Undergraduate Sample Research Articles

Developing a Quadripartite Existential Meaning Scale and Exploring the Internal Structure of Meaning in Life

Previous research has shown that meaning in life (MIL) includes feelings of coherence, purpose, and external value (i.e., significance or mattering). Our studies aim to contribute to this framework by testing whether internal value should also be considered a basic component of MIL. To meet this aim, we developed a quadripartite existential meaning scale (QEMS) that incorporates items assessing one’s perceived internal value of life, and examined its relationship with other relevant measures. Results from three samples of undergraduates showed that QEMS had sound psychometric properties (e.g., good factor structure and reliability) and could effectively differentiate four sub-constructs of MIL. Regression and relative importance analysis demonstrated that each QEMS subscale carried unique predictive utility for unidimensional meaning measures, relevant well-being variables, and exhibited differential associations with other theoretically related variables (e.g., self-reflection, commitment making, self-esteem, and self or other interest orientation). Finally, exploratory structural equation modelling analysis showed that the four MIL sub-constructs formed an association pattern where comprehension fosters purpose, and purpose, in turn, contributes to both external and internal value. Implications for considering internal value as a core component of meaning in life are discussed.

Testing the efficacy of a brief exercise intervention for enhancing exposure therapy outcomes

Recently, it has been hypothesized that a brief bout of exercise could cognitively enhance extinction learning processes theorized to underlie exposure therapy for pathological anxiety. The present study tested the exercise enhancement hypothesis in a sample of speech-anxious undergraduates (n = 84). During the first laboratory session, participants engaged in either 30 min of moderate-intensity exercise on a cycling ergometer (n = 37) or seated rest (n = 47) immediately following a brief speech exposure trial. They returned approximately one week later to give a follow-up speech. Contrary to expectation, there were no significant between-group differences in memory of a brief word list across four recall trials, which served as a manipulation check. Further, all main effects and interactions involving condition were nonsignificant. Post hoc tests revealed that participants who reported higher average perceived exertion during exercise demonstrated increases in an average anxiety composite across speeches relative to those who reported lower average perceived exertion, indicating that trying hard during the intervention predicted worse exposure trial outcomes. The implications of these findings, as well as future directions for this line of research, are explored.

The costs of being exceptionally intelligent: Compatibility and interpersonal skill concerns

People tend to rate exceptional levels of IQ (99th percentile) as less attractive than high levels of IQ (90th percentile), and it remains to be determined why. Furthermore, the desirability of emotional intelligence (EI) in a prospective partner has yet to be investigated. Finally, we sought to determine whether individual differences in self-assessed and objectively measured IQ/EI correlated with desirability ratings of IQ/EI in a prospective partner. Based on a general community sample (N = 236) and an undergraduate sample (N = 220), we found that the association between rated desirability and the IQ/EI level of a prospective partner exhibited a threshold effect at the 90th IQ/EI percentile. Furthermore, a statistically significant decrease in rated desirability between the 90th to the 99th percentiles was observed for IQ, but not for EI. We found that participants who reduced their ratings of desirability between the 90th and 99th IQ percentiles did so due to compatibility concerns (≈60%) and social skill concerns (≈40%). We also found that self-assessed IQ and objectively measured IQ correlated positively with desirability ratings at the 90th IQ percentile, and self-assessed EI (but not objectively measured EI) with desirability ratings at the 90th EI percentile. Finally, we found that, on average, people ranked/rated EI to be somewhat more desirable than IQ. We interpreted the results as consistent with compatibility theory, active assortative mating for intelligence, and the possibility that many people subscribe to the stereotype that exceptionally intelligent people suffer from interpersonal skill difficulties.

Greater autonomous motivation for study and basic psychological need satisfaction by being presently aware and ‘letting go’: An exploration of mindful attention and nonattachment

Mindful attention appears to facilitate greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness). Recent findings suggest that nonattachment may arise from mindfulness, with nonattachment being found to mediate relationships between mindfulness and various outcomes, such as increased wellbeing. Across two undergraduate samples, nonattachment was found to partially mediate relationships between mindful attention and the perceived satisfaction of each of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with others (N = 247), and greater relative autonomous motivation for study (N = 578). The findings therefore support and extend on existing research related to mindful attention within the Self-Determination Theory literature while also adding to the growing literature on the apparent benefits of nonattachment. Future research on autonomous motivation and basic need satisfaction may therefore benefit from considering nonattachment alongside mindful attention.

