Neurophysiological measures of involuntary and voluntary attention allocation and dispositional differences in need for cognition.

Full Abstract

Need for cognition (NFC) refers to stable individual differences in the intrinsic motivation to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive endeavors and has been a useful predictor of dispositional differences in information processing. Although cognitive resource allocation conceptualized as cognitive effort is assumed to be the key mediator of NFC-specific processing, to date no research has systematically addressed its underpinnings. Using a neurocognitive paradigm and recording event-related potentials associated with bottom-up and top-down-driven aspects of attention, the present research contributes to filling this gap. In Study 1, high-NFC individuals showed larger P3a amplitudes to contextually novel events, indicating greater involuntary (automatic) attention allocation. This effect was replicated in Study 2, where NFC also was positively correlated with the P3b to target stimuli, indicating voluntary (controlled) processes of attention allocation. Thus, our findings provide first evidence for neurophysiological correlates of NFC and can improve the understanding of NFC-specific processing.

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Author information

Author/s: Enge, Sören (S); Fleischhauer, Monika (M); Brocke, Burkhard (B); Strobel, Alexander (A);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Dresden University of Technology, Dreden, Germany. soeren.enge(-atsign-)mailbox.tu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Personality and social psychology bulletin (Pers Soc Psychol Bull), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jun; vol 34 (issue 6) : pp 862-74

Dates: Created 2008/05/12; Completed 2008/08/27;

PMID: 18388253, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Acoustic Stimulation
Adolescent
Adult
Attention - physiology
Auditory Perception - physiology
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Cognition - physiology
Electroencephalography - statistics & numerical data
Evoked Potentials - physiology

Evoked Potentials, Auditory - physiology
Exploratory Behavior - physiology
Female
Humans
Individuality
Male
Motivation
Personality - classification; physiology
Reaction Time - physiology

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