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Visuo-spatial skills are believed to be enhanced in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This meta-analysis tests the current state of evidence for Figure Disembedding, Block Design, Mental Rotation and Navon tasks in ASD and neurotypicals. Block Design (d = 0.32) and Figure Disembedding (d = 0.26) showed superior performance for ASD with large heterogeneity that is unaccounted for. No clear differences were found for Mental Rotation. ASD samples showed a stronger local processing preference for Navon tasks (d = 0.35); less clear evidence for performance differences of a similar magnitude emerged. We discuss the meta-analysis results together with other findings relating to visuo-spatial processing and three cognitive theories of ASD: Weak Central Coherence, Enhanced Perceptual Functioning and Extreme Male Brain theory. Keywords Autism * Visuo-spatial * Figure Disembedding * Mental Rotation * Block Design * Navon Figures, Introduction The term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an umbrella term that encompasses Autistic disorder, Asperger's syndrome (AS), High-Functioning Autism (HFA) and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). As [...]

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The effect of Glycaemic Index (GI) and Load (GL) of breakfasts on satiety and aspects of cognitive function in children is inconclusive. We aimed to assess if isocaloric breakfasts differing in GL (by replacing high-GI carbohydrate foods with dairy protein foods) acutely alter cognitive function and satiety in 10- to 12-year-old children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 39 children, aged 11.6 ± 0.7 years with body mass index 18.9 ± 3.0 kg/[m.sup.2] (Mean ± s.e.) participated in a randomised crossover trial of three isocaloric breakfasts (1.3 MJ): high GL (HGL: 7g protein, 9g fat, 50g carbohydrate, GL 33); medium GL (MGL: 14g protein, 9g fat, 45 g carbohydrate, GL 24) and low GL (LGL: 18g protein, 10g fat, 38g carbohydrate, GL 18). Blood glucose was recorded using a continuous glucose monitor. Subjective hunger and cognitive performance were measured before and hourly after consuming the test breakfast via a computer-delivered battery. Ad libitum intake at a buffet lunch meal was measured at 3 h at the end of testing. RESULTS: Incremental area under the glucose curve (iAUC) was significantly different with HGL>MGL>LGL (P CONCLUSIONS: Reducing breakfast GL by replacing carbohydrate with protein does not alter satiety or cognition over 3 h in 10- to 12-year-old children. Keywords: satiation; child nutrition sciences; cognition, INTRODUCTION The Glycaemic Index (GI) and Load (GL) of breakfasts have been shown to alter satiety in overweight/obese children. (1,2) However, studies on appetite regulation in children are sparse and [...]

This study examined working memory contributions to reading comprehension subskills in Greek children (mean age 9 years, 1 month). The phonological loop of the Baddeley and Hitch working memory model was assessed with 3 recall tasks (words, nonwords, and digits) and a word list matching task. The central executive (CE) was assessed with 3 tasks (listening, counting, and backward digit recall). Participants were also given a receptive vocabulary task, a reading fluency task, and written stories accompanied by comprehension questions. Canonical correlation analyses showed that the comprehension variables were related to the CE rather than the phonological loop measures. CE functions were more strongly associated with elaborative inference generation (involving significant offline processing) and comprehension control (involving metacognitive monitoring). Smaller yet significant associations were observed between the CE and the necessary inference and literal comprehension measures, whereas a moderate relationship was found in the case of the simile comprehension variable. Among the CE variables, listening recall demonstrated the highest loading on the canonical function, followed by moderate yet significant counting and backward digit recall loadings. Vocabulary was found to fully mediate several associations between working memory and comprehension measures; however, the relationship between listening recall and elaborative inferences was partly mediated. Reading fluency and, on several occasions, Greek vocabulary knowledge did not mediate the relationships between CE measures and comprehension skills assessed. This study demonstrates the usefulness of CE measures for identifying young children's possible difficulties in carrying out specific reading comprehension processes., The relationship between reading comprehension and working memory in childhood has been studied extensively (Cain, Oakhill, & Bryant, 2004; Dufva, Niemi, & Voeten, 2001; Leather & Henry, 1994; Seigneuric & [...]

Summary Health and education staff collaborated to run a group named 'Show Club' which aimed to develop emotion management in students with learning disabilities. The group, which ran for 13 [...]

