Open research questions in Cognitive Abilities and Testing

What the literature leaves open

• Establishing measurement invariance across different populations can be challenging due to differences in cognitive profiles and test-taking behaviors. The study had to relax equality constraints on certain subtest intercepts to establish partial scalar invariance. Interpreting WISC-V scores in clinical settings can be challenging due to the lack of established measurement invariance.

  Measurement Invariance of the WISC-V across a Clinical Sample of Children and Adolescents with ADHD and a Matched Control Group · 2024 · DOI

• Prior research has highlighted the importance of considering measurement invariance when interpreting test scores, but few studies have investigated measurement invariance of the WISC-V across ADHD and control groups. There is a need to establish the measurement invariance of the WISC-V across different populations.

  Measurement Invariance of the WISC-V across a Clinical Sample of Children and Adolescents with ADHD and a Matched Control Group · 2024 · DOI

• The current literature is limited in exploring the factors influencing NFC development. Empirical studies on the developmental trajectory of NFC are currently limited. Research into the factors that influence NFC development is even scarcer.

  A Theoretical Framework for the Development of Need for Cognition in Childhood and Adolescence · 2024 · DOI

• The study faced the challenge of measuring Need for Cognition and self-efficacy accurately. The experiment required controlling for the visibility of the test subject's performance to others. The study had to ensure that the task battery was cognitively demanding and relevant for Need for Cognition-typical behavior.

  Yes, I Can: The Interplay of Need for Cognition and Task Confidence in Cognitive Task Performance · 2024 · DOI

• There is a need for direct evidence for generational IQ test score and positive manifold strength changes. The study aims to address this gap by analyzing IQ test standardization data from Austria.

  Increasing IQ Test Scores and Decreasing g: The Flynn Effect and Decreasing Positive Manifold Strengths in Austria (2005–2018) · 2024 · DOI

• Future research is suggested to further explore the relationship between CR and sex.

  Sex Differences in Cognitive Reflection: A Meta-Analysis · 2024 · DOI

• Prior studies have not fully explored the moderating effect of the type of cognitive reflection test on sex differences in cognitive reflection. There is a need for a comprehensive meta-analytic review of sex differences in cognitive reflection.

  Sex Differences in Cognitive Reflection: A Meta-Analysis · 2024 · DOI

• Recent reports suggest that the Flynn effect may be becoming less consistent, but the causes of this inconsistency are unclear. The study aims to address this gap by examining changes in figural reasoning performance.

  Measurement-Invariant Fluid Anti-Flynn Effects in Population—Representative German Student Samples (2012–2022) · 2024 · DOI

• A lack of generalization to children. The impact of the practice effects. A small sample size. The results of the WISC-V vs. WAIS-5 do not generalize to any other age group except 16-year-olds.

  Wait, Where’s the Flynn Effect on the WAIS-5? · 2024 · DOI

• The results of the WISC-V vs. WAIS-5 do not generalize to any other age group except 16-year-olds. There is a lack of knowledge of the contemporary Flynn effect for anyone ages 15 and younger.

  Wait, Where’s the Flynn Effect on the WAIS-5? · 2024 · DOI

• The study highlights the need to investigate the unique contribution of age and its interaction with sex to the development of the effects.

  The Development of Cognitive Control in Preschoolers and Kindergarteners: The Case of Post-Error Slowing and Delayed Disinhibition · 2024 · DOI

• The study faced the challenge of modeling Need for Cognition as a latent variable due to its complexity. The study had to address the issue of random measurement error affecting stability estimations. The study used parceling to alleviate psychometric problems and improve modeling efficiency.

  Becoming a “Hungry Mind”: Stability and Change in Need for Cognition across Adolescence · 2024 · DOI

• The study did not investigate the causes of the changes in Need for Cognition. The study used a specific sample of Flemish schools. The study had a limited number of measurement points.

  Becoming a “Hungry Mind”: Stability and Change in Need for Cognition across Adolescence · 2024 · DOI

• Metacognition is not a single domain-general trait and is influenced by context. The expression of intelligence is dependent on internal and external factors. There is a need to elucidate the internal, personal factors and external, contextual factors that influence the accuracy of one's metacognitive monitoring and the effectiveness of their metacognitive control in a given situation.

  A Special Issue Introduction: The Intersection of Metacognition and Intelligence · 2024 · DOI

• The implementation of cognitive interventions within the school setting has been lacking. A larger body of research that examines the efficacy of CCT interventions during the school day is needed.

  Supporting Learning Differences: Effects of Cognitive Training on Cognitive Abilities in a School-Based Sample · 2024 · DOI

• The current understanding of intelligence is limited by traditional theories and standardized measures. The focus on group differences in intelligence has overlooked within-group variability and the complexities of intersectional identities. The need to recognize the value of difference, positionality, and other ways of knowing in the context of intelligence.

