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This version was published on June 1, 2008
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 6, 862-874 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167208315556
© 2008 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Neurophysiological Measures of Involuntary and Voluntary Attention Allocation and Dispositional Differences in Need for Cognition

Sören Enge

Dresden University of Technology, soeren.enge{at}mailbox.tu-dresden.de

Monika Fleischhauer

Dresden University of Technology

Burkhard Brocke

Dresden University of Technology

Alexander Strobel

Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt

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.

Key Words: P3a • P3b • event-related potentials • attention allocation • cognitive motivation


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