A guide for social science journal editors on easing into open science.

Journal editors have a large amount of power to advance open science in their respective fields by incentivising and mandating open policies and practices at their journals. The Data PASS Journal Editors Discussion Interface (JEDI, an online community for social science journal editors: www.dpjedi.org ) has collated several resources on embedding open science in journal editing ( www.dpjedi.org/resources ). However, it can be overwhelming as an editor new to open science practices to know where to start. For this reason, we created a guide for journal editors on how to get started with open science. The guide outlines steps that editors can take to implement open policies and practices within their journal, and goes through the what, why, how, and worries of each policy and practice. This manuscript introduces and summarizes the guide (full guide: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/hstcx ).

Spontaneous emotional regulation under experimental emotional condition: The role of working memory.

The present research studied the bidirectional effects of working memory (WM) capacity and emotional regulation; that is, the effect of WM capacity on spontaneous emotional regulation and whether the emotional valence to be regulated has a differential impact on performance in a second WM task. Participants (79) first completed a WM span task (Digit Span), then a self-report emotional intelligence task, which was followed by randomly assigned mock Positive-feedback, Negative-feedback, or No-feedback. In the Negative-feedback and Positive-feedback conditions, a dummy report based on participants' responses to the Trait Meta Mood- 21 was shown on the screen. After that, participants completed another WM task (Running Span). An ordinary least squares multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the predictive power of WM span and experimental condition on post-feedback test performance. The model yielded a significant effect on post-feedback test performance for Negative-feedback and a marginal significant effect for the interaction of this parameter with WM span. The results showed that participants in the Negative-feedback condition performed worse than those assigned to other conditions, and individuals with a higher WM capacity were less susceptible to negative experimental stimuli.

Objective measurement of Spanish emotion vocabulary.

Current research on emotion knowledge and competence emphasises the role of language. Emotion vocabulary is one of the indicators of emotion knowledge that can be objectively measured; however, the metric properties of the scores obtained in tests and tasks to measure it have seldom been adequate. In this study we designed and validated a Spanish emotion vocabulary test (MOVE) employing a corpus approach to construct cloze multiple-choice items, administered the test to a Spanish-speaking sample from two countries, Spain and Argentina, and analysed structural validity of the test items with the Rasch model measurement approach. Eighty-eight items showed adequate fit. Overall, a substantial percentage of variance was explained by a latent variable. Reliability indexes at the test, item, and person level were also adequate. As a vocabulary test, the MOVE can be used in psychological and neurological investigation, as well as in language learning research.

From simple agents to information sources: Readers' differential processing of story characters as a function of story consistency.

The study examined how readers integrate information from and about multiple information sources into a memory representation. In two experiments, college students read brief news reports containing two critical statements, each attributed to a source character. In half of the texts, the statements were consistent with each other, in the other half they were discrepant. Each story also featured a non-source character (who made no statement). The hypothesis was that discrepant statements, as compared to consistent statements, would promote distinct attention and memory only for the source characters. Experiment 1 used short interviews to assess participants' ability to recognize the source of one of the statements after reading. Experiment 2 used eye-tracking to collect data during reading and during a source-content recognition task after reading. As predicted, discrepancies only enhanced memory of, and attention to source-related segments of the texts. Discrepancies also enhanced the link between the two source characters in memory as opposed to the non-source character, as indicated by the participants' justifications (Experiment 1) and their visual inspection of the recognition items (Experiment 2). The results are interpreted within current theories of text comprehension and document literacy.

Agreement on emotion labels' frequency in eight Spanish linguistic areas.

Various traditions have investigated the relationship between emotion and language. For the basic emotions view, emotional prototypes are lexically sedimented in language, evidenced in cultural convergence in emotional recognition and expression tasks. For constructionist theories, conceptual knowledge supported by language is at the core of emotions. Understanding emotion words is embedded in various interrelated constructs such as emotional intelligence, emotion knowledge or emotion differentiation, and is related to, but different from, general vocabulary. A clear advantage of Emotion Vocabulary over most emotion-related constructs is that it can be measured objectively. In two successive corpus-based studies, we tested the predictions of concordance and absolute agreement on the frequency of use of a total of 100 Spanish emotion labels in the eight main Spanish-speaking areas: Spain, Mexico-Central America, River Plate, Continental Caribbean, Andean, Antilles, Chilean, and the United States. In both studies, the intraclass correlation coefficient was statistically different from the null and very large, over .95, as was the Kendall's concordance coefficient, indicating broad consensus among the Spanish linguistic areas. From an applied perspective, our results provide supporting evidence for the similarity in frequency, and therefore cross-cultural generalizability regarding familiarity of the 100 emotion labels as item stems or as experimental stimuli without going through a process of additional adaptation. On a broader scope, these results add evidence on the role of language for emotion theories. In this regard, countries and regions compared here share the same Spanish language, but differ in several aspects in history, culture, and socio-economic structure.

