Introversion and working memory: central executive differences

The relationship of personality and executive functions in high-level soccer athletes: expertise-and gender-specific differences

Background

Psycho-cognitive factors such as personality and executive functions (EFs) are influential parameters when it comes to examining expertise in high-level soccer. Therefore, the profiles of those athletes are relevant both from a practical and scientific point of view. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits and executive functions with age group as an influential factor in high-level male and female soccer players.

Methods

Personality traits and executive functions of 138 high-level male and female soccer athletes from the U17-Pros teams were assessed using the big-five paradigm. A series of linear regressions investigated contributions of personality on EF assessments and team, respectively.

Results

Linear regression models showed both negative and positive relationships between various personality traits, executive function performance and the influence of expertise and gender. Together, a maximum of 23% (R² = 6%-23%) of the variance between EFs with personality and various teams, demonstrating that many unaccounted-for variables remain at play.

Conclusion

The results of this study demonstrate the inconsistent relationship between personality traits and executive functions. The study calls for more replication studies to help strengthen the understanding of relationships between psycho-cognitive factors in high-level team sport athletes.

The effect of personality characteristics combined with behavioral activation system (BAS) / behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and sport emotional induction on working memory

Study aim: To investigate the interactive effects of behavioral activation or behavioral inhibition and induced pleasant or unpleasant emotions on working memory performance among young adults.

Material and methods: Eighty participants (age 18–32 years) were randomly classified into 2 groups behavioral activation or inhibition and then sub-divided further via whether they received inductions in either pleasant emotions or unpleasant emotions. A pre-test measure of the working memory test was recorded and repeated after emotional induction.

Results: The ANOVA analysis indicated significant effect of PERSONALITY factor (F1,76 = 4.760, p = 0.0322, ηp 2 = 0.059) on results of the working memory test. The memory performance of the behavioral activation group that received positive emotion was better than the other groups, and the working memory performance of the behavioral inhibition group that received positive emotion was poorer than the other groups. Furthermore, the working memory performance of the behavioral activation group (positive emotion) was better than the other groups. Also, the working memory performance of the behavioral inhibition group (positive emotion) was poorer than the other groups.

Conclusions: Finally, the findings support the different effects of the brain behavioral systems and sport emotional induction on working memory.

The relations between personality, components of executive functions, and intelligence in children and young adults

Previous studies in adults showed heterogeneous results regarding the associations of personality with intelligence and executive functions (EF). In children, there is a lack of studies investigating the relations between personality and EF. Therefore, the aim of our study was to examine the relations between the Big Five personality traits, EF, and intelligence in a sample of children (Experiment 1) and young adults (Experiment 2). A total of 155 children (Experiment 1, mean age = 9.54 years) and 91 young adults (Experiment 2, mean age = 23.49 years) participated in the two studies. In both studies, participants performed tasks measuring working memory (WM), inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and fluid intelligence and completed a personality questionnaire. In Experiment 1, we found a negative relation between neuroticism and intelligence. In Experiment 2, we found a positive relation between conscientiousness and intelligence and a positive relation between conscientiousness and cognitive flexibility. Our results suggest a complex interplay between personality factors, EF, and intelligence both in children as well as in young adults.

Decision-making in single and multiple-screen CCTV surveillance

One task of CCTV operation is to decide whether footage shown in videos depicts criminal behaviour, or allows a viewer to predict its occurrence. An increasing prevalence of cameras in the world, means an increase in screens in the control room. This presents a signal-to-noise challenge where the signal (criminal activity) may become more difficult to detect amongst the noise. We used signal detection approaches to understand which factors were associated with decision-making in a CCTV task. When detecting aggressive incidents, higher conscientiousness was associated with making better decisions, with a higher criterion for responding (meaning fewer false-positive responses). However, conscientious individuals tended to be less confident (in multiplex displays), and were slower in responding - which reflects that these individuals require more evidence to make these decisions. Higher trait cognitive anxiety was again associated with making earlier responses, while extraversion was also associated with earlier responding in multiplexed displays. Taken in combination, our results suggest that there is a fine balance between making correct decisions, and making early decisions - and that these need to be considered together in the CCTV task.

