Papers by São Luís Castro
A memória é uma componente envolvida em diversas perturbações, e os casos onde a linguagem se enc... more A memória é uma componente envolvida em diversas perturbações, e os casos onde a linguagem se encontra comprometida não são excepção. Assim, torna-se importante dispor de instrumentos que avaliem a memória em geral, e a memória verbal em particular, no contexto das perturbações de linguagem. no presente trabalho serão apresentadas duas provas de memória adaptadas ao português a partir das homónimas que integram a bateria pAlpA (Kay, lesser & coltheart, 1992): a Amplitude de memória de dígitos e a Amplitude de memória de sequências substantivo-verbo. pAlAvrAs-chAve: memória; linguagem; pAlpA.
A memória é uma componente envolvida em diversas perturbações, e os casos onde a linguagem se enc... more A memória é uma componente envolvida em diversas perturbações, e os casos onde a linguagem se encontra comprometida não são excepção. Assim, torna-se importante dispor de instrumentos que avaliem a memória em geral, e a memória verbal em particular, no contexto das perturbações de linguagem. no presente trabalho serão apresentadas duas provas de memória adaptadas ao português a partir das homónimas que integram a bateria pAlpA (Kay, lesser & coltheart, 1992): a Amplitude de memória de dígitos e a Amplitude de memória de sequências substantivo-verbo. pAlAvrAs-chAve: memória; linguagem; pAlpA.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Sep 1, 2007
& The aim of this study was to determine whether musical expertise influences the detection of pi... more & The aim of this study was to determine whether musical expertise influences the detection of pitch variations in a foreign language that participants did not understand. To this end, French adults, musicians and nonmusicians, were presented with sentences spoken in Portuguese. The final words of the sentences were prosodically congruous (spoken at normal pitch height) or incongruous (pitch was increased by 35% or 120%). Results showed that when the pitch deviations were small and difficult to detect (35%: weak prosodic incongruities), the level of performance was higher for musicians than for nonmusicians. Moreover, analysis of the time course of pitch processing, as revealed by the event-related brain potentials to the prosodically congruous and incongruous sentence-final words, showed that musicians were, on average, 300 msec faster than nonmusicians to categorize prosodically congruous and incongruous endings. These results are in line with previous ones showing that musical expertise, by increasing discrimination of pitch-a basic acoustic parameter equally important for music and speech prosody-does facilitate the processing of pitch variations not only in music but also in language. Finally, comparison with previous results [Scho ¨n, D., Magne, C., & Besson, M. The music of speech: Music training facilitates pitch processing in both music and language. Psychophysiology, 41, 341-349, 2004] points to the influence of semantics on the perception of acoustic prosodic cues. &
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Feb 1, 2016
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a well-known non-invasive technique for the study... more Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a well-known non-invasive technique for the study of brain function. One of its most common clinical applications is preoperative language mapping, essential for the preservation of function in neurosurgical patients. Typically, fMRI is used to track task-related activity, but poor task performance and movement artifacts can be critical limitations in clinical settings. Recent advances in resting-state protocols open new possibilities for pre-surgical mapping of language potentially overcoming these limitations. To test the feasibility of using restingstate fMRI instead of conventional active task-based protocols, we compared results from fifteen patients with brain lesions while performing a verb-to-noun generation task and while at rest. Task-activity was measured using a general linear model analysis and independent component analysis (ICA). Resting-state networks were extracted using ICA and further classified in two ways: manually by an expert and by using an automated template matching procedure. The results revealed that the automated classification procedure correctly identified language networks as compared to the expert manual classification. We found a good overlay between task-related activity and resting-state language maps, particularly within the language regions of interest. Furthermore, restingstate language maps were as sensitive as task-related maps, and had higher specificity. Our findings suggest that resting-state protocols may be suitable to map language networks in a quick and clinically efficient way.
