Malene Foldager , Erik Simonsen , Jonathan Lassen , Lea S. Petersen , Bob Oranje , Bodil Aggernæs , Martin Vestergaard
{"title":"Narrative coherence and mentalizing complexity are associated in fictive storytelling and autobiographical memories in typically developing children and adolescents","authors":"Malene Foldager , Erik Simonsen , Jonathan Lassen , Lea S. Petersen , Bob Oranje , Bodil Aggernæs , Martin Vestergaard","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101484","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101484","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Different lines of evidence indicate that the ability to communicate narratives coherently is related to children's social-emotional development. However, it is unknown whether narrative coherence is genre-specific or generalizes across autobiographical memories and fictive stories, and if autobiographical and fictive narratives show different or similar associations with mentalizing language, cognitive functions, social and daily functioning. Addressing these questions may provide important clues about the development of narrative communication skills in children and adolescents. We assessed 86 typically developing children and adolescents aged 7–14, examining narrative coherence and mentalizing complexity in six autobiographical memories and five fictional stories, alongside intellectual functioning and parent and teacher reports on social and adaptive functioning. Results showed that the measures on narrative coherence and mentalizing complexity, respectively, were associated across autobiographical memories and fictional stories. Moreover, narrative coherence and mentalizing complexity was related to each other on both fictive and autobiographical stories. Higher narrative coherence and mentalizing complexity on autobiographical memories were specifically related to better social-emotional reciprocity reported by teachers, who likely have more opportunities than parents to observe the child’s daily interaction with peers. Our findings suggest that narrative coherence and mentalizing language in school-aged children generalize across genres. Being able to communicate personal narratives coherently with use of mentalizing language appears to be important for the social-emotional interplay of children and adolescents.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101484"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885201424000698/pdfft?md5=f9e701cb6f2db0b882ced77129146e05&pid=1-s2.0-S0885201424000698-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141770903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Puppets as symbols in early development: From whether to how in the Theory of Puppets debate","authors":"Barbu Revencu , Gergely Csibra","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101487","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101487","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The use of animations and puppet shows in developmental research has recently been questioned on external validity grounds. Do infants and children interpret symbolic stimuli (e.g., animated shapes, wooden circles) as required for a given measure of interest (e.g., as agents)? We review the arguments on both sides and conclude that external validity is not under threat by the mere use of symbolic stimuli. At the same time, the debate in its current formulation runs the risk of masking an important theoretical question: <em>how</em> do infants, children, and adults interpret such stimuli? We present the standard answer to the <em>how</em>-question (symbolic stimuli satisfy the input conditions of the cognitive domain under investigation) and contrast it with the under-explored possibility that these stimuli are interpreted the same way they have been generated (i.e., as representations).</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101487"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141770854","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stefan Vermeent , Ethan S. Young , Jean-Louis van Gelder , Willem E. Frankenhuis
{"title":"Childhood adversity is not associated with lowered inhibition, but lower perceptual processing: A Drift Diffusion Model analysis","authors":"Stefan Vermeent , Ethan S. Young , Jean-Louis van Gelder , Willem E. Frankenhuis","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101479","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>It is well-established that individuals who grew up in adverse conditions tend to be slower on the Flanker Task. This finding is typically interpreted to reflect difficulty inhibiting distractions. However, it might result from slower general cognitive processes (e.g., reduced general processing speed), rather than the specific ability of inhibition. We used Drift Diffusion Modeling in three online studies (total N = 1560) with young adults to understand associations of adversity with Flanker performance. We found no associations between exposure to violence and unpredictability with inhibition. Yet, although mixed, violence and unpredictability exposure were associated with lower strength of perceptual input—how well someone can process target and distractor information alike. Finally, people with lower strength of perceptual input processed information more holistically, focusing less on details. Thus, lowered Flanker performance does not necessarily imply lowered inhibition ability. Cognitive modeling reveals a different picture of abilities in adverse conditions as opposed to analyses based on raw performance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101479"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885201424000649/pdfft?md5=90ca384bdb6d9d9f6dc81a31477d7eb1&pid=1-s2.0-S0885201424000649-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141605796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A longitudinal study of Turkish-Dutch children’s language mixing