Domain-General Models of Expertise

This chapter reviews evidence concerning the contribution of cognitive ability to individual differences in expertise. The review covers research in traditional domains for expertise research such as music, sports, and chess, as well as research from industrial–organizational psychology on job performance. The specific question that we seek to address is whether domain-general measures of cognitive ability (e.g., IQ, working memory capacity, executive functioning, processing speed) predict individual differences in domain-relevant performance, especially beyond beginning levels of skill. Evidence from the expertise literature relevant to this question is difficult to interpret, due to small sample sizes, restriction of range, and other methodological limitations. By contrast, there is a wealth of consistent evidence that cognitive ability is a practically important and statistically significant predictor of job performance, even after extensive job experience. The chapter discusses ways that cognitive ability measures might be used in efforts to accelerate the acquisition of expertise.

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Is baseline pupil size related to cognitive ability? Yes (under proper lighting conditions).

10.31234/osf.io/pvz24 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jason S. Tsukahara ◽

Randall W Engle

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Pupil Size ◽

Large Scale ◽

Fluid Intelligence ◽

Functional Organization ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

Lighting Conditions

We found that individual differences in baseline pupil size correlated with fluid intelligence and working memory capacity. Larger pupil size was associated with higher cognitive ability. However, other researchers have not been able to replicate our 2016 finding – though they only measured working memory capacity and not fluid intelligence. In a reanalysis of Tsukahara et al. (2016) we show that reduced variability on baseline pupil size will result in a higher probability of obtaining smaller and non-significant correlations with working memory capacity. In two large-scale studies, we demonstrated that reduced variability in baseline pupil size values was due to the monitor being too bright. Additionally, fluid intelligence and working memory capacity did correlate with baseline pupil size except in the brightest lighting conditions. Overall, our findings demonstrated that the baseline pupil size – working memory capacity relationship was not as strong or robust as that with fluid intelligence. Our findings have strong methodological implications for researchers investigating individual differences in task-free or task-evoked pupil size. We conclude that fluid intelligence does correlate with baseline pupil size and that this is related to the functional organization of the resting-state brain through the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system.

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Using individual differences to predict job performance: Correcting for direct and indirect restriction of range

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1111/j.1467-9450.2012.00956.x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 368-373 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

SOFIA SJÖBERG ◽

ANDERS SJÖBERG ◽

KATHARINA NÄSWALL ◽

MAGNUS SVERKE

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Job Performance ◽

Restriction Of Range

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Jackson and Schuler (1985) Revisited: A Meta-Analysis of the Relationships Between Role Ambiguity, Role Conflict, and Job Performance

Journal of Management ◽

10.1177/014920630002600104 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 155-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 199

Author(s):

Travis C. Tubre ◽

Judith M. Collins

Keyword(s):

Job Performance ◽

Role Conflict ◽

Role Ambiguity ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Small Sample ◽

Reliability Estimates ◽

And Performance ◽

Small Sample Sizes ◽

Meta Analyses

We conducted a meta-analysis of correlations between role ambiguity and job performance and role conflict and job performance. Previous meta-analyses of these role constructs and performance relationships (e.g., Jackson & Schuler, 1985) were limited by small sample sizes and sparse reporting of reliability estimates in primary studies. The present study used a comprehensive database with a larger sample size and a distribution of interrater reliabilities to extend the previous findings. We also tested moderator hypotheses proposed but not conducted by Jackson and Schuler. Results revealed a negative relationship (r52.21) between role ambiguity and job performance with moderating influences due to job type and rating source. A negligible relationship (r52.07) was observed for role conflict and job performance, a finding consistent across job types and rating sources. Conclusions were that role ambiguity ought not to be dismissed as an unimportant variable in the job performance domain.

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L2 (English) spelling is positively correlated with L2 vocabulary size, but not with a measure that putatively taps visual statistical learning

10.31234/osf.io/85h4f ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Matthew HC Mak ◽

Chen Qiu ◽

Kathy K.M. Shum

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Statistical Learning ◽

Literacy Development ◽

Small Sample ◽

Sample Sizes ◽

Vocabulary Size ◽

Visual Statistical Learning ◽

Small Sample Sizes ◽

L2 Vocabulary ◽

English Spelling

Recent studies showed that a person’s visual statistical learning (VSL) ability is positively correlated with L1 and L2 literacy development. That is, people who are more adept at detecting implicit regularities in visual inputs tend to be or to become better readers. Most if not all studies that examined this link looked only into reading ability, oddly neglecting spelling, and importantly, they all relied on relatively small sample sizes. In light of these, we recruited a relatively large sample (64 advanced English learners) to investigate if performance on a commonly adopted VSL task (i.e., embedded triplet task) correlates with L2 (English) spelling proficiency, as indexed by a spelling test involving highly rare regular English words. We also administered a rote memorization task and an L2 vocabulary size test. In line with a growing body of literature, we found no evidence that performance on the VSL task correlated with L2 spelling. We did however find clear evidence that L2 learners with a larger L2 vocabulary size are also better spellers. We argue that while SL is linked to literacy development, traditional VSL measures may not be suitable for the investigation of individual differences owing to poor sensitivity. Our study, alongside Mak (2016), also demonstrates that false positives may arise due to small sample sizes. We, therefore, urge researchers worldwide, especially those interested in individual differences, to work towards reproducibility and better science by for example avoiding unjustifiably small sample sizes.

