Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide evidence that intelligence has pervasive utility in work settings because it is essentially the ability to deal with cognitive complexity, in particular, with complex information processing, and the more complex a work task, the greater the advantages that higher g confers in performing it well.
About: This article is published in Intelligence.The article was published on 1997-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 1300 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Everyday life & Cognitive complexity.
Summary (1 min read)
Jump to: [Why g Matters: The Complexity of Everyday Life] – [WHAT DOES “IMPORTANT” MEAN?] – [INFLUENCE OF INTELLIGENCE ON OVERALL LIFE OUTCOMES] and [THE FUTURE]
Why g Matters: The Complexity of Everyday Life
- This article provides evidence that g has pervasive utility in work settings because it is essentially the ability to deal with cognitive complexity, in particular, with complex information processing.
- Few claims in the social sciences are backed by such massive evidence but remain so hotly contested in public discourse.
- Besides demonstrating that g is important in practical affairs, I seek to demonstrate why intelligence has such surprisingly pervasive importance in the lives of individuals.
- I then use both the employment and literacy data to sketch a portrait of life’s challenges and opportunities at different levels of intelligence.
WHAT DOES “IMPORTANT” MEAN?
- The nature of the job and its context seem to determine whether g has any direct effect on task proficiency, net of job knowlege.
- As is well known in psychometrics (see also Gordon, 1997), the fact that an individual passes or fails any single test item says little about that person’s general intelligence level.
INFLUENCE OF INTELLIGENCE ON OVERALL LIFE OUTCOMES
- The effects of intelligence-like other psychological traits-are probabilistic, not deterministic.
- White adults in this range marry, work, and have children (Hermstein & Murray, 1994), but, as Table 10 shows, they are nonetheless at great risk of living in poverty (30%), bearing children out of wedlock (32%), and becoming chronic welfare dependents (31%).
- At this IQ level, fewer than half the high school graduates and none of the dropouts meet the military’s minimum AFQT enlistment standards.
- Most occupations are within reach cognitively, because these individuals learn complex material fairly easily and independently.
- Such as divorce, illness, and occasional unemployment, they rarely become trapped in poverty or social pathology.
THE FUTURE
- Complexity enriches social and cultural life, but it also risks leaving some individuals behind.
- Society has become more complex-and g loaded-as the authors have entered the information age and postindustrial economy.
- Accordingly, organizations are “flatter” (have fewer hierarchical levels), and increasing numbers of jobs require high-level cognitive and interpersonal skills (Camevale, 1991; Cascio, 1995; Hunt, 1995; Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, 1991).
- There is evidence that increasing proportions of individuals with below-average IQs are having trouble adapting to their increasingly complex modern life (Granat & Granat, 1978) and that social inequality along IQ lines is increasing (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994).
- As the military experience also illustrates, however, what is good pedagogy for the low-aptitude learner may be inappropriate for the high-aptitude person.
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TL;DR: Insight is provided into the complex dynamics underlying the development of intelligence structure during adolescence, with greater ability differentiation found for older adolescents and evidence for an interaction between age and ability differentiation.
Abstract: Differentiation of intelligence refers to changes in the structure of intelligence that depend on individuals' level of general cognitive ability (ability differentiation hypothesis) or age (developmental differentiation hypothesis). The present article aimed to investigate ability differentiation, developmental differentiation, and their interaction with nonlinear factor analytic models in 2 studies. Study 1 was comprised of a nationally representative sample of 7,127 U.S. students (49.4% female; Mage = 14.51, SD = 1.42, range = 12.08-17.00) who completed the computerized adaptive version of the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery. Study 2 analyzed the norming sample of the Berlin Intelligence Structure Test with 1,506 German students (44% female; Mage = 14.54, SD = 1.35, range = 10.00-18.42). Results of Study 1 supported the ability differentiation hypothesis but not the developmental differentiation hypothesis. Rather, the findings pointed to age-dedifferentiation (i.e., higher correlations between different abilities with increasing age). There was evidence for an interaction between age and ability differentiation, with greater ability differentiation found for older adolescents. Study 2 provided little evidence for ability differentiation but largely replicated the findings for age dedifferentiation and the interaction between age and ability differentiation. The present results provide insight into the complex dynamics underlying the development of intelligence structure during adolescence. Implications for the assessment of intelligence are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
14 citations
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: The authors investigated the relative importance of six emotional intelligence (EI) abilities comprising the Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (SUEIT) in the prediction of psychological resilience to negative life events, romantic relationship adjustment and communication behaviour, and employability skills.
Abstract: This thesis investigated the relative importance of six emotional intelligence (EI) abilities comprising the Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (SUEIT) in the prediction of (1) psychological resilience to negative life events, (2) romantic relationship adjustment and communication behaviour, and (3) employability skills. In Study 1, the strength of relationship between negative life events and distress varied across three latent classes, reflecting vulnerable, average, and resilient profiles. Graduated EI scores, in terms of emotional self-awareness, ability to express, and self-manage emotions, predicted membership to each class. Across the 414 survey respondents, these three EI abilities appeared to augment psychological resilience in the aftermath of negative life events. In Study 2, all six EI abilities were found to be weakly associated with dyadic adjustment, and moderately associated with eight relationship enhancing communication behaviours. The eight behaviours were themselves moderately to very strongly associated with adjustment. Mediation analyses revealed that each EI ability influenced dyadic adjustment through the communication behaviours it best predicted. Across the 116 romantic partners surveyed, those better able to express and self-manage emotion communicated in the most relationship enhancing ways. In Study 3, four of the six EI abilities were found to be differentially important in the prediction of seven Adaptive Performance dimensions, five Conflict Management strategies, three forms of Organizational Commitment, and seven Achievement Motivations. The abilities to think clearly under pressure, identify others’ emotions, self-manage emotions, and manage others’ emotions made valuable contributions, while emotional self-awareness, and the ability to express emotion, did
14 citations
Cites background or methods from "Why g matters: The complexity of ev..."
