Leader's contribution to task performance in cohesive and uncohesive groups.

Army tank crews, B-29 bomber crews, antiaircraft artillery crews, and creative discussion groups provided data which were analyzed to determine the relationship between the leader's intelligence and group performance. Each sample was divided into cohesive and uncohesive groups, and the correlation between the leader's intelligence and group performance was computed. The results indicated consistently that the leader's intelligence predicts group performance in cohesive groups, but not in uncohesive groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of task interdependence on the relationship between helping behavior and group performance.

The authors examine whether task interdependence moderates the relationship between the helping form of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and group performance. In a laboratory study, 62 groups with 3 members each completed a card-sequencing activity in which the level of task interdependence among group members was manipulated. Independent evaluators assessed helping by viewing videotapes of the groups' interactions during the sequencing activities. Performance was measured as a combined function of group speed and accuracy. Two prior field studies reported contradictory results regarding the impact of helping on group performance. Results from this study suggest that task interdependence may explain these results, and that the relationship between helping and group performance depends on the level of task interdependence required of group members. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a broader conception of human intelligence.

Argues that the typical psychometric model of human intelligence is limited because the database fails to take account of the many manifestations of intelligent behavior that are displayed in the world outside the testing room. It is contended that data for factor-analytic studies of intelligence are generally restricted to scores on academic tests that employ only the multiple-choice format and are administered under standard conditions. A review of research studies involving tests that simulate real-world problem situations suggests that the cognitive processes involved in taking a test are influenced not only by test format but also by the situation or setting in which the test is administered and by such personal characteristics as the examinee's level of expertise. It is proposed that the structure of intelligence of the future may not be a static model, but one that varies as subjects change and as circumstances are altered. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture and test session behavior: Part I.

The relationship between culture (circumscribed by race, ethnicity, country of origin, language, and/or social class) and test session behavior (TSB) on group and individual tests of intelligence and/or achievement is evaluated with respect to the quality of evidence offered in support of knowledge claims. Four relevant categories in the literature are identified: (1) speculative theories, (2) studies of standardized measures of test session behavior, (3) TSB experimental research, and (4) research in cross-cultural test development. In Part I of a two-part series, key literature from the first two categories is reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intelligence and Maturity: Meta-Analytic Evidence for the Incremental and Discriminant Validity of Loevinger's Measure of Ego Development.

This review examined whether Loevinger's measure of personality (ego) development is equivalent to the measurement of intelligence. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 52 correlations between ego level scores and intelligence test scores (retrieved from 42 studies involving 5,648 participants). The weighted average correlation between ego level and intelligence ranged from .20 to .34, depending on the intellectual ability assessed (e.g., verbal intelligence). Adjusting for measurement unreliability increased these values only minimally. The authors also reviewed 16 studies that examined the association between ego level and various criterion variables (e.g., aggressive behavior) after statistically controlling for the effects of intelligence. Ninety-four percent of the tests revealed significant relations between ego level and criterion variables after controlling for intelligence, indicating that ego development and intelligence are not interchangeable constructs. These findings do not support recent speculations concerning the limited value of stage models of maturity, social development, and moral reasoning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do People Agree About the Causes of Behavior? A Social Relations Analysis of Behavior Ratings and Causal Attributions.

Two studies examined consistency and agreement in behavior ratings and causal attributions. In Study 1, participants (N = 280) engaged in a series of getting-acquainted conversations in one of 3 communication media (face-to-face, telephone, computer mediated); in Study 2, participants (N = 120) engaged in a competitive group task. In both studies, participants rated themselves and their interaction partners on a set of behaviors and then made attributions about the causes of those behaviors. The major findings were that (a) participants consistently favored some causal factors over others in explaining both their own and their partners' behavior, supporting the existence of generalized attributional styles; and (b) participants showed moderate self-partner and partner-partner agreement about behavior but virtually no agreement about the causes of behavior. Thus, in brief interactions people tend to see themselves and others through the lens of their stable patterns of perceiving and interpreting behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generality and behavioral correlates of cognitive styles.

Factorial confirmation of 2 cognitive styles, defined as relationships between abilities within individuals, was sought in the within-individual variations of task performances. The cognitive styles, 1 termed "Conceptual versus Perceptual-motor Dominance," the other, "Strong versus Weak Automatization," were factorially isolated in each of 2 samples of adult normal males, and in 1 sample of adolescent male and female twins. The results are similar to those obtained by British factor analysts using hierarchical group factor method. Examination of the relationships of the factors to education and occupational levels in the adult normals revealed that the Strong Automatizers had higher occupational levels than the Weak Automatizers although the 2 groups of Ss did not differ in general intelligence or education. (35 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creative thinking and creative performance in Israeli students.

