Individual Differences In Cognitive Abilities Research Articles

The associations between individual differences in language aptitude and working memory, and the effectiveness of input and output based instruction

Despite previous research having demonstrated the comparative effects of processing instruction and output-based instruction, further investigation is required to examine the relationships between individual differences in cognitive abilities and these instructional types. This study investigated the associations among three instructional approaches and learners’ language aptitude and working memory in acquiring four Chinese classifiers. Eighty-six second language (L2) Chinese learners from one Chinese university were divided into three experimental groups – processing instruction (PI), meaning-based output instruction (MOI), combined instruction (CI) – and a control group. Tests measuring treatment effects included an untimed grammatical judgment test and an oral elicited imitation test. The LLAMA test and a counting span task were employed to assess learners’ language aptitude and working memory respectively. Multiple regression analysis suggested that phonetic coding ability was significantly predictive of the effects of PI and CI groups. Language analytic ability and working memory were not predictive of the effects of any experimental groups. The findings suggest that providing metalinguistic explanations followed by output-based language activities may mitigate learners’ cognitive differences in language analytic ability and working memory.

Do cognitive abilities reduce eyewitness susceptibility to the misinformation effect? A systematic review.

The fact that memories can be distorted by post-event misinformation has cast considerable doubt over the dependability of eyewitness evidence in legal contexts. However, despite its adverse practical implications, the misinformation effect is likely an unavoidable distortion stemming from the reconstructive nature of episodic memory. Certain cognitive abilities have been reported to offer protection against misinformation, suggesting that mechanisms aside from episodic memory may also be underpinning this type of memory distortion. The purpose of this review was to collate findings of associations between eyewitness misinformation susceptibility and individual differences in cognitive ability in adults aged 18 and over. Nine studies met the eligibility criteria for this review, including 23 distinct associations. Using a narrative synthesis, three categories of cognitive ability were identified as influencing susceptibility to misinformation: general intelligence and reasoning, perceptual abilities, and memory abilities. Across almost all categories, higher levels of ability were associated with reduced susceptibility to misinformation. While there is no indication that any one trait provides total immunity to the misinformation effect, there is a reasonable amount of evidence to suggest that several cognitive abilities create variance in individual levels of susceptibility. Future research should investigate not only if but how these cognitive abilities protect against misinformation distortions, for example, by contributing to more detailed encoding of the memory, enhancing discrepancy detection in the face of post-event misinformation, or improving source-monitoring during an eyewitness memory test.

EEG neural substrates of cognitive engagements for research-based learning with contemplative education in the young child

One becomes aware of the evidence of cognitive insights following attending the research-based learning program with contemplative education, electroencephalography (EEG), and electrodermal activity (EDA) were used to track the improvement of emotional and cognitive states. Research-based learning (RBL) and teaching models were developed to enhance research characteristics and cognitive training for children in the 21st century. To date, there have been no reliable cognitive tools to monitor the cognitive insight of the child who attends the course. The EEG, EDA, and cognitive scores of thirty healthy students participating in a research-based program for an hour per week were evaluated prior to the course, 3 months, and 6 months after the program started. The cognitive tests included a standard progressive matric (SPM) test, arithmetic test, Eriksen flanker task, and biofeedback sessions. The same procedures were determined in the comparative students’ group. After six months of taking the program, students in the RBL group showed a significant improvement in their SPM and arithmetic test scores. A significant increase in beta and gamma activity was detected in the temporal cortex of the RBL group during the SPM test. A more significant enhancement of frontal theta power was observed during the arithmetic test. This study shows that contemplative education and research-based learning improve cognitive abilities, indicating a significant increase in EEG quantity for cognitive engagement and the ability to confer individual differences in cognitive abilities.

