A fixed-links modeling approach to assess individual differences in the attentional blink: Analysis of behavioral and psychophysiological data

Elucidating the Functional Relationship Between Speed of Information Processing and Speed-, Capacity-, and Memory-Related Aspects of Psychometric Intelligence

Numerous studies reported a positive relationship between speed of information processing (SIP) and the g factor of intelligence. Only very few studies, however, examined SI P's relationship to speed-, capacity-, and memory-related aspects of psychometric intelligence. In order to further elucidate this relationship, a Hick reaction time task and the Berlin Intelligence Structure (BIS) test were administered to 240 participants. From the BIS test, indicators of BIS -Capacity, BIS -Speed, and BIS -Memory were determined. By means of fixed-links modeling, we subdivided variance in reaction time from the Hick task into a component representing individual differences in speed directly related to the systematically increased number of possible responses and another component representing individual differences in speed associated with residual sources unrelated to the experimental variation of response alternatives. While the former speed component was primarily related to BIS -Capacity and, to a lesser extent, to BIS -Speed, the latter one was only weakly related to BIS -Speed but unrelated to BIS -Capacity. None of the two speed components from the Hick task showed an association with BIS -Memory. Our findings indicate that individual differences in SI P caused by experimentally increasing the number of possible responses were more strongly associated with capacity- than with speed-related aspects of psychometric intelligence. In addition, individual differences in SI P not associated with the experimental manipulation of response alternatives showed rather weak relationships to each of the three BIS operations and could be considered equally strong.

Time to see the bigger picture: Individual differences in the attentional blink

If two to-be-identified targets are presented in close temporal succession, identification for the second target is typically impaired. This attentional blink (AB) phenomenon has long been considered as a robust, universal cognitive limitation. However, more recent studies have demonstrated that AB task performance greatly differs between individuals, with some individuals even showing no AB in certain paradigms. Several studies have focused on these individual differences in an attempt to reveal the mechanism underlying the AB, but an overview of this approach is currently missing. Here, by reviewing studies regarding individual differences in AB task performance, we investigate how individual differences have contributed to our understanding of the AB. We show that the individual differences AB literature provides reliable indications that the AB is a multifaceted phenomenon that presumably arises from a combination of factors; individuals with higher levels of executive working memory (WM) functioning and broad attentional focus perform better in the AB paradigm than individuals with lower executive functioning of WM and narrow attentional focus. As it turns out, seeing the bigger picture certainly seems helpful for AB task performance.