This single-case study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the 4M intervention in improving reading accuracy among slow learners with reading challenges. The participant in this study was an 11-year-old student, identified as a slow learner with documented difficulties in accurate reading. The single-case experimental design was employed, with data collected through observation. The 4M intervention, grounded in a behavioral approach, was administered through four key phases: 1) alphabet familiarization; 2) pre-assessment; 3) intervention; and 4) post-assessment. Visual analysis and pre- and posttests were used to assess the program’s effectiveness, with A-B graphs. The intervention reduced the participant’s task completion time—from 15 minutes, 35 seconds to 10 minutes, 23 seconds—for reading 69 concrete words on flashcards. Reading accuracy for 69 concrete words also improved, from 16 words to all 69 correctly read post-intervention.
This article serves as an introduction to the special issue on ad hoc concepts and linguistic relativity. We argue that empirical research on linguistic relativity can be re-interpreted through the lens of ad hoc cognition, a framework originating in Barsalou’s (Memory & Cognition, 11, 211–227, 1983) account of goal-derived categories and expanded by Casasanto and Lupyan’s (The conceptual mind: New directions in the study of concepts. MIT Press, 2015) proposal that all conceptual representations are context-sensitive constructions. We begin by placing the argument in historical context, outlining how prototype theory and ad hoc categorisation challenge accounts of fixed, feature-based conceptual structure, motivating instead a view of concepts as dynamically assembled in response to situational demands. We then introduce the studies comprising this special issue, which collectively investigate language–thought interactions across diverse perceptual, conceptual and linguistic domains using a wide array of linguistic typologies and experimental methodologies. Across these contributions, a coherent pattern emerges: linguistic effects on cognition are graded rather than categorical, shaped by task demands, memory load, the availability of verbal resources and the experiential histories of speakers. We argue that this perspective reframes the Whorfian question, shifting from a binary ‘does language affect thought?’ to a systematic investigation of when, how, and to what degree language dynamically modulates conceptual processing.
Craniofacial phenotyping methods are pivotal in understanding and diagnosing pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, the lack of standardized methods often leads to inconsistencies, hindering the reliability and validity of quantitative analyses in this field. This systematic review aims to evaluate existing craniofacial phenotyping methodologies and their key parameters to propose standardization measures to enhance the reliability and validity of future quantitative analyses on this topic. A comprehensive search of electronic databases was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, resulting in the inclusion of 13 studies. Data extraction focused on the types of phenotyping methods and the parameters or measurements used. Our findings revealed a variation in the phenotyping techniques and a wide array of parameters used across studies, highlighting the need for standardization. The authors proposed a framework of parameters for future evaluation of craniofacial morphologies of pediatric OSA. By standardizing the assessment of these craniofacial morphologies, future research efforts can ensure consistency, facilitating more reliable and valid quantitative analyses in this critical area of study.
This study investigates claims that metaphor acquisition is rooted in the words’ concrete meanings: to be able to use metaphors and other non-literal languages, the child needs to ‘go beyond’ meanings that are conventional and so presumably concrete (e.g., Falkum, 2022: 97). To test if metaphor-related words emerge via their concrete senses and how this reflects child-directed speech, I examined 594 hours of interactional data for three English-speaking toddlers from urban middle-class England, whose speech was densely sampled between the ages of 2;00 and 3;01. The data show that 75%–82% conventional metaphors were acquired via their concrete senses and that the order of acquisition of concrete and abstract senses corresponded with their input frequencies. Overall, when hearing conventional metaphors, 81%–89% of the time children were exposed to their concrete meanings. Contrary to the generic argument that children’s pragmatic reasoning with non-literal uses is impeded by meaning conventionality (Falkum, 2022), my preliminary data suggest that it is influenced by the frequency of exposure to the concrete meanings of conventional metaphors, which leads to a generalised prediction that the most probable interpretation of any new metaphor is concrete (literal). Qualitative analyses further reveal that abstract meanings, when acquired first, were learned in highly emotive contexts.
Matthew D. Blanchard, Eugene Aidman, Lazar Stankov
et al.
