General mental ability in the world of work: occupational attainment and job performance

A Novel Approach to Measuring an Old Construct: Aligning the Conceptualisation and Operationalisation of Cognitive Flexibility

A successful adjustment to dynamic changes in one's environment requires contingent adaptive behaviour. Such behaviour is underpinned by cognitive flexibility, which conceptually is part of fluid intelligence. We argue, however, that conventional approaches to measuring fluid intelligence are insufficient in capturing cognitive flexibility. We address the discrepancy between conceptualisation and operationalisation by introducing two newly developed tasks that aim at capturing within-person processes of dealing with novelty. In an exploratory proof-of-concept study, the two flexibility tasks were administered to 307 university students, together with a battery of conventional measures of fluid intelligence. Participants also provided information about their Grade Point Averages obtained in high school and in their first year at university. We tested (1) whether an experimental manipulation of a requirement for cognitive inhibition resulted in systematic differences in difficulty, (2) whether these complexity differences reflect psychometrically differentiable effects, and (3) whether these newly developed flexibility tasks show incremental value in predicting success in the transition from high school to university over conventional operationalisations of fluid intelligence. Our findings support the notion that cognitive flexibility, when conceptualised and operationalised as individual differences in within-person processes of dealing with novelty, more appropriately reflects the dynamics of individuals' behaviour when attempting to cope with changing demands.

Theta activity and cognitive functioning: Integrating evidence from resting-state and task-related developmental electroencephalography (EEG) research

The theta band is one of the most prominent frequency bands in the electroencephalography (EEG) power spectrum and presents an interesting paradox: while elevated theta power during resting state is linked to lower cognitive abilities in children and adolescents, increased theta power during cognitive tasks is associated with higher cognitive performance. Why does theta power, measured during resting state versus cognitive tasks, show differential correlations with cognitive functioning? This review provides an integrated account of the functional correlates of theta across different contexts. We first present evidence that higher theta power during resting state is correlated with lower executive functioning, attentional abilities, language skills, and IQ. Next, we review research showing that theta power increases during memory, attention, and cognitive control, and that higher theta power during these processes is correlated with better performance. Finally, we discuss potential explanations for the differential correlations between resting/task-related theta and cognitive functioning, and offer suggestions for future research in this area.

Modelling Key Drivers of Employee Behaviour for Personal and Professional Excellence

Introduction

Though, having right set of behavioural skills is always been a priority of all organizations, nevertheless, today's organizations are investing too much on behavioural skill training to safeguard their brand value, bring-up the work culture, maintaining reputation, etc. Behavioural skills plays a vital role in personal development and well-being at student level also. This paper identifies and analyzes the fourteen behavioural skills which are vital in the personal and professional excellence development of a student.

Methods

Exhaustive literature review is done and expert opinions are taken to determine the behavioural skills. Interpretive Structural Modelling is performed to analyze and prioritize these skills into strategic, operational and performance outcomes.

Results

Behavioral skills are not only depicted in ones' actions but also determines thought process and attitude of a person. Result of this research shows that time management, emotional intelligence, self-development, resilience, multitasking, and open mindedness of an individual are the key behavioural skills that trigger most behaviours and eventually influences the effectiveness of management of personal and professional life.

Discussion

Every job requires specific skills to perform. There are certain skills that must be possessed by every student irrespective of the discipline. It include behavioural skills like human values, resilience, multitasking, communication, etc. Research on behavioral skills and its importance are available in literature. However, the literature is lacking in explaining the interplay of these skills in driving personal and professional journey of an individual. Such skills may not be mentioned in the recruitment advertisements but are vital to perform well.

Multi-modal recommender system for predicting project manager performance within a competency-based framework

The evaluation of performance using competencies within a structured framework holds significant importance across various professional domains, particularly in roles like project manager. Typically, this assessment process, overseen by senior evaluators, involves scoring competencies based on data gathered from interviews, completed forms, and evaluation programs. However, this task is tedious and time-consuming, and requires the expertise of qualified professionals. Moreover, it is compounded by the inconsistent scoring biases introduced by different evaluators. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to automatically predict competency scores, thereby facilitating the assessment of project managers' performance. Initially, we performed data fusion to compile a comprehensive dataset from various sources and modalities, including demographic data, profile-related data, and historical competency assessments. Subsequently, NLP techniques were used to pre-process text data. Finally, recommender systems were explored to predict competency scores. We compared four different recommender system approaches: content-based filtering, demographic filtering, collaborative filtering, and hybrid filtering. Using assessment data collected from 38 project managers, encompassing scores across 67 different competencies, we evaluated the performance of each approach. Notably, the content-based approach yielded promising results, achieving a precision rate of 81.03%. Furthermore, we addressed the challenge of cold-starting, which in our context involves predicting scores for either a new project manager lacking competency data or a newly introduced competency without historical records. Our analysis revealed that demographic filtering achieved an average precision of 54.05% when dealing with new project managers. In contrast, content-based filtering exhibited remarkable performance, achieving a precision of 85.79% in predicting scores for new competencies. These findings underscore the potential of recommender systems in competency assessment, thereby facilitating more effective performance evaluation process.

What do meta-analysts need in primary studies? Guidelines and the SEMI checklist for facilitating cumulative knowledge

Meta-analysis is often recognized as the highest level of evidence due to its notable advantages. Therefore, ensuring the precision of its findings is of utmost importance. Insufficient reporting in primary studies poses challenges for meta-analysts, hindering study identification, effect size estimation, and meta-regression analyses. This manuscript provides concise guidelines for the comprehensive reporting of qualitative and quantitative aspects in primary studies. Adhering to these guidelines may help researchers enhance the quality of their studies and increase their eligibility for inclusion in future research syntheses, thereby enhancing research synthesis quality. Recommendations include incorporating relevant terms in titles and abstracts to facilitate study retrieval and reporting sufficient data for effect size calculation. Additionally, a new checklist is introduced to help applied researchers thoroughly report various aspects of their studies.

