ήταν ότι η μη ανάπτυξη συνεργασίας ανάμεσα στους μαθητές που εργάστηκαν σε δυάδες, είχε ως αποτέλεσμα οι επιδόσεις τους να μη διαφέρουν μεταξύ των δυάδων (ΥΥ) και των μαθητών με υψηλή ΓΓΙ που εργάστηκαν ατομικά, των δυάδων (ΥΧ) και των μαθητών με μέτρια ΓΓΙ που εργάστηκαν ατομικά και των δυάδων (ΧΧ) και των μαθητών με χαμηλή ΓΓΙ που εργάστηκαν ατομικά, αντίστοιχα. Με βάση τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας, αναλύονται οι εκπαιδευτικές προεκτάσεις της έρευνας και γίνονται συγκεκριμένες εισηγήσεις για το σχεδιασμό αποτελεσματικότερων ενιαίων γνωστικών συστημάτων. The study investigated how a "joint cognitive system" coordinated and transformed during the scientific investigation. For this purpose, sixth-grade students worked either in dyads (dyadic investigation), or individually (individual investigation), sought to explore the function of an unknown device. For the selection of the final sample of the study, Raven’s Progressive Matrices were administered to 530 sixth-grade students, as a way of measuring their general cognitive ability (GCA). Based on students’ GCA, a smaller sample of 180 students was selected. These students were assigned in 60 dyads, where 20 dyads consisted of students who had high GCA (HH), 20 other dyads consisted of students who had low GCA (LL), and the remaining 20 dyads consisted of one student having high and another student having low GCA (HL). The remaining 60 students (20 students having high GCA, 20 students having intermediate GCA and 20 students having low GCA) worked individually with the device. Data was collected with individual or dyadic investigations conducted with an unknown device. This device consisted of eight light bulbs and five switches in another line underneath. The light bulbs and the switches were connected with a battery in a hidden circuit inside the box, in a way that only one or none of the lamps could light on. The interview data was transcribed and analyzed using the Constant Comparative analysis method. The qualitative analysis of the data indicated that the degree of collaboration in each dyad was very small. Based on the degree of collaboration, each dyadic investigation could be divided in four discrete stages. Additionally, the results showed that students, working either in pairs or individually, faced several difficulties in terms of the control-of-variables strategy, the development of combinatorial reasoning, the ability to co-ordinate their hypotheses with the collected evidence, and they did not take full advantage of their recorded data, since, in many cases, they did not realize the usefulness of using an external memory system. The results of the quantitative analyses indicated that students assigned to HH dyads significally outperformed students assigned to the LH and the LL dyads, and students assigned to the HL dyads significantly outperformed students assigned to the LL dyads. The results also revealed that students with high GCA performed significantly better than the students with intermediate and low GCA, and students with intermediate GCA performed significantly better than students with low GCA, respectively. The lack of collaboration between students working in dyads justifies why the "Investigation37T Ability37T" did not significantly differ between HH dyads and students with high GCA who worked individually, or between HL dyads and students with intermediate GCA who worked individually and LL dyads and students with low GCA who also worked individually, respectively. Educational implications of the results of the study are clearly discussed and concrete suggestions for assigning students to groups and the design of optimal joint cognitive systems are also provided.

