The relation between executive functions and personality traits

Egzekutivne funkcije mogu se definisati kao kontrolni mehanizmi koji upravljaju brojnim kognitivnim potprocesima. Savremena shvatanja egzekutivnih funkcija idu u pravcu identifikovanja različitih međusobno povezanih, ali ipak odvojivih egzekutivnih procesa, kao što su premeštanje, ažuriranje i inhibicija. Premeštanje predstavlja sposobnost da se pažnja efikasno prebacuje i vraća sa jedne na drugu operaciju ili deo zadatka, ažuriranje se odnosi na prikladno revidiranje informacija u radnoj memoriji u skladu sa njihovom važnošću za zadatak koji se obavlja, a inhibicija na sposobnost uzdržavanja od dominantnog odgovora u situaciji kada on nije poželjan. I dok je povezanost egzekutivnih funkcija sa drugim kognitivnim dimenzijama, kao što je inteligencija, već demonstrirana, odnos sa crtama ličnosti predstavlja neistraženo polje, iako određeni nalazi posredno ukazuju na veze između ova dva domena. Doktorska disertacija postavlja tri osnovna cilja – replikaciju pomenute trofaktorske strukture egzekutivnih funkcija, istraživanje povezanosti egzekutivnih funkcija i crta ličnosti i pravljenje baterije testova egzekutivnih funkcija koja bi bila pogodna za grupno zadavanje preko računara. Za potrebe istraživanja je konstruisano / adaptirano devet zadataka egzekutivnih funkcija, pri čemu su po tri zadatka bila namenjena merenju svake egzekutivne funkcije (zadaci plus-minus, slovo-broj i lokal-global merenju premeštanja, zadatak „budi u toku“, zadatak pamćenja slova i spacijalni 2-unazad zadatak merenju ažuriranja i Strupov zadatak i zadaci stop-signal i levo-desno merenju inhibicije). Kao crte ličnosti koje će biti uključene u istraživanje izabrane su dimenzije neroticizam, ekstraverzija, otvorenost, saradljivost i savesnost iz modela Velikih pet, dezintegrisanost i amoralnost, u skladu sa savremenim teorijama ličnosti koje postuliraju više od pet osnovnih dimenzija individualnih razlika u konativnom domenu. Uzorak od 190 studenata psihologije Filozofskog fakulteta u Beogradu uradio je devet zadataka namenjenih proceni egzekutivnih funkcija i popunio inventare kojima se mere pomenutih sedam crta ličnosti. Rezultati istraživanja pre svega ukazuju na postojanje tri nezavisne egzekutivne funkcije – premeštanja, ažuriranja i inhibicije. Nezavisnost ovih funkcija veća je nego što je to slučaj u nalazima ranijih istraživanja, što bi se najpre moglo objasniti selekcionisanom prirodom uzorka u ovom istraživanju. U pogledu drugog cilja, identifikovano je nekoliko značajnih povezanosti između domena egzekutivnih funkcija i domena crta ličnosti...Executive functions are usually defined as control mechanisms that regulate the operation of numerous cognitive subprocesses. Contemporary conceptions of executive functions are oriented toward identifying a set of related, although mutually separate executive processes, such as shifting, updating and inhibition. Shifting is the ability to efficiently switch attention back and forth between operations or subtasks, updating refers to appropriate reviewing of information in working memory according to their importance within the given task, and inhibition is defined as the ability to refrain from giving the dominant response in situations when this is not desirable. In contrast to a multitude of findings supporting the relations of executive functions with other cognitive domains, the relation between executive functions and personality traits remains mostly uninvestigated, with only a small number of findings indirectly supporting such a connection. This doctoral dissertation has three main goals – replication of the aforementioned three-factor structure of executive functions, investigation of relations between executive functions and personality traits, and construction of a computer based battery of tests of executive functions. Nine executive function tasks were constructed / adapted for the purpose of the research, with three tasks tapping each of the functions (plus-minus, number-letter, and local-global tasks assessing shifting, “keep track”, letter memory and spatial 2-back tasks measuring updating, and Stroop task, stop-signal and left-right tasks tapping inhibition). The dimensions from the Big Five model - neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, along with disintegration and amorality, were chosen as measures of participants’ personality traits, which was in line with contemporary personality theories identifying more than five basic dimensions of individual differences in conative domains. A sample of 190 students of psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade has completed the nine executive function tests and inventories assessing the seven mentioned personality traits. The results of the research indicate the existence of three independent executive functions – shifting, updating and inhibition. Independence of these functions is larger than had previously been demonstrated, which could most likely be explained by the sampling strategy of our research. Regarding the second goal of the dissertation, several significant correlations between the domains of executive functions and personality traits were identified..

