Thinking cap
Inspired by Distraction: Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation
Benjamin Baird et al.
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although anecdotes that creative thoughts often arise when one is engaged in an unrelated train of thought date back thousands of years, empirical research has not yet investigated this potentially critical source of inspiration. We used an incubation paradigm to assess whether performance on validated creativity problems (the Unusual Uses Task, or UUT) can be facilitated by engaging in either a demanding task or an undemanding task that maximizes mind wandering. Compared with engaging in a demanding task, rest, or no break, engaging in an undemanding task during an incubation period led to substantial improvements in performance on previously encountered problems. Critically, the context that improved performance after the incubation period was associated with higher levels of mind wandering but not with a greater number of explicitly directed thoughts about the UUT. These data suggest that engaging in simple external tasks that allow the mind to wander may facilitate creative problem solving.
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Economic, educational, and IQ gains in eastern Germany 1990-2006
Eka Roivainen
Intelligence, November-December 2012, Pages 571-575
Abstract:
Lynn and Vanhanen (2012) have convincingly established that national IQs correlate positively with GDP, education, and many other social and economic factors. The direction of causality remains debatable. The present study re-examines data from military psychological assessments of the German federal army that show strong IQ gains of 0.5 IQ point per annum for East German conscripts in the 1990s, after the reunification of the country. An analysis of IQ, GDP, and educational gains in 16 German federal states between 1990 and 1998 shows that IQ gains had a .89 correlation with GDP gains and a .78 correlation with educational gains. The short time frame excludes significant effects of biological or genetic factors on IQ gains. These observations suggest a causal direction from GDP and education to IQ.
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African cognitive ability: Research, results, divergences and recommendations
Heiner Rindermann
Personality and Individual Differences, forthcoming
Abstract:
In the past different researchers have come to diverging cognitive ability estimates for people in Africa and of African descent. The paper tries to check the validity of past results by comparing them with outcomes of two new psychometric test studies from East and South Africa; with results from student assessment studies; with predictions based on those variables which, outside Africa, correlate most strongly with intelligence; and by comparing them with further indicators of cognitive ability (descriptions of everyday life and human accomplishment). Integrating these cognitive ability measures with the application of several corrections (due to the higher age of students in Africa, lower African school enrollment, selectivity of samples and higher African secular IQ rise), the best guess for an African average is IQ 75. Finally, possible environmental and genetic (evolutionary, therefore past environmental) causes are discussed and suggestions are given how to enhance cognitive development in African countries.
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The Effect of Ability on Young Men's Self-Employment Decision: Evidence from the NELS
Ozkan Eren & Ozan Sula
Industrial Relations, October 2012, Pages 916-935
Abstract:
Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study data, we examine the role of pre-market abilities on young men's self-employment decision. Our results indicate that cognitive and non-cognitive abilities are two important, in opposing directions, predictors of self-employment. We also find that cognitive and non-cognitive abilities may differ in their malleability with the latter being more malleable during adolescence.
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To Study or to Sleep? The Academic Costs of Extra Studying at the Expense of Sleep
Cari Gillen-O'Neel, Virginia Huynh & Andrew Fuligni
Child Development, forthcoming
Abstract:
This longitudinal study examined how nightly variations in adolescents' study and sleep time are associated with academic problems on the following day. Participants (N = 535, 9th grade Mage = 14.88) completed daily diaries every day for 14 days in 9th, 10th, and 12th grades. Results suggest that regardless of how much a student generally studies each day, if that student sacrifices sleep time to study more than usual, he or she will have more trouble understanding material taught in class and be more likely to struggle on an assignment or test the following day. Because students are increasingly likely to sacrifice sleep time for studying in the latter years of high school, this negative dynamic becomes increasingly prevalent over time.
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Unconscious creativity: When can unconscious thought outperform conscious thought?
Haiyang Yang et al.
