We investigate the effect of water quality on the educational outcomes of children aged 8–11 in 39 districts in five states in the Ganges Basin of India. Using data from the Centre for Pollution Control Board of India and the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) 2011–12, we study the effect of water quality in the Ganges Basin on the performance in three test scores. Our evidence suggests that faecal coliform levels in water sources above safety thresholds negatively affect reading and writing test scores. The effects of Nitrate-N and Nitrite-N in the water appear to be weaker compared to those of faecal coliform. The results establish that water pollution caused by excessive presence of faecal coliform is an important environmental factor in determining educational outcomes of children. High levels of faecal coliform in the water could be lowering cognitive abilities of the pollution-affected children through the channel of waterborne diseases.

Although the impact of stressful life events (SLEs) on mental health is well-established, the research on the impact of such stressors on cognitive outcomes has produced mixed results. Arguably, the timing and severity of exposure may play a key role. In this study, we shed light on the relationship between timing of exposure to relatively minor SLEs and cognitive ability in children, while taking into account the role of a plausible biological mediator: inflammation. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a general population birth cohort, we explored the role of relatively minor SLEs, experienced during two crucial developmental stages: up to transition to school (1–4.5 years) and up to transition to puberty (5.5–8.5 years). We then tested if they may impact differently on inflammatory markers (serum C-reactive protein [CRP] and interleukin 6 [IL-6]) at age 9 and general intelligence, measured with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence at age 15. Data (n = 4,525) were analyzed using path analysis while controlling for covariates. We found that when relatively minor stressful events were experienced up to transition to school they were significantly associated with higher IQ at age 15, whereas when experienced up to transition to puberty they were significantly associated with higher levels of IL-6 at age 9. Results were robust to adjustment for relevant covariates, including IQ at age 8. Mild stressors in childhood may result in positive (i.e., improved cognition) or negative (i.e., inflammation) outcomes depending on the timing of exposure.

We introduce the Berlin Numeracy Test, a new psychometrically sound instrument that quickly assesses statistical numeracy and risk literacy. We present 21 studies (n=5336) showing robust psychometric discriminability across 15 countries (e.g., Germany, Pakistan, Japan, USA) and diverse samples (e.g., medical professionals, general populations, Mechanical Turk web panels). Analyses demonstrate desirable patterns of convergent validity (e.g., numeracy, general cognitive abilities), discriminant validity (e.g., personality, motivation), and criterion validity (e.g., numerical and non-numerical questions about risk). The Berlin Numeracy Test was found to be the strongest predictor of comprehension of everyday risks (e.g., evaluating claims about products and treatments; interpreting forecasts), doubling the predictive power of other numeracy instruments and accounting for unique variance beyond other cognitive tests (e.g., cognitive reflection, working memory, intelligence). The Berlin Numeracy Test typically takes about three minutes to complete and is available in multiple languages and formats, including a computer adaptive test that automatically scores and reports data to researchers (http://www.riskliteracy.org). The online forum also provides interactive content for public outreach and education, and offers a recommendation system for test format selection. Discussion centers on construct validity of numeracy for risk literacy, underlying cognitive mechanisms, and applications in adaptive decision support.

We investigated the relations between numeracy and superior judgment and decision making in two large community outreach studies in Holland (n=5408). In these very highly educated samples (e.g., 30–50% held graduate degrees), the Berlin Numeracy Test was a robust predictor of financial, medical, and metacognitive task performance (i.e., lotteries, intertemporal choice, denominator neglect, and confidence judgments), independent of education, gender, age, and another numeracy assessment. Metacognitive processes partially mediated the link between numeracy and superior performance. More numerate participants performed better because they deliberated more during decision making and more accurately evaluated their judgments (e.g., less overconfidence). Results suggest that well-designed numeracy tests tend to be robust predictors of superior judgment and decision making because they simultaneously assess (1) mathematical competency and (2) metacognitive and self-regulated learning skills.

We asked whether behavioral biases are related to cognitive abilities of Malaysian youth. Frederick’s three-item Cognitive Reflection Test was used to understand the role of behavioral biases concerning behavioral economics and finance. The sample (n = 880) comprised of university students from different parts of Malaysia. We found significant CRT differences as a function of gender, race and age groups. In addition, lower scores on the CRT are correlated positively with time preference and conservatism, but not with risk preference or the conjunction fallacy.