The neural correlates of cognitive deficits in childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are studied using data from a sample of 10- to 17-year old individuals. Results show that OCD individuals have slower response to trials within mixed blocks. In the set-shifting contrast, they also showed less left inferior frontal gyrus/BA47 activity.

This study addressed questions about the relations between personal characteristics and aspects of home environments and young children's subsequent academically relevant peer interaction behaviors in kindergarten in a sample of 108 preschool-age children (57 males, 51 females) from 2 Midwest cities and neighboring communities. A year prior to the children's entrance to kindergarten their cognitive skills were assessed through a battery of tests. In addition, child temperament characteristics (self-control and responsiveness), parent emphasis on structure (order, organization, routine) and communication (emphasis on discussion and expression of ideas in the home), and parent control beliefs in the home were assessed through parent questionnaires and reports. Each child was observed in the kindergarten classroom during student-centered academic tasks on at least 3 occasions throughout the following year. Each child was observed for 5-minute intervals (for a total of an hour and a half) during which the observer coded 5 academic peer interaction behaviors: instructional support, direction, normative exchange, passivity, and distractive behavior with peers. Findings revealed that child resources (cognitive skills and temperament) and home structures influenced how children responded to information and sanctions within the home and in turn the roles they assumed and the quality of their academic interactions with peers, and that personal factors mediated the effects of the home social factors.

The development of depressive attributional style (AS) and its role as a cognitive diathesis for depression were examined in children and adolescents (Grades 2-9). In a 4-wave longitudinal study of 3 overlapping age cohorts, AS, negative life events, and depressive symptoms were evaluated every 12 months. Consistency of children's attributions across situations was moderately high at all ages. The cross-sectional structure of AS changed with age, as stability became a more salient aspect of AS than internality and globality. The structure of AS also changed, becoming more traitlike as children grew older. In longitudinal analyses, evidence of a Cognitive Diathesis x Stress interaction did not emerge until Grades 8 and 9, suggesting that AS may not serve as a diathesis for depression at younger ages. Results suggest that attributional models of depression may require modification before they are applied across developmental levels. Keywords: depression, children, adolescents, longitudinal, cognitive style

Despite robust associations between children's theory of mind (TOM) and executive function (EF) skills, longitudinal studies examining this association remain scarce. In a socially diverse sample of 122 children (seen at ages 2, 3, and 4), this study examined (a) developmental stability of associations between ToM, EF, verbal ability, and social disadvantage; (b) continuity and change in ToM and EF; and (c) predictive relations between ToM and EF. Verbal ability and social disadvantage independently predicted changes in EF (but not TOM). Task scores improved with age and showed stable individual differences. The authors examined predictive relations between ToM and EF using partial correlations (controlling for age and verbal ability) and hierarchical regressions (that also controlled for social disadvantage and initial ToM and EF). The findings provide only partial support for the view that ToM is a prerequisite for EF but stronger support for the proposal that EF facilitates children's performance on ToM tasks. Keywords: theory of mind, executive functions, verbal ability, toddlers, longitudinal

We examined whether childhood cognitive ability was associated with two mental health outcomes at age 53 years: the 28 item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) as a measure of internalising symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the CAGE screen for potential alcohol abuse as an externalising disorder. A total of 1875 participants were included from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, also known as the British 1946 birth cohort. The results indicated that higher childhood cognitive ability was associated with reporting fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression GHQ-28 scores in women, and increased risk of potential alcohol abuse in both men and women. Results were adjusted for educational attainment, early socioeconomic status (SES) and adverse circumstances, and adult SES, adverse circumstances, and negative health behaviours. After adjusting for childhood cognitive ability, greater educational attainment was associated with reporting greater symptoms of anxiety and depression on the GHQ-28. Although undoubtedly interrelated, our evidence on the diverging effects of childhood cognitive ability and educational attainment on anxiety and depression in mid-adulthood highlights the need for the two to be considered independently. While higher childhood cognitive ability is associated with fewer internalising symptoms of anxiety and depression in women, it places both men and women at higher risk for potential alcohol abuse. Further research is needed to examine possible psychosocial mechanisms that may be associated with both higher childhood cognitive ability and greater risk for alcohol abuse. In addition, the underlying mechanisms responsible for the gender-specific link between childhood cognitive ability and the risk of experiencing internalising disorders in mid-adulthood warrants further consideration. Keywords: UK; Adult mental health; Prospective cohort; Childhood cognitive ability; Educational attainment; Gender

