Validity of General Mental Ability for the Prediction of Job Performance and Training Success in Germany: A meta-analysis

General mental ability (GMA) has long been considered one of the best predictors of training success and considerably better than specific cognitive abilities (SCAs). Recently, however, researchers have provided evidence that SCAs may be of similar importance for training success, a finding supporting personnel selection based on job-related requirements. The present meta-analysis therefore seeks to assess validities of SCAs for training success in various occupations in a sample of German primary studies. Our meta-analysis (k = 72) revealed operational validities between ρ = .18 and ρ = .26 for different SCAs. Furthermore, results varied by occupational category, supporting a job-specific benefit of SCAs.

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Predicting Training Success with General Mental Ability, Specific Ability Tests, and (Un)Structured Interviews: A meta-analysis with unique samples

International Journal of Selection and Assessment ◽

10.1111/j.1468-2389.2011.00544.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 170-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Matthias Ziegler ◽

Erik Dietl ◽

Erik Danay ◽

Markus Vogel ◽

Markus Bühner

Keyword(s):

Meta Analysis ◽

Mental Ability ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

General Mental Ability ◽

Ability Tests ◽

Training Success

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A Theory of Sex Differences in Technical Aptitude and Some Supporting Evidence

Perspectives on Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/1745691611419670 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (6) ◽

pp. 560-573 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Frank L. Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Job Performance ◽

Large Data ◽

Future Research ◽

Mental Ability ◽

Supporting Evidence ◽

Data Set ◽

Aptitude Tests ◽

General Mental Ability ◽

Technical Aptitude

In this article, I present a theory that explains the origin of sex differences in technical aptitudes. The theory takes as proven that there are no sex differences in general mental ability (GMA), and it postulates that sex differences in technical aptitude (TA) stem from differences in experience in technical areas, which is in turn based on sex differences in technical interests. Using a large data set, I tested and found support for four predictions made by this theory: (a) the construct level correlation between technical aptitude and GMA is larger for females than males, (b) the observed and true score variability of technical aptitude is greater among males than females, (c) at every level of GMA females have lower levels of technical aptitude, and (d) technical aptitude measures used as estimates of GMA for decision purposes would result in underestimation of GMA levels for girls and women. Given that GMA carries the weight of prediction of job performance, the support found for this last prediction suggests that, for many jobs, technical aptitude tests may underpredict the job performance of female applicants and employees. Future research should examine this question.

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Predictive Validity toward Job Performance of General and Specific Mental Abilities. A Validity Study across Different Occupational Groups

Business and Management Studies ◽

10.11114/bms.v4i3.3297 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Jaroslaw Grobelny

Keyword(s):

Job Performance ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Incremental Validity ◽

Validity Study ◽

Occupational Groups ◽

General Mental Ability ◽

Importance Analysis ◽

Mental Abilities ◽

Validity Theory

There are two main views on the role of cognitive abilities in job performance prediction. The first approach is based on meta-analysis and incremental validity analysis research and the main assumption is that general mental ability (GMA) is the best job performance predictor regardless of the occupation. The second approach, referred to as specific validity theory, assumes that job-unique weighting of different specific mental abilities (SMA) is a better predictor of job performance than GMA and occupational context cannot be ignored when job performance is predicted. The validity study of both GMA and SMA as predictors of job performance across different occupational groups (N = 4033, k = 15) was conducted. The results were analyzed by calculating observed validity coefficients and with the use of the incremental validity and the relative importance analysis. The results supports the specific validity theory – SMA proved to be a valid job performance predictor and occupational context moderated GMA validity.

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INCREASED ACCURACY FOR RANGE RESTRICTION CORRECTIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ROLE OF PERSONALITY AND GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY IN JOB AND TRAINING PERFORMANCE

Personnel Psychology ◽

10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.00132.x ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 827-868 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

FRANK L. SCHMIDT ◽

JONATHAN A. SHAFFER ◽

IN-SUE OH

Keyword(s):

Mental Ability ◽

Range Restriction ◽

Training Performance ◽

General Mental Ability ◽

And Training

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General Mental Ability and Job Stress jointly moderate the Job Tenure-Job Performance Relationship

Academy of Management Proceedings ◽

10.5465/ambpp.2015.10088abstract ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 (1) ◽

pp. 10088

Author(s):

Andreas Wihler ◽

James A. Meurs ◽

Jochen Kramer ◽

Gerhard Blickle

Keyword(s):

Job Performance ◽

Job Stress ◽

Mental Ability ◽

Job Tenure ◽

General Mental Ability

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Incremental Validity of Character Strengths as Predictors of Job Performance Beyond General Mental Ability and the Big Five

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.518369 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Claudia Harzer ◽

Natalia Bezuglova ◽

Marco Weber

Keyword(s):

Job Performance ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Big Five ◽

Character Strengths ◽

Incremental Validity ◽

Work Behavior ◽

Mental Ability ◽

Web Based ◽

General Mental Ability ◽

Explained Variance

Over the last decades, various predictors have proven relevant for job performance [e.g., general mental ability (GMA), broad personality traits, such as the Big Five]. However, prediction of job performance is far from perfect, and further potentially relevant predictors need to be investigated. Narrower personality traits, such as individuals' character strengths, have emerged as meaningfully related to different aspects of job performance. However, it is still unclear whether character strengths can explain additional variance in job performance over and above already known powerful predictors. Consequently, the present study aimed at (1) examining the incremental validity of character strengths as predictors of job performance beyond GMA and/or the Big Five traits and (2) identifying the most important predictors of job performance out of the 24 character strengths, GMA, and the Big Five. Job performance was operationalized with multidimensional measures of both productive and counterproductive work behavior. A sample of 169 employees from different occupations completed web-based self-assessments on character strengths, GMA, and the Big Five. Additionally, the employees' supervisors provided web-based ratings of their job performance. Results showed that character strengths incrementally predicted job performance beyond GMA, the Big Five, or GMA plus the Big Five; explained variance increased up to 54.8, 43.1, and 38.4%, respectively, depending on the dimension of job performance. Exploratory relative weight analyses revealed that for each of the dimensions of job performance, at least one character strength explained a numerically higher amount of variance than GMA and the Big Five, except for individual task proactivity, where GMA exhibited the numerically highest amount of explained variance. The present study shows that character strengths are relevant predictors of job performance in addition to GMA and other conceptualizations of personality (i.e., the Big Five). This also highlights the role of socio-emotional skills, such as character strengths, for the understanding of performance outcomes above and beyond cognitive ability.

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Cognitive Reflection and General Mental Ability as Predictors of Job Performance

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11226498 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (22) ◽

pp. 6498 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Salgado ◽

Otero ◽

Moscoso

Keyword(s):

Job Performance ◽

Academic Outcomes ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Mental Ability ◽

Organizational Sustainability ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

General Mental Ability ◽

Cognitive Reflection ◽

Predicting Performance ◽

Valid Predictor

This paper presents a study with four independent samples on the validity of cognitive reflection (CR) for predicting job performance and academic outcomes. The results showed that CR was a valid predictor of academic outcomes (i.e., grades and exam marks) and job performance (i.e., assessment center ratings). The magnitude of the CR validity was similar to the validity of GMA. Moreover, we found that CR and GMA were moderately correlated, and multiple regression analyses showed that CR added a small amount of validity over GMA validity for predicting both types of performance. Finally, we discuss the implications of the findings for the theory and practice of predicting performance and organizational sustainability.

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