Psychology News
Researchers at the University of Granada, Spain, explored the link between grit and cognitive function. The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The Study
The researchers invited 134 participants to complete several questionnaires (including the Grit Scale) and 4 experimental computer-based tasks. They assessed several factors related to the participants’ personalities and cognitive ability—such as grit, impulsiveness, mindfulness, inhibition, memory, flexibility, and controlling tendencies.
The Findings
The results revealed that gritty people have different patterns of cognitive performance than their lesser gritty peers. However, this cognitive performance is not synonymous with enhanced cognitive performance.
For instance, people high on grit are linked to certain personality traits like low impulsivity, high mindfulness, and greater self-regulation. They also show higher levels of cautious control, attentiveness, detail-oriented approach, and flexibility with changing circumstances. The researchers tentatively termed this cognitive ability as “fluid intelligence”.
Elaborating on the association between grit and cognitive function, one of the lead researchers, Nuria Aguerre, remarked: “To crown the top of the mountain you do not need very good executive functions. You should be aware of the environment instead.”
To Know More You May Refer To
Aguerre, N. V., Gómez-Ariza, C. J., & Bajo, M. T. (2022). The relative role of executive control and personality traits in grit. PloS one, 17(6), e0269448. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269448
