Les tests BV9 et B53 peuvent-ils prédire la réussite scolaire ?

Dans certaines Académies françaises, les tests B53 et BV9 sont utilisés dans le cadre de l’orientation scolaire en troisième générale. Ils permettraient d’avoir respectivement une estimation des capacités de raisonnement fluide (Gf) et de compréhension-connaissance (Gc). L’objectif de cette étude est de comprendre le fonctionnement cognitif global de l’élève par rapport à ses performances scolaires. Nos résultats montrent que le BV9 semble être un meilleur prédicteur des performances scolaires que le B53 dans l’ensemble des disciplines. Les deux tests expliquent environ 50 % de la variance de la moyenne scolaire générale (MSG). L’interprétation et les limites de ces résultats sont discutés.In the many french Academy, the B53 and BV9 tests are used as part of the school counseling in 9th grade. They would estimate respectively the abilities of fluid reasoning (Gf) and comprehension-knowledge (Gc). The objective of this study is to understand the overall cognitive functioning of the student in relation to his academic performance. Our results show that the BV9 seems to be a better predictor of school performance than the B53 in many disciplines. Both tests explain about 50% of the variance in overall academic average (MSG). The interpretation and limits of the findings are discussed

Parental representations after preterm birth: a narrative review

Preterm birth accounts for nearly 15 million births annually worldwide and constitutes a considerable risk factor for atypical development. This birth context is a source of stress for the parents and often leads to an early separation between their child and them. Research on the influence of the birth status on the infant’s attachment style has shown no systematic link between preterm birth and the development of insecure attachment in children born preterm. This has opened up research perspectives in understanding the role of environmental factors. A literature review was conducted to present an overview of the current findings on parental representations (PR), particularly maternal ones, and their role in the context of preterm birth. PR quality appears to be associated with specific dyadic interaction patterns, thus exposing vulnerability factors. Studies exploring PR have pointed out the importance of considering parental mental elaboration mechanisms and contextual moderators in supporting socio-emotional development among children born preterm. We discussed the challenges of investigating PR in the context of preterm birth for future studies and emphasized the need for research studies to be conducted according to a developmental and non-deterministic perspective. This narrative review also aimed to highlight the importance of family centered care interventions in the context of a public policy focused on the child’s “First 1,000 days” of life

Improving Teenagers’ Divergent Thinking With Improvisational Theater

Improvisational theater (improv) is supposed to have an impact on cognitive processes (divergent thinking, flexibility, language, memory, problem solving, and co-construction), academic performance, and everyday life in many ways. However, little research studied on the psychological impact of improv, with some results highlighting a divergent thinking enhancement in children and adults, but not with teenagers, one of the most important age groups to practice improv. Therefore, this study aims to assess divergent thinking for middle school students before and after an 11-weeks session compared to a control group with a sport practice. The Alternative Uses Task (AUT) was used before and after the session for both groups to evaluate divergent thinking. The improv group had better performance in originality, flexibility and gave less prototypical items after the improv sessions compared to before, while the control group performance was similar before and after. Our results suggest that improv helps teenagers’ divergent thinking to improve, not only with experimental games in the lab context but also after ecological sessions. We urge scientists to study in depth psychological impacts of improvisational theater and applied improvisation, for a better understanding of improv and as a model to study embodied cognition

Hey Teacher, Don’t Leave Them Kids Alone: Action Is Better for Memory than Reading

There is no consensus on how the enactment effect (EE), although it is robust, enhances memory. Researchers are currently investigating the cognitive processes underlying this effect, mostly during adulthood; the link between EE and crucial function identified in adulthood such as episodic memory and binding process remains elusive. Therefore, this study aims to verify the existence of EE in 6–10 years old and assess cognitive functions potentially linked to this effect in order to shed light on the mechanisms underlying the EE during childhood. Thirty-five children (15 second graders and 20 fifth graders) were included in this study. They encoded 24 action phrases from a protocol adapted from Hainselin et al. (2014). Encoding occurred under four conditions: Verbal Task, Listening Task, Experimenter-Performed Task, and Subject-Performed Task. Memory performance was assessed for free and cued recall, as well as source memory abilities. ANOVAS were conducted to explore age-related effects on the different scores according to encoding conditions. Correlations between EE scores (Subject-Performed Task/Listening Task) and binding memory scores (short-term binding and episodic memory) were run. Both groups benefited from EE. However, in both groups, performance did not significantly differ between Subject-Performed Task and Experimenter-Performed Task. A positive correlation was found between EE and episodic memory score for second graders and a moderate negative correlation was found between EE and binding scores for fifth graders. Our results confirm the existence of EE in 6 and 10 year olds, but they do not support the multimodal theory (Engelkamp, 2001) or the “glue” theory (Kormi-Nouri and Nilsson, 2001). This suggests instead that episodic memory might not underlie EE during early childhood

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Mémoire de travail et production langagière : comparaison de l'oral et de l'écrit chez les adultes et les enfants

