Is cognitive ability a liability? A critique and future research agenda on skilled performance

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied

Volumn 18, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 331-345

  Beier, Margaret E ^a   Oswald, Frederick L ^a  

^a RICE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Adaptive performance; Cognitive ability; Performance pressure; Skill acquisition

Indexed keywords

ACHIEVEMENT; ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR; APTITUDE; ARTICLE; COGNITION; HUMAN; LEARNING; PROBLEM SOLVING;

ACHIEVEMENT; ADAPTATION, PSYCHOLOGICAL; APTITUDE; COGNITION; HUMANS; LEARNING; PROBLEM SOLVING;

EID: 84874673825     PISSN: 1076898X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/a0030869     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Ackerman, P. L. (1987). Individual differences in skill learning: An integration of psychometric and information processing perspectives. Psychological Bulletin, 102, 3-27. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.102.1.3
2. Ackerman, P. L. (1988). Determinants of skill acquisition: Cognitive abilities and information processing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 117, 288-318. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.117.3.288
3. Ackerman, P. L., Beier, M. E., & Boyle, M. O. (2005). Working memory and intelligence: The same or different constructs? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 30-60. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.30
4. Ackerman, P. L., & Woltz, D. J. (1994). Determinants of learning and performance in an associative memory/substitution task: Task constraints, individual differences, volition, and motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 487-515. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.86.4.487
5. Anderson, J. R. (1982). Acquisition of cognitive skill. Psychological Review, 89, 369-406. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.89.4.369
6. Barrett, L. F., Tugade, M. M., & Engle, R. W. (2004). Individual differences in working memory capacity and dual-process theories of the mind. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 553-573. doi:10.1037/0033-2909 .130.4.553
7. Beilock, S. L., & Carr, T. H. (2005). When high-powered people fail: Working memory and "choking under pressure" in math. Psychological Science, 16, 101-105. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00789.x
8. Beilock, S. L., & DeCaro, M. S. (2007). From poor performance to success under stress: Working memory, strategy selection, and mathematical problem solving under pressure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33, 983-998. doi:10.1037/0278-7393 .33.6.983
9. Bell, B. S., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (2008). Active learning: Effects of core training design elements on self-regulatory processes, learning, and adaptability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 296-316. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.93.2.296
10. Bell, B. S., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (2010). Toward a theory of learning-centered training design: An integrative framework of active learning. In S. W. J. Kozlowski & E. Salas (Eds.), Learning, training, and development in organizations (pp. 263-300). New York, NY: Routledge.
11. Binet, A., & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Williams.
12. Borman, W. C., White, L. A., Pulakos, E. B., & Oppler, S. H. (1991). Models of supervisory job performance ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 863-872. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.76.6.863
13. Campbell, J. P., Gasser, M. B., & Oswald, F. L. (1996). The substantive nature of job performance variability. In K. R. Murphy (Ed.), Individual differences and behavior in organizations (pp. 258-299). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
14. Campbell, J. P., McCloy, R. A., Oppler, S. H., & Sager, C. E. (1993). A theory of performance. In N. Schmitt & W. Borman (Eds.), Personnel selection in organizations (pp. 35-70). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
15. Carey, B. (2004, December 21). When pressure is on, good students suffer. The New York Times, p. D7.
16. Carter, M., & Beier, M. E. (2010). The effectiveness of error management training with working-aged adults. Personnel Psychology, 63, 641-675. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01183.x
17. Cortina, J. M., & DeShon, R. P. (1998). Determining relative importance of predictors with the observational design. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 798-804. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.83.5.798
18. Cudeck, R., & Harring, J. R. (2007). The analysis of nonlinear patterns of change with random coefficient models. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 615-637. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085520
19. DeCaro, M. S., & Beilock, S. L. (2010). The benefits and perils of attention control. In B. Bruya (Ed.), Effortless attention: A new perspective in the cognitive science of attention and action (pp. 51-73). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
