Neuro-cognitive process-parameters of cognitive abilities

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Anna-Lena Schubert
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 399695734

Previous studies have shown that working memory capacity and the speed of neural information-processing cannot explain individual differences in intelligence independently, because individual differences in each of these two parameters explain more than 50 percent of variance in intelligence. Instead it is reasonable to presume that a higher speed of neural information-processing facilitates the processing and manipulation of contents in working memory. This assumption is supported by numerous cross-sectional and longitudinal studies reporting great associations between working memory capacity and the speed of information-processing.Based on these results, the proposed project aims to test a neuro-cognitive model that proposes that a higher speed of neural information-processing increases the efficiency of selective attention and memory updating. This greater efficiency in executive functions should positively affect performance in working memory tasks and intelligence tests. Two core predictions can be derived from these model assumptions: First, the relationship between the speed of neural information-processing and general intelligence/working memory capacity should be mediated by the efficiency of executive functions. Second, the strong association between general intelligence and working memory capacity should at least in part be explained by the underlying elementary neuro-cognitive processes.To test the model, the four core constructs – speed of neural information-processing, executive functions, working memory capacity and intelligence – will be measured in a community sample consisting of 150 participants. Each construct will be modeled as a latent variable based on three indicator tasks, which allows testing the mediation model in a structural equation model framework. The speed of neural information-processing will be measured as the latency of event-related electrophysiological potentials, whereas the efficiency of executive functions will be characterized in terms of diffusion model parameters.The proposed project is highly innovative, because it will provide clear answers to research questions that have been discussed for a long while. It combines innovative methodological approaches at the intersection between cognitive psychology, psychophysiology, and personality psychology. The results will allow drawing clear conclusions regarding the elementary cognitive processes underlying individual differences in general intelligence, as well as regarding the neuro-cognitive processes giving rise to the relationship between general intelligence and working memory capacity.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants