Cognition-oriented treatments for older adults: A systematic review of the influence of depression and self-efficacy individual differences factors.

The increasing prevalence of cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia with the aging population has led to scrutiny of the efficacy of cognition-oriented treatments (COTs) aiming to maintain functioning, and delay or prevent further cognitive decline. However, little is known regarding the role of individual differences patient-variables (such as depression, self-efficacy, and motivation) in moderating the efficacy of COTs. This systematic review aimed to identify and analyze COT trials which investigated the relationship between differences in these patient-variables and intervention outcomes for older adults across healthy, MCI, and dementia populations. Of the 4854 studies extracted from the systematic search, 14 were included for analysis. While results were mixed across interventions and populations, on balance, greater depression severity predicted poorer cognitive functioning, and improvement in depressive symptom severity may account for at least part of the cognitive benefits seen at post-intervention. These findings were strongest for studies of MCI populations, with there being limited evidence of a relationship for healthy older adults or those with dementia. Overall, this review demonstrates the need for further investigation into the role of individual differences and clinical variables - particularly depression symptom severity - in attenuating COT outcomes through larger sample, high-quality randomized controlled trials.

Validating the relation-monitoring task as a measure of relational integration and predictor of fluid intelligence.

The relation-monitoring task (RMT) has demonstrated a remarkable ability to predict higher-order cognitive abilities such as fluid intelligence, despite its apparent simplicity: It requires no storage over time and no advanced mental manipulation. Instead, the task is theorized to measure relational integration: the process of constructing mental relations between independent elements. Although several studies have established a link between the RMT and fluid intelligence, few studies have investigated the task parameters that contribute to the task's ability to predict higher-order performance. In the present experiment, we manipulated relational complexity and attentional-control demands by varying visual interference and the amount of new information presented on each trial. Even the most basic version of the task (loading primarily on relational integration) explained substantial variance in fluid intelligence, above and beyond the variance already predicted by traditional working memory tasks. We extended prior results by suggesting an incremental effect of attentional-control demands that contributes (but is not imperative) to the RMT's relationship with fluid intelligence. These findings support the relational integration hypothesis, the theory that what fundamentally limits fluid intelligence is the capacity for relational integration.

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Computerized Cognitive Training on Executive Functions: a Cross-Disciplinary Taxonomy for Classifying Outcome Cognitive Factors.

The growing prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders associated with aging and cognitive decline has generated increasing cross-disciplinary interest in non-pharmacological interventions, such as computerized cognitive training (CCT), which may prevent or slow cognitive decline. However, inconsistent findings across meta-analytic reviews in the field suggest a lack of cross-disciplinary consensus and on-going debate regarding the benefits of CCT. We posit that a contributing factor is the lack of a theoretically-based taxonomy of constructs and representative tasks typically used. An integration of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) taxonomy of broad and narrow cognitive factors and the Miyake unity-diversity theory of executive functions (EF) is proposed (CHC-M) as an attempt to clarify this issue through representing and integrating the disciplines contributing to CCT research. The present study assessed the utility of this taxonomy by reanalyzing the Lampit et al. (2014) meta-analysis of CCT in healthy older adults using the CHC-M framework. Results suggest that: 1) substantively different statistical effects are observed when CHC-M is applied to the Lampit et al. meta-analytic review, leading to importantly different interpretations of the data; 2) typically-used classification practices conflate Executive Function (EF) tasks with fluid reasoning (Gf) and retrieval fluency (Gr), and Attention with sensory perception; and 3) there is theoretical and practical advantage in differentiating attention and working-memory tasks into the narrow shifting, inhibition, and updating EF domains. Implications for clinical practice, particularly for our understanding of EF are discussed.

A meta-analysis and systematic review of reactivity to judgements of learning.

