Individual Differences In Information Processing Research Articles

Dissociation of Reliability, Heritability, and Predictivity inCoarse- and Fine-Scale Functional Connectomes duringDevelopment.

The functional connectome supports information transmission through the brain at various spatial scales, from exchange between broad cortical regions to finer-scale, vertex-wise connections that underlie specific information processing mechanisms. In adults, while both the coarse- and fine-scale functional connectomes predict cognition, the fine scale can predict up to twice the variance as the coarse-scale functional connectome. Yet, past brain-wide association studies, particularly using large developmental samples, focus on the coarse connectome to understand the neural underpinnings of individual differences in cognition. Using a large cohort of children (age 9-10 years; n = 1,115 individuals; both sexes; 50% female, including 170 monozygotic and 219 dizygotic twin pairs and 337 unrelated individuals), we examine the reliability, heritability, and behavioral relevance of resting-state functional connectivity computed at different spatial scales. We use connectivity hyperalignment to improve access to reliable fine-scale (vertex-wise) connectivity information and compare the fine-scale connectome with the traditional parcel-wise (coarse scale) functional connectomes. Though individual differences in the fine-scale connectome are more reliable than those in the coarse-scale, they are less heritable. Further, the alignment and scale of connectomes influence their ability to predict behavior, whereby some cognitive traits are equally well predicted by both connectome scales, but other, less heritable cognitive traits are better predicted by the fine-scale connectome. Together, our findings suggest there are dissociable individual differences in information processing represented at different scales of the functional connectome which, in turn, have distinct implications for heritability and cognition.

Individual differences in information processing during sleep and wake predict sleep-based memory consolidation of complex rules

Memory is critical for many cognitive functions, from remembering facts, to learning complex environmental rules. While memory encoding occurs during wake, memory consolidation is associated with sleep-related neural activity. Further, research suggests that individual differences in alpha frequency during wake (∼7 – 13 Hz) modulate memory processes, with higher individual alpha frequency (IAF) associated with greater memory performance. However, the relationship between wake-related EEG individual differences, such as IAF, and sleep-related neural correlates of memory consolidation has been largely unexplored, particularly in a complex rule-based memory context. Here, we aimed to investigate whether wake-derived IAF and sleep neurophysiology interact to influence rule learning in a sample of 35 healthy adults (16 males; mean age = 25.4, range: 18 – 40). Participants learned rules of a modified miniature language prior to either 8hrs of sleep or wake, after which they were tested on their knowledge of the rules in a grammaticality judgement task. Results indicate that sleep neurophysiology and wake-derived IAF do not interact but modulate memory for complex linguistic rules separately. Phase-amplitude coupling between slow oscillations and spindles during non-rapid eye-movement (NREM) sleep also promoted memory for rules that were analogous to the canonical English word order. As an exploratory analysis, we found that rapid eye-movement (REM) sleep theta power at posterior regions interacts with IAF to predict rule learning and proportion of time in REM sleep predicts rule learning differentially depending on grammatical rule type. Taken together, the current study provides behavioural and electrophysiological evidence for a complex role of NREM and REM sleep neurophysiology and wake-derived IAF in the consolidation of rule-based information.

I Think I Should Get Vaccinated, I Feel I Should Not. Individual Differences in Information Processing and Vaccination Behavior (COVID-19).

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community responded promptly by developing effective vaccines. Still, even though effective vaccines against COVID-19 became available, many people did not seem to be in a rush to become immunized. Community protection can be enhanced if more people decide to vaccinate, and thus it is necessary to identify relevant factors involved in vaccination behavior to find better ways of encouraging it. Vaccination behavior is the result of a decision process that might vary according to individual differences in information processing. We investigated the role of cognitive reflection ability and thinking styles in predicting self-reported vaccination behavior against COVID-19. A sample of 274 Romanian participants was surveyed for the present study, out of which 217 (Mage = 24.58, SD = 8.31; 53% female) declared they had the possibility to become vaccinated. Results showed that a higher level of cognitive reflection ability significantly increased the odds of becoming vaccinated. A rational thinking style was not linked to vaccination behavior. However, an experiential thinking style indirectly predicted vaccination behavior by means of attitudes towards vaccination. Since individual differences in information processing are, to a certain extent, linked to vaccination behavior, the design of vaccination campaigns could consider that people have specific information needs and address them as such.