20. DeCaro, M. S., Carlson, K. D., Thomas, R. D., & Beilock, S. L. (2009). When and how less is more: Reply to Tharp and Pickering. Cognition, 111, 415-421. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2009.03.001
21. DeCaro, M. S., Thomas, R. D., Albert, N. B., & Beilock, S. L. (2011). Choking under pressure: Multiple routes to skill failure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 140, 390-406. doi:10.1037/a0023466
22. DeCaro, M. S., Thomas, R. D., & Beilock, S. L. (2008). Individual differences in category learning: Sometimes less working memory capacity is better than more. Cognition, 107, 284-294. doi:10.1016/j .cognition.2007.07.001
23. Doane, S. M., Alderton, D. L., Woo Sohn, Y., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1996). Acquisition and transfer of skilled performance: Are visual discrimination skills stimulus specific? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 22, 1218-1248. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.22.5.1218
24. Gimmig, D., Huguet, P., Caverni, J.-P., & Cury, F. (2006). Choking under pressure and working memory capacity: When performance pressure reduced fluid intelligence. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13, 1005-1010. doi:10.3758/BF03213916
25. Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life. Intelligence, 24, 79-132. doi:10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90014-3
26. Griener, P. A., Snowdon, P. A., & Schmitt, F. A. (1996). The loss of independence in activities of daily living: The role of low normal cognitive function in elderly nuns. American Journal of Public Health, 86, 62-66. doi:10.2105/AJPH.86.1.62
27. Hambleton, R. K., Swaminathan, H., & Rogers, H. J. (1991). Measurement methods for the social science series: Fundamentals of item response theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
28. Hunter, J. E., & Hunter, R. F. (1984). Validity and utility of alternative predictors of job performance. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 72-98. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.96.1.72
29. Just, M. A., & Carpenter, P. A. (1992). A capacity theory of comprehen-sion: Individual differences in working memory. Psychological Review, 99, 122-149. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.99.1.122
30. Kahneman, D. (1973). Attention and effort. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pren-tice-Hall.
31. Kane, M. J., & Engle, R. W. (2000). Working-memory capacity, proactive interference, and divided attention: Limits on long-term memory re-trieval. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 26, 336-358. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.26.2.336
32. Kane, M. J., Hambrick, D. Z., & Conway, A. R. A. (2005). Working memory and fluid intelligence are strongly related constructs: Comment on Ackerman, Beier, and Boyle (2005). Psychological Bulletin, 131, 66-71. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.66
33. Kanfer, R., & Ackerman, P. L. (1989). Motivation and cognitive abilities: An integrative/aptitude-treatment interaction approach to skill acquisi-tion. Journal of Applied Psychology Monograph, 74, 657-690. doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.74.4.657
34. Kuncel, N. R., Hezlett, S. A., & Ones, D. S. (2001). A comprehensive meta-analysis of the predictive validity of the Graduate Record Exam-inations: Implications for graduate student selection and performance. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 162-181. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.1.162
35. Lang, J. W. B., & Bliese, P. D. (2009). General mental ability and two types of adaptation to unforeseen change: Applying discontinuous growth models to the task-change paradigm. Journal of Applied Psy-chology, 94, 411-428. doi:10.1037/a0013803
36. LePine, J. A., Colquitt, J. A., & Erez, A. (2000). Adaptability to changing task contexts: Effects of general cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Personnel Psychology, 53, 563-593. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2000.tb00214.x
37. MacCallum, R. C., Zhang, S., Preacher, K. J., & Rucker, D. D. (2002). On the practice of dichotomization of quantitative variables. Psychological Methods, 7, 19-40. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.19
38. Maddox, W. T., & Ashby, F. G. (2004). Dissociating explicit and procedural-learning based systems of perceptual category learning. Be-havioural Processes, 66, 309-332. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2004.03.011
39. Mattarella-Micke, A., Mateo, J., Kozak, M. N., Foster, K., & Beilock, S. L. (2011). Choke or thrive? The relation between salivary cortisol and math performance depends on individual differences in working memory and math-anxiety. Emotion. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/a0023224
40. Morris, C. D., Bransford, J. D., & Franks, J. J. (1977). Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 16, 519-533. doi:10.1016/S0022-5371(77)80016-9