Why are consistently-handed individuals more authoritarian? The role of need for cognitive closure

ABSTRACT Recent studies indicate that individuals with consistent hand preference are more authoritarian than individuals whose preference is relatively inconsistent. We explored the role of epistemic needs in the handedness-authoritarianism relationship. Based on findings that consistent individuals are less cognitively flexible than inconsistent individuals, we hypothesized that consistent-handers would report greater need for definite knowledge. To measure this, we administered the revised Need for Cognitive Closure scale to a sample of undergraduates (N = 235), along with measures of handedness consistency and authoritarian submission. Consistent individuals scored significantly higher on authoritarian submission and need for closure. Need for closure fully mediated the relationship between consistency and submission. Consistent individuals also expressed greater prejudice against authoritarian out-groups such as immigrants and liberals. This effect was partially mediated by authoritarian submission. We theorize that consistent-handers’ cognitive inflexibility leads them to covet definite knowledge. These individuals turn to authoritarianism because it promises to stifle dissent and protect existing (conventional) knowledge.

P3 amplitude reductions are associated with shared variance between internalizing and externalizing psychopathology.

P3 amplitude reductions, commonly elicited in oddball paradigms, have been associated with both internalizing (e.g., depression and anxiety) and externalizing problems (e.g., substance use, aggression, and impulsivity). Recent factor analytic models have focused on the shared variance between internalizing and externalizing problems as a potentially important separable psychopathology construct (a general psychopathology factor, or p-factor). To assess neurophysiological markers of this shared variance, we examined P3 amplitude to target and novel stimuli in an undergraduate sample with a range of internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants (N=125) completed a rotated heads visual oddball paradigm, with IAPS pictures serving as infrequent novel stimuli. Results replicated P3 amplitude reduction relative to both target and novel stimuli separately for internalizing and externalizing problems, and found that the shared variance across internalizing and externalizing was significantly related to lower P3 amplitude to novels, targets, and a factor score of target and novel P3 measures. The present results are consistent with the interpretation that a general or shared problem behavior factor accounts for much of the associations between reduced P3 amplitude and internalizing and externalizing problems.

Examining the triggers of lucid insight.

Approximately half the population have experienced a lucid dream. Yet, it is not well understood how an individual realises they are dreaming (i.e. lucid insight). A few studies suggest it can be triggered by a nightmare, or by the identification of inconsistencies/dream-like qualities/peculiarities. The present study aimed to produce a detailed typology of lucidity triggers to inform consideration of the nature of associated thought processes. 91 lucid dreamers were identified in an undergraduate sample of 148. Lucid dreamers were asked to describe what it was, if anything, that had made them realise they were dreaming. Thematic analysis of responses extracted evidence of four overarching triggers consistent with previous research: identification of an abnormality, identification of a dream-like quality, an emotionally-arousing dream event, and miscellaneous. It was uniquely identified that ‘abnormalities’ within the dream were those inconsistent with waking knowledge rather than with the accompanying dream content. Novel triggers were identified that were classifiable as subthemes under the previously-identified triggers, and triggers co-occurred in a third of cases. Novel triggers included ‘deja reve’, the feeling that one has dreamt the experience before, as well as ‘self-comfort/denial’ involving an emotionally-driven denial of the reality of a distressing dream. Nightmare-induced lucidity appeared to arise via qualitatively diverse paths: via self-comfort/denial and/or via the identification of abnormalities/dream-like qualities. The nature of the triggers indicates that higher-order cognition can precede, and promote, lucid insight. This sheds light on a key theoretical issue of whether lucid insight is a pre-requisite for the re-emergence of higher-order cognition. Keywords: lucid dreaming, lucidity, nightmares, higher-order cognition, phenomenology.

