Individual Differences In Cognitive Processing Research Articles

Older adults' decision-making following bad advice.

There is minimal research investigating the influence of advice on decision-making in older age. The present study investigated the effect of different types of bad advice, relative to no advice, on young and older adults' decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Fifty-four older adults and 59 young adults completed the IGT after receiving no advice, or advice to select from disadvantageous deck A (small, high-frequency losses), or disadvantageous deck B (larger, low-frequency losses). Corrugator EMG, memory and fluid intelligence were assessed. Averaged across advice conditions, older adults made more disadvantageous selections than young adults. There were no age-related differences in responding to bad advice, nor in corrugator activity in response to losses (i.e. frowning), or in learning to avoid deck A faster than deck B. Selecting from deck B was associated with reduced education among older adults, and reduced fluid intelligence among young adults. The data suggest that older adults make more disadvantageous decisions than young adults, and this is not exacerbated by bad advice. Both young and older adults are slower at learning to avoid choices resulting in low frequency relative to high-frequency losses, and this may be associated with individual differences in cognitive processing.

The effect of perceptual organization on numerical and preference-based decisions shows inter-subject correlation.

Individual differences in cognitive processing have been the subject of intensive research. One important type of such individual differences is the tendency for global versus local processing, which was shown to correlate with a wide range of processing differences in fields such as decision making, social judgments and creativity. Yet, whether these global/local processing tendencies are correlated within a subject across different domains is still an open question. To address this question, we develop and test a novel method to quantify global/local processing tendencies, in which we directly set in opposition the local and global information instead of instructing subjects to specifically attend to one processing level. We apply our novel method to two different domains: (1) a numerical cognition task, and (2) a preference task. Using computational modeling, we accounted for classical effects in choice and numerical-cognition. Global/local tendencies in both tasks were quantified using a salience parameter. Critically, the salience parameters extracted from the numerical cognition and preference tasks were highly correlated, providing support for robust perceptual organization tendencies within an individual.

Relationships between resting-state EEG functional networks organization and individual differences in mind wandering.

When performing cognitively demanding tasks, people tend to experience momentary distractions or personal associations that intercept their stream of consciousness. This phenomenon is known as Mind Wandering (MW) and it has become a subject of neuroscientific investigations. Off-task thoughts can be analyzed during task performance, but currently, MW is also understood as a dimension of individual differences in cognitive processing. We wanted to recognize the intrinsically-organized functional networks that could be considered the neuronal basis for MW dispositional variability. To achieve this goal we recruited a group of normal adults, and eventually divided the group in half, based on participants' scores on the scale measuring dispositional MW. Next, these groups were compared regarding the arrangement of preselected intrinsic functional networks, which were reconstructed based on multi-channel signal-source resting-state EEG. It appeared that subjects who tend to mind wander often exhibited decreased synchronization within the default mode network, and, simultaneously, strengthened connectivity between 'on-task' networks of diverse functional specificity. Such within- and between networks integrity patterns might suggest that greater Mind Wanderers present an atypical organization of resting-state brain activity, which may translate into attenuated resources needed to maintain attentional control in task-related conditions.

Development of a novel, theoretically motivated scale to assess cognitive learning styles related to the autism spectrum

BackgroundAlthough theoretical efforts have been made to address the cognitive learning styles of individuals on the autism spectrum, no instrument to measure such learning styles is currently available. The current study aimed to develop such a scale based on the learning style theory of Qian and Lipkin (Front Hum Neurosci 5:77, 2011).MethodsResponse data from total of 768 undergraduate students was used for this study. This sample was split into two subsamples of N = 460 and N = 308 for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. The correlations between the resulting new subscales and some other potentially related measures were examined.ResultsA three-factor structure with 19 items was obtained measuring need for task clarity/familiarity, susceptibility to cognitive load, and the grasping of conceptual relations.ConclusionsThis newly developed measure can be used to help understand the nature of the individual differences in cognitive processing that are evident across both the autism spectrum as well as the overall population more generally.

