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

The psychological construct of general mental ability (GMA), introduced by C. Spearman (1904) nearly 100 years ago, has enjoyed a resurgence of interest and attention in recent decades. This article presents the research evidence that GMA predicts both occupational level attained and performance within one's chosen occupation and does so better than any other ability, trait, or disposition and better than job experience. The sizes of these relationships with GMA are also larger than most found in psychological research. Evidence is presented that weighted combinations of specific aptitudes tailored to individual jobs do not predict job performance better than GMA alone, disconfirming specific aptitude theory. A theory of job performance is described that explicates the central role of GMA in the world of work. These findings support Spearman's proposition that GMA is of critical importance in human affairs.

[1]  Wm. R. Wright.  General Intelligence, Objectively Determined and Measured. , 1905 .

[2]  W. Ogburn,et al.  Occupations , 1929, American Journal of Sociology.

[3]  Richard S. Ball.  The predictability of occupational level from intelligence. , 1938 .

[4]  Margaret S. Harrell,et al.  Army General Classification Test Scores for Civilian Occupations , 1945 .

[5]  Naomi Stewart.  A.G.C.T. Scores of Army Personnel Grouped by Occupation , 1947 .

[6]  Ten thousand careers , 1960 .

[7]  E. Ghiselli,et al.  Managerial talent, pay, and age , 1971 .

[8]  Frank L. Schmidt,et al.  COMPOSITE VS. MULTIPLE CRITERIA: A REVIEW AND RESOLUTION OF THE CONTROVERSY , 1971 .

[9]  A. Moehlman,et al.  Inequality, A Reassessment of the Effect of Family and Schooling in America. , 1974 .

[10]  A Model of IQ, Occupaton, and Earnings , 1975 .

[11]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[12]  G. S. Shane,et al.  Further tests of the Schmidt-Hunter Bayesian validity generalization procedure. , 1979 .

[13]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Validity generalization results for tests used to predict job proficiency and training success in clerical occupations. , 1980 .

[14]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Validity generalization results for computer programmers. , 1980 .

[15]  E. Miller,et al.  Headache , 1980 .

[16]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Task Differences as Moderators of Aptitude Test Validity in Selection: A Red Herring , 1981 .

[17]  H. G. Osburn,et al.  Testing the constancy of validity with computer-generated sampling distributions of the multiplicative model variance estimate: Results for petroleum industry validation research. , 1981 .

[18]  Jeanette N. Cleveland,et al.  Performance Measurement and Theory , 1983 .

[19]  J. Hunter,et al.  Validity and Utility of Alternative Predictors of Job Performance , 1984 .

[20]  J. L. Holland,et al.  Making vocational choices : a theory of vocational personalities and work environments , 1984 .

[21]  J. Hunter.  Cognitive ability, cognitive aptitudes, job knowledge, and job performance , 1986 .

[22]  P. Ackerman.  Individual differences in information processing: An investigation of intellectual abilities and task performance during practice ☆ , 1986 .

[23]  A. Jensen,et al.  g: Artifact or reality? , 1986 .

[24]  L. Gottfredson,et al.  Validity versus Utility of Mental Tests: Example of the SAT. , 1986 .

[25]  Alice N. Outerbridge,et al.  Impact of job experience and ability on job knowledge, work sample performance, and supervisory ratings of job performance , 1986 .

[26]  F. Schmidt,et al.  VALIDITY GENERALIZATION RESULTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OCCUPATIONS , 1986 .

[27]  Robert L. Thorndike,et al.  The role of general ability in prediction , 1986 .

[28]  Michael A. McDaniel.  The evaluation of a causal model of job performance : the interrelationships of general mental ability, job experience and job performance , 1986 .

[29]  P. Ackerman.  Individual differences in skill learning: An integration of psychometric and information processing perspectives. , 1987 .

[30]  P. Ackerman.  Determinants of individual differences during skill acquisition: Cognitive abilities and information processing. , 1988 .

[31]  P. Costa,et al.  Personality in adulthood: a six-year longitudinal study of self-reports and spouse ratings on the NEO Personality Inventory. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[32]  Lloyd E. Sandelands.  International Review of Industrial & Organizational Psychology , 1988 .

[33]  Wayne F. Cascio,et al.  SETTING CUTOFF SCORES: LEGAL, PSYCHOMETRIC, AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES AND GUIDELINES , 1988 .

[34]  S. J. Goff,et al.  Joint relation of experience and ability with job performance: Test of three hypotheses. , 1988 .

[35]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Job experience correlates of job performance. , 1988 .

[36]  K. Murphy.  Is the relationship between cognitive ability and job performance stable over time , 1989 .

[37]  P. Ackerman.  A correlational analysis of skill specificity: Learning, abilities, and individual differences. , 1990 .

[38]  Jeffrey J. Mchenry,et al.  PROJECT A VALIDITY RESULTS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREDICTOR AND CRITERION DOMAINS , 1990 .

[39]  A. Tellegen,et al.  An alternative "description of personality": the big-five factor structure. , 1990, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[40]  Kenneth E. Clark,et al.  Measures of leadership , 1990 .

[41]  N L Segal,et al.  “Sources of Human Psychological Differences: The Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart” (1990), by , 2018 .

[42]  R. Bretz,et al.  Cognitive ability and career attainment : moderating effects of early career success , 1991 .

[43]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A META-ANALYSIS , 1991 .