Distinct genetic and environmental origins of hierarchical cognitive abilities in adult humans

Human cognitive abilities ranging from basic perceptions to complex social behaviors exhibit substantial variation in individual differences. These cognitive functions can be categorized into a two-order hierarchy based on the levels of cognitive processes. Second-order cognition including metacognition and mentalizing monitors and regulates first-order cognitive processes. These two-order hierarchical cognitive functions exhibit distinct abilities. However, it remains unclear whether individual differences in these cognitive abilities have distinct origins. We employ the classical twin paradigm to compare the genetic and environmental contributions to the two-order cognitive abilities in the same tasks from the same population. The results reveal that individual differences in first-order cognitive abilities were primarily influenced by genetic factors. Conversely, the second-order cognitive abilities have a stronger influence from shared environmental factors. These findings suggest that the abilities of metacognition and mentalizing in adults are profoundly shaped by their environmental experiences and less determined by their biological nature.

Processing speed and executive attention as causes of intelligence.

Individual differences in processing speed and executive attention have both been proposed as explanations for individual differences in cognitive ability, particularly general and fluid intelligence (Engle et al., 1999; Kail & Salthouse, 1994). Both constructs have long intellectual histories in scientific psychology. This article attempts to describe the historical development of these constructs, particularly as they pertain to intelligence. It also aims to determine the degree to which speed and executive attention are theoretical competitors in explaining individual differences in intelligence. We suggest that attention is the more fundamental mechanism in explaining variation in human intelligence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The non-Cattell-Horn-Carroll (non-CHC) Model of Ancillary Broad and Narrow Abilities

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of abilities is a comprehensive model of human cognitive abilities denoted by the G-code. Developed by three prominent psychologists - Raymond Cattell, John Horn, and John Carroll - the CHC theory suggests that there are three strata of cognitive abilities. In this paper, the authors argued that the CHC model faces seven challenges: First, it is a complex model with numerous factors and subtests, posing difficulties in administration and interpretation. Second, the theory itself has limited coverage and may not address all cognitive abilities. Third, critics have been arguing that the CHC theory has failed to sufficiently address socio-cultural variations. Fourth, the CHC model of broad and narrow abilities lacks concrete operational definitions, relying on theoretical constructs. Fifth, it always fails to account for complex interactions between cognitive abilities. Sixth, the CHC model continually evolves, requiring frequent updates. Lastly, the CHC theory might not fully capture individual differences in cognitive abilities and potential, leaving room for improvement. There are alternative models (e.g., extended fluid-crystallized and verbal-perceptual-image rotation theories) to the CHC model. Despite these limitations, the CHC model remains a valuable tool for understanding cognitive abilities. In this paper, the authors have chosen to focus on the non-CHC categories of broad abilities with their respective narrow abilities. Termed as ancillary abilities denoted by the Q-code, this paper aims to provide another model of abilities (not necessarily cognitive), not to replace the current CHC model, but to complement or supplement it.

Individual differences in inattentional blindness.

People often fail to notice unexpected objects and events when they are performing an attention-demanding task, a phenomenon known as inattentional blindness. We might expect individual differences in cognitive ability or personality to predict who will and will not notice unexpected objects given that people vary in their ability to perform attention-demanding tasks. We conducted a comprehensive literature search for empirical inattentional blindness reports and identified 38 records that included individual difference measures and met our inclusion criteria. From those, we extracted individual difference effect sizes for 31 records which included a total of 74 distinct, between-groups samples with at least one codable individual difference measure. We conducted separate meta-analyses of the relationship between noticing/missing an unexpected object and scores on each of the 14 cognitive and 19 personality measures in this dataset. We also aggregated across personality measures reflecting positive/negative affectivity or openness/absorption and cognitive measures of interference, attention breadth, and memory. Collectively, these meta-analyses provided little evidence that individual differences in ability or personality predict noticing of an unexpected object. A robustness analysis that excluded samples with extremely low numbers of people who noticed or missed produced similar results. For most measures, the number of samples and the total sample sizes were small, and larger studies are needed to examine individual differences in inattentional blindness more systematically. However, the results are consistent with the idea that noticing of unexpected objects or events differs from deliberate attentional control tasks in that it is not reliably predicted by individual differences in cognitive ability.

How do the cognitive processes matter in the event-based preschoolers' prospective memory?