Does cultural participation make us happier? Favorite leisure activities and happiness in a representative sample of the Serbian population

Istraživanja o doprinosu aktivnosti u slobodno vreme, a posebno o doprinosu kulturne participacije ličnom blagostanju i doživljaju sreće predstavljaju relativno novu liniju istraživanja. Iako ima dosta nalaza o pozitivnoj vezi između ličnog blagostanja i kulturne participacije, rezultati nisu u potpunosti konzistentni, što se bar delimično može objasniti različitim teorijskim shvatanjima ovih složenih pojmova (kulturna participacija, lično blagostanje i sreća), kao i njihovim različitim operacionalizacijama, primenjenim istraživačkim tehnikama i uzorcima. Ovo istraživanje sprovedeno je na reprezentativnom uzorku građana Srbije starijih od 15 godina (N=1521, 46% muškaraca, prosečan uzrast 41.5). Terensko prikupljanje podataka realizovano je u oktobru i novembru 2019. godine. Kao potencijalni prediktori subjektivnog doživljaja sreće uključeni su: 1. socio-demografske varijable (pol, starost, stepen obrazovanja, radni status, finansijski status), 2. subjektivna procena zdravstvenog stanja, i 3. lista aktivnosti sačinjena na osnovu prethodnih istraživanja u domenu slobodnog vremena i kulturne participacije (koja je određena tako da obuhvata kulturnu produkciju, privatnu i javnu kulturnu potrošnju, a ispitanici su ocenjivali u kojoj meri im je omiljena svaka od navedenih aktivnosti). Analizom glavnih komponenti izdvojeno je šest latentnih dimenzija aktivnosti u slobodno vreme: 1) kulturna participacija u užem smislu, 2) filmovi i zabava, 3) narodnjaci i porodica, 4) aktivnosti na otvorenom, 5) sport i 6) e-knjige i e-novine. Na nivou celog uzorka subjektivni doživljaj sreće je bio visok, prosečna ocena 5.03, na 7-stepenoj Likertovoj skali. Rezultati linearne regresije izdvojili su najbolje prediktore subjektivnog doživljaja sreće. Srećniji su ljudi koji pozitivnije ocenjuju svoje zdravstveno stanje, imaju viši finansijski status, ali i oni koji su više obrazovani. Pozitivnijem doživljaju sreće takođe pozitivno doprinose tri obrasca omiljenih aktivnosti u slobodno vreme: narodnjaci i porodica, aktivnosti na otvorenom i kulturna participacija. Rezultati su diskutovani u svetlu kompleksnosti ispitivanih fenomena, a posebno su istaknute mogućnosti za naredna istraživanja, kao i praktične implikacije za donosioce odluka o u oblasti kulturne politike.Research on the contribution of leisure activities in general and specifically cultural participation to personal wellbeing represents a relatively new and promising line of research. Results, however, are mixed - partly due to various definitions and measures of key variables, as well as their complexity and many confounding variables. This research was conducted on a sample representative for the general population of Serbia (N=1521). As potential predictors of wellbeing, we investigated a number of socio-demographic variables (gender, age, education level, employment status, financial status), subjective health status, and a list of leisure activities selected based on past research from leisure and cultural participation paradigms. A principal component analysis revealed six latent dimensions of leisure activities that were labeled as: 1) cultural participation (in a strict sense), 2) movies & entertainment, 3) folk & family, 4) outdoor activities, 5) sport, 6) e-books & e-news. A stepwise linear regression showed that subjective happiness was best predicted by a higher subjective health status, higher financial status, and higher education level, while from the domain of leisure activities, significant positive predictors were 'folk & family', 'outdoor activities', and 'cultural participation' components. Results are discussed in light of the complexity of examined phenomena, as well as practical implications for policy decision making

