Advances in Cognitive Sciences
Year:2013 | Volume:15 | Issue:2 (58)|Papers Count:10

Introduction: Empathy is a basic human capacity in communication that has emotional and cognitive components. In present study, we evaluated the role of theory of mind and executive function in predicting empathy.Method: To this end, 150 children from primary and secondary school were selected by multi- stage cluster method from the arak city schools. In this study, for measure empathy, Eisenberg, Febs, Eskarlou questionnaire were used. For measure theory of mind, Stepman questionnaire and for measure executive functions, tower sub score of Nepsi Test were used. For the analysis data, regression and correlation analysis method was used.Result: A) The correlation between empathy and both theory of mind and executive function were significant. B) Theory of mind and executive function were both able to predict empathy. C) Executive function could predict empathy better than theory of mind. D) Age was the best predictor of empathy.Conclusion: Executive function and theory of mind affect people's empathy. Since cognitive training is one of the common methods of training, to increase people's empathy, we can emphasize on the training variables such as executive functions and theory of mind.

Introduction: Activity of daily living requires cognitive abilities and mean while the cognitive deficits can be reflected from the daily activity. The purpose of the present study was to design a cognitive abilities questionnaire, to perform factor analysis and to determine its validity and reliability.Method: The present research was carried out within three separate cross sectional study phases.1070 individuals participated in the first phase of the study in which we did the factor analysis for the preliminary version of the questionnaire.50 students participated in a test- retest study with two to three weeks delay and 101 older adults completed the questionnaire in order have its discriminative validity determined. Komolnogrov-Smirnof, Factor analysis and t- test were used for data analysis.Results: Exploratory factor analysis showed seven factors including memory, inhibitory control, selective attention, decision making, planning, sustain attention, social cognition and cognitive flexibility. The results indicated quite a strong Cronbach's alpha (0.834) and Pearson correlation test showed a significant correlation in the test- retest analysis (p<0.01). Pearson test showed a notable correlation between the average and all cognitive ability domains (all p values<0.01). Furthermore, t- test demonstrated a significant difference between all domains of cognitive abilities except planning and social cognition (p<0.001).Conclusion: The designed questionnaire showed to acquire a proper reliability and validity for evaluation of cognitive abilities. Evaluating the activity of daily living appears to be a good measure for cognitive abilities.

Introduction: The process of recalling not only receives influence from the memory strength and learning, but also affected by the study and testing circumstances and the interaction of both. This research investigated the effects of time pressure and changes in tasks' sequence on free recall.Methods: 166 students were randomly selected using the multiple-stage sampling and were enrolled in our experiments. Four designed experiments were carried out to assess the effects of time pressure to rehears the words on recall. Likewise, to examine the effects of test priority, first group learned each word via the elaborative rehearsal method, and the maintenance rehearsal in the future task. The other group accomplished the same tasks following a change in tasks’ sequence. Other experiments were implemented using the same method for the verbal and action memory tasks.Results: Our results showed that access to the products of elaborative rehearsal is more compromised by time pressure than the maintenance rehearsal. Recalled words rehearsed via maintenance were significantly more in number when implemented as first task. Meanwhile, the superiority of action memory over verbal memory in all experiments was noted.Conclusions: Despite the fact that elaborative rehearsal is known to be a more efficacious learning strategy, since this method needs higher levels of mental and time resources, its efficacy is much decreased under time pressure. Novelty factor affects the maintenance rehearsal more than other methods as this strategy needs less data processing. Finally, the rich encoding in action memory which is resulted from a higher physical and sensory experience appears to improve the free recall.

