scholarly journals Revisiting and refining relations between nonsymbolic ratio processing and symbolic math achievement

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunji Park ◽  
Percival G. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Power ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Magnitude Comparison ◽  
Whole Numbers ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Processing Ability ◽  
Placement Exam ◽  
Fractional Knowledge

In their 2016 Psych Science article, Matthews, Lewis and Hubbard (2016, https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615617799) leveled a challenge against the prevailing theory that fractions—as opposed to whole numbers—are incompatible with humans’ primitive nonsymbolic number sense. Their ratio processing system (RPS) account holds that humans possess a primitive system that confers the ability to process nonysmbolic ratio magnitudes. Perhaps the most striking finding from Matthews et al. was that ratio processing ability predicted symbolic fractions knowledge and algebraic competence. The purpose of the current study was to replicate Matthews et al.’s novel results and to extend the study by including a control measure of fluid intelligence and an additional nonsymbolic magnitude format as predictors of multiple symbolic math outcomes. Ninety-nine college students completed three comparison tasks deciding which of two nonsymbolic ratios was numerically larger along with three simple magnitude comparison tasks in corresponding formats that served as controls. The formats included were lines, circles, and dots. We found that RPS acuity predicted fractions knowledge for three university math placement exam subtests when controlling for simple magnitude acuities and inhibitory control. However, this predictive power of the RPS measure appeared to stem primarily from acuity of the line-ratio format, and that predictive power was attenuated with the inclusion of fluid intelligence. These findings may help refine theories positing the RPS as a domain-specific foundation for building fractional knowledge and related higher mathematics.

Similarity of Computations Across Domains Does Not Imply Shared Implementation: The Case of Language Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 526-534
Author(s):  
Evelina Fedorenko ◽  
Cory Shain
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Cognitive Operations ◽  
High Level ◽  
General Circuits ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Language Network

Understanding language requires applying cognitive operations (e.g., memory retrieval, prediction, structure building) that are relevant across many cognitive domains to specialized knowledge structures (e.g., a particular language’s lexicon and syntax). Are these computations carried out by domain-general circuits or by circuits that store domain-specific representations? Recent work has characterized the roles in language comprehension of the language network, which is selective for high-level language processing, and the multiple-demand (MD) network, which has been implicated in executive functions and linked to fluid intelligence and thus is a prime candidate for implementing computations that support information processing across domains. The language network responds robustly to diverse aspects of comprehension, but the MD network shows no sensitivity to linguistic variables. We therefore argue that the MD network does not play a core role in language comprehension and that past findings suggesting the contrary are likely due to methodological artifacts. Although future studies may reveal some aspects of language comprehension that require the MD network, evidence to date suggests that those will not be related to core linguistic processes such as lexical access or composition. The finding that the circuits that store linguistic knowledge carry out computations on those representations aligns with general arguments against the separation of memory and computation in the mind and brain.

scholarly journals DISPOSITIONAL TRAITS AS PREDICTORS OF SELF-EFFICACY

2020 ◽  
pp. 32-44
Author(s):  
Elena Lisá ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Career Decision ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Personality Theory ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Specific Career ◽  
General Self Efficacy

Introduction: We started from Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the onion model of achievement motivation according to Schuler & Prochaska, and the 5-factor personality theory by Costa & McCrae. The study aimed to analyze the predictive power of achievement motivation and personality traits on general self-efficacyand domain-specific career decision self-efficacy. We expected the more significant relationship of stable personality characteristics with general self-efficacy than with specific-domain career decision self-efficacy. Methods: 690adult participants (university students and working adults) completed a career decision self-efficacy questionnaire,and 268of them a general self-efficacy scale. All participants also fulfilled an achievement motivation questionnaire and afive-factor personality theory questionnaire. Results: All five personality traits, combined with four dimensions of achievement motivation (dominance, confidence in success, self-control, and competitiveness) explain 61% of general self-efficacy variability. Extraversion, agreeableness, andconscientiousness with six achievement motivation dimensions (dominance, engagement, confidence in success, fearlessness, competitiveness, and goal setting) explain 42.5% of career decision self-efficacy variability. Discussion: Stable traits and achievement motivation dimensions had more significant predictive power on general self-efficacy than on domain-specific career decision self-efficacy. For further research, there is a suggestion about a theoretically and empirically integrated model of dispositional and social-cognitive approaches.

