An enduring question is whether language learning aptitude is a stable trait or is one influenced by experience, such as living with two languages. We investigated aptitude in bilinguals and treated their bilingual experience as an aggregate of variables, focusing on how individual differences in (a) language experience variables of proficiency,…

This investigation was aimed at studying the relations between executive functions (EFs) and categorical emotion understanding while controlling for preschoolers' IQ, language ability and theory of mind (ToM). Specifically, we wanted to analyse the association between emotion understanding and set shifting, due to the lack of studies with this EF.…

Background: Intra-individual variability reflects temporal variation within an individual's performance on a cognitive task. Children with developmental disorders, such as ADHD and ASD show increased levels of intra-individual variability. In typical development, intra-individual variability decreases sharply between the ages 6 and 20. The tight…

Across multiple schools and sites, the impact of grade-at-intervention was evaluated for children at risk or meeting criteria for reading disabilities. A multiple-component reading intervention with demonstrated efficacy was offered to small groups of children in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade. In a quasi-experimental design, 172 children received the…

Objective: This article first summarizes key research findings from the Pittsburgh Youth Study from 1987 to the present, and focuses on delinquency in 1,517 young men who have been followed up from late childhood into their 20s. Second, the article addresses how indicators of self-control prospectively predict later offending, and whether the…

While the magnitude of the Flynn effect is well established (approximately 3 points a decade on the Wechsler scales), the causes behind it are still unknown and hotly debated. Kaufman argues that, because of the administrative and scoring changes that occurred with the introduction of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, Flynn's…

In a longitudinal genetic study we explored which factors underlie stability in verbal and nonverbal abilities, and the extent to which the association between these abilities becomes stronger as children grow older. Measures of verbal and nonverbal IQ were collected in Dutch twin pairs at age 5, 7, 10, 12 and 18 years. The stability of both…

Data from the national standardization of the French version of the WISC-III were analyzed to determine when during childhood the IQ-related process of differentiation appears and how the strength of the relationships among subtests evolves with age in low- and high-IQ groups. Indeed, some recent studies suggest that age might moderate the effect…

Individual growth curves were used to test whether the development of children with reading disabilities is best characterized by models of developmental lag or developmental deficit. Results with 403 children suggest that the developmental course of reading disabilities is best characterized by deficit models. (SLD)

Background: The international literature has documented that self-determination is impacted by environmental factors, including living or work settings; and by intraindividual factors, including intelligence level, age, gender, social skills and adaptive behaviour. In addition, self-determination has been correlated with improved quality of life…

The relative effects of chronological age, mental age, IQ or Piagetian task performance were investigated among 143 Ss of high, average, and low IQ. Two kinds of group comparisons were made on fifteen tasks: (1) groups of the same chronological age, but different mental age and IQ, and (2) groups of the same mental age, but different chronological…

Testing, both in childhood and as adults, of 28 former pupils of special schools for the educable mentally retarded indicated that pupils who experienced most serious problems in childhood were less retarded as adults than persons who had experienced few or no problems. Results support hypothesis that the effects of early lack of environmental…

Examined the etiology of individual differences in literacy, phonological awareness, and language ability in monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Found that there was no genetic link between phonological awareness and literacy independent of general language ability. Individual differences in literacy ability were substantially influenced by genetics…

The case is made for basing analysis of longitudinal data on each subject's curve of scores. In this analysis of IQ scores from a longitudinal study, fitted curves yielded significant error reduction, rendering untenable the doctrine of IQ constancy. A visual method of curve classification is also presented. (Author/SJL)

Examined impact of phonological-awareness training with or without explicit attention to articulation and with or without manipulation of sounds. Subjects were 7- to 11-year olds with reading difficulties. Found that children in all training conditions outperformed controls on all tests except math. Individual differences in response related to…