Abstract A collective intelligence factor (CI) was introduced by prior research to characterise the cognitive ability of groups. Surprisingly, individual intelligence did not predict CI. Instead, it correlated with individual social sensitivity, the equality of conversational turn-taking, and the proportion of females in a group. However, these findings may depend on the type of tasks completed by groups. Our study re-examined these relationships by (1) testing the robustness of the CI factor in dyads using well-structured tasks guided by the Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) model of intelligence; (2) exploring the relationship between dyadic CI and metacognitive confidence, which is known to influence group processes and outcomes; and (3) identifying the psychological characteristics of distinct dyad types using latent profile analysis. We measured CI in 105 undergraduate dyads using three group tasks aligned with the broad abilities of the CHC model. Individual intelligence was assessed using Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices. We also measured social sensitivity, proportion of females, equality of turn-taking, working memory, and personality. Results indicated that individual intelligence and confidence were the strongest predictors of dyadic CI for well-structured tasks, contrasting with previous findings emphasising social factors. While we replicated the relationship with social sensitivity, we did not replicate the findings for equality of turn-taking or gender composition. Latent profile analysis identified three psychological profiles: dyads performing consistently high individually and collectively, those performing consistently low, and those performing better collectively than individually. Our “smarter” dyads consisted of intelligent and confident individuals with higher social sensitivity. These findings suggest that, in dyads performing well-structured tasks, individual cognitive abilities and confidence play significant roles in CI. This challenges the emphasis on social factors and underscores the importance of task selection.
Satoshi Hirata, Yutaro Sato, Hika Kuroshima
et al.
Humans and nonhuman animals learn to perform actions by associating actions with outcomes. In everyday life, outcomes sometimes occur only after a delay, and at an unexpected moment. The ability to connect actions and delayed outcomes has received less attention than performance in tasks where rewards follow the most recent action. Here, following a previous study (Sato et al. 2023), we designed a learning task to investigate humans’ ability to link actions and outcomes which occurred after intervening choices. We prepared a total of six visual stimuli for use in three types of trials: A vs B, where choosing A immediately led to reward and choosing B was never rewarded, C vs D, where neither choice was immediately rewarded but choice of C led to reward in a later E vs F trial, and E vs F, where neither stimulus was associated with reward but a reward was given based on choice of C in the past. Results showed that nine individuals learned to choose C, thereby receiving a delayed reward. Among them, one participant subsequently correctly described the task structure in words, while the remaining eight did so with misunderstandings. We also observed large individual differences in participants’ action selection (e.g., an irrational bias for D, a possible superstitious bias for either E or F) and explicit/implicit understanding of the link between action and delayed outcome expressed in words. Our results offer new insights into the ability to cognitively link actions and outcomes following a time lag.
This paper introduces a theory of mind that positions language as a cognitive tool in its own right for the optimization of biological fitness. I argue that human language reconstruction of reality results from biological memory and adaptation to uncertain environmental conditions for the reaffirmation of the Self-as-symbol. I demonstrate that pretrained language models, such as ChatGPT, lack embodied grounding, which compromises their ability to adequately model the world through language due to the absence of subjecthood and conscious states for event recognition and partition. At a deep level, I challenge the notion that the constitution of a semiotic Self relies on computational reflection, arguing against reducing human representation to data structures and emphasizing the importance of positing accurate models of human representation through language. This underscores the distinction between transformers as posthuman agents and humans as purposeful biological agents, which emphasizes the human capacity for purposeful biological adjustment and optimization. One of the main conclusions of this is that the capacity to integrate information does not amount to phenomenal consciousness as argued by Information Integration Theory. Moreover, while language models exhibit superior computational capacity, they lack the real consciousness providing them with multiscalar experience anchored in the physical world, a characteristic of human cognition. However, the paper anticipates the emergence of new in silico conceptualizers capable of defining themselves as phenomenal agents with symbolic contours and specific goals.
