Sources Of Individual Differences Research Articles

Sensitivity to Subphonemic Differences in First Language Predicts Vocabulary Size in a Foreign Language

AbstractSome listeners exhibit higher sensitivity to subphonemic acoustic differences (i.e., higher speech gradiency). Here, we asked whether higher gradiency in a listener's first language (L1) facilitates foreign language learning and explored the possible sources of individual differences in L1 gradiency. To address these questions, we tested 164 native Spanish speakers with different linguistic profiles. Speech gradiency was assessed via a Visual Analogue Scale task, and foreign language proficiency was assessed via an English vocabulary test. Possible sources of gradiency included domain‐general auditory acuity, overall exposure to spoken language (indexed by age), and exposure to phonological diversity. Control measures were collected to account for variables such as phoneme categorization consistency, working memory, and musical training. The results revealed a positive link between L1 speech gradiency and vocabulary acquisition in a foreign language over and above all other variables. L1 speech gradiency itself was predicted by domain‐general auditory acuity and overall exposure to spoken language.

The Impact of Writing Direction on Order-Picking Performance: Evidence on Diversity and Efficiency in Operations Management

Language system diversity is a source of individual differences. Research on human cognition has established that writing direction influences non-linguistic mental schemata such as spatial orientation. However, there is little empirical evidence of its impact on task performance. We examine whether task performance in manual order-picking is higher when the in-aisle travel direction follows the writing direction of order pickers. We conducted this study in cooperation with a German brick-and-mortar grocery retailer, allowing us to employ a unique real-world data set comprising 3,200,534 storage-location visits by 113 order pickers, 61 of whom had a left-to-right and 52 a right-to-left writing direction. Our statistical analyses suggest that order-picking task performance improves when the in-aisle travel direction follows individual writing direction. This creates a path to diversity-inspired operations management that treats efficiency and the diversity and inclusion of human workers as equally important for optimization.

A comparison of dimensional and discrete models for the representation of perceived and induced affect in response to short musical sounds.

In musical affect research, there is considerable discussion on the best method to represent affective response. This discussion mainly revolves around the dimensional (valence, tension arousal, energy arousal) and discrete (anger, fear, sadness, happiness, tenderness) models of affect. Here, we compared these models' ability to capture self-reported affect in response to short, affectively ambiguous sounds. In two online experiments (n1 = 263, n2 = 152), participants rated perceived and induced affect in response to single notes (Exp 1) and chromatic scales (Exp 2), which varied across instrument family and pitch register. Additionally, participants completed questionnaires measuring pre-existing mood, trait empathy, Big-Five personality, musical sophistication, and musical preferences. Rater consistency and agreement were high across all affect scales. Correlation and principal component analyses showed that two dimensions or two affect categories captured most of the variation in affective response. Canonical correlation and regression analyses also showed that energy arousal varied in a manner that was not captured by discrete affect ratings. Furthermore, all sources of individual differences were moderately correlated with all affect scales, particularly pre-existing mood and dimensional affect. We conclude that when it comes to single notes and chromatic scales, the dimensions of valence and energy arousal best capture the perceived and induced affective response to affectively ambiguous sounds, although the role of individual differences should also be considered.

Sources of individual differences in human musical activity: selected neurophysiological and developmental aspects

The article is devoted to individual differences in the field of human musical activity. Musical abilities were taken into account in terms of development, emphasizing the prenatal period of a man. The attention was paid to important aspects in further human development, taking into account heritability and the influence of the environment. They used neurophysiological indicators of changes in development that define neuroplasticity. The importance of characteristics relating to perception, musical intelligence and manual skills was also noted. It is also associated with individual differences in physical activity as a response to music or support in musical performance. The importance of own work in the development of musical abilities was also taken into account. It turns out to be equally important to emphasize the development of musical abilities within the recalling game as opposed to the improvisational one, which is correlated with the variable activation of the neurophysiological task-positive and task-negative networks. The cross-sectional approach to the problem shows the complexity of the musical activity itself which justifies the wide variance of musical abilities analyzed in terms of individual differences which underlie the neurophysiological mechanisms conditioning developmental changes and resulting from own work.