Seeking Proxies for Internal States as a Possible Alternative for Rationality and Experientiality

The Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST) proposes rationality and experientiality as independent personality constructs explaining how people process information. Recent empirical studies show that some people have low scores on both of these dimensions (the so-called disengaged profile). Another model, Seeking Proxies for Internal States (SPIS), primarily proposed to explain obsessive-compulsive tendencies, provides a framework under which both rationality and experientiality can be understood as internal resources of a person. Low rationality and experientiality could thus be overcome by seeking external clues. In two subsequent studies on independent nonclinical samples (psychology students N = 268 and technical sciences students N = 549), we examined the relationship between constructs from CEST and SPIS models, and in addition, explored their patterns of interoceptive awareness (IA) in Study 2. A latent profile analysis showed that the disengaged profile was related to high SPIS and OC tendencies in both samples. In addition, rationality and experientiality had similar and more positive correlations with some IA dimensions, compared to SPIS (and OCI)-IA correlations. Thus, impaired connection to internal states together with OC tendencies might contribute to the understanding of the specific thinking style of those who do not primarily rely on either rationality or experientiality

Attitudes of Belgrade citizens towards different types of graffiti

Grafiti predstavljaju specifičan vid komunikacije mladih u urbanim sredinama. U pitanju je veoma heterogena pojava, čiji se neki oblici graniče sa umetnošću dok drugi ostaju u domenu vandalizma. Istraživanje je eksplorativnog tipa i ima dva osnovna cilja - ispitivanje procene Beograđana o zastupljenosti različitih vrsta stilizovanih i nestilizovanih grafita na različitim lokacijama u gradu i utvrđivanje odnosa Beograđana prema grafitima i njihove procene prikladnosti različitih lokacija za crtanje i pisanje grafita. Prigodni uzorak od 100 Beograđana popunio je ekstenzivnu anketu. Rezultati pokazuju da su nestilizovani grafiti opaženi kao zastupljeniji od stilizovanih, dok je odnos prema stilizovanim grafitima značajno povoljniji nego prema nestilizovanim. Ovaj nalaz može se objasniti manjim trudom koji je potrebno uložiti u stvaranje nestilizovanih grafita, a koji pak vodi njihovoj nižoj estetskoj vrednosti. Određeni javni prostori - zidovi koji okružuju objekte, podzemni prolazi, nadvožnjaci i mostovi - koji se percipiraju kao najispisaniji grafitima, ujedno se smatraju i najprikladnijim za ovu vrstu aktivnosti.Graffiti can be seen as a specific means of communication used by young people in urban environments. Graffiti are a very heterogeneous phenomenon, certain aspects of which border on art, while others remain in the domain of vandalism. Considering the absence of graffiti related research in our country, this study is exploratory and has two main goals - to assess the perception of Belgrade citizens on the prevalence of diverse types of stylized and non-stylized graffiti in different urban locations and to determine the participants' relationship towards graffiti, and their subtypes, as well as the appropriateness of a number of locations for creating graffiti. A convenient sample of 100 citizens of Belgrade has completed an on-line extensive questionnaire. The results indicate that non-stylized graffiti are perceived as more prevalent than stylized graffiti, while the relationship towards stylized graffiti is significantly more favourable. This finding could be explained by the greater amount of effort invested in stylized graffiti which leads to their higher aesthetic value. Certain public spaces - such as surrounding walls / fences, underpasses, overpasses and bridges - which are perceived as most covered in graffiti are at the same time seen as most appropriate for this type of activity

