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Scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) predict military job (and training) performance better than any single variable so far identified. However, it remains unclear what factors explain this predictive relationship. Here, we investigated the contributions of fluid intelligence (Gf) and two executive functions—placekeeping ability and attention control—to the relationship between the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score from the ASVAB and job-relevant multitasking performance. Psychometric network analyses revealed that Gf and placekeeping ability independently contributed to and largely explained the AFQT–multitasking performance relationship. The contribution of attention control to this relationship was negligible. However, attention control did relate positively and significantly to Gf and placekeeping ability, consistent with the hypothesis that it is a cognitive "primitive" underlying the individual differences in higher-level cognition. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed stronger evidence for the incremental validity of Gf and placekeeping ability in the prediction of multitasking performance than for the incremental validity of attention control. The results shed light on factors that may underlie the predictive validity of global measures of cognitive ability and suggest how the ASVAB might be augmented to improve its predictive validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research on skilled performance is correlational, with skill and predictors measured at a single point in time, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the acquisition of skill. By contrast, in this study, we trained novice participants (N = 79) to solve Rubik's Cubes using a 7-step solution method. Participants also completed measures of fluid intelligence (Gf), working memory capacity (WMC), and nonability factors (grit, growth mindset, NFC, and the "big five"). Overall, higher Gf (but not WMC) was predictive of efficient and accurate Rubik's cube skill. No nonability variables were associated with skill. Our results provide compelling evidence for the importance of intellectual talent (cognitive ability) in developing expertise in a complex task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multitasking is ubiquitous in everyday life, which means there is value in developing measures that predict successful multitasking performance. In a large sample (N = 404 contributing data), we examined the predictive and incremental validity of placekeeping, which is the ability to perform a sequence of operations in a certain order without omissions or repetitions. In the context of multitasking, placekeeping should play a role in the performance of procedural subtasks and the interleaving of subtasks that interrupt each other. Regression analyses revealed that placekeeping ability accounted for 11% of the variance in multitasking performance, and had incremental validity relative to each of a diverse set of cognitive abilities (working memory capacity, fluid intelligence, perceptual speed, and crystallized intelligence). The predictive validity of placekeeping for multitasking was stable across samples of performance and robust to placekeeping practice. Broader measures of performance on our placekeeping task accounted for 21% of the variance in multitasking performance and had incremental validity relative to an estimate of psychometric g. The results provide evidence that placekeeping is a distinct cognitive ability with its own specific role to play in multitasking, and raise the possibility that measures of placekeeping ability could have utility in selecting personnel for occupations that require certain kinds of multitasking, such as interleaving of procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent Psychological Research article, Moxley, Ericsson, and Tuffiash (2017) report two studies of SCRABBLE expertise. The results revealed that the average SCRABBLE rating was higher for males than for females. Moreover, correlational and structural equation analyses revealed that activities that the authors refer to as "purposeful practice" accounted for a substantial amount of the variance in SCRABBLE ratings. The authors generalize their findings concerning SCRABBLE to STEM careers. We believe this generalization is unjustified, as is their argument that SCRABBLE can be used to understand the gender gap in STEM fields. Moreover, the authors' conclusions are undermined by inconsistencies and contradictions in their arguments. We discuss these problems with Moxley et al.'s article in terms of their impact on the cumulative science of expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mind-set refers to people's beliefs about whether attributes are malleable (growth mind-set) or unchangeable (fixed mind-set). Proponents of mind-set theory have made bold claims about mind-set's importance. For example, one's mind-set is described as having profound effects on one's motivation and achievements, creating different psychological worlds for people, and forming the core of people's meaning systems. We examined the evidentiary strength of six key premises of mind-set theory in 438 participants; we reasoned that strongly worded claims should be supported by equally strong evidence. However, no support was found for most premises. All associations (r s) were significantly weaker than.20. Other achievement-motivation constructs, such as self-efficacy and need for achievement, have been found to correlate much more strongly with presumed associates of mind-set. The strongest association with mind-set (r = −.12) was opposite from the predicted direction. The results suggest that the foundations of mind-set theory are not firm and that bold claims about mind-set appear to be overstated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of what cognitive processes contribute to fluid intelligence (Gf)--the ability to solve novel problems--continues to be central in intelligence research. Here, we considered the contribution of placekeeping, which is the ability to perform a sequence of steps in a prescribed order without omissions or repetitions. Placekeeping plays a role in problem solving but also rests on the ability to remember past performance, so it may simply reduce to working memory capacity (WMC). To investigate this possibility, we evaluated whether placekeeping accounts for individual differences in Gf above and beyond WMC. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that placekeeping ability accounted for 12% of the variance in Gf above and beyond WMC. By contrast, WMC accounted for only 2% of the variance in Gf above and beyond placekeeping ability. Structural equation modeling revealed that placekeeping ability and WMC are distinct at the latent variable level, and together they accounted for 77% of the variance in Gf. However, whereas placekeeping ability significantly predicted Gf in the structural equation model, WMC did not. In general, the results suggest that placekeeping ability is distinct from WMC and contributes substantially to individual differences in Gf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that measures of reasoning ability and of working memory capacity (WMC) correlate positively. However, the question of what explains this relationship remains open. The purpose of this study was to investigate the capacity hypothesis, which ascribes causality to WMC. This hypothesis holds that people high in WMC are more successful in capacity-demanding cognitive tasks than people lower in WMC because they can temporarily maintain more information in the form of sub-goals, hypotheses, and partial solutions. Accordingly, this hypothesis predicts that the correlation between WMC and reasoning performance should increase as the capacity demands of the reasoning items increase. We tested this prediction using items from Raven's Progressive Matrices and two measures of WMC, complex span and the k estimate from the Visual Arrays task. Neither WMC measure showed the effect predicted by the capacity hypothesis. Furthermore, the results cannot be attributed to restriction of range in performance on the individual reasoning items. This finding adds to existing evidence calling into question the capacity hypothesis, and, more generally, the view that WMC has a causal influence on fluid intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral genetic (BG) research has yielded many important discoveries about the origins of human behavior, but offers little insight into how we might improve outcomes. We posit that this gap in our knowledge base stems in part from the epidemiologic nature of BG research questions. Namely, BG studies focus on understanding etiology as it currently exists, rather than etiology in environments that could exist but do not as of yet (e.g., etiology following an intervention). Put another way, they focus exclusively on the etiology of "what is" rather than "what could be". The current paper discusses various aspects of this field-wide methodological reality, and offers a way to overcome it by demonstrating how behavioral geneticists can incorporate an experimental approach into their work. We outline an ongoing study that embeds a randomized intervention within a twin design, connecting "what is" and "what could be" for the first time. We then lay out a more general framework for a new field—experimental BGs—which has the potential to advance both scientific inquiry and related philosophical discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A mindset intervention was administered to participants. • The intervention altered mindset, locus of control, and challenge-approach motivation. • The intervention did not alter cognitive ability scores or grit. Abstract Mindset refers to a person's beliefs about the nature of their abilities—whether they believe their ability in a given domain is malleable or fixed. We investigated whether a brief, online intervention could alter ability and non-ability traits, including mindset of intelligence, locus of control, challenge-approach motivation, grit, and performance on cognitive ability tests. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that measures of mindset, grit, and locus of control loaded onto a common self-determination factor, which was independent of a second factor reflecting fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Multilevel modeling further revealed that participants who received a mindset intervention reported more growth mindset, internal locus of control, challenge-approach motivation, and self-determination. The mindset intervention did not alter cognitive ability scores or grittiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple frameworks for categorizing spatial abilities exist but it has been difficult to verify them using exploratory factor analysis. The present study tested one of these frameworks-a 2 × 2 classification scheme that crossed the dimensions of static/dynamic and intrinsic/extrinsic (Uttal et al., 2013)-using confirmatory factor analysis with data on spatial performance from kindergarten (N = 251), third grade (N = 246) and sixth grade students (N = 241). For kindergarten and third grade students, four models were tested at each grade level: A 1-factor model, two 2-factor models (one static vs. dynamic, the other intrinsic vs. extrinsic), and a 4-factor model. In sixth grade, only the 2- and 1-factor models could be tested given the available data. Evidence that the 4-factor model was the best fit would have validated the 2x2 model. However, the 4-factor models failed to converge in kindergarten and third grade. Both the 1- and 2-factor models converged in these age groups, and chi-square tests demonstrated that the 2-factor intrinsic-extrinsic model was the best fit at both grade levels. In sixth grade, only one of the 2-factor models converged and it did not fit significantly better than the 1-factor model. Thus, there