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Introduction Although much is known about theory of mind (ToM) development during childhood, data on how these skills develop in adolescence is scarce. This cavity is due in part to the limited knowledge about measures of advanced theory of mind. Methods The study examined the relation among six common story-based tasks designed to measure advanced ToM in two age groups of Polish adolescents: early (13-year-olds; 78 girls) and late (16-year-olds; 143 girls) adolescents. Results Factor models for individual tasks were constructed, followed by an examination of the underlying structure that explained the variability of factor scores. Only in half of the tasks, the results revealed an age-related increase in advanced ToM. Contrary to expectation, results showed a lack of correlations among story-based advanced ToM tasks in the two adolescent groups. Conclusions The results suggest a lack of coherence among advanced story-based ToM tasks and the need for further development of reliable and valid advanced ToM measures which are sensitive enough to show increasingly complex social reasoning abilities in adolescence.

The present study examines whether playing a video game can help improve cognitive skills needed for successful performance on cognitive tasks, such as updating, which involves continuous monitoring of incoming information that results in rapid addition or deletion of information in working memory. For example, in the n-back task, the participant sees a series of rapidly presented letters on a screen and must press a key each time the current letter is the same as one presented n trials previously (e.g., 3 trials back). Young adults were randomly assigned to play CrushStations (a desktop game the authors designed to teach updating skill) or Bookworm (a commercially available word search game used as a control) for 4 30-min sessions spread over 9 days. Consistent with specific transfer theory, CrushStations players improved on performing the target skill in the game context across the four sessions (the highest level achieved). Consistent with specific transfer of general skill theory, CrushStations players outscored Bookworm players on a posttest involving accurately performing the target skill in a non-game context (n-back task). In contrast to general transfer theory, CrushStations players did not differ from Bookworm players on posttests measuring skills not directly targeted in the game (visuospatial memory task). These results show the benefits of designing educational games in line with the cognitive theory of game-based training (Parong et al., 2020).

Previous meta-analyses highlight the role of executive functions (EF), encompassing working memory updating, task-switching, and inhibitory control, in reading comprehension, but have not established their role in decoding. Decoding is defined as the use of orthographic patterns to access oral pronunciations. According to the dual route model, decoding involves parallel activation of lexical and phonological routes, which places cognitive demands on EF. We used multivariate meta-analyses to examine associations between decoding, assessed via nonword and word reading tasks, and EF across 65 studies involving children and adolescents (162 effect size estimates, 22,806 observations from 10,173 participants, weighted mean age = 8.8 years). Meta-regression analyses examined a broad set of potential moderators of correlational effect size estimates, including variables related to sample characteristics, task features, and study design. Results indicated significant small-to-moderate correlations between EF constructs and decoding tasks (rz ranged from .28 to .34), with little evidence of moderation. The observed associations between EF and decoding skills in children and adolescents appear to be relatively consistent, even when accounting for moderators related to the sample, task, and study design.

This study investigated direct and indirect effects of executive functions on reading comprehension in adolescents (N = 87, M = 14.0 years, SD = 1.5) by testing for parallel mediation of effects of...

We assessed whether videos with medical footage of organ preservation and transplantation plus sad, unresolved, or uplifting stories differentially affect deceased organ donor registration among clients in Latinx-owned barbershops and beauty salons. In a 2 × 3 randomized controlled trial, participants ( N = 1,696, mean age 33 years, 67% female) viewed one of six videos. The control portrayed a mother who received a kidney (uplifting), excluding medical footage. Experimental videos included medical footage and/or showed a mother waiting (unresolved) or sisters mourning their brother’s death (sad). Regression models assessed relative impact of medical footage and storylines on: (1) registry enrollment, (2) donation willingness stage of change, and (3) emotions. Randomization yielded approximately equal groups relative to age, sex, education, religion, nativity, baseline organ donation willingness, beliefs, and emotions. Overall, 14.8% of participants registered. Neither medical footage, sad, nor unresolved stories differentially affected registration and changes in organ donation willingness. Sad and unresolved stories increased sadness and decreased positive affect by ~0.1 logits compared with the uplifting story. Educational videos about organ donation which excluded or included medical footage and varying emotional valence of stories induced emotions marginally but did not affect viewers’ registration decisions differently. Heterogeneity of responses within video groups might explain the attenuated impact of including medical footage and varying emotional content. In future work, we will report qualitative reasons for participants’ registration decisions by analyzing the free text responses from the randomized trial and data from semistructured interviews that were conducted with a subset of participants.

