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Journal ArticleDOI

Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life

01 Jan 1997-Intelligence (JAI)-Vol. 24, Iss: 1, pp 79-132
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)

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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Citations
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Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, a factor analysis was carried out on 6 socioeconomic variables for 506 census tracts of Boston and an S factor was found with positive loadings for median value of owner-occupied homes and average number of rooms in these; negative loadings with crime rate, pupil-teacher ratio, NOx pollution, and the proportion of the population of "lower status".
Abstract: A factor analysis was carried out on 6 socioeconomic variables for 506 census tracts of Boston. An S factor was found with positive loadings for median value of owner-occupied homes and average number of rooms in these; negative loadings for crime rate, pupil-teacher ratio, NOx pollution, and the proportion of the population of 'lower status'. The S factor scores were negatively correlated with the estimated proportion of African Americans in the tracts r = -.36 (CI95 -0.43; -0.28). This estimate was biased downwards due to data error that could not be corrected for.

6 citations

DissertationDOI
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: In this paper, each individual case analysis provided the "what" and "how" for descriptions organized around establishing horizons, or boundaries of a code, by participant (Creswell, 1998).
Abstract: ion. Each individual case analysis provided the “what” and “how” for descriptions organized around establishing horizons, or boundaries of a code, by participant (Creswell, 1998).

6 citations


Cites background from "Why g matters: The complexity of ev..."

  • ...…load onto the top-stratum general intellectual construct g. General intelligence, or g, the summative factor in factor analytic theory of intelligence, is a well-established predictor of life outcomes (Freeman, 2006; Gottfredson, 1997, 2003; Hunter & Schmidt, 1989; Lubinski, 2000; Sternberg, 1997)....

    [...]

  • ...These ideas echo Csikszentmihalyi’s (1990) idea of flow, but they lack empirical support (Gottfredson, 1997)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper employed hierarchical multiple regression analysis to reexamine the relationships between Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) dimensions and reading achievement after controlling for the effects of the general factor with 4,722 participants ages 6-18 from the Woodcock Johnson III Psychoeducational Battery.
Abstract: Previously, Evans and colleagues (2001) utilized simultaneous multiple regression to examine relations between Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC; Schneider & McGrew, 2012) broad and narrow cognitive abilities and reading achievement across the school age span. Although their findings suggest that many broad/narrow abilities had clinically significant effects on reading achievement they failed to account for the potential moderating effects of the general factor. To account for these effects, the current study employed hierarchical multiple regression analysis to reexamine the relationships between CHC dimensions and reading achievement after controlling for the effects of the general factor with 4,722 participants ages 6-18 from the Woodcock Johnson III Psychoeducational Battery (WJ III; Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001a). Results from the present study indicate that the full scale GIA composite (as a proxy for g ) consistently accounted for large effects across the school age span for all of the reading achievement variables that were assessed. Among the broad and narrow abilities, only Gc consistently accounted for meaningful proportions of reading scores beyond g . As a consequence, researchers are encouraged to give greater consideration to the dimensionality of broad and narrow CHC measures when examining cognitive-achievement relationships or they may risk over-interpreting the predictive effects associated with these indices. Potential implications for clinical application of CHC theory are also discussed.

6 citations


Cites background from "Why g matters: The complexity of ev..."

  • ...Although researchers may disagree as to whether g has a direct or indirect latent influence on reading, the potential influence of this dimension has been accounted for in a host of psychometric studies examining cognitive-achievement relations in educational and developmental psychology (Canivez, 2013a; Carroll, 1993, 1997; Gottfredson, 1997; McDermott, Goldberg, Watkins, Stanley, & Glutting, 2006; McGill, 2016; Watkins, Lei, & Canivez, 2007)....

    [...]

  • ...…been accounted for in a host of psychometric studies examining cognitive-achievement relations in educational and developmental psychology (Canivez, 2013a; Carroll, 1993, 1997; Gottfredson, 1997; McDermott, Goldberg, Watkins, Stanley, & Glutting, 2006; McGill, 2016; Watkins, Lei, & Canivez, 2007)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the moderating effects of IQ on the association between key criminological constructs and antisocial behavior, and found evidence that IQ moderated the effects of some key constructs on antisocial behaviour such as peer drug use and neighborhood disadvantage.