Περιέχει βιβλιογραφία (σ. 185-206). Αριθμός δεδηλωμένων πηγών στη βιβλιογραφία: 260 Διατριβή (διδακτορική) -- Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου, Σχολή Κοινωνικών Επιστημών και Επιστημών Αγωγής, Τμήμα Ψυχολογίας, Ιούνιος 2009. Η βιβλιοθήκη διαθέτει αντίτυπο της διατριβής σε έντυπη μορφή. Αναπτύχθηκε και εφαρμόστηκε ένα ηλεκτρονικό Γνωστικό Θεραπευτικό Πρόγραμμα (ΓΘΠ) για την αντιμετώπιση της ΔΕΠ-Υ. Η ανάπτυξη του ΓΘΠ στηρίχθηκε στις τέσσερις εκτελεστικές λειτουργίες (αναστολή, προσοχή, εργαζόμενη μνήμη και προγραμματισμός), των οποίων η δυσλειτουργία συνδέεται καθοριστικά με τη ΔΕΠ-Υ και οι οποίες, αποτέλεσαν τις τέσσερις βασικές εξαρτημένες μεταβλητές της παρούσας έρευνας. Το θεωρητικό πλαίσιο δομήθηκε από τη λεπτομερή ανάλυση και σύνθεση των τριών διαφορετικών θεωρητικών μοντέλων για τη ΔΕΠ-Υ, των Quay (1988), Cowan (1995) και Barkley (1997). Η εφαρμογή του προγράμματος ήταν βραχύχρονη (25 ατομικές συναντήσεις των 40 λεπτών), στη βάση πρώιμης παρέμβασης σε παιδιά ηλικίας 6 και 7 χρονών. Το ΓΘΠ περιλάμβανε 14 διαφορετικές ηλεκτρονικές δραστηριότητες με διαφορετικά επίπεδα δυσκολίας και 15 περίπου ασκήσεις ανά επίπεδο, στοχεύοντας στη βελτίωση της αναστολής, της προσοχής, της εργαζόμενης μνήμης και του προγραμματισμού. Από ένα αρχικό δείγμα 797 παιδιών της Α΄ Δημοτικού, καταρτίστηκαν τέσσερις τελικές ομάδες με 15 παιδιά η καθεμιά, (ΔΕΠΥ-ΜΘ= έλαβαν θεραπεία), (ΔΕΠΥ-ΧΘ= δεν έλαβαν θεραπεία), (Τυπικά Αναπτυσσόμενα Παιδιά -ΤΑΠ-ΜΘ= έλαβαν θεραπεία), (ΤΑΠ-ΧΘ= δεν έλαβαν θεραπεία). Για τον έλεγχο της αποτελεσματικότητας του ΗΓΘΠ, οι τέσσερις ομάδες αξιολογήθηκαν τρεις φορές: (α) προ-πειραματική αξιολόγηση, (β) μετα-πειραματική και (γ) μεταμέτρηση, 6 μήνες μετά την εφαρμογή του προγράμματος. Τα στατιστικά αποτελέσματα (μέσω MANOVA-MANCOVA-Repeated Measures ANOVA), έδειξαν τη βραχυπρόθεσμη και μακροπρόθεσμη αποτελεσματικότητα του προγράμματος. Οι ομάδες ΔΕΠΥ-ΜΘ και ΤΑΠ-ΜΘ που συμμετείχαν στο ΗΓΘΠ σε σύγκριση με τις ομάδες που δε συμμετείχαν σε αυτό, βελτίωσαν σε επίπεδο στατιστικής σημαντικότητας τις δεξιότητές τους στην προσοχή, αναστολή, εργαζόμενη μνήμη, προγραμματισμό, καθώς και τη σχολική τους επίδοση. A Computerized Cognitive Remediation (CCP) was developed and applied in children exhibiting ADHD at 6 and 7 years of age. The CCP program was designed to include four aspects of executive functions (inhibition, attention, working memory, and planning), as all four components have been determinedly connected with the etiology of ADHD. The theoretical frame of the experiment was structured by a detailed analysis and composition of three different theoretical models that have been proposed as possible explanations for inattention and disinhibition, namely, Quay’s behavioral inhibition system (1988), Cowan’s attention and working memory model (1995) and Barkley’s hybrid model (1997). The program was short in duration and intensive in application (25 sessions, 40 minutes each), and its design relied extensively on recent findings from early intervention studies in learning disabilities. The CCP included 14 different computerized activities, each having a number of different levels of difficulty and an approximate number of 15 items per level, aiming to improve the inhibitory mechanisms, attention, working memory and the planning processes of children exhibiting attention deficits. The original group of this large scale study consisted of 797 Grade 1 children randomly chosen from public schools in Cyprus. From this sample, four groups were formed, each having 15 children that were equivalent on age, gender, and parental education: (a) ADHD-R= Remediated), (b) ADHD-NR=Non-Remediated, (c) TDC-TR= Typically Developing Children-Remediated, (d) TDC-NR= Non-Remediated. To test the effectiveness of CCP, the four groups were assessed three times: (a) at the second term of Grade 1 (pre-test assessment), (b) immediately after remediation (post-test assessment) and (c) in Grade 2 (follow-up assessment). MAN(C)OVA Repeated Measures analysis showed that the remediated groups improved significantly more than the non-remediated groups in almost all the dependent measures of the study as well as on school achievement (as measured in Language Arts and Math) at both post-test and follow-up assessments. Similarly, teacher ratings improved significantly for the ADHD remediated group compared to the non-remediated counterparts. Discussion focuses on the need for devising remedial schemes that will be both theoretically driven and cost-effective, leading, consequently, to substantial improvements in attention and executive functioning early interventions.

