Demetriou, A., & Spanoudis, G. (2017). Mind and Intelligence: Integrating Developmental, Psychometric, and Cognitive Theories of Human Mind.In M. Rosen (Ed.), Challenges in Educational Measurement— contents and methods (pp. 39-60). New York: Springer. (original) (raw)
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Enfance, 2014, issue 3. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4074/S0013754514003097
This article summarizes a comprehensive theory of intellectual organization and growth. The theory specifies a common core of processes (Abstraction, representational Alignment, and Cognizance, i.e., AACog) underlying inference and meaning making. AACog develops over four reconceptualization cycles (episodic representations, representations, rule-based concepts, and principle-based concepts starting at birth, 2, 6, and 11 years, respectively) with two phases in each (production of new mental units and alignment). This sequence relates with changes in processing efficiency and working memory in overlapping cycles such that relations with efficiency are high in the production phases and relations with WM are high in the alignment phases over all cycles. Reconceptualization is self-propelled because AACog continuously generates new mental content expressed in representations of increasing inclusiveness and resolution. Each cycle culminates into insight about the cycle’s representations and underlying inferential processes that is expressed into executive programs of increasing flexibility. Learning addressed to this insight accelerates the course of reconceptualization. Individual differences in intellectual growth are related to both the state of this core and its interaction with different cognitively primary domains (e.g., categorical, quantitative, spatial cognition, etc.). The relations between this theory and brain research are discussed.
This article summarizes a comprehensive theory of intellectual organization and growth. The theory specifies a common core of processes (Abstraction, representational Alignment, and Cognizance, i.e., AACog) underlying inference and meaning making. AACog develops over four reconceptualization cycles (episodic representations, representations, rule-based concepts, and principle-based concepts starting at birth, 2, 6, and 11 years, respectively) with two phases in each (production of new mental units and alignment). This sequence relates with changes in processing efficiency and working memory in overlapping cycles such that relations with efficiency are high in the production phases and relations with WM are high in the alignment phases over all cycles. Reconceptualization is self-propelled because AACog continuously generates new mental content expressed in representations of increasing inclusiveness and resolution. Each cycle culminates into insight about the cycle’s representations...
We present a study which investigated the inter-relations between processing speed, attention control, working memory, fluid intelligence, and mathematical reasoning from 7 to 18 years of age. To fulfil this aim, 478 participants drawn from each of the age years 7-17 years at first testing were examined twice, separated by a 12-month interval. Several simple reaction time, divided attention, and selective attention tasks examined processing efficiency. Forward and backward digit span tasks addressed working memory. Raven’s standard progressive matrices addressed fluid intelligence and a task battery addressed to mathematical reasoning addressed its investment into a demanding cognitive domain. Relations between processes were explored by several types of structural equation models applied in three age groups: 8-10, 11-13, and 14-18 years. A powerful common general factor underlying all processes at both testing waves in all three age phases was found. The relative weight of these processes in the formation of this grand G differed between phases, with working memory, attention control, and Gf dominating in the three phases, respectively. Cross-lagged modeling revealed three tiers of mental organization (processing, representational, and inferential efficiency) interlinked by a core control program. This core is transcribed into inferential and problem solving ensembles of increasing compositionality at successive developmental phases. Implications for developmental and differential theories of intelligence are discussed.