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform an intended action at a specific future moment. The current study examined the impact of age, task focality, and cue salience on PM in children aged 2 to 6 years, based on the multiprocess theory of PM and the executive framework of PM development. Additionally, the study explored the relationship between various cognitive abilities and their association with PM performance. A total of 224 preschool-aged children, aged 2-6, engaged in event-based PM tasks with varying cognitive demands. The tasks were either focal or nonfocal, with salient or nonsalient cues. Additionally, individual differences in cognitive abilities were measured. The results support previous indications that even very young children can successfully complete event-based PM tasks. The accuracy of PM display improved with age, especially between the ages of 3 and 4. Better performance was observed in focal PM tasks compared to nonfocal PM tasks. Additionally, preschoolers' PM performance correlated with various cognitive abilities, including fluid intelligence, retrospective memory, inhibitory control, working memory, and language ability. These correlations varied depending on the child's age and the task's nature. For both focal and nonfocal PM tasks, cognitive abilities partially mediated the relationship between age and PM performance. In summary, this study comprehensively explores the specific roles played by age and fundamental cognitive abilities in event-based PM performance among preschool-aged children.

Complexity aversion in risky choices and valuations: Moderators and possible causes

In the age of digitalization and globalization, an abundance of information is available, and our decision environments have become increasingly complex. However, it remains unclear under what circumstances complexity affects risk taking. In two experiments with monetary lotteries (one with a stratified national sample), we investigate behavioral effects and provide a cognitive explanation for the impact of complexity on risk taking. Results show that complexity, defined as the number of possible outcomes of a risky lottery, decreased the choice probability of an option but had a smaller and less consistent effect when evaluating lotteries independently. Importantly, choices of participants who spent more time looking at the complex option were less affected by complexity. A tendency to avoid cognitive effort can explain these effects, as the effort associated with evaluating the complex option can be sidestepped in choice tasks, but less so in valuation tasks. Further, the effect of complexity on valuations was influenced by individual differences in cognitive ability, such that people with higher cognitive ability showed less complexity aversion. Together, the results show that the impact of complexity on risk taking depends on both, decision format and individual differences and we discuss cognitive processes that could give rise to these effects.

Psychometrics and Cognitive Research: Contradictions and Possibility for Cooperation

The article considered several issues of the relationships between cognitive psychology and psychometrics. Cognitive psychology has mainly developed within experimental paradigm in psychology, whereas psychometrics has developed within a different paradigm – assessment of individual differences and correlational studies. In the article it has been considered a brief history of the development of relationships between experimental studies and psychometrics, from the end of 19th century to the present. The historical view allows understanding problems in the use of experimental tasks for assessing individual differences and obstacles to the widespread of use psychometric models in experimental studies. Several recommendations are proposed to improve the accuracy of measurements of individual differences in cognitive abilities and processes, from psychometric perspectives. 

Does in-vehicle automation help individuals with Parkinson's disease? A preliminary analysis.

PD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects, according to the ICF, body systems (cognitive, visual, and motor), and functions (e.g., decreased executive functions, decreased visual acuity, impaired contrast sensitivity, decreased coordination)-all which impact driving performance, an instrumental activity of daily living in the domain of "Activity" and "Participation" according to the ICF. Although there is strong evidence of impaired driving performance in PD, few studies have explored the real-world benefits of in-vehicle automation technologies, such as in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), for drivers with PD. These technologies hold potential to alleviate driving impairments, reduce errors, and improve overall performance, allowing individuals with PD to maintain their mobility and independence more safely and for longer periods. This preliminary study aimed to fill the gap in the literature by examining the impact of IVIS and ADAS on driving safety, as indicated by the number of driving errors made by people with PD in an on-road study. Forty-five adults with diagnosed PD drove a 2019 Toyota Camry equipped with IVIS and ADAS features (Toyota Safety Sense 2.0) on a route containing highway and suburban roads. Participants drove half of the route with the IVIS and ADAS systems activated and the other half with the systems deactivated. The results suggest that systems that assume control of the driving task, such as adaptive cruise control, were most effective in reducing driving errors. Furthermore, individual differences in cognitive abilities, particularly memory, were significantly correlated with the total number of driving errors when the systems were deactivated, but no significant correlations were present when the systems were activated. Physical capability factors, such as rigidity and bradykinesia, were not significantly correlated with driving error. Taken together, these results show that in-vehicle driver automation systems can benefit drivers with PD and diminish the impact of individual differences in driver cognitive ability.

