Studies in the Mentality of Literates: 3. Conceptual Structure and Nonsense of Personality Testing.

In this study, third in a series of studies of the relationships between the dominant type of the Word Meaning Structure (WMS) and various psychic processes, response patterns on personality questionnaires with Likert-type response format of individuals with different levels of education (including adult illiterates) in Brazil (N = 102) and in Estonia (N = 520) were assessed with person oriented methods of data analysis. We found that responses to two personality questionnaires (International Personality Item Pool Questionnaire, IPIP-Q60 and Estonian Collectivism Scale, ESTCOL) are inconsistent and do not correspond to theories that underlie construction and interpretation of such assessment tools. Two novel ways to assess inconsistent response patterns were developed. The Consistency Index (CI) characterizes between-item inconsistency and the Determinacy Index (DI) characterizes within-item inconsistency. The dominant type of the WMS and the level of education were related to both CI and DI. Higher level of between-item inconsistency characterizes everyday conceptual thinkers with lower levels of education and higher level of within-item inconsistency was observed among logical conceptual thinkers with higher levels of education. Systematic relationships between WMS and inconsistent patterns of responses indicate that responses on personality questionnaires cannot be interpreted in terms of personality characteristics. The results of our study also provide further support to the idea that dominant type of the WMS is a pervasive characteristic of the psyche and determines qualitatively possibilities and limits of the psychic processes. The results of this study are in agreement with the idea that WMS defines the "Great Divide."

Studies in the mentality of literates: 2. Conceptual structure, cognitive inhibition and verbal regulation of behavior.

We studied cognitive inhibitory processes and verbal regulation of behavior of individuals with different levels of education (including adult illiterates) in Brazil (N = 136) and in Estonia (N = 560) with person-oriented methods of data analysis. Our aim was to discover whether dominant type of word meaning structure (WMS) can define the "Great Divide", the single breaking point that universally defines certain direction of subsequent to it cultural evolution. We found that both cognitive inhibition of irrelevant for the task at hand information or actions as well as correct activation of relevant information or actions is significantly more common in individuals who rely predominantly on logical concepts in their thinking. The higher level of education was also associated with more efficient cognitive inhibition and activation. The patterns of test performance also suggest that there can be a qualitative difference in the efficiency of cognitive inhibition-activation processes between everyday conceptual and logical conceptual thinkers. The former group of individuals may achieve much higher performance levels than any individual in the former group. We also discuss cognitive similarities and differences between adults with low or no formal education on the one hand and children and educated adults with brain damage on the other. The results are in agreement with the theory of unilineal hierarchic cultural evolution. Individual psychic development and cultural evolution can be both understood in terms of the WMS development.

Studies in the Mentality of Literates: 1. Conceptual Structure and Aspects of Visual Perception.

We studied visual-perceptual abilities of individuals with different levels of education (including adult illiterates) in Brazil (N = 136) and in Estonia (N = 560) with person-oriented methods of data analysis. Our aim was to discover whether dominant type of word meaning structure (WMS) can define the "Great Divide", the single breaking point that universally defines certain direction of subsequent to it cultural evolution. We particularly focused on the everyday concept-logical concept shift that takes place in the formal education system. We found that logical concepts were rarely available for illiterates; availability of logical conceptual thought increases together with the level of education. Most illiterates were able to find figures of concrete objects from complex overlapping and embedded contour figures but none of them could find all abstract figures from the same complex figures. Also none of the illiterates could perform beyond chance level in both mental rotation tasks together. Ability to perform correctly on all visual-spatial tasks increased with the increase in logical concepts and with the increasing level of education. The distribution of respondents according to the WMS level, level of education, and performance on the visual-spatial tasks indicated that individuals are developmentally heterogeneous: achievement of the tertiary level of education and logical conceptual thinking mechanisms does not guarantee high level performance on the visual-spatial tasks. The results are in agreement with the theory of unilineal hierarchic cultural evolution. Individual psychic development and cultural evolution can be both understood in terms of the WMS development.