6 citations

Dissertation
01 Nov 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, a study was conducted to establish the construct validity of the NEO PI-R personality measure when used for high-stakes employee selection purposes, and it was hypothesised that the use of a formal warning would eliminate or minimise faking good by participants in a field study of job applicants in a high stakes contexts, thereby allowing construct valid inferences to be made about the participant's personality traits.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to establish the construct validity of the NEO PI-R personality measure when used for high stakes employee selection purposes. Based on extant research from industrial/organisational psychology, social psychology, and behavioural economics it is argued that deliberate impression management, or faking good, by job candidates in high stakes selection contexts can occur. This can be regarded as a form of moral hypocrisy. Theoretical research showed that moral hypocrisy occurs in ambiguous contexts in the absence of reminders of moral standards. It was hypothesised that the use of a formal warning would eliminate or minimise faking good by participants in a field study of job applicants in a high stakes contexts, thereby allowing construct valid inferences to be made about the participant’s personality traits. To test this hypothesis a formal verbal warning about measures included in the assessment to detect deliberate impression management was given to the participants. They completed the NEO PI-R as part of the battery of tests used in the selection process for middle and senior management positions in a range of organisations. A bespoke impression management measure, based on a widely used measure used to detect deliberate impression management, was included in the battery of tests. A second field study sample was used to validate the findings of the managerial field study. Using confirmatory factor analysis the results showed that faking good was minimised, but not eliminated. Monte Carlo simulations showed that it was still possible that participants, who faked good in spite of the warning, could be selected from a short list of job applicants. The use of the bespoke impression management measure was shown to be of benefit in minimising bias and unfairness arising from the use of the personality measure when selecting a candidate from a short list.

6 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The ten-year edition of the 10th anniversary edition as mentioned in this paper is devoted to the theory of multiple intelligences and its application in the socialization of human intelligence through Symbols Implications And Applications.
Abstract: * Introduction to the Tenth Anniversary Edition Background * The Idea of Multiple Intelligences * Intelligence: Earlier Views * Biological Foundations of Intelligence * What Is an Intelligence? The Theory * Linguistic Intelligence * Musical Intelligence * Logical-Mathematical Intelligence * Spatial Intelligence * Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence * The Personal Intelligences * A Critique of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences * The Socialization of Human Intelligences through Symbols Implications And Applications * The Education of Intelligences * The Application of Intelligences

11,512 citations

Book
01 Jan 1983
TL;DR: The Tenth Anniversary Edition of Intelligence explains the development of intelligence in the 21st Century through the applications of language, linguistics, mathematics, and more.
Abstract: * Introduction to the Tenth Anniversary Edition Background * The Idea of Multiple Intelligences * Intelligence: Earlier Views * Biological Foundations of Intelligence * What Is an Intelligence? The Theory * Linguistic Intelligence * Musical Intelligence * Logical-Mathematical Intelligence * Spatial Intelligence * Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence * The Personal Intelligences * A Critique of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences * The Socialization of Human Intelligences through Symbols Implications And Applications * The Education of Intelligences * The Application of Intelligences

9,611 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relation of the Big Five personality dimensions (extraversion, emotional stability, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience) to three job performance criteria (job proficiency, training proficiency, and personnel data) for five occupational groups (professionals, police, managers, sales, and skilled/semi-skilled).
Abstract: This study investigated the relation of the “Big Five” personality dimensions (Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience) to three job performance criteria (job proficiency, training proficiency, and personnel data) for five occupational groups (professionals, police, managers, sales, and skilled/semi-skilled). Results indicated that one dimension of personality, Conscientiousness, showed consistent relations with all job performance criteria for all occupational groups. For the remaining personality dimensions, the estimated true score correlations varied by occupational group and criterion type. Extraversion was a valid predictor for two occupations involving social interaction, managers and sales (across criterion types). Also, both Openness to Experience and Extraversion were valid predictors of the training proficiency criterion (across occupations). Other personality dimensions were also found to be valid predictors for some occupations and some criterion types, but the magnitude of the estimated true score correlations was small (ρ < .10). Overall, the results illustrate the benefits of using the 5-factor model of personality to accumulate and communicate empirical findings. The findings have numerous implications for research and practice in personnel psychology, especially in the subfields of personnel selection, training and development, and performance appraisal.

8,018 citations

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TL;DR: An up-to-date handbook on conceptual and methodological issues relevant to the study of industrial and organizational behavior is presented in this paper, which covers substantive issues at both the individual and organizational level in both theoretical and practical terms.
Abstract: An up-to-date handbook on conceptual and methodological issues relevant to the study of industrial and organizational behavior. Chapters contributed by leading experts from the academic and business communities cover substantive issues at both the individual and organizational level, in both theoretical and practical terms.

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TL;DR: Because of the extraordinary clarity and importance of the Commission's Report, the editors of the Communica t ions decided to reprint the Report's main section in its entirety and present it to you here.
Abstract: released a remarkab le report, A Nation at Risk. This Report has s t imulated in the media considerable discussion about the problems in our schools, speculation about the causes, and ass ignment of blame. Astonishingly, f e w of the media reports have focused on the specific f indings and recommendat ions of the Commission. A lmos t none of the med ia reports tells that the Commission i tsel f re frained f rom speculation on causes and f rom assignment of blame. Because of the extraordinary clarity and importance of the Commission's Report, the editors of the Communica t ions decided to reprint the Report's main section in its entirety. We are p leased to present it to you here.

5,832 citations