scholarly journals The Working Memory as Predictor of Performance in Arithmetic of Brazilian Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda David Vieira ◽  
Denise Oliveira Ribeiro ◽  
Heitor Blesa Farias ◽  
Patricia Martins Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
School Performance ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
School Learning ◽  
Brazilian Students ◽  
Positive Correlations

Abstract Working memory (WM) is a predictor of school learning. This study aimed to investigate the predictive power of verbal and non-verbal working memory (WM) on students’ performance in arithmetic. 126 children between 6 and 11 years old participated in the research. The instruments were: School Performance Test, Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices, Corsi Block-tapping Test, and Digits Subtest. The results showed strong and positive correlations of school performance with fluid intelligence r = 0.64, with verbal WM and non-verbal WM, both with r = 0.51 (p < 0.001). After multiple linear regression, it was found that the performance in visuospatial WM was a strong predictor for arithmetic, an effect not found for reading. The regression showed that WM explains 38% of the variance for arithmetic. It is concluded that WM has an expressive contribution to school performance, being more specific the contributions of visuospatial WM for arithmetic.

scholarly journals Working Memory, but Not IQ, Predicts Subsequent Learning in Children with Learning Difficulties

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Packiam Alloway
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Academic Progress ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Domain Specific Knowledge

The purpose of the present study was to compare the predictive power of working memory and IQ in children identified as having learning difficulties. The term “working memory” refers to the capacity to store and manipulate information in mind for brief periods of time. Working-memory capacity is strongly related to learning abilities and academic progress, predicting current and subsequent scholastic attainment of children across the school years in both literacy and numeracy. Children aged between 7 and 11 years were tested at Time 1 on measures of working memory, IQ, and learning. They were then retested 2 years later on the learning measures. The findings indicated that working-memory capacity and domain-specific knowledge at Time 1, but not IQ, were significant predictors of learning at Time 2. The implications for screening and intervention are discussed.

scholarly journals Attention mediates the influence of numerical magnitude on temporal processing

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuj Shukla ◽  
Raju S. Bapi
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Numerical Magnitude ◽  
Comparison Task ◽  
Domain Interaction ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Magnitude Processing ◽  
Cross Domain ◽  
Numerical Magnitudes

AbstractThe processing of time and numbers has been fundamental to human cognition. One of the prominent theories of magnitude processing, a theory of magnitude (ATOM), suggests that a generalized magnitude system processes space, time, and numbers; thereby, the magnitude dimensions could potentially interact with one another. However, more recent studies have found support for domain-specific magnitude processing and argued that the magnitudes related to time and number are processed through distinct mechanisms. Such mixed findings have raised questions about whether these magnitudes are processed independently or share a common processing mechanism. In the present study, we examine the influence of numerical magnitude on temporal processing. To investigate, we conducted two experiments using a temporal comparison task, wherein we presented positive and negative numerical magnitudes (large and small) in a blocked (Experiment-1) and intermixed manner (Experiment-2). Results from experiment-1 suggest that numerical magnitude affects temporal processing only in positive numbers but not for negative numbers. Further, results from experiment-2 indicate that the polarity (positive and negative) of the numbers influences temporal processing instead of the numerical magnitude itself. Overall, the current study seems to suggest that cross-domain interaction of magnitudes arises from attentional mechanisms and may not need to posit a common magnitude processing system.

At-Risk Boys’ Social Self-Efficacy and Physical Activity Self-Efficacy in a Summer Sports Camp

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxia Su ◽  
Ping Xiang ◽  
Ron E. McBride ◽  
Jiling Liu ◽  
Michael A. Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Summer Sports Camp

This study examined at-risk boys’ social self-efficacy and physical activity self-efficacy within Bandura’s self-efficacy framework. A total of 97 boys, aged between 10 and 13 years, attending a summer sports camp completed questionnaires assessing their social self-efficacy, physical activity self-efficacy, prosocial behaviors, and effort. Results indicated that social self-efficacy and physical activity self-efficacy were clearly distinguishable. However, the two constructs had a strong positive correlation. Both social self-efficacy and physical activity self-efficacy predicted prosocial behaviors significantly, with social self-efficacy having a stronger predictive power. Physical activity self-efficacy was a better predictor of effort than social self-efficacy. This study provides initial empirical evidence supporting Bandura’s conceptualization of the domain-specific features and predictive power of self-efficacy in a summer sports camp setting, and thus enables a better understanding of the nature and effects of self-efficacy.

