Exploring the Relationship between Cognitive Ability Tilt and Job Performance

Most of the work examining the relationship between intelligence and job performance has conceptualized intelligence as g. Recent findings, however, have supported the claim that more specific factors of intelligence contribute to the prediction of job performance. The present study builds upon prior work on specific cognitive abilities by investigating the relationship between ability tilt, a measure representing differential strength between two specific abilities, and job performance. It was hypothesized that ability tilt would differentially relate to job performance based on whether or not the tilt matched the ability requirements of the job, and that ability tilt would provide incremental validity over g and specific abilities for predicting performance when the tilt matched job requirements. Hypotheses were tested using a large sample from the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) database. Ability tilt related with job performance in the expected direction for 27 of the 36 tilt-job combinations examined, with a mean effect size of .04 when the tilt matched job requirements. The mean incremental validities for ability tilt were .007 over g and .003 over g and specific abilities, and, on average, tilt explained 7.1% of the total variance in job performance. The results provide limited evidence that ability tilt may be a useful predictor in addition to ability level, and contribute to our understanding of the role of specific abilities in the workplace.

When the Dark Shines: The Role of Dark Personality Traits in Leadership Role Occupancy and Hiring Decisions in a Collectivistic Culture

Two studies investigated the role of the Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism), conscientiousness, and intelligence on leadership role occupancy and hiring decisions in Indonesian culture, which is a collectivist culture. Study 1 used generalized linear model to examine two groups of participants with (i.e., school principals) and without (i.e., teachers) significant leadership responsibilities by controlling for participant grouping by school. The results indicated that, in comparison with teachers, school principals had significantly higher narcissism and conscientiousness and lower psychopathy and intelligence. In Study 2, video recordings of simulated job interviews of 133 undergraduates were evaluated by 133 professional recruiters. Interviewee narcissism was the only significant positive predictor for hiring decision. Both studies provide consistent evidence that narcissism is a significant positive factor in both leadership role occupancy and hiring decision in a collectivist culture.

Relationship between Ability-Based Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Intelligence, and Job Performance

Based on previous findings, which found that the three facets of ability-based emotional intelligence (EI) have varying effects on job performance, this study investigates the relationship between emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence (CI), and job performance. The use of a cascade model suggests a progressive pattern, starting from emotion perception, followed by emotional understanding and emotion regulation, with downstream effects on job performance. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of both measurements, we employed the performance-based ability measurement, the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the self-reporting ability EI measurement, Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS). Our findings supported the cascade model, but in the case of WLEIS measures, both self-emotion appraisal and others’ emotion appraisal precede emotion regulation, leading to a positive effect on job performance. Moreover, CI moderated the relationship between EI and job performance, such that a decline in CI rendered the relationship more positive. The MSCEIT and WLEIS showed similar results, thus supporting the cascading model and moderating effects.

Aligning Predictor-Criterion Bandwidths: Specific Abilities as Predictors of Specific Performance

The purpose of the current study is to compare the extent to which general and specific abilities predict academic performances that are also varied in breadth (i.e., general performance and specific performance). The general and specific constructs were assumed to vary only in breadth, not order, and two data analytic approaches (i.e., structural equation modeling [SEM] and relative weights analysis) consistent with this theoretical assumption were compared. Conclusions regarding the relative importance of general and specific abilities differed based on data analytic approaches. The SEM approach identified general ability as the strongest and only significant predictor of general academic performance, with neither general nor specific abilities predicting any of the specific subject grade residuals. The relative weights analysis identified verbal reasoning as contributing more than general ability, or other specific abilities, to the explained variance in general academic performance. Verbal reasoning also contributed to most of the explained variance in each of the specific subject grades. These results do not provide support for the utility of predictor-criterion alignment, but they do provide evidence that both general and specific abilities can serve as useful predictors of performance.

More Than g-Factors: Second-Stratum Factors Should Not Be Ignored

Ree, Carretta, and Teachout (2015) outlined a compelling argument for the pervasiveness of dominant general factors (DGFs) in psychological measurement. We agree that DGFs are important and that they are found for various constructs (e.g., cognitive abilities, work withdrawal), especially when an “unrotated principal components” analysis is conducted (Ree et al., p. 8). When studying hierarchical constructs, however, a narrow emphasis on uncovering DGFs would be incomplete at best and detrimental at worst. This commentary largely echoes the arguments made by Wee, Newman, and Joseph (2014), and Schneider and Newman (2015), who provided reasons for considering second-stratum cognitive abilities. We believe these same arguments in favor of second-stratum factors in the ability domain can be applied to hierarchical constructs more generally.

