Individual Differences in Cognition: New methods for examining the Personality-Cognition link

Traditional studies of cognitive ability have examined the component processes and factor structure of ability tests. Theoretical and empirical studies of non-cognitive dimensions of personality have examined how individual differences in personality interact with situational stressors to affect efficient cognitive performance. Previously reported results have emphasized motivational direction and intensity effects upon cognitive performance. Using a new technique of “Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment” (SAPA) which takes advantage of the large subject populations available on the internet, it is possible to study how basic personality dimensions relate to dimensions of cognitive ability. The SAPA procedure presents to participants small subsets of items sampled from large pools of publicly available personality and ability items. Although each participant is given only a small subset of items, with the recognition that subjects (> 65, 000) are randomly sampled and items are missing at random, it is possible to synthesize large (> 350x350) interitem correlation matrices. Individual differences in complex pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, and (self reported) standardized ability tests are moderately associated with Big 5 measures. We present the SAPA procedure in some detail and review findings relating dimensions of personality, ability, and interest. Based on a talk presented as part of a conference on “Individual differences in cognition” A symposium organized by Blazej Szymura and Edward Necka Cracow, Poland, September 15-17, 2006. To appear as a chapter in the Handbook of Individual Differences in Cognition: Attention, Memory and Executive Control, edited by Aleksandra Gruszka, Gerald Matthews, and Blazej Szymura contact: William Revelle: [email protected] Draft version of April 27, 2008 Please do not cite without permission INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN COGNITION 2