The successful use of a search strategy improves with visuospatial working memory in 2- to 4.5-year-olds.

Using spatial cues such as shape, orientation, and pattern aids visuospatial working memory because it allows strategies that reduce the load on this cognitive resource. One such strategy, namely taking advantage of patterned spatial distributions, remains understudied to date. This strategy demands keeping track of already-searched locations and excluding them from further search and so correlates with visuospatial working memory. The use of such strategies should, in principle, develop in early childhood, but because most studies focus on chunking, the development of other strategies reducing the load on working memory is understudied in young children. Therefore, in this study we tested whether children aged 2 to 4.5 years (N = 97) could take advantage of spatial cues in their search and whether this ability correlated with their age, verbal ability, and visuospatial working memory. The results showed that the ability to use a patterned spatial distribution (searching a row of locations from one side to the other instead of a random search) significantly improved with visuospatial working memory but not with age or verbal ability. These results suggest that visuospatial abilities may rapidly develop from 2 to 4.5 years of age, and given their impact on later mathematic achievement, demand increased attention in cognitive developmental research and early childhood education.

Promoting Complex Problem Solving by Introducing Schema-Governed Categories of Key Causal Models.

The ability to recognize key causal models across situations is associated with expertise. The acquisition of schema-governed category knowledge of key causal models may underlie this ability. In an experimental study (n = 183), we investigated the effects of promoting the construction of schema-governed categories and how an enhanced ability to recognize the key causal models relates to performance in complex problem-solving tasks that are based on the key causal models. In a 2 × 2 design, we tested the effects of an adapted version of an intervention designed to build abstract mental representations of the key causal models and a tutorial designed to convey conceptual understanding of the key causal models and procedural knowledge. Participants who were enabled to recognize the underlying key causal models across situations as a result of the intervention and the tutorial (i.e., causal sorters) outperformed non-causal sorters in the subsequent complex problem-solving task. Causal sorters outperformed the control group, except for the subtask knowledge application in the experimental group that did not receive the tutorial and, hence, did not have the opportunity to elaborate their conceptual understanding of the key causal models. The findings highlight that being able to categorize novel situations according to their underlying key causal model alone is insufficient for enhancing the transfer of the according concept. Instead, for successful application, conceptual and procedural knowledge also seem to be necessary. By using a complex problem-solving task as the dependent variable for transfer, we extended the scope of the results to dynamic tasks that reflect some of the typical challenges of the 21st century.

Investigating Planning and Non-Targeted Exploration in PIAAC 2012: Validating Their Measures Based on Process Data and Investigating Their Relationships with Problem-Solving Competency.

Problem-solving is a critical aspect of intelligence that has become increasingly important in modern society. Mapping out the determinants of success in problem-solving helps understand the underlying cognitive processes involved. This article focuses on two key cognitive processes in problem-solving: non-targeted exploration and planning. We generalize previously defined indicators of planning and non-targeted exploration across tasks in the 2012 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies and examine the internal construct validity of the indicators using confirmatory factor analysis. We also investigate the relationships between problem-solving competency, planning, and non-targeted exploration, along with the specific dependence between indicators from the same task. The results suggest that (a) the planning indicator across tasks provides evidence of internal construct validity; (b) the non-targeted exploration indicator provides weaker evidence of internal construct validity; (c) overall, non-targeted exploration is strongly related to problem-solving competency, whereas planning and problem-solving competencies are weakly negatively related; and (d) such relationships vary substantially across tasks, emphasizing the importance of accounting for the dependency of measures from the same task. Our findings deepen our understanding of problem-solving processes and can support the use of digital tools in educational practice and validate task design by comparing the task-specific relationships with the desired design.

A machine learning approach to predict self-protecting behaviors during the early wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using a unique harmonized real-time data set from the COME-HERE longitudinal survey that covers five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden) and applying a non-parametric machine learning model, this paper identifies the main individual and macro-level predictors of self-protecting behaviors against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the first wave of the pandemic. Exploiting the interpretability of a Random Forest algorithm via Shapely values, we find that a higher regional incidence of COVID-19 triggers higher levels of self-protective behavior, as does a stricter government policy response. The level of individual knowledge about the pandemic, confidence in institutions, and population density also ranks high among the factors that predict self-protecting behaviors. We also identify a steep socioeconomic gradient with lower levels of self-protecting behaviors being associated with lower income and poor housing conditions. Among socio-demographic factors, gender, marital status, age, and region of residence are the main determinants of self-protective measures.