Using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) to Examine Implicit Gender Stereotypes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)

Women are often subject to gender stereotyping in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) was used to determine directionality of any implicit gender-STEM bias detected. In addition, the IRAP was used to explore the possibility of implicit ageism bias, because there is anecdotal evidence of high levels of ageism in the STEM areas. Thus two IRAPs (one with adult pictorial stimuli and one with child pictorial stimuli) were employed to assess implicit gender bias toward STEM with a sample of undergraduates (N = 33). Results indicated a gender STEM bias in both IRAPs and the directionality in both IRAPs was pro-male and not anti-female. Participant gender was not shown to impact results in either IRAP. Gender bias effects were more pronounced in the Adult-IRAP results. Comparison of bias toward older versus young pictorial stimuli was exploratory thus findings are preliminary but may suggest ageism and potential negative interaction effects between age and gender warrant further research.

Psychological resilience and current stressful events as potential mediators between adverse childhood experiences and depression among college students in Eritrea

BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are well recognized remote risks for adulthood depression. However, proximal processes for this relationship is still an ongoing research endeavor, particularly among college students living in resource-limited settings. The mechanism of the impact of ACEs on depression may be attributed to mediators such as psychological resilience and current stressful events (CSEs). MethodsData was obtained using a cross-sectional study from a national representative sample of college undergraduates in Eritrea (N = 507). To explain the mediated effect of ACEs on depression, a mediation analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed. ResultsACEs were found to have both direct (β = 0.102, p = 0.023) and indirect (β = 0.216, p < 0.001) effects on depression. The indirect effect was negatively mediated by psychological resilience and positively by CSEs. Respondents with higher levels of psychological resilience reported lower depressive symptoms and lower ACEs scores, while those with higher scores of either CSEs or ACEs reported more depressive symptoms. ConclusionsThe impact of ACEs on depression may be reduced by managing current stressors and building students' psychological resilience.

Locating psychopathy within the domain space of personality pathology

A robust literature demonstrates that psychopathology and personality pathology are well-represented within quantitatively-derived, hierarchical dimensional models. Nevertheless, the location of core traits comprising psychopathic personality (psychopathy) as defined by the triarchic model has not been clearly explicated. We extended hierarchical structural models of personality pathology to include triarchic psychopathy trait dimensions (boldness, meanness, disinhibition) to interface the hierarchical framework of pathological personality dimensions with basic psychopathy trait dimensions. Using data from a racially diverse undergraduate sample (N = 749), “bass-ackwards” analyses revealed a coherently organized hierarchical structure of personality pathology. Psychopathy dimensions were clearly situated within levels of the hierarchy extending beyond the highest, undifferentiated general-factor level. A broad externalizing factor emerged at level 2, which bifurcated into callous-disinhibition and fearless dominance subfactors at level 3 – encompassing psychopathic traits of meanness and disinhibition (thought to represent the trait commonality between antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy) and boldness (thought to differentiate psychopathy from antisocial personality disorder), respectively, at the final two levels of the hierarchy. These results position triarchic psychopathy traits within an extended externalizing spectrum that accommodates boldness-related content.

M132. URBANICITY AND PSYCHOSIS IN A CHINESE UNDERGRADUATE POPULATION: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

