The Role of Self-Transcendence and Cognitive Processes in the Response Expectancy Effect
Megan Fresson1, Benoit Dardenne1, Marie Geurten1
1Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition (Research Unit), University of Liège, Liège, BE.
Psychologica Belgica
|November 28, 2018
Summary
Expectancy effects influence cognitive performance, with negative suggestions impairing flexibility but improving memory. Positive suggestions enhanced explicit monitoring, particularly in individuals with higher self-transcendence, demonstrating a blend of individual and cognitive factors.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuropsychology
- Personality Psychology
Background:
- Expectancy effects, including placebo and nocebo responses, impact cognitive performance in neuropsychological assessments.
- Previous research suggests indirect measures indicate increased monitoring processes with placebo effects.
- Direct measures of monitoring, such as Judgement Of Learning (JOL), have not been utilized to study expectancy effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of response expectancy effects on various neuropsychological tasks.
- To assess the influence of expectancy on cognitive functions like executive control, attention, and memory.
- To examine the moderating role of self-transcendence personality traits on expectancy effects.
Main Methods:
- Eighty healthy participants were exposed to three bogus conditions: positive, negative, or neutral impact on cognitive abilities.
- Participants completed executive, attentional, and memory tasks under each condition in a randomized order.
- Judgement Of Learning (JOL) tasks were used to directly measure explicit monitoring capacities.
Main Results:
- Negative instructions led to poorer performance in flexibility tasks and improved memory scores.
- Positive instructions resulted in enhanced explicit monitoring (JOL) compared to the neutral condition.
- The observed expectancy effects were moderated by self-transcendence, manifesting only in participants with moderate or high levels of this trait.
Conclusions:
- Response expectancy effects on cognitive performance are influenced by both individual factors (self-transcendence) and cognitive processes.
- Direct measures like JOL can effectively assess the impact of expectancy on monitoring capacities.
- Understanding these combined factors is crucial for interpreting neuropsychological assessment results and developing targeted interventions.
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