Individual differences in susceptibility to interference and general cognitive ability

Abstract

Recently, an increasing number of researchers have proposed that interference/inhibition processes play an important role in human cognition. A number of models have suggested that susceptibility to interference is a major factor in cognitive development, cognitive aging, and certain atypical populations, such as learning disabled individuals and children with attention deficit disorders. By contrast, the relation between susceptibility to interference and measures of general cognitive ability in normal adults has received relatively little attention. In this article, we review the results of the few studies that have been addressed to this topic in the light of resistance to interference theory. We conclude by attempting to reconcile discrepancies both within and across studies.