A Log File Analysis on the Validity of Partial Solutions in Figural Matrices Tests.

As a component of many intelligence test batteries, figural matrices tests are an effective way to assess reasoning, which is considered a core ability of intelligence. Traditionally, the sum of correct items is used as a performance indicator (total solution procedure). However, recent advances in the development of computer-based figural matrices tests allow additional indicators to be considered for scoring. In two studies, we focused on the added value of a partial solution procedure employing log file analyses from a computer-based figural matrices test. In the first study (n = 198), we explored the internal validity of this procedure by applying both an exploratory bottom-up approach (using sequence analyses) and a complementary top-down approach (using rule jumps, an indicator taken from relevant studies). Both approaches confirmed that higher scores in the partial solution procedure were associated with higher structuredness in participants' response behavior. In the second study (n = 169), we examined the external validity by correlating the partial solution procedure in addition to the total solution procedure with a Grade Point Average (GPA) criterion. The partial solution procedure showed an advantage over the total solution procedure in predicting GPA, especially at lower ability levels. The implications of the results and their applicability to other tests are discussed.

Cognitive and personality predictors of school performance from preschool to secondary school: An overarching model.

In this article, existing research investigating how school performance relates to cognitive, self-awareness, language, and personality processes is reviewed. We outline the architecture of the mind, involving a general factor, g, that underlies distinct mental processes (i.e., executive, reasoning, language, cognizance, and personality processes). From preschool to adolescence, g shifts from executive to reasoning and cognizance processes; personality also changes, consolidating in adolescence. There are three major trends in the existing literature: (a) All processes are highly predictive of school achievement if measured alone, each accounting for ∼20% of its variance; (b) when measured together, cognitive processes (executive functions and representational awareness in preschool and fluid intelligence after late primary school) dominate as predictors (over ∼50%), drastically absorbing self-concepts and personality dispositions that drop to ∼3%-5%; and (c) predictive power changes according to the processes forming g at successive levels: attention control and representational awareness in preschool (∼85%); fluid intelligence, language, and working memory in primary school (∼53%); fluid intelligence, language, self-evaluation, and school-specific self-concepts in secondary school (∼70%). Stability and plasticity of personality emerge as predictors in secondary school. A theory of educational priorities is proposed, arguing that (a) executive and awareness processes; (b) information management; and (c) reasoning, self-evaluation, and flexibility in knowledge building must dominate in preschool, primary, and secondary school, respectively. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Changing priorities in the development of cognitive competence and school learning: A general theory.

This paper summarizes a theory of cognitive development and elaborates on its educational implications. The theory postulates that development occurs in cycles along multiple fronts. Cognitive competence in each cycle comprises a different profile of executive, inferential, and awareness processes, reflecting changes in developmental priorities in each cycle. Changes reflect varying needs in representing, understanding, and interacting with the world. Interaction control dominates episodic representation in infancy; attention control and perceptual awareness dominate in realistic representations in preschool; inferential control and awareness dominate rule-based representation in primary school; truth and validity control and precise self-evaluation dominate in principle-based thought in adolescence. We demonstrate that the best predictors of school learning in each cycle are the cycle's cognitive priorities. Also learning in different domains, e.g., language and mathematics, depends on an interaction between the general cognitive processes dominating in each cycle and the state of the representational systems associated with each domain. When a representational system is deficient, specific learning difficulties may emerge, e.g., dyslexia and dyscalculia. We also discuss the educational implications for evaluation and learning at school.

Development and Validation of the Open Matrices Item Bank.

