Divine intuition: Cognitive style influences belief in God.

The present research examines the impact of cognitive style and short-term memory (STM) capacity on the computer interface usability of a pilot simulation. Participants screened for individual differences in cognitive style and STM capacity were randomly assigned to a training condition within the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MAT; Arnegard & Comstock, 1991). Training conditions varied in automation settings (adaptive versus static). Participants transferred to a novel static condition. Between subjects independent variables were individual differences in STM capacity (high, low), cognitive style (analytic, holistic, quasi-rational), and training (static versus adaptive). Within subjects independent variables were training (four blocks) and transfer (four blocks) sessions. Dependent variables were accuracy and reaction time. Results suggest that individual differences in STM capacity and cognitive style are orthogonal constructs that interact to affect skill acquisition and strategy development for visual-spatial tasks. Implications related to computer interface design are discussed.

<p><strong>Context and relevance.</strong> This study continues a series of experiments that aim to investigate the relationship between micro- and meso-levels of coping intelligence. The variability of cognitive styles is considered as a manifestation of individual differences in coping intelligence. <strong>Objective:</strong> to clarify the role of genotypes of polymorphic BDNF gene loci and sex in individual differences in cognitive styles. <strong>Hypothesis.</strong> Genotypes of polymorphic loci of BDNF and COMT genes, as well as sex, may act as factors in individual differences in cognitive styles. <strong>Methods and materials.</strong> The study involved 222 respondents aged 25 to 54 years (35,80 ± 9,47 years; 47,3% of men). Methods of analysis included identification of genotypes at the polymorphic rs6265 locus of the BDNF gene; Cognitive-Personality Style Questionnaire, CPS-Q; intelligence test, Raven's SPM. <strong>Results.</strong> In the sample of men with a change in the genotype of the BDNF gene (Val/Val, Val/Met, Met/Met), an increase in intelligence is noted (F = 3.683, p = 0.028), but at the same time, field independence (F = 4.991, p = 0.009), flexibility of cognitive control (F = 4.058, p = 0.020), and abstract conceptualization (F = 2.980, p = 0.05) decrease. In the sample of women with a change in the BDNF gene genotype (Val/Val, Val/Met, Met/Met), no significant changes in IQ were found, but an increase in the severity of such cognitive styles as field independence (F = 10.893, p < 0.001), wide range of equivalence (F = 7.814, p < 0.001), flexibility of cognitive control (F = 3.633, p = 0.030), reflectivity (F = 3.633, p = 0.030), and abstract conceptualization (F = 4.387, p = 0.015) was revealed. <strong>Conclusions. </strong>Empirical data were obtained on the influence of BDNF gene genotypes and sex, as well as the effects of their interaction on individual differences in cognitive styles: 1) BDNF gene genotypes have the main effect on variations in individual differences in cognitive styles (Pillai's Trace = 0,211, F = 2,026, p = 0,003, η<sup>2 </sup>= 0.106); 2) sex has the main effect on variations in individual differences in cognitive styles (Pillai's Trace = 0,124, F = 2,428, p = 0,006, η<sup>2 </sup>= 0,124); 3) the influence of the “BDNF gene genotype” factor on variations in individual differences in cognitive styles depends on variations in the “sex” factor (Pillai's Trace = 0,225, F = 2,176, p = 0,001, η<sup>2 </sup>= 0.112).</p>

Neuroscientifically specifying the hypotheses of Hume, Marx, Freud, and others on the motivational sources of religion, the authors present an important case for religiosity as an anti-anxiety device to buffer against feelings of diminished certainty, order, control, and knowledge (stipulated components of meaning). The general evidence for this hypothesis is data showing a reduction in a previously wellcharacterized error-related neuronal response in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) among religious persons. The authors’ interpretation of these effects as a marker of religion’s inherent anxiolytic influence is an intriguing one. In addition to the paper’s focus on degrees of general reactivity to perceived threats to certainty, order, control, and knowledge, we feel it would also be very interesting to consider the ways in which this conflict/uncertainty is resolved across individuals. Specifically, we suggest that individuals who rely differentially on fast/automatic/intuitive versus slow/controlled/ reflective reasoning (Evans, 2003; Sloman, 1996) will arrive at different solutions when encountering the same questions of meaning making. Tasks like the Stroop (used by the authors) are very useful for examining one’s reactivity at the onset of an error. Examining how people choose to resolve these uncertainties, however, is more challenging in tasks where two responses (correct and incorrect) are quickly available, and furthermore, the presence of incongruence is known from the outset. A task in which one response (the incorrect one) is more readily available to all participants while another response (the correct one) requires acknowledging that the fast/automatic/intuitive choice was wrong and reflecting further, we believe, can provide a more powerful measure of an individual’s preference for different kinds of solutions. Using a task with exactly these properties (Cognitive Reflection Test; Frederick, 2005), Shenhav, Rand, and Greene (2011) recently showed that individual differences in the tendency to rely on intuition versus reflection influences belief in God. Intuitive style predicted stronger present belief in God and having strengthened belief in God since childhood (but not family religiosity during childhood), and these effects were not mediated by education level, income, political orientation, or IQ. Experimentally inducing a mindset that favors intuition over reflection increased immediate reports of belief in God. Given these results, we argue that people eventually become religious at least in part because when surrounded by questions of certainty, order, control, and knowledge, they are not as likely to rely as much on slow/controlled/reflective answers to these questions. These results can supplement the authors’ data on religiosity and error onset (Stroop performance), as the Cognitive Reflection Test helps shed light on the more protracted process of human meaning making. In addition (as the authors speculate), religious individuals may also be more vulnerable to the anxieties that surround these complex questions of meaning making.