A dual strategy account of individual differences in information processing in contingency judgments

ABSTRACT The dual strategy model of reasoning suggests that people can either use a Statistical or a Counterexample strategy to process information. Previous studies on contingency learning have shown a sufficiency bias: people give more importance to events where the potential cause is present (sufficiency) rather than events where the potential cause is absent (necessity). We examine the hypothesis that strategy use predicts individual differences in use of sufficiency information in contingency judgements. Study 1 used an active learning contingency task. Results showed that Statistical reasoners were more influenced by sufficiency information than Counterexample reasoners. Study 2 used a passive learning contingency task, where sufficiency was constant and only necessity information (based on outcomes when the potential cause was absent) was varied. Results showed that only Counterexample reasoners were sensitive to necessity information. These results demonstrate that strategy use is correlated with individual differences in information processing in contingency learning.

The reciprocal impact of both visual and verbal metaphors in advertisements: the moderating role of need for cognition

Metaphors, one of the attractive strategies in communication, can have a significant impact visually and verbally on the persuasion of targeted consumers. The current study investigates the interaction effects when using pictorial and verbal metaphors in ads on consumers’ attitude toward the ad, the brand, and purchase intention while considering the moderating effect of individuals’ differences in need for cognition (NFC). Experimental results indicate the reciprocal impact of metaphor in both image and copy in ads under different combination-conditions considering the individual differences in information processing (i.e. NFC) with low-involvement products. Furthermore, the results highlight a significant three-way interaction effect on the consumers’ attitudes toward the ad and the brand with the individuals’ differences in the NFC. The findings illustrate the effective combination and the optimisation of visual and verbal metaphors in order to enhance the ad effects with metaphors. The implications and limitations are discussed.

Measurements of Rationality: Individual Differences in Information Processing, the Transitivity of Preferences and Decision Strategies.

The first goal of this study was to validate the Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI) and the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) through checking their relation to the transitivity axiom. The second goal was to test the relation between decision strategies and cognitive style as well as the relation between decision strategies and the transitivity of preferences. The following characteristics of strategies were investigated: requirements for trade-offs, maximization vs. satisficing and option-wise vs. attribute-wise information processing. Respondents were given choices between two multi-attribute options. The options were designed so that the choice indicated which strategy was applied. Both the REI-R and the CRT were found to be good predictors of the transitivity of preferences. Respondents who applied compensatory strategies and the maximization criterion scored highly on the REI-R and in the CRT, whereas those who applied the satisficing rule scored highly on the REI-R but not in the CRT. Attribute-wise information processing was related to low scores in both measurements. Option-wise information processing led to a high transitivity of preferences.

Brain-behavioral adaptability predicts response to cognitive behavioral therapy for emotional disorders: A person-centered event-related potential study

Single-trial-level analyses afford the ability to link neural indices of elaborative attention (such as the late positive potential [LPP], an event-related potential) with downstream markers of attentional processing (such as reaction time [RT]). This approach can provide useful information about individual differences in information processing, such as the ability to adapt behavior based on attentional demands (“brain-behavioral adaptability”). Anxiety and depression are associated with maladaptive information processing implicating aberrant cognition-emotion interactions, but whether brain-behavioral adaptability predicts response to psychotherapy is not known. We used a novel person-centered, trial-level analysis approach to link neural indices of stimulus processing to behavioral responses and to predict treatment outcome. Thirty-nine patients with anxiety and/or depression received 12 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Prior to treatment, patients performed a speeded reaction-time task involving briefly-presented pairs of aversive and neutral pictures while electroencephalography was recorded. Multilevel modeling demonstrated that larger LPPs predicted slower responses on subsequent trials, suggesting that increased attention to the task-irrelevant nature of pictures interfered with reaction time on subsequent trials. Whereas using LPP and RT averages did not distinguish CBT responders from nonresponders, in trial-level analyses individuals who demonstrated greater ability to benefit behaviorally (i.e., faster RT) from smaller LPPs on the previous trial (greater brain-behavioral adaptability) were more likely to respond to treatment and showed greater improvements in depressive symptoms. These results highlight the utility of trial-level analyses to elucidate variability in within-subjects, brain-behavioral attentional coupling in the context of emotion processing, in predicting response to CBT for emotional disorders.

Commentary: Information-processing in anxiety anddepression - novel targets for translational research, a reflection on Lau and Waters (2017).

Understanding psychopathology in the context of a developmental cognitive neuroscience approach entails the notion that specific individual differences in information processing can serve as both etiologic and maintaining factors in the development of specific disorders. It is posited that such mechanistic understanding of neurocognitive aberrations during development can then serve focused translational efforts in the form of cognitive bias modification treatments. In the review by Lau and Waters (this issue), an astute developmental model is suggested regarding the role of potential neurocognitive mechanisms in depression and anxiety in youth.

Working memory capacity and task goals modulate error-related ERPs.

The present study investigated individual differences in information processing following errant behavior. Participants were initially classified as high or as low working memory capacity using the Operation Span Task. In a subsequent session, they then performed a high congruency version of the flanker task under both speed and accuracy stress. We recorded ERPs and behavioral measures of accuracy and response time in the flanker task with a primary focus on processing following an error. The error-related negativity was larger for the high working memory capacity group than for the low working memory capacity group. The positivity following an error (Pe) was modulated to a greater extent by speed-accuracy instruction for the high working memory capacity group than for the low working memory capacity group. These data help to explicate the neural bases of individual differences in working memory capacity and cognitive control.

Rational-experiential thinking style and rational intergroup cooperation: the moderating role of intergroup conflict / Estilos de pensamiento racional-experiencial y la cooperación intergrupal racional: el rol modulador del conflicto intergrupal

Cooperative relationships between groups are difficult because of the high human capability to differentiate between in-group vs. out-group members. This obstacle exists even when the groups can obtain benefits for themselves from cooperation with other groups (rational cooperation). Based on an interactionist approach, the authors propose that personal (individual differences) and situational (conflicts) factors contribute to rational intergroup cooperation. The authors conducted a preliminary correlational study (Study 1) and an experimental investigation (Study 2). In Study 1, the authors examined, with 105 participants, the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Rational–Experiential Inventory (REI), measuring individual differences in information processing. In Study 2, the authors conducted an experimental investigation with 141 participants, testing the role of individual differences and conflict in intergroup rational cooperation. Findings of Study 1 showed that the scale has adequate psychometric properties. Results of Study 2 confirmed that the existence of both manipulated and perceived intergroup conflict reduces the magnitudes of the relationships between rational ability and rational cooperation. In addition, perceived intergroup conflict increased the magnitude of the links from experiential ability and experimental engagement to rational cooperation. Both individual differences and previous conflict have a role in predicting rational intergroup cooperation. According to the interactionist approach, personal and situational factors should be considered in the understanding of intergroup relationships.

Rationality: Transitivity and System 2. Individual Differences in Information Processing.

Despite a high interest in personal styles of information processing in decision research, measurements of rationality in Dual Process Theories (DPT) have not been confronted with the normative concept of rationality, e.g. obeying the transitivity axiom. Therefore, the first goal of this study is to validate Rational-Experiential Inventory (REI) and Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) through checking its relation to the transitivity axiom. Assuming that there is a link between scores on DPT measures and the basic principles of logic, the second goal is to test the relation between thinking styles and decision strategies. The following characteristics of strategies are investigated: requirements for trade-offs, maximization vs. satisficing and option-wise vs. attribute-wise information processing, since they refer to the classical concept of rationality, bounded rationality and simple heuristics. It is expected that high scores on Rationality subscale of REI (REI-R) and in CRT is related to compensatory option-wise information processing and maximization or satisficing.Respondents have been given choices between two multi-attribute options. In Study 1, they choose between two apartments. In Study 2, they made the same choices between two abstract options described on dimensions without specific modalities. Options were designed such that the choice indicated which strategy was applied.Both REI-R and CRT have been found to be good predictors of transitive preferences. Respondents who applied compensatory strategies and the maximization criterion scored highly on REI-R and in CRT, whereas those who applied satisficing rule scored highly on REI-R but not in CRT. Attribute-wise information processing led to low scores in both measurements.

