The Experts below are selected from a list of 327 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Ludo Verhoeven - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Situation model building ability uniquely predicts first and second language reading comprehension
Journal of Neurolinguistics, 2019Co-Authors: Henriette Raudszus, Eliane Segers, Ludo VerhoevenAbstract:Abstract We examined the unique role of textbase memory and situation model building ability in first (L1) and second (L2) language reading comprehension. Participants were 76 monolingual and 102 bilingual children in 4th grade. A pathfinder network approach was used to assess textbase memory and situation model building ability, on top of other well-known cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading comprehension (working memory, Nonverbal Reasoning, decoding, vocabulary, and grammar). Reading comprehension was assessed by a standardized task unrelated to the textbase and situation model building task. The results showed that there was no difference between L1 and L2 readers in Nonverbal Reasoning, working memory, textbase memory and situation model building. L2 readers were more efficient decoders than L1 readers, but lagged behind on vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension. Situation model building ability was found to predict reading comprehension over and above the other cognitive and linguistic predictors to the same extent in both groups.
-
Cognitive constraints on the simple view of reading: A longitudinal study in children with intellectual disabilities
Scientific Studies of Reading, 2018Co-Authors: Evelien Van Wingerden, Eliane Segers, Hans Van Balkom, Ludo VerhoevenAbstract:ABSTRACTThe present article aimed to explore how the development of reading comprehension is affected when its cognitive basis is compromised. The simple view of reading was adopted as the theoretical framework. The study followed 76 children with mild intellectual disabilities (average IQ = 60.38, age 121 months) across a period of 3 years. The children were assessed for level of reading comprehension (outcome variable) and its precursors decoding and listening comprehension, in addition to linguistic skills (foundational literacy skills, rapid naming, phonological short-term memory, verbal working memory, vocabulary, and grammar) and non-linguistic skills (Nonverbal Reasoning and temporal processing). Reading comprehension was predicted by decoding and listening comprehension but also by foundational literacy skills and Nonverbal Reasoning. It is concluded that intellectual disabilities can affect the development of reading comprehension indirectly via linguistic skills but also directly via nonlinguist...
-
Modeling individual variation in early literacy skills in kindergarten children with intellectual disabilities.
Research in Developmental Disabilities, 2017Co-Authors: Arjan Van Tilborg, Eliane Segers, Hans Van Balkom, Ludo VerhoevenAbstract:Abstract In the present study, we investigated (i) to what extent the early literacy skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and word decoding) along with cognitive (Nonverbal Reasoning, attention, phonological short-term memory, sequential memory, executive functioning) and linguistic (auditory discrimination, rapid naming, articulation, vocabulary) precursor measures of 53 six-year old children with intellectual disabilities (ID) differ from a group of 74 peers with normal language acquisition (NLA) and (ii) whether the individual variation of early literacy skills in the two groups to the same extent can be explained from the precursor measures. Results showed that children with ID scored below the NLA group on all literacy and precursor measures. Structural equation modeling evidenced that in the children with NLA early literacy was directly predicted by phonological awareness, PSTM and vocabulary, with Nonverbal Reasoning and auditory discrimination also predicting phonological awareness. In children with ID however, the variation in word decoding was predicted by letter knowledge and Nonverbal Reasoning, whereas letter knowledge was predicted by rapid naming, which on its turn was predicted by attentional skills. It can be concluded phonological awareness plays a differential role in the early literacy skills of children with and without ID. As a consequence, the arrears in phonological awareness in children with ID might put them on hold in gaining proper access to literacy acquisition. What this paper adds This paper adds to the theoretical knowledge base on literacy acquisition in a special population, namely children with intellectual disabilities (ID). It addresses factors that influence early literacy learning, which have not been investigated thoroughly in this special and specific group. Furthermore, the children are not tested solely on literacy, but also on cognitive measures that may influence literacy acquisition. Whereas most research in ID focuses on groups with specific syndromes/etiologies, this paper takes a varied group of children with ID into account. The paper also adds to educational insights, since the findings imply that children with ID are able to use phonological pathways in learning to read. Educators could teach these children phonics-based literacy skills tailored to their individual learning needs.