Association of Self-reported Primary Care Physician Tolerance for Uncertainty With Variations in Resource Use and Patient Experience

Inappropriate variations in clinical practice are a known cause of poor quality and safety, with variations often associated with nonclinical factors, such as individual differences in cognitive processing. The differential response of physicians to uncertainty may explain some of the variations in resource use and patient experience. To examine the association of physician tolerance for uncertainty with variations in resource use and patient experience. This survey study linked physician survey data (May to June 2019), patient experience survey data (January 2016 to December 2019), and billing data (January 2019 to December 2019) among primary care physicians (PCPs) at Massachusetts General Hospital with at least 10 visits in 2019. The statistical analysis was performed in 2021. The analysis examined associations of PCP tolerance for uncertainty with the tendency to order diagnostic tests, the frequency of outpatient visits, hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and patient experience data (focused on physician communication and overall rating). A 2-stage hierarchical framework was used to account for clustering of patients under PCPs. Binary outcomes were modeled using a hierarchical logistic model, and count outcomes were modeled using hierarchical Poisson or negative binomial models. The analysis was adjusted for patient demographic variables (age, sex, and race and ethnicity), socioeconomic factors (payer and neighborhood income), and clinical comorbidities. Of 217 included physicians, 137 (63.1%) were women, and 174 (80.2%) were adult PCPs. A total of 62 physicians (28.6%) reported low tolerance, 59 (27.2%) reported medium tolerance, and 96 (44.2%) reported high tolerance for uncertainty. Physicians with a low tolerance for uncertainty were less likely to order complete blood cell counts (odds ratio [OR], 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50-0.88), thyroid tests (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.52-0.88), a basic metabolic profile (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.60-1.00), and liver function tests (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.53-0.99) than physicians with a high tolerance for uncertainty. Physicians who reported higher tolerance for uncertainty were more likely to receive higher patient experience scores for listening to patients carefully (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.50-0.83) and higher overall ratings (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66-0.98) than physicians with medium tolerance. Conversely, no association was found between physician tolerance for uncertainty and patient outpatient visits, hospital admissions, or emergency department visits. In clinical practice, identifying and effectively managing inappropriate variations and improving patient experience have proven to be difficult, despite increased attention to these issues. This study supports the hypothesis that physicians' tolerance for uncertainty is associated with differences in resource use and patient experience. Whether enhancing physicians' tolerance for uncertainty could help reduce unwarranted practice variations, improve quality and patient safety, and improve patient's experience remains to be established.

Active lifestyle as a reflection of cognitive reserve: The Modified Cognitive Reserve Scale

Cognitive reserve (CR) refers to individual differences in cognitive processing that can protect from and compensate for functional decline related to ageing or brain pathology. The CR theory postulates that attaining an active and cognitively stimulating lifestyle can accumulate CR. The Cognitive Reserve Scale (CRS) is a questionnaire that measures lifelong attainment in leisure activities. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the usefulness, validity and reliability of a modified Finnish translation of the CRS, the Modified Cognitive Reserve Scale (mCRS). The mCRS consists of 20 questions concerning studying and information seeking, hobbies and social relationships during three age phases: young adulthood (18–35 years), adulthood (36–64 years) and late adulthood (≥65 years). A group of 69 neurologically healthy adults aged 26–78 filled the mCRS and completed a neuropsychological test battery. We examined the internal consistency of the mCRS and associations between the mCRS, demographical variables and cognitive performance. The mCRS was normally distributed and showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.81). It was significantly associated with occupation (ԑ2 = 0.14) and education (rho = 0.51) but not with age or gender. There were significant associations between the mCRS and verbal reasoning (rho = .306), visual reasoning (r = .319), learning (r = .293) and inhibition (rho = -.368). Our study suggests that the mCRS is a reliable and valid method to assess lifelong leisure activity. The mCRS is related to other factors that enhance CR, occupation and education, and associated with cognitive performance of healthy adults. It provides an easily administrable means to assess lifelong attainment in stimulating leisure activities.

Individual differences in cognitive processing for roughness rating of fine and coarse textures.

Previous studies have demonstrated that skin vibration is an important factor affecting the roughness perception of fine textures. For coarse textures, the determining physical factor is much less clear and there are indications that this might be participant-dependent. In this paper, we focused on roughness perception of both coarse and fine textures of different materials (glass particle surfaces and sandpapers). We investigated the relationship between subjective roughness ratings and three physical parameters (skin vibration, friction coefficient, and particle size) within a group of 30 participants. Results of the glass particle surfaces showed both spatial information (particle size) and temporal information (skin vibration) had a high correlation with subjective roughness ratings. The former correlation was slightly but significantly higher than the latter. The results also indicated different weights of temporal information and spatial information for roughness ratings among participants. Roughness ratings of a different material (sandpaper versus glass particles) could be either larger, similar or smaller, indicating differences among individuals. The best way to describe our results is that in their perceptual evaluation of roughness, different individuals weight temporal information, spatial information, and other mechanical properties differently.