in single-language settings: Language status, language proficiency, cognitive control and developmental language disorder","authors":"Elma Blom , Gülşah Yazıcı , Tessel Boerma , Merel van Witteloostuijn","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101481","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101481","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The aim of this study was to investigate the role of language status, language proficiency, cognitive control and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in bilingual Turkish-Dutch children’s language mixing in single-language settings. We investigated these factors over time following 31 children (20 with typical development, 11 with DLD), from the age of 5 or 6 years until they were 7 or 8 years old. Children more often mix the majority-societal language (Dutch) into the minority-heritage language (Turkish) than the other way around. Higher proficiency in Dutch, lower proficiency in Turkish, and having DLD are linked to more mixing in the Turkish setting. Effects of cognitive control on children’s language mixing are limited. Linguistic factors at a child-external and child-internal level impact on children’s mixing in single-language settings, and are more important than domain-general cognitive control. Increasing language proficiency in Turkish could explain why children mix less as they grow older.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101481"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885201424000662/pdfft?md5=c528390c37142e71cdad767e3d94d6d7&pid=1-s2.0-S0885201424000662-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141540744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding the self in relation to others in nonverbal communication of one’s reasoning","authors":"Kirstie Hartwell , Bahar Köymen","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101482","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Using our own experience to understand the experience of our partners is crucial in collaborative problem-solving. In this preregistered online study, we found that UK-based 5-year-olds and, less reliably, 3-year-olds (<em>N</em> = 80, 38 girls), communicated their reasoning about evidence through point-to-self gestures, because pointing to evidence on screen would not be comprehensible to their partner in an online setting. For instance, to help their partner identify the character who took some jam, they pointed at hypothetical jam on their own cheek to direct their partner’s attention to the jam on a character’s cheek on screen. Thus, through these point-to-self gestures, young children displayed an understanding of “the self” in relation to others, when communicating their reasoning nonverbally.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101482"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885201424000674/pdfft?md5=0894bd89323214cc7fa0129a48b9247d&pid=1-s2.0-S0885201424000674-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141540746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Celia Renata Rosemberg , Gladys Ojea , Florencia Alam , Leandro Garber , Alejandra Stein , Carla De Benedictis , Donna Jackson-Maldonado † , Margaret Friend
{"title":"Assessment of vocabulary comprehension in Bilingual Qom - Spanish Indigenous children in Northern Argentina: Evidence for education, language preservation, and psycholinguistic theory","authors":"Celia Renata Rosemberg , Gladys Ojea , Florencia Alam , Leandro Garber , Alejandra Stein , Carla De Benedictis , Donna Jackson-Maldonado † , Margaret Friend","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101488","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101488","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study we adapted the Computerized Comprehension Task (CCT), to be used in rural native communities with bilingual children learning Qom Indigenous language and the Chaco dialect of Argentinean Spanish. The main objectives were (a) to test the utility of this task, which provides accuracy and response time measures of decontextualized vocabulary, for use with children from three to seven years in schools and rural settings; (b) to assess Qom children’s vocabulary learning trajectories in both languages. The adaptation of the CCT was based on extensive fieldwork establishing language usage patterns, word frequency, and age of acquisition. Eighty-three children from three to seven years of age living in Chaco Province were assessed in Qom and Spanish, employing the CCT adaptation. Findings provided evidence of attrition of children’s heritage language (which is on par with vocabulary in the majority language up until age five), beginning as children approach elementary school.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101488"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141930443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Early Pretending Survey (EPS): A reliable parent-report measure of pretense type development for 4- to 47-month-olds","authors":"Elena Hoicka , Eloise Prouten","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101483","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101483","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We present a new 18-item parent-report measure of pretense development for 4- to 47-month-olds: the Early Pretending Survey (EPS). Study 1 (<em>N</em> = 231) demonstrated good internal reliability, and a strongly correlated 2-factor structure for 4- to 47-month-olds. Study 2 (<em>N</em> = 587) also showed good internal reliability, and found the two factors loaded onto a latent second-order Pretend Play factor. Study 3 (<em>N</em> = 84) found the EPS correlated with a researcher-led pretense experiment, however it no longer correlated when controlling for age. Additional analyses using subsamples of parents from Studies 2 and 3 showed good inter-observer reliability between parents (<em>N</em> = 29), and good longitudinal stability after 6 months (<em>N</em> = 196). Additional analyses combining Study 1–3 participants (<em>N</em> ≤ 902) found no item functioning differences across demographic variables, including child age, country, and socio-economic factors. Children’s EPS scores increased as they aged; girls had higher scores than boys; and children of younger parents had higher scores. Finally, we examined the age patterns of each EPS item, demonstrating when 25 %, 50 %, and 75 % of children were predicted to pass each pretense type. The EPS is useful for researchers to better understand how pretending relates to other areas of development (e.g., cognition, language). The EPS could also help parents, early years educators, and children’s media professionals decide which pretense types to use with children of different ages.