Predictors of adult spelling in an orthography of intermediate depth
Written Language and Literacy
What is the hallmark of a good speller? Spelling is a critical component in learning to become li... more What is the hallmark of a good speller? Spelling is a critical component in learning to become literate, but how it works in literate adults remains poorly explored. We examined word and pseudoword spelling in 214 adults in relation to general cognitive abilities, vocabulary, reading history, reading performance, phonological processing and rapid automatized naming. We conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses to uncover predictors of spelling performance and compared a subsample of good and poor spellers to identify patterns of cognitive and language abilities associated with high vs. low spelling ability. In the regression model under test, which progressed from general cognitive and language abilities to specific reading-related skills, the most important predictor for word spelling was vocabulary, and for pseudoword spelling phonological processing (phoneme deletion). The model explained 20% of word spelling, and 8% of pseudoword spelling, variance. Good spellers outpe...
Teste de frustração de S. Rosenzweig: forma adultos = S. Rosenzweig picture frustration test: for adults
The role of linguistic prosody in the responses to recited poetry
The Scientific Study of Literature, 2020
Psychological studies of poetry have focused on the responses to written text, and little is know... more Psychological studies of poetry have focused on the responses to written text, and little is known on how choices made by reciters affect listeners’ responses. We hypothesized that syntax-compatible prosodic cues – pauses and pitch breaks – would increase preference by increasing comprehension. Participants rated different declamations of the same poem for preference and comprehension. The match between syntactic boundaries and linguistic prosody cues was quantified in each version, and then we tested how this match predicted listeners’ responses. Unlike our predictions, linguistic prosody had opposite effects on comprehension vs. preference: Comprehension was enhanced by using both sentence pauses and clause pitch breaks, while avoiding clause pauses. When controlling for comprehension, preference was enhanced by clause pauses but hampered by clause breaks and sentence pauses. Results are consistent with the possibility that listeners enjoyed losing track of syntactic boundaries, i...
Behavioral change has been increasingly recognized as a means for combating climate change. Howev... more Behavioral change has been increasingly recognized as a means for combating climate change. However, being concerned about climate problems and knowing the importance of individual actions in mitigating them is not enough for greater adherence to a more sustainable lifestyle. Psychological barriers such as (1) finding the change unnecessary; (2) conflicting goals; (3) social influences; (4) lack of knowledge; and (5) tokenism have been proposed as an explanation for the gap between environmental attitudes and actions. Yet, so far, this hypothesis has remained untested. This study aimed to assess if psychological barriers moderate the association between environmental attitudes and climate action. A sample of Portuguese individuals (N = 937) responded to a survey measuring climate change beliefs and environmental concerns as an index of environmental attitudes, a scale of self-reported frequency of environmental action, and finally, the dragons of inaction psychological barrier scale...
Emotion, Mar 1, 2019
The ability to perceive the emotions of others is crucial for everyday social interactions. Impor... more The ability to perceive the emotions of others is crucial for everyday social interactions. Important aspects of visual socio-emotional processing, such as the recognition of facial expressions, are known to depend on largely automatic mechanisms. However, whether and how properties of automaticity extend to the auditory domain remains poorly understood. Here we ask if nonverbal auditory emotion recognition is a controlled deliberate or an automatic efficient process, using vocalizations such as laughter, crying, and screams. In a between-subjects design (N = 112), and covering eight emotions (four positive), we determined whether emotion recognition accuracy (1) is improved when participants actively deliberate about their responses (compared to when they respond as fast as possible), and (2) whether it is impaired when they respond under low and high levels of cognitive load (concurrent task involving memorizing sequences of six or eight digits, respectively). Response latencies were also measured. Mixed-effects models revealed that: recognition accuracy was high across emotions, and only minimally affected by deliberation and cognitive load; the benefits of deliberation and costs of cognitive load were significant mostly for positive emotions, notably amusement/laughter, and smaller or absent for negative ones; response latencies did not suffer under low or high cognitive load; and high recognition accuracy (approximately 90%) could be reached within 500 ms after the stimulus onset, with performance exceeding chance-level already between 300-360 ms. These findings indicate that key features of automaticity, namely fast and efficient/effortless processing, might be a modality-independent component of emotion recognition.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Feb 21, 2023
The classic advantage of audition over vision in time processing has been recently challenged by ... more The classic advantage of audition over vision in time processing has been recently challenged by studies using continuously moving visual stimuli such as bouncing balls. Bouncing balls drive beat-based synchronization better than static visual stimuli (flashes) and as efficiently as auditory ones (beeps). It is yet unknown how bouncing balls modulate performance in duration perception. Our previous study addressing this was inconclusive: there were no differences among bouncing balls, flashes, and beeps, but this could have been due to the fact that intervals were too long to allow sensitivity to modality (visual vs. auditory). In the present study, we conducted a first experiment to determine whether shorter intervals elicit cross-stimulus differences. We found that short (mean 157 ms) but not medium (326 ms) intervals made duration perception worse for bouncing balls compared to flashes and beeps. In a second experiment, we investigated whether the lower efficiency of bouncing balls was due to experimental confounds, lack of realism, or movement. We ruled out the experimental confounds and found support for the hypothesis that visual movement -be it continuous or discontinuous -impairs duration perception at short interval lengths. Therefore, unlike beatbased synchronization, duration perception does not benefit from continuous visual movement, which may even have a detrimental effect at short intervals.