Is Inhibitory Control Related to Conflict in Reasoning: A Preliminary Study

The purpose of this study was to test a belief-bias effect on reasoning in relation to inhibitory control functions and whether inhibition would be activated on conflict syllogisms. A total of 85 university students (78 % women, Mage = 20. 51, SD = 2. 90) participated in the study. We measured three types of inhibition and used the Brown-Peterson task and the Cued Recall task to measure proactive interference resistance, the Eriksen flanker letters and arrows task to measure distractor interference control, and the Spatial and Numerical Stroop task to measure prepotent response inhibition. We administered a syllogistic reasoning task containing no-conflict and conflict syllogisms saturated by socially relevant content. We found a typical belief-bias effect on invalid/believable conflict syllogisms, and accordingly all three types of inhibition accounted for reasoning performance only on valid/unbelievable conflict syllogisms, where belief-bias was not registered, indicating an inverse relation of bias and inhibition

Refugiados en Serbia: de camino hacia una vida mejor

Más de 450 000 personas pasaron a través de Serbia desde que comenzó 2015 hasta mediados de noviembre. Sin embargo, en 2014 las cifras fueron ya elevadas e iban en aumento

The relation between executive functions and personality traits

Egzekutivne funkcije mogu se definisati kao kontrolni mehanizmi koji upravljaju brojnim kognitivnim potprocesima. Savremena shvatanja egzekutivnih funkcija idu u pravcu identifikovanja različitih međusobno povezanih, ali ipak odvojivih egzekutivnih procesa, kao što su premeštanje, ažuriranje i inhibicija. Premeštanje predstavlja sposobnost da se pažnja efikasno prebacuje i vraća sa jedne na drugu operaciju ili deo zadatka, ažuriranje se odnosi na prikladno revidiranje informacija u radnoj memoriji u skladu sa njihovom važnošću za zadatak koji se obavlja, a inhibicija na sposobnost uzdržavanja od dominantnog odgovora u situaciji kada on nije poželjan. I dok je povezanost egzekutivnih funkcija sa drugim kognitivnim dimenzijama, kao što je inteligencija, već demonstrirana, odnos sa crtama ličnosti predstavlja neistraženo polje, iako određeni nalazi posredno ukazuju na veze između ova dva domena. Doktorska disertacija postavlja tri osnovna cilja – replikaciju pomenute trofaktorske strukture egzekutivnih funkcija, istraživanje povezanosti egzekutivnih funkcija i crta ličnosti i pravljenje baterije testova egzekutivnih funkcija koja bi bila pogodna za grupno zadavanje preko računara. Za potrebe istraživanja je konstruisano / adaptirano devet zadataka egzekutivnih funkcija, pri čemu su po tri zadatka bila namenjena merenju svake egzekutivne funkcije (zadaci plus-minus, slovo-broj i lokal-global merenju premeštanja, zadatak „budi u toku“, zadatak pamćenja slova i spacijalni 2-unazad zadatak merenju ažuriranja i Strupov zadatak i zadaci stop-signal i levo-desno merenju inhibicije). Kao crte ličnosti koje će biti uključene u istraživanje izabrane su dimenzije neroticizam, ekstraverzija, otvorenost, saradljivost i savesnost iz modela Velikih pet, dezintegrisanost i amoralnost, u skladu sa savremenim teorijama ličnosti koje postuliraju više od pet osnovnih dimenzija individualnih razlika u konativnom domenu. Uzorak od 190 studenata psihologije Filozofskog fakulteta u Beogradu uradio je devet zadataka namenjenih proceni egzekutivnih funkcija i popunio inventare kojima se mere pomenutih sedam crta ličnosti. Rezultati istraživanja pre svega ukazuju na postojanje tri nezavisne egzekutivne funkcije – premeštanja, ažuriranja i inhibicije. Nezavisnost ovih funkcija veća je nego što je to slučaj u nalazima ranijih istraživanja, što bi se najpre moglo objasniti selekcionisanom prirodom uzorka u ovom istraživanju. U pogledu drugog cilja, identifikovano je nekoliko značajnih povezanosti između domena egzekutivnih funkcija i domena crta ličnosti...Executive functions are usually defined as control mechanisms that regulate the operation of numerous cognitive subprocesses. Contemporary conceptions of executive functions are oriented toward identifying a set of related, although mutually separate executive processes, such as shifting, updating and inhibition. Shifting is the ability to efficiently switch attention back and forth between operations or subtasks, updating refers to appropriate reviewing of information in working memory according to their importance within the given task, and inhibition is defined as the ability to refrain from giving the dominant response in situations when this is not desirable. In contrast to a multitude of findings supporting the relations of executive functions with other cognitive domains, the relation between executive functions and personality traits remains mostly uninvestigated, with only a small number of findings indirectly supporting such a connection. This doctoral dissertation has three main goals – replication of the aforementioned three-factor structure of executive functions, investigation of relations between executive functions and personality traits, and construction of a computer based battery of tests of executive functions. Nine executive function tasks were constructed / adapted for the purpose of the research, with three tasks tapping each of the functions (plus-minus, number-letter, and local-global tasks assessing shifting, “keep track”, letter memory and spatial 2-back tasks measuring updating, and Stroop task, stop-signal and left-right tasks tapping inhibition). The dimensions from the Big Five model - neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, along with disintegration and amorality, were chosen as measures of participants’ personality traits, which was in line with contemporary personality theories identifying more than five basic dimensions of individual differences in conative domains. A sample of 190 students of psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade has completed the nine executive function tests and inventories assessing the seven mentioned personality traits. The results of the research indicate the existence of three independent executive functions – shifting, updating and inhibition. Independence of these functions is larger than had previously been demonstrated, which could most likely be explained by the sampling strategy of our research. Regarding the second goal of the dissertation, several significant correlations between the domains of executive functions and personality traits were identified..

