Origami, drawing and colouring are artistic activities that can be beneficial for cognitive abilities or emotional well-being. However, there is a lack of studies that would investigate and compare ...these activities and their effects within the spatial abilities' domain. The aim of this study was to investigate if and how participating in three artistic activities-colouring, drawing or origami-can enhance spatial abilities. A total of 73 young adults participated in one of the three activities organized as a 7-session training, distributed every third day. Measures of spatial abilities (Spatial Reconstruction Task SRT), Mental Rotation Task MRT), Santa Barbara Solids Task SBST), and Corsi Block Tapping Task Corsi) were administered before (pretest) and after (posttest) the training, as well as at the 6-month follow-up). The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) was administered at the posttest. The results showed no significant interaction between the training group and the measurement time point for the spatial ability tasks. Nevertheless, effect sizes at posttest favor origami and drawing in enhancing more complex spatial abilities (MRT for origami and drawing; SBST for origami; Corsi for drawing), and colouring in strengthening spatial perception (SRT). Some effects have remained for a longer period of time. Origami led to a greater pressure and tension, and colouring to higher interest and enjoyment. These results suggest that artistic activities can potentially contribute to the strengthening of spatial abilities, but it is advised to presented them in a way that reduces frustration and increase participant's enjoyment.
Following the previous research on the contribution of Central and Eastern European (CEE) authors to psychological science, this study aims to expand the research scope by investigating the process ...of internationalization of science in CEE countries which is closely related. The CEE authors belong to the geopolitically sidelined group of European countries. Their presence in psychological journals can be one of the indicators of the success of internationalization in psychology. The aim of this study is to analyse the trends in the scientific productivity of authors from CEE countries in the field of psychology by comparing papers published in CEE journals (published in CEE countries) and non-CEE journals (published in non-CEE countries) for the period 2014–2020. Using a qualitative and quantitative approach, 13,388 scientific papers published in 2089 journals indexed in Scopus were analysed. The goal was to define differences in trends in the paper publication in CEE and non-CEE psychological journals by authors from CEE countries. The results showed that CEE authors mostly published their work in non-CEE journals (69%), with the trend accelerating since 2019. The papers in both types of journals deal with similar topics of which most represented are clinical and health psychology, social psychology and cognitive psychology. The papers published in non-CEE journals mostly have a more complex methodology and greater institutional and international collaboration, which, along with the Anglicanization of CEE journals and the increased presence of CEE authors in psychological publications, confirms the internationalization of psychology.
The study aimed at investigating age and gender differences in cognitive reserve (CR) and whether CR can contribute to everyday and physical activity and fluid reasoning in older adults. Participants ...(N = 294), categorized into three age groups: young-old, middle-old, and old-old, completed the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRIq), the Everyday Activity Questionnaire (EAQ), the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), and the Unbalanced Structure Test (UST). The old-old had significantly lower scores on CRI-Total, CRI-Working activity, and CRI-Leisure time compared to young-old and middle-old. Men showed higher scores than women on all CR subscales except for CRI-Leisure time where no significant difference was found. Younger age and higher CRI-Leisure time predicted higher scores on PASE, EAQ, and UST, while higher scores on CRI-Education predicted EAQ and UST. Higher CR seems to enable a more active and healthier lifestyle, while CRIq is a useful tool in the assessment of cognitive potential in the elderly.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Psychology is one of the most productive social sciences in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. However, authors from CEE countries continue to publish their work in national scientific ...journals and limit scientific collaboration to their own national context more often than their Western colleagues. As a result, their contribution to psychological science is largely unknown to the global community. The current study analyzes trends in paper publication in CEE journals, published in CEE countries, and non-CEE psychology journals, published outside of CEE countries, in the period between 1996 and 2013, as well as differences between these two groups of papers. A total of 3846 papers published in 286 journals by CEE authors were extracted from the Scopus database and subsequently analyzed. Among all published papers, 53.2% were published in 14 CEE journals, while 46.7% of papers were published in 272 non-CEE journals. Several general findings emerged from the analyses: (1) In the period between 1996 and 2004, CEE psychologists published their papers more frequently in CEE journals; (2) after 2007, the number of scientific papers increased overall; (3) after 2011, the difference between CEE and non-CEE papers demonstrated a constant and growing trend in favor of non-CEE journals; (4) while the research topics of papers published in both groups were similar, significant differences were found in the methodology applied, where research that used advanced or complex methodology was more often published in non-CEE journals and single-author and review papers were more often published in CEE journals. The significance of these results for European cohesion processes are discussed.
Cyberchondria is excessive online seeking of health-related information followed by distress. We aimed to examine the effects of cyberchondria and the credibility of the health-related sources on ...recall, and to investigate cyberchondria as a mediator between health anxiety (HA) and recall. Participants (N = 194) read about an alleged disease from sources of various credibility (high, low, neutral), filled in the HA Questionnaire and the Short Cyberchondria Scale, and recalled the information. No effect of source credibility on recall was found. Participants with high cyberchondria recalled more information, even when HA was controlled. Better recall in high HA was mediated by cyberchondria. A direct effect of HA on recall was found only for distorted recall of health information. This indicates different recall patterns in people with high HA depending on their cyberchondria, probably due to elaborated health schemas in cyberchondria, and to the disregard of source credibility in persons with high HA and low cyberchondria.
