Median thinking style predicts the individual differences in processing capacity

Median thinkers are able to consider things from different perspectives and integrate information efficiently for situationally appropriate decisions. Previous research has found that high median thinkers tend to adopt a global and flexible processing strategy compared to low median thinkers, but less is known about how one’s processing capacity is related to his/her median thinking style. Processing capacity represents the changes in processing efficiency as a function of workload, and it constrains the selection of decision strategies. Here we examined how the processing capacity is related to the median thinking style. A redundant-target detection task was conducted to measure the processing capacity. Results showed that high median thinkers have higher processing capacity than low median thinkers, suggesting that high median thinkers process information more efficiently in an integrated way. These results cohere with previous reports on individual differences between median thinkers in terms of cognitive processing style.