Using Decision Models to Enhance Investigations of Individual Differences in Cognitive Neuroscience.

There is great interest in relating individual differences in cognitive processing to activation of neural systems. The general process involves relating measures of task performance like reaction times or accuracy to brain activity to identify individual differences in neural processing. One limitation of this approach is that measures like reaction times can be affected by multiple components of processing. For instance, some individuals might have higher accuracy in a memory task because they respond more cautiously, not because they have better memory. Computational models of decision making, like the drift–diffusion model and the linear ballistic accumulator model, provide a potential solution to this problem. They can be fitted to data from individual participants to disentangle the effects of the different processes driving behavior. In this sense the models can provide cleaner measures of the processes of interest, and enhance our understanding of how neural activity varies across individuals or populations. The advantages of this model-based approach to investigating individual differences in neural activity are discussed with recent examples of how this method can improve our understanding of the brain–behavior relationship.

Intraindividual neurophysiological variability in ultra-high-risk for psychosis and schizophrenia patients: single-trial analysis.

Background:Intraindividual variability in neurophysiological responses is an important factor in the study of schizophrenia. Interestingly, this variability strongly predicts individual differences in cognitive processing. Neurobiological abnormalities that present during the prodromal phase of schizophrenia are not well characterized. However, these symptoms may provide insight into the key circuits involved in the disorder.Aims:To investigate the variability in magnetoencephalographic responses at ultrahigh risk and schizophrenia patients.Methods:Twenty-four ultrahigh risk, 21 patients with schizophrenia and 28 healthy controls were evaluated. The intraindividual variability was estimated by calculating the s.d. of the across-trial amplitude in responses to deviant and standard stimuli. The degree of phase locking across trials was calculated by intertrial coherence.Results:Greater variability in the responses to deviant and standard tones was noted in the schizophrenia and ultrahigh risk groups compared with controls. Variability in response to standard stimuli was positively correlated with the amplitude for the standard stimuli in all of the groups. Moreover, schizophrenia patients displayed lower alpha and theta intertrial coherence compared with ultrahigh risk and controls. Mismatch negativity amplitude was correlated with the alpha intertrial coherence in all groups. Taken together, the augmented variability and reduced inter-trial coherence provide empirical evidence for increased amplitude and phase inconsistencies in schizophrenia and ultrahigh risk.Conclusions:The results implicate widespread dysfunction in amplitude modulation and phase concentration in schizophrenia and ultrahigh risk, as well as evidence for early amplitude and phase disruption. These finding suggest intraindividual variability and intertrial coherence appear to be important indicators of pathophysiological processing.

The Role of Individual Differences in Executive Attentional Networks and Switching Choices in Multi-Task Management

Individual differences in cognitive processing relate to critical performance differences in real-world environments. Task switching is required for many of them and especially for task management during overload. Research exploring individual differences related to switching behavior (both frequency, and adherence to “optimal” switch times) is, however, sparse. We examined these relationships here, using the attentional network task to index executive control, and an ongoing tracking task (within a larger suite of concurrent task demands) to examine switching behavior. The results failed to support a general relationship between executive control and frequency in a complex, heterogeneous multi-task environment. However, higher executive control participants more successfully exploited “optimal” switching times, highlighting the varying role of individual differences in task management, when choice is unconstrained.

Individual differences in sensory and cognitive processing across the adult lifespan

A recent large-scale (N = 245) cross-sectional study of threshold sensitivity and temporal processing in hearing, vision and touch for adults ranging in age from 18 through 82 years of age questioned the long-presumed link between aging and declines in cognitive-processing [Humes, L.E., Busey, T.A., Craig, J. & Kewley-Port, D. (2013). Attention, Perception and Psychophysics, 75, 508–524]. The results of this extensive psychophysical investigation suggested that individual differences in sensory processing across multiple tasks and senses drive individual differences in cognitive processing in adults regardless of age. My long-time colleague at IU, Diane Kewley-Port, was instrumental in the design, execution and interpretation of results for this large study, especially for the measures of auditory temporal processing. The methods used and the results obtained in this study will be reviewed, with a special emphasis on the auditory stimuli and tasks involved. The potential implications of these findings, including possible interventions, will also be discussed. Finally, future research designed to better evaluate the direction of the association between sensory-processing and cognitive-processing deficits will be described. [Work supported, in part, by research grant R01 AG008293 from the NIA.]

