Scholl Annika, Bloechle Johannes, Sassenberg Kai, Huber Stefan, Moeller Korbinian
Social Processes Lab, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tuebingen.
Can J Exp Psychol. 2019 Sep;73(3):157-166. doi: 10.1037/cep0000166. Epub 2019 Mar 11.
When people solve numerical tasks, they are able to adapt their responses to characteristics of the task. This suggests that number processing is under cognitive control. Yet, such prior research on cognitive control in numerical cognition largely focused on the role of task stimuli-neglecting the role of predictors that are not directly linked to cognitive and numerical capacities. Do people who sense control in other domains (such as their interpersonal relationships) employ cognitive control differently when processing numbers? As a first step to examine this, we investigated how a person's sense of power (as a predictor known to facilitate cognitive control in other domains) predicts number processing. People sensing relatively high (rather than low) power in their everyday lives usually exert more cognitive control, which enables them to better adapt to a given task setting. Building upon this, we predicted that sense of power facilitates number processing-but, only when the task setting provides valid decision-relevant information that people can adapt to. As indicator of adaptation to the task setting, we assessed the unit-decade compatibility effect. Indeed, sense of power predicted a smaller compatibility effect (better adaptation) when valid information was available; in contrast, sense of power tended to predict a larger compatibility effect when only ambiguous information was available. These findings highlight that cognitive control in number processing not only depends on stimuli, but can also depend on broader individual factors, such as people's sensed control in interpersonal situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
当人们解决数字任务时，他们能够根据任务的特点调整自己的反应。这表明数字处理受认知控制。然而，此前关于数字认知中认知控制的研究主要集中在任务刺激的作用上，而忽略了与认知和数字能力没有直接联系的预测因素的作用。在其他领域（如人际关系）中感觉到有掌控力的人在处理数字时，其认知控制的运用方式会有所不同吗？作为研究这一问题的第一步，我们调查了一个人的权力感（作为已知在其他领域促进认知控制的预测因素）如何预测数字处理。在日常生活中感觉到相对较高（而非较低）权力的人通常会施加更多的认知控制，这使他们能够更好地适应给定的任务环境。在此基础上，我们预测权力感会促进数字处理——但前提是任务环境提供了人们可以适应的与决策相关的有效信息。作为适应任务环境的指标，我们评估了单位-十位数兼容性效应。事实上，当有效信息可用时，权力感预测出较小的兼容性效应（更好的适应性）；相反，当只有模糊信息可用时，权力感往往预测出较大的兼容性效应。这些发现突出表明，数字处理中的认知控制不仅取决于刺激，还可能取决于更广泛的个体因素，比如人们在人际情境中感觉到的掌控力。（《心理学文摘数据库记录》（c）2019美国心理学会，保留所有权利）
