The aim of this study was to validate a second group of images of the International Affective Pictures System (IAPS) in Colombian population, in order to increase the bank of images that can be used in research in the fields of emotion, attention and memory, among others. 240 pictures belonging to sets 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the IAPS were validated in a sample of 1222 participants from five cities in the country (Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga). To assess the emotional response to images in the valence, arousal and dominance dimensions, the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) was used. The results showed that the pictures were distributed as expected in the two-dimensional affective space composed of the valence and arousal dimensions. A positive emotional bias was identified in men and a negative emotional bias in women. The differences between regions and socioeconomic strata were presented only in arousal and dominance, not in valence. Together, the results suggest that these images can be us

El juego como vehículo para mejorar las habilidades de lectura en niños con dificultad lectora

Executive functions (EFs) are considered a multiple system of processing, associated with different components, such as inhibition, working memory, planning, among others. The study of EFs requires the assessment of all its components, having in mind the socio-demographic and cognitive characteristics of the target population. Nowadays, analysis of variance is used to achieve this goal; nevertheless, HJ-Biplot analysis overcome its limitations by allowing simultaneous examination of multiple data, such as those generated in EFs studies. This study evaluates possible differences in the EFs of 80 8-year-old Colombian children by their sex, socio-economic status and type of school they attend, to exemplify the advantages of using HJ-Biplot analysis in neuropsychological studies.

Background. Today's research on human executive functioning (EF) demonstrates a deepening understanding of this psychological concept as a mental process, as it has been assessed in testing contexts. But little effort has been made to approach the executive function from an ecological viewpoint, one which allows its study in the context of real life, and treats this function as simultaneously mental and behavioral. Objective and Design. The purpose of the present research was to explore how 37 Colombian children, aged four, six, and eight years old, with typical psychological development, used their executive functions in a daily context, such as school classes. Results. Observational analysis revealed that only 40% of the participants could control and regulate their behavior to achieve class goals. In the few cases where executive regulation was observed, socio-economic status and executive performance marked the behavioral patterns used by children to control and regulate their tasks in class. Conclusion. Participants in this study showed that, independent of their EF performance level, their ability to use EF to control and regulate a daily activity, such as their behavior in class, depends on their ability to understand the advantages of acting executively. Most importantly, this skill differs among children by variables such as socio-economic status.

Hoy en día, se considera que la mayor parte de las dificultades en el desarrollo de la lectura se relacionan con deficiencias psicopedagógicas, y no precisamente con las alteraciones neurológicas propias de la dislexia. No obstante, pocos estudios exploran cuáles son los mejores métodos para apoyar el aprendizaje de la lectura ante estas deficiencias. Por ello, el presente estudio tuvo por objetivo evaluar la eficacia de un programa de intervención para mejorar el desarrollo inicial de la lectura en niños con estas dificultades. Para ello se evaluaron 54 niños entre los 7 y 8 años de edad, que cursaban primero y segundo de primaria en un colegio público de la ciudad de Cali: 26 niños con dificultades de la lectura y 28 con un apropiado aprendizaje. El programa de intervención se aplicó durante cuatro meses con una intensidad semanal de cuatro sesiones. Todas las tareas se centraron en evidenciar a los aprendices la relación entre el lenguaje oral y escrito. Los resultados mostraron que los niños con dificultades psicopedagógicas mejoraron su conciencia fonológica y su precisión de lectura inmediatamente después de la intervención, así como cuatro meses después; sin embargo, mantuvieron un rendimiento lector inferior al de sus pares. Se concluye que el programa mejora la conciencia y codificación de la palabra como unidad de análisis, pero se requieren intervenciones complementarias para mejorar la comprensión y velocidad lectora.Palabras clave: lectura, intervención, alfabetismo emergente, dificultad en el aprendizaje.