Can we enhance working memory? Bias and effectiveness in cognitive training studies

Meta-analyses have found that working memory (WM) can be improved with cognitive training; however, some authors have suggested that these improvements are mostly driven by biases in the measurement of WM, especially the use of similar tasks for assessment and training. In the present meta-analysis, we investigated whether WM, fluid intelligence, executive functions, and short-term memory can be improved by cognitive training and evaluated the impact of possible sources of bias. We performed a risk of bias assessment of the included studies and took special care in controlling for practice effects. Data from 52 independent comparisons were analyzed, including cognitive training aimed at different cognitive functions. Our results show small improvements in WM after training (SMD = 0.18). Much larger effects were observed when the analysis was restricted to assessment tasks similar to those used for training (SMD = 1.15). Fluid intelligence was not found to improve as a result of training, and improvements in WM were not related to changes in fluid intelligence. Our analyses did however indicate that cognitive training can improve specific executive functions. Contrary to expectations, a set of meta-regressions indicated that characteristics of the training programme, such as dosage and type of training, do not have an impact on the effectiveness of training. The risk of bias assessment revealed some concerns in the randomization process and possible selective reporting among studies. Overall, our results identified various potential sources of bias, with the most significant being the choice of assessment tasks.

Why are there differences across German states in student achievement and cognitive ability?

Background

For more than twenty years, large and generally stable differences in academic achievement and cognitive ability have been reported within Germany. In such studies, the southern regions lead in the west and east, while city-states lag behind. Expressed in school learning time, the students in Bavaria are 14 months ahead of the students in Bremen. It is striking that there are no or only marginally received studies on causes and consequences.

Purpose

This study attempts to explore the causes and consequences of the differences within Germany and what can be learned in general about their development.

Materials and methods

We use data from student assessment and other studies (e.g., PISA, IQB) and apply correlational and path analyses, controlled for various background factors.

Results

There are no stable correlations with evolution (genes), educational level of society (adult school years) and wealth (GDP per capita). However, there are high correlations, robust across indicators, with "burgher-conservative" education policies, e.g., central exit examinations, early tracking, grades at a young age (around r ≈ .65); with measures of students' quantity of education (hours of instruction, no teacher shortage; r ≈ .40); with measures of tertiary educational quality and appreciation of education (university quality, short duration of studies, professors' salaries; r ≈ .50); with student native/immigrant ratio (r ≈ .50); with middle-class burgher lifestyle (less private debt, less welfare dependency and less crime; r ≈ .60); and with burgher-conservative-right politics (share of votes for CDU/CSU and non-left parties, non-left state governments; r ≈ .80). Longitudinal analyses over four decades reveal interaction effects, i.e., more burgher policies statistically lead to more cognitively competent students (β ≈ .45) and more cognitively competent populations vote for burgher parties (β ≈ .30).

Conclusions

The results, which support the efficacy a bourgeois-conservative education policy and of lower immigration rates, are delicate for the practice of student achievement research and for the political milieu that dominates the social sciences.

A theory of the skill-performance relationship

The skill-performance relationship is a cornerstone of a meritocratic society. People are selected for schools, colleges and jobs based on the premise that more skillful individuals perform better. Scientific understanding of the skill-performance relationship demands that the effect of skill on performance is objectively assessed without subjective, social, and political considerations. One of the best areas for this analysis is sports. In many sports settings, the skill-performance relationship can objectively be examined at the technical, behavioral, psychological, and neurological levels. This examination reveals that skill and performance are inextricably intertwined. While skill affects performance, performance in turn defines and affects skill. To disentangle the previously confusing and interchangeable use of these key constructs, the paper presents a theoretical model specifying that ability and effort have their own direct effects on performance, as well as indirect effects on performance through skill possession and skill execution in cognitive and physical domains of human performance. Thus, ability and skill are not the same. Although skill is a key determinant of performance, recent theory and research suggests that successful performers are successful not just because of their skills per se, but because they take advantage of their skills by creating more occurrences of momentum, making them last longer, and using them to bounce back faster from streaks of unsuccessful performance. Thus, momentum is an important mediator of the effects of skill on performance.

Investigating robust associations between functional connectivity based on graph theory and general intelligence

Previous research investigating relations between general intelligence and graph-theoretical properties of the brain's intrinsic functional network has yielded contradictory results. A promising approach to tackle such mixed findings is multi-center analysis. For this study, we analyzed data from four independent data sets (total N > 2000) to identify robust associations amongst samples between g factor scores and global as well as node-specific graph metrics. On the global level, g showed no significant associations with global efficiency or small-world propensity in any sample, but significant positive associations with global clustering coefficient in two samples. On the node-specific level, elastic-net regressions for nodal efficiency and local clustering yielded no brain areas that exhibited consistent associations amongst data sets. Using the areas identified via elastic-net regression in one sample to predict g in other samples was not successful for local clustering and only led to one significant, one-way prediction across data sets for nodal efficiency. Thus, using conventional graph theoretical measures based on resting-state imaging did not result in replicable associations between functional connectivity and general intelligence.

Explaining the Validity of the ASVAB for Job-Relevant Multitasking Performance: The Role of Placekeeping Ability

Scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) predict military job (and training) performance better than any single variable so far identified. However, it remains unclear what factors explain this predictive relationship. Here, we investigated the contributions of fluid intelligence (Gf) and two executive functions-placekeeping ability and attention control-to the relationship between the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score from the ASVAB and job-relevant multitasking performance. Psychometric network analyses revealed that Gf and placekeeping ability independently contributed to and largely explained the AFQT-multitasking performance relationship. The contribution of attention control to this relationship was negligible. However, attention control did relate positively and significantly to Gf and placekeeping ability, consistent with the hypothesis that it is a cognitive "primitive" underlying the individual differences in higher-level cognition. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed stronger evidence for the incremental validity of Gf and placekeeping ability in the prediction of multitasking performance than for the incremental validity of attention control. The results shed light on factors that may underlie the predictive validity of global measures of cognitive ability and suggest how the ASVAB might be augmented to improve its predictive validity.