Background: Deficits in executive functions have been widely reported to characterise individuals with ADHD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of a range of executive function measures for identifying children with ADHD. Method: Eighty-three children with ADHD and 50 normally-developing children without ADHD were assessed on measures of inhibition, set-shifting, planning, problem-solving, response inhibition, sustained attention and working memory. Measures of sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios and diagnostic odds ratios were calculated. Results: Executive function tasks effectively discriminated between children with and without ADHD. Measures of response inhibition and working memory contributed the most to the discriminant function. Conclusions: Cognitive measures of executive function can be used to help identify children with ADHD and could be useful as additional diagnostic tools for clinical practitioners.

The aim of the present study was to directly compare working memory skills across students with different developmental disorders to investigate whether the uniqueness of their diagnosis would impact memory skills. The authors report findings confirming differential memory profiles on the basis of the following developmental disorders: Specific Language Impairment, Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Asperger syndrome (AS). Specifically, language impairments were associated with selective deficits in verbal short-term and working memory, whereas motor impairments (DCD) were associated with selective deficits in visuospatial short-term and working memory. Children with attention problems were impaired in working memory in both verbal and visuospatial domains, whereas the children with AS had deficits in verbal short-term memory but not in any other memory component. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of support for learning.

This study explored the cognitive and behavioral profiles of children with working memory impairments. In an initial screening of 3,189 5–11-year-olds, 308 were identified as having very low working memory scores. Cognitive skills (IQ, vocabulary, reading, and math), classroom behavior, and self-esteem were assessed. The majority of the children struggled in the learning measures and verbal ability. They also obtained atypically high ratings of cognitive problems ⁄ inattentive symptoms, and were judged to have short attention spans, high levels of distractibility, problems in monitoring the quality of their work, and difficulties in generating new solutions to problems. These data provide rich new information on the cognitive and behavioral profiles that characterize children with low working memory.

This study explored the structure of verbal and visuospatial short-term and working memory in children between ages 4 and 11 years. Multiple tasks measuring 4 different memory components were used to capture the cognitive processes underlying working memory. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the processing component of working memory tasks was supported by a common resource pool, while storage aspects depend on domain-specific verbal and visuospatial resources. This model is largely stable across this developmental period, although some evidence exists that the links between the domain-specific visuospatial construct and the domain-general processing construct were higher in the 4- to- 6-year age group. The data also suggest that all working memory components are in place by 4 years of age.

Working memory plays a key role in supporting children’s learning over the school years, and beyond this into adulthood. It is proposed here that working memory is crucially required to store information while other material is being mentally manipulated during the classroom learning activities that form the foundations for the acquisition of complex skills and knowledge. A child with a poor working memory capacity will struggle and often fail in such activities, disrupting and delaying learning. The aim of this review is to present the case that working memory makes a vital contribution to classroom learning. Following a brief introduction to working memory and its assessment, links between working memory skills and scholastic progress is reviewed and illustrated. Next, the classroom behaviour of children with very poor working memory functions, and in particular their characteristic failures in learning activities, is described. Finally, the implications of this research for classroom practice is considered; this includes an intervention programme designed to improve learning outcomes for children with poor working memory function that is based on the theoretical analysis of working memory and learning advanced here.

This study investigated associations between working memory (measured by complex memory tasks) and both reading and mathematics abilities, as well as the possible mediating factors of fluid intelligence, verbal abilities, short-term memory (STM), and phonological awareness, in a sample of 46 6- to 11-year-olds with reading disabilities. As a whole, the sample was characterized by deficits in complex memory and visuospatial STM and by low IQ scores; language, phonological STM, and phonological awareness abilities fell in the low average range. Severity of reading difficulties within the sample was significantly associated with complex memory, language, and phonological awareness abilities, whereas poor mathematics abilities were linked with complex memory, phonological STM, and phonological awareness scores. These findings suggest that working memory skills indexed by complex memory tasks represent an important constraint on the acquisition of skill and knowledge in reading and mathematics. Possible mechanisms for the contribution of working memory to learning, and the implications for educational practice, are considered.