Este estudo enquadra-se num projecto de investigação europeu coordenado pelo Prof. Philip Seymour... more Este estudo enquadra-se num projecto de investigação europeu coordenado pelo Prof. Philip Seymour, a quem expressamos o nosso agradecimento pelos diversos comentários ao longo da condução do trabalho. A investigação recente sugere que as características da ortografia afectam o tipo de processo predominante na fase inicial de aprendizagem da leitura . Neste estudo, investigamos o efeito da consistência ortográfica no português europeu, uma ortografia intermédia. Foram avaliadas 99 crianças (1º ao 4º anos), em tarefas de nomeação de palavras e de pseudo-palavras com diferentes graus de consistência ortográfica. Os resultados mostraram efeitos claros da consistência e da lexicalidade. No 2º ano, as respostas correctas para as palavras regulares rondam os 70%, enquanto a irregularidade só atinge esse valor no 4º ano. A vantagem das palavras sobre as pseudo-palavras verificou-se em todas as condições à excepção das correspondências simples. O efeito da consistência ortográfica teve o mesmo padrão para palavras e pseudo-palavras, mas manteve-se até mais tarde nas pseudo-palavras. Estes resultados mostram a importância quer das estratégias fonológicas, quer das ortográficas para a leitura do português europeu.
Frontiers in Psychology, Apr 5, 2018
The importance of quickly assessing personality traits in many studies prompted the development o... more The importance of quickly assessing personality traits in many studies prompted the development of brief scales such as the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), a measure of five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness). In the current study, we present the Portuguese version of TIPI and examine its psychometric properties, based on a sample of 333 Portuguese adults aged 18 to 65 years. The results revealed reliability coefficients similar to the original version (α = 0.39-0.72), very good 4-week test-retest reliability (n = 81, rs > 0.71), expected factorial structure, high convergent validity with the Big-Five Inventory (rs > 0.60), and correlations with self-esteem, affect, and aggressiveness similar to those found with standard measures of personality traits. Overall, our findings suggest that the Portuguese TIPI is a reliable and valid alternative to longer measures: it offers a promising tool for research contexts in which the available time for personality assessment is highly limited.
Brain Research, May 1, 2018
Recently, it has been proposed that sequence learning engages a combination of modality-specific ... more Recently, it has been proposed that sequence learning engages a combination of modality-specific operating networks and modality-independent computational principles. In the present study, we compared the behavioural and EEG outcomes of implicit artificial grammar learning in the visual vs. auditory modality. We controlled for the influence of surface characteristics of sequences (Associative Chunk Strength), thus focusing on the strictly structural aspects of sequence learning, and we adapted the paradigms to compensate for known frailties of the visual modality compared to audition (temporal presentation, fast presentation rate). The behavioural outcomes were similar across modalities. Favouring the idea of modality-specificity, ERPs in response to grammar violations differed in topography and latency (earlier and more anterior component in the visual modality), and ERPs in response to surface features emerged only in the auditory modality. In favour of modality-independence, we observed three common functional properties in the late ERPs of the two grammars: both were free of interactions between structural and surface influences, both were more extended in a grammaticality classification test than in a preference classification test, and both correlated positively and strongly with theta event-relatedsynchronization during baseline testing. Our findings support the idea of modality-specificity combined with modality-independence, and suggest that memory for visual vs. auditory sequences may largely contribute to cross-modal differences.