Structural brain correlates of non-verbal cognitive ability in 5-year-old children: Findings from the FinnBrain birth cohort study

Non-verbal cognitive ability predicts multiple important life outcomes, for example, school and job performance. It has been associated with parieto-frontal cortical anatomy in prior studies in adult and adolescent populations, while young children have received relatively little attention. We explored the associations between cortical anatomy and non-verbal cognitive ability in 165 5-year-old participants (mean scan age 5.40 years, SD 0.13; 90 males) from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study. T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance images were processed using FreeSurfer. Non-verbal cognitive ability was measured using the Performance Intelligence Quotient (PIQ) estimated from the Block Design and Matrix Reasoning subtests from the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-III). In vertex-wise general linear models, PIQ scores associated positively with volumes in the left caudal middle frontal and right pericalcarine regions, as well as surface area in left the caudal middle frontal, left inferior temporal, and right lingual regions. There were no associations between PIQ and cortical thickness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine structural correlates of non-verbal cognitive ability in a large sample of typically developing 5-year-olds. The findings are generally in line with prior findings from older age groups, with the important addition of the positive association between volume / surface area in the right medial occipital region and non-verbal cognitive ability. This finding adds to the literature by discovering a new brain region that should be considered in future studies exploring the role of cortical structure for cognitive development in young children.

Association between inflammation and cognition: Triangulation of evidence using a population-based cohort and Mendelian randomization analyses

BACKGROUND

Inflammation is associated with cognitive functioning and dementia in older adults, but whether inflammation is related to cognitive functioning in youth and whether these associations are causal remains unclear.

METHODS

In a population-based cohort (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; ALSPAC), we investigated cross-sectional associations of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein [CRP], Interleukin-6 [IL-6] and Glycoprotein acetyls [GlycA]) with measures of cold (working memory, response inhibition) and hot (emotion recognition) cognition at age 24 (N = 3,305 in multiple imputation models). Furthermore, we conducted one-sample and two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to examine potential causal effects of genetically-proxied inflammatory markers (CRP, GlycA, IL-6, IL-6 receptor, soluble IL-6 receptor) on cognitive measures (above) and on general cognitive ability.

RESULTS

In the ALSPAC cohort, there was limited evidence of an association between standardised inflammatory markers and standardised cognitive measures at age 24 after adjusting for potential confounders (N = 3,305; beta range, -0.02 [95 % confidence interval (CI) -0.06 to 0.02, p = 0.27] to 0.02 [95 % CI -0.02 to 0.05, p = 0.33]). Similarly, we found limited evidence of potential effects of 1-unit increase in genetically-proxied inflammatory markers on standardised working memory, emotion recognition or response inhibition in one-sample MR using ALSPAC data (beta range, -0.73 [95 % CI -2.47 to 1.01, p = 0.41] to 0.21 [95 % CI -1.42 to 1.84, p = 0.80]; or on standardised general cognitive ability in two-sample MR using the latest Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) datasets (inverse-variance weighted beta range, -0.02 [95 % CI -0.05 to 0.01, p = 0.12] to 0.03 [95 % CI -0.01 to 0.07, p = 0.19]).

CONCLUSIONS

Our MR findings do not provide strong evidence of a potential causal effect of inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6, IL-6 receptor, GlycA) on the cognitive functions examined here. Given the large confidence intervals in the one-sample MR, larger GWAS of specific cognitive measures are needed to enable well-powered MR analyses to investigate whether inflammation causally influences specific cognitive domains.

Person-Centered Study of Cognitive Ability Dimensions Using Latent Profile Analysis

A number of researchers have called for additional investigations into cognitive ability and intelligence in recent years. This paper utilized a person-centered approach, multiple cognitive ability dimensions, and latent profile analysis to investigate multivariate relationships among cognitive ability dimensions in a sample of 1681 Army recruits. Six cognitive ability dimensions were assessed via the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Performance measures were obtained from supervisor ratings of Effort, Discipline, and Peer Leadership. Using latent profile analysis, the results identified five distinct cognitive profiles or classes, which differed significantly across the three types of supervisor ratings.

Construction and Validation of the HeiQ: An Operation-Oriented Figural Matrices Test

Figural matrices tests are among the most popular and well-investigated tests used to assess inductive reasoning abilities. Solving these tests requires the selection of a target that completes a figural matrix among distractors. Despite their generally good psychometric properties, previous matrices tests have limitations associated with distractor construction that prevent them from realizing their full potential. Most tests allow participants to identify the correct response by eliminating distractors based on superficial features. The goal of this study was to develop a novel figural matrices test which is less prone to the use of response elimination strategies, and to test its psychometric properties. The new test consists of 48 items and was validated with N = 767 participants. Measurement models implied that the test is Rasch scalable, inferring a uniform underlying ability. The test showed good to very good reliability (retest-correlation: r = 0.88; Cronbach's alpha: α = 0.93; split-half reliability: r = 0.88) and good construct validity (r = 0.81 with the Raven Progressive Matrices Test, r = 0.73 with global intelligence scores of the Intelligence Structure Test 2000R, and r = 0.58 with the global score of the Berlin Intelligence Structure Test). It even superseded the Raven Progressive Matrices Tests in criterion-related validity (correlation with final year high school grades (r = -0.49 p < .001)). We conclude that this novel test has excellent psychometric properties and can be a valuable tool for researchers interested in reasoning assessment.

Prenatal exposure to ambient PM2.5 and its chemical constituents and child intelligence quotient at 6 years of age

There are limited studies on the associations between prenatal exposure to constituents of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and children's intelligence quotient (IQ). Our study aimed to explore the associations between prenatal PM_2.5 and its six constituents and the IQ levels of 6-year-old children. We included 512 mother-child pairs. We used a satellite-based modelling framework to estimate prenatal PM_2.5 and its six constituents (ammonium, sulfate, nitrate, organic carbon, soil dust, and black carbon). We assessed the children's IQ using the short form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores were computed. The multiple informant model (MIM) was applied to explore the trimester specific effects of PM_2.5 and its six constituents' exposure on children's PRI, VCI, and FSIQ. To examine whether the duration of breastfeeding and physical activity (PA) could modify the effects of PM_2.5 on children's IQ, we stratified the analyses according to the duration of breastfeeding (≤6 and >6 months) and time of outdoor activities after school (≤2 and >2 h/week). The first trimester PM_2.5 and its five constituents' exposures were inversely associated with FSIQ [β = -1.34, 95 % confidence interval [CI] (-2.71, 0.04) for PM_2.5] and PRI [β = -2.18, 95 %CI (-3.80, -0.57) for PM_2.5] in children. The associations were magnified among boys and those with less outdoor activities or shorter breastfeeding duration. Our results indicate that prenatal PM_2.5 and several of its main constituents' exposure may disrupt cognitive development in children aged 6 years. More PA and longer breastfeeding duration may alleviate the detrimental effects of prenatal PM_2.5 exposure on children's cognitive function.

