scholarly journals Beyond Risk and Protective Factors: An Adaptation-Based Approach to Resilience

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce J. Ellis ◽  
JeanMarie Bianchi ◽  
Vladas Griskevicius ◽  
Willem E. Frankenhuis

How does repeated or chronic childhood adversity shape social and cognitive abilities? According to the prevailing deficit model, children from high-stress backgrounds are at risk for impairments in learning and behavior, and the intervention goal is to prevent, reduce, or repair the damage. Missing from this deficit approach is an attempt to leverage the unique strengths and abilities that develop in response to high-stress environments. Evolutionary-developmental models emphasize the coherent, functional changes that occur in response to stress over the life course. Research in birds, rodents, and humans suggests that developmental exposures to stress can improve forms of attention, perception, learning, memory, and problem solving that are ecologically relevant in harsh-unpredictable environments (as per the specialization hypothesis). Many of these skills and abilities, moreover, are primarily manifest in currently stressful contexts where they would provide the greatest fitness-relevant advantages (as per the sensitization hypothesis). This perspective supports an alternative adaptation-based approach to resilience that converges on a central question: “What are the attention, learning, memory, problem-solving, and decision-making strategies that are enhanced through exposures to childhood adversity?” At an applied level, this approach focuses on how we can work with, rather than against, these strengths to promote success in education, employment, and civic life.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
André Kretzschmar ◽  
Stephan Nebe

In order to investigate the nature of complex problem solving (CPS) within the nomological network of cognitive abilities, few studies have simultantiously considered working memory and intelligence, and results are inconsistent. The Brunswik symmetry principle was recently discussed as a possible explanation for the inconsistent findings because the operationalizations differed greatly between the studies. Following this assumption, 16 different combinations of operationalizations of working memory and fluid reasoning were examined in the present study (N = 152). Based on structural equation modeling with single-indicator latent variables (i.e., corrected for measurement error), it was found that working memory incrementally explained CPS variance above and beyond fluid reasoning in only 2 of 16 conditions. However, according to the Brunswik symmetry principle, both conditions can be interpreted as an asymmetrical (unfair) comparison, in which working memory was artificially favored over fluid reasoning. We conclude that there is little evidence that working memory plays a unique role in solving complex problems independent of fluid reasoning. Furthermore, the impact of the Brunswik symmetry principle was clearly demonstrated as the explained variance in CPS varied between 4 and 31%, depending on which operationalizations of working memory and fluid reasoning were considered. We argue that future studies investigating the interplay of cognitive abilities will benefit if the Brunswik principle is taken into account.


2017 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klara Gustin ◽  
Fahmida Tofail ◽  
Fardina Mehrin ◽  
Michael Levi ◽  
Marie Vahter ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E Rose ◽  
Alexandra Lamont ◽  
Nicholas Reyland

Correlational studies have suggested some harmful effects of television (TV) viewing in early childhood, especially for the viewing of fast-paced entertainment programs. However, this has not been consistently supported by experimental studies, many of which have lacked ecological validity. The current study explores the effects of pace of program on the attention, problem solving and comprehension of 41 3- and 4-year-olds using an ecologically valid experimental design. Children were visited twice at home; on each visit they were shown an episode of a popular animated entertainment program which differed in pace: one faster paced, one slower paced. Children’s behavior was coded for attention and arousal during viewing, attention, effort and performance after viewing during a problem-solving task, and comprehension of the program. The faster paced program was attended to more, but this had no impact on comprehension. Although 3-year-olds showed more attention and effort on the problem-solving task after watching the slower program, both 3- and 4-year-olds completed more problems successfully after watching the faster program. The results provide evidence to counter the ‘harm’ perceived in young children watching fast-paced entertainment programs as where differences were found it was the fast-paced program which appeared to have a cognitive facilitation effect.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Ellis ◽  
Gene Arnold Brewer ◽  
Matthew Kyle Robison