Aerobic fitness and academic achievement: Disentangling the indirect role of executive functions and intelligence

Research in children points to aerobic fitness as a source of individual differences in academic achievement. By examining the indirect effects of executive functions (EF) and intelligence on the relationship between aerobic fitness and academic achievement, the present study provides novel insight about the cognitive mechanisms underlying this relationship. 218 children (8–10 years) completed the following assessments: (i) a VO2max test to assess aerobic fitness; (ii) four tasks tapping components of EF (i.e., inhibition and cognitive flexibility); (iii) sub-tests of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test to assess fluid and crystallized intelligence; and (iv) sub-tests of arithmetic, spelling, and reading achievement (WRAT 3rd edition). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to examine the indirect role of EF and intelligence on the relationship between aerobic fitness and sub-domains of academic achievement. Covariate analyses included age, pubertal timing, and socio-economic status. Preliminary analysis via linear regression showed a direct effect of aerobic fitness on arithmetic achievement, whereas no effect was observed on spelling and reading achievement. Importantly, multiple mediation SEM revealed the direct effect of aerobic fitness on arithmetic achievement disappeared after accounting for the indirect effects of EF, whereas intelligence did not contribute significantly on this complex mediation process. Moreover, among EF components, cognitive flexibility, was the main driver of the relationship between aerobic fitness and arithmetic achievement. Unpacking which components of EF and intelligence affect the link between aerobic fitness and academic achievement, holds the promise of better understanding the heterogeneity still present in the literature.

Vocational Interests and Teaching Preferences: Who Prefers Which Teaching Topic in the Nature-Human-Society Subject?

This study focuses on the vocational interests of trainee teachers for kindergarten and primary school, investigating whether the RIASEC-interest dimensions are related to teaching preferences in the Swiss subject of Nature-Human-Society, which is characterized by its multidisciplinarity. Interests are a source of individual differences in people and important to study since they influence intrinsic motivation, and thus, behavior, effort, and occupational decisions. The results of the conducted survey, composed of the Nature-Human-Society questionnaire and the general interest structure test (AIST-R), show, in a sample of 220 participants, that trainee teachers' vocational interests were partly related to their previous experiences in the specific content domains of Nature-Human-Society and slightly differed by gender. The RIASEC interest dimensions of social, investigative, realistic, and partly artistic evidence significant correlations with preferences in the teaching topics of the Nature-Human-Society subject. It became clear that trainee teachers with high realistic and investigative interests and low social and artistic interests tended to prefer thing-related teaching topics, while pronounced social and artistic interests with low realistic and investigative interests were associated with teaching preferences for people-related topics in the subject of Nature-Human-Society. The dominant role of Prediger's people- versus thing-related interest orientation could thus also be confirmed in the choice of favorite teaching topics, signaling that teachers feel comfortable with those topics that match their interest structure.

Building on cultural and linguistic strengths and recognizing life challenges - a commentary on Paradis' "Sources of individual differences in the dual language development of heritage bilinguals".

Children growing up bilingually are often treated as a monolithic group; however, heritage language (HL) bilinguals constitute an extremely heterogenous group that vary due to a wide variety of factors. In her keynote, Paradis provides a thought-provoking analysis of the research literature and identifies key internal and external factors that lead to individual differences. Specifically, she identifies age of second language (L2) acquisition, cognitive abilities, and social-emotional wellbeing as important internal factors. She also discusses both proximal and distal external factors. Proximal factors include children's cumulative exposure to L2 and HL, L2 and HL usage at home, and the richness of the L2 and HL environment. Distal factors involve education in HL, parent language proficiency, socioeconomic status (SES), and family attitudes and identities. In my commentary, I expand on Paradis' keynote to include the role of culture, which I consider to be both an internal and external factor, and respond to her discussion of two external factors, the impact of SES and the role of the classroom environment.