Factor Structure and Criterion-Related Validity of the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test Form T for Pilot Applicants

The Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) is the primary selection tool for officer applicants in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) for nearly seven decades. The AFOQT is revised and modified periodically, with rigorous equating and linking effort to ensure comparability and connectivity across forms. The most recent version of AFOQT is Form T that includes 10 cognitive ability and knowledge subtests. Despite the continuing validation effort of the AFOQT across forms, it was mostly directed to the general population of officer applicants, but not to any specific subpopulation. The current investigation reported three studies in an attempt to provide evidence for factor structure and criterion-related validity of AFOQT Form T for pilot applicants via four analytical approaches: meta-analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results suggested that AFOQT Form T data are best represented by a bifactor model with a general ability and four specific abilities, and that each latent construct has a distinct predictive utility for pilot performance criteria.

A Model for Cognitive Personalization of Microtask Design

The study of data quality in crowdsourcing campaigns is currently a prominent research topic, given the diverse range of participants involved. A potential solution to enhancing data quality processes in crowdsourcing is cognitive personalization, which involves appropriately adapting or assigning tasks based on a crowd worker's cognitive profile. There are two common methods for assessing a crowd worker's cognitive profile: administering online cognitive tests, and inferring behavior from task fingerprinting based on user interaction log events. This article presents the findings of a study that investigated the complementarity of both approaches in a microtask scenario, focusing on personalizing task design. The study involved 134 unique crowd workers recruited from a crowdsourcing marketplace. The main objective was to examine how the administration of cognitive ability tests can be used to allocate crowd workers to microtasks with varying levels of difficulty, including the development of a deep learning model. Another goal was to investigate if task fingerprinting can be used to allocate crowd workers to different microtasks in a personalized manner. The results indicated that both objectives were accomplished, validating the usage of cognitive tests and task fingerprinting as effective mechanisms for microtask personalization, including the development of a deep learning model with 95% accuracy in predicting the accuracy of the microtasks. While we achieved an accuracy of 95%, it is important to note that the small dataset size may have limited the model's performance.

A framework for residents' pursuit of excellence based upon non-cognitive and cognitive attributes

PURPOSE

Excellence, although variably conceptualized, is commonly used in medicine and the resident excellence literature is limited. Both cognitive attributes (CAs) and non-cognitive attributes (NCAs) are essential for academic and clinical performance; however, the latter are difficult to evaluate. Undergirded by an inclusive and non-competitive approach and utilizing CAs and NCAs, we propose a criterion-referenced behavioral framework of resident excellence.

METHODS

Perceptions of multiple stakeholders (educational administrators, faculty, and residents), gathered by survey (n = 218), document analysis (n = 52), and focus group (n = 23), were analyzed. Inductive thematic analysis was followed by deductive interpretation and categorization using sensitizing concepts for excellence, NCAs, and CAs. Chi-squared tests were used to determine stakeholder perception differences.

RESULTS

All stakeholders had similar perceptions (P > .05) and 13 behavioral attributes in 6 themes undergirded by insight and conscientiousness were identified. The NCAs included: interpersonal skills (works with others, available, humble), professional (compassionate, trustworthy), commitment to profession (visible, volunteers), commitment to learn (proactively seeks feedback, creates learning opportunities), and work-life balance/integration (calm demeanor, inspirational). The CA (medical knowledge and intellect) included: applies knowledge to gain expertise and improves program's caliber.

CONCLUSION

Resident excellence is posited as a pursuit. The attributes are non-competitive, inclusionary, potentially achievable by all, and do not negatively affect freedom of choice. However, contextual and cultural differences are likely and these need validation across societal equity segments. There are implications for learners (adaptive reflection and learning goal orientation), faculty (reduced bias and whole-person feedback), and system leaders (enhancing culture and learning environments) to foster excellence.

Association of premorbid intelligence with level of functioning and illness severity in bipolar disorder

BACKGROUND

Bipolar disorder is a severe psychiatric syndrome defined by periodic mood shifts. Patients with bipolar disorder show cognitive impairments relative to healthy controls. The risk of developing schizophrenia, and partially also bipolar disorder, has previously been shown to increase with lower premorbid intelligence. It is not known if premorbid intelligence is associated with level of functioning and illness severity of people having developed bipolar disorder.

METHODS

We used multiple linear and ordinal regression to analyze how premorbid intelligence, as measured at conscription, associate with functional outcome and illness severity in Swedish male bipolar disorder patients (n = 788).

RESULTS

We found that lower premorbid intelligence is associated with lower percentage of time in work, after adjusting for age and bipolar subtype, and correcting for multiple comparisons. We also found a strong negative association with the total number of inpatient episodes and psychiatric comorbidity, but not with interepisodic remission, treatment with psychotherapy or lithium or the presence of any complicating socioeconomical factors. Adjusting for confounding genetic factors using polygenic risk scores for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia had no effect on the associations.

LIMITATIONS

This study lacks females and controls and may thus have lower generalizability.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, premorbid intelligence is associated with both level of functioning and illness severity as well as comorbidity in bipolar disorder patients. Further research is needed to develop targeted interventions for this subgroup of bipolar disorder patients.

A General Cognitive Ability Factor for the UK Biobank

UK Biobank participants do not have a high-quality measure of intelligence or polygenic scores (PGSs) of intelligence to simultaneously examine the genetic and neural underpinnings of intelligence. We created a standardized measure of general intelligence (g factor) relative to the UK population and estimated its quality. After running a GWAS of g on UK Biobank participants with a g factor of good quality and without neuroimaging data (N = 187,288), we derived a g PGS for UK Biobank participants with neuroimaging data. For individuals with at least one cognitive test, the g factor from eight cognitive tests (N = 501,650) explained 29% of the variance in cognitive test performance. The PGS for British individuals with neuroimaging data (N = 27,174) explained 7.6% of the variance in g. We provided high-quality g factor estimates for most UK Biobank participants and g factor PGSs for UK Biobank participants with neuroimaging data.