-
Cognitive precursors of the developmental relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension in the intermediate elementary grades
Learning and Individual Differences, 2017Co-Authors: Nicole M. Swart, Marloes M. L. Muijselaar, E.g. Steenbeek-planting, Mienke Droop, Peter F. De Jong, Ludo VerhoevenAbstract:Abstract In a longitudinal study, we investigated how cognitive precursors (short-term memory, working memory, and Nonverbal Reasoning) influence the developmental relation between lexical quality (decoding and vocabulary) and reading comprehension skill in 282 Dutch students in the intermediate elementary grades (mean age at start Grade 4 was 9; 7 years) as these grades mark an important transition point in the development of reading comprehension skill. Analyses revealed strong autoregressive effects for the linguistic measures. Moreover, evidence was found for a reciprocal relation between vocabulary and reading comprehension. Direct concurrent relations were evidenced between short-term memory and decoding, and between working memory and Reasoning, on the one hand, and reading comprehension and vocabulary, on the other hand. Finally, we found direct and indirect influences of Nonverbal Reasoning and working memory capacity on reading comprehension and vocabulary development. The results highlight the importance of both lexical and cognitive factors in reading comprehension development.
-
Discovering the laws of physics with a serious game in kindergarten
Computers in Education, 2016Co-Authors: Joep Van Der Graaf, Eliane Segers, Ludo VerhoevenAbstract:Serious games have unique strengths that can be used to augment science education. For the current study, we developed and investigated a serious game to assess kindergartners’ discovery of the laws of physics in the so-called Hippo app. The participants were 71 children, aged 5 years and 5 months on average. The app consisted of three game-plays: slides, seesaw, and pendulum. Children were asked to set variables (such as the steepness of the slide) correctly in order to provide a hungry hippo with a drink or some food. Children’s gaming behavior was assessed via exploration and efficiency scores, and next related to executive control, Nonverbal Reasoning, and vocabulary. Exploration was defined as the number of actions corrected for the total playing time, efficiency as the number of correctly solved problems corrected for the total number of attempts. The results revealed that efficiency and exploration scores did not correlate significantly, indicating two distinct types of gaming behaviors. Both types were associated with attentional control. Mediation analysis showed that the relation between exploration and attentional control was mediated by vocabulary, while the relation between efficiency and attentional control was mediated by Nonverbal Reasoning. To conclude, kindergartners’ efficiency and exploration can be seen as independent game behaviors; both demanding attentional control, but mediated by verbal skills in the case of exploration and by Nonverbal Reasoning in the case of efficiency.
Douglas Fuchs - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Language-Related Longitudinal Predictors of Arithmetic Word Problem Solving: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
Contemporary Educational Psychology, 2019Co-Authors: Mercedes Spencer, Lynn S. Fuchs, Douglas FuchsAbstract:Abstract We investigated the longitudinal relations between cognitive skills, specifically language-related skills, and word-problem solving in 340 children (6.10 to 9.02 years). We used structural equation modeling to examine whether word-problem solving, computation skill, working memory, Nonverbal Reasoning, oral language, and word reading fluency measured at second grade were associated with performance on measures of word-problem solving in fourth grade. Results indicated that prior word-problem solving, computation skill, Nonverbal Reasoning, and oral language were significantly associated with children’s later word-problem solving. Multi-group modeling suggested that these relations were not significantly different for boys versus girls. Implications of these findings are discussed.
-
cognitive and linguistic predictors of mathematical word problems with and without irrelevant information
Learning and Individual Differences, 2016Co-Authors: Amber Y Wang, Lynn S. Fuchs, Douglas FuchsAbstract:Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify cognitive and linguistic predictors of word problems with versus without irrelevant information. The sample was 701 2nd-grade students who received no specialized intervention on word problems. In the fall, they were assessed on initial arithmetic and word-problem skill as well as language ability, working memory capacity, and processing speed; in the spring, they were tested on a word-problem measure that included items with versus without irrelevant information. Significant predictors common to both forms of word problems were initial arithmetic and word problem-solving skill as well as language and working memory. Nonverbal Reasoning predicted word problems with irrelevant information, but not word problems without irrelevant information. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for intervention and future research.
-
Predicting Development of Mathematical Word Problem Solving across the Intermediate Grades.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 2012Co-Authors: Tammy D. Tolar, Lynn S. Fuchs, Douglas Fuchs, Paul T. Cirino, Carol L. Hamlett, Jack M. FletcherAbstract:This study addressed predictors of the development of word problem solving (WPS) across the intermediate grades. At beginning of 3rd grade, 4 cohorts of students (N = 261) were measured on computation, language, Nonverbal Reasoning skills, and attentive behavior and were assessed 4 times from beginning of 3rd through end of 5th grade on 2 measures of WPS at low and high levels of complexity. Language skills were related to initial performance at both levels of complexity and did not predict growth at either level. Computational skills had an effect on initial performance in low- but not high-complexity problems and did not predict growth at either level of complexity. Attentive behavior did not predict initial performance but did predict growth in low-complexity, whereas it predicted initial performance but not growth for high-complexity problems. Nonverbal Reasoning predicted initial performance and growth for low-complexity WPS, but only growth for high-complexity WPS. This evidence suggests that although mathematical structure is fixed, different cognitive resources may act as limiting factors in WPS development when the WPS context is varied.