BackgroundUrban birth and upbringing are consistently associated with schizophrenia and other psychoses but the key urban exposures remain unknown. China has previously found prevalence of psychosis higher in rural areas but has shown the largest displacement of population from rural into urban areas of any country in the world over the past 40 years. Studies of psychotic experiences (PE) show inconsistency but this may be due to confounding of PEs by depressive symptoms. This suggests the need to differentiate between PEs on a population continuum with non-affective psychosis and those secondary to common mental disorders when studying urbanicity. Our aims were to investigate effects of exposure to urban birth and upbringing on psychosis in a large Chinese undergraduate sample.MethodsCross-sectional surveys conducted annually during first year of university, 2014–2018, n=39,446. Self-reported categorical measures of psychosis included psychoticism, paranoid ideation, and schizotypal symptoms using SCL-90-R, and lifetime clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia; depressive symptoms using PHQ 9; putative etiological risk factors of family history and childhood maltreatment; urbanicity measured according to birth place in a major city (level 5 of a 5-level rural-urban scale), length of residence in urban location, and length of residence during three critical 5 year periods, birth - 15 years. We studied effects on our 4 psychosis phenotypes of (i) urban birth, (ii) urban living, (iii) critical times of exposure to urban environment, (iv) putative etiological risk factors, before and after adjusting for depression. We investigated associations between etiological risk factors and urban exposures.ResultsWe identified 2,143 (5.4%) participants above a determined cut-off for psychoticism, 2,081 (5.3%) for paranoia, 760 (1.9%)with schizotypal symptoms, and 53 (0.1%) with schizophrenia. Effects of urban exposure on our psychosis phenotypes were only revealed following adjustments for depression in our models: Urban birth was associated with Paranoia (1.46, 1.24–1.70), schizotypal symptoms (1.90,1.48-2.42), and schizophrenia (2.30, 1.14–4.63), but not psychoticism. All four phenotypes were associated with 10–15 years of exposure to urban living, but not shorter periods. Only schizophrenia was associated with critical timings of total exposures of 1–3 years and 4–5 years during the first 5 years of life to an urban environment. There were no associations or negative associations between putative etiological factors and urban exposures.DiscussionWe confirmed that urban birth and living were associated with PEs and schizophrenia in this large sample of Chinese university students, but these findings only emerged after adjusting for depression. Depression is more prevalent in rural Chinese samples and previous studies may have been confounded by effects of PEs secondary to depression. There was a gradient of association between paranoia, schizotypal symptoms and schizophrenia, the latter showing strongest effects in association with urban exposures of birth and length of time in an urban environment. Only schizophrenia showed effects of critical timing of exposure to urban environment during infancy. Finally, we could not identify what exposures in the urban environment contributed to psychosis in our sample - although we could identify the etiological factors that did not. Among Sichuan students, there was no indication that urban effects were due to increased risk from demographic factors of male sex, lower family income, increased genetic risk, or child maltreatment, although these factors showed some effects on psychosis across the entire sample which included previous rural residents.

Anxious women or complacent men? Anxiety of statistics in a sample of UK sociology undergraduates

ABSTRACT One of the most commonly identified obstacles in the learning-teaching of quantitative material is statistics anxiety. Of the factors analysed in relation to statistics anxiety, age and gender have received a substantial proportion of the research focus. Yet there is limited work that systematically examines the possibility of an interrelationship, or interaction, between age and gender and reported statistics anxiety. This article aims to directly address this gap in the research by examining this interaction. A secondary analysis of data gathered from across 34 institutions in the UK is undertaken. The research presented is the first to examine this issue using a multivariate-modelling framework in a UK context. Although the international literature tends to indicate that women disproportionately experience statistics anxiety, the findings here show women have a moderate likelihood of reporting anxiety. There is a group of unworried young men who are likely to require pedagogical attention. Indeed, it may be that the existence a group of complacent young men have women seem anxious by comparison.

Application of PTSD alcohol expectancy symptom clusters to the four-dimensional model of PTSD: Support from moderations of the association between symptoms of posttraumatic stress and alcohol use.

Alcohol expectancy theory, which examines beliefs about the effects of alcohol on the consumer, is especially relevant for understanding the role of alcohol use in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous research on the relationship between alcohol expectancies and PTSD suggests that greater endorsement of positive alcohol expectancies is positively associated with alcohol use, problem drinking, and increased PTSD symptomatology. The purpose of the current study was to investigate relationships among positive and negative PTSD alcohol expectancies, PTSD symptom clusters, and alcohol use in a sample of undergraduates. Additionally, a 4-factor structure of PTSD alcohol expectancies, based on the supported 4-domain model of PTSD, was examined. Participants included 336 undergraduates at a large Midwestern university who completed measures of trauma exposure, PTSD symptomatology, PTSD alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use. Moderation analysis found positive alcohol expectancies influenced the relationship between posttraumatic stress (PTS) and alcohol use. Additionally, each of 4 proposed symptom clusters of PTSD alcohol expectancies moderated the association between corresponding PTSD symptom clusters and alcohol use. No support for the utility of negative alcohol expectancies was found. The current study provides support for a PTSD symptom domain-specific approach for measuring alcohol expectancies. Though limited in generalizability, this research also provides evidence for positive PTSD alcohol expectancies as an important moderator in the relationship between symptoms of PTS and alcohol, suggesting that perceptions of alcohol's effect on PTSD symptoms confer risk for problematic drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Is Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) a comparable recruitment source for trauma studies?