Journal of Consumer Psychology, October 2012, Pages 573-581
Abstract:
Recent research suggests that unconscious thought is superior to conscious thought in many cognitive domains. In this article, we show that the duration of unconscious thought has an inverted-U shaped relationship with creativity performance. Unconscious thought is, thus, unlikely to provide creative advantage over conscious thought when deliberation duration is either short or long. However, when deliberation duration is of a moderate length, the creative output of unconscious thought surpasses that of conscious thought. Furthermore, the superiority of unconscious thought pertains only to the novelty dimension of creativity, but not the appropriateness dimension. These findings not only shed light on the powers and limits of unconscious thought but also illuminate the importance of calibration in utilizing unconscious thought to boost creativity.
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Outside Advantage: Can Social Rejection Fuel Creative Thought?
Sharon Kim, Lynne Vincent & Jack Goncalo
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, forthcoming
Abstract:
Eminently creative people working in fields as disparate as physics and literature refer to the experience of social rejection as fuel for creativity. Yet, the evidence of this relationship is anecdotal, and the psychological process that might explain it is as yet unknown. We theorize that the experience of social rejection may indeed stimulate creativity but only for individuals with an independent self-concept. In 3 studies, we show that individuals who hold an independent self-concept performed more creatively after social rejection relative to inclusion. We also show that this boost in creativity is mediated by a differentiation mind-set, or salient feelings of being different from others. Future research might investigate how the self-concept - for example, various cultural orientations - may shape responses to social rejection by mitigating some of the negative consequences of exclusion and potentially even motivating creative exploration.
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Pubertal testosterone predicts mental rotation performance of young adult males
Eero Vuoksimaa et al.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, November 2012, Pages 1791-1800
Abstract:
Robust sex differences in some spatial abilities that favor males have raised the question of whether testosterone contributes to those differences. There is some evidence for prenatal organizational effects of testosterone on male-favoring spatial abilities, but not much is known about the role of pubertal testosterone levels on adult cognitive abilities. We studied the association between pubertal testosterone (at age 14) and cognitive performance in young adulthood (at age 21-23), assessing male-favoring, female-favoring, and sex-neutral cognitive domains in a population-based sample of 130 male and 178 female twins. Pubertal testosterone was negatively associated with performance in the Mental Rotation Test in young adult men (r = -.27), while among women no significant associations between testosterone and cognitive measures were detected. The significant association among men remained after controlling for pubertal development. Confirmatory within-family comparisons with one-sided significance testing yielded a negative correlation between twin pair differences in testosterone levels and Mental Rotation Test performances in 35 male twin pairs (r = -.32): the twin brother with higher testosterone performed less well on the Mental Rotation Test. That association was evident in 18 pairs of dizygotic male twin pairs (r = -.42; analysis controlling for shared environmental effects). In contrast, the association of differences was not evident among 17 monozygotic male twin pairs (r = -.07; analysis controlling for shared genetic influences). Results suggest that pubertal testosterone levels are related specifically to male-favoring spatial ability and only among men. Within-family analyses implicated possible shared genetic effects between pubertal testosterone and mental rotation ability.
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Jesse Giummo & Wendy Johnson
Behavior Genetics, September 2012, Pages 808-819
Abstract:
X-linked genetic differences between male and females have been posited to cause greater variance in cognitive ability in males. Males with only one X chromosome tend to express the genes on the X chromosome more fully than females, who express an "average" of their two X chromosomes due to X-inactivation. Greater variability in expression of genes on the X chromosome could account for greater variability in male cognitive ability. This would affect both the high and low ends of the cognitive ability distribution, but the possibility of high-end impact has drawn the most attention and controversy. The objective of this paper was to outline a method to test for empirical evidence that greater X-chromosomal variation in males is associated with greater variation in cognitive ability in males at the high end of the distribution. The method utilizes exogenous variation in the maternal X chromosome of twins to test the effect of sex on within-pair variation. We applied this method to g composite test scores at age 10 using data from the Twins Early Development Study. Twin-pair zygosity was used as an instrument reflecting whether twins had different maternal X chromosomes. We estimated differences in the association between variation in the maternal X chromosome in males and females and within-pair variation in test scores using a difference in differences specification of a linear regression model. We found no evidence supporting the proposition that the "averaging" effect of X-inactivation in females resulted in greater variation in male cognitive ability. There was evidence of differential selection for cognitive ability in the sample, however, indicating that the value of our study was primarily to introduce a novel method of addressing the question.
