School Psychology - lecture notes

What does Executive Functions involve?

1. working memory
2. inhibitory control
3. mental flexbility

How does the executive function develop?

1. Through the prefrontal cortex in cooperation with other parts of the brain.
2. changes over the lifecourse
3. improves radically over the first few years

What are the consequences of Low Executive Functioning?

1. worse school performance
2. difficulties later on in life
3. difficulty keeping jobs
4. lower income
5. difficulties maintaining relationships
6. increased risk for mental health problems

How is executive functioning defined?

am umbrella term for various cognitive processes for goal-directed behaviour:


1. novel and demanding situations
2. flexible adjustment
3. adaptive behaviour
4. creativity

What are the three core components of executive functioning?

1. working memory
2. inhibitory control
3. cognitive flexibility

What is working memory?

1. the ability to hold information in mind (maintenance) and mentally work with it (manipulation)
2. ability to perform mental processes on the information we have in mind

What is inhibitory control?

the ability to suppress interfering thoughts and actions that are irrelevant to the task

what is cognitive flexibility?

the ability to change one’s perspective or approach to a problem and flexibly adjusting to new demands, rules or priorities

What are the more complex executive functions, based on the core aspects?

1. planning
2. reasoning
3. problem solving
4. performance monitoring (f.ex. what behaviour led to positive feedback and negative feedback)

In which groups is executive function most impaired?

in clinical groups such as:


1. ADHD
2. learning disabilities
3. depression

How do we measure inhibition?

* **Go/No-Go task:** used to measure inhibition. puch button when “GO” and hold back when “NO-GO”
* **task difficulty**: can be manipulated by experimenter. meant to measure ability to suppress automatic response

What are the advantages and disadvantaged of measuring complex EF?

* advantages:
* better predictor of EF problems in daily life
* better predictor of school performance
* Disadvantages:
* difficult to identify disability/impairment
* difficult to track development/cognitive skills

How do we measure spatial problem solving and planning?

**Tower of London:** participants move coloured pieces one by one from a starting position to a goal position. fewer moves → better performance

Which test do we use to measure automatic response inhibition?

* **The stroop task:** participants are asked to name the colour of the word and not the word itself (e.g. the word yellow in green font)
* **Day and night task:** children have to suppress the tendency to refer to pictures with the sun as day and moon as night. Regarded as a better test to measure inhibition

Which test is used to measure self-regulation and inhibition?

* **Delayed Gratification Task:** the longer the child waits, the better self-regulation
* **delay discounting task:** measure difference over small but immediate reward and bigger but delayed reward. high impulsivity shows steeper decline in reward

Which tests are used to measure cognitive flexibility?

* **Dimensional Change Card Sorting test (DCCS):** cards measure ability to shift between different sorting rules (e.g. colour or shape → number)
* **Wisconsin Card Sorting Task**: harder than DCCS. no explicit instructions, no instruction when rule changes

What brain region does Executive Functions rely most on?

The prefrontal cortex

What brain region is important for **memory**?

dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

What brain region is important for **cognitive flexibility**?

medial prefrontal cortex

What brain region is important for **inhibition**?

orbital frontal cortex

What are some neuroscientific methods for studying executive function?

* **Observe patient** with frontal lobe damage
* **MRI scans** of brain structure (non-invasive) and can study white and grey matter
* **fMRI** for brain function: study active brain regions

What is the fMRI subtraction method?

measure which brain region is involved in cognitive process by subtracting brain activity from one condition from another

Do feedback learning predict real-world learning?

Yes. Performance on task and brain activity during task predicted reading fluency and maths performance 2 years later.

How does the brain develop structurally?

* number of brain cells decrease with age (pruning) → increases brain efficiency
* decrease rate in grey matter depends on brain regions
* dorsolateral prefrontal cortex matures relatively late

What does the brain look like in adolescence?

1. emotional processing (limbic regions) are more processed than cognitive processing
2. experience imbalance between motivation and cognitions
3. driven by more emotional behaviours
4. Better EF but driven by immediate rewards

Which parts of the brain are most active in working memory?

1. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for manipulation
2. Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex for maintenance

Where does information in working memory come from?

1. new information from environment
2. retrieved knowledge from long term memory

what are the different types of long term memory?

1. declarative (explicit) memory
2. procedural (implicit) memory

What is declarative memory?

Brought to mind on purpose. Involves episodic (events) and semantic (factual) memory

What is procedural memory?

unconscious memories. changes in performance without purposeful involvement

What does it mean that the memory has a modular system?

different brain regions activate depending on which memory system is used → suggests that different parts of memory are independent from one another

Which brain region is most associated with **episodic memory**?

hippocampus and medial temporal lobe

What brain region is most associated with **skill learning**?

motor cortex

What does memory quality depend on?

1. ability to understand experience
2. symbolic understanding (gestures)
3. language proficiency (verbal rehearsal)
4. meta-cognition (knowing when to use mnemonic strategies)

What types of memory do infants show?

1. recognition memory
2. deferred imitiation
3. temporal order of events
4. implicit memory (mostly static)
5. explicit memory (dynamic)

How do we measure implicit memory development?