Administered the Wallach and Kogan creativity test battery, a self-report questionnaire of creative activities, and the Milta Intelligence Scale, a group intelligence test, to 145 Israeli high school seniors. Creative activity was related to creative thinking, but not to intelligence or school grades. The quantity and quality dimensions of creative activity were as highly related as the dimensions of ideational fluency and rare or unusual responses in creative thinking. Findings support the intelligence-creativity distinction and extend the theoretical position that quantity is a necessary condition for the emergence of unusual responses in creative thinking to the realm of creative performance as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does variability increase with age? An archival study of cognitive measures.

It is often asserted that older people are more variable than younger people; however, the published data do not always support this statement. To examine directly the applicability of the assertion, measures of reaction time (RT), memory, and intelligence from studies published in Psychology and Aging and the Journal of Gerontology from 1986 to 1990 were examined. The coefficients of variability calculated from data published in studies in which a group of younger people was compared with a group of older people indicated that variability was greater among older participants on measures of RT, memory, and fluid intelligence but not crystallized intelligence. Further examination of data bearing on relative variability is indicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Translations in gerontology: From lab to life: Psychophysiology and speed of response.

Reviews the literature in the areas of perception, memory, learning, motor skills, intelligence, neural activity, and personality. General support is given to the proposition that advancing age is accompanied by a decrease in the speed with which the central nervous system processes information. This principle is considered manifest in the observation that individuals tend to show a slowness in response as they become older. It is argued that whereas speed of behavior in the young adult may be regarded as a performance-related dependent variable, in the case of the aging individual it should be regarded as an independent variable with which to interpret all phenomena considered important in behavior. Factors which qualify the principle are discussed, together with its implications for accident-prone behavior in the aged. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of teacher behavior in gifted and nongifted children.

459 gifted and nongifted children in Grades 4–6 judged the importance of intelligence, creativity, and personal-social characteristics in teachers' classroom behavior. Instruments were the Wallach and Kogan Creativity Battery, the Milta Group Intelligence Test, and the Student Perception of Teachers scale, which required ranking the domains of intelligence, creativity, and personality in teacher behavior both relative to one another and independently. All Ss, regardless of level of intelligence or of creative thinking, sex, or age, valued the intelligence domain of teacher behavior much more than the other two. Findings are interpreted as suggesting a probable discrepancy between the beliefs of children and of adult educators as to what constitute the most important characteristics of effective classroom teaching. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group performance in a cognitive task.

On a cross-word puzzle task performed by 60 pairs of male Ss, correlations between group performance and performance of the individuals (independently determined) were calculated. 82% of the true group performance variance on the task could be predicted from the individual performance scores. "It is suggested that the nature of the task is important in studies of group performance, and that the existence of 'group' phenomena should be empirically demonstrated rather than assumed." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The concept of intelligence and its role in lifelong learning and success.

This article proposes a definition of intelligence as comprising the mental abilities necessary for adaptation to, as well as selection and shaping of, any environmental context. According to this definition, although the behavior that is labeled as intelligent may differ from 1 environmental context to another, the mental processes underlying this behavior do not. An individual's ability to apply these processes may differ from 1 context to another, however. The abilities are applied to achieve external correspondence to the world and internal coherence among various knowledge and belief structures. The relevance of the definition for understanding current theories, testing in the field of intelligence, as well as for understanding the role of intelligence in lifelong learning is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task Switching After Cerebellar Damage.

The authors of this study investigated task switching following cerebellar damage. The study group consisted of 7 children and adolescents (M age = 13.8 years) who underwent surgical removal of a benign posterior fossa tumor. They were tested at a sufficient interval after surgery (M lag = 6.13 years) for restoration of normal cognitive skills and intelligence. Although all showed normal learning of the task compared with control participants, when rapid behavioral changes were required (short preparation time), they exhibited behavioral rigidity manifested by enhanced switching cost. These results are in line with another study on serial reaction time with the same patients (A. Berger et al., in press). They have important implications for our understanding of the cognitive sequelae of early cerebellar damage as well as the involvement of the cerebellum in task switching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical activity and cognitive function in a cross-section of younger and older community-dwelling individuals.