Desarrollo de la inteligencia emocional percibida: Estudio comparativo / Development of perceived emotional intelligence: Comparative study

La inteligencia emocional percibida está compuesta por tres factores: la atención a las emociones, la claridad emocional, y la reparación de las emociones (Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey, & Palfai, 1995). El objetivo de este trabajo es comparar y estudiar las características de la inteligencia emocional percibida en diferentes etapas de la vida. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 456 sujetos, a quienes se les administró el TMMS-21. Se hallaron diferencias en el nivel de atención y recuperación, tanto en la muestra general como en el grupo de mujeres, siendo los adultos quienes reportaron menores índices. Por otro lado, la edad resultó ser un predictor significativo del nivel de atención y reparación. Se explican las diferencias halladas a la luz del desarrollo cognitivo que afectaría la percepción que el sujeto tiene sobre sus habilidades emocionales

Perceived emotional intelligence is composed of three factors: the attention to emotions, emotional clarity and the repair of emotions (Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey y Palfai, 1995). The purpose of this work is to compare and study the characteristics of perceived emotional intelligence in different stages of life. The sample consisted of 456 subjects, who were administered the TMMS-21. Differences were found in attention and recovery levels, both in the general sample and in the group of women, with adults reporting lower rates. On the other hand, age was a significant predictor of the subject's level of attention and reparation. These differences are explained by the cognitive development that would affect the perception that the subject has about their emotional abilities.

Computerized Working Memory Battery (BIMeT-V): Studying the Relation between Working Memory, Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension / Bateria Computadorizada de Memória de Trabalho (BIMeT-V): Estudo da Relação entre a Memória de Trabalho, o Raciocínio Verbal e a Compreensão de Leitura / Batería Computarizada de Memoria de Trabajo (BIMeT-V): Estudio de la relación entre la Memoria de Trabajo, el Razonamiento Verbal y la Comprensión Lectora

Abstract Working memory refers to all the systems and processes linked to the maintenance and active retention of information relevant to the performance and execution of complex cognitive tasks. Individual differences in working memory have been shown to explain differences in other cognitive abilities, such as comprehension and reasoning. The purpose of the present work was to study the relationship between verbal working memory, verbal reasoning and text comprehension, for which a verbal working memory battery was designed and validated: The verbal Computerized Working Memory Battery (Batería Informatizada de Memoria de Trabajo Verbal [BIMeT-V]). Results showed that the tests administered presented a very good reliability due to internal consistency and, in terms of validity, two latent factors saturated the tests: one of storage and one of storage and concurrent processing of verbal information. Likewise, verbal reasoning skills and the ability to comprehend expository texts are supported by working memory's concurrent storage and processing of verbal information, and to a lesser extent, or with a lesser role, the verbal information storage component.

Resumo A memória de trabalho refere-se a todos os sistemas e processos ligados à manutenção ativa e à retenção de informações relevantes para a execução de tarefas cognitivas complexas. As diferenças individuais na memória de trabalho mostraram estar ligadas com as diferenças nas habilidades, como a compreensão e raciocínio. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a relação entre a memória de trabalho verbal, o raciocínio verbal e a compreensão, para o qual foi projetada e validada uma bateria de memória de trabalho verbal (Bateria de memória de trabalho verbalizada computadorizada, BIMeT-V). Os resultados mostraram que os testes administrados mostraram uma boa confiabilidade em relação a consistência interna, quanto à validade, dois fatores latentes saturavam os testes: um fator de armazenamento e outro de armazenamento e processamento simultâneo. Da mesma forma, as habilidades de raciocínio verbal e de compreensão são tarefas que são suportadas pela capacidade verbal de armazenamento e processamento simultâneo da memória de trabalho e, em menor grau, ou com um papel menos relevante, com o componente do armazenamento de informações verbais.

Resumen La memoria de trabajo se refiere a todos aquellos sistemas y procesos vinculados con el mantenimiento activo y la retención de información relevante para la ejecución de tareas cognitivas complejas. Diferencias individuales en memoria de memoria han mostrado explicar diferencias en habilidades, tales como la comprensión y el razonamiento. El propósito del presente trabajo consistió en estudiar la relación entre la memoria de trabajo verbal, el razonamiento verbal y la comprensión, para ello se diseño y validó una batería de memoria de trabajo verbal (Batería Informatizada de Memoria de Trabajo Verbal; BIMeT-V). Los resultados mostraron que las pruebas administradas mostraron una muy buena confiabilidad por consistencia interna, y en relación a la validez, dos factores latentes saturaron las pruebas: un factor del almacenamiento y otro de almacenamiento y procesamiento concurrente. Asimismo, las habilidades de razonamiento verbal y de comprensión son tareas que son soportadas por la capacidad verbal de almacenamiento y procesamiento concurrente de la memoria de trabajo, y en menor medida, o con un rol menos relevante el componente de almacenamiento de información verbal.