**picture fragmentation completion task**: name objects based on fragmented pictures (vague). limited development improvement (3-5 yo nail it)

How does explicit memory develop?

depends on scripts (knowledge structures). present by age 5 and improve through parental elaborateness (asking questions)

How is working memory involved in school seetings?

1. remember instructions
2. perform multiple thinking steps
3. solving problems in head
4. reemember rules
5. remember text (comprehension)

What does Working Memory predicts in terms of school?

1. academic success
2. learning
3. arithmetic performance

What does the working memory model consist of?

1. **Central executive:** central control that coordinates other systems and allocates resources
2. **Visuospatial sketchpad:** processes and entertains visual and spatial information
3. **Phonological loop:** processes verbal and acoustic information. decay of information very rapid

Which factors influence memory spam (no. of items retained)?

1. increases with age
2. word length
3. articulation rate


1. slow speech → remember less
2. said within 1.5 seconds

How does visual vs phonological info differ across ages?

at 5 years old children switch from mostly visual to mostly phonological working memory. older children experience interference from speech sounds but younger children do not.

What is the picture confusion memory task?

recall pictures in order of presentation.

* 5 year olds: visually similar pictures most difficult
* 10 year olds: pictures with long names most difficult

What did the study by Crone et al show in their study of brain activity during task?

* children aged 8-12 performed disproportionally worse on manipulation
* participants performed best in maintenance
* performance increased with age for backward condition (manipulation)

What is the Spanboard task?

remember order of the colour change and point out sequence

What does the spanboard task measure?

* Visuospatial modality
* Maintaining information
* Working memory capacity

What is the digit span task?

orally presented with sequence of numbers that they have to repeat, both as they heard it (maintenance) or backwards (manipulation

* often used in the WISC test

N-Back Task

N=number you have to remember. sequence of stimuli presented → indicate which is the same as the n-back stimuli

What does the n-back task measure?

* Visuospatial / phonological modality
* Maintaining information
* Updating

How to recognise children with low working memory skills?

BRIEF: Behavioural Rating Inventory of Executive Function


1. only remembers forst or last assignment out of 3 or 5
2. leaves trace of belongings wherever they go
3. struggles to completed tasks that require more than one step
4. interrupts others

How do you distinguish between low working memory and ADHD?

**Working memory:** poor attention span, high distractability, poor planning, poor organisation

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**ADHD:** like WM but also high oppositional or hyperactive behaviours, poor inhibitory control, poor task shifting, poor emotion regulation

What did training of WM indicate among adolescence?

Adolescents show potential for performing at an adult level, and that we might reconsider the idea that the PFC is too immature but rather different strategy use

What do meta-analyses show regarding training of the WM?

training helps in the short term, but there is no evidence to indicate that it work on other tasks that rely on WM

What is phonological awareness?

the child’s ability to detect, discriminate, remember and manipulate the component sounds of which a word is made up

How is phonological awareness used in language acquisition?

1. understanding structure of words
2. key for learning to read
3. understanding and manipulating the component sounds of words


1. metalinguistic awareness

How can we measure Syllable Awareness?

**Tapping task:** tap for number of syllables. kids reach 90% by 6 years old. shown in kids at 3 years old (before reading)

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**Counting task:** Lay down number of counters equal to syllables. 5 year olds score above chance level

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**Cross-cultural syllable counting:** children have good syllable awareness cross-culturally before learning to read

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**Deletion task:** say part of a word. delete a syllable of a word

How can we measure onset-rhyme?

**Oddity task:** which one doesn’t belong? cross out the one that doesn’t rhyme. Develops before reading instruction. stable cross-cultural

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**Same-different task:** word pairs with onset and rhyme. 100% of 7 year olds answered correctly

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**Blending and segmentation task:** blend units to put words together.

How can we measure phoneme awareness?

Does not develop before reading instruction.


1. Counting task
2. tapping task
3. same-different task

What is orthographic transparency?

1. consistency of a symbol to a specific sound.
2. some have 1:1 mapping of letter-sounds (German, spanish, greek) while some have 1:many (english e.g. Rough, through, dough etc).
3. higher transparency → better scores

What is phonemic structure?

influences development of phonological awareness.

* Consonant vowel: spanish, italian (ma-ma; ca-sa)

What is the hawthorne effect?

participants during behavioural studies change their behaviour in response to being observed

What did bradley and bryant (1983) find in their study of phonological awareness interventions?

intervention combining phonological awareness & orthography-phonology relations work best

What is theorized to be the core problem of dyslexia?

phonological awareness.

* despite normal language acquisition, dyslexics haven’t developed phonological representations of the sound structure of a word
* have difficulties dividing words into different subcomponent sounds

What did brain imaging studies reveals about dyslexia?

* showed less activity in core areas for reading
* more activity in right hemisphere areas
* dysfunction in left hemisphere posterior reading circuits
* pre-reading stage: thinner cortex in primary auditory and visual areas

What is the triple code model?

influential model suggesting three numerical systems which activate various parts of the brain

What does the triple code model consist of?