  Contextualizing Positionality, Intersectionality, and Intelligence in the Anthropocene · 2024 · DOI

• Ensuring that the short forms are Rasch-scalable and have a uniform underlying ability. Balancing the need for a shorter test with the need to maintain the validity and reliability of the assessment.

  Validation of the Short Parallel and Extra-Short Form of the Heidelberg Figural Matrices Test (HeiQ) · 2024 · DOI

• The need for shorter forms of the HeiQ that can be used in study designs where time is limited. The lack of short forms that maintain the psychometric properties of the original HeiQ. The need for a more efficient assessment of fluid intelligence.

  Validation of the Short Parallel and Extra-Short Form of the Heidelberg Figural Matrices Test (HeiQ) · 2024 · DOI

• The relationship between game-related assessments and traditional measures of cognitive ability is not well understood. There is a need to examine the correlation between game-related assessments and traditional cognitive ability measures, considering the measurement scope and medium of cognitive ability.

  The Relationship Between Game-Related Assessment and Traditional Measures of Cognitive Ability—A Meta-Analysis · 2024 · DOI

• The positive relation between mental health and educational attainment is well established, yet the extent to which cognitive abilities influence this gradient or independently predict mental health outcomes remains unclear.

  Cognitive Abilities and Educational Attainment as Antecedents of Mental Disorders: A Total Population Study of Males · 2025 · DOI

• Metacognitive monitoring is not really personal at all; it can be directly affected by how one views themselves in the social context in which monitoring occurs. Students' estimates of their quiz scores were significantly predicted by their self-view of their general scientific ability as compared with others.

  A Special Issue Introduction: The Intersection of Metacognition and Intelligence · 2024 · DOI

• It notes that previous studies have shown mixed results, with some finding differences in favor of boys and others finding no differences.

  Intellectual Differences Between Boys and Girls, 35 Years of Evolution in France from WISC-R to WISC-V · 2024 · DOI

• Few studies have examined how multifaceted neighborhood contexts relate to individual changes in cortical maturation patterns.

  Individual differences in adolescent cortical development are associated with neighborhood characteristics: Longitudinal findings from the ABCD study · 2026 · DOI

• Investigating the development of PES and DD effects in older children and adults, - Examining the relationship between intelligence, response time, and cognitive control in different…

  The Development of Cognitive Control in Preschoolers and Kindergarteners: The Case of Post-Error Slowing and Delayed Disinhibition · 2024 · DOI

• Investigating changes in Intellect during other critical periods, - Examining the relationship between Intellect and other personality…

  The Development of Intellect in Emerging Adults: Predictors of Longitudinal Trajectories · 2024 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Cognitive Abilities and Testing

• Executive Functions · Annual Review of Psychology · 2012 · 11,327 citations
• The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. · Psychological Review · 1996 · 4,159 citations
• The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. · Psychological Bulletin · 1996 · 3,922 citations
• Testing for competence rather than for "intelligence." · American Psychologist · 1973 · 2,465 citations
• A Developmental Perspective on Executive Function · Child Development · 2010 · 2,061 citations
• Magnitude of sex differences in spatial abilities: A meta-analysis and consideration of critical variables. · Psychological Bulletin · 1995 · 2,023 citations
• Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups · Science · 2010 · 1,912 citations
• Low-Level Environmental Lead Exposure and Children’s Intellectual Function: An International Pooled Analysis · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2005 · 1,816 citations
• Development of the adolescent brain: implications for executive function and social cognition · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · 2006 · 1,664 citations
• Individual Differences in Inhibitory Control and Children's Theory of Mind · Child Development · 2001 · 1,411 citations

Most recent work

• Does AI increase cognitive abilities, decrease them, or a little bit of each? And what are its implications for identification and development of the gifted? · Frontiers in Education · 2026
• Task complexity and AI dependency among college students: the mediating roles of cognitive load, future anxiety, and task motivation · BMC Psychology · 2026
• A comprehensive psychometrics of cognitive ability measures: Reliability, practice effects, and the stability of latent factor structures across retesting · Behavior Research Methods · 2026
• Contributions from Long-Term Memory Explain Superior Visual Working Memory Performance with Meaningful Objects · Journal of Neuroscience · 2026
• Family socioeconomic status, executive function and children’s academic achievement: gender differences · Current Psychology · 2026
• Number of living siblings, social engagement, and cognitive decline among older Mexican adults · Social Science & Medicine · 2026
• Not all twins are identical: the geography of “twin” transition market applications · Applied Geography · 2026
• Outcomes of Varied Activities in Working Memory Training for Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial · Developmental Science · 2026
• Calibrating growth mindset about intelligence: Increased blame, effort misperception, and a genes-and-growth solution for blame. · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · 2026
• Personality and well-being are genetically associated: Extending previous twin and molecular genetic studies · European Journal of Personality · 2026

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