Figural matrices tasks are one of the most prominent item formats used in intelligence tests, and their relevance for the assessment of cognitive abilities is unquestionable. However, despite endeavors of the open science movement to make scientific research accessible on all levels, there is a lack of royalty-free figural matrices tests. The Open Matrices Item Bank (OMIB) closes this gap by providing free and unlimited access (GPLv3 license) to a large set of empirically validated figural matrices items. We developed a set of 220 figural matrices based on well-established construction principles commonly used in matrices tests and administered them to a sample of N = 2572 applicants to medical schools. The results of item response models and reliability analyses demonstrate the excellent psychometric properties of the items. In the discussion, we elucidate how researchers can already use the OMIB to gain access to high-quality matrices tests for their studies. Furthermore, we provide perspectives for features that could additionally improve the utility of the OMIB.

Corrigendum: Aiding Reflective Navigation in a Dynamic Information Landscape: A Challenge for Educational Psychology.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.881539.].

Aiding Reflective Navigation in a Dynamic Information Landscape: A Challenge for Educational Psychology.

Open access to information is now a universal phenomenon thanks to rapid technological developments across the globe. This open and universal access to information is a key value of democratic societies because, in principle, it supports well-informed decision-making on individual, local, and global matters. In practice, however, without appropriate readiness for navigation in a dynamic information landscape, such access to information can become a threat to public health, safety, and economy, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown. In the past, this readiness was often conceptualized in terms of adequate literacy levels, but the contemporarily observed highest-ever literacy levels have not immunized our societies against the risks of misinformation. Therefore, in this Perspective, we argue that democratization of access to information endows citizens with new responsibilities, and second, these responsibilities demand readiness that cannot be reduced to mere literacy levels. In fact, this readiness builds on individual adequate literacy skills, but also requires rational thinking and awareness of own information processing. We gather evidence from developmental, educational, and cognitive psychology to show how these aspects of readiness could be improved through education interventions, and how they may be related to healthy work-home balance and self-efficacy. All these components of education are critical to responsible global citizenship and will determine the future direction of our societies.

Associations between Coronavirus Crisis Perception, Perceived Economic Risk of Coronavirus, General Self-Efficacy, and Coronavirus Anxiety at the Start of the Pandemic: Differences by Gender and Race.

The coronavirus pandemic has escalated rates of anxiety in the general U.S. population. Understanding how factors associated with coronavirus anxiety at the start of the pandemic differed among populations hardest impacted by coronavirus anxiety is key to effectively remediating negatively associated health outcomes and to better understand how to address concerns of the public at the start of a global pandemic. This study was a secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional online survey of 1165 Prolific users between 13 and 15 March 2020. Data were collected from a stratified sample of U.S. adults aged 20 or older and currently living in the United States. The sample was stratified for age, gender, and race. Coronavirus anxiety was assessed as the dependent variable, alongside three independent variables: coronavirus crisis perception, perceived economic risk of coronavirus, and general self-efficacy. Multiple linear regression assessed the associations between the independent variables and coronavirus anxiety. Interactions between independent variables and two sociodemographic variables (i.e., gender, race) were also explored. The models were adjusted for age, gender, race, education, employment, and income. The average age of participants was 45.6 ± 15.7. The majority (76%) identified as White, approximately half identified as female and reported obtaining a bachelor's degree or higher. Coronavirus crisis perception and perceived economic risk of coronavirus were positively associated with coronavirus anxiety (ß = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.41, 1.00; ß = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.09, 1.00, respectively). General self-efficacy was negatively associated with coronavirus anxiety (ß = -0.15, 95% CI = -1.00, -0.11). Gender and race both moderated the association between coronavirus crisis perception and anxiety. Race moderated the association between perceived economic risk and coronavirus crisis perception. These results provide a foundation to further explore cognitive factors in subgroups disproportionately affected by anxiety during the pandemic.

The Fight against Infectious Diseases: The Essential Role of Higher-Order Thinking and Problem-Solving.