The primary objective of this study was to investigate links between phonological memory and short-term sentence recall. Errors in immediate sentence recall were compared for children with relatively good and relatively poor phonological short-term memory skills,matched on general nonverbal ability. The results indicate marked differences in the overall accuracy of recall between the two groups,with the high phonological memory group making fewer errors in sentence recall. Although the frequency of the different types of errors (lexi¬cal substitutions and nonsubstitutions) differed significantly between the groups, the serial position profiles of sentence recall accuracy was similar. Both groups were also more likely to substitute target words with synonyms rather than un¬related words,a finding suggesting that mechanisms responsible for maintain¬ing semantic information may also play an important role in performance of sentence recall tasks.

This study investigates the distinctive working memory profiles of children with learning difficulties. A sample of 64 children aged 7 to 11 years with recognised special educational needs at varying stages participated in this study. They were tested on measures of the central executive, phonological loop and visuospatial skills. The children in all three special needs subgroups performed below the expected attainment levels for their age in central executive and visuo-spatial tasks, but not in measures of the phonological loop. Very low levels of working memory performance were many times more common in the special needs sample than in a large sample of children without special educational needs. Deficits in working memory performance were more marked in children with statements of special needs than those at earlier stages of recognition of the need for educational support, particularly in measures of the central executive. These children struggle to meet the demands of complex tasks that require them to process, maintain, and store information simultaneously. It is suggested that this difficulty may underpin their failures to make normal educational progress.

The aim of this study was to investigate the functional organisation of working memory and related cognitive abilities in young children. A sample of 633 children aged between 4 and 6 years were tested on measures of verbal short-term memory, complex memory span, sentence repetition, phonological awareness, and nonverbal ability. The measurement model that provided the best fit of the data incorporates constructs that correspond to the central executive, phonological loop, and episodic buffer subcomponents of working memory, plus distinct but associated constructs associated with phonological awareness and nonverbal ability.

The unconscious was first studied in the 1600s, repression in the 1700s; and the therapeutic approach involving the recovery of repressed memories was introduced in the mid-1800s. Nevertheless, Freud is often credited with these discoveries. However, the contemporary definition of repression is markedly narrower than the one that Freud usually used, and its use has recently prompted a great deal of contentious debate regarding whether people have repressed, dissociated, suppressed, or simply forgotten memories of childhood sexual abuse, and some evidence suggests that it is possible to develop false memories of childhood sexual abuse. Recent research has also found that similar proportions of those with sexual or physical or emotional abuse histories report recovered memories of abuse. In addition, the majority of those within several college student samples have reported recovering memories of childhood events, suggesting that it may be normative to recover childhood memories. While the phenomenon of recovered childhood memory may be common, the mechanisms responsible for these memories are not well understood This study (N = 67 nonclinical participants with and without reported abuse histories) investigated the nature and characteristics of individuals' recovered childhood memories through the use of semi-structured interviews. It was found that nine different memory mechanisms (conscious and unconscious) appeared to be responsible for the recovered childhood memories that the participants reported. A history of abuse was not found to be related to quality of childhood memory, nor was recovering memories of childhood abuse. A history of abuse was related to current depressive symptoms, but recovering memories of abuse did not predict higher endorsement of depressive symptoms. The severity of the childhood abuse was also unrelated to the recovery of abuse memories. Finally, the findings suggested that recovered memories of neutral or positive childhood events were more likely to be rated as having been forgotten while negative events were more likely to be rated as having been repressed, dissociated, suppressed or habitual avoided. The implications of these findings for research and clinical practice in this area are discussed.

Summary.—This pilot study compared learning and memory profiles of 20 children (55% boys; M age= 7.3 yr, SD=0.4) identified as having learning difficulties as well as either having or suspected of having Developmental Coordination Disorder. Ten children participated in a 13-week program of task-specific motor exercises, while the other 10 received none. Analysis indicated significant improvement for both motor skills and visuospatial working memory in the intervention group; however, this effect did not transfer to reading and math scores. The implications regarding the relationships among motor skills, learning, and memory are discussed in the context of the intervention.