Trauma researchers have recently begun using Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) as a data collection platform that is both time- and cost-efficient. Research is needed to determine the utility, generalizability, and validity of MTurk as a recruitment source for trauma-exposed samples. Data were collected from 266 trauma-exposed MTurk participants on several clinical and psychological constructs relevant to trauma research. The mean scores, prevalence rates, and correlation strengths of the MTurk sample were compared to those reported in previously published studies of undergraduate, community, and treatment-seeking samples. Findings indicated that prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression were not significantly different from comparison samples, but prevalence rates of generalized anxiety were significantly higher than that of a community sample. The MTurk sample showed significantly lower mean scores of PTSD, depression, and generalized anxiety symptoms than all comparison samples. Correlations were examined to determine whether established relationships between common trauma-related constructs were correlated for MTurk participants as they were in other samples. Correlations between PTSD symptom severity, posttraumatic cognitions (PTCs), and trauma coping self-efficacy (CSE-T) in the MTurk sample were not significantly different from the correlations observed in all comparison samples. Finally, MTurk participants who met criteria for probable PTSD scored significantly higher on measures of depression, generalized anxiety, and PTCs, and lower on CSE-T, than those without probable PTSD. Future trauma researchers utilizing MTurk should consider potential similarities and differences between MTurk samples and community, clinical, and undergraduate samples when interpreting the generalizability of findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Perceived Authenticity in Psychological Recovery from Collective Trauma

Introduction: Previous research demonstrates that perceived authenticity is positively associated with psychological health and security in the face of threats. The current research extends this work by testing whether perceived authenticity promotes recovery from the negative mental health consequences of collective trauma (e.g., a natural disaster).Methods: We recruited a sample of undergraduates (N = 570), many of whom reported direct or indirect exposure to Hurricane Harvey, to complete surveys at two time points. We assessed exposure to the disaster, acute stress, post-traumatic stress, coping, and authenticity twice, once approximately 1 month after Hurricane Harvey (Time 1) and again approximately 9 weeks after Hurricane Harvey (Time 2).Results: We employed multilevel modelling to explore whether authenticity would aid in recovery from collective trauma. Results showed that perceived authentic living at Time 1 predicted a variety of indicators of stress related to the hurricane at Time 2. Specifically, those participants who reported low authentic living at Time 1 reported greater levels of stress at Time 2, compared to individuals who reported higher levels of authentic living. Importantly, these effects remained even when controlling for known predictors of stress (e.g., levels of stress at Time 1 and coping strategies).Discussion: Findings provide preliminary insight into authenticity as a part of a likely larger network of interrelated psychosocial qualities that have the potential to help one navigate recovery from trauma.

Regulating Emotion Systems in Everyday Life

Abstract. Researchers are increasingly using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate how people regulate their emotions from moment-to-moment in daily life. However, existing self-report measures of emotion regulation have been designed and validated to assess habitual/trait use of emotion regulation strategies and may therefore not be suited to assessing momentary emotion regulation. The present study aimed to develop a brief, yet reliable, EMA measure of emotion regulation in daily life by adapting the Regulation of Emotion Systems Survey (RESS; DeFrance &amp; Hollenstein, 2017 ), a recently developed global self-report questionnaire assessing habitual use of six emotion regulation strategies. We created an EMA version of the RESS by selecting 12 items from the original scale and adapting them for EMA. We investigated the psychometric properties of the new RESS-EMA scale by administering it eight times daily for 7 days via smartphones to a sample of undergraduates ( n = 112). Results of multilevel modeling analyses supported the within- and between-person reliability and validity of the RESS-EMA scale and suggest that it is a viable way to comprehensively assess momentary emotion regulation strategy use in daily life.