Judgements of learning (JoL) are often used in memory research as a means for assessing an individual's metacognitive beliefs about their learning. JoL have been shown to reliably predict performance as well as learning behaviours and decisions . Participants may, however, modify their behaviour in response to performing JoL. There has, however, been little consensus as to the reliability and direction of the effect. We report on a meta-analyses that assesses the evidence that memory performance is reactive to JoL. The results indicate that overall providing JoL does not have a significant effect on memory performance (g = 0.054, 95% CI -0.027 to 0.135). However, sub-groups analysis showed that this effect depends on the nature of the stimuli to be recalled, with moderate positive reactivity observed for related word pairs (g = 0.323, 95% CI 0.083 to 0.563) and word lists (g = 0.384, 95% CI 0.146 to 0.622) but no reactivity when pairs were unrelated or a mixture of related and unrelated pairs. These results indicate that researchers should be aware that eliciting JoL may well influence participants' underlying encoding processes, especially when using related word pairs or word lists.

Verbal learning and memory following stroke.

OBJECTIVE: The research examined whether verbal learning and memory impairment previously observed 1 year after left hemisphere stroke endures over a longer period and whether stroke sufferers compensate for their impairments using working memory. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-one persons with left hemisphere lesions; 20 with right hemisphere lesions only and 41 matched controls completed the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R), a working memory test (Letter-Number Sequencing, LNS) and the Boston Naming Test (BNT). RESULTS: Persons with left hemisphere damage performed more poorly on HVLT-R than controls. They showed poorer immediate recall, delayed recall, recognition and learning, but intact retention, suggesting an encoding impairment. BNT and LNS scores predicted recall in this group. HVLT-R performance of persons with right hemisphere lesions only was comparable to controls. BNT (not LNS) predicted recall in these groups. CONCLUSIONS: Persons with left hemisphere damage relied more on working memory and recruited diverse left hemisphere regions to compensate for their impaired encoding. IMPLICATIONS: Tasks requiring verbal encoding and memory are effortful following left hemisphere stroke. This should be recognized and accommodated.

Confidence judgments interfere with perceptual decision making.

Determining one's confidence in a decision is a vital part of decision-making. Traditionally, psychological experiments have assessed a person's confidence by eliciting confidence judgments. The notion that such judgments can be elicited without impacting the accuracy of the decision has recently been challenged by several studies which have shown reactivity effects-either an increase or decrease in decision accuracy when confidence judgments are elicited. Evidence for the direction of reactivity effects has, however, been decidedly mixed. Here, we report three studies designed to specifically make reactivity effects more prominent by eliciting confidence judgment contemporaneously with perceptual decisions. We show that confidence judgments elicited contemporaneously produce an impairment in decision accuracy, this suggests that confidence judgments may rely on a partially distinct set of cues/evidence than the primary perceptual decision and, additionally, challenges the continued use of confidence ratings as an unobtrusive measure of metacognition.

A Novel Approach to Measuring an Old Construct: Aligning the Conceptualisation and Operationalisation of Cognitive Flexibility.

A successful adjustment to dynamic changes in one's environment requires contingent adaptive behaviour. Such behaviour is underpinned by cognitive flexibility, which conceptually is part of fluid intelligence. We argue, however, that conventional approaches to measuring fluid intelligence are insufficient in capturing cognitive flexibility. We address the discrepancy between conceptualisation and operationalisation by introducing two newly developed tasks that aim at capturing within-person processes of dealing with novelty. In an exploratory proof-of-concept study, the two flexibility tasks were administered to 307 university students, together with a battery of conventional measures of fluid intelligence. Participants also provided information about their Grade Point Averages obtained in high school and in their first year at university. We tested (1) whether an experimental manipulation of a requirement for cognitive inhibition resulted in systematic differences in difficulty, (2) whether these complexity differences reflect psychometrically differentiable effects, and (3) whether these newly developed flexibility tasks show incremental value in predicting success in the transition from high school to university over conventional operationalisations of fluid intelligence. Our findings support the notion that cognitive flexibility, when conceptualised and operationalised as individual differences in within-person processes of dealing with novelty, more appropriately reflects the dynamics of individuals' behaviour when attempting to cope with changing demands.

Is cortical inhibition in primary motor cortex related to executive control?