Summary : Working memory and language production : Comparison of oral and written production in adults and children. The review examines the role of working memory in language production and more particularly in written production, taking a cognitive and developmental approach. This involves determining ways in which working memory contributes to individual and developmental differences in written production. After presenting works describing the relationship between working memory and language production (oral and written), this article emphasizes the cognitive cost of conceptual, linguistic and articulatory components, taking into account the specificities of the written mode. Finally, the idea that children's difflculties to produce written texts are due to the procedural management of components involved in written production is developped. This management is constrained by the limited information processing capacity of subjects. Key words : language, working memory, cognitive load, oral and written modalities.Résumé L'objectif de cette revue de travaux est d'étudier dans une perspective cognitive et développementale le rôle de la mémoire de travail en production langagière, et plus particulièrement en production écrite. Il s'agit de montrer comment la capacité de la mémoire de travail peut déterminer les différences individuelles et développementales observées en production langagière. Après avoir présenté les recherches portant sur la relation entre la mémoire de travail et la production langagière (orale, écrite), cet article mettra plus particulièrement l'accent sur le coût cognitif consécutif à la mise en œuvre des processus conceptuel, linguistique et articulatoire, en soulignant les spécificités de l'écrit. Enfin, l'idée selon laquelle les difficultés des enfants à produire des textes écrits se situent au niveau de la gestion procédurale des composants impliqués en production écrite, gestion contrainte par une instance de contrôle aux capacités limitées, sera développée. Mots-clés : langage, mémoire de travail, charge cognitive, modalité orale/ écrite.Bourdin Béatrice. Mémoire de travail et production langagière : comparaison de l'oral et de l'écrit chez les adultes et les enfants. In: L'année psychologique. 1999 vol. 99, n°1. pp. 123-148

Short Forms of Wechsler Scales Assessing the Intellectually Gifted Children Using Simulation Data

Intellectual giftedness is usually defined in terms of having a very high Intellectual Quotient (IQ). The intellectual capacity is assessed by a standardized test such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). However, the identification of intellectually gifted children (IGC) often remains time-consuming. A short-form WISC can be used as a screening instrument. The practitioners and researchers in this field can then make a more in-depth evaluation of the IGC's cognitive and socioemotional characteristics if needed. The aim of our study is thus to determine the best short tests, in terms of their psychometric qualities, for the identification of IGC. The current study is composed of three-step analyses. Firstly, we created nine IQs short forms (IQSF) with 2-subtests, and nine IQSF with 4-subtests from the WISC-IV (Wechsler, 2005). Secondly, we estimated psychometric parameters (i.e., reliability and validity) from empirical and simulated dataset with WISC-IV. The difference in the estimation of psychometric qualities of each IQSF from the simulated data is very close to those derived from empirical data. We thus selected the three best IQSF based on these psychometrics parameters estimated from simulated datasets. For each selected short form of the WISC-IV, we estimated the screening quality in our sample of IGC. Thirdly, we created IQSF with 2- and 4-subtests from the WISC-V (Wechsler, 2016) with simulated dataset. We then highlighted the three best short forms of WISC-V based on the estimated psychometric parameters. The results are interpreted in terms of validity, reliability and screening quality of IGC. In spite of the important changes in the WISC-V, our findings show that the 2-subtest form, Similitaries + Matrix Reasoning, and 4-subtest form, Similitaries + Vocabulary + Matrix Reasoning + Block Design, are the most efficient to identify the IGC at the two recent versions of Wechsler scales. Finally, we discuss the advantages and drawbacks of a brief assessment of intellectual aptitudes for the identification of the IGC

Development of attentional networks in intellectually gifted children

Intellectually gifted children (IGC) have high performance in many domains of the attention than intellectually average children (IAC). However, few studies investigated the development of the alerting, orienting and executive control networks, in IGC. The aim of our study is to analyze the development of these networks in IGC compared to typical developing children and young adults. Fifty-four IGC (age range 8–14 years-old) were compared to 54 IAC (age range 8–14 years-old) and 60 young adults (age range 19–25 years-old) using the Attention Network Test (ANT) to assess these three attentional constructs. Results indicated IGC had better performance than IAC in executive control only. Both children groups have lower attentional network scores than young adults. IGC have probably the same development of the IAC in all attentional networks to the late childhood at adolescence. But they have better ability to focus volitionally in order to solve a simple conflict than IAC

Facilitating Text Production in Fourth Graders: Effects of Script-Based Knowledge and Writing Prompts

International audienceThis study aimed at providing evidence that prior knowledge (semantic relatedness) and its organization (scripted versus not related) prompted either through pictures alone, pictures and associated words, words only have different impacts on several components of text produced by fourth graders. The results showed that the semantic relatedness affected three dependent measures: prompt words recalled, coherence and quality of texts. The nature of the prompts impacted on planning (number of ideas) and translating (number of propositions and length of texts) processes. Findings, instructional applications, limitations, and proposals for future research are discussed

L'acquisition des valeurs des temps des verbes. Etude comparative de l'allemand, du basque, du catalan, du français et de l'italien

Bronckart Jean-Paul, Bourdin Béatrice. L'acquisition des valeurs des temps des verbes. Etude comparative de l'allemand, du basque, du catalan, du français et de l'italien. In: Langue française, n°97, 1993. Temps et discours , étude de psychologie du langage, sous la direction de Jean-Paul Bronckart. pp. 102-124