A contentious issue in contemporary psycholinguistics is whether bilingualism enhances executive functions. Here, we report a meta-analysis of 80 studies (253 effect sizes) comparing performance of monolinguals and bilinguals on non-verbal interference-control tasks, while examining potential moderators of effects on two dependent variables (DVs): global reaction time (RT) and interference cost. We used a multiverse approach to determine how robust conclusions were to several dataset construction and analysis decisions. In our "preferred" analysis, using a broad definition of bilinguals and standard versions of interference-control tasks, there was a very small but significant bilingual advantage for global RT (g =.13), which became non-significant once corrected for publication bias. For interference cost, there was a very small but significant bilingual advantage (g =.11). Effects were not significantly moderated by task or participant age, but were moderated by an interaction between age of second language acquisition (AoA) and the DV. Unexpectedly, larger effect sizes for interference cost were observed for studies involving bilinguals with late as opposed to early AoA. The multiverse analysis produced results largely consistent with the preferred analysis, confirming our conclusion that evidence for a bilingual advantage on interference-control tasks is weak.

Research suggests that gains in executive function (EF) skills training are strongest when task difficulty increases progressively, yet findings on the effectiveness of adaptive approaches for EF training are inconsistent. This study compared the effectiveness of an adaptive vs a non-adaptive version of a digital game designed to train the EF sub-skill of shifting. Results showed increases in shifting skills for all learners between pretest and posttest measures, with adolescents scoring higher than pre-adolescents and early adolescents on posttest measures. Data analysis uncovered a trend suggesting that the adaptive treatment may be more effective than the non-adaptive treatment for adolescents. User logs showed that adaptivity helped customize players’ gameplay based on their performance, by making game play easier for younger learners, and making game play more difficult for older learners. Results support the use of digital games to train EF for a broad range of learners.

Executive function (EF), critical for many developmental outcomes, emerge in childhood and continue developing into early adulthood (Blakemore & Choudhury, 2006). During adolescence there are important developments in Hot EF, which involves using EF in emotionally salient contexts (Zelazo & Carlson, 2012). The current study used an emotional design approach (Um et al., 2012) to study hot EF in adolescents playing a digital game designed to train the EF subskill of shifting. Participants (N = 233; aged 12–16, M = 13.8, SD = 1.1) played one of two version of the game: hot (with emotional design), or cool (with more emotionally neutral design). There was a main effect of condition, with higher posttest scores on shifting in the hot condition. Condition significantly interacted with age: older adolescents had better outcomes in the hot condition than in the cool condition. A three-way interaction between age, prior EF and condition was found, indicating that the age by condition interaction was affected by prior EF. These results indicate that the higher emotional arousal in the hot condition is more effective for enhancing EF skills, particularly for older adolescents, and argue for developing learning and training games that account for developmental changes such as the growth of hot EF in adolescence.

Findings from two studies on the design of digital badges for a middle school geometry game and their impact on motivational and cognitive learning outcomes are reported. Study 1 compared the effect of badges in the game to a group with no badges. Badges did not increase posttest performance for all. Learners with high situational interest performed better with badges, learners with low situational interest performed worse with badges. Study 2 compared mastery goal orientation badges with performance goal orientation badges. The interaction of condition and situational interest from Study 1 was replicated. Furthermore, students receiving performance badges performed better on the posttest than students in the mastery badges condition; the no-badges condition was not different from either of the other conditions. Results suggest badges do not always help in educational video games: Types of badges interact with students' interest and motivation to affect learning outcomes.

Turkey is the top refugee-hosting country in the world, with more than three million registered Syrian refugees. An international research team was the first to document the educational and mental health needs of Syrian refugee children, finding that an overwhelming majority are not enrolled in school in Turkey, partly as a result of language barriers, and that about half suffer from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression. The present study was designed as an innovative intervention using an online, game-based learning intervention for refugee children, named Project Hope. Data gathered from a controlled field experiment show significant improvements in Turkish language acquisition, coding, executive functioning and overall sense of hopefulness. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.

The objective of the present study was to determine whether it is possible to design a video game that could help students improve their executive function skill of shifting between competing tasks and the conditions under which playing the game would lead to improvements on cognitive tests of shifting. College students played a custom video game, Alien Game, which required the executive function skill of shifting between competing tasks. When students played for 2 h over 4 sessions they developed significantly better performance on cognitive shifting tests compared to a control group that played a different game (d = 0.62), but not when they played for 1 h over 2 sessions. Students who played Alien Game at a high level of challenge (i.e., reaching a high level in the game) developed significantly better performance on cognitive shifting tests compared to controls when they played for 2 h (Experiment 1, d = 1.44), but not when they played for 1 h (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 replicated the results of Experiment 1 using an inactive control group, showing that playing Alien Game for 2 h resulted in significant improvements in shifting skills (d = 0.78). Results show the effectiveness of playing a custom-made game that focuses on a specific executive function skill for sufficient time at an appropriate level of challenge. Results support the specific transfer of general skills theory, in which practice of a cognitive skill in a game context transferred to performance on the same skill in a non-game context.