Testing the generalized validity of the Emotion Knowledge test scores.

Differential item functioning (DIF) is of the utmost importance in order to corroborate the generalized validity of test scores in different groups. DIF indicates that an item does not function equally in different groups such as age, gender or cultural ones. Our objective was to contrast the generalized validity of the Emotion Knowledge (EK) test scores in a heterogeneous Argentinian sample composed of 100 females and 100 males (age range: 18-65). Data from the original validation sample (200 Spanish participants, half of them males) were conjointly analyzed (total n = 400). Results of the Rasch Model (RM) analysis indicated that both fit to the RM and reliability (ISR = .97, PSR = .80) were adequate. Item logit measures ranged from -3.89 to 3.68, and person logit measures ranged from -1.12 to 5.09, with a mean value of 2.36. DIF was tested for gender, age, educational level and country, with a few item contrasts found to be statistically significant. Even though small significant differences in EK scores were associated with educational level (d = .25) and country (d = -.25), they became non-significant after removing the seven country-related DIF affected items. We can conclude that there is enough evidence for the generalized validity of EK test scores in Argentina. Given that recent theories of human emotion consider conceptual knowledge supported by language as constitutive of emotions, the EK test can be used in academic or applied settings where individual differences in emotional competence might be relevant.

Working Memory, Proces sing Speed and General Intelligence: Possible Models of Relations with Visuospatial Working Memory Using the Visuospatial Computerized Working Memory Battery (BIMeT-VE) / Memória de Trabalho, Velocidade de Processamento e Inteligência Geral: Possíveis Modelos de Relacionamento com a Memória de Trabalho Visual e Espacial Usando a Bateria Computorizada de Memória de Trabalho Visual e Espacial (BIMeT-VE) / Memoria de Trabajo, Velocidad de Procesamiento e Inteligencia General: Posibles Modelos de Relación con la Memoria de Trabajo Viso-Espacial Utilizando la Batería Informatizada de Memoria de Trabajo viso-espacial (BIMeT-VE)

Abstract Working memory is an active memory system serving the realization of complex cognitive tasks. Over the last decades' research has centered on studying the relationship of this memory system or any of its components with different cognitive functions, such as intelligence. The aim of this study is to analyze the relation between visuospatial working memory, processing speed and general intelligence, and the possible mediation role of some of these variables. To carry out this work, two studies were conducted. On Study 1 participated212 Spanish speaking college students, and a Spanish visuospatial working memory battery was designed and validated -the visuospatial Computerized Working Memory Battery (Batería Informatizada de Memoria de Trabajo Viso-Espacial; BIMeT-VE)-. On Study 2 participated 114 Spanish speaking college students, and the relationship among visuospatial working memory, processing speed and general intelligence was analyzed. The results showed that general intelligence is directly supported by the processing speed and to maintain visuospatial information for short periods of time, and indirectly by the ability to concurrently process visuospatial information.

Resumo A memória de trabalho é um sistema de memória ativo ao serviço da realização de tarefas cognitivas complexas. Nas últimas décadas as pesquisas têm-se centrado em estudar a relação entre a memória de trabalho ou seus subsistemas e outras funções cognitivas, como a inteligência. O objetivo deste estudo é analisar a relação entre a memória de trabalho visuoespacial, a velocidade de processamento e a inteligência geral, e o possível papel mediador destas variáveis. Por esta razão, foram feitos dois estudos. No primeiro desenhou-se e validou-se a Bateria Computorizada de Memória de Trabalho Visual e Espacial (BIMeT-VE) numa amostra de 212 estudantes universitários. No segundo estudo que envolveu 114 estudantes universitários analisou-se a relação entre a memória de trabalho visual e espacial, a velocidade de processamento e a inteligência geral. Os resultados mostraram que a inteligência geral está diretamente associada com a velocidade de processamento e com a habilidade de manter a informação visual e espacial a curto prazo, e indiretamente pela habilidade de processar informação visual e espacial de maneira simultânea.

Resumen La memoria de trabajo es un sistema de memoria activo al servicio de la realización de tareas cognitivas complejas. En las últimas décadas las investigaciones se han centrado sobre la relación de este sistema de memoria o alguno de sus componentes con diferentes funciones cognitivas, como la inteligencia. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la relación entre la memoria de trabajo viso-espacial, la velocidad de procesamiento y la inteligencia general, y evaluar el posible rol mediador de alguna de estas variables. Para ello se realizaron dos estudios. En el Estudio 1 se diseñó y validó la Batería Informatizada de Memoria de Trabajo Viso-Espacial (BIMeT-VE) con 212 estudiantes universitarios hispanoparlantes. En el Estudio 2, en el que participaron 114 estudiantes universitarios hispanoparlantes se estudió la relación entre la memoria de trabajo viso-espacial, la velocidad de procesamiento y la inteligencia general. Los resultados mostraron que la inteligencia general está directamente relacionada con la velocidad de procesamiento y con la habilidad de mantener información viso-espacial por breves períodos de tiempo, e indirectamente por la habilidad de procesar concurrentemente información viso-espacial.

