Background: Process data captured by computer-based assessments provide valuable insight into respondents' cognitive processes during problem-solving tasks. Although previous studies have utilized process data to analyse behavioural patterns or strategies in problem-solving tasks, the connection between latent cognitive states and their…

Numerous studies have found better memory for multimodal than unimodal stimuli. In these studies, however, multimodal stimuli consist not only of multiple modalities, but also of more varied information than unimodal. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated encoding variability as an explanation for the multisensory benefit. Written words…

Background: Research on global coherence in neurotypical aging has predominantly focused on different methods of elicitation and their impact on age. The use of structured versus unstructured discourse tasks can have varying effects on global coherence. Comparative studies investigating this effect within Tamil language-speaking populations are…

Spatial construction--the activity of creating novel spatial arrangements or copying existing ones--is a hallmark of human spatial cognition. Spatial construction abilities predict math and other academic outcomes and are regularly used in IQ testing, but we know little about the cognitive processes that underlie them. In part, this lack of…

Descriptions of durational relations can be ambiguous, for example, the description "one meeting happened during another" could mean that one meeting started before the other ended, or it could mean that the meetings started and ended simultaneously. A recent theory posits that people mentally simulate descriptions of durational events…

Background: We evaluated cognitive accessibility of the VIA Inventory of Strengths Youth short form with adults with intellectual disability for use in strengths-based practice. Methods: We conducted cognitive testing with adults with intellectual disability (n = 33; M age = 36.2; range: 20.4-64.2). Data were coded for the extent to which (1)…

Previous research has linked working memory capacity (WMC) with enhanced proactive control. However, it remains unclear the extent to which this relationship reflects the influence of WMC on the tendency to engage proactive control, or rather, the ability to implement it. The current study sought to clarify this ambiguity by leveraging the Dual…

As they learn to navigate the social world, children construct frameworks to interpret others' behavior. The present studies examined two such frameworks: a mentalistic framework, which construes behavior as driven by internal mental states; and a normative framework, which presumes people act in accordance with social norms. Participants included…

Adults with developmental disabilities and educational researchers have identified many holes in the practices currently used to educate non-speaking youth with developmental disabilities, especially those with extensive support needs (Kapp, 2020; Taub, et al., 2017). While technology cannot provide a magical, sweeping fix to barriers to…

In order processing, consecutive sequences (e.g., 1-2-3) are generally processed faster than nonconsecutive sequences (e.g., 1-3-5) (also referred to as the reverse distance effect). A common explanation for this effect is that order processing operates via a memory-based associative mechanism whereby consecutive sequences are processed faster…

Many caregivers wonder when to talk to children about social inequality and racism, often expressing the belief that children do not pay attention to race or inequity. Here, across 5-9-year-old American children (n = 159, M[subscript age] = 7.44; 51.6% female, 47.2% male, 1.2% nonconforming or not provided; 59.1% White, 23.3% racial-ethnic…

Irony is a heavily context-dependent pragmatic phenomenon. But what is it about context that facilitates or blocks irony comprehension? Based on the echoic account, we suggest that a context facilitates irony comprehension when it makes manifest a speaker's intentions and attitude, i.e., when a context makes it easy for participants to engage…

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to investigate the impact of instructional design elements on cognitive load for adult neurodiverse learners in online learning environments. For the utility of this study, cognitive load will be generally defined as the working memory and mental resources needed to perform a task. This study is…

Purpose: The present brain--behavior study examined whether sensory registration or neural inhibition processes explained variability in the behavioral most comfortable level (MCL) and background noise level (BNL) components of the acceptable noise level (ANL) measure. Method: A traditional auditory gating paradigm was used to evoke neural…

We investigated the relations between self-reported math anxiety, task difficulty, and pupil dilation in adults and very young children during math tasks of varying difficulty levels. While task difficulty significantly influenced pupillary responses in both groups, the association between self-reported math anxiety and pupil dilation differed…