People often listen to music while doing cognitive tasks. Yet, whether music harms or helps performance is still debated. Here, we assessed the objective and subjective effects of music with and without lyrics on four cognitive tasks. College students completed tasks of verbal and visual memory, reading comprehension, and arithmetic under three conditions: silence, instrumental music, and music with lyrics. Participants judged their learning during and after each condition. Music with lyrics hindered verbal memory, visual memory, and reading comprehension (d ≈ –0.3), whereas its negative effect (d = –.19) on arithmetic was not credible. Instrumental music (hip-hop lo-fi) did not credibly hinder or improve performance. Participants were aware of the detrimental impact of the lyrics. Instrumental music was, however, sometimes perceived as beneficial. Our results corroborate the general distracting effect of background music. However, faulty metacognition about music’s interfering effect cannot fully explain why students often listen to music while studying.
Angelica Hanna, Angelica Hanna, Jeffrey Jirsch
et al.
ObjectiveDelirium is an acute alteration of consciousness marked by confusion, inattention, and changes in cognition. Some speculate that delirium may be a disorder of functional connectivity, but the requirement to lay still may limit measurement with existing functional imaging modalities in this population. Electroencephalography (EEG) may allow for a more feasible approach to the study of potential connectivity disturbances in delirium. We conducted a systematic review to investigate whether there are EEG-measurable differences in brain functional connectivity in the resting state associated with delirium.MethodsMedline, PubMed, PsychInfo, Embase and CINAHL were searched for relevant articles containing original data studying EEG functional connectivity measures in delirium.ResultsThe search yielded 1,516 records. Following strict inclusion criteria, four studies were included in the review. The studies used a variety of EEG measures including phase lag index, coherence, entropy, shortest path length, minimum spanning tree, and network clustering coefficients to study functional connectivity between scalp electrodes. Across connectivity measures, delirium was associated with decreased brain functional connectivity. All four studies found decreased alpha band connectivity for patients with delirium. None of the studies directly compared the different motor subtypes of delirium.SignificanceThis systematic review provides converging evidence for disturbances in oscillatory-based functional connectivity in delirium.
Tourism factories are tourist attractions with values of manufacturing, culture, history, tourism, and recreation, providing a series of activities for tourists to experience the products and the manufacturing process in the mode of experiential marketing so as to enhance their cognition for the products and the corporate image. With the establishment of numerous tourism factories in Taiwan, to be competitive it is essential for the factories to develop unique and innovative modes that are difficult to imitate. This study explores experiential marketing, service innovation, customer satisfaction, and other related issues through research on the tourists of a certain tourism factory. It notes that experiential marketing and service innovation have positive effects on customer satisfaction. Tourists’ levels of consciousness of sensual and emotional experience in experiential marketing is very high. Therefore, to strengthen experiential marketing towards customers, applying electronic media to reinforce knowledge of the corporation and products will promote the corporation’s image and product packaging. It will also familiarize customers with the operating philosophy of the corporation and the characteristics of the products so that their purchase intentions will increase, resulting in sustainable development of the business.
Maíra Glória de Freitas Cardoso, R. Faleiro, Jonas Jardim de Paula
et al.
Patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) may present cognitive deficits within the first 24 h after trauma, herein called “acute phase,” which in turn may lead to long-term functional impairment and decrease in quality of life. Few studies investigated cognition in mTBI patients during the acute phase. The objectives of this study were to investigate the cognitive profile of patients with mTBI during the acute phase, compared to controls and normative data, and whether loss of consciousness (LOC), previous TBI and level of education influence cognition at this stage. Fifty-three patients with mTBI (aged 19–64 years) and 28 healthy controls participated in the study. All patients were evaluated at bedside within 24 h post-injury. Demographic and clinical data were registered. Cognitive function was assessed with the Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), Digit Span (working memory), and the Visual Memory Test/Brief Cognitive Battery (for episodic memory). The clinical sample was composed mainly by men (58.5%). The mean age was 39 years-old and 64.3% of the patients had more than 8 years of education. The most common causes of mTBI were fall from own height (28.3%), aggression (24.5%), and fall from variable heights (24.5%). Compared to controls, mTBI patients exhibited significantly worse performance on MMSE, FAB, naming, incidental memory, immediate memory, learning, and delayed recall. Compared to normative data, 26.4% of patients had reduced global cognition as measured by the MMSE. Episodic memory impairment (13.2%) was more frequent than executive dysfunction (9.4%). No significant differences were found in cognitive performance when comparing patients with or without LOC or those with or without history of previous TBI. Patients with lower educational level had higher rates of cognitive impairment (VMT naming−28.6 vs. 4.2%; VMT immediate memory−32 vs. 4.2%; VMT learning−39.3 vs. 4.2%, all p < 0.05). In sum, we found significant cognitive impairment in the acute phase of mTBI, which was not associated with LOC or history of TBI, but appeared more frequently in patients with lower educational level.