An individual encounters problem of varying difficulty every day. Each problem may include a different number of constraints. Multiply-constrained problems, such as the compound remote associates, are commonly used to study problem solving. Since their development, multiply-constrained problems have been related to creativity and insight. Moreover, research has investigated the cognitive abilities underlying problem solving abilities. In the present study we sought to fully evaluate a range of cognitive abilities (i.e., working memory, attention control, episodic and semantic memory, and fluid and crystallized intelligence) previously associated with multiply-constrained problem solving. Additionally, we sought to determine whether problem solving ability and strategies (analytical or insightful) were task specific or domain general through the use of novel problem solving tasks (TriBond and Location Bond). Multiply-constrained problem solving abilities were shown to be domain general, solutions derived through insightful strategies were more often correct than those derived through analytical strategies, and crystallized intelligence was the only cognitive ability that provided unique predictive value after accounting for all other abilities.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley J Meredith ◽  
Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez ◽  
Marc Berman ◽  
Monica Rosenberg

Individual differences in children’s cognitive abilities impact life and health outcomes. What factors influence these individual differences during development? Here we test whether children’s environments predict cognitive performance, independent of well- characterized socioeconomic effects. We analyzed data from 9002 9–10-year-olds from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, an ongoing longitudinal study with community samples across the U.S.A. Using youth- and caregiver-report questionnaires and national database registries (e.g., neighborhood crime, walkability), we defined principal components summarizing children’s home, school, neighborhood, and cultural environments. In two independent samples (ns = 3475, 5527), environmental components explained unique variance in children’s general cognitive ability, executive functioning, and learning/memory abilities. Furthermore, increased neighborhood enrichment was associated with a decreased relationship between sociodemographics and general cognitive abilities. Thus, the environment explains unique variance in cognitive performance in development and should be considered alongside sociodemographic factors to understand brain functioning and behavior.


Author(s):  
Ioan Dumitrache ◽  
Simona Iuliana Caramihai ◽  
Dragos Constantin Popescu ◽  
Mihnea Alexandru Moisescu ◽  
Ioan Stefan Sacala

There are currently certain categories of manufacturing enterprises whose structure, organization and operating context have an extremely high degree of complexity, especially due to the way in which their various components interact and influence each other. For them, a series of paradigms have been developed, including intelligent manufacturing, smart manufacturing, cognitive manufacturing; which are based equally on information and knowledge management, management and interpretation of data flows and problem solving approaches. This work presents a new vision regarding the evolution of the future enterprise based on concepts and attributes acquired from the field of biology. Our approach addresses in a systemic manner the structural, functional, and behavioral aspects of the enterprise, seen as a complex dynamic system. In this article we are proposing an architecture and management methodology based on the human brain, where the problem solving is achieved by Perception – Memory – Learning and Behavior Generation mechanisms. In order to support the design of such an architecture and to allow a faster learning process, a software modeling and simulation platform was developed and is briefly presented.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Sucipto Sucipto

AbstrakSecara umum capaian ketrampilan berpikir tingkat tinggi peserta didik masih rendah dibanding negara lain. Untuk mengembangkan keterampilan berpikir  tingkat  tinggi, pendidik dituntut untuk menciptakan suasana belajar yang  mendukung  dan  menggunakan   strategi pembelajaran. Upaya meningkatkan ketrampilan berpikir peserta didik dapat dilakukan dengan meningkatkan ketrampilan metakognisinya. Ada berbagai jenis strategi metakognitif yang dapat dipilih pendidik, satu diantaranya menggunakan strategi pemecahan masalah (problem solving). Dalam proses pemecahan masalah, individu menggunakan kedua kemampuan kognitif dan keterampilan praktis, yang meliputi kegiatan metakognitif seperti analisis, sintesis dan evaluasi. Pembelajaran  berbasis masalah merupakan pendekatan pembelajaran yang digunakan untuk merangsang berpikir tingkat tinggi siswa dalam situasi yang berorientasi pada masalah yang nyata, termasuk di dalamnya belajar bagaimana belajar. AbstractIn general, higher order thinking skills achievements of learners is still low compared to other countries. To develop higher order thinking skills, educators are required to create a learning atmosphere that supports and use learning strategies. Efforts to improve thinking skills that learners can do to improve metacognitive skills. There are different types of metacognitive strategies that can be selected educators, one of which uses problem solving strategies. In the process of solving problems, individuals using both cognitive abilities and practical skills, which include metacognitive activities such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Problem-based learning is an instructional approach used to stimulate students' higher order thinking in situations oriented real problems, including learning how to learn.


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