El rol de la memoria de trabajo y la atención sostenida en la generación de inferencias explicativas / The role of working memory and sustained attention in explanatory inference generation

El propósito de este trabajo consistió en estudiar la relación entre la memoria de trabajo, la capacidad de sostener la atención y la generación de inferencias explicativas-repositivas en la comprensión de textos expositivos. Para ello, 120 alumnos universitarios leyeron dos textos expositivos del área de las ciencias naturales y completaron un cuestionario de generación de inferencia, junto con cuatro pruebas de memoria de trabajo verbal y dos pruebas que miden la capacidad de sostener la atención sobre una tarea. Los resultados indicaron que el componenente ejecutivo de la memoria de trabajo verbal tienen un efecto directo sobre la generación de inferencias, mientras la capacidad de sostener la atención y el almacenamiento de información en la memoria de trabajo verbal tienen un efecto indirecto mediado por el componente ejecutivo. Esto sugiere que las diferencias individuales en la generación de inferencias están vinculadas a las diferencias inviduales en la memoria de trabajo, y también a las diferencias individuales en la capacidad de sostener la atención.

The aim of this work was to study the relationship between working memory, sustained attention and explanatory inference generation in expository texts comprehension. To this end, 120 undergraduate students read two expository texts from natural sciences and completed an inference generation questionnaire, along with four verbal working memory tasks and two sustained attention tasks. The results showed that the executive component of verbal working memory has a direct effect on inference generation, while sustained attention and information storage in verbal working memory have an indirect effect mediated by the executive component. This supports the idea that individual differences in inference generation are related to individual differences in working memory, and also to individual differences in the ability to sustain attention.

Desempeño en memoria de trabajo e indicadores comportamentales: Relaciones entre medidas directas e indirectas / Relationship between performance in working memory and behavioral indicators observed in class

La memoria de trabajo (MT) es un fuerte predictor del desempeño académico por su impacto en la comprensión lectora, la competencia aritmética y los comportamientos necesarios para el aprendizaje escolar. De modo que saber cómo opera la MT en niños de edad escolar y conocer la percepción que los docentes tienen sobre la MT de sus estudiantes es de gran interés. Por eso, los objetivos del trabajo que se informa fueron evaluar si las observaciones de los docentes sobre las dificultades en la MT de sus alumnos (medidas indirectas) se relacionan con el rendimiento de estos alumnos en pruebas de ejecución de MT (medidas directas) y analizar si estas dificultades percibidas por los docentes se corresponden con la presencia de problemas comportamentales de diversos tipos. Para esto se les administraron a niños de edad escolar pruebas de MT verbal y MT viso-espacial informatizadas, y a sus docentes dos cuestionarios, la Escala Observacional de Memoria de Trabajo -WMRS- y la Guía de Observación Comportamental -GOC-. Los resultados obtenidos muestran asociaciones significativas entre indicadores de fallos en MT y la performance de los niños en la tarea de MT verbal, debidas probablemente a que en los comportamientos explorados en la WMRS el componente verbal está más claramente reflejado (e.g., requiere repeticiones de instrucciones). También se encontró que estos fallos se relacionan con problemas comportamentales reportados por los docentes, como ser dificultades atencionales, hiperactividad y autoagresión. Se considera al estudio realizado como una contribución porque no hay escalas observacionales de MT para uso docente, disponibles en nuestro medio.

