Journal of Experimental Child Psychology最新文献

The importance of early numerical and executive function (EF) skills is well-established, with each skill set positively and specifically predicting later mathematics achievement, income, postsecondary education, and more. Less is known, however, about the relations between EF and numerical skills. Therefore, we examined the concurrent and predictive relations between EF and numerical skills in preschoolers to third graders (N = 205; 4.67-8.75 years of age; 43.9% female; 51.2% White non-Hispanic, 18% multiracial, 6.3% Hispanic, 12.2% Black, 2% American Indian/Alaska Native, 4.9% Asian, 1% not otherwise listed). We found positive concurrent relations between EF and all six numerical skills examined: nonsymbolic magnitude comparison, verbal counting, numerical literacy, count on, non-rote counting, and numerical problem solving. There were unidirectional predictive relations between EF and four of the six numerical skills after controlling for covariates and prior performance on the skill of interest. Bidirectional relations were found only for EF and nonsymbolic magnitude comparison. We also found that the concurrent relation between EF and count on was higher for children with typical versus persistently low mathematics achievement. All other concurrent and predictive relations were similar for children with typical and persistently low mathematics achievement. Overall, these findings show that the relations between EF and numerical skills are both pervasive and nuanced, such that they vary by timing of assessments (i.e., concurrent or predictive) and numerical skill. These results can inform future theoretical models on the role of EF in numerical development and have practical implications for designing interventions targeting these skill sets in early childhood.

The rhythmic priming effect (RPE) refers to improved language performance (typically grammaticality judgements) following regular rhythmic primes compared to various control conditions. This effect has been observed primarily in French, but also in English and Hungarian. However, a recent implementation by Kim, McLaren & Lee (2024), aiming to replicate the RPE in English (Chern, Tillmann, Vaughan & Gordon, 2018), was not successful, inviting a discussion about the conditions under which the RPE could be observed. We here discuss features of Kim et al.'s (2024) implementation that might have reduced the probability of observing the RPE. Compared to Chern et al. (2018), and numerous other studies reporting the RPE, additional delays after the primes and before each sentence were introduced by Kim et al. (2024). This change might have limited beneficial prime effects, which persist, but decay over time. Further, their instruction to "relax and have some rest" might have reduced attentive processing of the primes and related entrainment. Finally, their sample was small (n =16 per experiment) and with a large age range for investigating typically developing children (7-12y), potentially reducing experimental effects due to development-related individual variations. These methodological changes and sample characteristics are discussed in relation to previous research on the RPE, and entrainment in general. This discussion prompts the need for future research to investigate conditions leading to the RPE, with the aim to shed light on underlying mechanisms. Better understanding the RPE will be critical for the use of rhythmic priming within clinical and educational settings.