Neuroscientific Approaches to the Study of Individual Differences in Cognition and Personality

Abstract

This chapter tackles the neurophysiology of individual differences in cognition and personality. In their review, the authors link intelligence and creativity to differential brain activation patterns in response to the performance of cognitive tasks employing a broad range of different demands. Neuroscientific data on individual differences in personality traits (with special focus on the extraversion-introversion dimension) presented by Neubauer and Fink indicates that normal-based variation in personality accounts for variability in brain activity during the performance of classic cognitive tasks (e.g., mental speed, reasoning or working memory). In their concluding remarks, Neubauer and Fink argue for the idea of personality and ability as interplaying with one another rather than being independent domains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)