Recent research using paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has shown that the speed with which people can stop an action is linked to GABAergic inhibitory activity in the motor system. Specifically, a significant proportion of the variance in stop signal reaction time (SSRT; a widely used measure of inhibitory control) is accounted for by short-interval cortical inhibition (SICI). It is still unclear whether this relationship reflects a broader link between GABAergic processes and executive functions, or a specific link between GABAergic processes and motor stopping ability. The current study sought to replicate the correlation between SSRT and SICI while investigating whether this association generalises to other measures of inhibitory control and working memory, and to long-interval cortical inhibition (LICI). Participants completed a battery of inhibition (Stop-Signal, Stroop, Flanker) and working memory (n-back, Digit Span, and Operation Span) tasks. We replicated the correlation between SICI and SSRT but found no other correlations between behavioural measures of executive control and the two cortical measures of inhibition. These findings indicate that the relationship between SSRT and SICI is specific to a particular property of response inhibition and likely reflects the function of local inhibitory networks mediated by GABAA.

Intelligence IS Cognitive Flexibility: Why Multilevel Models of Within-Individual Processes Are Needed to Realise This.

Despite substantial evidence for the link between an individual's intelligence and successful life outcomes, questions about what defines intelligence have remained the focus of heated dispute. The most common approach to understanding intelligence has been to investigate what performance on tests of intellect is and is not associated with. This psychometric approach, based on correlations and factor analysis is deficient. In this review, we aim to substantiate why classic psychometrics which focus on between-person accounts will necessarily provide a limited account of intelligence until theoretical considerations of within-person accounts are incorporated. First, we consider the impact of entrenched psychometric presumptions that support the status quo and impede alternative views. Second, we review the importance of process-theories, which are critical for any serious attempt to build a within-person account of intelligence. Third, features of dynamic tasks are reviewed, and we outline how static tasks can be modified to target within-person processes. Finally, we explain how multilevel models are conceptually and psychometrically well-suited to building and testing within-individual notions of intelligence, which at its core, we argue is cognitive flexibility. We conclude by describing an application of these ideas in the context of microworlds as a case study.

Sophisticated Statistics Cannot Compensate for Method Effects If Quantifiable Structure Is Compromised.

Researchers rely on psychometric principles when trying to gain understanding of unobservable psychological phenomena disconfounded from the methods used. Psychometric models provide us with tools to support this endeavour, but they are agnostic to the meaning researchers intend to attribute to the data. We define method effects as resulting from actions which weaken the psychometric structure of measurement, and argue that solution to this confounding will ultimately rest on testing whether data collected fit a psychometric model based on a substantive theory, rather than a search for a model that best fits the data. We highlight the importance of taking the notions of fundamental measurement seriously by reviewing distinctions between the Rasch measurement model and more generalised 2PL and 3PL IRT models. We then present two lines of research that highlight considerations of making method effects explicit in experimental designs. First, we contrast the use of experimental manipulations to study measurement reactivity during the assessment of metacognitive processes with factor-analytic research of the same. The former suggests differential performance-facilitating and -inhibiting reactivity as a function of other individual differences, whereas factor-analytic research suggests a ubiquitous monotonically predictive confidence factor. Second, we evaluate differential effects of context and source on within-individual variability indices of personality derived from multiple observations, highlighting again the importance of a structured and theoretically grounded observational framework. We conclude by arguing that substantive variables can act as method effects and should be considered at the time of design rather than after the fact, and without compromising measurement ideals.

Experiential and Strategic Emotional Intelligence Are Implicated When Inhibiting Affective and Non-Affective Distractors: Findings from Three Emotional Flanker N-Back Tasks.

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to a set of competencies to process, understand, and reason with affective information. Recent studies suggest ability measures of experiential and strategic EI differentially predict performance on non-emotional and emotionally laden tasks. To explore cognitive processes underlying these abilities further, we varied the affective context of a traditional letter-based n-back working-memory task. In study 1, participants completed 0-, 2-, and 3-back tasks with flanking distractors that were either emotional (fearful or happy faces) or non-emotional (shapes or letters stimuli). Strategic EI, but not experiential EI, significantly influenced participants' accuracy across all n-back levels, irrespective of flanker type. In Study 2, participants completed 1-, 2-, and 3-back levels. Experiential EI was positively associated with response times for emotional flankers at the 1-back level but not other levels or flanker types, suggesting those higher in experiential EI reacted slower on low-load trials with affective context. In Study 3, flankers were asynchronously presented either 300 ms or 1000 ms before probes. Results mirrored Study 1 for accuracy rates and Study 2 for response times. Our findings (a) provide experimental evidence for the distinctness of experiential and strategic EI and (b) suggest that each are related to different aspects of cognitive processes underlying working memory.