[44]  Walter C. Borman,et al.  Models of supervisory job performance ratings , 1991 .

[45]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Development of a Causal Model of Processes Determining Job Performance , 1992 .

[46]  Malcolm James Ree,et al.  Intelligence Is the Best Predictor of Job Performance , 1992 .

[47]  R. McCrae,et al.  An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. , 1992, Journal of personality.

[48]  P. Ackerman.  Predicting individual differences in complex skill acquisition: dynamics of ability determinants. , 1992, The Journal of applied psychology.

[49]  P. Costa,et al.  Four ways five factors are basic , 1992 .

[50]  Frank L. Schmidt,et al.  What do data really mean? Research findings, meta-analysis, and cumulative knowledge in psychology. , 1992 .

[51]  F. Schmidt,et al.  Comprehensive meta-analysis of integrity test validities: Findings and implications for personnel selection and theories of job performance. , 1993 .

[52]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  Autonomy as a moderator of the relationships between the Big Five personality dimensions and job performance. , 1993 .

[53]  Walter C. Borman,et al.  Role of Early Supervisory Experience in Supervisor Performance , 1993 .

[54]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  Conscientiousness and performance of sales representatives: Test of the mediating effects of goal setting. , 1993 .

[55]  Michael A. McDaniel,et al.  Refinements in validity generalization methods: Implications for the situational specificity hypothesis. , 1993 .

[56]  D. Ones.  The construct validity of integrity tests. , 1994 .

[57]  Michele Morales Olea,et al.  Predicting pilot and navigator criteria : not much more than g , 1994 .

[58]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  Validity of observer ratings of the big five personality factors , 1994 .

[59]  Malcolm James Ree,et al.  Predicting job performance: Not much more than g.. , 1994 .

[60]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Encyclopedia of human intelligence , 1994 .

[61]  Steffanie L. Wilk,et al.  Within-group norming and other forms of score adjustment in preemployment testing. , 1994, The American psychologist.

[62]  R. Herrnstein,et al.  The Bell Curve , 1994 .

[63]  Jack Block,et al.  Going beyond the five factors given: rejoinder to Costa and McCrae (1995) and Goldberg and Saucier (1995) , 1995 .

[64]  J. Block.  A contrarian view of the five-factor approach to personality description. , 1995, Psychological bulletin.

[65]  J. Allik,et al.  A Big Five personality inventory in two non‐Indo‐European languages , 1995 .

[66]  Paul R. Sackett,et al.  Gravitation to jobs commensurate with ability: Longitudinal and cross-sectional tests. , 1995 .

[67]  John L. Holland,et al.  Exploring careers with a typology: What we have learned and some new directions. , 1996 .

[68]  Steffanie L. Wilk,et al.  Longitudinal analysis of ability–job complexity fit and job change. , 1996 .

[69]  John E. Hunter,et al.  Intelligence and job performance: Economic and social implications. , 1996 .

[70]  J. Butcher,et al.  Personality: individual differences and clinical assessment. , 1996, Annual review of psychology.

[71]  Lloyd G. Humphreys,et al.  Incorporating General Intelligence into Epidemiology and the Social Sciences. , 1997 .

[72]  J. Salgado.  The Five Factor Model of personality and job performance in the European Community. , 1997, The Journal of applied psychology.

[73]  P. Costa,et al.  Personality trait structure as a human universal. , 1997, The American psychologist.

[74]  L. Gottfredson.  Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life , 1997 .

[75]  J W Hedge,et al.  Personnel selection. , 1997, Annual review of psychology.

[76]  M McGue,et al.  Genetic and environmental influences on human behavioral differences. , 1998, Annual review of neuroscience.

[77]  F. Schmidt,et al.  The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. , 1998 .

[78]  T. Bouchard,et al.  Genetic and environmental influences on adult intelligence and special mental abilities. , 1998, Human biology.

[79]  D. Hamer,et al.  Living with our genes : why they matter more than you think , 1998 .

[80]  A. Jensen,et al.  The g factor , 1996, Nature.

[81]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  Relating member ability and personality to work-team processes and team effectiveness. , 1998 .

[82]  C. A. Higgins,et al.  THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS, GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY, AND CAREER SUCCESS ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN , 1999 .

[83]  Arnold R. Spokane,et al.  Vocational Interests: Meaning, Measurement, and Counseling Use , 1999 .

[84]  D Lubinski,et al.  Scientific and social significance of assessing individual differences: "sinking shafts at a few critical points". , 2000, Annual review of psychology.

[85]  Ian J. Deary,et al.  The Stability of Individual Differences in Mental Ability from Childhood to Old Age: Follow-up of the 1932 Scottish Mental Survey , 2000 .

[86]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  Personality and Performance at the Beginning of the New Millennium: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go Next? , 2001 .

[87]  Jerard F. Kehoe,et al.  General Mental Ability and Selection in Private Sector Organizations: A Commentary , 2002 .

[88]  F. Schmidt,et al.  Cross-Cultural Construct Validity of the Five-Factor Model of Personality among Korean Employees , 2002 .

[89]  A. Gawande,et al.  The bell curve. , 2005, Minnesota medicine.

[90]  Brenda White,et al.  DEPARTMENT OF LABOR , 2006 .

[91]  M. Ree,et al.  PREDICTING TRAINING SUCCESS: NOT MUCH MORE THAN g , 2006 .