Reading About the Flu Online: How Health-Protective Behavioral Intentions Are Influenced by Media Multitasking, Polychronicity, and Strength of Health-Related Arguments

ABSTRACTAs health organizations increasingly use the Internet to communicate medical information and advice (Shortliffe et al., 2000; World Health Organization, 2013), studying factors that affect health information processing and health-protective behaviors becomes extremely important. The present research applied the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion to explore the effects of media multitasking, polychronicity (preference for multitasking), and strength of health-related arguments on health-protective behavioral intentions. Participants read an online article about influenza that included strong and weak suggestions to engage in flu-preventive behaviors. In one condition, participants read the article and checked Facebook; in another condition, they were exposed only to the article. Participants expressed greater health-protective behavioral intentions in the media multitasking condition than in the control condition. Strong arguments were found to elicit more positive behavioral intentions than weak arguments. Moderate and high polychronics showed greater behavioral intentions than low polychronics when they read the article in the multitasking condition. The difference in intentions to follow strong and weak arguments decreased for moderate and high polychronics. The results of the present study suggest that health communication practitioners should account for not only media use situations in which individuals typically read about health online but also individual differences in information processing, which puts more emphasis on the strength of health-protective suggestions when targeting light multitaskers.

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.

Working Memory, Processing Speed, and Executive Memory Contributions to Computer-Assisted Second Language Learning

How individual differences in information processing affect second language (L2) learning has been unclear in prior research. Adults lacking prior skill in Swedish were pretested for working memory, processing speed, and executive memory capacity. Participants then received 6 computer-based instructional sessions with pictorial animations of Swedish sentences, with a built-in experimental contrast between some lessons at high and some at low rates of presentation. The faster rate carried greater processing demands for the learners. Higher levels of Swedish performance during Instructional sessions were associated with higher working memory levels, as expected from widely-used models of working memory (e.g., Baddeley & Hitch, 1994). In contrast, results at demanding long-term retrieval on a posttest were more complex and revealed several dynamic relationships between processing speed, working memory, and Swedish language learning. Learners with low rather than high working memory showed higher L2 skills at long-term testing when instructional lessons had employed fast animations. This first-time demonstration that prior cognitive profiles strongly influence learners’ progress in second language requires refinements in existing theories.

More than meets the eye? Intuition and analysis revisited

Research on individual differences in information processing is characterized by two incompatible theoretical perspectives. The unitary view postulates that analysis and intuition are the opposite poles of a single dimension, whereas the dual-process view proposes that they are independent constructs. We investigated this issue using two established measures of information-processing style, the Cognitive Style Index (CSI) and the Rational–Experiential Inventory (REI), each representative of one of the two conflicting views. We found that the REI’s dimensionality was consistent with the dual-process view, reflected by two uncorrelated factors, although we failed to replicate the instrument developers’ subsequent re-formulation into ability and engagement sub-scales. The structure of the CSI was more problematic, implying the existence of three factors, which is inconsistent with the unitary view advocated by its developers. Our studies suggest that the REI’s original formulation is preferred, and that the unitary conception underpinning the CSI should be abandoned forthwith.

Bounded rationality in contingent valuation: Empirical evidence using cognitive psychology

Survey based valuation techniques like the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) rely particularly on the premise of respondents' rationality when answering willingness to pay (WTP) questions. Results of CVM surveys have repeatedly put this fundamental assumption into question. This study adopts a more realistic view of rationality accounting for respondents' limited capacities to process information. Based on cognitive psychology a technique to detect and analyze the bounds of rationality inherent in WTP statements is developed. Using an empirical example, the influence of bounded rationality on the validity of CVM results is analyzed. It is shown that individual differences in information processing play a major role for the validity of CVM responses. The results allow new insights into response behavior in dichotomous-choice versus payment card elicitation formats. From the results of this study recommendations for future survey designs taking into account respondents' different information processing modes are developed.