Working memory (WM) is a strong predictor of academic performance, due to its impact in reading comprehension, arithmetic's competence and the regulated behaviors required for school learning. Thus, knowing about WM operation in school-aged children and teachers' perception on their students WM is of great value and interest. This is why in the present work we assess whether teachers' reports about their students' WM (indirect measure) is associated with their performance in WM tasks (direct measure), and also to assess whether the difficulties perceived by the teachers correspond to the presence of students' general behavioral issues. For that, we administered computerized verbal WM tasks to school-aged children, in which they had to recall a number of digits (control condition) while saying out loud the color of the items (interference condition), and computerized visual-spatial WM tasks, in which they had to recall the locations of a series of stimuli (control condition) while indicating the color of the stimuli in a color palette (interference condition). We also administered two scales to their teachers: one of them asks about WM specifically (Working Memory Rating Scale) and is composed of 20 short descriptions of behavior problems that allow discriminating between children with poor and average WM skills. The teacher rates how typical a behavior is in each child, in a scale that goes from Not typical at all (0) to Very typical (3). The other asks about diverse behavioral problems (Guide of Behavioral Observation) and is composed of the following subscales: Physical and Verbal Aggression, Negativism, Transgression, Impulsivity, Hyperactivity, Attention Deficit and Acceptance. The teacher must choose the option that best describes the behavior in the child in terms of frequency (Never, Sometimesor Often). Our results show significant associations between children performance in the verbal WM task (direct measure) and WM failures' indicators (indirect measures), which can be explained by the fact that the verbal component is more clearly reflected in the behaviors explored in the Working Memory Rating Scale (e.g., loses his place in complicated activities, requires regular repetition of instructions, depends on neighbor to remind them of the current task). We also wanted to look out if there were associations between the WM skills reported by the teachers and the general behavior problems also reported by them, and we found associations between the reported WM difficulties and attention disorders, hyperactivity and self-aggression. This is consistent with the claim that WM and attention deficit in non clinical population are closely related. With respect to hyperactivity, its relation with WM is not as clear and has not been so frequently reported. With respect to self-aggression, its relation with WM difficulties can be attributed to these children's in ability to exercise control over the environment, which leads to frustration and low levels of motivation and self-esteem. Lastly, we found associations between children's performance in the computerized WM tasks and the presence of behavioral problems informed by the teachers. Specifically, proper performance in verbal WM tasks associates with less attention difficulties, where as proper performance in visual-spatial WM tasks associates with being accepted by the group. This last association could be attributed to the fact that many group games require several abilities that involve visual-spatial WM, such as the ability to orientate in space and recall different locations. To conclude, we consider that this work constitutes a contribution because, in the first place, there are no WM observation scales for teachers' use available in our environment, and, in the second place, it addresses the need for teachers to acknowledge WM difficulties and consequently be trained for the implementation of effective strategies to im prove WM skills in the classroom.

Constructing three emotion knowledge tests from the invariant measurement approach.

BACKGROUND: Psychological constructionist models like the Conceptual Act Theory (CAT) postulate that complex states such as emotions are composed of basic psychological ingredients that are more clearly respected by the brain than basic emotions. The objective of this study was the construction and initial validation of Emotion Knowledge measures from the CAT frame by means of an invariant measurement approach, the Rasch Model (RM). Psychological distance theory was used to inform item generation. METHODS: Three EK tests-emotion vocabulary (EV), close emotional situations (CES) and far emotional situations (FES)-were constructed and tested with the RM in a community sample of 100 females and 100 males (age range: 18-65), both separately and conjointly. RESULTS: It was corroborated that data-RM fit was sufficient. Then, the effect of type of test and emotion on Rasch-modelled item difficulty was tested. Significant effects of emotion on EK item difficulty were found, but the only statistically significant difference was that between "happiness" and the remaining emotions; neither type of test, nor interaction effects on EK item difficulty were statistically significant. The testing of gender differences was carried out after corroborating that differential item functioning (DIF) would not be a plausible alternative hypothesis for the results. No statistically significant sex-related differences were found out in EV, CES, FES, or total EK. However, the sign of d indicate that female participants were consistently better than male ones, a result that will be of interest for future meta-analyses. DISCUSSION: The three EK tests are ready to be used as components of a higher-level measurement process.

Generación de inferencias explicativas en la comprensión de textos expositivos: el rol de la memoria de trabajo y el conocimiento previo específico / Explanation-based inferences generation in expository texts comprehension: The role of working memory and specific prior knowledge

RESUMEN El propósito de este trabajo consistió en estudiar la relación entre la memoria de trabajo, el conocimiento previo y la generación de inferencias en la comprensión de textos. Con este propósito, 167 estudiantes universitarios completaron pruebas de memoria de trabajo y cuestionarios sobre su conocimiento acerca del cambio climático y de astronomía; luego de la lectura de dos textos expositivos referidos a ambos temas, completaron un cuestionario sobre inferencias. Los resultados del análisis de correlaciones y del análisis de senderos muestran que si bien la memoria de trabajo y el conocimiento previo específico de dominio tienen una relación con la generación de inferencias explicativas-repositivas, hay una relación de interacción de mediación entre estas variables que explica el rol de ellas sobre la generación de inferencias.

ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to study the relationship between working memory, previous knowledge, and explanation-based inferences in expository text reading. To this effect, 167 undergraduates completed three working memory tasks, and two climate change and astronomy questionnaires, after reading two expository texts on these subjects. The results of the correlations and paths analyses show that, while working memory and specific previous domain knowledge are related to the generation of explanatory and reinstatement inferences, there is a mediation interaction relationship between these variables that explains their role in the generation of inferences.

Conflicting but close: Readers' integration of information sources as a function of their disagreement.

