Does Childhood General Cognitive Ability at Age 12 Predict Subjective Well-Being at Age 52?

in Journal of Research in Personality (2012), 46

Drawing on a broad, multidimensional conceptualization of subjective well-being, this study examined the power of childhood general cognitive ability to predict life satisfaction, satisfaction with eight ... [more ▼]

Drawing on a broad, multidimensional conceptualization of subjective well-being, this study examined the power of childhood general cognitive ability to predict life satisfaction, satisfaction with eight individual life domains, and the frequency of experiencing positive and negative affect in middle adulthood. Data were obtained from a representative Luxembourgish sample (N = 738; 53% female) in a longitudinal study conducted in 1968 and 2008. Childhood general cognitive ability was unrelated to life satisfaction, negatively related to negative affect and satisfaction with free time, and positively related to positive affect and satisfaction with some of the life domains associated with socioeconomic success (i.e. finances, self, housing, work, or health). This predictive power persisted even when childhood socioeconomic status was controlled. [less ▲]

The Genetics Lab. Acceptance and psychometric characteristics of a computer-based microworld to assess Complex Problem Solving

in Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling (2012), 54

Computer-based problem solving scenarios or “microworlds” are contemporary assessment instruments frequently used to assess students’ complex problem solving behavior – a key aspect of today’s educational ... [more ▼]

Computer-based problem solving scenarios or “microworlds” are contemporary assessment instruments frequently used to assess students’ complex problem solving behavior – a key aspect of today’s educational curricula and assessment frameworks. Surprisingly, almost nothing is known about their (1) acceptance or (2) psychometric characteristics in student populations. This article introduces the Genetics Lab (GL), a newly developed microworld, and addresses this lack of empirical data in two studies. Findings from Study 1, with a sample of 61 ninth graders, show that acceptance of the GL was high and that the internal consistencies of the scores obtained were satisfactory. In addition, meaningful intercorrelations between the scores supported the instrument’s construct validity. Study 2 drew on data from 79 ninth graders in differing school types. Large to medium correlations with figural and numerical reasoning scores provided evidence for the instrument’s construct validity. In terms of external validity, substantial correlations were found between academic performance and scores on the GL, most of which were higher than those observed between academic performance and the reasoning scales administered. In sum, this research closes an important empirical gap by (1) proving acceptance of the GL and (2) demonstrating satisfactory psychometric properties of its scores in student populations. [less ▲]

Item‐Austausch im Rahmen des DACHL – Konzeptvorschlag

Presentation (2011, October)

Genetics Lab: Intelligenzdiagnostik durch computerbasierte Problemlöseszenarien: Konstruktvalidität, Testmotivation und der Mehrwert von Prozessmaßen

Scientific Conference (2011, September 26)

Working memory in 5-to-7 year-old children: Its structure and relationship to fluid intelligence

Scientific Conference (2011, August 24)

Working memory (WM) has been predominantly studied in adults. The insights provided by these studies have led to the development of competing theories on the structure of WM and conflicting conclusions on ... [more ▼]

Working memory (WM) has been predominantly studied in adults. The insights provided by these studies have led to the development of competing theories on the structure of WM and conflicting conclusions on how strongly WM components are related to higher order thinking skills such as fluid intelligence (GF). However, it remains unclear whether and to what extent the theories and findings derived from adult data generalize to children. The purpose of the present study was therefore to investigate WM in 5-to-7-year-old children (N = 161). Specifically, we examined different structural models of WM and how its components, as defined in these models, are related to GF. Our results suggest that children draw on both domain- general and domain-specific processes when performing memory span. Crucially, our findings indicate that domain-general processes result in a core storage capacity that primarily explains the relationship between WM and GF. Based on these observations we discuss the theoretical and methodological issues that arise when children’s WM is investigated. [less ▲]

Relationships between number and space processing in adults with and without dyscalculia

in Acta Psychologica (2011), 138

A large body of evidence indicates clear relationships between number and space processing in healthy and brain-damaged adults, as well as in children. The present paper addressed this issue regarding ... [more ▼]