Odor naming and recognition memory are poorer in children than in adults. This study explored whether such differences might result from poorer discriminative ability. Experiment 1 used an oddity test of discrimination with familiar odors on 6-year-olds, 11-year-olds, and adults. Six-year-olds were significantly poorer at discrimination relative to 11-year-olds and adults, who did not differ. Experiment 2 used the same procedure but with bard-to-name visual stimuli and compared only 6-year-olds with adults (as with the remaining experiments in this study). There was no difference in performance between these groups. Experiment 3 used the same procedure as Experiment 1 but with less familiar odors. Six-yearolds were significantly poorer at discrimination than adults. In Experiment 4 the researchers controlled for verbal labeling by using an articulatory suppression task, with the same basic procedure as in Experiment 1. Six-year-old performance was the same as for Experiment 1 and significantly poorer than that of adults. Impoverished olfactory discrimination may underpin performance deficits previously observed in children. These all may result from their lesser experience with odors, relative to adults. Keywords: olfaction, discrimination, learning, odor, children

Objectif: L'objectif de la presente etude est d'examiner, en contexte d'entrevue d'investigation, l'influence de l'age, des habiletes cognitives et des caracteristiques de l'agression sexuelle sur la quantite d'informations obtenues dans la declaration d'une agression sexuelle, en fonction du type de questions posees par l'interviewer. Methode: Les transcriptions d'entrevues d'investigation de 37 enfants, ages de 6 a 12 ans, ont ete analysees, d'une part selon le type de questions posees par les interviewers et d'autre part, selon le nombre d'informations rapportees. Quant aux habiletes cognitives, elles ont ete evaluees a l'aide des sous-tests vocabulaire, connaissances et blocs du WISC-III. Resultats: Les analyses des regressions multiples indiquent que l'age, les habiletes verbales et le lien entre la victime et l'agresseur expliquent 50% de la variance du nombre moyen d'informations obtenues a la suite des questions ouvertes formulees par l'interviewer. Conclusion: Les resultats de cette etude suggerent que la quantite d'informations obtenues lors d'une entrevue d'investigation est influencee non seulement par l'age de l' enfant, mais egalement par ses aptitudes verbales et son lien avec l'agresseur. Mots cles: Entrevue d'investigation; Habiletes cognitives; Agression sexuelle; Enfants; Habiletes verbales

A study examines the role of conceptual functioning in children's ability to learn color terms.

Basic fact acquisition is an important component for developing higher-order math skills. However, getting students with a history of academic noncompliance to engage in activities related to skills acquisition can [...]

Explicit timing and interspersal interventions were investigated using a within-subjects design with 45 third-grade students. A control assignment consisted of subtraction of a two digit number from a two digit [...]

Cognitive and affective experiences of minority and majority members are examined by four studies. It is found that minority members were more cognitively preoccupied with their group membership and experienced less positive affect as a consequence of their group membership than majority members.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation among attachment state of mind, students' learning dispositions, and academic performance during the college transition. Sixty-two students were involved in a short-term longitudinal study and were interviewed with the Adult Attachment Interview. Students' learning dispositions were assessed at the end of high school (Time 1) and halfway through their 1st semester in college (Time 2). Academic records were collected at Time 1 as well as at the end of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd college semesters. Autonomous students showed better learning dispositions throughout the transition and were less likely than dismissing and preoccupied students to experience a decrease in these dispositions between Time 1 and Time 2. In addition, dismissing students obtained the lowest average of grades in college, and this association was mediated by changes in quality of attention during the transition.

Abstract This article describes the effects of research concerned with identifying the learning styles of Special Education (SPED) students and then teaching them globally, tactually, and/or kinesthetically with instructional resources [...]

This article examines autistic children's motion perception thresholds. Topics include visual perception, cognitive style, information processing, and neuropsychology.

We use estimates of parents' discount rate, inferred from their decisions to treat their children's body burdens of lead, to test empirically a model of transmission of cognitive skills from parents to children. The development of a child's cognitive skills depends in part upon the specific environment in which the skills are nurtured. The parental discount rate serves as a theoretically well defined index for a broad array of nurturing investments in the child. We find that children whose parents have a lower estimated discount rate exhibit higher assessed cognitive skills.

