Cultural Differences in Neuropsychological Abilities Required to Perform Intelligence Tasks
Abstract
Different studies have demonstrated that culture has a basic role in intelligence tests performance. Nevertheless, the specific
neuropsychological abilities used by different cultures to perform an intelligence test have never been explored. In this
study, we examine the differences between Spaniards and Moroccans in the neuropsychological abilities utilized to perform
the Beta III as a non-verbal intelligence test. The results showed that the Spaniard group obtained a higher IQ than the Moroccan
group in the Beta III. Moreover, the neuropsychological abilities that predicted scores for the Beta III were dependent on
the country of origin and were different for each subtest. Besides showing the cultural effect on non-verbal intelligence
test performance, our results suggest that a single test may measure different functions, depending on the subject's cultural
background.
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Available from: Ahmed Fasfous, Jan 11, 2015
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- ReferencesReferences59
- "Although performance on intelligence tests such as the APM appears not to be sensitive to cultural differences (Raven, 2000), several recent studies indicate that culture has an effect on intelligence tests performance (e.g. Das, Sarnath, Nakayama, & Janzen, 2013; Fasfous et al., 2013 ). Evidence also exists for cultural differences in impulsive behavior (Lee & Kacen, 2008). "
[Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Lozano's (2015) finding that impulsivity was only significantly related to the item-position effect of Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices may provide important insight into the outcomes of previous research that reported a negative relationship between impulsivity and intelligence. We collected data from two large samples of university students to replicate the finding of Lozano and to further examine whether the finding can be generalized to another intelligence test (Horn's reasoning scale). Since executive attention has been found to show a substantial correlation with the position component of intelligence, measures of executive attention were also administered to explore whether the relationship between impulsivity and the item-position effect of intelligence is due to their overlap with executive attention. Our results indicated that impulsivity was not related to the position and ability components of intellgence. Executive attention showed the expected relationship with the position effect of intelligence, but showed only a modest relationship with impulsivity. We conclude that the relationship of impulsivity with the item-position effect of intelligence should be interpreted cautiously before further evidence is accumulated.- "Only 13 tests had normative data in some Arab countries (Fasfous et al., 2014). Literature reveals a cultural effect on neuropsychological tests (e.g., Ardila, 1995, 2005; Greenfield, 1997; Puente, Perez-Garcia, Vilar-Lopez, Hidalgo-Ruzzante, & Fasfous, 2013). Recently, of the few neuropsychological studies in the Arab world, different works demonstrate that there is cultural difference in neuropsychological performance between Arabs and individuals from other cultures (e.g., Fasfous, Hidalgo-Ruzzante, Vilar-Lopez, Catena-Martinez, & Perez-Garcia, 2013; Sobeh & Spijkers, 2013). "
[Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Batería de Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil (BENCI) is a computerized battery for the neuropsychological evaluation of children. This battery has been used in different studies to evaluate neuropsychological functions and neurodevelopment in children. The objective of this study is to test the validity and reliability of the first Arabic version of the BENCI on an Arabic population where neuropsychological tests are very scarce. We administrate the BENCI to 198 school-age children (98 boys and 100 girls) from Morocco. To examine the test retest reliability of the BENCI battery, we administered the battery 2 times to 43 children (23 boys and 20 girls) with 15 days in between the pre- and posttest. The results revealed good validity and reliability of the battery in Arabic children. Also, the BENCI battery has demonstrated the capacity to differentiate between children by their age group. This battery can be of great use to both the research and clinical areas of Arabic countries and/or in assistance to Arabic immigrants that live outside of their native country.- [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Purpose: Immigrants have heightened risks of psychotic disorders, and it is proposed that migration influences symptom profiles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if either migration experience and/or visible minority status affected symptom profiles, using a cross-culturally validated five-factor model of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), in patients with broadly defined psychotic disorders. Methods: PANSS was assessed in a large catchment area based sample of patients with psychotic disorders verified with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (n = 1,081). Symptom profiles based on Wallwork et al. five-factor model were compared for Norwegians (73 %), white immigrants (10.5 %), and visible minority groups (16.5 %). Results: Visible minorities were significantly younger, had less education, more often a schizophrenia diagnosis and higher PANSS positive, negative and disorganized/concrete factor scores than Norwegians and white immigrants. After controlling for confounders only the items "Delusions" and "Difficulty in abstract thinking" differed between groups. Multivariate analyses indicated that these items were not associated with immigration per se, but rather belonging to a visible minority. Conclusion: We found mostly similarities in psychotic symptoms between immigrants and Norwegians when using a cross-culturally validated five-factor model of the PANSS. Immigration did not directly influence psychotic symptom profiles but visible minority groups had higher levels of "Delusions" and "Difficulty in abstract thinking", both symptoms that are partially context dependent.
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