The Relationship Between Autism and Pitch Perception is Modulated by Cognitive Abilities.

Previous studies reported mixed findings on autistic individuals' pitch perception relative to neurotypical (NT) individuals. We investigated whether this may be partly due to individual differences in cognitive abilities by comparing their performance on various pitch perception tasks on a large sample (n = 164) of autistic and NT children and adults. Our findings revealed that: (i) autistic individuals either showed similar or worse performance than NT individuals on the pitch tasks; (ii) cognitive abilities were associated with some pitch task performance; and (iii) cognitive abilities modulated the relationship between autism diagnosis and pitch perception on some tasks. Our findings highlight the importance of taking an individual differences approach to understand the strengths and weaknesses of pitch processing in autism.

Cognitive factors in nonnative phonetic learning: Impacts of inhibitory control and working memory on the benefits and costs of talker variability

Talker variability has been reported to facilitate generalization and retention of speech learning, but is also shown to place demands on cognitive resources. Our recent study provided evidence that phonetically-irrelevant acoustic variability in single-talker (ST) speech is sufficient to induce equivalent amounts of learning to the use of multiple-talker (MT) training. This study is a follow-up contrasting MT versus ST training with varying degrees of temporal exaggeration to examine how cognitive measures of individual learners may influence the role of input variability in immediate learning and long-term retention. Native Chinese-speaking adults were trained on the English /i/-/ɪ/ contrast. We assessed the trainees’ working memory and inhibition control before training. The two trained groups showed comparable long-term retention of training effects in terms of word identification performance and more native-like cue weighting in both perception and production regardless of talker variability condition. The results demonstrate the role of phonetically-irrelevant variability in robust speech learning and modulatory functions of nonlinguistic domain-general inhibitory control and working memory, highlighting the necessity to consider the interaction between input characteristics, task difficulty, and individual differences in cognitive abilities in assessing learning outcomes.

Individual Differences in Holistic and Compositional Language Processing.

Individual differences in cognitive abilities are ubiquitous across the spectrum of proficient language users. Although speakers differ with regard to their memory capacity, ability for inhibiting distraction, and ability to shift between different processing levels, comprehension is generally successful. However, this does not mean it is identical across individuals; listeners and readers may rely on different processing strategies to exploit distributional information in the service of efficient understanding. In the following psycholinguistic reading experiment, we investigate potential sources of individual differences in the processing of co-occurring words. Participants read modifier-noun bigrams like absolute silence in a self-paced reading task. Backward transition probability (BTP) between the two lexemes was used to quantify the prominence of the bigram as a whole in comparison to the frequency of its parts. Of five individual difference measures (processing speed, verbal working memory, cognitive inhibition, global-local scope shifting, and personality), two proved to be significantly associated with the effect of BTP on reading times. Participants who could inhibit a distracting global environment in order to more efficiently retrieve a single part and those that preferred the local level in the shifting task showed greater effects of the co-occurrence probability of the parts. We conclude that some participants are more likely to retrieve bigrams via their parts and their co-occurrence statistics whereas others more readily retrieve the two words together as a single chunked unit.

Measuring Cognitive Abilities in the Wild: Validating a Population-Scale Game-Based Cognitive Assessment.