Frontiers in Psychology, May 20, 2021
Research suggested that developing mindfulness skills in children improves proximal outcomes, suc... more Research suggested that developing mindfulness skills in children improves proximal outcomes, such as attention and executive functions, as well as distal outcomes, such as academic achievement. Despite empirical evidence supporting this claim, research on the benefits of mindfulness training in child populations is scarce, with some mixed findings in the field. Here, we aimed to fill in this gap, by examining the effects of a mindfulness training on third graders' proximal and distal outcomes, namely, attention and executive functions (viz., inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) as well as literacy-related achievement (viz., handwriting fluency, text quality, Portuguese grades). These outcomes were measured with behavioral tasks and teacher ratings. Sixty-six Portuguese children were randomly allocated to an experimental group receiving mindfulness training (n = 29) or an active control group receiving relaxation training (n = 37). Both training programs were implemented by psychologists in two 30-min weekly sessions for 8 weeks. All students were assessed before and after the interventions. Three main findings are noteworthy: (a) mindfulness training enhanced teacher-rated cognitive flexibility and a performance-based composite score of executive functions among children with higher pretest scores; (b) relaxation training improved performance-based cognitive flexibility and the composite score of executive functions among children with lower pretest scores; (c) children receiving mindfulness training had higher handwriting fluency and better grades in Portuguese than those receiving relaxation training. These findings provide preliminary evidence on the benefits of mindfulness training in educational settings and highlight the moderating role of baseline performance on those benefits.
Reading and Writing, Jan 6, 2009
Fifteen Portuguese children with dyslexia, aged 9-11 years, were compared with reading and chrono... more Fifteen Portuguese children with dyslexia, aged 9-11 years, were compared with reading and chronological age controls with respect to five indicators related to the phonological deficit hypothesis: the effects of lexicality, regularity, and length, implicit and explicit phonological awareness, and rapid naming. The comparison between groups indicates that Portuguese children with dyslexia have a phonological impairment which is revealed by a developmental deficit in implicit phonological awareness and irregular word reading (where younger reading level controls performed better than dyslexics) and by a developmental delay in decoding ability and explicit phonological awareness (where dyslexics matched reading level controls). These results are discussed in relation to the idea that European Portuguese is written in an orthography of intermediate depth.
Frontiers in Psychology, Dec 10, 2019
Mobile health applications are increasingly numerous and varied. However, despite high expectatio... more Mobile health applications are increasingly numerous and varied. However, despite high expectations and large budgets involved in their development they are often rejected by potential users, and little is known on why this happens. This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the determinants of technology acceptance and its moderators. Aligned with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, we examined the moderating roles of age, gender, and smartphone experience in the relationship between technology acceptance determinants (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions) and the intention to use mobile health applications (N = 394, 18-65 years). A stepwise multiple linear regression was conducted. Results showed that the intention to use mobile health applications was determined by performance expectancy moderated by age and smartphone experience, and that the role of the other determinants depended on age and gender (e.g., more intention to use in older men if less effort, and in younger men if better facilitating conditions). These findings show that user characteristics are relevant moderators and should be considered when targeting specific populations to use mobile health applications.
Análise psicológica, Dec 21, 2022
In this study, we validated a set of audio stimuli addressing emotional lexico-prosodic congruenc... more In this study, we validated a set of audio stimuli addressing emotional lexico-prosodic congruence. Positive, neutral and negative words classified as such in European Portuguese lexical databases were recorded with matching and mismatching emotional prosodic patterns (positive, neutral and negative). The produced set was submitted to behavioral validation, where each utterance was rated for lexico-prosodic match. Word pairs showing maximal differences across match and mismatch versions were selected (n=55) and subjected to prosody-related acoustic validation. The three types of prosodic patterns, positive, negative and neutral, differenced in F0, amplitude, duration and timbral parameters. Finally, items were catalogued for their psycholinguistic properties. The present validated set may be used for emotional prosody research in European Portuguese. Since it is compatible with passive listening tasks, it is particularly relevant to research and clinical practice engaging populations who are limited in their ability to provide explicit responses.