was limited validation of the model in these grades, as well as a trend toward less dimensionality in spatial skill over development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circumvention-of-limits hypothesis holds that the more skilled and knowledgeable the task performer, the less it matters for task performance whether that person has limited general cognitive ability. We tested this hypothesis using a knowledge activation approach to manipulate knowledge experimentally. The criterion task, which we designed to capture a fundamental requirement of a broad class of real-world tasks, was a placekeeping task in which participants had to perform a sequence of operations in a specified order, applying 7 different 2-alternative decision rules to a series of randomly generated stimuli. The measures of interest in this task were response time and accuracy, as well as frequency of use of a help function to recall the correct sequence of steps. In the knowledge-activated condition, we gave participants a mnemonic in which the first letters of the decision rules spelled the English word unravel. In the knowledge-not-activated condition, no mnemonic was given, and the use and discovery of mnemonics was frustrated by reversal of the terms of some decision rules so that their first letters spelled the difficult to pronounce nonword unrbcel. The predictor tasks, which we used to predict performance in the placekeeping task, were standard tests of cognitive ability, which have been shown to predict performance differences in a wide range of complex tasks. Inconsistent with the circumvention-of-limits hypothesis, the positive effect of cognitive ability on placekeeping performance did not differ across conditions. This finding adds to previous evidence that it may not always be possible to overcome limitations on cognitive ability through extensive training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The debate over the origins of individual differences in expertise has raged for over a century in psychology. The “nature” view holds that expertise reflects “innate talent”—that is, genetically determined abilities. The “nurture” view counters that, if talent even exists, its effects on ultimate performance are negligible. While no scientist takes seriously a strict nature‐only view of expertise, the nurture view has gained tremendous popularity over the past several decades. This environmentalist view holds that individual differences in expertise reflect training history, with no important contribution to ultimate performance by innate ability (“talent”). Here, we argue that, despite its popularity, this view is inadequate to account for the evidence concerning the origins of expertise that has accumulated since the view was first proposed. More generally, we argue that the nature versus nurture debate in research on expertise is over—or certainly should be, as it has been in other areas of psychological research for decades. We describe a multifactorial model for research on the nature and nurture of expertise, which we believe will provide a progressive direction for future research on expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive effects of practice are ubiquitous in human performance, but a finding from memory research suggests that negative effects are possible also. The finding is that memory for items on a list depends on the time interval between item presentations. This finding predicts a negative effect of practice on procedural performance under conditions of task interruption. As steps of a procedure are performed more quickly, memory for past performance should become less accurate, increasing the rate of skipped or repeated steps after an interruption. We found this effect, with practice generally improving speed and accuracy, but impairing accuracy after interruptions. The results show that positive effects of practice can interact with architectural constraints on episodic memory to have negative effects on performance. In practical terms, the results suggest that practice can be a risk factor for procedural errors in task environments with a high incidence of task interruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cognitive tasks have what we refer to as a placekeeping requirement: steps or subtasks must be performed in a linear or other systematic fashion, without repetitions or omissions that would compromise performance. Here we asked whether the cognitive control mechanisms that meet this requirement are specific to individual tasks or general enough to be shared across tasks. Participants (N = 289) performed two tasks (Letterwheel and UNRAVEL) that share a sequential structure but are otherwise distinct. Placekeeping measures correlated significantly across tasks after controlling for construct-irrelevant variance, evidence that individual differences in placekeeping ability correlated across tasks rather than varying independently. Furthermore, an empirical pattern in the form of a crossover interaction in placekeeping error gradients was evident for both tasks, evidence that placekeeping in the two tasks is supported by similar cognitive mechanisms. The results suggest that placekeeping ability is a task-independent cognitive control construct and that placekeeping measures could help predict performance in a range of workplace and everyday tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cognitive tasks have what we refer to as a placekeeping requirement: steps or subtasks must be performed in a linear or other systematic fashion, without repetitions or omissions that would compromise performance. Here we asked whether the cognitive control mechanisms that meet this requirement are specific to individual tasks or general enough to be shared across tasks. Participants (N = 289) performed two tasks (Letterwheel and UNRAVEL) that share a sequential structure but are otherwise distinct. Placekeeping measures correlated significantly across tasks after controlling for construct-irrelevant