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 2015
General intelligence (g) is a highly practical ability that affects personal well-being in many aspects of life. This article reviews five key facts documenting its pervasive utility, and then illustrates how higher levels of intelligence enhance an individual's performance and well-being in four realms of daily life: work, daily selfmaintenance, chronic illness, and accidents. The first key fact is that people who do well on one mental test tend to perform well on all of them; that is, all mental tests correlate with one other. All measure mostly the same underlying ability factor, no matter what their manifest content or purpose. Mental abilities differ in their generality-specificity, and the general mental ability factor, g, is the most general of all. Second, high intelligence is expressed as a set of generic thinking skills that includes learning efficiently, reasoning well, thinking abstractly, and solving novel problems. These information-processing skills can be applied to virtually any kind of content in any context. Hence, third, everyday life continually requires individuals to learn and reason well. Fourth, ample evidence shows that general intelligence not only predicts many forms of success and well-being but usually does so better than socioeconomic status. More specific mental abilities add little to prediction beyond that contributed by g alone. Fifth, intelligence predicts performance better when tasks are more complex. Although higher intelligence is somewhat useful in many life arenas, it is particularly advantageous when jobs and daily tasks are more cognitively demanding. It is therefore important to know the distribution of task demands in different life areas. Four life arenas illustrate how more cognitively demanding tasks put less intelligent individuals at greater risk. Job analysis research has repeatedly shown that the major distinction among jobs is their cognitive complexity, for example, their requirements for obtaining, analyzing, communicating, and applying oral, written, pictorial, and behavioral information. Consistent with this finding, intelligence predicts job performance progressively better in higher level jobs,
Developing Intelligence: Is a Comprehensive Theory Possible?
Intelligence, 2013
""This is a special issue that is already on line in the journal INTELLIGENCE and it will be published soon in 2013. This special issue focuses on the findings and theory presented in a target article recently published in INTELLIGENCE: Demetriou, A., Spanoudis, G., Shayer, M., Mouyi, A., Kazi, S., & Platsidou, M. (2013). Cycles in speed-working memory-G relations: Towards a developmental-differential theory of mind. Intelligence, 41, 34-50. The special issue involves a short introduction, commentaries by Thomas R. Coyle, Robert V. Kail, and Juan Pascual-Leone and a rejonder by Andreas Demetriou, George Spanoudis, and Michael Shayer, which answers to the points raised in the three commentaries. As a whole, the special issue points to the directions to be taken for the integration of differential, developmental, and cognitive approaches to intelligence and the mind into an overarching framework. ""
Developmental intelligence: From empirical to hidden constructs
This introduction first outlines the main issues and questions about mind and intelligence that need to be dealt with by disciplines such as differential, developmental, and cognitive, psychology. It then summarizes the major findings of the target article, the main points raised by the commentators, and the main points of the rejoinder. It ends up with a set of questions to be followed by future research.
We explored relations between attention control, shifting flexibility, working memory, reasoning in different domains, awareness about reasoning, and language from 9 to 15 years of age. For this aim 198 9-, 11-, 13-, and 15-years old participants were examined with tasks addressed to all processes. All processes developed systematically throughout the period studied. Structural equation modeling revealed a powerful common construct underlying reasoning and language processes. All domain-specific cognitive, language, or awareness processes represented this common factor equally well. This factor was related to attention control, shifting flexibility, and working memory but this relation varied with development, being dominated by attention control at 9-11, inferential-representational processes at 11-13, and awareness-symbolic processes at 13-15. Piecewise linear modeling showed that transition points between phases are marked by phase-dominating processes. Modeling ability and age differentiation with increasing g suggested some ability differentiation at the end of developmental cycles suggesting that g-ability relations are re-worked anew in successive developmental cycles. Implications for developmental, cognitive, and brain science are discussed.
The International Association for Cognitive Education and Psychology
2015
General intelligence (g) is a highly practical ability that affects personal well-being in many aspects of life. This article reviews five key facts documenting its pervasive utility, and then illustrates how higher levels of intelligence enhance an individual’s performance and well-being in four realms of daily life: work, daily self-maintenance, chronic illness, and accidents. The first key fact is that people who do well on one mental test tend to perform well on all of them; that is, all mental tests correlate with one other. All measure mostly the same underlying ability factor, no matter what their manifest content or purpose. Mental abilities differ in their generality-specificity, and the general mental ability factor, g, is the most general of all. Second, high intelligence is expressed as a set of generic thinking skills that includes learning efficiently, reasoning well, thinking abstractly, and solving novel problems.
Journal of Intelligence
This special issue aimed to contribute to the unification of two disciplines focusing on cognition and intelligence: the psychology of cognitive development and the psychology of intelligence. The general principles of the organization and development of human intelligence are discussed first. Each paper is then summarized and discussed vis-à-vis these general principles. The implications for major theories of cognitive development and intelligence are briefly discussed.