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Allyson Mackey, Kirstie Whitaker & Silvia Bunge
Frontiers in Neuroanatomy, August 2012
Abstract:
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) techniques have made it possible to investigate white matter plasticity in humans. Changes in DTI measures, principally increases in fractional anisotropy (FA), have been observed following training programs as diverse as juggling, meditation, and working memory. Here, we sought to test whether three months of reasoning training could alter white matter microstructure. We recruited participants (n = 23) who were enrolled in a course to prepare for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), a test that places strong demands on reasoning skills, as well as age- and IQ-matched controls planning to take the LSAT in the future (n = 22). DTI data were collected at two scan sessions scheduled three months apart. In trained participants but not controls, we observed decreases in radial diffusivity (RD) in white matter connecting frontal cortices, and in mean diffusivity (MD) within frontal and parietal lobe white matter. Further, participants exhibiting larger gains on the LSAT exhibited greater decreases in MD in the right internal capsule. In summary, reasoning training altered multiple measures of white matter structure in young adults. While the cellular underpinnings are unknown, these results provide evidence of experience-dependent white matter changes that may not be limited to myelination.
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Dissociated Neural Processing for Decisions in Managers and Non-Managers
Svenja Caspers et al.
PLoS ONE, August 2012
Abstract:
Functional neuroimaging studies of decision-making so far mainly focused on decisions under uncertainty or negotiation with other persons. Dual process theory assumes that, in such situations, decision making relies on either a rapid intuitive, automated or a slower rational processing system. However, it still remains elusive how personality factors or professional requirements might modulate the decision process and the underlying neural mechanisms. Since decision making is a key task of managers, we hypothesized that managers, facing higher pressure for frequent and rapid decisions than non-managers, prefer the heuristic, automated decision strategy in contrast to non-managers. Such different strategies may, in turn, rely on different neural systems. We tested managers and non-managers in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study using a forced-choice paradigm on word-pairs. Managers showed subcortical activation in the head of the caudate nucleus, and reduced hemodynamic response within the cortex. In contrast, non-managers revealed the opposite pattern. With the head of the caudate nucleus being an initiating component for process automation, these results supported the initial hypothesis, hinting at automation during decisions in managers. More generally, the findings reveal how different professional requirements might modulate cognitive decision processing.
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Laura Glynn & Curt Sandman
Developmental Science, September 2012, Pages 601-610
Abstract:
Maternal cortisol levels (at 15, 19, 25, 31 and 37 weeks' gestation) and fetal movement response to vibroacoustic stimulation (VAS; at 25, 31 and 37 weeks) were assessed in 190 mother-fetus pairs. Fetuses showed a response to the VAS at 25 weeks and there was evidence of increasing maturation in the response at 31 and 37 weeks. Early elevations in cortisol predicted a failure to respond to the VAS at 25 weeks and later elevations in cortisol were associated with a larger response among fetuses when assessed near term. The associations between cortisol and VAS emerged earlier and were more apparent among female fetuses than among the males. The findings provide support for the role of prenatal glucocorticoids in shaping human fetal CNS development.