Determinants of cognitive function in childhood: a cohort study in a middle income context.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that poverty, health and nutrition affect children's cognitive development. This study aimed to examine the relative contributions of both proximal and distal risk factors on child cognitive development, by breaking down the possible causal pathways through which poverty affects cognition. METHODS: This cohort study collected data on family socioeconomic status, household and neighbourhood environmental conditions, child health and nutritional status, psychosocial stimulation and nursery school attendance. The effect of these on Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence scores at five years of age was investigated using a multivariable hierarchical analysis, guided by the proposed conceptual framework. RESULTS: Unfavourable socioeconomic conditions, poorly educated mother, absent father, poor sanitary conditions at home and in the neighbourhood and low birth weight were negatively associated with cognitive performance at five years of age, while strong positive associations were found with high levels of domestic stimulation and nursery school attendance. CONCLUSION: Children's cognitive development in urban contexts in developing countries could be substantially increased by interventions promoting early psychosocial stimulation and preschool experience, together with efforts to prevent low birth weight and promote adequate nutritional status.

Vínculos e redes sociais em contextos familiares e institucionais: uma reflexão conceitual / Bonds and social networks in family and institutional contexts: a conceptual reflection

Propõe-se uma reflexão conceitual sobre os conceitos de vínculo e rede social. São resumidos quatro trabalhos que utilizam esses conceitos e discutidas suas convergências e divergências. Carvalho sintetiza estudos sobre vínculo na interação criança-criança. Sampaio problematiza a vinculação entre crianças de rua e educadores. Rabinovich relata observações de famílias em uma comunidade quilombola. Bastos reflete sobre redes sociais com base no discurso de mães em grupos de encontro. A comparação dessas pesquisas em termos dos conceitos de vínculo e rede social indica a conveniência de explicitação dos seus sentidos em cada caso, para permitir diálogo entre enfoques diversificados sobre as relações humanas.

This paper suggests a conceptual reflection on bonds and social network concepts. Four studies that use such concepts are synthesized and their convergences and divergences are discussed. Carvalho synthesizes studies on bonds in child-child interaction. Sampaio is concerned with bonds concerning homeless children and educators. Rabinovich reports observations of families in a Quilombola community. Bastos makes reflections on social network, based on the talks of some mothers during group meetings. The comparison between the studies mentioned, in terms of both concepts, that is, bonds or linkings and social network, shows the convenience of a clear explanation in relation to the meanings in each of the cases, so that the dialogue among different approaches on human relationships can be allowed.

Se propone una reflexión conceptual sobre los conceptos de vínculo y red social. Son resumidos cuatro trabajos que utilizan esos conceptos y discutidas sus convergencias y divergencias. Carvalho sintetiza estudios sobre vínculo en la interacción niño-niño. Sampaio problematiza la vinculación entre "niños de la calle" y educadores. Rabinovich relata observaciones de familias en una comunidad quilombola. Bastos refleja sobre redes sociales basado en el discurso de madres en grupos de encuentro. La comparación de esas pesquisas en términos de los conceptos de vínculo y red social indica la conveniencia de explicitación de sus sentidos en cada caso, para permitir diálogo entre enfoques diversificados sobre las relaciones humanas.

Vínculos e redes sociais em contextos familiares e institucionais: uma reflexão conceitual / Bonds and social networks in family and institutional contexts: a conceptual reflection

Propõe-se uma reflexão conceitual sobre os conceitos de vínculo e rede social. São resumidos quatro trabalhos que utilizam esses conceitos e discutidas suas convergências e divergências. Carvalho sintetiza estudos sobre vínculo na interação criança-criança. Sampaio problematiza a vinculação entre crianças de rua e educadores. Rabinovich relata observações de famílias em uma comunidade quilombola. Bastos reflete sobre redes sociais com base no discurso de mães em grupos de encontro. A comparação dessas pesquisas em termos dos conceitos de vínculo e rede social indica a conveniência de explicitação dos seus sentidos em cada caso, para permitir diálogo entre enfoques diversificados sobre as relações humanas(AU)