The Adult Concentration Inventory (ACI) is an adult self-report measure of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) developed following a meta-analysis identifying items distinguishing SCT from ADHD inattention. To date, only one study conducted in college students has examined the structural and external validity of the ACI. The current study evaluated the…

During imaginative play, children may learn foundational skills important for academic success. Indeed, imaginative children, high in fantasy orientation (FO), may have advantages in skills that support positive classroom and social behavior. Yet findings are mixed regarding the classroom behavior of children high in fantasy orientation. The…

A longitudinal study was conducted to identify unique sources of individual differences in later understanding of the equal sign as a relational symbol of equivalence (i.e., formal understanding of mathematical equivalence). The sample included 141 children from a mid-sized city in the Midwestern United States (M[subscript age] = 6 years, 2 months…

Purpose: Despite the fact that research on creativity and cognition have garnered the attention of researchers and practitioners for decades, there is a lack of valid, reliable, and accessible instruments for enhancing and measuring these critical skills. Leveraging research from The LEGO Foundation and in collaboration with BrainPOP and the…

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a mathematics learning disorder that affects approximately 5% to 7% of the population. This study aimed to detect the underlying domain-specific and domain-general differences between DD and typically developing (TD) children. We recruited 9-year-old primary school children to form the DD group via a 2-year…

This paper reviews three studies investigating the relationship between brain regions involved in executive control and those involved in reading comprehension in typically-developing teens. In the first study, three regions of posterior left lateral prefrontal cortex (i.e., precentral gyrus, inferior frontal junction, inferior frontal gyrus) were…

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) affects 2-6% of the population. Yet, a readily accessible list of potential interventions for DD is not available or can be easily found by educators. With a large percentage of the population afflicted with DD, educators should be made aware of what supportive approaches are available. The purpose of this study was…

Purpose: A large body of literature showed that word reading and listening comprehension-two proximal predictors of reading comprehension according to the simple view of reading -- are related. Grounded on the direct and indirect effects model of reading, we examined the extent to which the relation is explained by domain-general cognitions or…

Children's ability to discriminate nonsymbolic number (e.g., the number of items in a set) is a commonly studied predictor of later math skills. Number discrimination improves throughout development, but what drives this improvement is unclear. Competing theories suggest that it may be due to a sharpening numerical representation or an improved…

This paper discusses the association between bilingualism and creativity considering the contribution of executive functions in this relationship. The studies which investigated the relationship between bilingualism, creativity and executive functions are reported. In the psychology literature, divergent thinking and creativity are synonymous…

Pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) programs typically improve early academic skills, but those gains too often disappear after children transition to elementary school. At least three hypotheses explain this "fade-out" of Pre-K effects: Pre-K does not focus on the "trifecta skills" that uniquely support subsequent learning and…

The block design task (BDT) is a visuospatial measure that individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) perform poorly on. However, it is unclear what underlies their impaired performance. This study investigated whether poorer performance is a result of visuospatial difficulties, executive function (EF) difficulties, atypical looking strategies, or a…

Background: Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with significant difficulties in daily functioning, and these difficulties have been associated with impaired executive functions (EEFF). However, specific cognitive and socio-emotional executive deficits have not been fully established. Objective: The present study has several…

This study is conducted to further understand the direct and indirect contributions of executive functioning (visuospatial updating, verbal updating, inhibition, shifting) and arithmetic fluency to mathematical problem-solving in 458 fourth-grade students. Arithmetic fluency along with visuospatial and verbal updating were significant predictors…

The presence of a dog supports self-regulation, interpersonal skills, and readiness to learn in and out of the classroom. Somehow, dogs are able to improve student learning, sometimes through dog-student or dog-teacher interactions, and at other times by simply being present in the room. Most research has focused on the positive effects of having…