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This paper will use two examples from human cognition-theory of mind and concept representation-to compare human and artificial intelligence. One problem in comparing humans to AI is that performance does not entail competence, meaning that even if two systems can carry out a particular task, the two systems do not necessarily share the same underlying cognitive capacity. However, researchers have begun testing AI on psychological measures to compare human and AI cognition. For example, researchers have investigated the artificial theory of mind, which is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. Additionally, researchers have investigated artificial concept representation, which is the ability to represent categories abstractly. This paper argues that although empirical evidence is key to exploring AI, it is possible that data alone cannot capture the challenge of human-artificial comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Were you able to read and understand what that foreign word means? If not, it is never too late to start learning a new language. However, is it possible to become fluent in a foreign language despite the age at which you start? To answer this question this paper delves into the critical periods in language acquisition and their importance. This paper highlights infants' gradual acquisition of different aspects of language, such as phonemes, words, and grammar. To conclude the importance of critical periods, I compare different strategies for infants and adults learning a language, referring to the example of German word order acquisition. Furthermore, this paper focuses on second language learning. It gives some successful examples of perfectly acquired language by foreigners beyond childhood and highlights the phenomenon of exposure to a native-speaking environment. Additionally, I will discuss the degree of plasticity after the critical period ends and some challenges learners might experience when acquiring a second language. In conclusion, this paper offers a comprehensive review that contributes to our understanding of language development and its implications for language learning beyond childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our faces provide information about our emotions, personal identity, trustworthiness, attractiveness, age, and sex. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, mask-wearing, which occludes 60% of the face, has become pervasive. Consequently, some clinicians and educators have expressed concern about the effect of masks on social, emotional, and cognitive health in adults and during child and adolescent development. This paper investigates the impact of mask-wearing on the ability of children, adolescents, and adults to identify emotions. In particular, this paper explores the typical development of emotion)reading abilities, emotion reading through masks, and emotion reading in specific populations such as those with disabilities and those from various cultural backgrounds. The paper ends with a framework for improving communication through masks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inner speech is the production and experience of language within one's mind without overt articulation. Despite being an integral part of human cognition, there is limited knowledge of inner speech development or the brain regions involved in its production. Inner speech usage increases as private speech is used less and reaches its height around seven years old, maintaining a similar activity level. Inner speech is a self-regulatory process that aids in completing non-verbal language tasks such as rhyme identification and other reading tasks. Past research has shown that much inner speech is associated with activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left angular and supramarginal gyri, and Wernicke's area. It has also been found that an increase in the activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus is associated with tasks that require more inner speech. These areas are connected via the dorsal language stream, which appears to mature parallel with inner speech; however, the possible correlation has yet to be studied further. Further studies into inner speech may explore the correlation between the dorsal language stream and inner speech to confirm the relation and better understand how the brain regions work together to produce the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to compare volleyball and non-volleyball players' cognitive abilities in a multitasking environment, investigating various cognitive domains, including visual attention, covert attention, overt attention, selective attention, working memory, and executive control. Using the Multiple Object Tracking, Flanker, and Task Switching tests, it was observed that nonvolleyball players generally exhibited faster mean reaction times, posited to be linked to developing working memory and fluid intelligence in the school environment. However, the lack of significant support from the p-value estimates yields no pronounced cognitive benefits favoring non-volleyball players. Volleyball players significantly outperformed non-volleyball players on the Flanker test, rejecting the predetermined null hypothesis. The volleyball group also showed a large effect size on the Flanker test, highlighting the impact of practice on working memory and the resemblance between the task and volleyball setting. This study contributes valuable insights into the cognitive effects of playing volleyball during adolescence. It proposes potential training paradigms and interventions to enhance cognitive abilities in volleyball and non-volleyball players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music streaming services have enabled music choice to transition from a collective social listening experience to a personalized one. Our research relates the two facets of music choice when in a specific mental wellness state with the impact of the music chosen on mental wellness. Adolescents (N = 80) were asked the kind of music they would choose when in specific mental wellness states. They were also asked about the impact different types of music had on them. We find a recursive relationship between music choice and mental wellness state. An example is that in a sad/hurt state, we choose to listen to slow and soft music, which in turn makes us sadder. We suggest that this recursive relationship reinforced by the trend towards music personalization may exacerbate mood volatility with the possibility of pushing the listener to become excessively happy (leading to risky decisions) or excessively sad (with potential mental health challenges). We propose that developing a user-centered adaptive mobile health app that augments the listener's playlist technologically based on knowledge of their current mental state can become an important continuous mental health intervention strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music plays a significant role in various celebratory occasions and is integral to the human experience. This article focuses on six components of music perception: pitch, melody and contour, harmony, timbre, structure, and temporal events. By examining studies on infant music perception, it becomes evident that these components are innately present rather than acquired through learning. The findings of this research contribute to a better understanding of these innate qualities and provide insights into human musicality and language development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adverse effects of online sexism have become increasingly challenging to address due to their silencing effect, which is both normalized and subtle. Since behaviors specific to the COVID-19 Pandemic (e.g., wearing face masks) should not differ along gendered lines, any disparity in the genders' outrage would suggest that gendered hostility and punishment are intrinsic to contemporary social life and are not confined to gender-coded behaviors with roots in our past. In other words, hostility is an expression of gender bias rather than a reaction to different behavior by gender. This research examines the differences in the volume and content of toxicity directed towards men and women using a sample of tweets posted to Twitter in English from December 2019 to December 2021 (N= 5,000,000). The LDA topic model results suggested that men received more tweets containing outrage than women. Still, women were targeted with more gendered hostility, including but not limited to gendered slurs and phrases that incite sexual violence. Social media platforms must take preventative measures to limit the spread of toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the high frequency at which sugar is found in foods, adolescents can build addictive tendencies to sugar. The sweet compound is often associated with positive mindsets and memories. To collect data on how different sugar levels may impact mood, we administered surveys before and after female participants aged 14-17 consumed cookies of varying sugar content (8, 4, and 0 grams of sugar/cookie). In response to the question, “rate your current mood on a scale of 1-10,” participants reported a significantly higher mood following consumption of the 8g and 4g cookies (p=0.0001 and p=0.0013, respectively) and a substantially lower mood following consumption of the 0g cookie (p=0.0405). Interestingly, sugar content did not affect how much participants reported they would pay for each cookie (p=0.3842). These results suggest that sugar content impacts mood; however, it did not significantly affect the value that participants placed on the reward of each cookie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]