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The most common relative directions are left, right, forward(s), backward(s), up, and down. No absolute direction corresponds to any of the relative directions. This is a consequence of the translational invariance of the laws of physics: nature, loosely speaking, behaves the same no matter what direction one moves. As demonstrated by the Michelson-Morley null result, there is no absolute inertial frame of reference. There are definite relationships between the relative directions, however. left and right, forward and backward, and up and down are three pairs of complementary directions, each pair orthogonal to both of the others. Relative directions are also known as egocentric coordinates.
Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that is responsible for temporarily holding information available for processing. Working memory is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-making and behavior. Working memory is often used synonymously with short-term memory, but some theorists consider the two forms of memory distinct, assuming that working memory allows for the manipulation of stored information, whereas short-term memory only refers to the short-term storage of information. Working memory is a theoretical concept central to cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and neuroscience.
The g factor is a construct developed in psychometric investigations of cognitive abilities and human intelligence. It is a variable that summarizes positive correlations among different cognitive tasks, reflecting the fact that an individual's performance on one type of cognitive task tends to be comparable to that person's performance on other kinds of cognitive tasks. The g factor typically accounts for 40 to 50 percent of the between-individual performance differences on a given cognitive test, and composite scores based on many tests are frequently regarded as estimates of individuals' standing on the g factor. The terms IQ, general intelligence, general cognitive ability, general mental ability, and simply intelligence are often used interchangeably to refer to this common core shared by cognitive tests. The g factor targets a particular measure of general intelligence.
Sex differences in psychology are differences in the mental functions and behaviors of the sexes, and are due to a complex interplay of biological, developmental, and cultural factors. Differences have been found in a variety of fields such as mental health, cognitive abilities, personality, emotion, sexuality, and tendency towards aggression. Such variation may be innate or learned and is often very difficult to distinguish. Modern research attempts to distinguish between these causes, and to analyze any ethical concerns raised. Since behavior is a result of interactions between nature and nurture researchers are interested in investigating how biology and environment interact to produce such differences, although this is often not possible.
The levels-of-processing effect, identified by Fergus I. M. Craik and Robert S. Lockhart in 1972, describes memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing. Deeper levels of analysis produce more elaborate, longer-lasting, and stronger memory traces than shallow levels of analysis. Depth of processing falls on a shallow to deep continuum. Shallow processing leads to a fragile memory trace that is susceptible to rapid decay. Conversely, deep processing results in a more durable memory trace.
The lexical decision task (LDT) is a procedure used in many psychology and psycholinguistics experiments. The basic procedure involves measuring how quickly people classify stimuli as words or nonwords.
Mental rotation is the ability to rotate mental representations of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects as it is related to the visual representation of such rotation within the human mind. There is a relationship between areas of the brain associated with perception and mental rotation. There could also be a relationship between the cognitive rate of spatial processing, general intelligence and mental rotation.
Spatial visualization ability or visual-spatial ability is the ability to mentally manipulate 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional figures. It is typically measured with simple cognitive tests and is predictive of user performance with some kinds of user interfaces.
The n-back task is a continuous performance task that is commonly used as an assessment in cognitive neuroscience to measure a part of working memory and working memory capacity. The n-back was introduced by Wayne Kirchner in 1958. Some researchers have argued that n-back training may increase IQ, but evidence is low quality and mixed.
The concept of motor cognition grasps the notion that cognition is embodied in action, and that the motor system participates in what is usually considered as mental processing, including those involved in social interaction. The fundamental unit of the motor cognition paradigm is action, defined as the movements produced to satisfy an intention towards a specific motor goal, or in reaction to a meaningful event in the physical and social environments. Motor cognition takes into account the preparation and production of actions, as well as the processes involved in recognizing, predicting, mimicking and understanding the behavior of other people. This paradigm has received a great deal of attention and empirical support in recent years from a variety of research domains including developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and social psychology.
Evidence-based education is the use of well designed scientific studies to determine which education methods work best. It consists of evidence-based teaching and evidence-based learning. Evidence-based methods such as spaced repetition have been shown to increase the rate at which a student learns. The evidence-based education movement has its roots in the larger movement towards evidence-based practices.
A Navon figure is made of a larger recognisable shape, such as a letter, composed of copies of a smaller different shape. Navon figures are used in tests of visual neglect. David Navon's research demonstrated that global features are perceived more quickly than local features. Jules Davidoff also performed research, but in a remote culture, finding opposite results; the participants more readily identified the local features. Patients with simultanagnosia have difficulty identifying global features, and when presented with a Navon figure will identify only the local features. In a recent study comparing global-local processing in different races, it was found that East Asians demonstrated significantly stronger global processing than Caucasians.
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Visualization of Rotations (PSVT:R) is a test of spatial visualization ability published by Roland B. Guay in 1977. Many modifications of the test exist.
Differences in human intelligence have long been a topic of debate among researchers and scholars. With the advent of the concept of g or general intelligence, many researchers have argued for no significant sex differences in g factor or general intelligence, while others have argued for slightly greater intelligence for males, and others for a female advantage. These results depend on the methodology, tests researchers used for their claims, and the personal performances of the participants.
JASP is a free and open-source graphical program for statistical analysis supported by the University of Amsterdam. It is designed to be easy to use, and familiar to users of SPSS. It offers standard analysis procedures in both their classical and Bayesian form. JASP generally produces APA style results tables and plots to ease publication. It promotes open science by integration with the Open Science Framework and reproducibility by integrating the analysis settings into the results. The development of JASP is financially supported by several universities and research funds.
Hypermerimna is an inability to remove focus from anxiety-producing stimuli, which may be caused by damage to the attention control centers of the brain.
Sex differences in cognition, or mental abilities, are widely studied in the current scientific literature. Biological and genetic differences in combination with environment and culture have resulted in the cognitive differences among men and women. Among biological factors, hormones such as testosterone and estrogen may play some role mediating these differences. Among differences of diverse mental and cognitive abilities, the largest or most well known are those relating to spatial abilities, social cognition and verbal skills and abilities.
Spatial ability or visuo-spatial ability is the capacity to understand, reason, and remember the spatial relations among objects or space.
A mental timeline is a mental representation of time that is spatial in nature. The mental timeline is similar to the mental number line where numbers are perceived increasing left to right.
References
- ↑ M. Peters, B. Laeng, K. Latham, M. Jackson, R. Zaiyouna, C. Richardson (1995). "A Redrawn Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotations Test - Different Versions and Factors That Affect Performance". Brain and Cognition.
- 1 2 Hegarty, Mary (June 2018). "Ability and sex differences in spatial thinking: What does the mental rotation test really measure?". Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 25 (3): 1212–1219. doi:10.3758/s13423-017-1347-z. ISSN 1069-9384. PMID 28808983.
- ↑ Voyer, Daniel (April 2011). "Time limits and gender differences on paper-and-pencil tests of mental rotation: a meta-analysis". Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 18 (2): 267–277. doi:10.3758/s13423-010-0042-0. ISSN 1069-9384. PMID 21327340.
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