Individual differences in executive control

Abstract

According to the Posner’s theory of executive control there are three functional networks of attention: 1) alerting; 2) orienting; 3) executive control. Individual differences in executive control may be associated with personality. The aim of this study is to investigate relationships between the Big Five and executive control. Nighty eight volunteers participated in the experiment with Attentional Network Test (ANT, E-Prime version, Fan&Posner, 2002) during EEG recording. Personality characteristics were measured by «Big Fife» (Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model Digman J.M., 1990; Goldberg L.R.,1993), Trait Meta Mood Scale (TMMS, Salovey et al., 1995), Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ, Gross & John, 2003), Mood scale of DSSQ (The Dundee Stress State Questionnaire, DSSQ, Matthews et al., 2002). Alpha Cronbach were calculated for all questionnaires scales. Scales «Attention to emotion» and «Suppression» were reconstructed due lower alpha Cronbach. Dynamics of attentional networks showed significant attenuation in Alerting to the end of task. Results showed significant correlations between behavioral data and personality characteristics. For instance, «Alerting» positively correlated with «neuroticism» and «frustration» after experiment, and executive control with «frustration» before experiment. Hence, those personality and mood components are important for cognitive function control.

Key words: extraversion, introversion, emotional intelligence, executive control, Attentional Network Test.