Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40100812›Full record

ArticlePsychological science2025

Differentiation in Cognitive Abilities Beyond

Lisa Bardach, Robert Kalinowski, Drew H Bailey

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychological science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Lisa BardachDepartment of Psychology, University of Giessen.ORCID 0000-0002-2168-3117
Robert KalinowskiSchool of Education, University of California, Irvine.
Drew H BaileySchool of Education, University of California, Irvine.

Funding

Department of Education ECLS-K:2011
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Understanding how the structure of cognitive abilities changes depending on age and ability (age and ability differentiation) has critical implications for cognitive-ability assessments and cognitive-developmental theories. Most differentiation research has focused on general intelligence; however, we argue that the investments children make in specific domains and school-taught subjects should rather affect their domain-specific ability structures. Leveraging a representative longitudinal sample of 17,979 U.S. children who were assessed in mathematics, reading, science, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, we found that loadings on a general intelligence factor remained similar, whereas most domain-specific factor loadings increased over time. Hence, age and ability differentiation are conceptually distinct, with the former pertaining to specific abilities and the latter to general intelligence. We find some evidence that domain-specific abilities can compensate for lower general intelligence. Overall, our results encourage a nuanced understanding of children's cognitive development.

Indexed as

AptitudeChild DevelopmentCognitionIntelligenceAge FactorsChildFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMathematicsMemory, Short-TermReadingability differentiationage differentiationchildhoodcircumvention of limitsintelligenceinvestment theoryspecific abilities

Identifiers

PMID40100812
PMCPMC13428966

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.