Intelligence 2.0: Reestablishing a Research Program on g in I–O Psychology

Intelligence (i.e., g, general mental ability) is an individual difference that is arguably more important than ever for success in the constantly changing, ever more complex world of business (Boal, 2004; Gatewood, Field, & Barrick, 2011). Although the field of industrial–organizational (I–O) psychology initially made substantial contributions to the study of intelligence and its use in applied settings (e.g., Hunter, 1980; Schmidt & Hunter, 1981), we have done relatively little in recent times about studying the nature of the intelligence construct and its measurement. Instead, we have focused predominately on using intelligence to predict performance outcomes and examine racial subgroup differences on intelligence test scores. Although the field of I–O psychology continues to approach intelligence at a surface level, other fields (e.g., clinical psychology, developmental and educational research, and neuropsychology) have continued to study this construct with greater depth and have consequently made more substantial progress in understanding this critical and complex construct. The purpose of this article is to note this lack of progress in I–O psychology and to challenge our field to mount new research initiatives on this critical construct.

Childhood general mental ability and midlife psychosocial work characteristics as related to mental distress, neck/shoulder pain and self-rated health in working women and men

Psychosocial work characteristics including high demands, lack of control and poor social support have consistently been linked to poor health as has poor general mental ability (GMA). However, less is known about the relationships between stable individual factors such as GMA, psychosocial work characteristics and health.

OBJECTIVE

The present study investigated how childhood mental ability and psychosocial work characteristics relate to health in terms of mental distress, neck/shoulder pain (NSP) and self-rated health (SRH).

METHODS

Data on childhood GMA, occupational level, self-reports of demands, control and social support and health (mental distress, NSP and SRH) in midlife came from working women (n=271) and men (n=291) included in a Swedish school cohort. Hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for occupational level, were used to examine associations between childhood GMA, self-reports of high demands, low control and poor social support and the three health indicators. Taking into consideration the gendered labor market and variations in health patterns between women and men, gender specific analyses were performed.

RESULTS

There were no significant associations between childhood GMA and health indicators. Further, there were no significant interactions between GMA and psychosocial work factors. As regards the strength of the associations between GMA, psychosocial work factors and health, no consistent differences emerged between women and men.

CONCLUSIONS

In a cohort of healthy and working middle-aged women and men, self-reports of current psychosocial work characteristics seem to be more strongly linked to health, than are stable childhood factors such as GMA.

Predictive Validity of General Intelligence and Big Five Measures for Adult Basic Education and Training Outcomes

This study explored whether scores on intelligence tests and personality questionnaires can predict performance in an adult basic education and training (ABET) programme. Participants in ABET programmes often have limited English reading skills, which make the use of conventional assessment tools problematic. A proposed solution is to utilise instruments that make limited demands on the use of language. Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), a well-established intelligence test, and the Five Factor-Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire (FF-NPQ) are both instruments that do not require any reading. The performance of 82 participants in the practical and academic components of an ABET programme was correlated with the RPM and the five traits of the FF-NPQ, namely, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Neuroticism and Agreeableness. The RPM correlated significantly with both the practical ( r= 0.47) and academic components ( r= 0.35). The Agreeableness scale of the FF-NPQ correlated significantly with the practical component ( r = 0.34). No personality scale correlated significantly with the academic component. The results show that non-verbal intelligence tests and personality inventories can be potentially useful in the prediction of performance in an ABET programme.

Controversy and consensus regarding the use of cognitive ability testing in organizations

Seven hundred three members of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology indicated agreement or disagreement with 49 propositions regarding cognitive ability tests in organizations. There was consensus that cognitive ability tests are valid and fair, that they provide good but incomplete measures, that different abilities are necessary for different jobs, and that diversity is valuable. Items dealing with the unique status of cognitive ability were most likely to generate polarized opinions. A 2-factor model, classifying items as those reflecting societal concerns over the consequences of ability testing and those reflecting an emphasis on the unique status of "g," fit the data well, and these factors proved especially important for predicting responses to the more controversial items.

A Meta-Analytic Study of General Mental Ability Validity for Different Occupations in the European Community

A comprehensive meta-analysis of the validity of general mental ability (GMA) measures across 12 occupational categories in the European Community (EC) is presented. GMA measures showed that there is validity generalization and large operational validities for job performance and training success in 11 occupational groups. Results also showed that job complexity moderated the magnitude of the operational validity of GMA tests across three levels of job complexity: low, medium, and high. In general, results were similar to those found in the United States, although the European findings showed a slightly larger magnitude of operational validity in some cases. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for personnel selection are discussed. ((c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)