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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01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: In this paper, the cardinal virtues of effective team members are discussed and four recommendations regarding virtue education in business schools to prepare business graduates more effectively for team participation and personal flourishing in organizations.
Abstract: Good teamwork is essential in today’s organizations at all levels, yet evidence suggests that dysfunctional teams occur in far too many situations. The cost of dysfunctional teams is significant, leading to improper strategic direction, inappropriate execution, operational inefficiencies, and potential organizational failure. This study examines the process of team building, specifically how human capital and social capital help teams function effectively. The cardinal virtues—moderation, courage, justice, and wisdom—are posited as essential individual characteristics of effective team members and seven propositions are offered relating these virtues to good team functioning. Finally, four recommendations are provided regarding virtue education in business schools to prepare business graduates more effectively for team participation and personal flourishing in organizations.
4 citations
TL;DR: The actiotope model of giftedness (AMG) highlights the interactions between the individual and the environment, and educational and learning capital (ELC) are essential resources that promote t...
Abstract: The actiotope model of giftedness (AMG) highlights the interactions between the individual and the environment. Educational and learning capital (ELC) are essential resources that promote t...
4 citations
Cites background from "Why g matters: The complexity of ev..."
...The traditional approach considers intelligence as the best predictor of academic achievement across a wide spectrum of domains and criteria (e.g. Gottfredson, 1997; Kuncel, Hezlett, & Ones, 2004)....
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4 citations
TL;DR: In the US, it is consistently found that social inequities lead to achievement gaps and these achievement gaps then manifest into trajectories that set some individuals on a path of lower incomes, poorer health and higher mortality, lower wellbeing, and other poor adult outcomes as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In the US, undeniable evidence shows that socioeconomic inequities explain a high proportion of individual differences in school achievement. Although not all countries show this same effect due to socioeconomic status, it is consistently found that social inequities lead to achievement gaps. These achievement gaps then manifest into trajectories that set some individuals on a path of lower incomes, poorer health and higher mortality, lower wellbeing, and other poor adult outcomes. Like James Flynn so handily reminded the scientific literature that achievement gaps are explainable by environmental factors, the inequities we see around the world are based on environments some children are exposed to. In his work, Flynn stated his belief that the suppression of scientific work on intelligence would continue to lead to social inequities. We wish to take this idea and move it forward. We believe that the scientific construct of intelligence plays a key role in helping create a more equitable society through science. We also believe that the poor perception of intelligence, rooted in historical realities, means that it will continue to be misunderstood, feared, and misused, limiting how effective it could be in helping to close gaps in achievement and in creating a more equitable society.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors addressed the issue of person-job-fit by focussing on both professional success and work satisfaction, and tested the incremental validity of abilities, traits, and interests in a sample from diverse occupations: In 648 apprentices and students from five different branches (Food, Tech, People, Office, Craft) the (incremental) contributions of three intelligence factors (verbal, numerical, spatial), 3 alternative abilities (social-emotional, creative, practical), 4 conscientiousness facets, other big five factors (O, E, A, N), and
Abstract: Context: We addressed the issue of person-job-fit by focussing on both professional success and work satisfaction. Publications studying the predictive validity of (cognitive) ability, personality, or vocational interest alone have shown relationships with professional success or work satisfaction for each predictor separately. Nevertheless, these predictors have rarely been studied simultaneously. Methods: To this end we tested the incremental validity of abilities, traits, and interests in a sample from diverse occupations: In 648 apprentices and students from five different branches (Food, Tech, People, Office, Craft) the (incremental) contributions of 3 intelligence factors (verbal, numerical, spatial), 3 alternative abilities (social-emotional, creative, practical), 4 conscientiousness facets, other big five factors (O, E, A, N), and of 14 professional interests were analysed regarding prediction of GPA in professional schools and school/job satisfaction. Results: Intelligence and conscientiousness were best predictors, followed by social-emotional competence and interests, whereas other traits provided marginal contributions. Predictors varied between branches, mostly following expectations. The test battery allowed a very good prediction of apprenticeship success (max. 37%), but for some branches prediction was considerably lower.Conclusion: Criteria for person-job-fit are not swappable, neither are the predictors. Professional success was mostly predicted by a different predictor set -namely ability and the personality dimension of conscientiousness- then satisfaction, which was mostly predicted by non-interest in a certain occupation. As a practical implication, we conclude that choosing the right candidate for a certain branch one needs to use a broad set of predictor variables. Besides cognitive ability also personality and vocational interests had predictive validity for an individuals person-job-fit.
4 citations
Cites background from "Why g matters: The complexity of ev..."
...50 and higher (Gottfredson, 1997; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998, 2004; Strenze, 2007; Kramer, 2009; Salgado, Anderson, Moscose, Bertua, De Fruyt & Rolland, 2003; Kuncel, Hezlett, & Ones, 2004). And the relationship does not decrease with duration or professional expertise on the job (Hambrick & Meinz, 2011; Schmidt & Hunter, 2004), thus contradicting the criticism that with increasing job experience GCA should become less and less relevant. Another frequently proposed criticism, namely that socio-economic status (SES) is more relevant than intelligence and controlling for it should substantially reduce any GCA*success relationship, has been discredited for two of three success indicators in the meta-analysis by Strenze (2007); solely for predicting the criterion of income SES had a somewhat higher correlation than GCA....
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...…or general cognitive ability (GCA) typically the highest correlations with professional success can be found, with r’s around .50 and higher (Gottfredson, 1997; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998, 2004; Strenze, 2007; Kramer, 2009; Salgado, Anderson, Moscose, Bertua, De Fruyt & Rolland, 2003; Kuncel,…...
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References
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