Skye Mcdonald - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
emotion perception after moderate severe traumatic brain injury the valence effect and the role of working memory processing speed and Nonverbal Reasoning
Neuropsychology (journal), 2015Co-Authors: Hannah Rosenberg, Marie Dethier, Roy P C Kessels, Frederick R Westbrook, Skye McdonaldAbstract:OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) impairs emotion perception. Perception of negative emotions (sadness, disgust, fear, and anger) is reportedly affected more than positive (happiness and surprise) ones. It has been argued that this reflects a specialized neural network underpinning negative emotions that is vulnerable to brain injury. However, studies typically do not equate for differential difficulty between emotions. We aimed to examine whether emotion recognition deficits in people with TBI were specific to negative emotions, while equating task difficulty, and to determine whether perception deficits might be accounted for by other cognitive processes. METHOD: Twenty-seven people with TBI and 28 matched control participants identified 6 basic emotions at 2 levels of intensity (a) the conventional 100% intensity and (b) "equated intensity"-that is, an intensity that yielded comparable accuracy rates across emotions in controls. RESULTS: (a) At 100% intensity, the TBI group was impaired in recognizing anger, fear, and disgust but not happiness, surprise, or sadness and performed worse on negative than positive emotions. (b) At equated intensity, the TBI group was poorer than controls overall but not differentially poorer in recognizing negative emotions. Although processing speed and Nonverbal Reasoning were associated with emotion accuracy, injury severity by itself was a unique predictor. CONCLUSIONS: When task difficulty is taken into account, individuals with TBI show impairment in recognizing all facial emotions. There was no evidence for a specific impairment for negative emotions or any particular emotion. Impairment was accounted for by injury severity rather than being a secondary effect of reduced neuropsychological functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record
-
Emotion perception after moderate–severe traumatic brain injury: The valence effect and the role of working memory, processing speed, and Nonverbal Reasoning.
Neuropsychology (journal), 2015Co-Authors: Hannah Rosenberg, Marie Dethier, Roy P C Kessels, R. Frederick Westbrook, Skye McdonaldAbstract:OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) impairs emotion perception. Perception of negative emotions (sadness, disgust, fear, and anger) is reportedly affected more than positive (happiness and surprise) ones. It has been argued that this reflects a specialized neural network underpinning negative emotions that is vulnerable to brain injury. However, studies typically do not equate for differential difficulty between emotions. We aimed to examine whether emotion recognition deficits in people with TBI were specific to negative emotions, while equating task difficulty, and to determine whether perception deficits might be accounted for by other cognitive processes. METHOD: Twenty-seven people with TBI and 28 matched control participants identified 6 basic emotions at 2 levels of intensity (a) the conventional 100% intensity and (b) "equated intensity"-that is, an intensity that yielded comparable accuracy rates across emotions in controls. RESULTS: (a) At 100% intensity, the TBI group was impaired in recognizing anger, fear, and disgust but not happiness, surprise, or sadness and performed worse on negative than positive emotions. (b) At equated intensity, the TBI group was poorer than controls overall but not differentially poorer in recognizing negative emotions. Although processing speed and Nonverbal Reasoning were associated with emotion accuracy, injury severity by itself was a unique predictor. CONCLUSIONS: When task difficulty is taken into account, individuals with TBI show impairment in recognizing all facial emotions. There was no evidence for a specific impairment for negative emotions or any particular emotion. Impairment was accounted for by injury severity rather than being a secondary effect of reduced neuropsychological functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record
Irene Gaw T Gonzalo - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
working memory and relational Reasoning in klinefelter syndrome
Journal of The International Neuropsychological Society, 2003Co-Authors: Christina L. Fales, Keith J Holyoak, Daniel H. Geschwind, Barbara J Knowlton, Ronald S Swerdloff, Irene Gaw T GonzaloAbstract:Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is a sex chromosome abnormality associated with male infertility and mild cognitive deficits. Individuals with KS have been reported to have impaired verbal ability, as well as deficits in executive function. To further understand the nature of their deficits, we assessed specific elements of frontal lobe function such as working memory and relational Reasoning. Men with KS exhibited a deficit in a transitive inference task in which participants ordered a set of names based on a list of propositions about the relative heights of the people named. This deficit was present even for items in which the propositions were given in order, so a chaining strategy could be used. Men with KS are also impaired on the n -back task, which uses letters as stimuli. In contrast, these men performed as well as controls in Nonverbal Reasoning (Raven's Progressive Matrices). These results suggest that men with KS have intact Nonverbal Reasoning abilities, but that a difficulty in encoding verbal information into working memory may underlie their executive and linguistic impairments. ( JINS , 2003, 9 , 839–846.)