Resampling, bootstrapping, jackknifing and their use in multivariate (statistical) data analyses

Za primenjivanje bilo kog statističkog postupka analize podataka (analize varijanse, linearne korelacije, linearne regresije itd.) potrebno je da bude ispunjen niz pretpostavki, uglavnom u vezi sa distribucijom varijabli. Ukoliko jedna ili više ovih pretpostavki nisu ispunjene, procena parametra, koju dobijamo primenom analize, nije adekvatna. Metode poduzorkovanja nude se kao rešenje za prevazilaženje ovog problema, jer je za njihovo korišćenje potrebno napraviti samo jednu pretpostavku, a to je da podaci koje imamo u razumnoj meri predstavljaju populaciju iz koje su uzeti. Metodama poduzorkovanja se iz postojećeg, dostupnog uzorka ispitanika kreira veći broj novih poduzoraka. Na ovaj način se dobijaju empirijske distribucije željenih statistika, na osnovu kojih je moguće adekvatno proceniti parametre. U tekstu ce biti predstavljeni metoda samouzorkovanja (bootstrapping) i postupak 'univerzalnog noža' jackknifing), koji spadaju u širu klasu postupaka poduzorkovanja. Najčešća varijanta postupka 'univerzalnog noža' ponekad se naziva i metodom 'izostavi jednog' jer podrazumeva pravljenje novih poduzoraka izbacivanjem jedne po jedne jedinice iz izvornog uzorka. Na ovaj način dobija se onoliko poduzoraka koliko je bilo jedinica u izvornom uzorku. U slučaju samouzorkovanja poduzorci se kreiraju nasumičnim biranjem jedinica iz izvornog uzorka sa vraćanjem, tako da svi poduzorci budu jednake veličine kao i izvorni uzorak. Kod metode samouzorkovanja broj poduzoraka je obično veoma veliki (preko 1000). Na primeru kanoničke diskriminacione analize prikazano je kako upotreba postupaka poduzorkovanja može u značajnoj meri izmeniti dobijene ocene parametara i zaključke istraživača, a detaljno je objašnjeno i kako se obe metode izvode u statističkom paketu IBM SPSS Statistics.In order to perform any data analysis procedure (analysis of variance, linear correlation, linear regression, etc.), a series of assumptions need to be true, most of which are concerned with the distribution of the variables. If one or more of these assumptions are violated, the obtained parameter estimates are inadequate. Resampling methods are offered as a means to overcome this issue, as they only require one assumption to be made - that the available data is reasonably representative of the population. Resampling methods use existing, available samples to create a large number of new subsamples. This produces an empirical distribution of the desired statistics, which forms a basis for an adequate parameter estimate. In this paper, we will discuss the methods of bootstrapping and jackknifing, which fall under the broader category of resampling. The most common form of the jackknifing procedure is sometimes labeled 'leave-one-out' procedure, because new subsamples are made by excluding one unit of the original sample at a time. Thus, the number of new subsamples is equal to the number of units in the original sample. In bootstrapping, subsamples are created by randomly picking units from the original subsample with replacement so that all subsamples are equal in size to the original sample. The number of bootstrapping subsamples is usually very large (over 1000). A canonical discriminant analysis will serve as an example to illustrate how the usage of resampling procedures can significantly alter the obtained parameter estimates and researcher's conclusions. A detailed explanation on how to perform these methods in IBM SPSS Statistics package is also given

