Differences in scanpath pattern and verbal working memory predicts efficient reading in the Cloze gap-filling test.

Different tests measure text comprehension, including the cloze gap-filling test, often used for language learning. Different studies hypothesized cognitive strategies in this type of test and their relationship with working memory and performance. However, no study investigated the cloze test, working memory, and possible cognitive strategies, while performing the test. Therefore, this study aimed to identify cognitive visual strategies in the cloze test by applying an unsupervised algorithm and to analyze the relationship between these strategies with working memory and performance in the cloze test. Our sample consisted of 51 university students, the largest sample in studies of cognitive strategies with cloze tests. Participants answered an 11-item cloze test in a computer with eye-tracking, a verbal working memory test, and a visuospatial working memory test. Our analysis of participants' scanpath identified two main strategies: one with fewer toggles between text and word bank and fewer fixations than the other one, indicating the existence of a global strategy. Furthermore, a model predicting the efficiency of participants in the cloze test found that item complexity, using a global strategy, and higher scores of working memory were the most significant predictors. These results confirm the hypothesis of a global strategy being related to successfully achieving higher-order reading processes.

Insights into Rett Syndrome girls' receptive vocabulary through eye movements and parental perception.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the receptive vocabulary of girls diagnosed with Rett Syndrome (RS) by employing eye-tracking technology and examined how these objective measures compared with parents' perceptions of their daughters' language abilities. METHOD: Fourteen girls with RS and eleven typically developing peers participated. Instruments included the Kerr Scale, a parental questionnaire on communication skills, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - PPVT-4, and eye-tracking equipment. The PPVT-4's initial 12 cards, each displaying four images, were presented on screen for 5 s for the child's initial inspection. Subsequently, the same card was shown for 5 s with instructions to identify the picture matching the word, repeated three times in a randomized order. RESULTS: Eye-tracking assessments revealed that girls with RS with less severe symptoms, performed below typically developing peers with aged 3-4 years. The number of eye fixations emerged as a reliable metric for assessing their performance. A positive correlation was found between parental reports of their daughters' vocabulary knowledge and their ability to identify the correct stimulus, suggesting comprehension and active engagement in the testing process. CONCLUSION: This study presents a pioneering approach by combining parental perceptions with eye-tracking measures to assess receptive vocabulary in girls diagnosed with Rett Syndrome. Despite showing lower performance levels compared to significantly younger peers, the findings suggest that these individuals use less effectively eye contact as a mode of communication.

Cognitive strategies revealed by clustering eye movement transitions.

In cognitive tasks, solvers can adopt different strategies to process information which may lead to different response behavior. These strategies might elicit different eye movement patterns which can thus provide substantial information about the strategy a person uses. However, these strategies are usually hidden and need to be inferred from the data. After an overview of existing techniques which use eye movement data for the identification of latent cognitive strategies, we present a relatively easy to apply unsuper-vised method to cluster eye movement recordings to detect groups of different solution processes that are applied in solving the task. We test the method's performance using simulations and demonstrate its use on two examples of empirical data. Our analyses are in line with presence of different solving strategies in a Mastermind game, and suggest new insights to strategic patterns in solving Progressive matrices tasks.

Cross-cultural adaptation, factor structure, and evidence of reliability of the Smartphone Addiction Scale in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To translate, adapt, and examine the factor structure and internal consistency of a Brazilian Portuguese version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-BR) among university students. METHODS: The SAS was translated and adapted for use with Brazilian samples. The resulting instrument (SAS-BR) was then administered to 356 college students. Parallel analysis was used to explore the maximum number of dimensions that underlie the assessment, and data modeling was undertaken using exploratory multidimensional item response theory (E-MIRT). The reliability of the SAS-BR was tested by computing McDonald's omega (ω) and Cronbach's alpha (α) coefficients. RESULTS: Parallel analysis revealed a maximum of six factors. E-MIRT analysis revealed that a five-factor model was the best fit for the data. The five emergent factors were salience, positive anticipation, cyberspace-oriented relationship, preoccupation with smartphone, and physical symptoms; these factors together explained 50% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis, conducted using data from a second sample, replicated the five-factor structure. The internal consistency of the scale was found to be strong. CONCLUSION: The emergent factor structure of the SAS-BR was found to be similar to that of previous adaptations of this instrument for other Western countries.

Eye Movements and Cognitive Strategy in a Fluid Intelligence Test: Item Type Analysis.

Eye movements help to infer the cognitive strategy that a person uses in fluid intelligence tests. However, intelligence tests demand different relations/rules tokens to be solved, such as rule direction, which is the continuation, variation or overlay of geometric figures in the matrix of the intelligence test. The aim of this study was to understand whether eye movements could predict the outcome of an intelligence test and in the rule item groups. Furthermore, we sought to identify which measure is best for predicting intelligence test scores and to understand if the rule item groups use the same strategy. Accordingly, 34 adults completed a computerized intelligence test with an eye-tracking device. The toggling rate, that is, the number of toggles on each test item equalized by the item latency explained 45% of the variance of the test scores and a significant amount of the rule tokens item groups. The regression analyses also indicated toggling rate as the best measure for predicting the score and that all the rule tokens seem to respect the same strategy. No correlation or difference were found between baseline pupil size and fluid intelligence. Wiener Matrizen-Test 2 was demonstrated to be a good instrument for the purpose of this study. Finally, the implications of these findings for an understanding of cognition are discussed.