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101483"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885201424000686/pdfft?md5=a582122df9afb9bf76fb6371ed519e57&pid=1-s2.0-S0885201424000686-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142228654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Promoting children’s mathematical and statistical understanding through parent-child math games","authors":"Mary DePascale , Geetha B. Ramani","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101480","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Basic statistical literacy is essential for interpreting external sources and developing critical thinking skills necessary for engagement in real-world contexts. However, many children and adults struggle with understanding and interpreting data. Therefore, it is critical to develop engaging, effective methods for teaching early data analysis, as they could enhance children’s statistical understanding, math, and higher-order thinking skills. We examined the effectiveness of a home-based, experimental game intervention for children’s (ages 5–6, 50 % female, 67 % white, 12 % Asian, 8 % biracial) statistical understanding and math skills. Families (majority high household income and parent education) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: graphing board game, graphing card game, or literacy board game. Children in the graphing conditions improved on statistical understanding and arithmetic, and children in the literacy condition did not. These results support the development of play-based materials to promote early mathematical and statistical skills, with implications for children’s mathematical development.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101480"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141592904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The effect of foreigner talk on children’s evaluations of addressees","authors":"Danielle Labotka, Susan A. Gelman","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101486","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101486","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Children evaluate others based on how they speak, but do children evaluate others based on how they are spoken to? We examined how U.S. children and adults (<em>N</em> = 170 5- to 10-year-olds, 49 % female; 107 adults; in a city with a foreign population of 17.9 %) evaluated addressees of Foreigner Talk (i.e., slow, loud, simplified speech). In Study 1, children and adults evaluated Foreigner Talk addressees more negatively than Peer Talk or Teacher Talk addressees. In Study 2, adults and older children incorporated Foreigner Talk with additional contextual cues to inform their evaluations: a local peer receiving Foreigner Talk received lower evaluations than a foreign peer receiving Foreigner Talk. With medium to large effect sizes, these studies indicate the importance of speech register in children’s social inferences.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101486"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141728996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimizing adolescent health: Investigating physical activity’s impact on fitness, working memory, and academic performance","authors":"Pei-Ju Kang , Hsu-Chan Kuo","doi":"10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101478","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101478","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This quasi-experimental study investigates the intricate relationship among adolescents’ physical activity, working memory, and academic performance, recognizing their significance in adolescent development. Employing a quasi-experimental design, 85 13-year-olds from a Taiwanese junior high school were involved. Data scrutiny was facilitated through Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), with the mediation effect explored via Smart Partial Least Squares structural equation modeling (Smart PLS-SEM). Findings indicate significant improvements in physical fitness among both aerobic and resistance exercise groups compared to controls. Additionally, both exercise cohorts demonstrated a stronger positive association with verbal working memory scores than the control group. Intriguingly, visuospatial working memory fully mediated the relationship between resistance exercise and science performance. These results highlight the potential advantages of incorporating brief daily exercise sessions to bolster adolescent physical fitness and emphasize the mediating function of working memory in connecting physical activity with academic accomplishment. This study furnishes valuable insights for educators and policymakers striving to enhance adolescent well-being and academic achievement through targeted interventions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51422,"journal":{"name":"Cognitive Development","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101478"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141540745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}