The measurement of bilingualism and its relationship to cognitive ability

1989 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian R. Lemmon ◽  
Judith P. Goggin
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Skill ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Highly Correlated

ABSTRACTThe present experiments explored various measures of English and Spanish language ability and compared monolingual and bilingual subjects on tests of cognitive skill. Language ability was assessed in Experiment 1. These measures were found to be highly correlated with each other, with at least two factors needed to describe the associations among the tests in each language. In Experiment 2, subjects were given tests of cognitive skill. To be included in this study, all subjects were required to show adequate understanding of English and were divided into monolingual and bilingual groups on the basis of their Spanish abilities. Monolinguals scored higher than bilinguals on most of the measures of cognitive skill, but subsequent comparisons of the monolinguals with high and low bilingual subgroups suggested that the differences were attributable to those subjects characterized as low bilinguals.

Tahap Keupayaan Kognitif Bacaan Dalam Pembelajaran Bahasa Melayu Kanak-Kanak Pemulihan Khas

Sains Insani ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-87
Author(s):  
Nurul Haniza Samsudin ◽  
Puteri Roslina Abdul Wahid ◽  
Salinah Ja’afar ◽  
Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Remedial Education ◽  
Cognitive Skill ◽  
Ability Level ◽  
Letter Sounds ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

This article discusses the reading cognitive ability in Malay Language learning among remedial education children. The cognitive ability among these children was tested based on several reading aspects which include the skills of recognizing or detecting, understanding, and applying as outlined in Bloom’s Taxonomy. This research utilized both the quantitative and qualitative methods in collecting the data. The subjects selected involved eight Standard Three students who were undergoing the remedial class in Puchong, Selangor. The instruments used included both oral and non-oral tests. The research findings indicate that the ability to apply appears to be the most acquired cognitive skill among the subjects (99.58%), followed by the abilities to understand (95.36%), and to remember (95.8%). These findings portray that special remedial children’s cognitive ability level is not only measured from the aspect of reading fluency, but also their abilities in recognizing letters, understanding letter sounds, and applying grammar skills. Keywords: cognitive ability, Malay Language learning, remedial education children ABSTRAK: Makalah ini membicarakan tentang tahap keupayaan kognitif bacaan dalam pembelajaran bahasa Melayu kanak-kanak pemulihan khas. Keupayaan kognitif dalam kalangan kanak-kanak pemulihan khas diuji berdasarkan aspek bacaan, iaitu dengan mengaplikasikan kemahiran mengenal pasti, memahami, dan mengaplikasi seperti yang terdapat dalam Taksonomi Bloom. Kajian ini juga menggunakan kaedah kuantitatif dan kualitatif dalam pengumpulan data. Subjek yang dipilih merupakan lapan orang pelajar darjah tiga yang mengikuti kelas pemulihan khas di Puchong, Selangor. Instrumen yang digunakan ialah ujian lisan dan bukan lisan. Dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa keupayaan mengaplikasi merupakan keupayaan yang paling dikuasai oleh subjek kajian dalam kemahiran kognitif, iaitu sebanyak 99.58 peratus, diikuti oleh keupayaan memahami 95.36 peratus, dan keupayaan mengingat 95.8 peratus. Dapatan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa tahap keupayaan kognitif kanak-kanak pemulihan khas bukan hanya diukur daripada kelancaran bacaan sahaja, malah keupayaan mengenal pasti huruf, memahami bunyi huruf, dan mengaplikasi tatabahasa turut diambil kira. Kata kunci: kognitif bacaan, kanak-kanak pemulihan khas, pembelajaran bahasa Melayu

Estimation of premorbid intelligence and executive cognitive functions with lexical reading tasks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Pluck
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Stem Completion ◽  
Clinical Neuropsychology ◽  
Premorbid Intelligence ◽  
Highly Correlated

