| Abstract: | Previous work has suggested that the well-known primary mental abilities (e.g., verbal ability and spatial ability) exhibit relationships among themselves that can be understood in terms of higher-stratum or more general ability constructs. In the present study, 280 11th–12th graders were measured on 20 primary abilities using the newly standardized Comprehensive Ability Battery. A factor analysis produced 6 oblique 2nd-stratum factors. Four of these were identified as the capacities in R. B. Cattell's triadic theory of ability structure; Fluid Intelligence, Crystallized Intelligence, Visualization Capacity, and General Retrieval Capacity. The correlations among the 6 factors yielded 3 oblique 3rd-stratum factors. Results at both strata permit integration with previous research and have implications for a hierarchial conceptualization of human abilities. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
