Impulsivity and speed–accuracy strategies in discrimination learning

Abstract

The main purpose of the present study was twofold: (1) to analyse the effect of individual differences in speed–accuracy trade-off (SAT) on discrimination learning and (2) to analyse the relation of SAT to intelligence and self-reported measures of impulsivity in order to establish whether SAT is a function of intelligence or cognitive style. Towards that end, the Category Learning Test-Tokens discrimination learning task and a battery of abilities (primary mental abilities, PMA) and questionnaire measures of impulsivity (Barratt's Impulsivity Scale, Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, Dickman's Impulsivity Inventory and Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised-67) were administered to a sample of 127 undergraduate university students. The main findings of the study were as follows: (1) preference for speed over accuracy impaired performance in discrimination learning; (2) cluster analysis enabled the identification of three SAT performance patterns: fast-inaccurate, slow-inaccurate and slow-accurate; (3) the low discrimination performance of the slow-inaccurate group may be attributed to intelligence, whereas the low performance of the fast-inaccurate group may rather be attributed to an impulsive cognitive style; and (4) no evidence of correlation between SAT and self-reported measures of impulsivity was found. The results reveal that SAT differences underlie performance in discrimination learning and that these differences are a function of both intelligence and cognitive style.