Psychometric Properties of the Externalizing Spectrum Inventory: Replication and Extension across Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples

The Externalizing Spectrum Inventory aims at assessing personality features that underlie externalizing disorders such as substance abuse and antisocial behaviors. The objective was to replicate the psychometric properties of the 160-item Externalizing Spectrum Inventory in Dutch clinical and non-clinical samples. First, Cronbach’s alpha, test-retest reliability and the factor structure were analyzed on a mixed sample of inpatients (n = 149), undergraduates (n = 227), and community participants (n = 178). The factor structure was evaluated through confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses; for the latter Parallel Analysis was used, based on Minimum Rank Factor Analysis. Next, the criterion validity was analyzed using the Aggression Questionnaire and the NEO-Five Factor Inventory as external measures. The Dutch Externalizing Spectrum Inventory subscales showed sufficient reliability (α=.68-.94; ICC=.68-.91), except in the undergraduate sample (α=.49-.96; ICC=.43-.97). The factor structure of the Externalizing Spectrum Inventory was not confirmed and the exploratory analysis yielded different factor solutions across samples. The criterion validity was supported with regard to trait aggression and partly supported with regard to the Five Factor Model. The results suggest that the ESI-160 and its original factor model can be used for prediction purposes. However, further research of the factor structure is strongly recommended.

Not all disengagement coping strategies are created equal: positive distraction, but not avoidance, can be an adaptive coping strategy for chronic life stressors

ABSTRACT Background: Positive distraction involves distracting oneself from a stressor by thinking about or engaging in activities that induce positive emotion. We hypothesized that although it is a disengagement coping strategy, which have been historically viewed as maladaptive (e.g., avoidance), positive distraction can be an adaptive version that predicts positive outcomes. Design: To test this hypothesis, we developed a scale to measure positive and neutral distraction (distracting oneself by engaging in daily activities) in response to chronic stressors in 3 samples (MTurk1, N = 206; undergraduate, N = 376; MTurk2, N = 200). We then correlated the use of these strategies with outcomes in these samples and another undergraduate sample (N = 370). Results: Exploratory SEM confirmed that the scale consists of two factors corresponding to positive and neutral distraction, which were positively correlated with avoidance. However, unlike avoidance, positive distraction (and to a lesser degree neutral distraction) was related to positive outcomes such as higher well-being and positive emotions, and fewer depressive symptoms especially when controlling for avoidance. Conclusions: Our results suggest that positive distraction can be an adaptive disengagement coping strategy for chronic stressors when controlling for avoidance and should be incorporated into coping studies and interventions.

The Impact of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Anxiety Sensitivity on Mental Health Among Public Safety Personnel: When the Uncertain is Unavoidable

BackgroundPublic safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers and officers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, public safety communications officials) are regularly exposed to potentially traumatic events and considerable uncertainty as part of their employment. Canadian PSP screen positively for mental disorders at much higher rates than the general population. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) are empirically-supported vulnerability factors associated with the development and maintenance of mental disorders.MethodsThe present study was designed to assess IU and AS across PSP—a population regularly encountering uncertainty—with and without mental disorders (n = 4304; 33.3% women), and across normative clinical, community, and undergraduate samples. Further, the study examined the relationship between IU and AS and mental disorders among PSP.ResultsThere were significant differences across groups on IU and AS scores (ps < .001). All PSP, with and without a positive screen for a mental disorder, reported lower IU and AS than clinical samples; however, PSP without mental disorders reported lower IU and AS than all other groups (ps < .001).ConclusionIncreased resilience or the development of coping skills to manage regular exposures to uncertain threat may help explain why PSP reported low levels of IU and AS despite higher prevalence of mental disorders. Implications for PSP training and treatment are discussed.

Dichotomous thinking and cognitive ability

Dichotomous thinking has three dimensions: preference for dichotomy, dichotomous belief and profit-and-loss thinking. Previous studies imply that the dichotomous thinking is associated with low cognitive abilities and low level of education attainment. In the present study, we examined the relationships between dichotomous thinking and cognitive abilities, educational attainment in Japanese undergraduate sample and wider population sample who have different educational background. They completed Dichotomous Thinking Inventory and one of four cognitive tasks: The Cattel's Culture Fair Intelligence Test, Tanaka B method Intelligence Scale, syllogism test or the BAROCO short. Overall, correlation coefficients between the dichotomous thinking and the cognitive tasks were small but significantly negative in undergraduate sample. In wider population sample, dichotomous beliefs were negatively associated with cognitive ability, while profit-and-loss thinking was positively associated. Additionally, multiple regression analyses revealed that people with low level educational background show higher dichotomous thinking tendency. These findings indicate that the relationship between the dichotomous thinking and cognitive ability depends on the dimension, whereas dichotomous thinking is generally related to low educational attainment.