The Association of Cognitive Ability with Right-wing Ideological Attitudes and Prejudice: A Meta-analytic Review

The cognitive functioning of individuals with stronger endorsement of right-wing and prejudiced attitudes has elicited much scholarly interest. Whereas many studies investigated cognitive styles, less attention has been directed towards cognitive ability. Studies investigating the latter topic generally reveal lower cognitive ability to be associated with stronger endorsement of right-wing ideological attitudes and greater prejudice. However, this relationship has remained widely unrecognized in literature. The present meta-analyses revealed an average effect size of r =-.20 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) [-0.23, -0.17]; based on 67 studies, N=84 017] for the relationship between cognitive ability and right-wing ideological attitudes and an average effect size of r=-.19 (95% CI [-0.23, -0.16]; based on 23 studies, N=27 011) for the relationship between cognitive ability and prejudice. Effect sizes did not vary significantly across different cognitive abilities and sample characteristics. The effect strongly depended on the measure used for ideological attitudes and prejudice, with the strongest effect sizes for authoritarianism and ethnocentrism. We conclude that cognitive ability is an important factor in the genesis of ideological attitudes and prejudice and thus should become more central in theorizing and model building

The contribution of individual differences in statistical learning to reading and spelling performance in children with and without dyslexia

Using an individual differences approach in children with and without dyslexia, this study investigated the hypothesized relationship between statistical learning ability and literacy (reading and spelling) skills. We examined the clinical relevance of statistical learning (serial reaction time and visual statistical learning tasks) by controlling for potential confounds at the participant level (e.g., non-verbal reasoning, attention and phonological skills including rapid automatized naming and phonological short-term memory). A 100 Dutch-speaking 8- to 11-year-old children with and without dyslexia participated (50 per group), see also van Witteloostuijn et al. (2019) for a study with the same participants. No evidence of a relationship between statistical learning and literacy skills is found above and beyond participant-level variables. Suggestions from the literature that the link between statistical learning and literacy attainment, and therefore its clinical relevance, might be small and strongly influenced by methodological differences between studies are not contradicted by our findings

Testing practices in the 21st century: developments and European psychologists' opinions

The main goal of the European Federation of Psychologists’Associations (EFPA) Standing Committee on Tests and Testing (SCTT) is the improvement of testing practices in European countries. In order to reach this goal, the SCTT carries out various actions and projects, some of which are described in this paper. To better inform its work, it decided to survey the opinions of professional psychologists on testing practices. A questionnaire of 33 items was administered to a sample of 12,606 professional psychologists from 17 European countries. The questionnaire was based on, but not identical to, one used in 2000. The new data show that the positive attitude of the respondents toward the use of tests that was obtained in 2000 has increased in most countries, with a high percentage of the surveyed psychologists using tests regularly. Five main dimensions explained 43% of the total item variance. The dimensions involve items relating to: Concern over incorrect test use, regulations on tests and testing, Internet testing, appreciation of tests, and knowledge and training relating to tests and test use. Important differences between countries were found on these five dimensions. Differences were found according to gender for four of the five dimensions and in relation to field of specialization for all five dimensions. The most commonly used tests are the classic psychometric tests of intelligence and personality: WISC, WAIS, MMPI, RAVEN, 16PF, NEO-PI-R, BDI, SCL-90. Finally, some future perspectives are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

The Ecological Rationality of Simple Group Heuristics: Effects of Group Member Strategies on Decision Accuracy

The notion of ecological rationality implies that the accuracy of a decision strategy depends on features of the information environment in which it is tested. We demonstrate that the performance of a group may be strongly affected by the decision strategies used by its individual members and specify how this effect is moderated by environmental features. Specifically, in a set of simulation studies, we systematically compared four decision strategies used by the individual group members: two linear, compensatory decision strategies and two simple, noncompensatory heuristics. Individual decisions were aggregated by using a majority rule. To assess the ecological rationality of the strategies, we varied (a) the distribution of cue validities, (b) the quantity, and (c) the quality of shared information. Group performance strongly depended on the distribution of cue validities. When validities were linearly distributed, groups using a compensatory strategy achieved the highest accuracy. Conversely, when cue validities followed a J-shaped distribution, groups using a simple lexicographic heuristic performed best. While these effects were robust across different quantities of shared information, the quality of shared information exerted stronger effects on group performance. Consequences for prescriptive theories on group decision making are discussed Copyright Springer 2006compensatory and noncompensatory decision strategies, group decision making, group performance, simple heuristics,