41. Navon, D. (1984). Resources - a theoretical soup stone? Psychological Review, 91, 216-234. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.91.2.216
42. Neisser, U. (Ed.). (1998). The rising curve: Long-term gains in IQ and related measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/10270-000
43. Neisser, U., Boodoo, G., Bouchard, Jr., T. J., Boykin, A. W., Brody, N., Ceci, S. J.,Urbina, S. (1996). Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. Report of a task force established by the American Psychological Association. American Psychologist, 51, 77-101. doi:10.1037/0003-066X .51.2.77
44. Nissen, M. J., & Bullemer, P. (1987). Attentional requirements of learning: Evidence from performance measures. Cognitive Psychology, 19, 1-32. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(87)90002-8
45. Norman, D. A., & Bobrow, D. B. (1975). On data-limited and resource-limited processes. Cognitive Psychology, 7, 44-64.
46. Oberauer, K., Schulze, R., Wilhelm, O., & Süß, H. M. (2005). Working memory and intelligence - their correlation and relation: Comment on Ackerman, Beier, and Boyle (2005). Psychological Bulletin, 131, 61-65. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.61
47. Oswald, F. L., Hambrick, D. Z., & Jones, L. A. (2007). Keeping all the plates spinning: Understanding and predicting multitasking performance. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Learning to solve complex scientific problems (pp. 77-97). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
48. Park, G., Lubinksi, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2007). Contrasting intellectual patterns predict creativity in the arts and sciences: Tracking intellectual precocious youth over 25 years. Psychological Science, 11, 948-952. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02007.x
49. Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., MacCallum, R. C., & Nicewander, W. A. (2005). Use of the extreme groups approach: A critical reexamination and new recommendations. Psychological Methods, 10, 178-192. doi: 10.1037/1082-989X.10.2.178
50. Rogers, W. A. (1992). Age differences in visual search: Target and distractor learning. Psychology and Aging, 7, 526-535. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.7.4.526
51. Rosen, V. M., & Engle, R. W. (1997). The role of working memory in retrieval. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 126, 211-227. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.126.3.211
52. Saunders, T., Driskell, J. E., Johnston, J. H., & Salas, E. (1996). The effect of stress inoculation training on anxiety and performance. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1, 170-186. doi:10.1037/1076-8998 .1.2.170
53. Schmeichel, B. J. (2007). Attention control, memory updating, and emotion regulation temporarily reduce the capacity for executive control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136, 241-255. doi: 10.1037/0096-3445.136.2.241
54. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 262-274. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.262
55. Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. (2004). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational attainment and job performance. Journal of Social and Personality Psychology, 86, 162-173. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.86.1 .162
56. Schmidt, R. A., & Bjork, R. A. (1992). New conceptualizations of practice: Common principles in three paradigms suggest new concepts for training. Psychological Science, 3, 207-217. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1992 .tb00029.x
57. Shiffrin, R. M., & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84, 127-190. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.127
58. Snow, R. E. (1989). Aptitude-treatment interaction as a framework for research on individual differences in learning. In P. L. Ackerman, R. J. Sternberg, & R. J. Glaser (Eds.), Learning and individual differences: Advances in theory and research (pp. 13-59). New York, NY: Freeman Press.
59. Tharp, I. J., & Pickering, A. D. (2009). A note on DeCaro, Thomas and Beilock (2008): Further data demonstrate complexities in the assessment of information-integration category learning. Cognition, 111, 411-415. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.10.003
60. Unsworth, N., & Engle, R. W. (2007). The nature of individual differences in working memory capacity: Active maintenance in primary memory and controlled search from secondary memory. Psychological Review, 114, 104-132. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.114.1.104
61. Wood, R. E. (1986). Task complexity: Definition of a construct. Organi-zational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 37, 60-82. doi: 10.1016/0749-5978(86)90044-0
62. Worthy, D. A., Markman, A. B., & Maddox, W. T. (2009). What is pressure? Evidence for social pressure as a type of regulatory focus. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 16, 344-349. doi:10.3758/PBR.16.2 .344
63. Zeaman, D., & House, B. J. (1967). The relation of IQ and learning. In R. M. Gagne (Ed.), Learning and individual differences (pp. 192-212). Columbus, OH: Merrill.