Increased grey matter volume of the right superior temporal gyrus in healthy children with autistic cognitive style: A VBM study

Individual differences in cognitive style and strategy predict similarities in the patterns of brain activity between individuals

Patient outcomes critically depend on accuracy of physicians' judgment, yet little is known about individual differences in cognitive styles that underlie physicians' judgments. The objective of this study was to assess physicians' individual differences in cognitive styles relative to age, experience, and degree and type of training. Physicians at different levels of training and career completed a web-based survey of 6 scales measuring individual differences in cognitive styles (maximizing v. satisficing, analytical v. intuitive reasoning, need for cognition, intolerance toward ambiguity, objectivism, and cognitive reflection). We measured psychometric properties (Cronbach's α) of scales; relationship of age, experience, degree, and type of training; responses to scales; and accuracy on conditional inference task. The study included 165 trainees and 56 attending physicians (median age 31 years; range 25-69 years). All 6 constructs showed acceptable psychometric properties. Surprisingly, we found significant negative correlation between age and satisficing (r = -0.239; P = 0.017). Maximizing (willingness to engage in alternative search strategy) also decreased with age (r = -0.220; P = 0.047). Number of incorrect inferences negatively correlated with satisficing (r = -0.246; P = 0.014). Disposition to suppress intuitive responses was associated with correct responses on 3 of 4 inferential tasks. Trainees showed a tendency to engage in analytical thinking (r = 0.265; P = 0.025), while attendings displayed inclination toward intuitive-experiential thinking (r = 0.427; P = 0.046). However, trainees performed worse on conditional inference task. Physicians capable of suppressing an immediate intuitive response to questions and those scoring higher on rational thinking made fewer inferential mistakes. We found a negative correlation between age and maximizing: Physicians who were more advanced in their careers were less willing to spend time and effort in an exhaustive search for solutions. However, they appeared to have maintained their "mindware" for effective problem solving.

