Individual differences in cognitive inhibition and their relation to failures of attention

Everyday failures of attention include a wide range of failures of action, memory, and perception. Corresponding individual differences may be measure d by the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) of Broadbent et al. (1982), which was adapted for German populations by Klumb (1995a). This study aime d to examine the elementary process mechanisms responsible for failures of attention. The hypothesis was tested that attention failures are related to decrements in cognitive inhibition. For assessing individual differences i n the efficiency of cognitive inhibition a negative-priming (NP) design wit h picture categorization was used. The data support the assumption that sub jects scoring high on the CFQ show less NP than others, indicating diminish ed cognitive inhibition mechanisms in these persons. Furthermore, the two g roups differ in the dynamics of their NP. Alternative explanations for the variance in negative priming (episodic retrieval, speed accuracy tradeoff) are discussed.