Week 10 - the Flynn effect and enviro

What is entropy?

the randomness is how a place is set out

high entropy means street networks are very random and unpredictable

How does the entropy of city networks influence spatial navigation?

higher entropy = less easy to navigate

those who grew up in cities more likely to have better spatial navigation

ppl better at navigating environments that were topologically similar to where they grew up

Are later born children born disadvantaged in their health or developmentally?

no

Are later born children disadvantaged in terms of cognitive support?

yes they parents are unable to provide the same level of cognitive support as they do with their first born

Explain the disparity between first and later born children in terms of cognitive development

as early as one year = later borns score lower on cognitive tests vs siblings

gap increases until school entry and remains significant threafter

Suggest a reason for the cognitive disparity between first and later born children

variations in parental behaviour such as cognitive stimulation by mothers

What did Angelson 2001 find about early nutrition and cognitive development?

children who were breastfed for less than 3 months had an increased risk vs those breastfed for at least 6 months

also found below median on scales of infant dev and IQ

What did Deoni 2013 find about breastfeeding and cognitive development?

by age 2 = improved receptive language scores and enhanced dev in higher order cognition brain areas in breastfed children

What did Deoni 2013 find about breastfeeding and myelination?

extended breastfeeding (>15 months) = positively correlated with greater myelination in somatosensory, auditory and language areas

Powls 1998 found what about birth weight and cognitive development?

very low birth weight = disadvantage to peers in areas of cognitive and educational performance

Is there any effect of general anaesthesia in early childhood on intelligence?

little to no evidence has been found - if there is there is a small effect

Does chemotherapy in early childhood have any neurocognitive effects?

some evidence for effect on verbal and visual memory

particularly in girls

What did Boyle, Yeter et al research?

how levels of lead on blood impacts IQ in infants

ethnic disparities too

What did Boyle et al find?

high blood lead levels at 6-24 months result in decreased IQ at age 5-10 years

Black children have highest BLL in USA

Black children had greatest loss in IQ than Hispanic and White counterparts

What is the Flynn effect?

the observed trend of increasing standardised intelligence test scores over time

What did Flynn 1987 find about IQ gains over time?

there has been the greatest gain in fluid intelligence among the 14 nations

What does Raven’s progressive Matrices test?

fluid intelligence

Has the ave score increased over time most in developed or developing countries?

developing

What is most likely responsible for the Flynn effect?

schooling and test familiarity

nutrition

generally more stimulating enviro

reduced exposure to toxins (lead in gasoline?)

What is the Wilson effect?

increase in heritability of IQ or general cognitive ability with age (peaks at 20 years)

What is WISC?

Wechsler intelligence scale for children

tests verbal - vocab, verbal comprehension, similarities, arithmetic

tests WM - digit span, letter-number sequencing

tests perceptual and spatial reasoning - block design, picture concepts, spatial visualisation

tests processing speed - symbol search

What is Leiter-3 and what does it measure?

international performance scale

non verbal measure of intelligence

useful for assessing those with cognitive delays, speech or hearing problems, motor impairments, ADHD, traumatic brain injury

The relationship between intelligence and academic ability is stronger when students scored higher in what personality trait and lower in what other?

higher in conscientiousness

lower in neuroticism