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Daniel Berry et al.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, October 2012, Pages 1700-1711
Abstract:
Using data from a predominantly low-income, population-based prospective longitudinal sample of 1292 children followed from birth, indicators of children's autonomic (salivary alpha-amylase; sAA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (salivary cortisol) activity at 7, 15, and 24 months of age were found to predict executive functioning at 36-months and academic achievement in pre-kindergarten. The findings suggested that the respective cortisol and sAA effects on executive functioning and academic achievement were interactive. Optimal developmental outcomes were associated with asymmetrical cortisol/sAA profiles. Higher cortisol levels were predictive of lower executive functioning and academic abilities, but only for those with concurrently moderate to high levels of sAA. In contrast, higher sAA concentrations were predictive of better executive functioning and academic abilities, but only for those with concurrently moderate to low levels of cortisol. These relations were statistically identical across infancy and toddlerhood. The conditional effects of cortisol and sAA on pre-kindergarten academic achievement were mediated fully by links between these early physiological indicators and executive functioning.
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Alexandra Richardson et al.
PLoS ONE, September 2012
Background: Omega-3 fatty acids are dietary essentials, and the current low intakes in most modern developed countries are believed to contribute to a wide variety of physical and mental health problems. Evidence from clinical trials indicates that dietary supplementation with long-chain omega-3 may improve child behavior and learning, although most previous trials have involved children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Here we investigated whether such benefits might extend to the general child population.
Objectives: To determine the effects of dietary supplementation with the long-chain omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the reading, working memory, and behavior of healthy schoolchildren.
Design: Parallel group, fixed-dose, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (RCT).
Setting: Mainstream primary schools in Oxfordshire, UK (n = 74).
Participants: Healthy children aged 7-9 years initially underperforming in reading (≤33rd centile). 1376 invited, 362 met study criteria.
Intervention: 600 mg/day DHA (from algal oil), or taste/color matched corn/soybean oil placebo.
Main Outcome Measures: Age-standardized measures of reading, working memory, and parent- and teacher-rated behavior.
Results: ITT analyses showed no effect of DHA on reading in the full sample, but significant effects in the pre-planned subgroup of 224 children whose initial reading performance was ≤20th centile (the target population in our original study design). Parent-rated behavior problems (ADHD-type symptoms) were significantly reduced by active treatment, but little or no effects were seen for either teacher-rated behaviour or working memory.
Conclusions: DHA supplementation appears to offer a safe and effective way to improve reading and behavior in healthy but underperforming children from mainstream schools. Replication studies are clearly warranted, as such children are known to be at risk of low educational and occupational outcomes in later life.
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Oliver Schultheiss, Mariya Patalakh & Andreas Rösch
Brain and Cognition, November 2012, Pages 214-222
Abstract:
The present study tested whether the hypothesis that high levels of progesterone (P) have a decoupling effect on the function of the brain hemispheres (Hausmann & Gunturkun, 2000) also extends to attentional functions, referential connections between verbal and nonverbal representations and the degree to which implicit motivational needs match a person's explicit goal commitments. Participants (28 women on oral contraceptives, 14 naturally cycling women, 50 men) completed the Lateralized Attention Network Task (Greene et al., 2008), a measure of the alerting, orienting, and conflict-resolution functions of attention for each hemisphere; a measure of referential competence (i.e., the ability to quickly name nonverbal information); a measure of the implicit motives power, achievement, and affiliation; and a content-matched personal goal inventory. In addition, they provided a saliva sample that was assayed for P and cortisol (C). Higher levels of P were associated with lower interhemispheric correlations for alerting and orienting, but with a higher correlation of conflict-resolution performance. Higher P was also associated with longer interhemispheric transfer time, lower congruence between implicit motives and explicit goal commitments and, after controlling for C, with lower referential competence. These results suggest that (a) P is associated with the degree to which attentional functions are correlated between hemispheres, although in a different direction for more posterior (alerting and orienting: decoupling) than for more anterior functions (conflict resolution: coupling), (b) that high P is associated with other indicators of reduced functional coherence between cognitive systems (longer interhemispheric transfer time, lower referential competence), and (c) that high P is also associated with low coherence between implicit and explicit motivational systems.