Trait Intellect Predicts Cognitive Engagement: Evidence from a Resource Allocation Perspective

The Construct Validity of Intellect and Openness as Distinct Aspects of Personality through Differential Associations with Reaction Time

The construct validity of group factor models of personality, which are typically derived from factor analysis of questionnaire items, relies on the ability of each factor to predict meaningful and differentiated real-world outcomes. In a sample of 481 participants, we used the Big Five Aspect Scales (BFAS) personality questionnaire, two laboratory-measured reaction time (RT) tasks, and a short-form test of cognitive ability (ICAR-16) to test the hypothesis that the Intellect and Openness aspects of Big Five Openness to Experience differentially correlate with reaction time moments. We found that higher scores on the Intellect aspect significantly correlate with faster and less variable response times, while no such association is observed for the Openness aspect. Further, we found that this advantage lies solely in the decisional, but not perceptual, stage of information processing; no other Big Five aspect showed a similar pattern of results. In sum, these findings represent the largest and most comprehensive study to date on personality factors and reaction time, and the first to demonstrate a mechanistic validation of BFAS Intellect through a differential pattern of associations with RT and Big Five personality aspects.

Prosociality Beyond Big Five Agreeableness and HEXACO Honesty-Humility: Is Openness/Intellect Associated With Cooperativeness in the Public Goods Game?

Who is cooperative? Although Big Five (B5) Agreeableness and HEXACO Honesty-Humility are correlates of charitable prosociality, distinctions between “charity” and “cooperation” suggest that additional traits could be associated with cooperative prosociality. Echoing prior theoretical and empirical indications that B5 Openness/Intellect may play a role in cooperation, Study 1 ( N = 119; exploratory) revealed a significant correlation between Openness/Intellect and cooperativeness in the one-shot Public Goods Game that did not generalize to charitableness in the Dictator Game. We therefore conducted three preregistered replications to discern the robustness of this Openness/Intellect–cooperativeness link. As expected, Openness/Intellect showed no consistent correlation with charitable behavior. Surprisingly, the predicted correlation between Openness/Intellect and cooperative behavior was also inconsistent, partially replicating in Study 3 ( N = 304) but not Studies 2 or 4 ( Ns = 131; 552). Across our replications, cooperative behavior was most strongly correlated with Honesty-Humility (internal meta-analytic [Formula: see text] = .15, p = .005). The correlation between Openness/Intellect and cooperative behavior across our replications was significant and identical in magnitude to that between Agreeableness and cooperative behavior, though this effect-size was weak (internal meta-analytic [Formula: see text] = .08, p < .001). We therefore conclude that Openness/Intellect is a nonnull but very modest correlate of cooperativeness.

Does openness/intellect predict sensitivity to the reward value of information?

A recent theory proposes that the personality trait openness/intellect is underpinned by differential sensitivity to the reward value of information. This theory draws on evidence that midbrain dopamine neurons respond to unpredicted information gain, mirroring their responses to unpredicted primary rewards. Using a choice task modelled on this seminal work (Experiment 1, N = 139, 69% female), we examined the relation between openness/intellect and willingness to pay for non-instrumental information (i.e., information with no secondary utility). We also assessed whether any such relation was moderated by the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride (Experiment 2, N = 164, 100% male). Unexpectedly, most measures of openness/intellect were unrelated to costly information preference in both experiments, and some predicted a decreased willingness to incur a cost for information. In Experiment 2, this cost-dependent association between openness/intellect and information valuation appeared in the placebo condition but not under sulpiride. In addition, participants were more willing to pay for moderately costly information under sulpiride compared to placebo, consistent with a dopaminergic basis to information valuation. Potential refinements to the information valuation theory of openness/intellect are discussed in the light of these and other emerging findings.

Dispositional individual differences in cognitive effort investment: establishing the core construct

BACKGROUND

Individuals tend to avoid effortful tasks, regardless of whether they are physical or mental in nature. Recent experimental evidence is suggestive of individual differences in the dispositional willingness to invest cognitive effort in goal-directed behavior. The traits need for cognition (NFC) and self-control are related to behavioral measures of cognitive effort discounting and demand avoidance, respectively. Given that these traits are only moderately related, the question arises whether they reflect a common core factor underlying cognitive effort investment. If so, the common core of both traits might be related to behavioral measures of effort discounting in a more systematic fashion. To address this question, we aimed at specifying a core construct of cognitive effort investment that reflects dispositional differences in the willingness and tendency to exert effortful control.

