Spontaneous emotional regulation under experimental emotional condition: The role of working memory.

The present research studied the bidirectional effects of working memory (WM) capacity and emotional regulation; that is, the effect of WM capacity on spontaneous emotional regulation and whether the emotional valence to be regulated has a differential impact on performance in a second WM task. Participants (79) first completed a WM span task (Digit Span), then a self-report emotional intelligence task, which was followed by randomly assigned mock Positive-feedback, Negative-feedback, or No-feedback. In the Negative-feedback and Positive-feedback conditions, a dummy report based on participants' responses to the Trait Meta Mood- 21 was shown on the screen. After that, participants completed another WM task (Running Span). An ordinary least squares multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the predictive power of WM span and experimental condition on post-feedback test performance. The model yielded a significant effect on post-feedback test performance for Negative-feedback and a marginal significant effect for the interaction of this parameter with WM span. The results showed that participants in the Negative-feedback condition performed worse than those assigned to other conditions, and individuals with a higher WM capacity were less susceptible to negative experimental stimuli.

Computerized Working Memory Battery (BIMeT-V): Studying the Relation between Working Memory, Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension / Bateria Computadorizada de Memória de Trabalho (BIMeT-V): Estudo da Relação entre a Memória de Trabalho, o Raciocínio Verbal e a Compreensão de Leitura / Batería Computarizada de Memoria de Trabajo (BIMeT-V): Estudio de la relación entre la Memoria de Trabajo, el Razonamiento Verbal y la Comprensión Lectora

Abstract Working memory refers to all the systems and processes linked to the maintenance and active retention of information relevant to the performance and execution of complex cognitive tasks. Individual differences in working memory have been shown to explain differences in other cognitive abilities, such as comprehension and reasoning. The purpose of the present work was to study the relationship between verbal working memory, verbal reasoning and text comprehension, for which a verbal working memory battery was designed and validated: The verbal Computerized Working Memory Battery (Batería Informatizada de Memoria de Trabajo Verbal [BIMeT-V]). Results showed that the tests administered presented a very good reliability due to internal consistency and, in terms of validity, two latent factors saturated the tests: one of storage and one of storage and concurrent processing of verbal information. Likewise, verbal reasoning skills and the ability to comprehend expository texts are supported by working memory's concurrent storage and processing of verbal information, and to a lesser extent, or with a lesser role, the verbal information storage component.

Resumo A memória de trabalho refere-se a todos os sistemas e processos ligados à manutenção ativa e à retenção de informações relevantes para a execução de tarefas cognitivas complexas. As diferenças individuais na memória de trabalho mostraram estar ligadas com as diferenças nas habilidades, como a compreensão e raciocínio. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a relação entre a memória de trabalho verbal, o raciocínio verbal e a compreensão, para o qual foi projetada e validada uma bateria de memória de trabalho verbal (Bateria de memória de trabalho verbalizada computadorizada, BIMeT-V). Os resultados mostraram que os testes administrados mostraram uma boa confiabilidade em relação a consistência interna, quanto à validade, dois fatores latentes saturavam os testes: um fator de armazenamento e outro de armazenamento e processamento simultâneo. Da mesma forma, as habilidades de raciocínio verbal e de compreensão são tarefas que são suportadas pela capacidade verbal de armazenamento e processamento simultâneo da memória de trabalho e, em menor grau, ou com um papel menos relevante, com o componente do armazenamento de informações verbais.

Resumen La memoria de trabajo se refiere a todos aquellos sistemas y procesos vinculados con el mantenimiento activo y la retención de información relevante para la ejecución de tareas cognitivas complejas. Diferencias individuales en memoria de memoria han mostrado explicar diferencias en habilidades, tales como la comprensión y el razonamiento. El propósito del presente trabajo consistió en estudiar la relación entre la memoria de trabajo verbal, el razonamiento verbal y la comprensión, para ello se diseño y validó una batería de memoria de trabajo verbal (Batería Informatizada de Memoria de Trabajo Verbal; BIMeT-V). Los resultados mostraron que las pruebas administradas mostraron una muy buena confiabilidad por consistencia interna, y en relación a la validez, dos factores latentes saturaron las pruebas: un factor del almacenamiento y otro de almacenamiento y procesamiento concurrente. Asimismo, las habilidades de razonamiento verbal y de comprensión son tareas que son soportadas por la capacidad verbal de almacenamiento y procesamiento concurrente de la memoria de trabajo, y en menor medida, o con un rol menos relevante el componente de almacenamiento de información verbal.