Individual differences in cognitive style can be characterized along two dimensions: ‘systemizing’ (S, the drive to analyze or build ‘rule-based’ systems) and ‘empathizing’ (E, the drive to identify another's mental state and respond to this with an appropriate emotion). Discrepancies between these two dimensions in one direction (S > E) or the other (E > S) are associated with sex differences in cognition: on average more males show an S > E cognitive style, while on average more females show an E > S profile. The neurobiological basis of these different profiles remains unknown. Since individuals may be typical or atypical for their sex, it is important to move away from the study of sex differences and towards the study of differences in cognitive style. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging we examined how neuroanatomy varies as a function of the discrepancy between E and S in 88 adult males from the general population. Selecting just males allows us to study discrepant E-S profiles in a pure way, unconfounded by other factors related to sex and gender. An increasing S > E profile was associated with increased gray matter volume in cingulate and dorsal medial prefrontal areas which have been implicated in processes related to cognitive control, monitoring, error detection, and probabilistic inference. An increasing E > S profile was associated with larger hypothalamic and ventral basal ganglia regions which have been implicated in neuroendocrine control, motivation and reward. These results suggest an underlying neuroanatomical basis linked to the discrepancy between these two important dimensions of individual differences in cognitive style.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The present study was designed to generate information about the individual differences in cognitive styles of African American male students at the elementary school level and to explore the implications of these differences for reading comprehension processes, especially as they relate to comprehension of expository text. These differences were analyzed utilizing the cognitive style dimension framework, which maintains that broad dimensions of perceptual functioning may be reflected in an individual's cognitive activities. Additional direction was gleaned from the extensive research of Witkin and colleagues on the field-dependence-independence dimension of cognitive style (Witkin, Dyk, Faterson, Goodenough, & Karp, 1962; Witkin, Goodenough, & Oltman, 1979). This study addresses the following research questions: What is the relationship between low field-independent and high field-independent cognitive styles and reading comprehension of expository text? More specifically, how does this relationship affect the reading achievement of a sample group of fourth-grade African American male students from three elementary schools in a medium-sized urban public school district in southeast Michigan? The research hypothesis is that high field-independent African American males will demonstrate higher raw scores on a test of comprehension of expository prose than will their low field-independent counterparts. The corresponding null hypothesis is that high and low field-independent African American males will demonstrate no statistically significant differences in their raw scores. RELATED LITERATURE Upon contrasting aspects of African and African American culture with European and European culture, Milliard (1976, 1992) contends that unique cognitive and behavioral style factors can be identified among African American populations. He further asserts the existence of a unique African American core culture that is shared by most African Americans to a greater or lesser degree and that can be empirically described. Concurrence with this view can be drawn from the work of Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, and Tipton (1985), Cohen (1969), Cole and Scribner (1974), Erny (1968), Kochman (1981), Ramirez and Price-Williams (1974), Shade (1981, 1982), Smitherman (1977), and Vass (1979). More specifically, Hale-Benson (1982) suggests that African Americans possess a particular cognitive style that influences the way they learn and perform in school. She notes that a new direction of investigation suggests that cognition is social as well as biological. . .[and] looks at the relationship between one's culture and the kinds of skills one develops (p. 23). According to Banks (1988), the works of Hale-Benson and Milliard have been heavily influenced by Witkin's (1950, 1962) cognitive style theory as well as by Cohen's (1969) learning styles conceptualization. In 1950, Witkin hypothesized the existence of two cognitive styles: field-independent and field-dependent. Field-independent students, he claimed, are able to structure and make sense out of various tasks, do not have to be directed, are interested in and able to handle abstract and theoretical concepts, and take a hypothesis-testing approach to learning. By contrast, field-dependent students seem to need cues from the environment in order to solve problems; they have trouble providing their own structure and function best in people-oriented settings (Witkin et al., 1977). Cohen identified two conceptual styles, analytic and relational, the former of which is related to Witkin's field-independent concept while the latter is similar to the fielddependent concept. Shade's (1983,1986) investigations focus on whether or not differences in achievement for students with different cognitive styles can be determined and measured. She concludes that high achievers are more field-independent, object-oriented, analytical, and linear thinkers. …

The susceptibility of decision-makers’ choices to variations in option framing has been attributed to individual differences in cognitive style. According to this view, individuals who are prone to a more deliberate, or less intuitive, thinking style are less susceptible to framing manipulations. Research findings on the topic, however, have tended to yield small effects, with several studies also being limited in inferential value by methodological drawbacks. We report two experiments that examined the value of several cognitive-style variables, including measures of cognitive reflection, subjective numeracy, actively open-minded thinking, need for cognition, and hemispheric dominance, in predicting participants’ frame-consistent choices. Our experiments used an isomorph of the Asian Disease Problem and we manipulated frames between participants. We controlled for participants’ sex and age, and we manipulated the order in which choice options were presented to participants. In Experiment 1 (N = 190) using an undergraduate sample and in Experiment 2 (N = 316) using a sample of Amazon Mechanical Turk workers, we found no significant effect of any of the cognitive-style measures taken on predicting frame-consistent choice, regardless of whether we analyzed participants’ binary choices or their choices weighted by the extent to which participants preferred their chosen option over the non-chosen option. The sole factor that significantly predicted frame-consistent choice was framing: in both experiments, participants were more likely to make frame-consistent choices when the frame was positive than when it was negative, consistent with the tendency toward risk aversion in the task. The present findings do not support the view that individual differences in people’s susceptibility to framing manipulations can be substantially accounted for by individual differences in cognitive style.

An electrophysiological correlate of conflict processing in an auditory spatial Stroop task: The effect of individual differences in navigational style

Differences in students' cognitive styles cause differences in accepting and managing learning and connecting experiences into learning. Differences in students' cognitive styles also cause differences in mathematical problem-solving skills. This research aims to describe students' skills in solving mathematics open-ended problems in terms of differences in cognitive styles, namely Field Independent (FI) and Field Dependent (FD). This research is descriptive qualitative research that involved four eight-grade students at a private junior high school in Sukoharjo, Central Java, Indonesia as subjects who were selected based on differences in cognitive styles. Cognitive style data was collected through a cognitive style questionnaire while students' mathematical problem-solving skills were revealed through tests and interviews. The data was analyzed to identify the fulfillment of indicators of mathematical problem-solving skills according to Polya, which include understanding the problems, preparing plans, implementing plans, and looking back. The results showed that field independent subjects had better mathematical problem solving abilities than field dependent subjects. Field independent subjects fulfill all indicators of mathematical problem-solving skills, while field dependent subjects only fulfill indicators of understanding the problems. This research can be used as a reference in designing learning strategies that suit all students' cognitive styles to improve students' mathematical problem-solving skills.

