Introversion-extraversion and vigilance performance

Abstract

80 Ss (40 introverts and 40 extroverts) performed an auditory vigilance task including pre- and posttests with knowledge of results. The extroverts displayed significantly more vigilance decrement during the watch and significantly greater increases in correct detections and commission errors in the posttest. The results support Eysenck's hypothesis that extroverts will show more performance decrement on vigilance tasks because of a greater accumulation of reactive inhibition over the course of a watch. The advent of the posttest appeared to function as a disinhibitor, allowing the extroverts to resume their initial level of responding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)