A Personalized User Authentication Approach Based on Individual Differences in Information Processing

An effective user authentication mechanism should embrace both security and usability aspects as its purpose is to ensure safety of operation of online services but as well usability and transparency to its end users. In an attempt to improve the usability and overall experience of user interactions during authentication, this paper proposes an alternative approach of personalizing user authentication tasks based on individual differences in cognitive processing. The presented approach is mainly driven by theories on individual differences in cognitive styles which argue that individuals recall and process textual and graphical information differently. In this realm, the paper presents a 4-month user study in which 153 participants interacted with a personalized user authentication mechanism in an ecological valid context. Analysis of results shows that the presented user authentication approach is a promising alternative to current state of user authentication practices.

A Place for Individual Differences in What Everyone Knows About What Everyone Does: Positive Affect, Cognitive Processes, and Cognitive Experiential Self Theory

AbstractIndividual differences are often incorporated into experimental research to elucidate inconsistent effects. We argue that the inclusion of such differences into established and seemingly straightforward findings is imperative to the goal of reaching a more complete understanding about the processes of interest. Drawing on research on the cognitive effects of positive affect, we illustrate how integrating individual differences in cognitive processing styles to this literature might lead to a more nuanced understanding of the impact of affect on cognitive processes. The addition of individual differences to psychological research should be seen as a means to a thorough scientific comprehension of a topic rather than as burdensome caveats to otherwise straightforward findings.

Ecological rationality or nested sets? Individual differences in cognitive processing predict Bayesian reasoning

The presentation of a Bayesian inference problem in terms of natural frequencies rather than probabilities has been shown to enhance performance. The effect of individual differences in cognitive processing on Bayesian reasoning has rarely been studied, despite enabling us to test process-oriented variants of the two main accounts of the facilitative effect of natural frequencies: The ecological rationality account (ERA), which postulates an evolutionarily shaped ease of natural frequency automatic processing, and the nested sets account (NSA), which posits analytical processing of nested sets. In two experiments, we found that cognitive reflection abilities predicted normative performance equally well in tasks featuring whole and arbitrarily parsed objects (Experiment 1) and that cognitive abilities and thinking dispositions (analytical vs. intuitive) predicted performance with single-event probabilities, as well as natural frequencies (Experiment 2). Since these individual differences indicate that analytical processing improves Bayesian reasoning, our findings provide stronger support for the NSA than for the ERA.

Editorial

Editorial

Unique and persistent individual patterns of brain activity across different memory retrieval tasks

Fourteen subjects were scanned in two fMRI sessions separated by several months. During each session, subjects performed an episodic retrieval task, a semantic retrieval task, and a working memory task. We found that 1) despite extensive intersubject variability in the pattern of activity across the whole brain, individual activity patterns were stable over time, 2) activity patterns of the same individual performing different tasks were more similar than activity patterns of different individuals performing the same task, and 3) that individual differences in decision criterion on a recognition test predicted the degree of similarity between any two individuals' patterns of brain activity, but individual differences in memory accuracy or similarity in structural anatomy did not. These results imply that the exclusive use of group maps may be ineffective in profiling the pattern of activations for a given task. This may be particularly true for a task like episodic retrieval, which is relatively strategic and can involve widely distributed specialized processes that are peripheral to the actual retrieval of stored information. Further, these processes may be differentially engaged depending on individual differences in cognitive processing and/or physiology.

