Gerry Pallier

The role of individual differences in the accuracy of confidence judgments.

Abstract Generally, self-assessment of accuracy in the cognitive domain produces overconfidence, whereas self-assessment of visual perceptual judgments results in under-confidence. Despite contrary empirical evidence, in models attempting to explain those phenomena, individual differences have often been disregarded. The authors report on 2 studies in which that shortcoming was addressed. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 520) completed a large number of cognitive-ability tests. Results indicated that individual differences provide a meaningful source of overconfidence and that a metacognitive trait might mediate that effect. In further analysis, there was only a relatively small correlation between test accuracy and confidence bias. In Experiment 2 (N = 107 participants), both perceptual and cognitive ability tests were included, along with measures of personality. Results again indicated the presence of a confidence factor that transcended the nature of the testing vehicle. Furthermore, a small relationship was found between that factor and some self-reported personality measures. Thus, personality traits and cognitive ability appeared to play only a small role in determining the accuracy of self-assessment. Collectively, the present results suggest that there are multiple causes of miscalibration, which current models of over- and underconfidence fail to encompass.

Gender differences in the self-assessment of accuracy on cognitive tasks

Generally, self-assessment of accuracy in the cognitive domain produces overconfidence, whereas self-assessment of the accuracy of visual perceptual judgments produces underconfidence. The possible effect of gender differences on these robust findings appears to be underinvestigated. In this paper, I report two studies that take a step toward redressing this shortcoming. In Study 1, a group of young adults (N =185) were presented with a test of General Knowledge and a visual perceptual task. The results indicated the typical over/underconfidence phenomena noted above, but, when analyzed by sex, indicated statistically significant differences; men were more confident than women on both tasks. In Study 2, participants (N =303) with a wider age range completed 4 tests of cognitive ability, which were drawn from the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Results indicated that the tendency for men to express higher levels of confidence than women in the accuracy of their work appears to remain constant across the life-span. These findings are discussed in relation to self-concept and gender stereotyping.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB): Little more than acculturated learning (Gc)!?☆

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is administered to over 1 million participants in the USA each year, serving either as a screening test for military enlistees or as a guidance counseling device in high schools. In this paper, we examine the factorial composition of the ASVAB in relation to the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence and Carrolls [1993. Human cognitive abilities: a survey of factor-analytic studies. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.] three-stratum model. In two studies (N=349, N=6751), participants were administered both the ASVAB and tests designed to measure factors underlying these (largely) analogous models. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) of correlational data suggested that the ASVAB primarily measures acculturated learning [crystallized intelligence (Gc)]. This evidence does not support the frequent claim that this test measures psychometric g. Our conclusion is that the ASVAB should be revised to incorporate the assessment of additional broad cognitive ability factors, particularly fluid intelligence and learning and memory constructs, if it is to maintain its postulated function.

What the Nose Knows: Olfaction and Cognitive Abilities.

Abstract For any taxonomic model of cognitive abilities to be complete, lower-order sensory processes must be incorporated within its scope. The current study sought to address the role of olfactory processes within the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence, as this sensory modality appears to have remained uninvestigated. Evidence from within experimental cognitive psychology suggests that olfactory memory is distinct from memory in other sensory modalities. Thus, this issue was also explored from an individual differences perspective. Participants (N=107) were tested on a battery of 12 psychometric tests, 4 putative cognitive olfactory tasks, and 1 olfactory discrimination measure. The resultant data set was subjected to exploratory factor analysis. Results indicate the likely existence of an olfactory memory ability that is structurally independent of established higher-order abilities and not related to simple olfactory sensitivity. The implication of this finding to models of human cognitive abilities is discussed.

The Incubation Effect: Hatching a Solution?