Mitsunori Takakuwa (*) What is cognitive development in the studies of bilingualism? The belief widely held up to the 1960s that bilingualism had only negative effects on children's cognitive development, [...]

To compare the differential cognitive and stylistic profiles of Spanish-speaking girls and boys and the relation between these profiles with subjects' reading scores 50 girls and 50 boys, 8 years old, were assessed on a reading test, the Children's Embedded Figures Test, and the Intellectual Test (Escala Diferencial del Rendimiento Intelectual). Analysis showed differential cognitive profiles for the two sexes. While girls used single, essentially verbal strategies for the reading activity, boys with high reading scores used verbal and perceptual strategies. In general, for girls verbal intelligence scores had correlated the highest with reading scores and lowest with independence on the Children's Embedded Figures Test. For boys the two tests contribute to the explained variance of reading scores. Curiously for scores in reading letters, reading strategies of the two groups seemed inverted.

A research was undertaken to determine the genetic contribution of quantitative trait loci (QTL) to the general cognitive ability (G) in children. It was presumed that G is one of the predominantly heritable behavioral traits. In determining the QTL linkage, the allelic association strategy was used since it can give the statistical ability to detect QTLs with small effect size. Results indicated that the insulin-like growth factor-2 receptor (IGF2R) gene was associated with high heritability. Genetic effects on G increase in magnitude from childhood to adulthood.

Awareness of a learning process, choosing strategies for a problem, and awareness of semantic content, response strategy, processing strategy, summarization, and memory were amongst the metacognitive factors studied. Boys and girls in four different grades (Grades III, IV, V, VI; N = 252) from urban elementary schools in Japan were administered the Learning Awareness Questionnaire. Older students scored higher on learning awareness than younger students. Girls scored higher on the Learning Awareness Questionnaire than boys, and these students in 2 Japanese elementary schools, in general, had shown improved awareness of their learning.

Field effects and response rule effects determine children's and adolescents' performance on water-level task items. A rod-and-frame task is used as a measure of field-dependent effects. The frame of the vessel influences water-level responses. The influence of field effects is more for random rule responses than for fixed response rule. This indicates that even the use of fixed rules fails to eliminate field effects.

Children use different strategies to solve different versions of an oddity task developed for monkeys. Children and adults are tested on two versions of the oddity task using non-verbal methods to examine the ontogenesis of oddity learning. The two-part oddity task is mastered faster than the one-part task. Children's performances fall greatly on retesting for one-part tasks, which are ususally mastered only after providing verbal instructions.

Hyperactive children give shorter latencies and make more errors than normal children under conditions where the cognitive style leads to shorter trials. In conditions where each error increases the trial length, hyperactive children wait as long as the control group before responding, but continue to make more errors. Hyperactive children withhold responses if withholding offers them the avoidance of the penalty of delay. However, they are unable to effectively use the extra time offered when compared to controls. The factors causing this aversion to delay among hyperactives are discussed.

Cognitive profiles of 20 dyslexic children were examined using a battery of neuropsychological tests. Their ages ranged from 90 to 114 mo. (M = 106.6 mo.). Intelligence and reading comprehension were normal, but the subjects had specific problems in decoding written material. These subjects were matched with a control group of same age, sex, and sociocultural status. The dyslexic children presented specific patterns of response on WISC - R subtests and failed a battery of cognitive tests examining subcomponents of reading. For each child, a deviation score was computed which represented the imbalance among the different cognitive functions. Greater imbalance was observed among the dyslexic children in development of cognitive functions than among the normal children.

This research examines the relation between the cognitive style construct of field dependence-independence (FDI) and 2 processing components. These components, control of linguistic processing and analysis of knowledge, have been identified in previous research as part of metalinguistic ability. Children between the ages of 7 and 9 years were given a number of metalinguistic tasks and 2 measures of FDI. The results showed a common basis for FDI and metalinguistic problems requiring high levels of control but not for FDI and metalinguistic problems requiring high levels of analysis. These results shed light on the underlying cognitive basis of metalinguistic performance and established the role for 1 of the 2 processing components across domains.