The skills that help employees adapt: Empirical validation of a four-category framework

Globalization, technological advances, economic and geopolitical shocks, pandemics, and any number of novel or unanticipated events have one thing in common: they represent change and require dynamic responses and adaptation from organizations, teams, and individuals. A critical resource for individuals to be adaptive are broad skills relevant to varied organizational conditions. These adaptive skills have been discussed in diverse venues but rarely in the organizational literature. Also, most, if not all, of extant conceptual frameworks related to adaptive skills remain unvalidated. The purpose of this research was to organize these skills, define and situate them in the relevant organizational and psychological literatures, and empirically test a proposed four-category framework. The experimental results supported the C+MAC framework, as skills were better categorized in terms of their theoretically related category. Additionally, the four-category framework proved a better fit to the skills compared to an influential, alternative model. The findings' implications are discussed, noting how an empirically validated framework can facilitate understanding of how individuals engage with organizational environments and organizations get their work done.

A Log File Analysis on the Validity of Partial Solutions in Figural Matrices Tests

As a component of many intelligence test batteries, figural matrices tests are an effective way to assess reasoning, which is considered a core ability of intelligence. Traditionally, the sum of correct items is used as a performance indicator (total solution procedure). However, recent advances in the development of computer-based figural matrices tests allow additional indicators to be considered for scoring. In two studies, we focused on the added value of a partial solution procedure employing log file analyses from a computer-based figural matrices test. In the first study (n = 198), we explored the internal validity of this procedure by applying both an exploratory bottom-up approach (using sequence analyses) and a complementary top-down approach (using rule jumps, an indicator taken from relevant studies). Both approaches confirmed that higher scores in the partial solution procedure were associated with higher structuredness in participants' response behavior. In the second study (n = 169), we examined the external validity by correlating the partial solution procedure in addition to the total solution procedure with a Grade Point Average (GPA) criterion. The partial solution procedure showed an advantage over the total solution procedure in predicting GPA, especially at lower ability levels. The implications of the results and their applicability to other tests are discussed.

The Associations between Results in Different Domains of Cognitive and Psychomotor Abilities Measured in Medical Students

We aimed to investigate the associations between intelligence quotient test scores obtained using the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) and psychomotor testing using the Complex Reactionmeter Drenovac (CRD) test battery, while taking into account previous theoretical approaches recognizing intelligent behavior as the cumulative result of a general biological speed factor reflected in the reaction time for perceptual detections and motor decisions. A total of 224 medical students at the University of Split School of Medicine were recruited. Their IQ scores were assessed using Raven's APM, while the computerized tests of CRD-series were used for testing the reaction time of perception to visual stimulus (CRD311), psychomotor limbs coordination task (CRD411), and solving simple arithmetic operations (CRD11). The total test-solving (TTST) and the minimum single-task-solving (MinT) times were analyzed. On the CRD11 test, task-solving times were shorter in students with higher APM scores (r = -0.48 for TTST and r = -0.44 for MinT; p < 0.001 for both). Negative associations between task-solving times and APM scores were reported on CRD311 (r = -0.30 for TTST and r = -0.33 for MinT, p < 0.001 for both). Negative associations between task-solving times in CRD411 and APM scores (r = -0.40 for TTST and r = -0.30 for MinT, p < 0.001 for both) were found. Faster reaction time in psychomotor limbs coordination tasks, the reaction time of perception to visual stimulus, and the reaction time of solving simple arithmetic operations were associated with a higher APM score in medical students, indicating the importance of mental speed in intelligence test performance. However, executive system functions, such as attention, planning, and goal weighting, might also impact cognitive abilities and should be considered in future research.

Robust associations between white matter microstructure and general intelligence

Few tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) studies have investigated the relations between intelligence and white matter microstructure in healthy (young) adults, and those have yielded mixed observations, yet white matter is fundamental for efficient and accurate information transfer throughout the human brain. We used a multicenter approach to identify white matter regions that show replicable structure-function associations, employing data from 4 independent samples comprising over 2000 healthy participants. TBSS indicated 188 voxels exhibited significant positive associations between g factor scores and fractional anisotropy (FA) in all 4 data sets. Replicable voxels formed 3 clusters, located around the left-hemispheric forceps minor, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and cingulum-cingulate gyrus with extensions into their surrounding areas (anterior thalamic radiation, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus). Our results suggested that individual differences in general intelligence are robustly associated with white matter FA in specific fiber bundles distributed across the brain, consistent with the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory of intelligence. Three possible reasons higher FA values might create links with higher g are faster information processing due to greater myelination, more direct information processing due to parallel, homogenous fiber orientation distributions, or more parallel information processing due to greater axon density.

Game based assessments of cognitive ability in recruitment: Validity, fairness and test-taking experience

Gamification and machine learning are emergent technologies in recruitment, promising to improve the user experience and fairness of assessments. We test this by validating a game based assessment of cognitive ability with a machine learning based scoring algorithm optimised for validity and fairness. We use applied data from 11,574 assessment completions. The assessment has convergent validity (r = 0.5) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.68). It maintains fairness in a separate sample of 3,107 job applicants, showing that fairness-optimised machine learning can improve outcome parity issues with cognitive ability tests in recruitment settings. We show that there are no significant gender differences in test taking anxiety resulting from the games, and that anxiety does not directly predict game performance, supporting the notion that game based assessments help with test taking anxiety. Interactions between anxiety, gender and performance are explored. Feedback from 4,778 job applicants reveals a Net Promoter score of 58, indicating more applicants support than dislike the assessment, and that games deliver a positive applicant experience in practise. Satisfaction with the format is high, but applicants raise face validity concerns over the abstract games. We encourage the use of gamification and machine learning to improve the fairness and user experience of psychometric tests.