* **visually** based coding for arabis numbers in the fusiform gyrus
* **language** based system for facts in the left angular gyrus (e.g. 2+2=4 7\*7=49)
* General **number sense** in the parietal lobe and intraparietal sulcus (comparing quantities, intuitive approaches for numbers)

What is analog magnitude representation?

number sense. coding quantity in an approximate way (better at discriminating between 2 and 200 than 15 and 17

What did Jean Piaget think about numbers in children?

children are born with a clean slate. have no knowledge about numbers

what is Weber’s law?

our ability to make physical discrimination is ratio sensitive (easier to distinguish 2 and 200 than 15 and 16 candles)

Is number sense innate?

* chimps can match groups of dots to correct arabic number,
* honeybees can distinguish between 2 and 3 without training
* ants count their steps
* guppies can see difference between bigger/smaller groups

what is subitizing?

distinguishing between the numerosity of very small sets of numbers without counting (quantity from 3-6 is what we can instantly see)

What is cardinality?

all sets with the same number are qualitatively equivalent

what is ordinality?

numbers come in an ordered sale of magnitude

What is dysclaculia?

difficulties with numbers. core aspect still yet unknown. difficulties with visual spatial working, short term memory and impaired inhibition

What is reasoning?

a higher order of complex executive functions

How is reasoning used?

explains actions from:

* people: theory of mind
* things: causal reasoning

can interact

used to make predictions about the future

What is inductive reasoning?

specific example → general statement.

ex: rex is a dog → rex is a mammal → all dogs are mammals

* not logically valid
* not always true
* useful for hypotheses

What is deductive reasoning?

general statement → specific example

ex: all dogs are mammals → rex is a dog → rex is a mammal

* logically valid
* always true

What is analogy?

a form of inductive reasoning.

* based on specific examples
* make a general statement about another setting
* no proof but good clue
* e.g. using animal models to infer on humans

what is false analogies?

a comparison between two things that are different in some essential way.

f.ex. school = business. fundamnetally dissimilar

What is syllogism?

a form of deductive reasoning.

ex:

* premise 1 → all balls are round (general/major premise)
* premise 2 → this is a ball (specific premise)
* Conclusion: this ball is round

How does reasoning develop in children?

early causality understanding → expectation violation (e.g. gravity). children are surprised and look at longer at impossible events

Can children reason with analogies?

yes. as young as children of 3 years do well with analogies.

Can children understand syllogism?

yes. Children as young as 4 can understand and use syllogisms

do children have causal reasoning?

Yes. Gelman et al (1980) found that children as young as 3 understood and utilized causal reasoning (they knew the hammer would break the cup)

What is Hume’s causality theory?

People think that X causes Y when:

* **Priority**: X occurs before Y in time
* **Covariation**: if X occurs, Y also occurs
* **Temporal Contiguity:** X and Y are sequential (close) in time
* **Similarity**: all things being equal causes and effects should be similar in nature

→ not always true in real life

What is the evidence regarding the priority principle?

**Jack-in-the-box:** Jack would pop up when you put a marble in a box.

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children understand and utilize this principle and it increases with age.

What is the evidence regarding the covariation principle?

Schultz and mendelssohn (1975)’s study → which light turns the light on? Children as young as 3 can figure out that it is switch 1

What is the evidence regarding the temporal contiguity principle?

* Usually, the same cause designated by covariation as by temporal contiguity (e.g. Jack-in-the-Box experiment)
* However, in addition to covariation cause and effects needs to be linked by contiguous events

Do children use the scientific method?

* **hypothesis testing**: children 6-8 have difficulty using systematic method and use trial and error instead.
* **Covariation:** children of 4 and 6 both can use covariation in lab, but only 6 yos show consistency in real life

What is creative reasoning?

* Creativity is the generation of ideas that are both novel and valuable (Boden et al)
* gifted people are very creative and think divergently

How does creativity develop?

* frontal cortex associated with creativity → slower to develop and mature. children are not always more creative


* adult creativity tends to be more feasible and useful

What is intelligence?

there is no consensus, though most agree that there is an element of adaptability to a certain extent

What does intelligence usually refer to?

* abstract, logical and consistent reasoning
* discovering relationships and rules
* problem solving
* solving new tasks with acquired knowledge
* flexible adjustment
* potential for learning

What is the CHC model?

Cattell-Horn-Carroll’s theory of cognitive abilities is an integration of 3 very influential theories and is the most complex and comprehensive model of intelligence

What is “g”?

theory of general intelligene. Consists of many cognitive factors and processes but commonly indicating a general ability

What is crystallised intelligence?

factual knowledge about the world, very cultural specific

What is fluid intelligence?

no prior knowledge, reasoning on the spot, not culturally specific

How does crystallised and fluid intelligence develop across a lifetime?

fluid intelligence seems to decrease with age, with a peak at around 60 yo, while crystallised intelligence increases with age

What are some theories on the decrease of intelligence?

* wear and tear of the body and mind
* loss of flexibility
* time and era we are born