Personality and social memory: High source and destination memory in extroverts

We evaluated relationship between personality and memory for social interactions. More specifically, we investigated the relationship between extraversion and the ability to remember who told us some information (i.e., source memory) and the ability to remember to whom we told that information (i.e., destination memory). On a source memory task, participants received information from pictures of celebrities; a subsequent recognition test required them to identify the celebrities from whom they had received that information. On a destination memory task, participants were invited to tell information to celebrities; a later recognition task instructed them to identify the celebrity to whom they had previously told that information. Besides the assessment of source and destination memory, participants answered a questionnaire regarding extraversion. Results demonstrated significant positive correlation between extraversion and source memory, as well as significant positive correlation between extraversion and destination memory. In other words, the more participants described themselves as extraverts, the higher their source and destination memory. During social communications (e.g., in a conversation), extraverts may demonstrate high source and destination memory as these individuals typically value social communication, public sharing, and processing of social information.

Changes in Working Memory Performance Over an Academic Semester in Student Pharmacists

Objective. To preliminarily assess changes in Doctor of Pharmacy students' working memory performance over the course of an academic semester and to determine whether any observed changes were associated with fluctuations in stress and fatigue. Methods. Twenty-three PharmD students were recruited for this pilot study. At baseline, data were collected on students' personality, stress, fatigue, and working memory performance using two measures, the operation span and the symmetry span. Approximately every four weeks throughout the semester students' fatigue and stress levels were reassessed and they completed the two measures of working memory. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess trends over time, and correlation analysis was used to assess potential relationships between working memory and other variables. Results. The operation span, a measure of general working memory resources, showed a significant quadratic trend over time. Irrespective of time, some associations between working memory performance and fatigue were seen. Significant correlations between fatigue and the extraversion personality trait were identified. The symmetry span, a measure of visuospatial resources, did not show trends over time nor did it correlate with fatigue, stress, or personality factors. Conclusion. Pharmacy students' working memory performance may fluctuate over the course of a semester, but more research is needed to identify factors that may influence this fluctuation.

Why Is Working Memory Performance Unstable? A Review of 21 Factors

In this paper, we systematically reviewed twenty-one factors that have been shown to either vary with or influence performance on working memory (WM) tasks. Specifically, we review previous work on the influence of intelligence, gender, age, personality, mental illnesses/medical conditions, dieting, craving, stress/anxiety, emotion/motivation, stereotype threat, temperature, mindfulness training, practice, bilingualism, musical training, altitude/hypoxia, sleep, exercise, diet, psychoactive substances, and brain stimulation on WM performance. In addition to a review of the literature, we suggest several frameworks for classifying these factors, identify shared mechanisms between several variables, and suggest areas requiring further investigation. This review critically examines the breadth of research investigating WM while synthesizing the results across related subfields in psychology.

Factor structure and clinical correlates of the 61-item Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS)

The objective of this study was to assess the factor structure and clinical correlates of a 61-item version of the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS), a self-report retrospective measure of childhood problems, experiences, and behavior used in ADHD assessment. Given the currently mostly widely used form of the WURS was derived via a criterion-keyed approach, the study aimed to use latent variable modeling of the 61-item WURS to potentially identify more and more homogeneous set of items reflecting current conceptualizations of ADHD symptoms. Exploratory structural equation modeling was used to generate factor scores which were then correlated with neuropsychological measures of intelligence and executive attention as well as a broad measure of personality and emotional functioning. Support for a modified five-factor model was found: ADHD, disruptive mood and behavior, negative affectivity, social confidence, and academic problems. The ADHD factor differed somewhat from the traditional 25-item WURS short form largely through weaker associations with several measures of personality and psychopathology. This study identified a factor more aligned with DSM-5 conceptualization of ADHD as well as measures of other types of childhood characteristics and symptoms which may prove useful for both research and clinical practice.

Individual differences in visual and auditory processing of emotional material

Presented studies investigated the specificity of visual and auditory modalities in attentional processing of emotion, and its association with temperamental dimensions and trait-like attentional control (AC). During preliminary study 30 participants were presented with the paper-pencil visual search task (Emotional Faces Attentional Test) and emotional prosody detection tasks (Emotional Prosody Test). Results revealed visual happiness superiority and auditory sadness superiority. During the main study, in addition to attentional performance, 51 subjects were administrated two questionnaires: EPQ-R and Attentional Control Scale. Introducing individual differences into analysis limited the general pattern of modality distinctiveness in attentional processing of emotional stimuli obtained in the preliminary study. Findings for all personality traits studied separately showed that Extraversion and low Neuroticism were associated with the visual sadness superiority. Whereas interactional analysis indicated effective visual threat processing in extraverts with good AC and effective friendly prosody detection when Neuroticism and AC remain in inverse relationship. Hence, we have found that processing emotional targets in both modalities is associated with temperament dimensions and their interactions with attentional control. Additionally, findings from both studies suggest that general psychological laws might be challenged by individual differences.