According to the documents model framework (Britt, Perfetti, Sandak, & Rouet, 1999), readers' detection of contradictions within texts increases their integration of source-content links (i.e., who says what). This study examines whether conflict may also strengthen the relationship between the respective sources. In two experiments, participants read brief news reports containing two critical statements attributed to different sources. In half of the reports, the statements were consistent with each other, whereas in the other half they were discrepant. Participants were tested for source memory and source integration in an immediate item-recognition task (Experiment 1) and a cued recall task (Experiments 1 and 2). In both experiments, discrepancies increased readers' memory for sources. We found that discrepant sources enhanced retrieval of the other source compared to consistent sources (using a delayed recall measure; Experiments 1 and 2). However, discrepant sources failed to prime the other source as evidenced in an online recognition measure (Experiment 1). We argue that discrepancies promoted the construction of links between sources, but that integration did not take place during reading.

Formato de presentación, experticia y memoria de trabajo en la comprensión de instrucciones / Presentation format, expertise and working memory in understanding instructions

Comprender y ejecutar instrucciones procedimentales consiste en seguir una serie de pasos para lograr un producto final. Se realizó un experimento con alumnos de carreras científico-técnicas y de humanidades, en el que se analizó el efecto del formato de presentación de las instrucciones (imagen, texto y multimedia) y de factores individuales, como experticia y capacidad de memoria de trabajo verbal y viso-espacial, en la comprensión de las instrucciones para el armado de objetos. Las variables dependientes fueron el tiempo promedio de estudio, el tiempo promedio de armado y el porcentaje de error en el ensamblaje. Setenta y dos estudiantes universitarios avanzados (mitad de carreras científico-técnicas y mitad de humanidades) completaron nueve instrucciones experimentales y pruebas de memoria de trabajo verbal (Ordenamiento Número Letra y Amplitud de Lectura) y viso-espacial (Span Visual y Laberintos). El formato de presentación tuvo efectos en el tiempo de estudio y en el de armado. Las instrucciones verbales fueron procesadas más lentamente que aquellas con imágenes. Además las instrucciones multimedia se ejecutaron más rápido que todas las demás. El nivel de experticia tuvo efecto sobre los errores de ejecución, favoreciendo a los estudiantes de carreras científico-técnicas. En relación con la memoria de trabajo, los sujetos con mayor memoria de trabajo verbal tendieron a procesar las instrucciones más rápido, y aquellos con mayor memoria de trabajo viso-espacial tendieron a cometer menos errores. Este patrón de resultados estaría en línea con las investigaciones sobre el efecto multimedia, el papel de la experticia y la capacidad de memoria viso-espacial y verbal en la comprensión de instrucciones.

Comprehending instructions is a frequent taskin everyday life. A set of instructions consists of a series of steps that indicate how to produce a final state. In cognitive terms, following a set of instructions implies building an internal representation of the procedure depicted in the message, with the aim of reaching the final state accurately and fast. Therefore, comprehending instructions is intrinsically associated with executing them efficiently. Whereas previous research on the area has focused mainly on traditional indicators of comprehension, such as reading times and recall, this study incorporates measures of the actual execution (i.e., the time spent to perform the instruction and the error rate) in addition to more traditional processing measures. Additionally, this study analyzes the potential effects of both cognitive and design features on comprehension. A core aspect in the study of processing instructions is to determine which factors are more effective in helping users to achieve consistent and reproducible results. This experiment examined the effect of the presentation format of the instructions, and individual factors such as expertise and verbal and visuo-spatial working memory capacity on comprehending and executing a set of instructions. Dependent variables were the mean time to study the instructions, the mean time to assembly the objects, and the percentage of errors during assembly. Seventy-two advanced (fourth-year) college students, half in scientific-technical fields, and the other half in humanities, participated voluntarily. All participants completed an experimental assembly task which required building Lego objects. Each one consisted of nine experimental trials of five-steps instructions in one of the three presentation formats (pictorial only, verbal only, or combined verbal and pictorial information assigned randomly), followed by verbal (Letter Number Sequencing, WAIS-III and Reading Span), and visuo-spatial (Spatial Span, WMS-R and Mazes, AWMA) working memory tests. Each individual session lasted about an hour. Three ANCOVAS were conducted to examine the effect of presentation format and expertise on study time, execution time and error rates (%). Verbal and visuo-spatial working memory capacity measures were included as co-variables. The presentation format had effects both on the time to study and the time to perform the instructions: verbal only presentations were processed slower than presentations including pictures (image only or multimedia), and were slower than multimedia in assembly. Expertise, on the other hand, had its effect on execution errors, favoring students of scientific and technical background, partialing out individual differences such as working memory capacity. There was a tendency for students with higher verbal working memory to process instructions faster, and for those with higher visuo-spatial working memory to assembly objects more precisely. Overall, these results suggest that images are more effective in representing procedural instructions, since the pictorial and multimedia formats seemed to facilitate the comprehension of the instruction. Results also suggest that the combined format of sentences and pictures enhanced efficiency during assembly, as evidenced by the faster execution time observed in the multimedia condition. This pattern of results is in line with the multimedia advantage and the efficacy of images found with other text types, while extending it to procedural instructions. Additionally, visuo-spatial working memory and expertise seemed to influence the execution of the instructions. Verbal working memory capacity also seemed to be involved when studying and processing the instructions, regardless of the presentation format, but not when executing the procedure. In conclusion, in order to maximize their efficiency, the format in which the instructions will be presented as well as the cognitive characteristics (i.e., working memory capacity and expertise level) of the potential users should be incorporated into the design of procedural instructions.