Frontiers in Psychology, Nov 14, 2022
In the last years, the teaching and learning of literacy has changed due to the development of In... more In the last years, the teaching and learning of literacy has changed due to the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The use of ICT in the classroom depends largely on teachers, who are the key players in its integration. However, several factors influence teachers' decisions to use ICT in their classroom, both internal (e.g., self-efficacy) and external (e.g., school support). Indeed, despite the potential benefits of using ICT, not all teachers use them in their teaching practice. In the present study, we examined which are the main factors influencing teachers' effective use of ICT in literacy classrooms. A total of 125 teachers lecturing Portuguese Language in grades 5-12 participated in this study (M = 50.00 years, SD = 7.88; 89% women). Teachers filled in an online survey, comprising sociodemographic questions (viz., age, gender, education, years of teaching experience, teaching level, school type, and geographical area) and four questionnaires related to ICT and teaching. Results showed that effective use of ICT was predicted by both internal (ICT' self-efficacy and constructivist conception of teaching) and external (lack of access and support, and gatekeepers) factors. These findings may help in the identification of key targets to facilitate the effective use of ICT in literacy classrooms.
Frontiers in Psychology, Nov 17, 2016
Recent studies have shown that a moving visual stimulus (e.g., a bouncing ball) facilitates synch... more Recent studies have shown that a moving visual stimulus (e.g., a bouncing ball) facilitates synchronization compared to a static stimulus (e.g., a flashing light), and that it can even be as effective as an auditory beep. We asked a group of participants to perform different tasks with four stimulus types: beeps, siren-like sounds, visual flashes (static) and bouncing balls. First, participants performed synchronization with isochronous sequences (stimulus-guided synchronization), followed by a continuation phase in which the stimulus was internally generated (imagery-guided synchronization). Then they performed a perception task, in which they judged whether the final part of a temporal sequence was compatible with the previous beat structure (stimulusguided perception). Similar to synchronization, an imagery-guided variant was added, in which sequences contained a gap in between (imagery-guided perception). Balls outperformed flashes and matched beeps (powerful ball effect) in stimulus-guided synchronization but not in perception (stimulus-or imagery-guided). In imagery-guided synchronization, performance accuracy decreased for beeps and balls, but not for flashes and sirens. Our findings suggest that the advantages of moving visual stimuli over static ones are grounded in action rather than perception, and they support the hypothesis that the sensorimotor coupling mechanisms for auditory (beeps) and moving visual stimuli (bouncing balls) overlap.
Reading and Writing, Jul 3, 2023
Children's writing depends on strategic and self-regulated behaviors as well as on attention and ... more Children's writing depends on strategic and self-regulated behaviors as well as on attention and transcription skills. Despite the well-established effectiveness of interventions based on the self-regulated strategy development model (SRSD), little is known about their effects when combined with the explicit teaching and systematic training of attention or transcription. This study compared the effects of SRSD interventions that taught students a planning strategy and how to use it compose text, with additional components of attention (via focused meditation exercises) or transcription (via copy and alphabet exercises). We used a quasi-experimental design with three groups of Portuguese third graders: SRSD + attention (n = 42), SRSD + transcription (n = 37), and wait list (n = 34). Measures of transcription, executive functions, motivation, written production, and academic achievement were collected before and after the interventions. Analyses of co-variance revealed that the SRSD + transcription group surpassed the others in terms of handwriting fluency as well as in terms of spelling accuracy, though only among the weakest spellers at pretest. Moreover, in comparison to the wait list group, both SRSD groups showed better planning skills, wrote more complete texts, and displayed better executive functioning at posttest. After the intervention, though the SRSD + transcription group produced better texts than their peers, the SRSD + attention group achieved better academic performance, but only among those with poorer grades at pretest. Regarding motivation, we only found an effect of the SRSD + transcription intervention on self-efficacy for ideation, among students with lower self-efficacy at pretest. These findings suggest the importance of articulating writing and self-regulation strategies with attention and transcription training in early schooling.
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Papers by São Luís Castro