Rapid individual cognitive phenotyping holds the potential to revolutionize domains as wide-ranging as personalized learning, employment practices, and precision psychiatry. Going beyond limitations imposed by traditional lab-based experiments, new efforts have been underway toward greater ecological validity and participant diversity to capture the full range of individual differences in cognitive abilities and behaviors across the general population. Building on this, we developed Skill Lab, a novel game-based tool that simultaneously assesses a broad suite of cognitive abilities while providing an engaging narrative. Skill Lab consists of six mini-games as well as 14 established cognitive ability tasks. Using a popular citizen science platform (N = 10,725), we conducted a comprehensive validation in the wild of a game-based cognitive assessment suite. Based on the game and validation task data, we constructed reliable models to simultaneously predict eight cognitive abilities based on the users' in-game behavior. Follow-up validation tests revealed that the models can discriminate nuances contained within each separate cognitive ability as well as capture a shared main factor of generalized cognitive ability. Our game-based measures are five times faster to complete than the equivalent task-based measures and replicate previous findings on the decline of certain cognitive abilities with age in our large cross-sectional population sample (N = 6369). Taken together, our results demonstrate the feasibility of rapid in-the-wild systematic assessment of cognitive abilities as a promising first step toward population-scale benchmarking and individualized mental health diagnostics.

Testing locus coeruleus-norepinephrine accounts of working memory, attention control, and fluid intelligence.

The current set of studies examined the relationship among workingmemory capacity, attention control, fluid intelligence, and pupillary correlates of tonic arousal regulation and phasic responsiveness in a combined sample of more than 1,000 participants in two different age ranges (young adults and adolescents). Each study was designed to test predictions made by two recent theories regarding the role of the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system in determining individual differences in cognitive ability. The first theory, proposed by Unsworth and Robison (2017a), posits two important individual differences: the moment-to-moment regulation of tonic arousal, and the phasic responsiveness of the system to goal-relevant stimuli. The second theory, proposed by Tsukahara and Engle (2021a), argues that people with higher cognitive abilities have greater functional connectivity between the LC-NE system and cortical networks at rest. These two theories are not mutually exclusive, but they make different predictions. Overall, we found no evidence consistent with a resting-state theory. However, phasic responsiveness was consistently correlated with working memory capacity, attention control, and fluid intelligence, supporting a prediction made by Unsworth and Robison (2017a). Tonic arousal regulation was not correlated with working memory or fluid intelligence and was inconsistently correlated with attention control, which offers only partial support for Unsworth and Robison's (2017a) second prediction.

THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT-INDUCED RELAXATION ON COGNITIVE FORAGING UNDER STRESS IN MIDLIFE AND BEYOND

Abstract We defined enrichment seeking as the capacity for adults to engage in the novel and intellectually challenging activities for exploring diverse experience. Although enrichment seeking is associated with cognitive resilience in older adulthood, the tendency for older adults to adopt explorative behavior decreases with age in concert with decline in executive control. The goal of our study was to examine to what extent older adults can adjust their cognitive foraging performance under stress by inducing relaxation through the task environment. We used cognitive foraging games (including word search puzzle games) to understand how older adults optimize their search performance by the tradeoff between exploration (seeking new information) and exploitation (staying at old information). A modified Trier paradigm, where game performance was observed by a neurologist via video conferencing, induced stress; relaxation was manipulated by turning on an electric fireplace in the study room. The study followed a 2 (relaxation) X 2 (stress) within-subjects experimental design. Sixty-one adults (34 middle-age; 27 older adults; 54% women) played games on a tablet under stress / no stress conditions with and without the fireplace in a simulated smart home environment. The interaction effect of relaxation and stress on cognitive foraging performance was significant, indicating that with the relaxation elements in the environment (i.e., a fireplace), older adults are likely to have better cognitive foraging performance under stress. The association can be in part explained by individual differences in cognitive abilities and strategies. Implications on facilitating enrichment seeking through environmental factors are discussed.

Comparison of Neurocognitive Functioning and Fine Motor Skills in Pediatric Cancer Survivors and Healthy Children.