The effects of cooperative and individualistic learning experiences on the status of male and female American pupils were compared. Expectation states theory predicts that male pupils would have higher status than female pupils and, therefore, be more active and more influential. Social interdependence theory predicts that interaction within cooperative learning groups would result in a process of acceptance characterized by equal status of male and female pupils. Seventy-five sixth-grade boys (n = 43) and girls (n = 32) were randomly assigned to three cooperative conditions and one individualistic condition stratifying for sex, ability level, and original classroom. They participated in the study for 55 min per day for 14 instructional days. Cooperative learning resulted in greater retention and higher level learning than did individualistic learning. Although there were initial achievement differences between boys and girls, and although boys gained in status over girls in the individualistic condition, at the end of the study in the cooperative conditions there were no differences between them in achievement, verbal participation in the group, perceived leadership, and status. These results are consistent with the predictions of social interdependence theory and inconsistent with the predictions of expectation states theory. The results were basically the same in male-majority, female-majority, or equal-sex groups.

Prediction of the quality of language was explored using planned comparisons of three approaches, one cognitive, one neurodevelopmental, and one a combination of the two. Subjects were 37 children, ages 5-9 years, whose significant development delays included language and speech skills. The cognitive predictors were mental age (MA) and IQ from the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Neurodevelopmental predictors consisted of fine motor skill quotients (MQs) and dichotic speech processing scores. Chronological age (CA) was also evaluated as a predictor. A composite language ability score constituted the dependent variable. Results of regression analyses showed that CA and MQ, and MA and MQ, were nearly equal in their predictive strengths and were substantial predictors of composite language scores. Larger multiple correlations (low .8 range) were found when combinations of MA, IQ, and MQ or CA, IQ, and MQ were used as predictors. Statistical control over the 4-year age range revealed that approximately equal amounts of prediction of language scores were attributable to CA and a combination of MA, IQ, and MQ. Each of the latter variables contributed important amounts of unique variance to the language score prediction. Dichotic ear scores did not relate to cognitive or language scores and were ineffectual as predictors in regression analysis. Results indicated that children of the type studied have language and speech delays that show substantial relationships to their verbal cognitive abilities and MQs, in addition to their CAs.

This study investigaged whether strategies on embedded-figures problems and water-level problems can be changed through instructional programs. The sample consisted of 48 boys and girls ages 7 to 8 years who were assigned to three treatment groups. One experimental condition received restructuring-in-perception training. Subjects in another experimental condition received conservation-of-horizontality training. Subjects in the control condition received no training. Analysis suggested that restructuring-in-perception training improved performance on embedded-figures problems. The improvement could be attributed to a higher percentage of solutions in the category of the simultaneous (or figurative) strategy. Also, conservation-of-horizontality training improved performance on water-level problems. The latter was dependent on structural mental attentional capacity. In spite of improvements, however, subjects' performance appeared to be task-specific rather than generalizable across tasks.

Loneliness, coping, and cognitive styles of 52 gifted adolescents from rural Nebraska were investigated via Woodward Loneliness and Kalyan-Masih Coping Inventories and Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Test. Fifty-one percent of the adolescents had a mean loneliness score above 2.60, which is the third highest among the 16 Nebraska groups studies. They were most lonely when rejected, alienated, isolated, and not in control of a situation. Most frequently, their coping strategies were: engaging in individual pursuits, extending social contacts, using cognitive reframing, and keeping busy. Less frequently, their strategies were: engaging in religious activities, seeking adult help, and using negative escape routes. The gifted adolescents were divided into field independent (FI) and field dependent (FD) according to their cognitive style. Some differences were noted. The FI adolescents were more lonely in a crowd, but the FD adolescents were more lonely when not with others. The FI adolescents engaged in individual pursuits and cognitive reframing, and the FD adolescents resorted to religious and physical activities or professional help as coping strategies. The FI adolescents showed more autonomy and self-reliance, while the FD adolescents relied more on external sources of support when coping with loneliness. Implications for counseling in home and school are discussed.

Cognitive triage is a surprising nonmonotonic relationship that exists between the order in which children read words out of long-term memory and the memory strengths of those same words. Two forgetting experiments with 7- and 12-year-old children are reported in which fuzzy-trace theory's explanation of this effect was pitted against an effortful processing explanation. The two explanations make different predictions about the relative rates of forgetting for words that are recalled at the primary and recency positions of output queues. The data consistently favored fuzzy-trace theory's predictions. We discuss the implications of our results for two assumptions that are commonly made in theories of memory development--namely, that recall accuracy is a monotonic-increasing function of memory strength and that recall order is a monotonic-decreasing function of memory strength.