Marketing in the bus industry: A psychological interpretation of some attitudinal and behavioural outcomes

Abstract This paper presents a rare example of an experimental study investigating the effects of persuasive messages on real-life behaviour. The research aimed to explore the extent to which the low and declining use of bus services reflected overly negative public perceptions of buses and whether, if key misperceptions could be “corrected” by persuasive messages, people might change their attitudes towards bus travel and increase their use of bus services. Two controlled trials were conducted. Each comprised a before survey, delivery of marketing material to randomly selected respondents, and a follow-up survey to ascertain any changes in the attitudes and behaviour within the treated or control samples. The marketing material in the first trial was designed to “correct” common misperceptions of the bus services in the study area and to overcome perceived barriers to its use. Analysis suggests that the marketing material encouraged bus use among habitual bus users, people positively disposed towards bus and females but caused a significant decrease in bus use among males, previously infrequent users and people negatively disposed towards bus. Potential explanations for these findings were found in the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of Planned Behaviour, Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 50 , 179–211) and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty, R.E., Cacioppo, J.T. (1986). The Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion. In: L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 19) . San Diego: Academic Press). A second trial was conducted using marketing material designed in light of these theories. The material, which was targeted at people who did not typically travel by bus but were apparently willing to consider doing so, acknowledged that the car is probably a first choice but highlighted occasions when the bus could be more convenient. Subsequent interviews suggested that the marketing had resulted in a significant increase in bus use by recent bus users and by males. The inclusion of a free travel offer for some recipients seemed to be particularly effective for frequent travellers and people already positively disposed towards bus. These findings are explored through a psychological lens using cognitive theories relating to individual differences in information processing, attention and memory.

Characteristics of Medical Students' Learning Styles and Their Relationships to GPA

Characteristics of Medical Students' Learning Styles and Their Relationships to GPA Mira Kim, PhD, Sowon Ahn1, PhD, Jungmo Lee2, PhD, Ducksun Ahn1, MD, Youngmee Lee1, MD Research Center of Applied Psychology, Sungkyunkwan University, Department of Psychology2, Sungkyunkwan University Department of Medical Education1, College of Medicine, Korea University Purpose: The present study examines the characteristics of medical students' learning styles and their relationships to the GPA. Methods: One hundred 2nd year medical students took the revised version of the Index of Learning Styles(ILS) by Felder-Silverman, which was computerized. The ILS classifies individual preferences for information processing into 16 categories based on four dichotomous dimension: active/reflective, sensing/intuitive, sequential/global, visual/verbal. The GPA from the previous semester was used. Results: The most frequent learning styles were reflective, sensing, sequential, and visual, covering 25% of the class. For the relationship with the GPA, we compared group means. The sensing students showed significantly higher grades than the intuitive students. Other than this result, there seemed to be no particular relationship between learning styles and GPA. This relationship should be further studied. Conclusions: In this study, medical students were categorized based on individual differences in information processing. Learning styles are expected to be helpful in designing effective learning strategies and thereby enhancing medical students' performance.

Working memory is (almost) perfectly predicted by g

This article analyzes if working memory (WM) is especially important to understand g. WM comprises the functions of focusing attention, conscious rehearsal, and transformation and mental manipulation of information, while g reflects the component variance that is common to all tests of ability. The centrality of WM in individual differences in information processing leads to some cognitive theorists to equate it with g. There are several studies relating WM with psychometric abilities like reasoning, fluid intelligence, spatial visualization, spatial relations, or perceptual speed, but there are very few studies relating WM with g, defined by several diverse tests. In three studies, we assessed crystallised intelligence (Gc), spatial ability (Gv), fluid intelligence (Gf), and psychometric speed (Gs) using various tests from the psychometric literature. Moreover, we assessed WM and processing speed (PS). WM tasks involve storage requirements, plus concurrent processing. PS tasks measure the speed by which the participants take a quick decision about the identity of some stimuli; 594 participants were tested. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded consistently high estimates of the loading of g over WM (.96 on average). WM is the latent factor best predicted by g. It is proposed that this is so because the later has much in common with the main characteristic of the former.

Attachment and Field Dependence: Individual Differences in Information Processing

The present research analyzes the relationship between attachment styles at an adult age and field dependence in order to identify possible individual differences in information processing. The “Experience in Close Relationships” test of Brennan et al. was administered to a sample of 380 individuals (160 males, 220 females), while a subsample of 122 subjects was given the Embedded Figure Test to measure field dependence. Confirming the starting hypothesis, the results have shown that individuals with different attachment styles have a different way of perceiving the figure against the background. Ambivalent and avoidant individuals lie at the two extremes of the same dimension while secure individuals occupy the central part. Significant differences also emerged between males and females.