The cognitive impact of neuroticism on executive functions: Differential effects on inhibition, switching, updating and dual-task

Abstract

Neuroticism, a personality trait characterized by heightened anxiety and emotional instability, has been associated with deficits in executive control, although findings across specific executive functions remain inconsistent. This study examined the effects of neuroticism on central executive functions, including inhibition, switching, updating, and dual-task. A total of 161 university students participated. Correlational analyses were conducted on the full sample (N = 161), and group comparisons involved 81 participants representing the upper (high-neuroticism: n = 44) and lower quartiles (low-neuroticism: n = 37) of the Neuroticism subscale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-R Abbreviated Form. Each executive function task was adapted from the Stroop paradigm to isolate a specific process, with response time, accuracy, and efficiency (Balanced Integration Score: BIS) as dependent measures. Correlational analyses examined associations between neuroticism and executive function indices while dissociating these from control-task performance. A mixed-design ANOVA followed by post hoc analyses tested group differences across tasks. Results showed that high-neurotic individuals responded more slowly and slightly less accurately, yielding reduced efficiency. This deficit appeared largely domain-general, reflecting impaired executive control, though task-specific effects emerged: inhibition, switching, and dual-task performance were most affected, whereas updating was relatively preserved. Overall, high neuroticism broadly impairs executive functioning, with variability across subcomponents.