Why Are Extraverts More Popular? Oral Fluency Mediates the Effect of Extraversion on Popularity in Middle Childhood

In a sample of 7– to 8–year–old children (N = 760), we examined the associations between personality traits, oral fluency and sociometric popularity. Extending upon research conducted with older populations, we found parent ratings of extraversion at age 7 to predict popularity one year later. More importantly, we expected and found teacher–rated oral fluency to partially mediate the positive association between extraversion and popularity. This mediation effect was independent of psychometrically assessed working memory, academic skills and gender. Our results can be interpreted as suggesting that a Matthew effect, similar to the one proposed for early reading skills and cognitive ability, may be operating in the domain of social competence. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

A Longitudinal Perspective on the Association between Cognition and Temperamental Shyness

Moderate, yet relatively consistent, associations between cognitive performance and shyness have been reported throughout the child and adult literatures. The current study assessed longitudinal associations between cognition (i.e., executive functioning) and parent-report temperamental shyness from infancy to early childhood and used temporal order to explore directionality of the relations. Two hundred eleven children contributed data at multiple ages (5-months, 10-months, 2-years, 3-years, and 4-years). The results indicated a complex pattern of association between cognition and shyness in early development and provided tentative support for both cognitive ability and temperament as causal agents at different developmental time points.

Brain Electrical Activity of Shy and Non-Shy Preschool-Aged Children during Executive Function Tasks

Psychophysiological and cognitive performance differences exist between shy and non-shy individuals. Neuroimaging studies have shown identifiable differences in task-related cortical functioning between adults with and without sensitivity to social events. The current study compared baseline and task measures of EEG power (6-9 Hz) for 125 shy and non-shy children between the ages of 41-55 months who differed in core executive function (EF) skills. Results indicated an increase in medial frontal EEG power from baseline-to-task for high EF performers (shy and non-shy). Shy/low EF performers also demonstrated this increase, but the non-shy/low EF group did not. For the medial parietal region, only the shy children (high and low EF performers) showed an increase in power from baseline-to-task; and for the shy/high EF group, left hemisphere power was greater than the right during baseline and task. This study is believed to be the first continuous-recording EEG comparison between children who are shy and non-shy in the context of an EF assessment. These findings highlight differences in medial frontal and medial parietal power for children who differ in shyness and EF skills. They also suggest the value of future research examining strong EF skills as protective and regulatory for shy children.

Longitudinal antecedents of executive function in preschoolers

Despite an extensive history underscoring the role of social processes and child contributions to the development of executive functions (C. Lewis & J. Carpendale, 2009; L. S. Vygotsky, 1987), research on these relations is sparse. To address this gap, 68 mother-child dyads were examined to determine whether maternal attention-directing behaviors (attention maintaining, attention redirection) and toddlers' temperament predicted executive processes during preschool (mean age = 4.5 years, SD = 0.46)-delay and conflict inhibition. Maternal attention maintaining was associated with high levels of conflict inhibition for inhibited and exuberant children, whereas attention redirection was associated with low levels of delay and conflict inhibition for inhibited children. Therefore, maternal attention-directing behaviors may enhance the development of executive functions but only for children with inhibited and exuberant temperaments.

Deity and Destiny

The current studies investigate whether different forms of fatalistic thinking follow from the Christian and Hindu cosmologies. The authors found that fatalistic interpretations of one’s own life events center on deity influence for Christians, especially for those high in religiosity; however, Hindu interpretations of one’s own life emphasized destiny as much as deity (Study 1). Also, the focus on fate over chance when explaining others’ misfortunes depends on the presence of known misdeeds for Christians, but not for Hindus (Study 2). Finally, Christians prefer petitionary prayer over divination as a strategy for managing uncontrollable future risks (Studies 3a and 3c), and preference for these strategies can be primed in bicultural Hindu Americans by a Hindi-accented telephone interviewer (Study 3b).