The effects of CLIL and sources of individual differences on receptive and productive EFL skills at the onset of primary school

Abstract Research on the implementation of CLIL at the onset of primary school is limited and has largely overlooked the role of other sources of individual differences. This study investigated the effects of the CLIL approach to English learning, together with the effects of out-of-school exposure to the language through media and other sources of individual differences, in a sample of Grade 1 students in Catalonia (Spain) using a longitudinal design. Participants (N = 176) from 14 different schools completed a test battery at the beginning and end of Grade 1 that assessed receptive and productive English skills. Results revealed that abilities at the onset of Grade 1 were the best predictor of abilities at the end of the year, and that CLIL was not associated with additional advantages in the students that followed the approach. In addition, certain characteristics of the linguistic and family background of participants predicted additional gains during the academic year: participants who engaged in more English extracurricular activities and participants with more educated mothers performed better at the end of Grade 1.

Musicality measures and generalization of an artificial dialect of English

Wide individual variability exists in the ability to imitate and generalize novel speech and voice patterns, including unfamiliar dialects. Limited research exists examining possible underlying causes of such variability, particularly in the ability to generalized novel dialects. One possible source of individual differences is variability in musicality, either in terms of musical ability or degree of musical training. The current study examines the relationship between musicality and an individual’s ability to generalize an artificial dialect of English to a novel context with minimal exposure. Thirty participants were tested, 15 self-classifying as non-musicians and 15 as musicians. All participants were given Gordon’s Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA; a musical aptitude test) and the Goldsmith’s Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI, a survey of an individual’s engagement with music). Participants then completed a dialect learning task using an artificial dialect of English (Spinu et al., 2020) in which they are first familiarized with the dialect, then asked to imitate it, then finally generalize it to novel sentences. The effect of both musicality measures on dialect generalization, as well as patterns of individual differences, will be examined.

Object recognition ability predicts category learning with medical images

We investigated the relationship between category learning and domain-general object recognition ability (o). We assessed this relationship in a radiological context, using a category learning test in which participants judged whether white blood cells were cancerous. In study 1, Bayesian evidence negated a relationship between o and category learning. This lack of correlation occurred despite high reliability in all measurements. However, participants only received feedback on the first 10 of 60 trials. In study 2, we assigned participants to one of two conditions: feedback on only the first 10 trials, or on all 60 trials of the category learning test. We found strong Bayesian evidence for a correlation between o and categorisation accuracy in the full-feedback condition, but not when feedback was limited to early trials. Moderate Bayesian evidence supported a difference between these correlations. Without feedback, participants may stick to simple rules they formulate at the start of category learning, when trials are easier. Feedback may encourage participants to abandon less effective rules and switch to exemplar learning. This work provides the first evidence relating o to a specific learning mechanism, suggesting this ability is more dependent upon exemplar learning mechanisms than rule abstraction. Object-recognition ability could complement other sources of individual differences when predicting accuracy of medical image interpretation.

Getting to the bargaining table: The role of explicit motives and traits in negotiation initiation

Motives have been considered as a second source of individual differences next to trait measures. In negotiation initiation research, there is accumulating evidence that personality is related to propensity to initiate negotiations. To our knowledge, no previous study investigated if explicit motives are associated with the propensity to initiate negotiations. With this research, we close this research gap and add on to the literature by concurrently investigating if trait measures of personality as well as motivational measures of personality are associated with negotiation initiation. To that end, we conducted two studies (N = 101, and N = 359) with self-report (Study 1) and vignettes (Study 2) to measure negotiation initiation. In general, we found support for our hypotheses. We add to the literature by demonstrating that explicit motives and traits should not be used interchangeably and that traits and explicit motives might have complementary effects on negotiation initiation. We also report practical implications of our study.

Infant vocalizations elicit simplified speech in childcare.