Executive function of shifting: Factorial structure and relations to personality and intelligence domains

Istraživanje se bavilo izvršnom funkcijom izmjenjivanja pažnje te povezanošću s inteligencijom i faktorima ličnosti. Primijenili smo četiri različita kognitivna zadatka koji se smatraju markerima izmjenjivanja pažnje. Inicijalna faktorska analiza pokazala je jedan zajednički faktor tih zadataka. Utvrđene su značajne korelacije između ovog faktora i mjera inteligencije. Faktor izmjenjivanja pažnje također je značajno povezan s neuroticizmom, a smjer tog odnosa pokazuje da povišen neuroticizam odgovara većem izmjenjivanju pažnje. Naši su nalazi suprotni ranijim koncepcijama izvršnih funkcija kao nepovezanim s inteligencijom te nekim suvremenim istraživanjima koja pokazuju da izmjenjivanje pažnje nije povezano s mjerama inteligencije, ali potvrđuju nalaz da je sposobnost izmjenjivanja pažnje u korelaciji s Gf-om. Još važnije, rezultati našeg istraživanja otkrivaju prirodu neuroticizma, sugerirajući da izvršne funkcije imaju značajnu ulogu u određivanju opće emocionalne osjetljivosti.This study explores the executive function of shifting and its relation to intelligence and personality constructs. We administered four different cognitive tasks that are presumed to be markers of shifting. The exploratory factor analysis yielded a one factor solution underlying these tasks. Significant correlations between this factor and measures of intelligence were found. In addition, the shifting factor showed a significant relation to neuroticism trait and the direction of this relation implied that greater neuroticism corresponded to greater shifting costs. Our findings are in contrast with the early conceptions of executive functions as completely unrelated to intelligence and also some contemporary research showing that shifting factor is unrelated to intelligence measures, but support the findings that shifting ability is correlated with Gf. More importantly results of our study shed new light on the nature of the trait neuroticism, implying that executive functions might play a significant role in determining people’s general emotional vulnerability

The impact of forced social comparison on adolescents' self-esteem and appearance satisfaction

The impact of forced social comparison on adolescents' self-esteem and appearance satisfaction research, conducted on a sample of 133 high school seniors, consisted of two phases. In phase one, participants were given the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory, Appearance Satisfaction Scale and Appearance Relevance Scale, and in phase two, one month later, they were exposed to photographs of attractive and unattractive individuals. Two groups of boys and girls each assessed attractive or unattractive individuals of their own gender, while two control groups (of both genders) were not exposed to any photographs. Immediately after assessing the photographs, the participants were again given the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory and Appearance Satisfaction Scale. We found that forced social comparison had an impact on self-esteem and a marginally significant effect on appearance satisfaction in the group of participants (of both genders) assessing the photographs of unattractive individuals, while no effects were found in the either the control group or the group assessing the photographs of attractive individuals. We also examined the impact of self-esteem, appearance satisfaction and appearance relevance as moderating variables on the effect size of social comparison and showed that higher pretest self-esteem and appearance relevance and lower appearance satisfaction predict higher posttest self-esteem scores, regardless of the participants' group membership. The group of participants exposed to photographs of unattractive people, however, showed the opposite pattern - those participants who had initially lower self-esteem have increased it more as a result of the experimental exposure