Ability and Nonability Predictors of Real-World Skill Acquisition: The Case of Rubik's Cube Solving

Most research on skilled performance is correlational, with skill and predictors measured at a single point in time, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the acquisition of skill. By contrast, in this study, we trained novice participants (N = 79) to solve Rubik's Cubes using a 7-step solution method. Participants also completed measures of fluid intelligence (Gf), working memory capacity (WMC), and nonability factors (grit, growth mindset, NFC, and the "big five"). Overall, higher Gf (but not WMC) was predictive of efficient and accurate Rubik's cube skill. No nonability variables were associated with skill. Our results provide compelling evidence for the importance of intellectual talent (cognitive ability) in developing expertise in a complex task.

Small but Nontrivial: A Comparison of Six Strategies to Handle Cross-Loadings in Bifactor Predictive Models

The bifactor model is a promising alternative to traditional modeling techniques for studying the predictive validity of hierarchical constructs. However, no study to date has systematically examined the influence of cross-loadings on the estimation of regression coefficients in bifactor predictive models. Therefore, we present a systematic examination of the statistical performance of six modeling strategies to handle cross-loadings in bifactor predictive models: structural equation modeling (SEM), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) with target rotation, Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM), and each of the three with augmentation. Results revealed four clear patterns: 1) forcing even small cross-loadings to zero was detrimental to empirical identification, estimation bias, power and Type I error rates; 2) the performance of ESEM with target rotation was unexpectedly weak; 3) augmented BSEM had satisfactory performance in an absolute sense and outperformed the other five strategies across most conditions; 4) augmentation improved the performance of ESEM and SEM, although the degree of improvement was not as substantial as that of BSEM. In addition, we also presented an empirical example to show the feasibility of the proposed approach. Overall, these findings can help users of bifactor predictive models design better studies, choose more appropriate analytical strategies, and obtain more reliable results. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Brain volumes, thicknesses, and surface areas as mediators of genetic factors and childhood adversity on intelligence

Although genetic and environmental factors influence general intelligence (g-factor), few studies examined the neuroanatomical measures mediating environmental and genetic effects on intelligence. Here, we investigate the brain volumes, cortical mean thicknesses, and cortical surface areas mediating the effects of the g-factor polygenic score (gPGS) and childhood adversity on the g-factor in the UK Biobank. We first examined the global and regional brain measures that contribute to the g-factor. Most regions contributed to the g-factor through global brain size. Parieto-frontal integration theory (P-FIT) regions were not more associated with the g-factor than non-PFIT regions. After adjusting for global brain size and regional associations, only a few regions predicted intelligence and were included in the mediation analyses. We conducted mediation analyses on global measures, regional volumes, mean thicknesses, and surface areas, separately. Total brain volume mediated 7.04% of the gPGS' effect on the g-factor and 2.50% of childhood adversity's effect on the g-factor. In comparison, the fraction of the gPGS and childhood adversity's effects mediated by individual regional volumes, surfaces, and mean thicknesses was 10-15 times smaller. Therefore, genetic and environmental effects on intelligence may be mediated to a larger extent by other brain properties.

A Mental Wealth perspective: crossing disciplines to understand the value of collective mental and social assets in the post-COVID-19 era

BACKGROUND

A reconceptualised global strategy is key as nations begin to shift from crisis management to medium- and long-term planning to rebuild and strengthen their economic, social and public health systems. Efforts towards measuring, modelling, and forecasting Mental Wealth could serve as the catalyst for this reconceptualization. The Mental Wealth approach builds systemic resilience through investments which promote collective cognitive and emotional wellbeing. This paper presents the theoretical foundations for Mental Wealth. It presents, for the first time, literature across the disciplines of health and social sciences, economics, business, and humanities to underpin the development of an operational metric of Mental Wealth.

DISCUSSION

An approach which embeds social and psychological dimensions of prosperity, alongside the economic, is needed to inform the effective allocation of investments in the post-pandemic world. The authors advocate for a transdisciplinary framework of Mental Wealth to be applied in innovating population-level policy interventions to address the growing challenges brought on by COVID-19. Mental Wealth highlights the value generated by the deployment of collective mental assets and supporting social infrastructure. In order to inform this position, a review of the literature on the concepts underpinning Mental Wealth is presented, limitations of current measurement tools of mental and social resources are evaluated, and a framework for development of a Mental Wealth metric is proposed.

CONCLUSION

There are challenges in developing an operational Mental Wealth metric. The breadth of conceptual foundations to be considered is extensive, and there may be a lack of agreement on the appropriate tools for its measurement. While variability across current measurement approaches in social resources, wellbeing and mental assets contributes to the difficulty creating a holistic and generic metric, these variations are now clearer. The operationalisation of the Mental Wealth metric will require comprehensive mapping of the elements to be included against the data available.

Intelligence and Visual Mismatch Negativity: Is Pre-Attentive Visual Discrimination Related to General Cognitive Ability?

EEG has been used for decades to identify neurocognitive processes related to intelligence. Evidence is accumulating for associations with neural markers of higher-order cognitive processes (e.g., working memory); however, whether associations are specific to complex processes or also relate to earlier processing stages remains unclear. Addressing these issues has implications for improving our understanding of intelligence and its neural correlates. The MMN is an ERP that is elicited when, within a series of frequent standard stimuli, rare deviant stimuli are presented. As stimuli are typically presented outside the focus of attention, the MMN is suggested to capture automatic pre-attentive discrimination processes. However, the MMN and its relation to intelligence has largely only been studied in the auditory domain, thus preventing conclusions about the involvement of automatic discrimination processes in humans' dominant sensory modality-vision. EEG was recorded from 50 healthy participants during a passive visual oddball task that presented simple sequence violations and deviations within a more complex hidden pattern. Signed area amplitudes and fractional area latencies of the visual MMN were calculated with and without Laplacian transformation. Correlations between visual MMN and intelligence (Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices) were of negligible to small effect sizes, differed critically between measurement approaches, and Bayes Factors provided anecdotal to substantial evidence for the absence of an association. We discuss differences between the auditory and visual MMN, the implications of different measurement approaches, and offer recommendations for further research in this evolving field.

