Applicability of the Online Short Spatial Ability Battery to university students testing

Introduction. Multiple studies advocate an importance of spatial abilities (SA) for educational and occupational success, especially in STEM. Recently an Online Short Spatial Ability Battery (OSSAB) was developed and normed for SA testing in adolescents. The battery includes mechanical reasoning, paper folding, pattern assembly, and shape rotation tests. The battery has shown good psychometric characteristics (high reliability and validity, low redundancy, discriminative power), and is available in open access and free to use. Aim. The present research aims: 1) to examine the applicability of the OSSAB for university student testing; 2) to describe its psychometric properties and structure; and 3) to investigate links between SA and educational performance. Methods. A total of 772 university students (aged from 18 to 26, mean age (SD) = 19.55 (1.51), 63.1% females) participated in the study. Participants provided information about their age, gender, university major, and academic achievement, and completed a battery of tests that included the OSSAB tests. Results. The study reports psychometric norms for using the OSSAB in university students. Students’ performance in the OSSAB was similar to that shown in previous research in adolescents in terms of means and variance. The OSSAB showed adequate psychometric properties in this sample: no floor or ceiling effects; low redundancy; moderate to high internal consistency; high discriminative power across university majors; and high external validity. The results indicated that around 6% of the students showed very high levels of SA (higher than 1.5 SD above the mean), and around 8% of students showed very low levels of SA (lower than 1.5 SD below mean). In addition, the OSSAB scores were linked to educational profile choice and exam scores, with small-to-medium effect sizes. Scientific novelty. The study provides psychometric norms for a short online open measure of spatial ability in university students. Practical significance. The OSSAB can be used to provide individual recommendations to students (e.g. SA training), to identify spatially gifted students, and for research purposes in university contexts

What do people know about the heritability of sleep?

Study Objectives Twin studies have provided data about the relative weight of genetic and environmental factors on sleep variables over the last few decades. However, heritability is a non-intuitive concept and it is often misunderstood even amongst the scientific community. This study aimed to analyze: (1) understanding of the meaning of heritability of insomnia; (2) the accuracy of estimations of heritability in the general population regarding three sleep traits (sleep duration, sleep quality and insomnia); (3) perceptions of the effectiveness of different treatments for insomnia depending on how the disorder is presented (i.e. having an environmental or genetic etiology) and whether the subject’s estimate of genetic influence on sleep traits impacted beliefs about the effectiveness of different treatments. Methods Participants (N = 3658) completed a survey which included: questions about general genetic knowledge; a specific question about the meaning of heritability; estimates of heritability of three different sleep traits; and the effectiveness of different treatments for insomnia depending on how the etiology of this condition was presented. Results Fewer than 25% of the participants selected the correct description of the heritability of insomnia. Almost half of the sample incorrectly believed that heritability refers to the chance of passing a disorder onto their children. We also found that participants provided different estimates for the effectiveness of different treatments depending on the presumed etiology of the disorder. Conclusion Most people do not have accurate knowledge about the concept of heritability. People’s assumptions about the etiology of a disorder may influence which treatments they consider most effective

Genome-wide association study of receptive language ability of 12 year olds

Purpose: We have previously shown that individual differences in measures of receptive language ability at age 12 are highly heritable. The current study attempted to identify some of the genes responsible for the heritability of receptive language ability using a genome-wide association (GWA) approach. Method: We administered four internet-based measures of receptive language (vocabulary, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics) to a sample of 2329 12-year-olds for whom DNA and genome-wide genotyping were available. Nearly 700,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one million imputed SNPs were included in a GWA analysis of receptive language composite scores. Results: No SNP associations met the demanding criterion of genome-wide significance that corrects for multiple testing across the genome (p < 5 ×10-8). The strongest SNP association did not replicate in an additional sample of 2639 12-year-olds. Conclusion: These results indicate that individual differences in receptive language ability in the general population do not reflect common genetic variants that account for >3% of the phenotypic variance. The search for genetic variants associated with language skill will require larger samples and additional methods to identify and functionally characterize the full spectrum of risk variants

Individual Differences in Spatial Abilities: An Investigation into Age, Sex, Handedness, and Sibling Effects.

The study was conducted at Goldsmiths, University of London in April 2012. 588 participants were assessed as part of the laboratory InLab. The results showed that spatial abilities were not significantly associated with age, gender, leading hand or the presence of brothers and sisters. The only significant difference found in the study was a difference between the sexes in the number of spatial and non-spatial activities. The results also showed that the two spatial abilities (spatial memory and mental rotation) are likely to develop under the influence of different factors, and are only weakely associated with each other

Mathematical Anxiety and mathematical learning: Multidimensional approach.

Research suggests that mathematical anxiety is a complex phenomenon related to mathematical achievement, developmental dyscalculia, strategies of numerical information processing, and negative emotional states. The goal of this currently on-going large-scale study is to implement a mixed method approach towards assessment of mathematical anxiety across the school grades. The methods include: a picture-based assessment; a questionnaire measuring attitudes towards mathematics; and a computerized test-battery measuring mathematics related cognitive processes. This mixed method approach addresses mathematical anxiety as a multidimensional, multi-faceted and dynamic manifestation of individual differences in a specific educational context. The research also allows exploring interrelations between non-cognitive and cognitive processes involved in mathematical anxiety. Here we present the results of the first wave of the investigation, involving data from 3 different age groups, assessed in several schools in Russia and the UK. The results suggest the importance of accounting for educational contexts in measuring and treating mathematical anxiety

The longitudinal relationship between phonology and arithmetic: between ages 3 and 12.

Much research into phonological abilities and arithmetic over time has suggested an association between these traits. The present study explored this relationship over a period of 9 years using a crosslagged design. Data from 2511 dizygotic and 3584 monozygotic twins across 4 waves of assessment from age 3 to age 12 were analysed. A bi-directional cross-lagged model fit the data best, showing that for both arithmetic and phonology there were significant associations from early measures on one trait to later measures on the other trait, even after controlling for contemporaneous (same time) associations

Numerical processes and mathematical anxiety in UK and Russian University students.

Mathematical anxiety (MA) has been shown to be related to poor performance in mathematics exams, as well as to avoidance of mathematical subjects in higher education and mathematics-related careers choices, even among students of high potential. This study investigated the relationship of MA and a number of mathematically relevant cognitive traits in UK and Russian University students. The cognitive traits included number sense, spatial ability, IQ, aptitude for mathematics and knowledge of numerical vocabulary. No sex differences in levels of MA were observed. The levels of MA were also similar in the two countries. No correlations were found between MA and mathematically relevant cognitive traits. A relationship between IQ and MA was found in the Russian participant

Individual differences in multisensory Approximate Number System and mathematical performance.

To date, no consensus is reached as to whether the Approximate Number System (ANS) is domain general or domain specific. This study examines the relationship between different dimensions of ANS in different modalities, as well as their relationship with mathematical and other cognitive abilities. The results do not support the ANS as an abstract system. Further research is needed to understand the nature of ANS and the factors that contribute to individual differences in mathematics along with ANS