We conducted additional analyses of Pennycook et al.’s (2015, Study 2) data to investigate the possibility that there would be ideological differences in “bullshit receptivity” that would be explained by individual differences in cognitive style and ability. As hypothesized, we observed that endorsement of neoliberal, free market ideology was significantly but modestly associated with bullshit receptivity. In addition, we observed a quadratic association, which indicated that ideological moderates were more susceptible to bullshit than ideological extremists. These relationships were explained, in part, by heuristic processing tendencies, faith in intuition, and lower verbal ability. Results are inconsistent with approaches suggesting that (a) there are no meaningful ideological differences in cognitive style or reasoning ability, (b) simplistic, certainty-oriented cognitive styles are generally associated with leftist (vs. rightist) economic preferences, or (c) simplistic, certainty-oriented cognitive styles are generally associated with extremist (vs. moderate) preferences. Theoretical and practical implications are briefly addressed.

BackgroundDecision-making relies on both analytical and emotional thinking. Cognitive reasoning styles (e.g. maximizing and satisficing tendencies) heavily influence analytical processes, while affective processes are often dependent on regret. The relationship between regret and cognitive reasoning styles has not been well studied in physicians, and is the focus of this paper.MethodsA regret questionnaire and 6 scales measuring individual differences in cognitive styles (maximizing-satisficing tendencies; analytical vs. intuitive reasoning; need for cognition; intolerance toward ambiguity; objectivism; and cognitive reflection) were administered through a web-based survey to physicians of the University of South Florida. Bonferroni’s adjustment was applied to the overall correlation analysis. The correlation analysis was also performed without Bonferroni’s correction, given the strong theoretical rationale indicating the need for a separate hypothesis. We also conducted a multivariate regression analysis to identify the unique influence of predictors on regret.Results165 trainees and 56 attending physicians (age range 25 to 69) participated in the survey. After bivariate analysis we found that maximizing tendency positively correlated with regret with respect to both decision difficulty (r=0.673; p<0.001) and alternate search strategy (r=0.239; p=0.002). When Bonferroni’s correction was not applied, we also found a negative relationship between satisficing tendency and regret (r=-0.156; p=0.021). In trainees, but not faculty, regret negatively correlated with rational-analytical thinking (r=-0.422; p<0.001), need for cognition (r=-0.340; p<0.001), and objectivism (r=-0.309; p=0.003) and positively correlated with ambiguity intolerance (r=0.285; p=0.012). However, after conducting a multivariate regression analysis, we found that regret was positively associated with maximizing only with respect to decision difficulty (r=0.791; p<0.001), while it was negatively associated with satisficing (r=-0.257; p=0.020) and objectivism (r=-0.267; p=0.034). We found no statistically significant relationship between regret and overall accuracy on conditional inferential tasks.ConclusionRegret in physicians is strongly associated with their tendency to maximize; i.e. the tendency to consider more choices among abundant options leads to more regret. However, physicians who exhibit satisficing tendency – the inclination to accept a “good enough” solution – feel less regret. Our observation that objectivism is a negative predictor of regret indicates that the tendency to seek and use empirical data in decision-making leads to less regret. Therefore, promotion of evidence-based reasoning may lead to lower regret.

We provide evidence that religious skeptics, as compared to believers, are both more reflective and effective in logical reasoning tasks. While recent studies have reported a negative association between an analytic cognitive style and religiosity, they focused exclusively on accuracy, making it difficult to specify potential underlying cognitive mechanisms. The present study extends the previous research by assessing both performance and response times on quintessential logical reasoning problems (syllogisms). Those reporting more religious skepticism made fewer reasoning errors than did believers. This finding remained significant after controlling for general cognitive ability, time spent on the problems, and various demographic variables. Crucial for the purpose of exploring underlying mechanisms, response times indicated that skeptics also spent more time reasoning than did believers. This novel finding suggests a possible role of response slowing during analytic problem solving as a component of cognitive style that promotes overriding intuitive first impressions. Implications for using additional processing measures, such as response time, to investigate individual differences in cognitive style are discussed.

High levels of online activity have been linked with lower critical engagement and cognitive ability as well as lapses in attention and memory. This study examines whether individual differences in cognitive styles and abilities relating to the theoretical framework of distributed cognition predict social media behaviour. In this online study, 784 MTurk participants (55% male) completed measures of social media use, online friendships, need for cognition, dissociative tendencies, and vocabulary. They also answered questions about online news-related information sharing (with and without reading the article). Multiple regression and relative weights analysis show that higher dissociative tendencies and lower verbal ability predict social media use, online friendships and information sharing behaviour. Dissociation was the most important predictor, particularly for sharing news-related information without first reading it, with moderate to large effects. Perceptions of information accuracy and source trustworthiness were identified as key factors in driving information sharing behaviour. Our research has important implications for today’s technological society.