Background: Phantom limb and phantom pain are amongst the most common problems in amputees. A relatively large number of war veterans with an amputated limbs suffer from these complications. We aimed to determine the frequency of phantom pain and phantom sensation among Iranian war victims as well as defining their determinant factors.Method: We assessed all war victim patient charts in Khatam Al-Aanbia Hospital during the second half of 2010. Frequency of phantom pain and sensation and some related indicators such as demographic factors, history of prosthesis use, depression and anxiety were determined.Result: 96 files were reviewed with the patients’ mean age of 46.2±7.9 years having experienced amputation at the mean age of 23.03±7.8 years. Forty patients (%41.7) had phantom pain and 27 cases (%28.4) reported phantom sensation while 39 patients (%40.6) had stump pain. Phantom pain and sensation were more frequent in the upper extremities. The study could not detect any association between the side and level of amputation and depression or anxiety, and neither with phantom pain or sensation. The use of prosthesis significantly correlated with decreased phantom pain.Conclusion: Phantom pain appeared to be quite prevalent among amputee war veterans even several years after the event. The use of prosthesis seems to lower the incidence of phantom pain and phantom sensation. Although some complication of amputation including phantom sensation and phantom limb tend to remain for several years, depression does not seem to play a crucial role in this respect.

Background and aim: the close and efficientmother-childinteraction is shown to result in the proper formation of the child's psychological characteristics. Child's theory of mind (TOM) is one of his/her abilities receiving influence within this relationship. This ability is suggested to be partly determined by the maternal emotional intelligence. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the maternal emotional intelligence and children's TOM.Methods: a total of 189 chilren aged 4-5 years (102 boys, 87 girls) were included in this study. The measurement instruments used in this study comprised Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) and 3 samples of the common False Belief Tasks (FBT).Results: our results indicated a significant relationship between the total maternal emotional intelligence score and children's FBT. Results also demonstrated that among the components of the emotional intelligence, utilization of emotions was the sole variale which significantly correlated with the children's TOM ability.Conclusions: Our current findings suggest that parents should have some emotional awareness and appropriately express their emotional reactions in order to act as suitable role models for their children. Moreover, parents need to be well versed in taking appropriate steps when discussing emotions with their children. This would improve children's emotional awareness and regulation and consequently secure their position with respect to perspective taking and theory of mind as they age.

Objective: The aim of current study was to examine the impact of cognitive processing and holographic reprocessing on posttraumatic symptoms improvement.Method: This semi-experimental study targeted a sample size comprising boy students at first, second and third high school grades in Uromia (N=10286). Having utilized traumatic events screening inventory and SCL-90 R on 1000 randomly selected subjects, 129 students were recognized to have experienced traumatic events. The clinical interviews were conducted on sixty who were likewise randomly selected. Then, the selected sample was randomized into three groups subjected to cognitive processing therapy, holographic reprocessing and placebo. In pre- and post-test settings, these groups responded to the traumatic symptoms checklist. Collected data were analyzed via MANCOVA and BONFRONY tests.Results: Our results indicated a significant deference among the three groups with regard to total traumatic symptoms checklist score and especially for anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and dissociation dimensions.Conclusion: according to these results, the two the rapeutic approached appeared to be equally effective in reducing total posttraumatic symptoms. However, cognitive processing was a more effective method for trauma-related depression and holographic reprocessing a more effective approach for trauma-related anxiety, dissociative symptoms and PTSD.

Objective: The current investigation studied the cross-relationship between the Emotional Control, Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Obsessive Beliefs amongst high school female students in Rasht city.Method: the study sample comprised 302 girl students from governmental sector schools of Rasht city whom were selected through the cluster random sampling method. The instruments which were employed in this correlation study included the Emotional Control, Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Obsessive Belief Questionnaires.Results: the obtained data analyzed by the stepwise multiple regression method showed four significant steps predicting the obsessive beliefs. In first place, self-blame showed the most significant relation with obsessive beliefs (b=0.37). In the second step, self-blame (b=0.27) and acceptance (b=0.20) were the most important predictive factors for the obsessive beliefs. In the third step, self-blame (b=0.25), acceptance (b=0.17) and rehearsal (b=0.13) revealed an 18% variance of criterion variables and in the last step, the four mostly predictive variables were the self-blame (b=0.24), acceptance (b=0.13), rehearsal (b=0.16) and reappraisal (b=0.12).Conclusion: The current survey suggested that obsessive beliefs retain a notable relationship with self-blame. Moreover, self-blame, acceptance, rehearsal and reappraisal appeared to be the most relevant predictive variables for the obsessive beliefs