The present study examines both properties of the language and properties of the learner to better understand variability at the earliest stages of second language (L2) acquisition. We used event-related potentials, an oral production task, and a battery of individual differences measures to examine the processing of number and gender agreement in…

Background: In the present paper, we investigated the association between time spent reading and reading comprehension throughout the lifespan. According to the Matthew effect (or rich-get-richer and poor-get-poorer) model, interindividual differences in reading-related skills between poor and average readers become wider as individuals grow…

Background: Using data from a statewide relationship education (RE) program targeting a diverse adolescent sample, this study examined RE implementation in classroom environments. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore (1) whether there is a beneficial RE program effect for change in individual attitudes toward sexual delay, (2)…

Six waves of data from 944 Canadian high school seniors surveyed for 25 years (age 18 to 43) were analyzed to compare three models of the temporal associations between expressed anger and depressive symptoms (anger [right arrow] depression; depression [right arrow] anger; anger [left right arrow] depression) and a between-persons differences only…

Musical expertise and working memory (WM) have been isolated as being the most important predictors of phonetic aptitude -- meaning the ability to imitate unfamiliar speech material. Although the link between language functions and musical expertise has been subject to many investigations, specific languages and their individual link to musical…

Research findings: Using a sample of 568 students from 61 kindergarten classrooms whose primary caregivers completed a questionnaire describing their child's early childhood education and care (ECEC) by year from birth to pre-kindergarten, we identified seven pathways characterizing children's ECEC experiences using a latent class analysis. Once…

Since more Indonesian students are coming to pursue higher education in China, understanding the factors influencing Indonesian students' satisfaction could facilitate Chinese higher education institutions and the policymakers to improve and develop their services to match the needs of current Indonesian students in China and to attract potential…

An enduring challenge in visual-spatial research has been to identify the factors contributing to individual differences in ability. This research investigated the overall, verbal, and nonverbal visual-spatial ability of 61 (34 boys) three- to five-year-olds (M[subscript age] = 57.3 months; SD = 7.9) and the following factors known to be related…

The present research presents a novel method for investigating how characteristics of texts (words, sentences, and passages) and individuals (verbal and general cognitive skills) jointly influence eye-movement patterns over the time-course of reading, as well as comprehension accuracy. Fifty-one proficient readers read passages of varying…

Algebra I is a crucial course for middle and high school students for successful STEM related coursework. A key issue is whether students should take Algebra I in 8th versus 9th grade. Large-scale policy studies show conflicting results, and there are few (particularly longitudinal) individual difference studies. Here, 53 students were assessed in…

Cognitive assessment in natural group settings facilitates data collection but poses threats to the validity. In this study, tablet-based working memory (WM) tasks, the counting span, and reading span were used in predicting 12-year-old children's (N = 837) scholastic skills and fluid intelligence in a classroom with environmental noise. WM tasks…

Prior research suggests that social relations may play a role in explaining individual differences in cognitive functioning in older adulthood. In particular, early life maternal relationship quality (MRQ) has been shown to be a strong predictor of later-life socioemotional outcomes and may also contribute to later-life cognitive outcomes. The…

Research has shown that educated children and adults have access to two ways of representing numerical information: an approximate number system (ANS) that is present from birth and allows for quick approximations of numbers of objects encountered in one's environment, and an exact number system (ENS) that is acquired through experience and…

Do individuals use video sharing sites in their free time to learn about science, and if so, why? This study takes a preliminary look at individual differences that motivate online science video seeking. Among 273 Singapore Internet users who participated in an online survey, most reported using YouTube during the previous week, and one-third…

The issue of moving vocabulary knowledge from receptive to productive mode is among the most important but less studied strands of second or foreign language learning. The present study served as an attempt to shed light on this issue by taking into account the trait of willingness to communicate as an indicator of learners' capability in…