Emotional and Cognitive Aptitudes and Successful Academic Performance: Using the ECCT

Understanding factors that influence academic performances is vital. The aim of this study is to longitudinally test, with three timepoints, the unique contribution of several predictors to academic performance. In a sample of 796 Ecuadorian students, dominance analyses were performed with the R program to test the relative and unique importance of the seven variables under study (verbal aptitude, numerical aptitude, abstract reasoning, emotional regulation scenarios, emotional regulation self-questionnaire, and academic performance measured in timepoint one and two) for academic performance, measured in timepoint three in the entire sample and separately in each of the ten degrees in the academic center. Results show that the strongest predictors are past academic performance, followed by gender, numerical aptitude, scenarios, verbal aptitude, abstract reasoning, and, finally, the emotional regulation self-questionnaire. This study contributes to explaining the complex topic of academic performance. More studies are needed in order to better understand the role played by emotional intelligence, as well as differences between different degrees or areas of study.

Evaluating the Impact of Alcohol Abstinence on the Cognitive Functioning of Adults Diagnosed with Alcohol Use Disorder

Research supports the relation between chronic alcohol use and progressive cognitive impairment but alcohol rehabilitation facilities mainly focus on psycho-social factors with limited emphasis on cognitive impairment and recovery. This study evaluated the impact of alcohol abstinence on cognitive functioning; specifically, visuospatial attention, working memory and abstract reasoning on two different occasions using the WAIS-IVSA battery. A pre-test–post-test design was used to assess patients diagnosed with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Differences in cognitive functioning from phase 1 (3-4 days after admission) and phase 2 (14 days after phase 1) were measured. A paired samples t-test was conducted using SPSS version 27. A statistically significant increase in AUD patients’ visuospatial scores was found when comparing phase 1 and 2 (M=7.11, SD=2.07), t(8)=3.42, p=.009. No statistically significant differences were observed for working memory and abstract reasoning. We conclude that the findings can be used to guide, and improve the development of future intervention programs to emphasize the value of cognitive recovery.

Design Training and Creativity: Students Develop Stronger Divergent but Not Convergent Thinking

Design training programs that teach creativity often emphasize divergent thinking (generation of ideas) more than convergent thinking (evaluation of ideas). We hypothesized that training would lead to more both types of creativity, but especially divergent thinking. Three groups of university students (N=120; n=40 in each group) were recruited to participate: senior design students (graduate students with at least 4years of design training as undergraduates); junior design students (undergraduates in their first year of design training); and undergraduate students in majors unrelated to design. The students completed three tasks in a classroom setting to assess divergent thinking (Alternate Uses Task), convergent thinking (Remote Associates Task), and nonverbal abstract reasoning (Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test). The results of one-way ANOVAs showed that as expected, senior design students significantly outperformed junior design students and non-design majors in divergent thinking. However, contrary to expectations, senior design students had significantly lower scores than the non-design group on convergent thinking; the junior design students’ scores fell in the middle but were not significantly different from either of the other groups. There were no group differences in nonverbal abstract reasoning. These findings suggest that design training significantly improves students’ ability to generate ideas but does not improve, or may even hinder, their ability to evaluate whether the ideas are useful for the task at hand. The results have implications for developing a research-based curriculum in design training programs.

Validity of Zulliger-SC in the Cognitive Assessment of Elderly and Long-Lived Adults

This study sought evidence of validity of the Zulliger method to evaluate cognitive processes in elderly and long-lived adults and to verify the relationship between cognition and external variables. Participated 142 subjects, aged between 18 and 96 years old. The Zulliger Comprehensive System (ZSC), Mini-Mental State Examination and sociodemographic protocols were used as of data collection. The older and long-lived adults presented a significant decrease in mediation (X-%, XA%, P) and abstract reasoning (M) when compared to young and middle-aged adults. Education and socioeconomic status (SES) demonstrated significant and positive correlations with cognitive processes (R, ZF, W, M, DQ+ and Intellectualization). The findings are fundamental to psychological practice and to directing measures for cognitive preservation in human aging.

Visual Reasoning in Mathematics Education: A Conceptual Framework Proposal

Reasoning is handled as a basic process skill in mathematics teaching. When the literature was examined, it was seen that many types of reasoning related to mathematics education were mentioned. In the present study, it was focused on visual reasoning, which is one of the types of reasoning and also used in different research areas. The purpose of the study was to propose a conceptual framework for what visual reasoning is and what its components are. The conceptual framework constructed consists of three components as visual representation using, visualization, and transition to mathematical thinking. In this framework, a clear distinction was made between the concepts of visual reasoning and visualization, which are thought to be intertwined with each other in the literature. At the same time, we tried to explain where visualization will take place in visual reasoning. Additionally, how visual reasoning will relate to mathematical thinking also distinguishes the framework from other frameworks.

Psychological Profile of Five Generations of Aspirants to the Nursing Master's Degree Program of the National Autonomous University of Mexico

Background: The nursing master's degree program of the National Autonomous University of Mexico conducted this self-assessment as part of a larger evaluation research project. The results based on the Psychological Evaluation Manual (PEM), which is used since 2010 and which estimates the general characteristics of the psychological profile of the aspirant students, are shown. Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the levels of performance of the aspirants to the nursing master's degree program and simultaneously, identify the related academic trajectory variables, based on the Psychological Assessment Manual, and in line with the nursing master's degree formative self-evaluation frame. Methods: The study was descriptive and transversal. The sample was constituted by 169 aspirants to the nursing master's degree program from 2015 to 2020 generations. Results: Some dimensions of the Psychological Evaluation Manual are significant to predict a successful academic trajectory. From the linear regression, it was observed that the variables Abstract reasoning and Avoidance of challenging work explain 18.9% of the variance in the average of the master's, with Abstract reasoning having a higher positive impact beta = .011) while in Avoidance of challenging work it was -.014. According to the, the expected profile of the aspirants to the nursing master's degree program implies medium-high scores on the scales of Academic aptitude, Adjustment to the reference social norms, as well as with Facilitating aspect, while medium-low scores in the scales of Deviation from the reference social norms and Limiting aspects. Conclusions: The study is that the Psychological Assessment Manual inputs valuable information which contributes to better estimate the profile of the aspirants to the program.

Cluster profiles of mild traumatic brain injury : neurocognitive and psychological symptoms

Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) comprise roughly 80% of all brain injuries and represent the majority of TBI patients seen in hospitals. mTBI can result in a wide-range of cognitive deficits and patients often develop co-morbid psychological disorders post-injury. The current study identified whether co-morbid psychological diagnoses are associated with specific patterns of cognitive deficits in 232 mTBI patients, aged 17-78 years, by means of cluster analyses. The presence of a co-morbid adjustment disorder was related to deficits in mental flexibility and attention, and the presence of a pain disorder was associated with deficits in abstract reasoning. Also, the presence of multiple co-morbid diagnoses was related to deficits in visual-spatial construction, abstract reasoning, mental flexibility and attention. Demographic variables, such as greater months since injury and fewer years of education, were also linked to deficits in cognitive functioning. This study highlights the influence of psychological diagnoses on cognitive test performance and provides support for the need to address co-morbid diagnoses during rehabilitation.