Numerous anecdotal accounts exist of an incubation period promoting creativity and problem solving. This article examines whether incubation is an empirically verifiable phenomenon and the possible role therein of nonconscious processing. An Idea Generation Test was employed to examine (a) whether an incubation effect occurred and (b) the impact of different types of break on this effect. In the Idea Generation Test, two groups of participants were given a distracting break, during which they completed either a similar or an unrelated task, and a third group worked continuously (N = 90). The Idea Generation Test was validated against established measures of cognitive ability and personality, and was found to exhibit variance distinct from those marker tests. Most important, results demonstrated that having a break during which one works on a completely different task is more beneficial for idea production than working on a similar task or generating ideas continuously. The advantage afforded by a break cannot be accounted for in terms of relief from functional fixedness or general fatigue, and, although it may be explicable by relief from task-specific fatigue, explanations of an incubation effect in terms of nonconscious processing should be (re)considered.

Charting the Cognitive Sphere: Tactile-Kinesthetic Performance Within the Structure of Intelligence

Abstract In his extensive review of factor analytic studies conducted this century, Carroll (1993) laments that “information on tactile and kinesthetic sensitivity factors is meager” (p. 546). The present study sought to redress this imbalance by employing eight tactile-kinesthetic indices along with a battery of twenty-seven cognitive ability and mental speed measures. A sample of 195 participants was tested. Confirmatory factor-analysis of this data set indicated the existence of three first-order “level” (i.e., accuracy) factors (fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence and a tactile-kinesthetic/visualization factor); two first-order “speed” factors (test-taking speed and elementary cognitive response speed); and two first-order “mixture” factors that reflected disparate features of short-term memory (Digit Span Forward and Digit Span Backward). A second-order confirmatory factor analysis of these constructs suggests that tactile-kinesthetic abilities share much in common with broad visualization and fluid intelligence, little in common with crystallized intelligence, and a series of differential relationships with “speed-related” factors. A separate exploratory factor analytic solution (involving a reduced set of experimentally independent variables) supported these conclusions. The implications of these findings for structural models of human intelligence and theories of cognitive processing are discussed.

Nonconscious Idea Generation

The recognition of the correct solution to a problem after a period when one is not actively searching for an answer is well documented. However, previous research has focused on problems an individual has not yet resolved. We presented a scenario in which 125 participants believed that they had completed a task and so had no reason to seek further solutions. To their surprise, after a period of distraction, we resumed the testing session. This novel method was combined with accurate recording of both response content and timing. The results from the second session displayed a remarkable similarity to those from the first, including an initial burst of ideas, allowing the inference that, even in the absence of a reason to seek solutions, a process of nonconscious idea generation might be operating.

Individual differences in performance on elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs): lawful vs. problematic parameters.

Abstract Over the past 2 decades, the cognitive-correlates approach has dominated investigations into the nature of intelligence. This research program relies on a number of processing speed parameters (apart from “average performance”). These measures include the slope, intercept, and intraindividual variability of both decision time and movement time. By correlating these measures with established markers of intelligence, researchers postulate theoretical models underlying these information-processing constructs. However, there is a lack of substantive evidence that these phenomena are as robust within the individual as has been proposed. The authors tested the properties of intraindividual parameters by asking participants (N = 179) to perform 10 elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs). Detailed analyses revealed that average performance parameters, extracted from these ECTs, behaved lawfully. However, up to 40% of participants failed to provide acceptable indices of intraindividual model fit. Similarly, intraindividual variability measures appeared less valid than previously suggested. The implications of these findings for cognitive and biological models of intelligence are discussed.

The Basic Information Processing (BIP) Unit, Mental Speed and Human Cognitive Abilities: Should the BIP R.I.P.?.

Abstract Lehrl and Fischer (1990, European Journal of Personality, 4 , 259–286) reported findings derived from a series of tests that they claim measure a basic parameter of human information processing (BIP). Lehrl and Fischer also suggested that such indices share significant correlation with general intelligence. In the study presented here these propositions were examined along with the expectation that this measure would share significant correlation with speed of information processing parameters. The results obtained cast doubts on the usefulness of the theoretical model currently postulated by Lehrl and Fischer. Rather than reflecting some properties of a limited capacity system, the BIP would appear to be nothing more than a marker test for a known primary mental ability—reading speed.