Kognitivni treninzi predstavljaju intervenciju osmišljenu za unapređenje različitih aspekata kognitivnog funkcioniranja. Najučinkovitiji oblik treninga predstavljaju tzv. multimodalni treninzi, koji ...uključuju aktivnost više kognitivnih procesa i dovode do boljeg transfera stečenih vještina u svakodnevni život. Literatura sugerira kako se u različitoj populaciji videoigre, najpoznatiji primjer multimodalnoga treninga, mogu rabiti za unapređenje kognitivnih funkcija. S obzirom je na njihovu veliku popularnost cilj ovoga preglednog rada prikazati kognitivne mehanizme koji videoigre čine optimalnim medijem za kognitivno osnaživanje te učinke igranja različitih vrsta videoigara na kognitivne funkcije. Konkretno, u radu su prikazana različita teorijska objašnjenja učinkovitosti videoigara, mehanizmi učenja i transfera stečenih vještina. Osim toga, rad je usmjeren na tri najčešće korištene vrste videoigara u kognitivnim treninzima: ozbiljne igre, igre mentalnog treninga i komercijalne igre. Pritom se razmatra njihova učinkovitost kod različitih dobnih skupina i neuropsiholoških bolesnika. Zbog velike raznolikosti komercijalnih igara dan je prikaz dosadašnjih nalaza učinkovitosti različitih žanrova komercijalnih igara u kognitivnom osnaživanju. U posljednjem su dijelu rada dane preporuke istraživačima za daljnje provjere učinkovitosti videoigara kao oblika kognitivnog treninga.
Cognitive training is an intervention aimed at promoting various aspects of cognitive functioning. The most effective programs include the so-called multimodal training, i.e. interventions which include the activity of several cognitive processes and lead to far transfer of training-induced skills to everyday life. Video games represent a well-established example of multimodal training, leading to cognitive empowerment in various populations. Given the popularity of video games, this review aims to present: i) cognitive mechanisms required for gaming which turn video games into an optimal platform for cognitive empowerment and ii) cognitive effects of playing various types of video-games. More specifically, we review the theory behind the efficacy of video games, learning mechanisms promoted by gaming, and mechanisms of transfer. Also, we focus on the three most commonly used video games in cognitive training: serious games, brain training and commercial games, considering their effects in different age groups and neuropsychological patients. Due to the variety of commercial games, the research findings are presented via different genres of commercial games and their effects on cognitive functioning. In the last part of the paper, we give recommendations for future video game research as a form of cognitive training.
In this paper the aspect of collaboration on articles (n = 3017) in scientific journals (n = 384) was analysed, in the field of educational sciences of authors from 15 post- -socialist countries in ...the period from 1996 to 2019. The quantitative data was derived from the base Scopus, and they were complemented with structural interviews conducted with 10 scientists. The purpose of the research is to describe the co-authorship of the addressed groups of scientists and to determine the repercussions of the published articles in the scientific community. The results warn about insufficient representation of international co-authorships and about the low representation of authors from post-socialist countries in internationally relevant journals, which reflects on their low citation and visibility in a wider scientific community.
Numerous studies have investigated the efficacy of various cognitive trainings, with working memory being the most often trained cognitive aspect. In this regard, executive aspects of working memory ...have received the most attention, with updating training being vastly explored. In this study, we aimed to examine the differential contribution of some individual characteristics to the efficacy of updating training using a well-established n-back training paradigm. More specifically, we examined the contribution of fluid reasoning (gf), and personality (neuroticism, conscientiousness) to training efficacy. Participants (N = 47) took part in a 15-session, dual n-back training, spread over 4 weeks. They were pretested for fluid reasoning (CFT-3), personality (IPIP-100), and performed the initial testing on the OSPAN task. OSPAN was measured in three additional measurement points (after 5th, 10th, 15th session). The data was analyzed within the multilevel modeling approach. Initial hypotheses were partly confirmed, in that: 1) training was efficient in terms of OSPAN score, which grew linearly over time and the trajectory was similar between participants, 2) although the growth was similar for all participants, differences were found in intercepts, and 3) these differences could be partly explained by differences in fluid reasoning, but not with personality traits of conscientiousness and neuroticism.
Executive functions enable and support most of our daily cognitive functioning. Within the number of executive functions proposed, updating, inhibition and shifting are most often considered as the ...three core executive functions. Cognitive training paradigms provide a platform for a possible enhancement of these functions. Since updating training has been studied to a greater extent, we wanted to investigate the effectiveness of inhibition and shifting training in this study. Emerging adults (psychology students) were randomly assigned either to the inhibition training (based on the Simon task; n = 36) or to the shifting training (based on the task switching paradigm; n = 35). Both groups underwent twelve 20-minute sessions distributed over four weeks. Measurements before and after the training included criterion tasks (i.e. the training tasks), near-transfer tasks (i.e. tasks that address the trained functions but use different types of stimuli or rules to respond), and far-transfer tasks (i.e., tasks that address untrained cognitive functions). The control participants (n = 36) were tested with a combination of these tasks. Both training groups improved their criteria task performance over time, while convincing training-related gains were not found in either near- or far-transfer tasks. This study raises some conceptual questions for the training of executive functions with respect to a sample of emerging adults with above-average cognitive abilities, motivational elements of training, and the role of executive functions in more complex everyday cognitive activities.
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