Background: The late treatment outcomes of pediatric brain tumors and of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissue tumors are an important focus of both rehabilitation and research. Neurocognitive and motor disorders induce further learning problems impeding social-emotional adaptation throughout a whole lifespan. Core deficits in short-term and working memory, visuospatial constructional ability, verbal fluency, and fine motor skills underlie distorted intellectual and academic achievement. This study aimed to assess the individual differences in cognitive ability and fine motor skills of pediatric tumor survivors and the age-matched healthy controls. Methods: A total of 504 tumor survivors after treatment and 646 age-matched healthy controls underwent neurocognitive and fine motor assessments. Findings: The group of tumor survivors scored significantly worse in both neurocognitive and fine motor skill in compared with the healthy control group. The pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBT group) performed worse in cognitive (p < 0.001 for verbal fluency and p < 0.001 for visuospatial constructional ability) and motor tests (p < 0.001) compared to the healthy controls. Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues tumors survivors (THL group) performed worse in verbal fluency (p < 0.01) and visuospatial constructional test (p < 0.001) compared to the control group. Furthermore, the PBT group had worse results in visuospatial constructional ability (p < 0.05) and fine motor (p < 0.001) ability than the THL group. Significant differences between females and males were found in fine motor test performance in the PBT group (p < 0.05), as well as in verbal fluency (p < 0.01) and visuospatial constructional ability (p < 0.01) in the control group. Neurocognitive and fine motor skill characteristics in the THL group did not correlate with age.

The importance of low IQ to early diagnosis of autism.

Some individuals can flexibly adapt to life's changing demands while others, in particular those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), find it challenging. The origin of early individual differences in cognitive abilities, the putative tools with which to navigate novel information in life, including in infants later diagnosed with ASD remains unexplored. Moreover, the role of intelligence quotient (IQ) vis-à-vis core features of autism remains debated. We systematically investigate the contribution of early IQ in future autism outcomes in an extremely large, population-based study of 8000 newborns, infants, and toddlers from the US between 2 and 68 months with over 15,000 cross-sectional and longitudinal assessments, and for whom autism outcomes are ascertained or ruled out by about 2-4 years. This population is representative of subjects involved in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research, mainly on atypical development, in the US. Analyses using predetermined age bins showed that IQ scores are consistently lower in ASD relative to typically developing (TD) children at all ages (p < 0.001), and IQ significantly correlates with social, non-social, and total Calibrated Severity Scores (CSS) on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) (p<0.01). Lower IQ is associated with greater autistic impairments. Note, verbal IQ (VIQ) is no better than the full-scale IQ to predict ASD cases. These findings raise new, compelling questions about potential atypical brain circuitry affecting performance in both verbal and nonverbal abilities and preceding an ASD diagnosis. This study is the first to establish prospectively that low early IQ is a major feature of ASD in early childhood. LAY SUMMARY: The role of IQ scores in autism remains debated. We systematically investigate the contribution of early IQ in an extremely large study of 8,000 children between 2 and 68 months with autism outcomes by about 2-4 years. We show that IQ scores are consistently lower in ASD relative to TD children. This study is the first to establish prospectively that low early IQ is a predictor for ASD diagnosis in early childhood.

Caregiver monitoring, but not caregiver warmth, is associated with general cognition in two large sub-samples of youth.

Individual differences in cognitive abilities emerge early during development, and children with poorer cognition are at increased risk for adverse outcomes as they enter adolescence. Caregiving plays an important role in supporting cognitive development, yet it remains unclear how specific types of caregiving behaviors may shape cognition, highlighting the need for large-scale studies. In the present study, we characterized replicable yet specific associations between caregiving behaviors and cognition in two large sub-samples of children ages 9-10 years old from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study® (ABCD). Across both discovery and replication sub-samples, we found that child reports of caregiver monitoring (supervision or regular knowledge of the child's whereabouts) were positively associated with general cognition abilities, after covarying for age, sex, household income, neighborhood deprivation, and parental education. This association was specific to the type of caregiving behavior (caregiver monitoring, but not caregiver warmth), and was most strongly associated with a broad domain of general cognition (but not executive function or learning/memory). Additionally, we found that caregiver monitoring partially mediated the association between household income and cognition, furthering our understanding of how socioeconomic disparities may contribute to disadvantages in cognitive development. Together, these findings underscore the influence of differences in caregiving behavior in shaping youth cognition. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Caregiver monitoring, but not caregiver warmth, is associated with cognitive performance in youth Caregiver monitoring partially mediates the association between household income and cognition Results replicated across two large matched samples from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study® (ABCD).