The influence of attention on the relationship between temporal resolution power and general intelligence

Previous research showed repeatedly that individual differences in the temporal resolution power (TRP) of the central nervous system are related to individual differences in general intelligence. This relationship became to be known as the TRP hypothesis. However, the TRP hypothesis was challenged by the fact that temporal as well as non-temporal neural information processing afford considerable attentional resources and, hence, the relationship between TRP and general intelligence might be explained alternatively by attention as common source of variance. Therefore, the present study aimed to arrive at a better understanding of the interplay among TRP, attention, and general intelligence. For this purpose, a latent variable approach was used to dissociate attention-paced speed variance in latency-based measures of attention from all residual-based, non-experimental speed variance. That way, two potential mediators were derived, one representing a pure measure of perceptual attention and the other representing a conglomerate of the non-experimental processes not associated with the experimental manipulation of attention. A bootstrapped mediation analysis revealed that both mediators were not capable of mediating the relationship between TRP and general intelligence, hence, the present finding confirmed that TRP is a reliable and substantial determinant of individual differences in general intelligence. Future studies have to clarify the potential mediating role of more executive aspects of attention in order to elucidate the role of attention as an integral phenomena in the context of the TRP hypothesis.

2017

dissertation

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