Individual Differences in the Context-Dependent Recruitment of Cognitive Control: Evidence From Action Versus State Orientation.

The ability to flexibly adapt to deviations from optimal performance is an important aspect of self-control. In the present study, the authors present first evidence that the personality trait action versus state orientation (Kuhl, 2000) modulates the ability of adaptive control adjustments in response to experienced conflicts. Sixty-two German individuals with extreme scores on the action-state dimension performed a response interference task, that is, 31 extreme action-oriented individuals (30 females; Mage  = 20.35 years) and 31 extreme state-oriented individuals (20 females; Mage  = 23.23 years), respectively. Action-oriented individuals displayed a stronger conflict adaptation effect as evidenced by a stronger reduction of interference on trials following conflict. These results were further corroborated by a correlational analysis including a sample of 105 participants: the higher the score on the action-state dimension, the lower the interference effect following conflict (i.e., stronger conflict adaptation). The results provide evidence that even low-level, bottom-up-driven processes of self-control such as conflict adaptation are systematically moderated by individual differences in control modes and provide insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying action versus state orientation.