John M. Starr - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
losing one s grip a bivariate growth curve model of grip strength and Nonverbal Reasoning from age 79 to 87 years in the lothian birth cohort 1921
Journals of Gerontology Series B-psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2011Co-Authors: Ian J. Deary, Wendy Johnson, Alison Pattie, Caroline E. Brett, Timothy C. Bates, John M. StarrAbstract:OBJECTIVES: Grip strength and Reasoning are associated in old age. This is one of the few longitudinal studies addressing whether aging of one causes decline in the other or whether they share causal influences. METHODS: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 were assessed for grip strength and Nonverbal Reasoning at ages M = 79 (N = 550), M = 83 (N = 321), and M = 87 (N = 207). Associations among intercepts and slopes for grip strength and Reasoning and covariates were examined by fitting a bivariate growth curve structural equation model. RESULTS: Grip strength and Reasoning declined with age. They were each significantly correlated on each occasion. Their intercepts were significantly correlated (.20) but not their slopes. Neither intercept was significantly associated with its own or the other's slope. Better Reasoning was associated with higher childhood intelligence, more professional occupations, male sex, and being taller. There were no significant Reasoning slope associations. Stronger grip strength was associated with male sex, being taller, and drinking less alcohol. Women showed less age-related decline in grip strength. DISCUSSION: Physical and mental "grips" declined in the ninth decade of life. Their levels were significantly correlated; their slopes were not. There was no evidence for reciprocal dynamic influences nor for shared associations.
-
Losing One’s Grip: A Bivariate Growth Curve Model of Grip Strength and Nonverbal Reasoning From Age 79 to 87 Years in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921
Journals of Gerontology Series B-psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2011Co-Authors: Ian J. Deary, Wendy Johnson, Alison Pattie, Caroline E. Brett, Timothy C. Bates, John M. StarrAbstract:OBJECTIVES: Grip strength and Reasoning are associated in old age. This is one of the few longitudinal studies addressing whether aging of one causes decline in the other or whether they share causal influences. METHODS: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 were assessed for grip strength and Nonverbal Reasoning at ages M = 79 (N = 550), M = 83 (N = 321), and M = 87 (N = 207). Associations among intercepts and slopes for grip strength and Reasoning and covariates were examined by fitting a bivariate growth curve structural equation model. RESULTS: Grip strength and Reasoning declined with age. They were each significantly correlated on each occasion. Their intercepts were significantly correlated (.20) but not their slopes. Neither intercept was significantly associated with its own or the other's slope. Better Reasoning was associated with higher childhood intelligence, more professional occupations, male sex, and being taller. There were no significant Reasoning slope associations. Stronger grip strength was associated with male sex, being taller, and drinking less alcohol. Women showed less age-related decline in grip strength. DISCUSSION: Physical and mental "grips" declined in the ninth decade of life. Their levels were significantly correlated; their slopes were not. There was no evidence for reciprocal dynamic influences nor for shared associations.
-
Alzheimer's Disease Genes Are Associated with Measures of Cognitive Ageing in the Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936
International Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2011Co-Authors: Gillian Hamilton, John M. Starr, Sarah E. Harris, Gail Davies, David C. Liewald, Albert Tenesa, David J. Porteous, Ian J. DearyAbstract:Alzheimer's disease patients have deficits in specific cognitive domains, and susceptibility genes for this disease may influence human cognition in nondemented individuals. To evaluate the role of Alzheimer's disease-linked genetic variation on cognition and normal cognitive ageing, we investigated two Scottish cohorts for which assessments in major cognitive domains are available: the Lothian Birth Cohort of 1921 and the Lothian Birth Cohort of 1936, consisting of 505 and 998 individuals, respectively. 158 SNPs from eleven genes were evaluated. Single SNP analyses did not reveal any statistical association after correction for multiple testing. One haplotype from TRAPPC6A was associated with Nonverbal Reasoning in both cohorts and combined data sets. This haplotype explains a small proportion of the phenotypic variability (1.8%). These findings warrant further investigation as biological modifiers of cognitive ageing.
