Assessing Implicit Cognitive Motivation: Developing and Testing An Implicit Association Test to Measure Need for Cognition

The personality trait need for cognition (NFC) refers to individual differences in cognitive motivation and has proven to be an extraordinarily useful descriptor and predictor in the context of information processing. So far, NFC has been assessed via self–report. More recent research, however, accentuates the value of indirect measures, as they tap into implicit aspects of the personality self–concept and are assumed to provide incremental validity especially in predicting automatic aspects of behaviour. Therefore, in the present research, different NFC–Implicit Association Tests (IATs) were developed and pretested for psychometric properties. The final version was systematically tested for its predictive validity over and above the direct NFC measure based on a latent variable approach. The results provide evidence for a double dissociation model and suggest the NFC–IAT to exert its predictive value regarding the more spontaneous aspects of NFC–related behaviour, whereas the NFC scale was rather predictive for the more reflective aspects of behaviour. Moreover, the present research contributes to the understanding of construct–unrelated variance in personality IATs and offers valuable information for test development in the realm of personality IATs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Associations Between Task Performance and Self-Report Measures of Cognitive Control: Shared Versus Distinct Abilities

Assessment ◽

10.1177/1073191120965694 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 107319112096569

Author(s):

Hannah R. Snyder ◽

Naomi P. Friedman ◽

Benjamin L. Hankin

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Cognitive Control ◽

Task Performance ◽

Latent Variable ◽

Effortful Control ◽

Self Report ◽

Variable Approach ◽

Behavior Rating Inventory ◽

Older Youth ◽

Latent Variable Approach

Despite overlapping terminology and assumptions that they tap the same constructs, executive function (EF) task performance and EF/effortful control (EC) questionnaires have been reported to be only weakly correlated. It is unclear if this reflects true lack of association or methodological limitations. The current study addresses past methodological limitations using a preregistered latent variable approach in a community youth sample ( N = 291, age 13-22 years). EF task performance was assessed with a well-validated battery inhibition, shifting, and updating tasks. Self-reported EF/EC was assessed using the predominant temperament measure (Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire–Revised [EATQ-R]), and a self-report assessment more closely aligned with EF constructs (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Self-Report [BRIEF-SR]). Bifactor models fit the BRIEF-SR, EATQ-R and EF task measures well. Self-reported EF/EC and EF task factors were only weakly correlated on average in youth, although there were some stronger associations in older youth. These results suggest that task-based measures of EF and self-report measures of EF/EC may be best viewed as complementary, but largely distinct, windows on cognitive control.

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Distinguishing Adequate Versus Inadequate Cancer Health Literacy Levels: A Discrete Latent Variable Approach

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e581432013-001 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Levent Dumenci ◽

Robin Matsuyama ◽

Robert Perera ◽

Laura Kuhn ◽

Laura Siminoff

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Latent Variable ◽

Variable Approach ◽

Latent Variable Approach

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Executive Functions and Metacognitive Monitoring Are Not Interchangeable in Educational Settings: Their Shared and Unique Contribution to Academic Outcomes

10.31234/osf.io/4jhnz ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Rina PY Lai ◽

Michelle Renee Ellefson ◽

Claire Hughes

Keyword(s):

Executive Functions ◽

Academic Outcomes ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Latent Variable ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Metacognitive Monitoring ◽

Cognitive Predictors ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Variable Approach ◽

Latent Variable Approach

Executive functions and metacognition are two cognitive predictors with well-established connections to academic performance. Despite sharing several theoretical characteristics, their overlap or independence concerning multiple academic outcomes remain under-researched. To address this gap, the present study applies a latent-variable approach to test a novel theoretical model that delineates the structural link between executive functions, metacognition, and academic outcomes. In whole-class sessions, 469 children aged 9 to 14 years (M = 11.93; SD = 0.92) completed four computerized executive function tasks (inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning), a self-reported metacognitive monitoring questionnaire, and three standardized tests of academic ability. The results suggest that executive functions and metacognitive monitoring are not interchangeable in the educational context and that they have both shared and unique contributions to diverse academic outcomes. The findings are important for elucidating the role between two domain-general cognitive skills (executive functions and metacognition) and domain-specific academic skills.

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