Infant babbling has an important social function in promoting early language development by attracting caregiver attention and prompting parents' contingent, simplified speech, which is more learnable for infants. Here, we demonstrate that prelinguistic infant vocalizations also create learning opportunities for infants in childcare settings by eliciting simplified and more learnable linguistic information during teacher-infant interactions. We compared the rates and complexity of contingent and non-contingent verbal interactions of 34 childcare teachers during a one-on-one free play interaction with a familiar infant under their care (M=12.6months old). As compared to non-contingent utterances, teachers' contingent utterances included fewer unique words, a higher proportion of single-word responses, and a shorter mean length of utterances. Teachers did not change their response length based on infants' syllable type and were equally likely to respond to vowels and consonant-vowel vocalizations. Sources of individual differences in the simplification effect related to infant behaviors and teacher characteristics are discussed. The results parallel previous findings demonstrating the simplification effect in parent-infant interactions. That teachers also show this simplification effect when responding to infant vocalizations suggests the power of infant prelinguistic vocalizations for organizing caregiver attention in various settings to elicit simplified, learnable language.

Revisiting the self-generation effect in proofreading.

The self-generation effect refers to the finding that people's memory for information tends to be better when they generate it themselves. Counterintuitively, when proofreading, this effect may make it more difficult to detect mistakes in one's own writing than in others' writing. We investigated the self-generation effect and sources of individual differences in proofreading performance in two eye-tracking experiments. Experiment 1 failed to reveal a self-generation effect. Experiment 2 used a studying manipulation to induce overfamiliarity for self-generated text, revealing a weak but non-significant self-generation effect. Overall, word errors (i.e., wrong words) were detected less often than non-word errors (i.e., misspellings), and function word errors were detected less often than content word errors. Fluid intelligence predicted proofreading performance, whereas reading comprehension, working memory capacity, processing speed, and indicators of miserly cognitive processing did not. Students who made more text fixations and spent more time proofreading detected more errors.

Sources of individual differences in early elementary school science achievement among multilingual and English monolingual children in the U.S.

Using the public use file of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten class of 2010–2011, this study is the first to examine the extent to which science achievement is distinct from math and reading in kindergarten, first, and second grade; and the utility of kindergarten language proficiency and executive functioning (EF) for predicting science achievement among multilingual (n = 1022) and English monolingual (n = 12,343) children at each grade level. The results demonstrate that science is separable from math and reading achievement, though highly correlated. The results also indicate that kindergarten language proficiency and EF support science achievement similarly across elementary school for both groups. These results coupled with large correlations among science, math, and reading achievement suggest that integrated instruction that takes advantage of domain interconnectedness may reduce redundancies and help children connect with science content.

Pupillary correlates of individual differences in long-term memory.

The present study is the first to examine individual differences in long-term memory, arousal dysregulation, and intensity of attention within the same experiment. Participants (N = 106) completed 28 lists of an immediate free-recall task while their pupil diameter was recorded via an eye-tracker during the encoding period. Two main pupillary measures were extracted: intraindividual variability in pre-list pupil diameter and evoked pupillary responses during item encoding. Variability in pre-list pupil diameter served as a measure of arousal dysregulation, and evoked pupillary responses served as a measure of intensity of attention. Based on prior work, we hypothesized that there would be a positive association between intensity of attention and recall ability, and that there would be a negative association between arousal dysregulation and recall ability. Collectively these two measures accounted for 19% of interindividual variance in recall, with 5% attributable uniquely to intensity of attention and 12% attributable uniquely to arousal regulation. The findings demonstrate that there are sources of individual differences in long-term memory that can be revealed via pupillometry, notably the amount of effort deployed during item encoding and the degree to which people exhibit dysregulated arousal. Both findings are consistent with recent theorizing regarding the role of the locus coeruleus (LC)-norepinephrine (NE) system's role in goal-directed cognition. Specifically, the LC governs both moment-to-moment arousal and NE release to cortical regions subserving cognitive processing. Among people for whom this system operates most optimally, long-term memory retention is superior.

