Factors Associated with Attention Control: The Effects of Impulsivity and Fatigue on Response Inhibition

Ohashi, Natsumi (2010). Factors Associated with Attention Control: The Effects of Impulsivity and Fatigue on Response Inhibition Honours Thesis, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland.

       
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Author Ohashi, Natsumi
Thesis Title Factors Associated with Attention Control: The Effects of Impulsivity and Fatigue on Response Inhibition
School, Centre or Institute School of Psychology
Institution The University of Queensland
Publication date 2010
Thesis type Honours Thesis
Supervisor Roger Remington
Total pages 58
Abstract/Summary Past research suggests that the ability to inhibit and control attention is often impaired in a range of psychiatric and neurological conditions. Some factors that influence attention control include impulsivity and fatigue, but the extent to which these factors together affect attention control is not clear. This study investigates the effects and associations of impulsivity and fatigue on response inhibition. The general hypothesis was that highly impulsive individuals would be worse at response inhibition tasks than less impulsive individuals. Similarly, individuals who were fatigued were also expected to be worse at response inhibition than individuals who were not fatigued. It was also hypothesised that the effect of fatigue would be greater for less impulsive individuals than impulsive individuals. The impulsivity of 56 participants was measured using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11 (BIS). Participants were randomly assigned into Fatigue or non-Fatigue groups, defined by lengths of the Stroop task. Performance on a response inhibition task, measured by the Saccade task, was compared between different levels of impulsivity and fatigue groups. As predicted, the participants who scored higher on the BIS performed significantly worse on the Saccade task than participants who scored lower on the BIS. Due to a failure of fatigue manipulation, there was no significant difference between Fatigue and non-Fatigue groups, and the interaction between impulsivity and fatigue could not be examined. Results are further analysed and discussed, followed by possible implications and applications of the study.

 
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Created: Wed, 06 Apr 2011, 14:35:42 EST by Lucy O'Brien on behalf of School of Psychology