The first twin study in Serbia began in 2011 as a part of the research project, ‘Psychological Foundations of Mental Health: Hereditary and Environmental Factors’. At the same time, the research team from the Faculty of Philosophy and Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad established the first Serbian twin registry. The registry is intended primarily for the purpose of the research in behavioral genetics, as well as potential future studies in human genetics. It includes information on 1658 volunteers, including twin-pairs, their parent and siblings. The behavioral genetic study of adult twins has been focused on the hereditary and environmental sources of variance of different psychological characteristics, such as personality traits, cognitive abilities, executive functions and aggression, as well as some anthropometric measures and aspects of mental and physical health. Certain molecular genetic analyses have also been performed. The research team is currently starting the longitudinal twin study of children, which will be focused on different indicators of emotional, cognitive and physical development.

Metacognition is the capacity to evaluate and control one’s own cognitive processes. Metacognition operates over a range of cognitive domains, such as perception and memory, but the neurocognitive architecture supporting this ability remains controversial. Is metacognition enabled by a common, domain-general resource that is recruited to evaluate performance on a variety of tasks? Or is metacognition reliant on domain-specific modules? This article reviews recent literature on the domain-generality of human metacognition, drawing on evidence from individual differences and neuroimaging. A meta-analysis of behavioral studies found that perceptual metacognitive ability was correlated across different sensory modalities, but found no correlation between metacognition of perception and memory. However, evidence for domain-generality from behavioral data may suffer from a lack of power to identify correlations across model parameters indexing metacognitive efficiency. Neuroimaging data provide a complementary perspective on the domain-generality of metacognition, revealing co-existence of neural signatures that are common and distinct across tasks. We suggest that such an architecture may be appropriate for “tagging” generic feelings of confidence with domain-specific information, in turn forming the basis for priors about self-ability and modulation of higher-order behavioral control.

Over the past decade, advances in the interdisciplinary field of network science have provided a framework for understanding the intrinsic structure and function of human brain networks. A particularly fruitful area of this work has focused on patterns of functional connectivity derived from noninvasive neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging. An important subset of these efforts has bridged the computational approaches of network science with the rich empirical data and biological hypotheses of neuroscience, and this research has begun to identify features of brain networks that explain individual differences in social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. The most common approach estimates connections assuming a single configuration of edges that is stable across the experimental session. In the literature, this is referred to as a static network approach, and researchers measure static brain networks while a subject is either at rest or performing a cognitively demanding task. Research on social and emotional functioning has primarily focused on linking static brain networks with individual differences, but recent advances have extended this work to examine temporal fluctuations in dynamic brain networks. Mounting evidence suggests that both the strength and flexibility of time-evolving brain networks influence individual differences in executive function, attention, working memory, and learning. In this review, we first examine the current evidence for brain networks involved in cognitive functioning. Then we review some preliminary evidence linking static network properties to individual differences in social and emotional functioning. We then discuss the applicability of emerging dynamic network methods for examining individual differences in social and emotional functioning. We close with an outline of important frontiers at the intersection between network science and neuroscience that will enhance our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of social behavior.

Objectives: Neuropsychological studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have revealed deficits in attention/working memory, processing speed, executive functioning, and retrospective memory. However, little is known about prospective memory (PM) in PTSD, a clinically relevant aspect of episodic memory that supports the encoding and retrieval of intentions for future actions. Methods: Here we examined PM performance in 40 veterans with PTSD compared to 38 trauma comparison (TC) veterans who were exposed to combat but did not develop PTSD. All participants were administered the Memory for Intentions Test (MIST; Raskin, Buckheit, & Sherrod, 2010), a standardized and validated measure of PM, alongside a comprehensive neurocognitive battery, structured diagnostic interviews for psychiatric conditions, and behavioral questionnaires. Results: Veterans with PTSD performed moderately lower than TC on time-based PM, with errors primarily characterized as PM failure errors (i.e., omissions). However, groups did not differ in event-based PM, ongoing task performance, or post-test recognition of PM intentions for each trial. Lower time-based PM performance was specifically related to hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD. Time-based-performance was also associated with neuropsychological measures of retrospective memory and executive functions in the PTSD group. Nevertheless, PTSD was significantly associated with poorer PM above and beyond age and performance in retrospective memory and executive functions. Discussion: Results provide initial evidence of PM dysfunction in PTSD, especially in strategic monitoring during time-based PM tasks. Findings have potential implications for everyday functioning and health behaviors in persons with PTSD, and deserve replication and future study. (JINS, 2016, 22, 724–734)