The development of a vaccine marks a breakthrough in the fight against infectious diseases. However, to eradicate highly infectious diseases globally, the immunization of large parts of the population is needed. Otherwise, diseases, such as polio, measles, or more recently COVID-19, will repeatedly flare-up, with devastating effects on individuals and, in the worst case, on significant shares of the world population. For example, polio has been almost eradicated over the past three decades through an unprecedented global effort, but complete immunization has not yet been achieved. In this article, we use polio as an example to show how the global effort of developing and administering a vaccine can be understood as solving a complex problem since it involves cultural, political, and geographical barriers that demand solutions in dynamically changing and highly versatile environments. Referring to the literature on problem-solving, higher-order thinking, and complex reasoning, we demonstrate how the ability to deal with real-world environments that are complex and dynamically changing, adapting initial solutions to new circumstances and collaborate efficiently with others, has been essential for this endeavor. We argue that problem-solving abilities form one basis for solving consequential world problems.

How we explore, interpret, and solve complex problems: A cross-national study of problem-solving processes.

Complex problem solving (CPS) is considered an important educational outcome in the 21st century. Despite its importance, we have only little only knowledge of its measurability, development, or comparability in some countries, in particular in those with a short history of computer-based assessment. The results of the current study provide insights into the validity of CPS measurements and shed light on the different behavioral patterns and test-taking behavior in two convenience samples with different sample characteristics of Jordanian (N = 431) and Hungarian (N = 1844) students as they solve complex problems. CPS proved to be measurement-invariant in Jordan and Hungary among university students. Analyzing log data, we identified differences in students' test-taking behavior in terms of the effectiveness of their exploration strategy, time-on-task, and number of trials. Based on the students' exploration strategy behavior, we identified four latent classes in both samples. The tested process indicators proved to be non-invariant over the different latent profiles; that is, there are differences in the role of the number of manipulations executed, time-on-task, and type of strategy used in actual problem-solving achievement between students that fall within different profiles. This study contributes to our understanding of how students from different educational contexts behave while solving complex problems.

Developing and Validating a Short-Form Questionnaire for the Assessment of Seven Facets of Conscientiousness in Large-Scale Assessments.

Conscientiousness is the most important personality predictor of academic achievement. It consists of several lower order facets with differential relations to academic achievement. There is currently no short instrument assessing facets of conscientiousness in the educational context. Therefore, in the present multi-study report, we develop and validate a short-form questionnaire for the assessment of seven Conscientiousness facets, namely Industriousness, Perfectionism, Tidiness, Procrastination Refrainment, Control, Caution, and Task Planning. To this end, we examined multiple representative samples totaling N = 14,604 Grade 9 and 10 students from Luxembourg. The questionnaire was developed by adapting and shortening an existing scale using an exhaustive search algorithm. The algorithm was specified to select the best item combination based on model fit, reliability, and measurement invariance across the German and French language versions. The resulting instrument showed the expected factorial structure. The relations of the facets with personality constructs and academic achievement were in line with theoretical assumptions. Reliability was acceptable for all facets. Measurement invariance across language versions, gender, immigration status and cohort was established. We conclude that the presented questionnaire provides a short measurement of seven facets of Conscientiousness with valid and reliable scores.

Assessing 16 Fundamental Motives With Fewer Than 50 Items: Development and Validation of the German 16 Motives Research Scales (16mrs).

Psychometrically sound short scales are required to comprehensively and yet economically assess fundamental motives in research settings such as large-scale assessments. In order to provide such a time- and cost-efficient instrument, we conducted three studies (N = 1,568) to develop further and validate 16 German scales with three items each assessing fundamental motives [16 motives research scales (16mrs)]. In Study 1, we applied a top-down construction process to develop a preliminary item pool on the basis of a thorough revision of existing construct definitions. In Study 2, we chose an approach that allowed us to balance the optimization of psychometric properties with content coverage to select three-item scales for each of the 16 motives. For the item selection process, we combined exploratory factor analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, ant colony optimization algorithm, and Mokken scale analyses. In Study 3, we cross-validated the results obtained in Study 2 and placed the 16mrs in a nomological network consisting of Big Five traits and Power, Achievement, Affiliation, Intimacy, and Fear motives. The results of these studies indicate that the 16mrs can be used to reliably and validly assess fundamental motives that represent a level of personality that differs from the Big Five and covers motivational aspects beyond the well-established Power, Achievement, Affiliation, Intimacy, and Fear motives. Limitations concerning the reliability of the Autonomy scale and the empirical discrimination of the Dominance and Status scales are discussed. In addition to the validated German version, we also provide the English translation of the items, which, however, need to be validated before use.

