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Assessment Oct 2023Category and letter verbal fluency assessment is widely used in basic and clinical research. Yet, the nature of the processes measured by such means remains a matter of...
Category and letter verbal fluency assessment is widely used in basic and clinical research. Yet, the nature of the processes measured by such means remains a matter of debate. To delineate automatic (free-associative) versus controlled (dissociative) retrieval processes involved in verbal fluency tasks, we carried out a psychometric study combining a novel lexical-semantic retrieval paradigm and structural equation modeling. We show that category fluency primarily engages a free-associative retrieval, whereas letter fluency exerts executive suppression of habitual semantic associates. Importantly, the models demonstrated that this dissociation is parametric rather than absolute, exhibiting a degree of unity as well as diversity among the retrieval measures. These findings and further exploratory analyses validate that category and letter fluency tasks reflect partially distinct forms of memory search and retrieval control, warranting different application in basic research and clinical assessment. Finally, we conclude that the novel associative-dissociative paradigm provides straightforward and useful behavioral measures for the assessment and differentiation of automatic versus controlled retrieval ability.
Topics: Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Semantics; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 35979927
DOI: 10.1177/10731911221117512 -
International Journal For Equity in... Mar 2012In recent years, the importance of social differences in the physician-patient relationship has frequently been the subject of research. A 2002 review synthesised the... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
In recent years, the importance of social differences in the physician-patient relationship has frequently been the subject of research. A 2002 review synthesised the evidence on this topic. Considering the increasing importance of social inequalities in health care, an actualization of this review seemed appropriate.
METHODS
A systematic search of literature published between 1965 and 2011 on the social gradient in doctor-patient communication. In this review social class was determined by patient's income, education or occupation.
RESULTS
Twenty original research papers and meta-analyses were included. Social differences in doctor-patient communication were described according to the following classification: verbal behaviour including instrumental and affective behaviour, non-verbal behaviour and patient-centred behaviour.
CONCLUSION
This review indicates that the literature on the social gradient in doctor-patient communication that was published in the last decade, addresses new issues and themes. Firstly, most of the found studies emphasize the importance of the reciprocity of communication.Secondly, there seems to be a growing interest in patient's perception of doctor-patient communication.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
By increasing the doctors' awareness of the communicative differences and by empowering patients to express concerns and preferences, a more effective communication could be established.
Topics: Acculturation; Affective Symptoms; Communication; Cultural Diversity; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Models, Statistical; Patient-Centered Care; Physician-Patient Relations; Social Behavior; Social Class; Social Participation; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 22409902
DOI: 10.1186/1475-9276-11-12 -
Psychological Bulletin Sep 2015Inner speech-also known as covert speech or verbal thinking-has been implicated in theories of cognitive development, speech monitoring, executive function, and... (Review)
Review
Inner speech-also known as covert speech or verbal thinking-has been implicated in theories of cognitive development, speech monitoring, executive function, and psychopathology. Despite a growing body of knowledge on its phenomenology, development, and function, approaches to the scientific study of inner speech have remained diffuse and largely unintegrated. This review examines prominent theoretical approaches to inner speech and methodological challenges in its study, before reviewing current evidence on inner speech in children and adults from both typical and atypical populations. We conclude by considering prospects for an integrated cognitive science of inner speech, and present a multicomponent model of the phenomenon informed by developmental, cognitive, and psycholinguistic considerations. Despite its variability among individuals and across the life span, inner speech appears to perform significant functions in human cognition, which in some cases reflect its developmental origins and its sharing of resources with other cognitive processes.
Topics: Adult; Child; Child Development; Cognition; Humans; Language Development Disorders; Neurobiology; Speech; Thinking; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 26011789
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000021 -
PloS One 2021The present research examined the extent to which transmale individuals' functional brain organization resembles that of their assigned sex or gender identity....
The present research examined the extent to which transmale individuals' functional brain organization resembles that of their assigned sex or gender identity. Cisgender-female, cisgender-male, and transmale participants, who were assigned female sex but did not have a female gender identity, were compared in terms of effects that have been observed in cisgender individuals: task-domain effects, in which males perform better than females on spatial tasks and females perform better than males on verbal tasks; and hemisphere-asymmetry effects, in which males show larger differences between the left and right hemispheres than females. In addition, the present research measured participants' intelligence in order to control for potential moderating effects. Participants performed spatial (mental rotation) and verbal (lexical decision) tasks presented to each hemisphere using a divided-visual field paradigm, and then completed an intelligence assessment. In the mental-rotation task, cismale and transmale participants performed better than cisfemale participants, however this group difference was explained by intelligence scores, with higher scores predicting better performance. In the lexical-decision task, cismale and transmale participants exhibited a greater left-hemisphere advantage than cisfemales, and this difference was not affected by intelligence scores. Taken together, results do not support task-domain effects when intelligence is accounted for; however, they do demonstrate a hemisphere-asymmetry effect in the verbal domain that is moderated by gender identity and not assigned sex.
Topics: Female; Functional Laterality; Gender Identity; Humans; Male; Spatial Behavior; Transgender Persons; Verbal Behavior; Young Adult
PubMed: 34874973
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260542 -
PloS One 2020Research on infant vocal development has provided notable insights into vocal interaction with caregivers, elucidating growth in foundations for language through...