A large body of evidence indicates clear relationships between number and space processing in healthy and brain-damaged adults, as well as in children. The present paper addressed this issue regarding atypical math development. Adults with a diagnosis of dyscalculia (DYS) during childhood were compared to adults with average or high abilities in mathematics across two bisection tasks. Participants were presented with Arabic number triplets and had to judge either the number magnitude or the spatial location of the middle number relative to the two outer numbers. For the numerical judgment, adults with DYS were slower than both groups of control peers. They were also more strongly affected by the factors related to number magnitude such as the range of the triplets or the distance between the middle number and the real arithmetical mean. By contrast, adults with DYS were as accurate and fast as adults who never experienced math disability when they had to make a spatial judgment. Moreover, number–space congruency affected performance similarly in the three experimental groups. These findings support the hypothesis of a deficit of number magnitude representation in DYS with a relative preservation of some spatial mechanisms in DYS. Results are discussed in terms of direct and indirect number–space interactions. [less ▲]

The Genetics Lab: On the usability and psychometric properties of a newly developed microworld to assess Complex Problem Solving in student samples

Scientific Conference (2011, April 27)

Longitudinal predictors of early mathematics: Number-specific versus domain-general mechanisms?

Poster (2011, February 11)

Longitudinal predictors of early mathematics: Number-specific versus domain-general mechanisms? What is a good basis for developing mathematical competencies? While some authors propose that number ... [more ▼]

Longitudinal predictors of early mathematics: Number-specific versus domain-general mechanisms? What is a good basis for developing mathematical competencies? While some authors propose that number-specific abilities primarily contribute to early math development, other authors suggest that domain-general abilities are key. [less ▲]

Children's working memory: Its structure and relationship to fluid intelligence

in Intelligence (2011), 39(4), 210-221

Working memory (WM) has been predominantly studied in adults. The insights provided by these studies have led to the development of competing theories on the structure of WM and conflicting conclusions on ... [more ▼]

Working memory (WM) has been predominantly studied in adults. The insights provided by these studies have led to the development of competing theories on the structure of WM and conflicting conclusions on how strongly WM components are related to higher order thinking skills such as fluid intelligence. However, it remains unclear whether and to what extent the theories and findings derived from adult data generalize to children. The purpose of the present study is therefore to investigate children's WM (N = 161), who attended classes at the end of kindergarten in Luxembourg. Specifically, we examine different structural models of WM and how its components, as defined in these models, are related to fluid intelligence. Our results indicate that short-term storage capacity primarily explains the relationship between WM and fluid intelligence. Based on these observations we discuss the theoretical and methodological issues that arise when children's WM is investigated. [less ▲]

Assessing Intelligence for Education in the 21st Century: The Benefits of Microworlds

Scientific Conference (2011)

Computer-based problem solving scenarios—so-called microworlds—are contemporary educational assessment instruments of intelligence that offer several benefits compared to traditional paper-pencil tests ... [more ▼]

Computer-based problem solving scenarios—so-called microworlds—are contemporary educational assessment instruments of intelligence that offer several benefits compared to traditional paper-pencil tests. This involves tracking of students’ mental representations of the problems as well as their problem solving strategies by means of behavioral data which provides key information for educational interventions. Moreover, microworlds realize game-like characteristics that may increase test motivation and reduce test anxiety. In the present study, the Genetics Lab, a newly developed microworld, was completed by a representative sample of more than 800 Luxembourgish students. Students chose among three different languages (German, French and English) in which the problem content of the Genetics Lab was presented. The present paper analyzes the psychometric properties of the various performance scores derived for the Genetics Lab with respect to their relations to school grades, and measurement invariance across gender, chosen test language, and migration background. Moreover, a direct comparison with traditional measures of intelligence demonstrated construct validity of the performance scores of the Genetics Lab. In sum, the results obtained for the Genetics Lab show the benefits of behavioral data obtained for computer-based problem-solving scenarios and support the notion of microworlds to be a valuable measure of intelligence. [less ▲]