High intelligence is not associated with a greater propensity for mental health disorders

BACKGROUND

Studies reporting that highly intelligent individuals have more mental health disorders often have sampling bias, no or inadequate control groups, or insufficient sample size. We addressed these caveats by examining the difference in the prevalence of mental health disorders between individuals with high and average general intelligence (g-factor) in the UK Biobank.

METHODS

Participants with g-factor scores standardized relative to the same-age UK population, were divided into two groups: a high g-factor group (g-factor 2 SD above the UK mean; N = 16,137) and an average g-factor group (g-factor within 2 SD of the UK mean; N = 236,273). Using self-report questionnaires and medical diagnoses, we examined group differences in the prevalence of 32 phenotypes, including mental health disorders, trauma, allergies, and other traits.

RESULTS

High and average g-factor groups differed across 15/32 phenotypes and did not depend on sex and/or age. Individuals with high g-factors had less general anxiety (odds ratio [OR] = 0.69, 95% CI [0.64;0.74]) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; OR = 0.67, 95 %CI [0.61;0.74]), were less neurotic (β = -0.12, 95% CI [-0.15;-0.10]), less socially isolated (OR = 0.85, 95% CI [0.80;0.90]), and were less likely to have experienced childhood stressors and abuse, adulthood stressors, or catastrophic trauma (OR = 0.69-0.90). However, they generally had more allergies (e.g., eczema; OR = 1.13-1.33).

CONCLUSIONS

The present study provides robust evidence that highly intelligent individuals do not have more mental health disorders than the average population. High intelligence even appears as a protective factor for general anxiety and PTSD.

An Investigation of the Relationship between Personality, Cognitive Ability, and Work Engagement in Intellectually Gifted Individuals

Do personality traits in highly intelligent individuals relate to their work engagement? Seemingly little is known about the relationship between personality and work engagement for gifted individuals. In what may be the first study to do so, a Swedish Mensa sample (n = 353) was explored with a two-part aim: to assess psychometric personality properties and to investigate the relationship between personality traits (Mini-IPIP6) and work engagement (UWES-9). The results of the Mensa members and the Mturk sample (1.4 SD lower in cognitive ability based on ICAR-16) were compared using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a regression. The findings indicated that the Mensa sample had higher openness (d = .50) and honesty-humility (d = .65) and that personality traits were similarly related to work engagement in both groups, with the exception that neither openness nor honesty-humility were related to work engagement in the Mensa sample. The characteristics of intellectually gifted individuals are further discussed.

Should Moderated Regressions Include or Exclude Quadratic Terms? Present Both! Then Apply Our Linear Algebraic Analysis to Identify the Preferable Specification

Organizational research increasingly tests moderated relationships using multiple regression with interaction terms. Most research does so with little concern regarding curvilinear relationships. But methodologists have established that omitting quadratic terms of correlated primary variables may create false interaction positives (type 1 errors). If dependent variables are generated by the canonical process where fully specified regressions satisfy the Gauss-Markov assumptions, including quadratics solves the problem. But our empirical analysis of published organizational research suggests that dependent variables are often generated by processes where, even with quadratics included, regression analyses will remain Gauss-Markov non-compliant. In such cases, our linear algebraic analysis demonstrates that including quadratics—even those motivated by compelling theory—may exacerbate rather than mitigate the incidence of false interaction positives. The interaction coefficient may substantially change its magnitude and even flip sign once quadratics are included, and not necessarily for the better. We encourage researchers to present two full sets of results when testing moderating hypotheses—one with, and one without, quadratic terms. Researchers should then answer five questions developed here in order to determine the preferable set of results.

Cognitive Capacity Genome-Wide Polygenic Scores Identify Individuals with Slower Cognitive Decline in Aging

The genetic protective factors for cognitive decline in aging remain unknown. Predicting an individual’s rate of cognitive decline—or with better cognitive resilience—using genetics will allow personalized intervention for cognitive enhancement and the optimal selection of target samples in clinical trials. Here, using genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS) of cognitive capacity as the genomic indicators for variations of human intelligence, we analyzed the 18-year records of cognitive and behavioral data of 8511 European-ancestry adults from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), specifically focusing on the cognitive assessments that were repeatedly administered to the participants with their average ages of 64.5 and 71.5. We identified a significant interaction effect between age and cognitive capacity GPS, which indicated that a higher cognitive capacity GPS significantly correlated with a slower cognitive decline in the domain of immediate memory recall (β = 1.86 × 10⁻¹, p-value = 1.79 × 10⁻³). The additional phenome-wide analyses identified several associations between cognitive capacity GPSs and cognitive/behavioral phenotypes, such as similarities task (β = 1.36, 95% CI = (1.22, 1.51), p-value = 3.59 × 10⁻⁷⁴), number series task (β = 0.94, 95% CI = (0.85, 1.04), p-value = 2.55 × 10⁻⁷⁸), IQ scores (β = 1.42, 95% CI = (1.32, 1.51), p-value = 7.74 × 10⁻¹⁷⁹), high school classrank (β = 1.86, 95% CI = (1.69, 2.02), p-value = 3.07 × 10⁻¹⁰¹), Openness from the BIG 5 personality factor (p-value = 2.19 × 10⁻¹⁴, β = 0.57, 95% CI = (0.42, 0.71)), and leisure activity of reading books (β = 0.50, 95% CI = (0.40, 0.60), p-value = 2.03 × 10⁻²¹), attending cultural events, such as concerts, plays, or museums (β = 0.60, 95% CI = (0.49, 0.72), p-value = 2.06 × 10⁻²³), and watching TV (β = −0.48, 95% CI = (−0.59, −0.37), p-value = 4.16 × 10⁻¹⁸). As the first phenome-wide analysis of cognitive and behavioral phenotypes, this study presents the novel genetic protective effects of cognitive ability on the decline of memory recall in an aging population.