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fMRI can be highly reliable, but it depends on what you measure

10.31234/osf.io/9eaxk ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Philip A. Kragel ◽

Xiaochun Han ◽

Thomas Edward Kraynak ◽

Peter J. Gianaros ◽

Tor D Wager

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Region Of Interest ◽

Small Sample ◽

Measurement Models ◽

Human Connectome Project ◽

Show Evidence ◽

Small Sample Sizes ◽

Project Data ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

Task Types

Elliot and colleagues (2020) systematically evaluated the reliability of individual differences in task-based fMRI activity and found reliability to be poor. Here we demonstrate that task-based fMRI can be quite reliable, and that the small sample sizes, task types, and dated region of interest measures used in Elliot et al. lead to an overly negative picture. We show evidence from recent studies using multivariate models in larger samples, which have short-term test-retest reliability in the “excellent” range (ICC > 0.75). These include 8 fMRI studies of pain and a large study of affective images (N > 300). In addition, while some use cases for biomarkers require reliable individual differences, others do not. They require only that fMRI measures serve as reliable indicators of the presence of a mental state or event, which we term ‘task reliability’. In a re-analysis of the Human Connectome Project data reported in Elliot et al., we show excellent task reliability across roughly 4 months. Despite difficulties with some experimental paradigms and measurement models, the future is bright for fMRI research focused on biomarker development.

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Effects of perceptual load on eyewitness memory are moderated by individual differences in cognitive ability.

10.31234/osf.io/rnpjc ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ciara Greene ◽

Ruth Maloney-Derham ◽

Kirsty Mulligan

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Perceptual Load ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Eyewitness Memory ◽

Perceptual Processing ◽

Global Memory ◽

Main Character ◽

Analytical Reasoning ◽

And Control

Previous research has identified perceptual load – the amount of perceptual processing required by a scene – as a potentially important factor in eyewitness memory. Here, we investigated whether effects of perceptual load on eyewitness memory for a simulated crime are moderated by individual differences in cognitive ability. We presented participants with a video of a simulated crime that imposed either high or low perceptual load, followed by a written narrative which contained a mixture of neutral and misleading descriptions of critical details. We examined the effects of three cognitive variables (working memory capacity, verbal cognitive ability and analytical reasoning) on participants’ ability to accurately recall details of the video in both the misinformation and control conditions, and to detect a change in the clothing of a main character. General cognitive ability was associated with improved global memory for details of the event, and enhanced change detection under load. Greater WM capacity and a tendency towards analytical reasoning were both associated with resistance to misinformation under conditions of high perceptual load. We conclude that higher levels of cognitive ability, assessed across a number of domains, may enable eyewitnesses to withstand the effects of perceptual load and preserve the accuracy of their memories.

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Binding Costs in Processing Efficiency as Determinants of Cognitive Ability

10.31234/osf.io/x659m ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin Goecke ◽

Florian Schmitz ◽

Oliver Wilhelm

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Fluid Intelligence ◽

Task Complexity ◽

Working Memory Capacity ◽

Memory Capacity ◽

Cognitive Tasks ◽

General Factor ◽

Elementary Cognitive Tasks

Performance in elementary cognitive tasks is moderately correlated with fluid intelligence and working memory capacity. These correlations are higher for more complex tasks, presumably due to increased demands on working memory capacity. In accordance with the binding hypothesis, which states that working memory capacity reflects the limit of a person’s ability to establish and maintain temporary bindings (e.g., relations between items or relations between items and their context), we manipulated binding requirements (i.e., 2, 4, and 6 relations) in three choice reaction time paradigms (i.e., two comparison tasks, two change-detection tasks, and two substitution tasks) measuring mental speed. Response time distributions of N = 115 participants were analyzed with the diffusion model. Higher binding requirements resulted in generally reduced efficiency of information processing, as indicated by lower drift rates. Additionally, we fitted bi-factor confirmatory factor analysis to the elementary cognitive tasks to separate basal speed and binding requirements of the employed tasks to quantify their specific contributions to working memory capacity, as measured by Recall-1-Back tasks. A latent factor capturing individual differences in binding was incrementally predictive of working memory capacity, over and above a general factor capturing speed. These results indicate that the theory-driven task complexity manipulation in terms of binding requirements moderated the relation of mental speed tasks with cognitive ability in the predicted way. We conclude that binding requirements and, therefore, demands on working memory capacity offer a satisfactory account of task complexity that accounts for a large portion of individual differences in ability.

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A Multimedia Situational Test With a Constructed-Response Format

Journal of Personnel Psychology ◽

10.1027/1866-5888/a000035 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 78-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Janneke K. Oostrom ◽

Marise Ph. Born ◽

Alec W. Serlie ◽

Henk T. van der Molen

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Ability ◽

Computer Technology ◽

Psychology Students ◽

Learning Activities ◽

Ability Test ◽

Constructed Response ◽

Job Experience ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship ◽

Situational Test

Advances in computer technology have created opportunities for the development of a multimedia situational test in which responses are filmed with a webcam. This paper examined the relationship of a so-called webcam test with personality, cognitive ability, job experience, and academic performance. Data were collected among 153 psychology students. In line with our expectations, scores on the webcam test, intended to measure interpersonally oriented leadership, were related to extraversion, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and job experience. Furthermore, the webcam tests significantly predicted students’ learning activities during group meetings over and above a cognitive ability test and a personality questionnaire. Overall, this study demonstrates that webcam tests can be a valid complement to traditional predictors in selection contexts.

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