Etiology of basic psychological needs and their association with personality: A twin study

Self-determination theory postulates that three basic psychological needs – need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness – drive our motivation. However, little is known about the sources of individual differences in basic psychological needs, and about its shared etiology with personality. Self-report data on basic psychological needs and five-factor personality traits were collected in a sample of 668 Croatian twins. Results indicate substantial heritability of basic psychological needs, while environmental influences were non-shared by family members. Three psychological needs substantially correlated with extraversion and neuroticism, and some need- specific overlaps were found with conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness. Phenotypic overlap of the basic psychological needs with personality was mainly due to the common genetic effects, while their environmental influences were largely independent.

On the Structure and Source of Individual Differences in Toddlers' Comprehension of Transitive Sentences.

How children learn grammar is one of the most fundamental questions in cognitive science. Two theoretical accounts, namely, the Early ion and Usage-Based accounts, propose competing answers to this question. To compare the predictions of these accounts, we tested the comprehension of 92 24-month old children of transitive sentences with novel verbs (e.g., “The boy is gorping the girl!”) with the Intermodal Preferential Looking (IMPL) task. We found very little evidence that children looked to the target video at above-chance levels. Using mixed and mixture models, we tested the predictions the two accounts make about: (i) the structure of individual differences in the IMPL task and (ii) the relationship between vocabulary knowledge, lexical processing, and performance in the IMPL task. However, the results did not strongly support either of the two accounts. The implications for theories on language acquisition and for tasks developed for examining individual differences are discussed.

Qualitative Invariant Effects Arise from Neural Constraints: Common Architecture and Sources of Individual Differences

The distinction between qualitative and quantitative effects can be meaningfully related to the distinction between “architecture” and “model” in computational cognitive science. In turn, this distinction can be related to differences between the invariant systems-level organization of the human brain and individual differences in structural and functional activity. Taken together, this presents an iterative new way to answer Newell’s “20 Questions” problem and to systematize psychological effects as belonging to either architecture or the individual variations within it. Although some limits to this approach exist (for example, Individual differences in strategy might affect whether an effect is qualitative or quantitative), the approach might also shed light on how to account for special populations (neurological or psychological patients) within the same framework.

Sources of Individual Differences in Pain.

Pain is an immense clinical and societal challenge, and the key to understanding and treating it is variability. Robust interindividual differences are consistently observed in pain sensitivity, susceptibility to developing painful disorders, and response to analgesic manipulations. This review examines the causes of this variability, including both organismic and environmental sources. Chronic pain development is a textbook example of a gene-environment interaction, requiring both chance initiating events (e.g., trauma, infection) and more immutable risk factors. The focus is on genetic factors, since twin studies have determined that a plurality of the variance likely derives from inherited genetic variants, but sex, age, ethnicity, personality variables, and environmental factors are also considered.

Diachronic Tendency and Thinking Style Across the Broader Autism Spectrum: Sources of Individual Differences?

ObjectivesFirst, to see whether previous studies showing a limited capacity to spontaneously evoke the past and the future of a present moment (diachronic tendency) and a prevalence of mental images over inner speech (thinking style) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder could be replicated in individuals belonging to the broader autism phenotype. Second, to test the hypothesis that individuals thinking with mental images have a more limited diachronic tendency compared with individuals thinking with inner speech.MethodsAdults (N = 309, Mage = 31.5 years, 76% women) with at least a high school degree were assessed with the Autism Spectrum Quotient, a test of diachronic tendency comprising four pictures varying in social interactivity and dynamicity, and a thinking style scale comprising three items representing three different everyday situations.ResultsThe results showed that adults with many autistic traits have a limited diachronic tendency but only when the situation is socially interactive and dynamic, think more in mental images than individuals with no or few autistic traits but nevertheless still think more with inner speech than with mental images, and the more the participants reported thinking in inner speech, the more they evoked past and future events when describing a socially interactive and dynamic situation.ConclusionsMore autistic traits are associated with a limited diachronic tendency in socially interactive and dynamic situations and more thinking in mental images, and thinking style could be one of the determinants of diachronic tendency in socially interactive and dynamic situations.