Personality predicts temporal attention costs in the attentional blink paradigm

Accuracy for a second target is reduced when it is presented within 500 msec of a first target. This phenomenon is called the attentional blink (AB). A diffused attentional state (via positive affect or an additional task) has been shown to reduce the AB, whereas a focused attentional state (via negative affect) has been shown to increase the AB, purportedly by influencing the amount of attentional investment and flexibility. In the present study, individual differences in personality traits related to positive affect, negative affect, and cognitive flexibility were used to predict individual differences in AB magnitude. As hypothesized, greater extraversion and openness predicted smaller ABs. Greater openness also predicted higher overall target accuracy. Greater neuroticism predicted larger ABs and lower overall target accuracy. Conscientiousness, associated with less cognitive flexibility, predicted lower overall target accuracy. Personality may modulate the AB by influencing overinvestment via dispositional tendencies toward more or less stringent or capable cognitive control.

Attentional blink and repetition blindness

When two masked, to-be-attended targets are presented within half a second of each other, report accuracy for the second target (T2) is impaired relative to when the two targets are presented farther apart in time or relative to when the first target (T1) can be ignored. This effect is known as the attentional blink (AB). An additional T2 accuracy deficit is observed if T1 and T2 are identical or highly similar on a task-relevant dimension. This effect is known as repetition blindness (RB). For both AB and RB, targets are typically imbedded in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) streams and the dual-task attention cost lasts approximately half a second. Given the high degree of superficial similarity, AB and RB are often considered to be related phenomena. Although research thus far has suggested that both phenomena reflect limits of the attentional system and how attention is allocated when needing to organize stimuli for entrance into awareness, these two phenomena are dissociable; RB is not simply an enhanced AB. Furthermore, investigations of AB and RB have taken quite different courses over the last two decades. The AB has been investigated extensively with a variety of experimental, behavioral, neurophysiological, and clinical approaches, and has become widely used as a paradigm of convenience with which to study other effects. In contrast, studies of RB have tended to manipulate the nature of the target information to understand the level of representation that supports RB. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 336-344 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.129 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Enhancement of cognitive control by approach and avoidance motivational states

Affective variables have been shown to impact working memory and cognitive control. Theoretical arguments suggest that the functional impact of emotion on cognition might be mediated through shifting action dispositions related to changes in motivational orientation. The current study examined the effects of positive and negative affect on performance via direct manipulation of motivational state in tasks with high demands on cognitive control. Experiment 1 examined the effects of monetary reward on task-switching performance, while Experiment 2 examined the effects of both rewards and punishments on working memory, using primary (liquid) reinforcers. In both experiments, dissociable trial-by-trial and contextual (block-related) enhancements of cognitive control during task performance were observed in relationship to motivational incentive value. Performance enhancements were equivalent in the reward and punishment conditions, but were differentially impacted by individual difference measures of trait reward and punishment sensitivity. Together, the results suggest both common and specific mechanisms by which approach and avoidance motivational states influence cognitive control, via activation of reward and punishment processing systems.

Exploring the Relations Among Executive Functions, Fluid Intelligence, and Personality

Executive functions (EFs) are important for goal-directed behavior and have been linked with a number of important constructs like intelligence. The current study examined the link between EFs and aspects of normal and abnormal personality. Latent variables of working memory, fluency, response inhibition, and vigilance EFs were examined along with fluid intelligence (gF). It was found that the EFs were separate yet correlated, and that each was related to gF. Furthermore, it was found that aspects of personality as measured by the Five-Factor Model and the BIS/BAS were differentially related to the EFs and gF. Examination of personality disorder measures also demonstrated differential relationships with the EFs and gF. The results suggest a number of systematic and important links between EFs and personality and suggest the need for a more unified field of individual differences.

Attention and emotion influence the relationship between extraversion and neural response

Extraversion has been shown to positively correlate with activation within the ventral striatum, amygdala and other dopaminergically innervated, reward-sensitive regions. These regions are implicated in emotional responding, in a manner sensitive to attentional focus. However, no study has investigated the interaction among extraversion, emotion and attention. We used fMRI and dynamic, evocative film clips to elicit amusement and sadness in a sample of 28 women. Participants were instructed either to respond naturally (n = 14) or to attend to and continuously rate their emotions (n = 14) while watching the films. Contrary to expectations, striatal response was negatively associated with extraversion during amusement, regardless of attention. A negative association was also observed during sad films, but only when attending to emotion. These findings suggest that attentional focus does not influence the relationship between extraversion and neural response to positive (amusing) stimuli but does impact the response to negative (sad) stimuli.