Construction of Smoking‐Relevant Risk Perceptions Among College Students: The Influence of Need for Cognition and Message Content1

Changing smokers' health‐risk perceptions has been difficult. This study tested whether need for cognition (NC)—a factor within Petty & Cacioppo's (1986) elaboration likelihood model that reflects the preference for effortful cognitive information processing—moderated responses to a smoking risk message intervention. College smokers (n=227) evaluated a fact‐based or emotion‐based smoking risk pamphlet or a control pamphlet. Among occasional but not daily smokers, NC interacted as hypothesized with type of message to moderate risk perceptions. Among participants with higher NC, the fact‐based message produced the greatest increase in risk perception; whereas among participants with lower NC, the emotion‐based message produced the greatest change. Findings demonstrate that individual differences in cognitive processing can influence the potency of health‐risk messages.

A neural network reflecting individual differences in cognitive processing of emotions during perceptual decision making

Even simple perceptual decisions are influenced by the emotional content of a stimulus. Recent neuroimaging studies provide evidence about the neural mechanisms of perceptual decision making on emotional stimuli. However, the effect of individual differences in cognitive processing of emotions on perceptual decision making remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated how changes in the fMRI signal during perceptual decision making on facial stimuli covaried with individual differences in the ability to identify and communicate one’s emotional state. Although this personality trait covaried with changes in activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) during gender decisions on facial expressions, there was no correlation during emotion decisions. Further, we investigated whether individual differences in the ability to cognitively process emotions depend on differences in the functional integration of emotional and cognitive brain regions. We therefore compared task-dependent changes in effective connectivity of dACC in individuals with good and with poor ability to cognitively process emotions using a psychophysiological interaction analysis. We found greater coupling of dACC with prefrontal regions in individuals with good ability to identify and communicate their emotional state. Conversely, individuals with poor ability in this domain showed greater coupling of dACC with the amygdala. Our data indicate that individual differences in the ability to identify and communicate one’s emotional state are reflected by altered effective connectivity of the dACC with prefrontal and limbic regions. Thus, we provide neurophysiological evidence for a theoretical model that posits that a discommunication between limbic areas and the neocortex impairs cognitive processing of emotions.

Implementation science: a role for parallel dual processing models of reasoning?

BackgroundA better theoretical base for understanding professional behaviour change is needed to support evidence-based changes in medical practice. Traditionally strategies to encourage changes in clinical practices have been guided empirically, without explicit consideration of underlying theoretical rationales for such strategies. This paper considers a theoretical framework for reasoning from within psychology for identifying individual differences in cognitive processing between doctors that could moderate the decision to incorporate new evidence into their clinical decision-making.DiscussionParallel dual processing models of reasoning posit two cognitive modes of information processing that are in constant operation as humans reason. One mode has been described as experiential, fast and heuristic; the other as rational, conscious and rule based. Within such models, the uptake of new research evidence can be represented by the latter mode; it is reflective, explicit and intentional. On the other hand, well practiced clinical judgments can be positioned in the experiential mode, being automatic, reflexive and swift. Research suggests that individual differences between people in both cognitive capacity (e.g., intelligence) and cognitive processing (e.g., thinking styles) influence how both reasoning modes interact. This being so, it is proposed that these same differences between doctors may moderate the uptake of new research evidence. Such dispositional characteristics have largely been ignored in research investigating effective strategies in implementing research evidence. Whilst medical decision-making occurs in a complex social environment with multiple influences and decision makers, it remains true that an individual doctor's judgment still retains a key position in terms of diagnostic and treatment decisions for individual patients. This paper argues therefore, that individual differences between doctors in terms of reasoning are important considerations in any discussion relating to changing clinical practice.SummaryIt is imperative that change strategies in healthcare consider relevant theoretical frameworks from other disciplines such as psychology. Generic dual processing models of reasoning are proposed as potentially useful in identifying factors within doctors that may moderate their individual uptake of evidence into clinical decision-making. Such factors can then inform strategies to change practice.

Assessing clinically relevant perceptual organization with multidimensional scaling techniques.

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques provide a promising measurement strategy for characterizing individual differences in cognitive processing, which many clinical theories associate with the development, maintenance, and treatment of psychopathology. The authors describe the use of deterministic and probabilistic MDS techniques for investigating numerous aspects of perceptual organization, such as dimensional attention, perceptual correlation, within-attribute organization, and perceptual variability. Additionally, they discuss how formal quantitative models can be used, in conjunction with MDS-derived representations of individual differences in perceptual organization, to test theories about the role of cognitive processing in clinically relevant phenomena. They include applied examples from their work in the areas of eating disorders and sexual coercion.