Research on infant vocal development has provided notable insights into vocal interaction with caregivers, elucidating growth in foundations for language through parental elicitation and reaction to vocalizations. A role for infant vocalizations produced endogenously, potentially providing raw material for interaction and a basis for growth in the vocal capacity itself, has received less attention. We report that in laboratory recordings of infants and their parents, the bulk of infant speech-like vocalizations, or "protophones", were directed toward no one and instead appeared to be generated endogenously, mostly in exploration of vocal abilities. The tendency to predominantly produce protophones without directing them to others occurred both during periods when parents were instructed to interact with their infants and during periods when parents were occupied with an interviewer, with the infants in the room. The results emphasize the infant as an agent in vocal learning, even when not interacting socially and suggest an enhanced perspective on foundations for vocal language.
Topics: Caregivers; Child Development; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant Behavior; Language; Language Development; Male; Phonetics; Speech; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 32756591
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224956 -
British Medical Journal (Clinical...
Topics: Humans; Linguistics; Literature, Modern; Verbal Behavior; Writing
PubMed: 3121126
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.295.6613.1662 -
Cognition Sep 2017Individual differences in children's math performance have been associated with math anxiety, attention problems, working memory (WM), and reading skills, but the...
Individual differences in children's math performance have been associated with math anxiety, attention problems, working memory (WM), and reading skills, but the mechanisms by which these factors jointly contribute to children's math achievement are unknown. Here, we use structural equation modeling to characterize the relation between these factors and their influence on non-verbal Numerical Operations (NO) and verbal Math Reasoning (MR) in 330 children (M=8.34years). Our findings indicate that WM plays a central role in both non-verbal NO and verbal MR, whereas math anxiety and reading comprehension have unique and more pronounced influences on MR, compared to NO. Our study elucidates how affective and cognitive factors distinctly influence non-verbal and verbal mathematical problem solving.
Topics: Affect; Attention; Child; Cognition; Female; Humans; Male; Mathematics; Memory, Short-Term; Problem Solving; Reading; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 28558312
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.05.016 -
Nature Oct 2011Intelligence quotient (IQ) is a standardized measure of human intellectual capacity that takes into account a wide range of cognitive skills. IQ is generally considered...
Intelligence quotient (IQ) is a standardized measure of human intellectual capacity that takes into account a wide range of cognitive skills. IQ is generally considered to be stable across the lifespan, with scores at one time point used to predict educational achievement and employment prospects in later years. Neuroimaging allows us to test whether unexpected longitudinal fluctuations in measured IQ are related to brain development. Here we show that verbal and non-verbal IQ can rise or fall in the teenage years, with these changes in performance validated by their close correlation with changes in local brain structure. A combination of structural and functional imaging showed that verbal IQ changed with grey matter in a region that was activated by speech, whereas non-verbal IQ changed with grey matter in a region that was activated by finger movements. By using longitudinal assessments of the same individuals, we obviated the many sources of variation in brain structure that confound cross-sectional studies. This allowed us to dissociate neural markers for the two types of IQ and to show that general verbal and non-verbal abilities are closely linked to the sensorimotor skills involved in learning. More generally, our results emphasize the possibility that an individual's intellectual capacity relative to their peers can decrease or increase in the teenage years. This would be encouraging to those whose intellectual potential may improve, and would be a warning that early achievers may not maintain their potential.
Topics: Adolescent; Brain; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Functional Neuroimaging; Health; Humans; Intelligence; Intelligence Tests; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Speech; Verbal Behavior; Verbal Learning
PubMed: 22012265
DOI: 10.1038/nature10514 -
Behavior Genetics Mar 2021Despite the relevance of semantic fluency measures to risk for dementia and psychiatric disorders, little is known about their genetic and environmental architecture in...
Despite the relevance of semantic fluency measures to risk for dementia and psychiatric disorders, little is known about their genetic and environmental architecture in mid-to-late life. Participants represent 21,684 middle-aged and older adult twins (M = 60.84 years, SD = 11.21; Range 40-89) from six studies from three countries participating in the Interplay of Genes and Environment across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) consortium. All completed the same measure of semantic fluency (naming animals in 60 seconds). Results revealed small-to-moderate phenotypic associations with age and education, with education more strongly and positively associated with fluency performance in females than males. Heritability and environmental influences did not vary by age. Environmental variance was smaller with higher levels of education, but this effect was observed only in males. This is the largest study to examine the genetic and environmental architecture of semantic fluency, and the first to demonstrate that environmental influences vary based on levels of education.
Topics: Aged; Aging; Australia; Cognition; Databases, Factual; Databases, Genetic; Denmark; Female; Gene-Environment Interaction; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Semantics; Speech; Twins; United States; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 33547998
DOI: 10.1007/s10519-021-10048-w -
Journal of Physiotherapy Jul 2018
Topics: Humans; Physical Therapists; Professional Role; Professional-Patient Relations; Verbal Behavior
PubMed: 29895417
DOI: 10.1016/j.jphys.2018.04.002