Sertraline for Preventing Mood Disorders Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE: Prevention is more effective than treatment to decrease the burden of significant medical conditions such as depressive disorders, a major cause of disability worldwide. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a candidate for selective strategies to prevent depression given the incidence, prevalence, and functional effect of depression that occurs after TBI. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of sertraline treatment in preventing depressive disorders following TBI. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group randomized clinical trial was conducted at a university hospital from July 3, 2008, to September 17, 2012, with 24 weeks of follow-up. A consecutive sample of 534 patients aged 18 to 85 years, hospitalized for mild, moderate, or severe TBI, was eligible for the study. Ninety-four patients consented to participate and were randomized (46 to placebo and 48 to sertraline), of whom 79 (84%) completed the study. Intention-to-treat data analysis was conducted from July 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015. INTERVENTIONS: Placebo or sertraline, 100 mg/d, for 24 weeks or until development of a mood disorder. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Time to onset of depressive disorders, as defined by the DSM-IV, associated with TBI. RESULTS: Of the 94 patients in the study (38 female and 56 male; 92 white), the number needed to treat to prevent depression after TBI at 24 weeks was 5.9 (95% CI, 3.1-71.1; χ2 = 4.6; P = .03) for sertraline treatment vs placebo. The influence of sertraline in the course of neuropsychological variables was not detected. The intervention was well tolerated, and adverse effects were mild in both the sertraline and placebo groups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Sertraline appears to be efficacious to prevent the onset of depressive disorders following TBI. Future studies should replicate these findings in a large sample of patients with TBI and depict their long-term physical, cognitive, behavioral, and functional outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00704379.

Desarrollos recientes sobre Habilidades Digitales y Comprensión Lectora en Entornos Digitales

Los estudiantes nacidos en la era de las tecnologías digitales (los ‘nativos digitales) pueden tener mayor acceso a las mismas, pero la idea de que aprenden más y mejor solo por implementar dispositivos de aprendizaje con la última tecnología disponible es simplista y no se correspondería con la evidencia. El uso para objetivos académicos requeriría habilidades digitales. Éstas aluden no solo al dominio técnico y operacional, sino sobre todo al dominio cognitivo, como habilidades de búsqueda y navegación, integración, evaluación de fuentes, y de uso estratégico de la información. Se han investigado mediante cuestionarios, o tareas informatizadas que plantean escenarios de búsqueda y comprensión de materiales. Entre las medidas de auto-informe, se ha avanzado en diseñar cuestionarios con propiedades psicométricas conocidas. Entre las segundas, se han creado entornos de tarea que remedan la situación en Internet (sitios, páginas. . .) y se toman indicadores de precisión en las tareas, tiempos, y caminos de navegación. Si bien las investigaciones todavía son escasas, apuntan a una relación entre habilidades digitales y comprensión lectora, y cuando se investiga en tareas en ambientes controlados, la definición de las habilidades digitales se solapa con la competencia lectora digital (p.ej., en las pruebas PISA). Futuras investigaciones deben pormenorizar en las relaciones entre distintos aspectos de las habilidades digitales, en relación a los resultados en comprensión lectora u otros objetivos de aprendizaje, para poder caracterizar estrategias de intervención educativa.

Students born in the information age (‘digital natives) might have more access to digital technologies, but the idea that they learn better just by implementing learning platforms with the latest technology is simplistic and is not supported by evidence. Using digital environments for academic purposes requires digital abilities. These include not only technical and operational abilities, but also cognitive abilities such as search and navigation, integrating multiple sources, source evaluation, and strategic use of information. Digital abilities have been studied with self-report questionnaires, and with computerized tasks for information search and comprehension. Advances in the self-report measures include the psychometric study of digital abilities questionnaires in large samples. As for the performance measures of digital abilities, studies have designed task environments similar to Internet sites, requiring search, comprehension and integration, and have measured accuracy, time in various aspects of the tasks, and navigation paths. While research is still scarce, it suggests a relationship between digital abilities and online reading comprehension. When this relationship is examined with the second type of measure, performance tasks, definitions of digital abilities and online reading comprehension partially overlap (e.g. in the PISA assessment). Future research about this relationship could take into account different aspects of digital abilities and online reading comprehension to better characterize them, and possible educational intervention strategies.

Spatial Inferences in Narrative Comprehension: the Role of Verbal and Spatial Working Memory.