...Cognitive constructs mapping on to “g” or general intelligence would presumably be much more powerful predictors, as indicated by the strong associations between IQ, performance on complex work tasks, and training outcomes (for a review see Gottfredson, 1997)....
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...In particular, the correspondence between the ways in which self-regulating spouses communicated with each other in Gottman and Levenson’s research, and the ways in which emotional self-managers communicated here, supports this position. That said, Emotional Management in Self did not strongly predict Withdrawal behaviour in the current study. Instead, Withdrawal was best explained by Emotional Recognition in Self and Personal Expression: two factors which Gottman and Levenson’s (1992) studies were not concerned with....
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...With regard to Gottman’s (1994) fourth divorce predictor, the present findings did not, on the surface, place such great emphasis on Stonewalling as did his research....
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...Moreover, higher IQ is associated to various degrees with stronger negotiation skills, faster career progression, and higher socioeconomic status (Gottfredson, 1997)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed whether video games genre can account for this range of correlations by testing one hundred and thirty-four participants playing ten video games of different genres for iPad® and WiiU® (Art of Balance®, Blek, Crazy Pool, EDGE®, Hook, Rail Maze, SkyJump, Space Invaders, Splatoon® and Unpossible).
14 citations
Dissertation•
01 Apr 2020
TL;DR: In this article, the authors take stock of the existing literature on the leadership of knowledge workers (KWs) and identify research gaps facing the leadership in KW field, and propose that insights from research in educational psychology should be used as a platform for theorising about how to lead in a KW context.
Abstract: Purpose With the transition into a knowledge economy, the concept of leading knowledge workers (KWs) has gained an increasing amount of attention in organisational studies and among practitioners. The emerging literature on the leadership of KW addresses an important phenomenon, but theoretical underpinnings and empirical inquiry into leadership effectiveness in a KW context do not agree on a common conceptualisation of KWs. Thus, a concerted research effort seems warranted. Design/methodology/approach The purpose of this study is to take stock of the existing literature on the leadership of KW. Based on a critical literature review, this paper provides a timely synthesis of the diffuse literature and identifies research gaps facing the leadership of KW field. Findings This paper suggests that the literature to date is deficient in terms of theory and evidence for how KWs are different from other classes of workers and argues that this deficiency stands in the way of developing ideas about how KWs could be effectively led. Research limitations/implications This paper extends a discussion on establishing ‘KW’ as a clear, independent construct and how the nomological network in which the leadership of KW research is situated (i.e., leadership antecedents, and workplace outcomes) may be elucidated, extended, and researched. Originality/value This paper extends beyond the identified research gaps and findings to present an agenda for future research. Specifically, we propose that insights from research in educational psychology should be used as a platform for theorising about how to lead in a KW context.
14 citations
Cites background from "Why g matters: The complexity of ev..."
...(Gottfredson, 1997, p. 13) Gottfredson adds: “It (intelligence) is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts....
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01 Jan 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, an experimental non-verbal measure of cognitive ability through automatic item generation, using an innovative item type, was developed, using a sample o f 333 adults, and the results o f the current analysis support the proposed cognitive model's ability to explain item difficulty.
Abstract: Cognitive ability is perhaps the most studied individual difference available to researchers, being measured quickly and effectively while demonstrating a predictable influence on many life outcomes. Historically, the evolution of the psychometric study of cognitive abilities has pivoted on the development of new and better methodologies allowing for a more complete and efficient capture o f intellect. For instance, recent advances in computer and Internet technology have largely replaced traditional pencil-and-paper methods, allowing for innovative item development and presentation. However, concerns regarding the potential adverse impact and test security of online measures of cognitive ability, particularly in unproctored situations, are well documented and have limited the use of such measures in organizational settings. Methods, such as the use of multiple test forms and computer adaptive testing coupled with item exposure algorithms, have addressed some test-security concerns. However, these methods require the costly and tedious development o f extensive item pools. The burgeoning area of automatic item generation potentially addresses many of the test-security and item-development concerns through the creation of assessment items based solely on an item model and a computer algorithm. Moreover, once the elements that contribute to item difficulty are calibrated, the psychometric properties o f the items are known, meaning that little to no human review of the items is required before their use. The purpose o f the current study was to develop an experimental non-verbal measure of cognitive ability through automatic item generation, using an innovative item type. Using a sample o f 333 adults, the results o f the current analysis support the proposed cognitive model’s ability to explain item difficulty. Likewise, the temporal stability and predictive validity o f the experimental measure are supported. In doing so, the experimental measure answers some o f the test-security and item-generation concerns that are associated with the development and administration of cognitive-ability measures in organizational settings. APPROVAL FOR SCHOLARLY DISSEMINATION The author grants to the Prescott Memorial Library o f Louisiana Tech University the right to reproduce, by appropriate m ethods, upon request, any or all portions o f this Dissertation. It is understood that “proper request” consists o f the agreement, on the part o f the requesting party, that said reproduction is for his personal use and that subsequent reproduction will not occur without written approval o f the author o f this Dissertation. Further, any portions o f the Dissertation used in books, papers, and other works must be appropriately referenced to this Dissertation. Finally, the author o f this Dissertation reserves the right to publish freely, in the literature, at any tim e, any or all portions o f this Dissertation.
14 citations
Additional excerpts
...influence on occupational attainment, social life, and even one’s life span (Deary, 2004; Gottfredson, 1997; Lubinski, 2004; O’Toole & Stankov, 1992; Schmidt & Hunter, 2004)....
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References
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