The Confidence Database.

Understanding how people rate their confidence is critical for the characterization of a wide range of perceptual, memory, motor and cognitive processes. To enable the continued exploration of these processes, we created a large database of confidence studies spanning a broad set of paradigms, participant populations and fields of study. The data from each study are structured in a common, easy-to-use format that can be easily imported and analysed using multiple software packages. Each dataset is accompanied by an explanation regarding the nature of the collected data. At the time of publication, the Confidence Database (which is available at https://osf.io/s46pr/) contained 145 datasets with data from more than 8,700 participants and almost 4 million trials. The database will remain open for new submissions indefinitely and is expected to continue to grow. Here we show the usefulness of this large collection of datasets in four different analyses that provide precise estimations of several foundational confidence-related effects.

Reactivity to Measures of Metacognition.

Metacognition is typically measured by collecting self-reported information from participants while they complete a cognitive task. Recent evidence suggests that eliciting such metacognitive information from participants can impact both their metacognitive processes and their cognitive performance. Although there are contradictory findings regarding the magnitude and even the direction of this effect, recent evidence has converged to provide a clearer picture of the mechanisms that determine reactivity. Here, we provide a review of the evidence that measures of metacognition, namely think-aloud protocols, judgments of learning, and confidence ratings, are reactive. We argue that reactivity has important implications not just for the measurement of metacognition, but for metacognition theorizing because reactivity can provide insights into the cues participants use to monitor their performance. Drawing from this synthesis of evidence, we propose a tentative framework for studying reactivity that integrates cue processing accounts of reactivity with existing models of metacognition. We conclude the review by addressing some of the pertinent questions yet to be comprehensively addressed by reactivity research, including how researchers should best address issues of reactivity when using experimental designs.

The link between working memory and fluid intelligence is dependent on flexible bindings, not systematic access or passive retention.

Rather than working memory capacity acting as a distinct subordinate function of fluid intelligence, there is an emerging consensus that their relationship can be understood as an outcome of common functions dictated by the strength and flexibility of bindings which integrate representations relationally. The current study considers the Arithmetic Chain Task (Oberauer, Demmrich, Mayr, & Kliegl, 2001) which contrasts access (integrating previously stored information for use in the arithmetic processing) against mere retention (holding previously stored information for recall after the arithmetic processing). Participants (n = 122) completed the Arithmetic Chain Task (ACT) with a novel manipulation that split the access condition into fixed-order vs. random-order access. Both forms of access require integration of previously stored information into the arithmetic, but random-order access restricts systematic chunking, necessitating multiple flexible bindings that can be updated in light of new information. Participants also completed a measure of working memory and a measure of fluid intelligence. Results replicated Oberauer et al.'s findings on a demarcation between retention and access, though the current data indicate that random-order presentation is necessary to distinguish access from retention. Crucially, this random-order access is also required to link the ACT to a factor representing the commonality in WM and Gf. These results suggest that what is common to WM and Gf is the capacity to maintain multiple durable and flexible bindings.

Do confidence ratings prime confidence?

Confidence ratings (CR) are one of the most frequently used measures in psychological research. However, recent evidence has suggested that eliciting CR from participants may result in changes to cognitive performance, so called reactivity. Here, we examine whether reactivity to CR can be better explained by added task-relevant introspection, or, alternatively, the unintentional priming of confidence-related beliefs. First, we compare participants' performance in a group making CR with a group making a task-irrelevant control rating, and a second group who made the same task-irrelevant rating, but with the word 'confident' included in the rating's wording. The results suggest that reactivity is driven by the presentation of the word 'confident', and reactivity does not require task-relevant introspection. Additionally, we show that rephrasing CR to remove the word 'confident' neutralises reactivity. This suggests that reactivity may represent a significant problem for researchers using CR, but rephrasing CR may remedy these concerns in relatively simple fashion.