Introduction: Estimation of premorbid function is essential to accurate assessment of cognitive impairments in clinical neuropsychology and behavioral neurology, and has numerous research applications. However, current methods are rudimentary and imperfect. We explored how lexical tasks can be best used to accurately and precisely estimate intelligence and executive functions.Methods: We studied lexical word pronunciation, lexical decision, and stem-completion naming in the estimation of cognitive ability, in samples of healthy adults (n = 143), and patients with cognitive impairment due to neurological illness (n =15). Cognitive assessments included intelligence (WAIS-IV), episodic memory, and eight tests of executive functioning, including Theory of Mind.Results: When examined at the group level, single word pronunciation was particularly robust in the presence of cognitive impairment in patients with dementia. However, as a case series, patients showed idiosyncratic patterns of preservation of lexical skills including on tests of pronunciation, lexical decision and stem-completion naming. All of these tasks were highly correlated with IQ scores in a non-clinical sample, suggesting that they could be used as estimators of premorbid intelligence. Simulated impairments in non-clinical controls suggested that the median score from the three different tasks had the highest correlation with, and provided the most accurate and precise estimates of, intelligence, and was also the least sensitive to impairment. Finally, we show that these methods also predict executive functions, in particular, strong correlations were found for proverb interpretation, phonemic/semantic alternating verbal fluency, and working memory span performance. Conclusions: Several lexical tasks are potentially useful in predication of pre-illness cognitive ability in patients with neurological or psychiatric illness. However, due to the heterogeneity of impairments between patients, estimation of premorbid levels could be improved by the use of the median estimated values from multiple tests. This could potentially improve diagnostic accuracy and quantification of neuropsychological impairments.

The Semantic Differential as an Index of Traffic Sign Perception and Comprehension

1977 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Dewar ◽  
Jerry G. Ells
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Differential ◽  
The Other ◽  
Traffic Sign ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Valid Instrument ◽  
Paper And Pencil ◽  
Verbal Messages ◽  
Highly Correlated

There is a need to develop and validate simple, inexpensive techniques for the evaluation of traffic sign messages. This paper examines the semantic differential (a paper-and-pencil test which measures psychological meaning) as a potential instrument for such evaluation. Two experiments are described, one relating semantic differential scores to comprehension and the other relating this index to glance legibility. The data indicate that semantic differential scores on all four factors (evaluative, activity, potency, and understandability) were highly correlated with comprehension of symbolic messages. These scores were unrelated to glance legibility of verbal messages, but two factors (evaluative and understandability) did correlate with glance legibility of symbolic messages. It was concluded that the semantic differential is a valid instrument for evaluating comprehension of symbolic sign messages and that it has advantages over other techniques.

scholarly journals Have Standard Formulas Correcting Correlations for Range Restriction Been Adequately Tested?: Minor Sampling Distribution Quirks Distort Them

2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1021-1055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Johnson ◽  
Ian J. Deary ◽  
Thomas J. Bouchard
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Maximum Likelihood Estimates ◽  
Range Restriction ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Ability Tests ◽  
Highly Correlated

Most study samples show less variability in key variables than do their source populations due most often to indirect selection into study participation associated with a wide range of personal and circumstantial characteristics. Formulas exist to correct the distortions of population-level correlations created. Formula accuracy has been tested using simulated normally distributed data, but empirical data are rarely available for testing. We did so in a rare data set in which it was possible: the 6-Day Sample, a representative subsample of 1,208 from the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 of cognitive ability in 1936-born Scottish schoolchildren (70,805). 6-Day Sample participants completed a follow-up assessment in childhood and were re-recruited for study at age 77 years. We compared full 6-Day Sample correlations of early-life variables with those of the range-restricted correlations in the later-participating subsample, before and after adjustment for direct and indirect range restriction. Results differed, especially for two highly correlated cognitive tests; neither reproduced full-sample correlations well due to small deviations from normal distribution in skew and kurtosis. Maximum likelihood estimates did little better. To assess these results’ typicality, we simulated sample selection and made similar comparisons using the 42 cognitive ability tests administered to the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, with very similar results. We discuss problems in developing further adjustments to offset range-restriction distortions and possible approaches to solutions.

The Vulnerable Attachment Style Questionnaire (VASQ): an interview-based measure of attachment styles that predict depressive disorder

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1099-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. BIFULCO ◽  
J. MAHON ◽  
J.-H. KWON ◽  
P. M. MORAN ◽  
C. JACOBS
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Adult Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Relationship ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Attachment Style Questionnaire ◽  
Report Measure

