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Abstract
Evidence suggests that intelligence is positively associated with performance on the heartbeat counting task (HCT). The HCT is often employed as measure of interoception – the ability to perceive the internal state of one’s body – however it’s use remains controversial as performance on the HCT is strongly influenced by knowledge of resting heart rate. This raises the possibility that heart rate knowledge may mediate the previously-observed association between intelligence and HCT performance. Study One demonstrates an association between intelligence and HCT performance (N = 94), and Study Two demonstrates that this relationship is mediated by knowledge of the average resting heart rate (N = 134). These data underscore the need to account for the influence of prior knowledge and beliefs when examining individual differences in cardiac interoceptive accuracy using the HCT.
Highlights
There is increasing appreciation of the importance of interoception, the perception of the internal state of one’s body, for higher-order cognition
Study Two replicated this finding, and found that 1) the relationship between intelligence and heartbeat counting task (HCT) performance was specific, and 2) knowledge of average resting heart rate mediated the relationship between IQ and HCT performance
These findings replicate previous demonstrations of a relationship between intelligence and HCT performance (Mash et al, 2017), and extend these by suggesting that this relationship is mediated by the accuracy of participants’ knowledge of the average resting heart rate. These data are consistent with a body of research demonstrating the influence of beliefs and prior knowledge concerning heart rate on the HCT (Murphy, Geary et al, 2017; Phillips et al, 1999; Ring & Brener, 1996; Ring et al, 2015; Windmann et al, 1999)
Summary
There is increasing appreciation of the importance of interoception, the perception of the internal state of one’s body, for higher-order cognition. Research into the possible mechanism by which intelligence influences performance on the HCT is lacking, but as HCT performance is strongly influenced by participants’ beliefs about, and knowledge of, resting heart rate (Phillips, Jones, Rieger, & Snell, 1999; Ring & Brener, 1996; Ring, Brener, Knapp, & Mailloux, 2015; Windmann, Schonecke, Fröhlig, & Maldener, 1999), it is possible that higher intelligence results in more accurate knowledge of average resting heart rate, which in turn results in better HCT performance. It is this model that we tested here: in Study One (‘replication’) we replicated the relationship between HCT performance and IQ, whereas in Study Two (‘extension’) we replicated this association,
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