Relational encoding of objects in working memory: Change detection performance is better for violations in group relations.

Research has indicated that working memory is based on forming relations between individual elements. In this study, we considered the congruency of object clusters during a change detection task. We demonstrate that changes which violate the relational encoding of a probe display (single-object changes where one object shifts independently from its corresponding group) are more easily detected than changes that maintain group structure (cluster changes where all objects in the group shift in location together)-despite cluster changes involving more objects moving overall. We explore this effect across interactions with direction of single-object movement (distancing from the cluster vs. uniting with the cluster) and trial order, demonstrating that naïve participants improve at a faster rate on single-object changes than cluster changes. It is concluded that storage in working memory functions by building relational bindings between objects and their place within the chunk, rather than by binding objects to their spatial location.

Correction: Relational encoding of objects in working memory: Changes detection performance is better for violations in group relations.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203848.].

The Structure of the FACT-Cog v3 in Cancer Patients, Students, and Older Adults.

CONTEXT: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive (FACT-Cog) version 3 questionnaire is designed to assess perceived cognitive function and impact on quality of life in cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: We examined the factor structure of the FACT-Cog version 3 in samples of cancer patients, older adults, and students. METHODS: Data from three populations were sourced. Cancer patient data (N = 158) came from two studies, one evaluating a web-based cognitive training program, and the other evaluating symptoms in patients receiving chemotherapy. The older adult sample (N = 477) was commercial brain training users in the general population. The student sample (N = 154) came from a study examining the relation between cognitive test performance and perceived cognitive function. RESULTS: The patient sample conformed to the traditional four-factor structure (impairments, abilities, noticeability, and quality of life), with some support for separating the broad impairment/ability factors into specific cognitive domains. The older adult sample was best described using both impairments/abilities and specific cognitive domains. The student sample suggested two impairment/ability factors but separation of concentration/acuity and memory/verbal impairment items. CONCLUSION: The FACT-Cog can be used in populations other than cancer patients, with modifications to the scoring system. Even when used with cancer patients, it is worth considering scoring specific cognitive domains separately.

Beyond Psychometrics: The Difference between Difficult Problem Solving and Complex Problem Solving.

In this paper we argue that a synthesis of findings across the various sub-areas of research in complex problem solving and consequently progress in theory building is hampered by an insufficient differentiation of complexity and difficulty. In the proposed framework of person, task, and situation (PTS), complexity is conceptualized as a quality that is determined by the cognitive demands that the characteristics of the task and the situation impose. Difficulty represents the quantifiable level of a person's success in dealing with such demands. We use the well-documented "semantic effect" as an exemplar for testing some of the conceptual assumptions derived from the PTS framework. We demonstrate how a differentiation between complexity and difficulty can help take beyond a potentially too narrowly defined psychometric perspective and subsequently gain a better understanding of the cognitive mechanisms behind this effect. In an empirical study a total of 240 university students were randomly allocated to one of four conditions. The four conditions resulted from contrasting the semanticity level of the variable labels used in the CPS system (high vs. low) and two instruction conditions for how to explore the CPS system's causal structure (starting with the assumption that all relationships between variables existed vs. starting with the assumption that none of the relationships existed). The variation in the instruction aimed at inducing knowledge acquisition processes of either (1) systematic elimination of presumptions, or (2) systematic compilation of a mental representation of the causal structure underpinning the system. Results indicate that (a) it is more complex to adopt a "blank slate" perspective under high semanticity as it requires processes of inhibiting prior assumptions, and (b) it seems more difficult to employ a systematic heuristic when testing against presumptions. In combination, situational characteristics, such as the semanticity of variable labels, have the potential to trigger qualitatively different tasks. Failing to differentiate between 'task' and 'situation' as independent sources of complexity and treating complexity and difficulty synonymously threaten the validity of performance scores obtained in CPS research.