On the contribution of kindergarten writing to grade 1 literacy: A longitudinal study in Hebrew

2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVELYN SHATIL ◽  
DAVID L. SHARE ◽  
IRIS LEVIN
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Phonemic Awareness ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Print Exposure ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Concepts About Print ◽  
Word Writing ◽  
The Relationship

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between kindergarten word writing and grade 1 literacy in a large sample of Israeli children. In kindergarten, a majority of children produced writing which displayed most of the graphospatial characteristics of conventional word writing, although only one-third of the children demonstrated a working knowledge of the alphabetic principle. Kindergarten writing significantly predicted variance in all three measures of grade 1 literacy (decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension), even after controlling for general intelligence. We also investigated the role of alphabetic skills and socioliteracy variables in accounting for the predictive power of kindergarten writing. Kindergarten alphabetic skills (phonemic awareness and knowledge of letter names), but not socioliteracy factors (parental print exposure, parents' reading to child, and Clay's Concepts about Print), explained all the variance contributed by kindergarten writing to grade 1 decoding and spelling. In the case of reading comprehension, both alphabetic and socioliteracy variables were able to account for the predictive power of kindergarten writing. As a precursor of reading comprehension, kindergarten writing appears to reflect both domain-specific alphabetic skills and broader socioliteracy factors underlying the higher order cognitive competencies essential for comprehending text.

uBlasCL: Architecture Agnostic Massively Parallel Linear Algebra System

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athanasios Iliopoulos ◽  
John G. Michopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Linear Algebra ◽  
Graphics Processing Units ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Performance Testing ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Massively Parallel ◽  
Domain Specific Languages ◽  
Central Processing ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Graphics Processing

The need for more efficient, more abstract and easier to use parallel programming interfaces has been recently intensified with the introduction and remarkable evolution of technologies such as the General Purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPG-PUs) and multi-core Central Processing Units (CPUs). In the present paper we present the introduction of the uBlasCL system as a Domain Specific Embedded Language within C++ that implements a Basic Linear Algebra Interface for OpenCL. The system is architecture agnostic, in the sense that it can be programmed independently of the targeted architecture, is massively parallel, and achieves efficiency that tracks well the increase in hardware performance advances. Our effort is based on the utilization of template metaprogramming and domain specific languages fundamentals, for developing a system that has the syntactic flexibility of a symbolic term processing system for expressing mathematics, and the semantic and executional power to exploit the parallelism offered by the hardware in an automated, transparent to the user, and efficiently mapped on the hardware manner. We also describe its relation to C++, template programming, domain specific languages and OpenCL. In the effort to develop uBlasCL we also developed a middleware library named CL++, as a convenient C++ interface to OpenCL. After the architectural and the implementation descriptions of the system, we present performance testing results demonstrating its potential power.

Modality Specificity of Comprehension Abilities in the Sciences

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Schroeders ◽  
Nina Bucholtz ◽  
Maren Formazin ◽  
Oliver Wilhelm
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Science Achievement ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
School Students ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Handheld Device ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Comprehension Task ◽  
Domain Specific Knowledge

The measurement of science achievement is often unnecessarily restricted to the presentation of reading comprehension items that are sometimes enriched with graphs, tables, and figures. In a newly developed viewing comprehension task, participants watched short videos covering different science topics and were subsequently asked several multiple-choice comprehension questions. Research questions were whether viewing comprehension (1) can be measured adequately, (2) is perfectly collinear with reading comprehension, and (3) can be regarded as a linear function of reasoning and acquired knowledge. High-school students (N = 216) worked on a paper-based reading comprehension task, a viewing comprehension task delivered on handheld devices, a sciences knowledge test, and three fluid intelligence measures. The data show that, first, the new viewing comprehension test worked psychometrically fine; second, performance in both comprehension tasks was essentially perfectly collinear; third, fluid intelligence and domain-specific knowledge fully accounted for the ability to comprehend texts and videos. We conclude that neither test medium (paper-pencil versus handheld device) nor test modality (reading versus viewing) are decisive for comprehension ability in the natural sciences. Fluid intelligence and, even more strongly, domain-specific knowledge turned out to be exhaustive predictors of comprehension performance.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document