Findings from two studies on the design of digital badges for a middle school geometry game and their impact on motivational and cognitive learning outcomes are reported. Study 1 compared the effect of badges in the game to a group with no badges. Badges did not increase posttest performance for all. Learners with high situational interest performed better with badges, learners with low situational interest performed worse with badges. Study 2 compared mastery goal orientation badges with performance goal orientation badges. The interaction of condition and situational interest from Study 1 was replicated. Furthermore, students receiving performance badges performed better on the posttest than students in the mastery badges condition; the no-badges condition was not different from either of the other conditions. Results suggest badges do not always help in educational video games: Types of badges interact with students' interest and motivation to affect learning outcomes.

What is the affective quality of specific design features of game characters? The Integrative Model of Emotion in Game-based Learning (EmoGBL) describes common mechanisms of how emotion and learning processes interact to foster specific learning outcomes. In the present paper, we asked how color, shape, expression, and dimensionality of game characters induce emotions in digital games for learning. We investigated learners' perception of the affective quality of these four different visual design features for adults and adolescents using a forced choice paradigm (studies 1–3), as well as the PANAS-X and qualitative measures (study 4). Participants were shown a series of game characters and were asked to report their emotional response. Results show the relative contribution of the four visual attributes on players’ perception of affective quality, with the visual design features of expression and dimensionality having the strongest effect, color a medium-sized effect, and shape a small to medium-sized effect.

In this article we argue that to study or apply games as learning environments, multiple perspectives have to be taken into account. We first define game-based learning and gamification, and then discuss theoretical models that describe learning with games, arguing that playfulness is orthogonal to learning theory. We then review design elements of games that facilitate learning by fostering learners' cognitive, behavioral, affective, and sociocultural engagement with the subject matter. Finally, we discuss the basis of these design elements in cognitive, motivational, affective, and sociocultural foundations by reviewing key theories from education and psychology that are the most pertinent to game-based learning and by describing empirical research on learning with games that has been or should be conducted. We conclude that a combination of cognitive, motivational, affective, and sociocultural perspectives is necessary for both game design and game research to fully capture what games have to offer for...

Research data have consistently shown that military veterans are more likely than the general U.S. population to experience mental health problems, as well as homelessness and unemployment. Additio...

We examine design factors that may evoke positive emotions in learners and investigate the effects of these positive emotions on learning. Recent research showed that the emotional design of multimedia learning materialcaninducepositiveemotionsinlearnersthatinturnfacilitatecomprehensionandtransfer.Wesought to replicate these results with a different population and different mood induction procedure and examine individual emotions, and to decompose the effects of the design elements of colorand shape. Study 1 showed that well-designed materials induced positive emotions and facilitated comprehension, though transfer performance was not affected by emotional design. Study 2 found that round face-like shapes both alone and in conjunctionwithwarm color induced positive emotions.Warm colors alone, however, did not affectlearners’ emotions.Comprehensionwasfacilitatedbywarmcolorsandroundface-likeshapes,independentlyaswellas together. Transfer was facilitated by round face-like shapes when used with neutral colors.

The present research examined how mode of play in an educational mathematics video game impacts learning, performance, and motivation. The game was designed for the practice and automation of arithmetic skills to increase fluency and was adapted to allow for individual, competitive, or collaborative game play. Participants (N 58) from urban middle schools were randomly assigned to each experimental condition. Results suggested that, in comparison to individual play, competition increased in-game learning, whereas collaboration decreased performance during the experimental play session. Although out-of-game math fluency improved overall, it did not vary by condition. Furthermore, competition and collaboration elicited greater situational interest and enjoyment and invoked a stronger mastery goal orientation. Additionally, collaboration resulted in stronger intentions to play the game again and to recommend it to others. Results are discussed in terms of the potential for mathematics learning games and technology to increase student learning and motivation and to demonstrate how different modes of engagement can inform the instructional design of such games.

The effects of language on symbolic functioning were examined using the boxes task, a new symbolic understanding task based on DeLoache's model task. Children (N = 32; ages 2;4–3;8) observed an object being hidden in a stack of four boxes and were then asked to retrieve a similar object in the same location from a set of four target boxes. Each box was identified with a different object sitting on a small ledge in front of it. Language use was manipulated by providing linguistic scaffolding (naming vs. standard) and by using objects to identify the boxes whose names were either known or unknown to the children (familiar vs. language control). Home language environment (monolingual vs. bilingual) and verbal age (measured via the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition) were also examined. Main effects were found for type of object (with familiar objects yielding better performance), home linguistic environment (with bilingualism resulting in better performance), and verbal age. There was also a verba...