Tower of London: planning development in children from 6 to 13 years of age

Executive Function is a multidimensional construct that includes a wide range of cognitive abilities that allow solving goal-directed behaviors efficiently. Its development begins in early childhood and continues through adolescence. A key aspect of Executive Function is planning, defined as the capacity to generate and organize the necessary step sequence to carry out a goal-directed behavior. The aim of this study was to assess the development of planning in children. The Tower of London task was used in 270 children aged 6, 8, 11, and 13 years. The results showed that the time required to generate and organize the plan to solve a goal-directed problem increases as the difficulty of the problem increases, and that older children need less time to solve problems with a certain level of difficulty than younger children F(15, 1330) = 8.787; MSE = 1.441; p < .01; η2 =.090. These results are in line with the findings that planning develops through childhood and even during the first years of adolescence (AU)

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Comprensión lectora en niños de educación primaria que viven en contextos de pobreza: decodificación, conocimiento léxico e inferencias / Reading comprehension in elementary school children living in poverty contexts: decoding, lexical knowledge and inferences

Las condiciones de pobreza inciden negativamente en el desarrollo infantil y, en consecuencia, en los procesos alfabetizadores. Diversos estudios nacionales e internacionales evidenciaron que las condiciones de pobreza tienen consecuencias en el desarrollo cognitivo y en las habilidades necesarias para la comprensión lectora. La comprensión lectora es un proceso que depende del funcionamiento interrelacionado de tres habilidades: decodificación, conocimiento léxico-semántico e inferencias. En esta investigación se estudia la incidencia de las condiciones contextuales de pobreza en las habilidades implicadas en la comprensión lectora. Se realizó un estudio correlacional con una muestra de 94 niños escolarizados de 9-10 años de S. M. de Tucumán. Se evaluaron las condiciones de vida y las habilidades lectoras antes mencionadas. Los resultados mostraron correlaciones moderadas a altas y significativas entre las habilidades lectoras. Este estudio contribuye a la literatura científica previa, ya que los niños con NBS tuvieron un mejor rendimiento que los niños con NBI en estas habilidades, especialmente en las habilidades inferenciales.

Tower of London: planning development in children from 6 to 13 years of age.

Executive Function is a multidimensional construct that includes a wide range of cognitive abilities that allow solving goal-directed behaviors efficiently. Its development begins in early childhood and continues through adolescence. A key aspect of Executive Function is planning, defined as the capacity to generate and organize the necessary step sequence to carry out a goal-directed behavior. The aim of this study was to assess the development of planning in children. The Tower of London task was used in 270 children aged 6, 8, 11, and 13 years. The results showed that the time required to generate and organize the plan to solve a goal-directed problem increases as the difficulty of the problem increases, and that older children need less time to solve problems with a certain level of difficulty than younger children F(15, 1330) = 8.787; MSE = 1.441; p < .01; η2 =.090. These results are in line with the findings that planning develops through childhood and even during the first years of adolescence.

Validación de un procedimiento informatizado para la evaluación de las estrategias de resolución de una tarea de visualización espacial / Validation of a computerised assessment procedure for solving strategies a task spatial visualization

La Visualización (Vz) constituye uno de los principales factores dentro de la Aptitud Espacial. Se ha desarrollado un procedimiento informatizado para la detección de las estrategias preferentes en la resolución de una tarea de Vz, en el que las mismas se identifican por variables temporales, indicadores más objetivos y de mayor relevancia para la perspectiva del procesamiento de la información que los auto-informes. En base a la literatura y a análisis de protocolos se han definido dos tipos de estrategias: analítica y espacial. Se han operacionalizado mediante tres variables temporales en una tarea informatizada de Rompecabezas, el R-E. Participaron 109 estudiantes que completaron además tests de referencia de Vz y un cuestionario sobre el uso de estrategias. Los resultados apoyaron la hipótesis de que la ejecución en el R-E está determinada por el nivel de aptitud, y que los tiempos que tardan los sujetos en distintos procesos están asociados a la estrategia preferente. La definición del constructo Vz debe tener en cuenta que en algunas de las tareas de los tests se pueden emplear estrategias que no requieran transformaciones mentales.

Visualization (Vz) is one of the main factors of Spatial Ability. A computerized procedure to detect strategy choice in solving a Vz task has been developed, in which strategies are indexed by time variables, that are more objective and more relevant for the information processing approach than self-reports. Based on the literature and protocol analysis two types of solution strategies have been defined: analytic and spatial or holistic. They have been operationalized by three temporal vatiables in the R-E computerized form-board task. Subjects (n=109) also completed Vz reference tests and a questionnaire of strategy use. Results have supported the hypothesis that performance on the R-E is associated with ability level, and that time taken in various processes are associated with preferred strategy. Definition of the Vz construct must take into account the fact that some tasks can be solved without mental transformations.