Background. The Vulnerable Attachment Style Questionnaire (VASQ) was developed to provide a brief self-report tool to assess adult attachment style in relation to depression and validated against an existing investigator-based interview (Attachment Style Interview – ASI). This paper describes the development and scoring of the VASQ and its relationship to poor support and major depression.Method. Items for the VASQ reflected behaviours, emotions and attitudes relating to attachment relationship style, drawn directly from the ASI. The VASQ was validated against the ASI for 262 community-based subjects. Test–retest was determined on 38 subjects.Results. Factor analysis derived two factors, labelled ‘insecurity’ and ‘proximity-seeking’. The VASQ insecurity dimension had highest mean scores for those with interview-based Angry-dismissive and Fearful styles and was significantly correlated with degree of interview-based insecurity. The proximity-seeking VASQ scores had highest mean for those with Enmeshed interview attachment style and was uncorrelated with ASI insecurity. VASQ scores were highly correlated with a well-known self-report measure of insecure attachment (Relationship Questionnaire) and text–retest reliability of the VASQ was satisfactory. The total VASQ score and the insecurity subscale proved highly related to poor support and to depressive disorder. This was not the case for the proximity-seeking subscale.Conclusion. The VASQ is a brief self-report measure that distinguishes individuals with attachment styles vulnerable for depressive disorder. The use of the measure for screening in research and clinical contexts is discussed.

scholarly journals Swiss Study to Validate the Mannheimer Craving Scale (MaCS)

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Fabian Reichenbach ◽  
Yuliya Burren ◽  
Christoph Flückiger ◽  
Hansjörg Znoj ◽  
Franz Moggi
Keyword(s):  
Factor Structure ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Psychometric Characteristics ◽  
German Sample ◽  
Swiss German ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Sample Method

Abstract. Aim: In the research and treatment of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), craving for alcohol, nicotine, and drugs is an important concept associated with addictive processes, including relapse after treatment. The 12-item Mannheimer Craving Scale (MaCS) has been proved to be an economic, reliable, and valid self-rating instrument across several substances in German samples. The aim of this study was to examine its psychometric characteristics in a Swiss German sample. Method: Overall, 166 patients were recruited from an inpatient SUD treatment program at the University Hospital of Psychiatry in Bern, Switzerland. Results: The internal consistency was high and the test-retest reliability was satisfactory. The total scale and three specific analogue craving measures were highly correlated. Principal component analysis extracted two factors, explaining 62 % of the total variance, and these factors were confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis. However, the two factors correlated highly, and several items loaded on both factors, so that the factor structure was inconclusive. Conclusions: The psychometric characteristics of the MaCS in a Swiss German sample are as good as those characteristics of the German version, suggesting that it is a valid and reliable measure. The MaCS factor structure must be examined on a larger sample that integrates a broader range of SUDs and their severities.

scholarly journals S71. CLINICAL, BEHAVIOURAL AND NEURAL VALIDATION OF THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SYMPTOM SCALE (PANSS) AMOTIVATION FACTOR

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S61-S61
Author(s):  
Mariia Kaliuzhna ◽  
Matthias Kirschner ◽  
Fabien Carruzzo ◽  
Matthias Hartmann ◽  
Bischof Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Structure ◽  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Symptom Assessment ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Reward Anticipation ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Assessment Scales

Abstract Background Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are suggested to map onto two distinct factors – amotivation and diminished expression, which relate to different aspects of behaviour and neural activity. Most research in patients with schizophrenia is conducted with broad symptom assessment scales, such as the PANSS, for which factor solutions allowing the distinction between amotivation and diminished expression have only recently been reported. We aimed to establish whether the PANSS factor structure corresponds to the well-established two-factor structure of the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and whether it allows distinguishing specific behavioural and neuronal correlates of amotivation. Methods In study 1 (N=120) we examined the correlations between the PANSS factors and the BNSS factors. In study 2 (N=31) we examined whether PANSS amotivation is specifically associated with reduced willingness to work for reward in an effort-based decision making task. In study 3 (N=43) we investigated whether PANSS amotivation is specifically correlated with reduced ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results On the clinical level, the PANSS amotivation and diminished expression were highly correlated with their BNSS counterparts. On the behavioural level, PANSS amotivation factor but not the diminished expression factor was specifically associated with reduced willingness to invest effort to obtain a reward. On the neural level, PANSS amotivation was specifically associated with ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation. Discussion Our data confirm that the two domains of negative symptoms can be measured with the PANSS and are linked to specific aspects of behaviour and brain function. To our knowledge, this is the first study employing behavioural and neural measures to validate a new approach to clinical measurement of negative symptoms. Our results warrant a re-analysis of previous work that used the PANSS to further substantiate the distinction between the two factors in behavioural and neuroimaging studies.

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