During the comprehension of narrative texts, readers keep a mental representation of the location of protagonists and objects; a breach in spatial coherence is detected by longer online reading times (consistency effect). We addressed whether these spatial inferences involve verbal or spatial working memory in two experiments, combining the consistency paradigm with selective verbal and spatial working memory concurrent tasks. The first experiment found longer reading times with a concurrent spatial task under imagery instructions (t33 = 2.87, p = .021). The second experiment, under comprehension reading instructions, found effects of verbal interference on reading times and accuracy. With a verbal secondary task, reading times for the target sentence were shorter (t45 = 3.60, p = .004) and the error rate was significantly higher (t47 = 2.95, p = .005) than without interference. This pattern of results suggests that spatial inferences in narrative comprehension rely mainly on verbal resources, and spatial working memory resources are recruited when imagery is required.

Spatial inferences in narrative comprehension: the role of verbal and spatial working memory

During the comprehension of narrative texts, readers keep a mental representation of the location of protagonists and objects; a breach in spatial coherence is detected by longer online reading times (consistency effect). We addressed whether these spatial inferences involve verbal or spatial working memory in two experiments, combining the consistency paradigm with selective verbal and spatial working memory concurrent tasks. The first experiment found longer reading times with a concurrent spatial task under imagery instructions (t33 = 2.87, p = .021). The second experiment, under comprehension reading instructions, found effects of verbal interference on reading times and accuracy. With a verbal secondary task, reading times for the target sentence were shorter (t45 = 3.60, p = .004) and the error rate was significantly higher (t47 = 2.95, p = .005) than without interference. This pattern of results suggests that spatial inferences in narrative comprehension rely mainly on verbal resources, and spatial working memory resources are recruited when imagery is required (AU)

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Rol de las funciones inhibitorias en la memoria de trabajo: evidencia en niños y adolescentes / Role of Inhibitory Functions in Working Memory: Evidence in Children and Adolescents / Rol das funções inibitórias na memória de trabalho: evidencia em crianças e adolescentes

Objetivo. Distintas posturas teóricas han planteado una relación estrecha entre memoria de trabajo (MT) e inhibición. Por ello, el objeto del presente estudio fue analizar el rol que juegan los procesos inhibitorios de inhibición perceptual o acceso, inhibición cognitiva o borrado e inhibición de restricción en el desarrollo de la MT entre los 8 y los 18 años de edad. Método. La muestra estuvo conformada por 277 participantes de la ciudad de Mar del Plata, divididos en tres grupos de edad (8-9 años, 10-12 años y 17-18 años). Los participantes fueron evaluados con una tarea compleja de MT (amplitud de oraciones) que permite obtener, además de la amplitud verbal de la MT, distintos indicadores sobre las funciones inhibitorias. Resultados. Los resultados del estudio mostraron que el desempeño en MT es más elevado en los participantes de mayor edad, siendo significativo el efecto diferencial de la edad sobre la MT. En cuanto a las funciones inhibitorias, se observaron efectos significativos en relación con el tipo de inhibición y grupo de edad. Conclusión. En concordancia con estudios previos, se encontraron relaciones entre la MT y las funciones inhibitorias de acceso y restricción no siendo esta relación influida por la edad.

Objective. Different theoretical positions have posted a close relationship between working memory (WM) and inhibition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the role played by inhibitory processes or perceptual inhibition, cognitive inhibition and restraint inhibition in the development of WM between 8 and 18 years. Method. The sample consisted of 277 participants from the city of Mar del Plata divided into three age groups (8-9 years, 10-12 years and 17-18 years). Participants were assessed with a task of WM that provide several indicators of inhibitory functions. Results. Study results showed that performance in WM is higher in older participants, with significant differential effect of age on WM. Significant effects were observed in relation to the type of inhibition and the age group. Conclusion. Consistent with previous studies, a small relationship between WM perceptual inhibition and restraint inhibition, this relationship is mediated by age.

Escopo. Diferentes posturas teóricas tem planteado uma relação estreita entre memória de trabalho (MT) e inibição. Por isto, o objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar o papel desempenhado pelos processos inibitórios de inibição perceptual ou acesso, inibição cognitiva ou apagado e inibição de restrição no desenvolvimento da MT entre os 8 e os 18 anos de idade. Metodologia. A amostra foi conformada por 277 participantes da cidade de Mar del Plata, divididos em três grupos de idade (8-9 anos, 10-12 anos e 17-18 anos). Os participantes foram avaliados com uma tarefa complexa do MT (amplitude de orações) que permite obter, além da amplitude verbal da MT, distintos indicadores sobre funções inibitórias. Resultados. Os resultados do estudo mostraram que o desempenho em MT é mais elevado nos participantes de maior idade, sendo significativo o efeito diferencial da idade sobre a MT. Em quanto às funções inibitórias, foram observados efeitos significativos em relação com o tipo de inibição e grupo de idade. Conclusão. Em concordância com estudos prévios, foram encontradas relações entre a MT e as funções inibitórias de acesso e restrição não sendo esta relação influída pela idade.