An expert performance approach to the study of individual differences in self-regulated learning activities in upper-level college students Kiruthiga Nandagopal and K. Anders Ericsson One of the hallmarks of adolescent and adult development of expert performance is its self regulation. This paper reviews different approaches to assessing the use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies […]
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Study Alert: Development and initial assessment of a short measure for adult playfulness: The SMAP
Development and initial assessment of a short measure for adult playfulness: The SMAP René T. Proyer This study reports an initial evaluation of a new short measure for adult playfulness (SMAP). In data from a construction (N = 266), and two replication samples (N = 147 students, N = 215 adults), a one-dimen- sional solution […]
STUDY ALERT: Thought Beyond Language: Neural Dissociation of Algebra and Natural Language
Thought Beyond Language: Neural Dissociation of Algebra and Natural Language Martin M. Monti1, Lawrence M. Parsons, and Daniel N. Osherson A central question in cognitive science is whether natural language provides combinatorial operations that are essential to diverse domains of thought. In the study reported here, we addressed this issue by examining the role of […]
STUDY ALERT: Play and Mate Preference
Play and Mate Preference: Testing the Signal Theory of Adult Playfulness Garry Chick Careen Yarnal, and Andrew Purrington The overwhelming majority of play research concerns juveniles. However, a full understanding of the phenomenon requires knowledge of play and playfulness across the life spans of those animals, including humans, who play in adulthood. The authors investigate a theory […]
STUDY ALERT: A 32-Year Longitudinal Study of Child and Adolescent Pathways to Well-Being in Adulthood
A 32-Year Longitudinal Study of Child and Adolescent Pathways to Well-Being in Adulthood Craig A. Olsson • Rob McGee • Shyamala Nada-Raja • Sheila M. Williams The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative importance of child and adolescent social and academic pathways to well-being in adulthood (32-years) indicated by a sense of […]
STUDY ALERT: Behavioral and neuroanatomical investigation of Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)
Behavioral and neuroanatomical investigation of Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) Aurora K.R. LePort, Aaron T. Mattfeld, Heather Dickinson-Anson, James H. Fallon, Craig E.L. Stark, Frithjof Kruggel, Larry Cahill, James L. McGaugh A single case study recently documented one woman’s ability to recall accurately vast amounts of autobiographical information, spanning most of her lifetime, without […]
STUDY ALERT: Test anxiety and performance-avoidance goals explain gender differences in SAT scores
Test anxiety and performance-avoidance goals explain gender differences in SAT scores Brenda Hannon This study uses analysis of co-variance in order to determine which cognitive/learning (working memory, knowledge integration, epistemic belief of learning) or social/personality factors (test anxiety, performance-avoidance goals) might account for gender differences in SAT-V, SAT-M, and overall SAT scores. The results revealed […]
STUDY ALERT: The Relationship Between Personality Traits and Volume Changes in Regional Gray Matter
A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship Between Personality Traits and the Annual Rate of Volume Changes in Regional Gray Matter in Healthy Adults Yasuyuki Taki, Benjamin Thyreau, Shigeo Kinomura, Kazunori Sato, Ryoi Goto, Kai Wu, Ryuta Kawashima, and Hiroshi Fukuda To investigate whether personality traits affect the rate of decline of gray matter volume, we […]
STUDY ALERT: The Neurobiology of Human Altruism
Linking Brain Structure and Activation in Temporoparietal Junction to Explain the Neurobiology of Human Altruism Yosuke Morishima, Daniel Schunk, Adrian Bruhin, Christian C. Ruff, and Ernst Fehr Human altruism shaped our evolutionary history and pervades social and political life. There are, however, enormous individual differences in altruism. Some people are almost completely selfish, while others display strong […]
STUDY ALERT: The Appearance of the Child Prodigy 10,000 Years Ago + BONUS
The Appearance of the Child Prodigy 10,000 Years Ago: An Evolutionary and Developmental Explanation Larry R. Vandervert Feldman and Goldsmith (1991) sought an evolutionary explanation of the child prodigy phenomenon. Following in this vein, a theory involving the evolution and development of the collaboration of working memory and the cognitive functions of the […]
STUDY ALERT: Global Connectivity of Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Cognitive Control and Intelligence
Global Connectivity of Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Cognitive Control and Intelligence Michael W. Cole, Tal Yarkoni, Grega Repov ̆s, Alan Anticevic, and Todd S. Braver1 Control of thought and behavior is fundamental to human intelligence. Evidence suggests a frontoparietal brain network implements such cognitive control across diverse contexts. We identify a mechanism— global connectivity— by […]
STUDY ALERT: Child prodigy: A novel cognitive profile places elevated general intelligence, exceptional working memory and attention to detail at the root of prodigiousness
Child prodigy: A novel cognitive profile places elevated general intelligence, exceptional working memory and attention to detail at the root of prodigiousness Joanne Ruthsatz a,⁎, Jourdan B. Urbach b Child prodigies are unusual for their early and exceptional adoption of what are traditionally thought of as adult abilities. As part of an effort to better […]