TY - JOUR
T1 - The Ups and Downs of Cognitive Function
T2 - Neuroticism and Negative Affect Drive Performance Inconsistency
AU - Munoz, Elizabeth
AU - Stawski, Robert S.
AU - Sliwinski, Martin J.
AU - Smyth, Joshua M.
AU - Macdonald, Stuart W.S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/1/14
Y1 - 2020/1/14
N2 - Objectives: Response time inconsistency (RTI) - or trial-to-trial variability in speeded performance - is increasingly recognized as an indicator of transient lapses of attention, cognitive health status, and central nervous system integrity, as well as a potential early indicator of normal and pathological cognitive aging. Comparatively, little research has examined personality predictors of RTI across adulthood. Methods: We evaluated the association between the personality trait neuroticism and RTI in a community-dwelling sample of 317 adults between the ages of 19-83 and tested for two indirect pathways through negative affect (NA) and cognitive interference (CI). Results: The personality trait neuroticism predicted greater RTI independent of mean response time performance and demographic covariates; the results were age-invariant. Furthermore, NA (but not CI) accounted for this association and moderated mediation model results indicated that older adults were more vulnerable to the adverse effects of NA. Discussion: Neuroticism predicts greater RTI irrespective of mean performance and this effect is driven largely by heightened negative emotionality that may be particularly detrimental for older adults.
AB - Objectives: Response time inconsistency (RTI) - or trial-to-trial variability in speeded performance - is increasingly recognized as an indicator of transient lapses of attention, cognitive health status, and central nervous system integrity, as well as a potential early indicator of normal and pathological cognitive aging. Comparatively, little research has examined personality predictors of RTI across adulthood. Methods: We evaluated the association between the personality trait neuroticism and RTI in a community-dwelling sample of 317 adults between the ages of 19-83 and tested for two indirect pathways through negative affect (NA) and cognitive interference (CI). Results: The personality trait neuroticism predicted greater RTI independent of mean response time performance and demographic covariates; the results were age-invariant. Furthermore, NA (but not CI) accounted for this association and moderated mediation model results indicated that older adults were more vulnerable to the adverse effects of NA. Discussion: Neuroticism predicts greater RTI irrespective of mean performance and this effect is driven largely by heightened negative emotionality that may be particularly detrimental for older adults.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077941682&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85077941682&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gby032
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gby032
M3 - Article
C2 - 29590450
AN - SCOPUS:85077941682
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 75
SP - 263
EP - 273
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 2
ER -