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Testing of Recognizing Spatial Intelligence
Malý, Tomáš ; Škutková, Helena (referee) ; Sekora, Jiří (advisor)
This thesis deals with measurement issues in psychology, specifically online diagnostics of spatial abilities. It gives a brief look on psychological construct of intelligence and methods of measuring it, currently in the context of the most spread theory of intelligence C-H-C (Cattell- Horn-Carroll). This thesis focuses on ability called „Visualization“, that is understood as the ability to process visual perceptions and manipulate them in our imagination. The thesis includes functional software, which is made for online computer testing of spatial abilities in children of preschool, or school age.
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Evolution of brain complexity and processing and cognitive capacity in selected vertebrates
Kverková, Kristina ; Němec, Pavel (advisor) ; Stuchlík, Aleš (referee) ; Iwaniuk, Andrew N. (referee)
Brain processing capacity has traditionally been inferred from data on brain size. However, recent studies have shown that similarly sized brains of distantly related species can differ markedly in the number and distribution of neurons, their basic computational units. There- fore, a finer-grained approach is needed to reveal the evolutionary paths to increased cogniti- ve capacity. This quantitative approach to the evolution of brain processing capacity at the cellular level is relatively new, since quick and reliable estimation of the number of neurons in whole brains or large brain regions has only become possible in the past 15 years or so with the introduction of the isotropic fractionator. This method of determining brain cellular com- position is applicable to a wide range of questions. We can assess intraspecific variation, both at the individual and population level, examine the effect of sex and age, and the study se- lection at the intraspecific level. At the other side of the spectrum, we can study large macro- evolutionary trends or try to isolate the effect of specific selective pressures by comparing more closely related and ecologically similar species. In this thesis, I explored variation in brain size and brain cellular composition across vertebrates at both intraspecies and...
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Does growing up surrounded by books improve our cognitive skills as seniors?
Kovácsová, Julie ; Votápková, Jana (advisor) ; Zeynalova, Olesia (referee)
This thesis examines whether growing up surrounded by books has an impact on cognitive skills later in life. Data from SHARE - Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe are used. The variable 'books when ten' is used to determine its effect on variable 'numeracy'. We used also other variables regarding the respondent's age, gender, mental health or family situation. The results of this study show that those who were surrounded by a higher number of books as children perform better at a specific task designed to test cognitive ability when presented with it at an age of over 50 years. The results were obtained using logit model. The finding that access to books can slow down cognitive decline later in life can be used to argue for greater focus on reading and availability of books in schools as well as greater access to books through public libraries, or act as a hint for parents aiming to give their children the greatest possible introduction to life. Keywords books, education, congnitive skills, SHARE Title Does growing up surrounded by books improve our cognitive skills as seniors? Author's e-mail julie.kovacsova@gmail.com Supervisor's e-mail jana.votapkova@fsv.cuni.cz
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The relationship between physical activity and memory in older adults with or without diabetes
Votroubková, Eliška ; Šteffl, Michal (advisor) ; Kinkorová, Ivana (referee)
Title: The relationship between physical activity and memory in older adults with or without diabetes. Objectives: The main goal of my diploma thesis was to determine the effect of physical activity on memory in people over 65 with and without diabetes. Another goal was to find out how much influence the level of education has on the results of memory tests. Methods: This diploma thesis is designed as a cross-sectional study that processes data from the sixth wave of the international project Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The Mann-Whitney U test was used for hypothesis testing in two-category tests. For testing hypotheses with more than two categories, the Kruskal-Wallis test with subsequent post hoc analysis by Mann-Whitney U test with Bonfferoni correction was used. The tested files are described by basic statistical indicators. Population histograms and error bar graphs were used to graphically represent the test results. The data were processed in the statistical program SPSS from IBM and in Microsoft Excel. Results: The results showed a statistically significant positive effect, either for "sports or activities that are vigorous" or for "activities requiring a moderate level of energy" for results in the test of immediate and delayed memory of 10 words. All tests...
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The relationship between physical fitness and selected tests of cognitive functions in pupils of elementary schools
Šula, Marek ; Šteffl, Michal (advisor) ; Větrovský, Tomáš (referee)
Title: The relationship between physical fitness and selected tests of cognitive functions in pupils of elementary schools Objectives: The main aim of the thesis was to estimate the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive abilities among pupils of elementary schools Methods: The thesis was carried out as a cross-sectional study. Pupils aged 8 to 12 years (n = 66; age 9.8 ± 0.8) participated in the study. The cognitive abilities were determined using standardized online tests on the portal www.proskoly.cz, and the physical fitness levels was determined using the test battery Unifittest (6-60) Results: The girls did not differ from the boys in any of the tests. In the overall group, the relationships between cognitive abilities and physical fitness were very weak and statistically not significant. However, in girls, we found indirectly proportional statistically significant (p <0.05) relationships between the Visual Memory test and all the physical fitness tests as well as between the Perception test and Standing Long Jump test, Shuttle Run Agility test, Endurance test, and overall Unifittest (6-60) score. No statistically significant relationship was found in the boys; however, the correlation indicated that the relationships were directly proportional Key words: cognitive abilities,...
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Influence of the natural environment on the development of motor and cognitive abilities of preschool age.
Havířová, Martina ; Opravilová, Eva (advisor) ; Havlová, Jana (referee)
This work deals with the effect the natural environment on the development of motor and cognitive abilities of preschool age. The aim is to determine the effect of education in the natural environment to the level of motor skills and knowledge of preschool children. The theoretical part describes the characteristics of preschool age. Acquaints with the development of motor skills and their training in the natural environment. It also deals with the cognitive component of the preschool child's personality and the possibilities of its development in the countryside. Zooms problems of education in a forest environment, types of learnin and methods of training in the various components of the child's personality just in a forest. The practical part is a qualitative research method used is a questionnaire survey among kindergarten teachers to determine the most commonly used educational environment, the method standardized test for 4-6-year old children to determine the level of motor skills of the children, and the method of diagnostic interview, which examined the effect of natural environments on children's knowledge. Results in agreement with reported literature confirm the positive influence of education in the natural environment for the development of several components of the child's personality.
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Psychological testing in personnel psychology: competency-based selection of hospitality leaders
Šafr, Martin ; Wagnerová, Irena (advisor) ; Štikar, Jiří (referee)
This thesis deals with one of the most debated topics of the Personnel Psychology - the personnel selection. The aim of the thesis is to provide an exhaustive overview of the designing process of the selection procedures with special attention being paid to the various methods of selecting employees. Attention was primarily paid to the effort that the knowledge of the otherwise common methods of selecting employees be put in the new framework and the latest ways of their application. Particular emphasis has been put upon the new approaches to the method of interview, cognitive abilities testing, detection of individual personality at work and new methods in designing assessment centers. An interesting chapter is the use of emotional factors as selection criteria and the application of the attachment theory to work. Considerable extent of the thesis is also devoted to the methods of job analysis and competency modeling, their comparison and applications. Based on the previous theoretical treatise the empirical part attempts at creating a competency model for senior executives in the hotel industry and proposes possible ways of its practical use.
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Pre-school abilities: European comparative study
Neufussová, Monika ; Münich, Daniel (advisor) ; Federičová, Miroslava (referee)
Pre-school education improves cognitive and non-cognitive skills of children, and the positive effects persist to adulthood. The literature provides rich ev- idence of beneficial effects of pre-school, some of them even causal. However, most studies come from the US, and the research lacks a comprehensive pic- ture of European countries concerning pre-school education. I contribute to the research by providing a comparison of European countries regarding pre- school attendance, pre-school skills, and test scores in fourth grade. In Section ??, I focus on the Czech Republic. The results show that more educated moth- ers are more likely to send children to pre-school. In most countries, children with stronger pre-school skills achieve higher results on standardized tests in fourth grade, which supports the idea of the existence of the Matthew effect. In the Czech Republic, pre-school attendance may increase fourth-grade test scores by 0.3 SD. The most important pre-school skill is the ability to read, which is associated with an increase in fourth-grade math achievement of 0.2 SD. The results contribute to the literature on pre-school education in Eu- rope; however, they should not be interpreted causally, as they are essentially a description of the pre-school context in Europe. 1
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Manipulation of physical environment and cognition in primates: Ontogenetic development
Kolářová, Anna ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Hradec, Michal (referee)
Cognition is a crucial factor for primates as it allows properly perceive and respond to the surrounding environment. This thesis is devoted to cognitive phenomena, which are often associated with understanding the physical environment and object manipulation. Much attention is focused on causal reasoning, object permanence and tool using. Particular emphasis is placed on the ontogenesis of these cognitive abilities. One of the main questions is how development differs between humans and non-human primates. Despite the fact that non- human primates, just like humans, have a very complex knowledge of the laws of the physical environment, causal reasoning and object permanence develops in a very similar way for these related species, but far from the same way. A large disparity is observed mainly in the area of the pace of development. Tool use in humans and non-human primates is strongly influenced by social learning and traditions. Key words: primates, physical environment, cognitive abilities, causal reasoning, object permanence, object manipulation, tool using, ontogeny
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