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Possibilities of working memory training and the influence on cognitive functions
Páchová, Anna ; Rendl, Miroslav (advisor) ; Preiss, Marek (referee) ; Lukavský, Jiří (referee)
TITLE: The possibilities of working memory training and the influence on cognitive functions AUTHOR: Anna Páchová DEPARTMENT: Psychology SUPERVISOR: PhDr. Miroslav Rendl, CSc. ABSTRACT: The topic of the PhD thesis was to explore the possibilities of the cognitive development using the training of the basal functions. The analysis of literature showed that (1) working memory (WM) is considered to be the function, which is frequently associated with higher cognitive processes and (2) core training can improve the WM capacity and this improvement seems to be transferred to other types of memory. The transfer to higher cognitive functions (intelligence) was not confirmed unanimously. Training programs were evaluated usually in different groups of individuals but none of these studies considered the possibility of WM training in context of the socio-cultural handicap, even if low SES children achieve poorer performance in cognitive tests including tests of WM. Therefore the aim of this study was to verify the possibilities of WM training on cognitive development with special interest in low SES children. We designed a 400-minutes WM training PC program, which was applied on two groups of children with different SES (low SES - Roma children, middle/high SES - Czech children). The results showed that both groups...
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Career choice in adolescence: role of gender stereotypes and identification with mathematics
Louda, Petr ; Smetáčková, Irena (advisor) ; Rendl, Miroslav (referee)
Career choice in education and the acquired/achieved level of education are factors that influence social status of men and women. Despite the fact that women, on average, currently achieve a higher level of education than men, women's marketplace status and their height of salary often do not correspond to it. One of the reasons is a low proportion of women in mathematics-related subjects. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of gender stereotypes and identification with mathematics in career choice. In the theoretical part of this thesis, I introduce the basic terms related to gender and gender stereotypes, the role gender plays in institutions and the potential causes of gender differences in the performance in mathematics. In the empirical part, I analyse data from a questionnaire study investigating career choice, level of identification with mathematics, attitudes to courses in the curriculum and the level of gender stereotypes in Czech adolescents. The results suggest few differences between girls and boys in these areas. However, the level of identification with mathematics and the level of gender stereotypes in the career area are related to the educational career choice.
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School, family, leisure time and values of prague students - the changes during twenty years
Míšková, Aneta ; Rendl, Miroslav (advisor) ; Štech, Stanislav (referee)
5 Abstract The thesis focuses on comparison of three files of Prague pupils from years 1991, 2002 and 2011 in the areas of family background, plans relating to career, education, value preferences and ways of spending free time. It consists of two parts: theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part is divided into three chapters. The first chapter deals with the family and common activities of parents and children. It is aimed at the support and assistance of parents with children's homework and the influence of family and family members on the choice of subsequent educational pathways. The second and third chapter is devoted to value orientations of students and their leisure activities. The practical part is devoted to the presentation of data acquired through questionnaires with pupils of the eighth grade. These data were compared to data obtained in 1991 and 2002 at the same age pupils in the same schools in Prague. When comparing the data the focus is on several key areas: education and profession of parents, parental reaction due to the child's school success, the choice of secondary school from the point of view of students and parents, the value preferences of students and their leisure activities.
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Solving mathematical problems of pupil with Asperger's Syndrome
Bonaventurová, Anna ; Sotáková, Hana (advisor) ; Rendl, Miroslav (referee)
The thesis deals with a student with Asperger Syndrome (hereinafter referred to as "AS") and his procedures for processing mathematical tasks. In the theoretical part is introduced the background of this diagnosis, with emphasis on the description of cognitive specifics and deficits. The research part presents a work with a student suffering from the AS who is integrated into a regular school. It is a case study - one of the possible designs of qualitative research. The goal is a deeper understanding of the cognitive mechanisms in AS based on case studies, or the description of the impact of deficits and the specifics of cognition to solve mathematical problems. This approach can be considered to be relatively new as the attention is often paid to the external manifestations i. e. the behavior of people with AS instead of examining the internal causes of the issues. The research results can help to understand the different autistic perception and processing of information. This understanding is important, because of an increasing number of integrated pupils with the AS diagnoses in mainstream schools. Therefore it is desirable to understand this issue in relation to the school and school success. Keywords Asperger Syndrome, Mathematics, Cognitive deficits, Cognitive style
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Tales of scientific talent - a qualitative study of the development of gifted young adults
Holčáková, Martina ; Mudrák, Jiří (advisor) ; Rendl, Miroslav (referee)
The present bachelor's thesis focuses on the problems of gifted students, specifically on the students gifted in natural sciences. Methodologically, it represents a qualitative multiple-case study in which I explored in detail educational careers of four cases, i.e. individual students gifted in science. In the theoretical part, I introduced the basic concepts and theories of giftedness. In the following empirical part I conducted semi-structured interviews with the participants which were subsequently processed by thematic analysis. The main goal of the study is to analyze the factors that may shape the development of the scientific talent. I strive to understand the meaning, which the talent acquired in the lives of researched individuals and how it influenced their perspective of their future professional careers.
