Brain shape might influence cognitive performance because of the relationships between functions, spatial organization, and differential volumetric development of cortical areas. Here we analyze the relationships between midsagittal brain shape variation and a set of basic psychological measures. Coordinates in 2D from 102 MRI-scanned young adult…

A large number of studies have reported average performance differences in favor of males in mental rotation tasks. However, it is still unclear to what extent the magnitude of the sex differences varies across age, and whether the differences increase with age. In this study, we reanalyzed data from a cross-sectional investigation of N = 1624…

Inspection Time (IT) is a psychophysical speed measure that has been linked to a range of cognitive abilities with results finding that shorter IT is associated with superior performance in cognitive abilities. Following a recent suggestion by Nettelbeck and Wilson [Nettelbeck, T., & Wilson, C. (2004). The Flynn effect: Smarter not faster.…

Based on stimulating findings suggesting that prenatal levels of steroids may influence cognitive functions, a study with N=40 healthy volunteers of both sexes was conducted. Prenatal levels of testosterone (T) were estimated by use of the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) which is supposed to be controlled by the same genes involved in…

The Zahlen-Verbindungs-Test (ZVT) represents a highly feasible measure of information-processing speed that correlates quite highly with standard psychometric tests of intelligence. The present study was designed to identify specific stages of the sensorimotor processing system that may account for individual differences in overall variability of…

Examined the relationship between elementary cognitive tasks and the general factor of intelligence ("g") through tests administered to 568 elementary school students in a study of twins. Findings indicate a memory processing component in addition to a general information processing component contributing to "g" estimates. (SLD)

Three experiments investigated the possibility that adult age differences on block design tasks originate because of reduced efficiency with increased age in the cognitive processes associated with block manipulation. Older adults were substantially slower and less efficient than younger adults in performing tasks with minimized design…

Subjects judged whether aerial views would be seen by an observer oriented in various ways. For practiced subjects, time to answer was an approximately linear function of number of abstract spatial dimensions on which aerial view and observer's orientation were consistent. Ability correlated with linearity of response-time. (Author/RD)

This paper describes the development and empirical investigation of two new paper-and-pencil measures of elementary cognitive tasks (PP ECTs). In three empirical studies involving 333 adults, the PP ECTs proved reliable. They were substantially correlated with other measures of psychometric intelligence and they displayed convergent validity with…

The performance on a battery of cognitive tests of an individual with extraordinary ability at mental arithmetic was studied. Implications of the rather ordinary test performance of Shakuntala Devi in contrast with her calculating speed are discussed with reference to memory and information processing. (SLD)

Administered a battery of psychometric ability tests to 211 undergraduates and 622 other adults ranging in age from 43 to 78. Findings were consistent with the view that speed of information processing can be an important correlate of individual differences in rates of intellectual aging and a performance-specific confound that distorts estimates…

An investigation of social behavior measures obtained from interviews and a wide variety of cognitive variables rarely produced significant relations. Results suggest that rather than trying to place social intelligence within a cognitive abilities taxonomy, a separate taxonomy of social intelligence should be developed. (Author/BS)

The hypothesis that racial differences in IQ stem from differences in components of executive systems including knowledge base, control processes, and metacognition was investigated. Group differences in metamemory, strategy use, and general knowledge, but not perceptual efficiency, were observed. Metamemory predicted crystallized but not fluid…

This study examined whether a timesharing factor can be identified when a number of competing tasks are presented in the midst of a range of single tests designed to sample a broad range of psychological dimensions. A battery of single and competing tasks was presented to 126 subjects. (Author/LMO)

The validity of a dynamic assessment interview approach to the measurement of metacomponential (executive level) cognitive processing in 48 children aged 8 to 9 years was studied. The interview instrument apparently measured both content knowledge and metacomponential processing. Implications for study of young children's cognition are discussed.…