Actually Getting Some Satisfaction on the Job: Need-Supply Fit of Fundamental Motives at Work.

The fit between employees' needs and the opportunity to satisfy them in the workplace is an important predictor of job satisfaction. To make full use of this concept in career development, a fine-grained assessment of needs is necessary to allow for a straightforward interpretation. Fundamental motives provide a theoretically meaningful, self-contained framework of 16 fine-grained explicit motives, including, for instance, Social Acceptance, Curiosity, and Autonomy. Based on a series of response surface analyses in a German online sample of 723 working people, we examined the impact on job satisfaction of three different combinations of fundamental motives and their supply: exact congruence, an excess in the supply, and a shortage in the supply. For an excess in the supply, the results suggest that job satisfaction was highest for Social Acceptance, Status, Autonomy, Sex, and Retention. For a congruence of high motive levels and high supply levels, the levels of job satisfaction were highest for Curiosity, Idealism, and Social Participation. Concerning a shortage in the supply, low levels of job satisfaction were observed for Social Acceptance, Status, Sex, Retention, Curiosity, and Idealism. The results can be useful in coaching and career developments to provide information about potential sources of low job satisfaction and provide guidance to clients on how to enhance their job satisfaction.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) fatality risk perception of US adult residents in March and April 2020.

The study compares empirical results on the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (causing COVID-19) fatality risk perception of US adult residents stratified for age, gender, and race in mid-March 2020 (N1  = 1,182) and mid-April 2020 (N2  = 953). While the fatality risk perception has increased from March 2020 to April 2020, our findings suggest that many US adult residents severely underestimated their absolute and relative fatality risk (i.e., differentiated for subgroups defined by pre-existing medical conditions and age) at both time points compared to current epidemiological figures. These results are worrying because risk perception, as our study indicates, relates to actual or intended health-protective behaviour that can reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates.

Students' Complex Problem Solving Profiles.

Complex problem solving (CPS) is an up-and-coming twenty-first century skill that requires test-takers to solve dynamically changing problems, often assessed using computer-based tests. The log data that users produce when interacting with a computer-based test provide valuable information about each individual behavioral action they undertake, but such data are rather difficult to handle from a statistical point of view. This paper addresses this issue by building upon recent research focused on decoding log data and aims to identify homogeneous student profiles with regard to their ability to solve CPS tasks. Therefore, we estimated a discrete two-tier item response theory model, which allowed us to profile units (i.e., students) while taking into account the multidimensionality of the data and the explanatory effect of individual characteristics. The results indicate that: (1) CPS can be thought of as a three-dimensional latent variable; (2) there are ten latent classes of students with homogenous profiles regarding the CPS dimensions; (3) students in the higher latent classes generally demonstrate higher cognitive and non-cognitive performances; (4) some of the latent classes seem to profit from learning-by-doing within tasks, whereas others seem to exhibit the reverse behavior; (5) cognitive and non-cognitive skills, as well as gender and to some extent age, contribute to distinguishing among the latent classes.

Measuring Anxiety in Older Adults: Development, Diagnostic Accuracy, and Preliminary Validation of a Short-Form of the German Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS-G-SF).

Anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among older adults, and are associated with considerable distress, functional impairment, and burden. Also, there is growing need for brief instruments to measure anxiety symptoms in primary care and geriatric medical settings. Therefore, the current study focuses on the development and psychometric evaluation of a short-form of the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS-G), a well-established anxiety instrument for use with older adults. Study 1 draws on the original data from the GAS-G validation study (N = 242) to develop the short-form (GAS-G-SF) and determines whether the results replicate with the short-form. Study 2 extends the validation of the GAS-G-SF to a clinical sample (N = 156; 62 patients with heart disease, 94 patients with Parkinson's disease). Overall, the GAS-G-SF showed promising psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency and validity. Also, the GAS-G-SF showed good discriminatory power based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in both studies. These results support the utility of the GAS-G-SF as a brief assessment measure for anxiety.