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Comprehension of syntactic structures in young school-age children
Schöffelová, Miroslava ; Rendl, Miroslav (advisor) ; Šulová, Lenka (referee) ; Kesselová, Jana (referee)
TITLE: Comprehension of syntactic structures in young school-age children ABSTRACT: The thesis deals with the comprehension of syntactic structures in children attending the second grade of elementary school which was part of a larger research project exploring assumptions regarding reading and writing. The comprehension of syntactic structures was studied using an experimental version of a test which monitors the processing of different types of simple phrases and sentences. Data show the level of comprehension of children at this age, how the children understand the sentences, and what the most common mistakes are. We were able to identify the different strategies that are used in the processing of sentences and explain some of the typical ways to erroneous interpretations of sentences using the concepts described in literature. We also investigated relationships with other skills. In addition to analysis of the role of memory in sentence comprehension, the work deals mainly with the relationship between reading efficiency and reading comprehension. The results show the relationship between these variables in the Slovak language, and compare the findings with data from studies in other languages. KEY WORDS: Comprehension of syntactic structures, process of comprehension, thematic roles, comprehension...
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Stereotype threat and women's math performance in Czech schools
Rubín, Tomáš ; Smetáčková, Irena (advisor) ; Rendl, Miroslav (referee)
One of possible explanations of under-representation of women in math-related jobs is that they can be under influence of stereotype threat. This threat can operate in situations where one has to show performance and simultaneously feels the risk of being evaluated through stereotypes. This thesis explores almost 20 years history of research on this topic and explains some related processes that operate through this threat. In the study reported here we try to prove the existence of stereotype threat in Czech girl who are 14 years old. We conduct an experiment in which we test the impact of heightened salience on actual performance of math-identified girls. For the purpose of this study we translated Mathematics Identification Questionnaire into Czech language. This instrument was used in our country for the first time. Although some results indicate an influence of stereotype threat, this evidence is weak. Limits and future research challenges are discussed in the end of thesis. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Ecological validity research of Attention test
Bláhová, Lucie ; Preiss, Marek (advisor) ; Rendl, Miroslav (referee)
This bachelor thesis focuses on the issue of attention research, mainly from the neuropsychological point of view. It is an empirical study divided into two parts: The first theoretical part introduces the history of attention research, defines attention and presents the current theories of attention: Broadbent's Filter model, The Feature-Integration theory from Anne Treisman, David LaBerge's theory and Michael Posner's concept of attention. The second part of the work, the empirical part, is based on the discussed concept of attention, mainly from neuropsychologist Michael Posner. The purpose of the research study is to explore the ecological validity of Michael Posner's attention test - Attention network test (ANT). The following questionnaires were chosen as the methods for measuring the real-life attention: CFQ (Cognitive failure questionnaire), EMQ (Everyday memory questionnaire) and DEX (Dysexecutive questionnaire). The results of the study did not confirm the significant statistical correlation between results in Attention Network Test and scores in self-reported questionnaires, but the bachelor thesis' contribution's to ecological validity research can still be seen. KEYWORDS: Attention, Attention research, Ecological validity, ANT, Cognitive failure
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Psychological aspects of the late diagnosis of AS
Adámková, Jana ; Sotáková, Hana (advisor) ; Rendl, Miroslav (referee)
The principal purpose of this bachelor's thesis is to survey the psychological aspects of a late diagnosis (in adolescence and later) of the Asperger syndrome (also known as the Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's disorder). For this purpose the author has identified the theoretical assumptions on the basis of which she addresses the impacts of the identification of a diagnosis on the persons' mental state, emphasising the specifics of this process for the diagnosis of the Asperger syndrome. The author then uses these assumptions for performing a qualitative analysis of the testimonies of some people in whom the Asperger syndrome was diagnosed after the age of 30. The respondents talk about their lives prior to learning of their Asperger syndrome, about the influence that this new information has had on them, about the way in which they made the decision to undergo diagnostics, and of what they were afraid and in what they hoped. The conclusion of the thesis summarises the areas with which the identification of an Asperger syndrome diagnosis interferes. KEY WORDS Asperger syndrome diagnostics adulthood psychological aspects
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Self-confidence in children perspecitve
Křížová, Ivana ; Smetáčková, Irena (advisor) ; Rendl, Miroslav (referee)
English abstract This work aims to describe children's understanding of self-concept and its manifestations and to compare them with the conception of self-concept as professional psychology. These ideas, I looked at two groups of students 6th class of elementary school with the help of a questionnaire. The aim is to identify overlaps and differences in the concept of self-confindence children and professional theories. To understand the theoretical context of the topic, I met with the theories of Pavlina Janosová, Viera Bacova, Daniela Sedlackova, Marek Blatny and Zdenek Helus, whose concept then compare with the concept of children.
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