METHODS

We conducted two studies (N = 613 and N = 244) with questionnaires related to cognitive motivation and effort investment including assessment of NFC, intellect, self-control and effortful control. We first calculated Pearson correlations followed by two mediation models regarding intellect and its separate aspects, seek and conquer, as mediators. Next, we performed a confirmatory factor analysis of a hierarchical model of cognitive effort investment as second-order latent variable. First-order latent variables were cognitive motivation reflecting NFC and intellect, and effortful self-control reflecting self-control and effortful control. Finally, we calculated Pearson correlations between factor scores of the latent variables and general self-efficacy as well as traits of the Five Factor Model of Personality for validation purposes.

RESULTS

Our findings support the hypothesized correlations between the assessed traits, where the relationship of NFC and self-control is specifically mediated via goal-directedness. We established and replicated a hierarchical factor model of cognitive motivation and effortful self-control that explains the shared variance of the first-order factors by a second-order factor of cognitive effort investment.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, our results integrate disparate literatures on cognitive motivation and self-control and provide a basis for further experimental research on the role of dispositional individual differences in goal-directed behavior and cost-benefit-models.

Personality and moral judgment: Curious consequentialists and polite deontologists

OBJECTIVE

How does our personality relate to the ways in which we judge right from wrong? Drawing on influential theories of moral judgment, we identify candidate traits that may be linked with inclinations toward (a) consequentialist judgments (i.e., those based on the outcomes of an action) and (b) deontological judgments (i.e., those based on the alignment of an action with particular moral rules).

METHOD

Across two studies (total N = 843) we examined domains and aspects of the Big Five in relation to inclinations toward consequentialist and deontological judgments.

RESULTS

In both studies, we found a unique association between intellect (curiosity, cognitive engagement) and consequentialist inclinations, in line with the view that deliberative cognitive processes drive such inclinations. We also found a consistent unique association between politeness (respectfulness, etiquette) and deontological inclinations, in line with the view that norm-adherence drives such inclinations. Neither study yielded a significant unique relation between deontological inclinations and compassion (sympathy, empathic concern)-or any other emotion-infused trait (e.g., Neuroticism)-as would be expected based on emotion-centered views of deontological moral judgment.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings have implications for theories of moral judgment, and reveal how our personality may guide our approach to questions of ethics and morality.

Interested in Different Things or in Different Ways?

Abstract. Openness and intellect may differentially predict engagement for two possible reasons. First, engagement with sensory experiences is associated with openness, whereas engagement with abstract information is associated with intellect – a distinction based on content. Second, openness reflects affective, and intellect cognitive processing – a distinction based on affect. These two positions are contrasted through associations of both openness and intellect with interest in a broad range of stimuli. Participants (N = 191) viewed images of visual art, philosophical quotations, and scientific discoveries and rated them on interest, appraised novelty and understanding. Only openness predicted greater interest in all stimuli types. Appraised understanding mediated the openness-interest relationship for visual art and philosophy, while intellect was associated with greater appraised understanding of science and philosophy. Openness was associated with weaker understanding-interest relationships for visual art, and greater reactivity to novelty for science and philosophy. We conclude that one way to think of the engagement distinction between openness and intellect is in terms of emotional versus cognitive engagement. That is, the aspects reflect engagement in different ways rather than in different things.

Unique Associations Between Big Five Personality Aspects and Multiple Dimensions of Well-Being

OBJECTIVE

Personality traits are associated with well-being, but the precise correlates vary across well-being dimensions and within each Big Five domain. This study is the first to examine the unique associations between the Big Five aspects (rather than facets) and multiple well-being dimensions.

METHOD

Two samples of U.S. participants (total N = 706; M_age  = 36.17; 54% female) recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk completed measures of the Big Five aspects and subjective, psychological, and PERMA well-being.

RESULTS

One aspect within each domain was more strongly associated with well-being variables. Enthusiasm and Withdrawal were strongly associated with a broad range of well-being variables, but other aspects of personality also had idiosyncratic associations with distinct forms of positive functioning (e.g., Compassion with positive relationships, Industriousness with accomplishment, and Intellect with personal growth).

CONCLUSIONS

An aspect-level analysis provides an optimal (i.e., parsimonious yet sufficiently comprehensive) framework for describing the relation between personality traits and multiple ways of thriving in life.