Intersensory integration refers to an organism's ability to coordinate sensory information coming in from different modalities, permitting more flexible, adaptive behavior in a complex environment. It has been suggested that this capacity has a developmental component in man, and is functionally related to the emergence of increasingly complex, adaptive behaviors in the growing child. Using what has come to be called the cross-modal (C-M) pattern matching task, many studies demonstrated that auditory-visual (A-V) integrative ability is a sensitive indicator of human dysfunction in a wide variety of "at risk" populations (e.g., reading disabled, brain injured). The A-V integrative ability also showed age-related improvement. However, other studies questioned these results on both conceptual and methodological grounds. The present research emerged as an attempt to follow up on the more salient issues raised in these criticisms. The C-M task was examined in the context of the child's age, gender and specific task requirements such as memory and form of processing information (i.e., temporal vs. spatial organization of input). Forty subjects, balanced for age and gender, were given four multiple-choice pattern-matching tasks (VS-VS, VT-VS, AT-VS, VTSch-VS) and a memory task (VADS). The data were analyzed using an Age (2) X Gender (2) X Task (4) analysis of variance with repeated measures on the Task variable, Tukey's post hoc mean comparisons and multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that 9-year-olds performed more accurately than did 7-year-olds only on the AT-VS task, and males showed inferior performance compared to females only on the VT-VS task. The greatest percentage of variance in accuracy was accounted for by the shift from a spatial to a temporal standard in a within-modal (W-M) task (VS-VS vs. VT-VS) The shift from a W-M to C-M task also accounted for a substantial percentage of variance in accuracy, but only for 9-year-olds in the analysis by age and males in the analysis by gender (VT-VS vs. AT-VS). The AT-VS task was easier than the VT-VS task in these comparisons. Performance on the chunking task was not different from VS-VS performance, but was superior to VT-VS and AT-VS performance. A moderate relationship exists between memory (VADS) and AT-VS for the total sample, 9-year-olds and females. Conceptual modifications are needed for intersensory integration to remain a useful theoretical construct in developmental psychology. It is concluded that behaviors requiring participation of more than one sense modality do require some additional explanatory mechanism beyond the developmental level within each separate modality. However, that additional mechanism cannot be a simplistic unitary process, but rather a complex constellation of mechanisms that vary according to age, gender and specific task requirements made on the organism. Improvements in auditory-visual integration do occur from ages 7 to 9, which cannot be explained solely on the basis of development in visual perception. There are no gender differences in performance accuracy on the auditory-visual task. There is, however, a suggestion of qualitative gender differences whereby females go about solving this task with a greater reliance on memory skills. The form of organization of stimulus input is an integral, inseparable part of the act of perceiving through any given modality. The fact that auditory information is temporally organized and visual information is spatial does not detract from the concept of auditory-visual integration. It is part of the complexity which must be incorporated into any meaningful notion of any kind of sensory integration (inter- or intra-).

There is a transitional period between preschool and first grade during which children develop from reliance on instructions to self-sufficient, spontaneous retrieval. Past research has revealed that retrieval instructions are vital to preschoolers' retention of paired-associates. Preschool and kindergarten children were presented with a mixed-list of 20 paired-associate pictures to learn. Ten of the 20 pairs depicted 2 nouns as interacting in an uncommon or bizarre (funny) manner with one another whereas the other 10 pictures depicted component nouns as normally (nonfunnily) interacting. Type and timing of instructions to learn the paired-associates were manipulated. Funny-group subjects were provided with encoding instructions highlighting the silliness quality of the pictures. Nonfunny-group subjects were provided with encoding instructions which concentrated on the interactive aspects of the pictures. A control group was told to remember the pictures “really hard.” For the former two instructional groups, half of each group served as a control during test-time. These control groups were told to try really hard to remember the pictures. The experimental halves of these groups were given elaborative retrieval instructions at test-time, dependent upon their r e encoding instructions. Reference to the funny pictures was provided for half the Funny group whereas reference to the normal interaction was given to half the Nonfunny group. This study revealed that elaborative instructions do not enhance memory for paired-associates over non-elaborative or control instructions. These preschoolers did not exhibit retrieval deficiencies though control retrieval instructions may have provided sufficient information to enhance memory. As well, non bizarre (nonfunny) interactive pictures were remembered better than bizarre (funny) interactive pictures. M.S.