Wrecked by Success? Not to Worry

We examined the wrecked-by-success hypothesis. Initially formalized by Sigmund Freud, this hypothesis has become pervasive throughout the humanities, popular press, and modern scientific literature. The hypothesis implies that truly outstanding occupational success often exacts a heavy toll on psychological, interpersonal, and physical well-being. Study 1 tested this hypothesis in three cohorts of 1,826 high-potential, intellectually gifted individuals. Participants with exceptionally successful careers were compared with those of their gender-equivalent intellectual peers with more typical careers on well-known measures of psychological well-being, flourishing, core self-evaluations, and medical maladies. Family relationships, comfort with aging, and life satisfaction were also assessed. Across all three cohorts, those deemed occupationally outstanding individuals were similar to or healthier than their intellectual peers across these metrics. Study 2 served as a constructive replication of Study 1 but used a different high-potential sample: 496 elite science/technology/engineering/mathematics (STEM) doctoral students identified in 1992 and longitudinally tracked for 25 years. Study 2 replicated the findings from Study 1 in all important respects. Both studies found that exceptionally successful careers were not associated with medical frailty, psychological maladjustment, and compromised interpersonal and family relationships; if anything, overall, people with exceptionally successful careers were medically and psychologically better off.

Genetic basis of job attainment characteristics and the genetic sharing with other SES indices and well-being

Job attainment is an important component of socioeconomic status (SES). There is currently a paucity of genomic research on an individual's job attainment, as well as how it is related to other SES variables and overall well-being at the whole genome level. By incorporating O*NET occupational information into the UK Biobank database, we performed GWAS analyses of six major job attainment characteristics-job complexity, autonomy, innovation, information demands, emotional demands, and physical demands-on 219,483 individuals of European ancestry. The job attainment characteristics had moderate to high pairwise genetic correlations, manifested by three latent factors: cognitive, emotional, and physical requirements. The latent factor of overall job requirement underlying the job attainment traits represented a critical genetic path from educational attainment to income (P < 0.001). Job attainment characteristics were genetically positively correlated with positive health and well-being outcomes (i.e., subject well-being, overall health rating, number of non-cancer illnesses etc. (|r_g|: 0.14-0.51), similar to other SES indices; however, the genetic correlations exhibited opposite directions for physical demands (|r_g|: 0.14-0.51) and were largely negligible for emotional demands. By adopting a finer-grained approach to capture specific job attainment phenotypes, our study represents an important step forward in understanding the shared genetic architecture among job attainment characteristics, other SES indices, and potential role in health and well-being outcomes.

Systematic Literature Review: Professional Situation of Gifted Adults

A person's intelligence level positively influences his or her professional success. Gifted and highly intelligent individuals should therefore be successful in their careers. However, previous findings on the occupational situation of gifted adults are mainly known from popular scientific sources in the fields of coaching and self-help groups and confirm prevailing stereotypes that gifted people have difficulties at work. Reliable studies are scarce. This systematic literature review examines 40 studies with a total of 22 job-related variables. Results are shown in general for (a) the employment situation and more specific for the occupational aspects (b) career, (c) personality and behavior, (d) satisfaction, (e) organization, and (f) influence of giftedness on the profession. Moreover, possible differences between female and male gifted individuals and gifted and non-gifted individuals are analyzed. Based on these findings, implications for practice as well as further research are discussed.

Similar or Different Effects? Quantifying the Effects of Humility and Modesty on Job Performance

Humility and modesty are both emphasized in Eastern and Western societies. However, people usually conflate them in everyday usage. To reduce the confusion of the two constructs, it is very vital to carefully differentiate the two constructs and examine whether they lead to similar or different effects on job performance. In this study, we scrutinized the effects of the two constructs on four dimensions of job performance simultaneously, including task performance, citizenship behavior (helping and voicing), unethical pro-organizational behavior, and innovative behavior. Using a dataset of 239 employees and 77 supervisors, we showed that modesty is not related to task performance and voicing, but that it is positively related to unethical pro-organizational behavior and negatively related to helping and innovative behavior. In contrast, we showed that humility is negatively related to unethical pro-organizational behavior and positively related to task performance, helping, voicing, and innovative behavior. Our findings reveal that modesty and humility can lead to very divergent work outcomes. The results strongly support the idea that modesty and humility are distinct constructs embedded in separate nomological networks and strongly suggest that organizations should encourage employees’ humility rather than modesty. The theoretical and practical implications of this work are discussed.

Identifying and assessing talent potential for future needs of a company

Purpose

This article investigates which definitions, indicators and instruments are used by the companies to identify and assess talented employee potential with successful performance on future pivotal positions.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data were collected in 2020–2021 in 45 local and multinational companies in Russia with well-established talent management functions using in-depth interviews with human resource (HR) managers and consultants.

Findings

The study found a diversity of approaches to identifying and assessing talent potential with a predominantly contextual approach but so far with little focus on company’s strategic objectives. It was also found that companies assessed cultural (values) fit, social intelligence and impact, engagement and commitment as predictors of managerial and leadership potential of talented employees for future strategic jobs, in addition to characteristics of personal resources. The search for new complex and validated tools and methods of potential assessment under budget constraints show that companies have taken the path of experimentation.

Practical implications

The results of this research can inform talent and human resource managers how to identify and assess potential of talented employees for future needs of their organizations.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the existing research in three ways. First, it offers a classification of approaches to potential assessment and explores the underlying dimensions of high-potential talent for future needs of a company. Second, it provides an overview of the current state of potential assessment in the companies in a non-western context. Third, it points out the challenges HR professionals face in implementing potential assessment for identifying talents in a new situation of unprecedented changes and uncertain future.

Selecting for Learning Potential: Is Implicit Learning the New Cognitive Ability?

For decades, the field of workplace selection has been dominated by evidence that cognitive ability is the most important factor in predicting performance. Meta-analyses detailing the contributions of a wide-range of factors to workplace performance show that cognitive ability’s contribution is partly mediated by the learning of task-relevant skills and job-specific declarative knowledge. Further, there is evidence to suggest that this relationship is a function of task complexity, and partially mediated by learning performance in workplace induction and training activities. Simultaneously, evidence is mounting that stable individual differences in implicit learning exist, which are at least partially independent of traditional measures of intelligence. In this article we provide an overview of recent advances in our understanding of implicit learning, outline some of the advantages offered by its measurement, and highlight some of the challenges associated with its adoption as a measure of interest.