Introduction: One of the important outcomes of hospitalization in infants with respiratory disease is sleep disturbance. This study was performed to investigate the role and participation of fathers in the sleep of hospitalized pediatrics with pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Material and Methods: In this clinical trial study, the parents of 40 children aged from 12 to 36 months hospitalized with a diagnosis of pneumonia were randomly assigned to the control and intervention groups. After implementing a supportive training program for the fathers in the intervention group, each father made an online video communication with the infant and the mother as the primary caregiver. Mothers completed the brief infant sleep questionnaire-revised at the beginning and a week later.
Results: Data analysis showed that daytime sleep duration, setting time and total 24-hour sleep time in the intervention group improved compared to the control group. In addition, parents’ behavior toward their child’s sleep improved in the intervention group compared to the control group, but parents’ perceptions of their child’s sleep in the intervention group did not show a significant difference compared to the control group. The mean total score of the intervention group also improved compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Planning to maintain family unity by educating and supporting fathers during the child’s illness and their paternal support during the COVID-19 pandemic can improve the sleep of the hospitalized child due to pneumonia.
Monika Angerer, Manuel Schabus, Marion Raml
et al.
Abstract Background Actigraphy has received increasing attention in classifying rest-activity cycles. However, in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), actigraphy data may be considerably confounded by passive movements, such as nursing activities and therapies. Consequently, this study verified whether circadian rhythmicity is (still) visible in actigraphy data from patients with DOC after correcting for passive movements. Methods Wrist actigraphy was recorded over 7–8 consecutive days in patients with DOC (diagnosed with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome [UWS; n = 19] and [exit] minimally conscious state [MCS/EMCS; n = 11]). The presence and actions of clinical and research staff as well as visitors were indicated using a tablet in the patient’s room. Following removal and interpolation of passive movements, non-parametric rank-based tests were computed to identify differences between circadian parameters of uncorrected and corrected actigraphy data. Results Uncorrected actigraphy data overestimated the interdaily stability and intradaily variability of patients’ activity and underestimated the deviation from a circadian 24-h rhythm. Only 5/30 (17%) patients deviated more than 1 h from 24 h in the uncorrected data, whereas this was the case for 17/30 (57%) patients in the corrected data. When contrasting diagnoses based on the corrected dataset, stronger circadian rhythms and higher activity levels were observed in MCS/EMCS as compared to UWS patients. Day-to-night differences in activity were evident for both patient groups. Conclusion Our findings indicate that uncorrected actigraphy data overestimates the circadian rhythmicity of patients’ activity, as nursing activities, therapies, and visits by relatives follow a circadian pattern itself. Therefore, we suggest correcting actigraphy data from patients with reduced mobility.
Beatriz Franco, Milca Abda Morais, Alessandro Spencer de Souza Holanda
et al.
The COVID-19 pandemic is strongly impacting global health and mental health, and has caused
routine changes in much of the world. All of these changes can have physical and mental
consequences for the population. Metabolic changes, mood disorders and their pharmacotherapy,
such as the use of antidepressants can increase the chances of developing sleep disorders, such
as Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). As a way to avoid immunosuppression and the greater risk of
contamination of COVID-19, it is recommended to perform exercise in light or moderate intensity.
This is the first paper to reflect a possible impact of social distancing on RLS, and how it can affect
the incidence of mood disorders and metabolic changes in this syndrome, as well as the quality
of life of the population. We suggest that regular exercise at light or moderate intensity during
home confinement may be effective strategies to minimize the changes caused by the COVID-19
pandemic.