Cognitive and Regulatory Predictors of Success in General Ability Tests in Preschool Years

Abstract

The article presents the results of an empirical study of cognitive and regulatory predictors of the success in general abilities tests in preschool age. The study analyzed the basic cognitive characteristics (Processing speed and Number sense), regulatory characteristics (Cognitive control) and performance in general ability tests (Intelligence and Creativity). Computerized tasks ‘Choice Reaction Time Task’, ‘Non-symbolic comparison of numerosity’, ‘Physical size comparison’, ‘Dot enumeration’ were used for the measurement of cognitive characteristics. For diagnostics of development of cognitive control was used the computerized Stroop task ‘Comparison of numbers’. Non-verbal intelligence was measured with ‘Raven Progressive Matrices’". Creativity was measured with ‘Short test of creative thinking’ with originality and fluency of the performance as indicators. The study involved 225 children of preschool age (52.2% of boys, age 4.8-7.2 year). The mean age was 6.2 years (standard deviation = 0.6). All children successfully completed tasks related to the knowledge of the number series from 0 to 9. The hierarchical regression analysis revealed differences in the relationship between general abilities and regulatory and cognitive characteristics. Both cognitive and regulatory characteristics were significant predictors of intelligence, with individual differences in cognitive characteristics explaining 25% of the variance and regulatory characteristics – 21% of the variance. For the successful performance in the intelligence test in the senior preschool age, it is necessary to have a high level of cognitive control, to have high Processing speed and Number sense, in particular, to be able to compare the physical size of objects. Neither cognitive nor regulatory characteristics were found to be significant predictors of originality. At the same time, the fluency index, which reflects the number of completed tasks in the creative test, was predicted by a regression model with the inclusion of regulatory and cognitive linear components, explaining 36% of the variance with the help of one cognitive characteristic – Processing speed. The results obtained in a study of preschool children con-firm the specificity of patterns of cognitive and/or regulatory characteristics necessary for the successful performance of tests of general abilities – Intelligence and Creativity.