Previous reports have indicated a small, positive relationship between physical activity and cognition. However, the majority of research has focused on older adults, with few studies examining this relationship during earlier periods of the life span. This study examined the relationship of physical activity to cognition in a cross-section of 241 community-dwelling individuals 15-71 years of age with a task requiring variable amounts of executive control. Data were analyzed with multiple regression, which controlled for age, sex, and IQ. Participants reported their physical activity behavior and were tested for reaction time (RT) and response accuracy on congruent and incongruent conditions of a flanker task, which manipulates interference control. After controlling for confounding variables, an age-related slowing of RT was observed during both congruent and incongruent flanker conditions. However, physical activity was associated with faster RT during these conditions, regardless of age. Response accuracy findings indicated that increased physical activity was associated with better performance only during the incongruent condition for the older cohort. Findings suggest that physical activity may be beneficial to both general and selective aspects of cognition, particularly among older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pride in group performance and group-task motivation.

This experiment tested the propositions that pride in one's group results from the members' perceptions of effective task performance of the group as a whole and is directly associated with high motivation toward the assigned task of the group. 25 3-man groups assigned to work on a simulated Air Defense task were distributed among 5 experimental conditions. The measure of task motivation was the amount of task-oriented discussion during a "break" period. "Evidence is cited supporting the hypothesis that the high group-task motivation results from a perception of interdependence among the group members with respect to the attainment of reward." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychopathy and violent crime.

Examined the relations between psychopathy, violence, and impulsiveness of criminal behavior within a White prisoner sample of 76 Ss, using level of intelligence as a moderator variable. Prisoners were given the MMPI, the California Psychological Inventory, the Wide Range Achievement Test, and the IPAT Culture Free Intelligence Test (Scale 2). Unlike most prior research, psychopathy was found to be predictive of violence but only for less intelligent criminals; about 90% of this group had committed a violent crime compared to 58% for the remainder of the sample. Similarly, the psychopaths with limited intelligence evidenced the greatest impulsivity in the commission of their crimes relative to bright psychopaths or nonpsychopathic criminals at either level of intelligence. The implications of the findings for the importance of moderating cognitive variables in personality predictions are discussed. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent–child attitude congruence on type and intensity of physical activity: Testing multiple mediators of sedentary behavior in older children.

Objective: This study examined parent–child attitudes on value of specific types and intensities of physical activity, which may explain gender differences in child activity, and evaluated physical activity as a mechanism to reduce time spent in sedentary behaviors. Design: A community sample of 681 parents and 433 children (mean age 9.9 years) reported attitudes on importance of vigorous and moderate intensity team and individually performed sports/activities, as well as household chores. Separate structural models (LISREL 8.7) for girls and boys tested whether parental attitudes were related to child TV and computer via child attitudes, sport team participation, and physical activity, controlling for demographic factors. Main Outcome Measures: Child 7-day physical activity, sport teams, weekly TV, computer. Results: Parent–child attitude congruence was more prevalent among boys, and attitudes varied by ethnicity, parent education, and number of children. Positive parent–child attitudes for vigorous team sports were related to increased team participation and physical activity, as well as reduced TV and computer in boys and girls. Value of moderate intensity household chores, such as cleaning house and doing laundry, was related to decreased team participation and increased TV in boys. Only organized team sports, not general physical activity, was related to reduced TV and computer. Conclusion: Results support parents’ role in socializing children’s achievement task values, affecting child activity by transferring specific attitudes. Value of vigorous intensity sports provided the most benefits to activity and reduction of sedentary behavior, while valuing household chores had unexpected negative effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rearing social class, education, and criminality: A multiple indicator model.

Controversy exists in the criminology literature over whether rearing social class influences the emergence of criminal behavior. Theoretically, some researchers have argued, a lower rearing class status reflects intellectual and emotional deprivation that motivates later illegal activity. Other researchers argue that intelligence, regardless of rearing status, is the chief determinant of criminal behavior. Using maximum-likelihood path-analytic techniques and a split sample validation design on data from a longitudinal study of a true birth cohort (3,421 adult males in Denmark), the present study finds support for the hypothesis that rearing social class does relate to criminal behavior, indirectly. The model tested and supported in this research is that rearing class status predicts educational performance, which in turn precedes the development of criminal activity. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)