Objectives: Numerous studies have shown that individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) display reduced performances on neuropsychological tests, although most prior research has not adequately accounted for comorbidities or performance validity concerns that are common in this population and could partially account for the observed neurocognitive findings. Moreover, few studies have examined the functional implications of neuropsychological results in PTSD. Methods: We examined neuropsychological functioning in 44 veterans with PTSD and 40 veteran trauma comparison (TC) participants with combat exposure and no PTSD. Results: After excluding four veterans with PTSD for performance validity concerns, multivariate analyses of variance by neurocognitive domain revealed significantly worse performance by the PTSD group in the domains of speed of information processing (p=.035) and executive functions (p=.017), but no group differences in attention/working memory, verbal/language functioning, visuoconstruction, or episodic memory. Group differences by PTSD status were still present after covarying for depression, a history of head injuries, and substance use disorders. Executive functioning performance was associated with poorer self-reported occupational functioning and physical health-related quality of life, while speed of information processing performance was associated with poorer physical health-related quality of life. Discussion: These results are generally consistent with a fronto-limbic conceptualization of PTSD-associated neuropsychological dysfunction and show that cognitive functioning may be associated with critical functional outcomes. Taken together, results suggest that consideration of neurocognitive functioning may enhance the clinical management of individuals with PTSD. (JINS, 2016, 22, 399–411)

There is an increasing number of studies claiming that the sex differences in general intelligence are “real.” The empirical evidence is based on the summation of the standardized sex differences in several cognitive batteries. However, the scientific construct of general ability rests on the correlations among test scores, rather than on their summation. The latter (ability in general) is an arbitrary variable, not a scientific construct. General ability is not a function of any particular cognitive test, but a source of variance evidenced by the correlation between several diverse tests, each of which reflects general ability (g) to some extent, but also group factors and test specificity. Because there are important educational, economic, and social consequences of a group difference in general ability, it is especially germane to evaluate the possibility of an average sex difference in its proxy measures, such as IQ. The Spanish standardization of the WAIS-III is analyzed in the present study. The sample was made up of 703 females and 666 males, aged 15-94, drawn as a representative sample of the population in terms of educational level and geographical location. Although a male advantage of 3.6 IQ points is observed, the difference is in “ability in general,” not in “general ability” (g). Given that the main ingredient of the strong association between IQ and a broad range of social correlates is g, and given that there is no sex difference in g, then the average IQ sex-difference favoring males must be attributed to specific group factors and test specificity.

Reduced IQ, learning difficulties and poor school performance have been reported in small-for-gestational-age (SGA) subjects. However, few studies include a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Our aim was to study neuropsychological functioning in young adults born SGA at term. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to 58 SGA subjects (birth weight <10th centile) born at term, and 81 term non-SGA controls (birth weight ≥10th centile). The SGA group obtained significantly (p < .01) lower scores on the attention, executive and memory domains compared to non-SGA controls and showed higher risk of obtaining scores below −1.5 SD on the memory domain (odds ratio = 13.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.57, 112.47). At a subtest level, the SGA group obtained lower scores on most neuropsychological tests, with significant differences on 6 of 46 measures: the Trail Making Test 3 (letter sequencing), the Wechsler Memory Scale mental control and the auditory immediate memory scale, the Design Fluency, the Stroop 3 (inhibition) and the Visual Motor Integration (VMI) motor coordination subtest. Young adults born SGA score more poorly on neuropsychological tests compared with non-SGA controls. Differences were modest, with more significant differences in the memory domain. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–11)

This article presents research on a learning potential assessment that was administered to 32 preschool children with typical development, and 32 with specific language impairment receiving treatment at CADIT: the Children’s Center for Early Intervention and Development. The study’s main objective was to examine whether the language-impaired group’s cognitive profile could improve by applying learning potential methodology. Its second aim was to demonstrate the effectiveness of mediation in both groups. The results revealed significant differences between the two groups at pretest on most subscales. As for the second objective, we observed differences between pretest and posttest scores in both groups. In the second group, all differences were significant except in the case of classification and auditory memory, while in the first group, the differences between pretest and posttest scores were significant on all sub-scales but visual memory.