Age-related changes in flexibility and automaticity of reasoning about social situations were investigated. Children (N = 101; age range = 7;8-17;7) were presented with the flexibility and automaticity of social cognition (FASC), a new measure of social cognition in which cartoon vignettes of social situations are presented and participants explain what is happening and why. Scenarios vary on whether the scenario is socially ambiguous and whether or not language is used. Flexibility is determined by the number of unique, plausible explanations, and automaticity is indicated by speed of response. Overall, both flexibility and automaticity increased significantly with age. Language and social ambiguity influenced performance. Future work should investigate differences in FASC in older populations and clinical groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although theory-of-mind (ToM) development is well documented for early childhood, there is increasing research investigating changes in ToM reasoning in middle childhood and adolescence. However, the psychometric properties of most advanced ToM measures for use with older children and adolescents have not been firmly established. We report on the reliability and validity of widely used, conventional measures of advanced ToM with this age group. Notable issues with both reliability and validity of several of the measures were evident in the findings. With regard to construct validity, results do not reveal a clear empirical commonality between tasks, and, after accounting for comprehension, developmental trends were evident in only one of the tasks investigated. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Second-order false belief tasks have acceptable internal consistency. The Eyes Test has poor internal consistency. Validity of advanced theory-of-mind tasks is often based on the ability to distinguish clinical from typical groups. What does this study add? This study examines internal consistency across six widely used advanced theory-of-mind tasks. It investigates validity of tasks based on comprehension of items by typically developing individuals. It further assesses construct validity, or commonality between tasks.

Can multimedia learning environments be designed to foster positive emotions that will improve learning and related affective outcomes? College students (N 118) were randomly assigned to 4 conditions created by 2 factors related to learners’ emotion: external mood induction (positive vs. neutral emotions) and emotional design induction (positive vs. neutral emotions). A computer-based lesson on the topic of immunization was used as multimedia learning material. Results indicate that applying emotional design principles to learning materials can induce positive emotions and that positive emotions in multimedia-based learning facilitate cognitive processes and learning. Controlling for the germane load of the materials, the internal induction of positive emotions through design of the materials increased comprehension and transfer, whereas the external induction of positive emotions through mood induction enhanced transfer but not comprehension. Positive emotions induced through mood induction significantly increased the amount of learners’ reported mental effort, whereas positive emotional design reduced the perceived difficulty of the learning task. Positive emotions increased motivation, satisfaction, and perception toward the materials. Mediation analyses suggest that the effect of positive emotions induced externally was mediated by both motivation and mental effort but found no mediators for emotion induced via emotional design, suggesting that positive emotional design has a more direct impact on learning than externally induced emotions. The study suggests that emotions should be considered an important factor in the design of multimedia learning materials.

Are well-designed computer simulations an effective tool to support student understanding of complex concepts in chemistry when integrated into high school science classrooms? We investigated scaling up the use of a sequence of simulations of kinetic molecular theory and associated topics of diffusion, gas laws, and phase change, which we designed and experimentally tested. In the two effectiveness studies reported, one in a rural and the other in an urban context, chemistry teachers implemented two alternate versions of a curricular unit—an experimental version, incorporating simulations, and a control version, using text-based materials covering the same content. Participants were 718 high school students (357 rural and 361 urban), in a total of 25 classrooms. The implementation of the simulations was explored using criteria associated with fidelity of implementation (FOI). Each context provided insights into the role of FOI in affecting the effectiveness of the interventions when working with groups of teachers. Results supported the effectiveness of this sequence of simulations as a teaching tool in a classroom context, and confirmed the importance of FOI factors such as adherence and exposure in determining the specific environments in which these materials were most effective. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 394–419, 2012

The influence of prior knowledge and cognitive development on the effectiveness of iconic representations in science visualizations was examined. Middle and high school students (N = 186) were given narrated visualizations of two chemistry topics: Kinetic Molecular Theory (Day 1) and Ideal Gas Laws (Day 2). For half of the visualizations, iconic representations of key information were added. Results indicated a main effect of prior knowledge on learning in Day 1. In Day 2, a three-way interaction was found between prior knowledge, age group and icons: icons were effective for all middle school students and for high school students with low prior knowledge, but were not effective for high school students with high prior knowledge. These findings indicate that the expertise reversal effect can be mediated by cognitive development and other factors, not just domain specific prior knowledge.

Two studies examined language and understanding of scale models. First, children (N = 16; ages 2;4 to 3;5) received either the standard DeLoache model task or a naming version (in which children are asked to name the hiding location before retrieving a hidden object). Language ability positively correlated with performance on the model task, and children had significantly more errorless retrievals in the naming condition. Study 2 examined naming and transfer effects by giving children (N = 18; ages 2;5–3;1) both versions of the model task. Language ability correlated significantly only with performance in the naming condition. Both prior experience and naming condition significantly improved performance, with the effects being additive. Language and children's development of symbolic understanding are discussed.