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Mutualistic Coupling Between Vocabulary and Reasoning Supports Cognitive Development During Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Kievit, Rogier A 
Lindenberger, Ulman 
Goodyer, Ian M 
Jones, Peter B 
Fonagy, Peter 

Abstract

One of the most replicable findings in psychology is the positive manifold: the observation that individual differences in cognitive abilities are universally positively correlated. Investigating the developmental origin of the positive manifold is crucial to understanding it. In a large longitudinal cohort of adolescents and young adults ( N = 785; n = 566 across two waves, mean interval between waves = 1.48 years; age range = 14-25 years), we examined developmental changes in two core cognitive domains, fluid reasoning and vocabulary. We used bivariate latent change score models to compare three leading accounts of cognitive development: g-factor theory, investment theory, and mutualism. We showed that a mutualism model, which proposes that basic cognitive abilities directly and positively interact during development, provides the best account of developmental changes. We found that individuals with higher scores in vocabulary showed greater gains in matrix reasoning and vice versa. These dynamic coupling pathways are not predicted by other accounts and provide a novel mechanistic window into cognitive development.

Description

Keywords

cognitive development, fluid reasoning, longitudinal modeling, mutualism, open data, vocabulary

Journal Title

Psychological Science

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0956-7976
1467-9280

Volume Title

28

Publisher

SAGE
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (107392/Z/15/Z)
Wellcome Trust (095844/Z/11/Z)
Medical Research Council (MC_UP_1401/1)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00005/9)
The Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network is supported by a strategic award from the Wellcome Trust to the University of Cambridge and University College London (095844/Z/11/Z). R. A. Kievit is supported by the Wellcome Trust (Grant No. 107392/Z/15/Z) and the UK Medical Research Council (MC-A060-5PR61). P. Fonagy is funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator Award (NF-SI-0514-10157). P. Fonagy was in part supported by the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) North Thames at Barts Health National Health Service (NHS) Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the UK Department of Health.