variance, evidence that individual differences in placekeeping ability correlated across tasks rather than varying independently. Furthermore, an empirical pattern in the form of a crossover interaction in placekeeping error gradients was evident for both tasks, evidence that placekeeping in the two tasks is supported by similar cognitive mechanisms. The results suggest that placekeeping ability is a task-independent cognitive control construct and that placekeeping measures could help predict performance in a range of workplace and everyday tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ericsson and colleagues’ view that individual differences in expertise can largely be accounted for by accumulated deliberate practice is not supported by the available empirical evidence. Extending earlier work (Macnamara, Hambrick, & Oswald, 2014), we found that deliberate practice accounted for a sizeable amount of variance in sports performance (18%), but it left a much larger amount unexplained. Ericsson’s (2016, this issue) evaluation of our research is undercut by contradictions, omissions, and errors. We agree with Ericsson that future longitudinal research will deepen understanding of expertise, but our goal was to evaluate the importance of deliberate practice based on existing evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of laptops and cell phones in the classroom is increasing but there is little research assessing whether these devices create distraction that diminishes learning. Moreover, the contribution of intellectual ability to the relationship between learning and portable device use has not been thoroughly investigated. To bridge this gap, students in an introductory psychology class were surveyed about the frequency and duration of their use of various portable devices in the classroom. Internet use negatively predicted exam scores and added to the prediction of classroom learning, above a measure of intellectual ability. Furthermore, students discounted the effect of using portable devices on learning over time. Concomitantly, those with higher intellectual ability reported using the internet more in class over time. Thus, higher rates of internet use were associated with lower test grades and students' beliefs about this relationship did not reflect their ability to multi-task effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 20 years ago, researchers proposed that individual differences in performance in such domains as music, sports, and games largely reflect individual differences in amount of deliberate practice, which was defined as engagement in structured activities created specifically to improve performance in a domain. This view is a frequent topic of popular-science writing—but is it supported by empirical evidence? To answer this question, we conducted a meta-analysis covering all major domains in which deliberate practice has been investigated. We found that deliberate practice explained 26% of the variance in performance for games, 21% for music, 18% for sports, 4% for education, and less than 1% for professions. We conclude that deliberate practice is important, but not as important as has been argued. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Twenty years ago, Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Römer (1993) proposed that expert performance reflects a long period of deliberate practice rather than innate ability, or “talent”. Ericsson et al. found that elite musicians had accumulated thousands of hours more deliberate practice than less accomplished musicians, and concluded that their theoretical framework could provide “a sufficient account of the major facts about the nature and scarcity of exceptional performance” (p. 392). The deliberate practice view has since gained popularity as a theoretical account of expert performance, but here we show that deliberate practice is not sufficient to explain individual differences in performance in the two most widely studied domains in expertise research—chess and music. For researchers interested in advancing the science of expert performance, the task now is to develop and rigorously test theories that take into account as many potentially relevant explanatory constructs as possible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Decades of research have established that "online" cognitive processes, which operate during conscious encoding and retrieval of information, contribute substantially to individual differences in memory. Furthermore, it is widely accepted that "offline" processes during sleep also contribute to memory performance. However, the question of whether individual differences in these two types of processes are related to one another remains unanswered. We investigated whether working memory capacity (WMC), a factor believed to contribute substantially to individual differences in online processing, was related to sleep-dependent declarative memory consolidation. Consistent with previous studies, memory for word pairs reliably improved after a period of sleep, whereas performance did not improve after an equal interval of wakefulness. More important, there was a significant, positive correlation between WMC and increase in memory performance after sleep but not after a period of wakefulness. The correlation between WMC and performance during initial test was not significant, suggesting that the relationship is specific to change in memory due to sleep. This suggests a fundamental underlying ability that may distinguish individuals with high memory capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sources of individual differences in scientific problem solving were investigated. Participants representing a wide range of experience in geology completed tests of visuospatial ability and geological knowledge, and performed a geological bedrock mapping task, in which they attempted to infer the geological structure of an area in the Tobacco Root Mountains of Montana A Visuospatial Ability × Geological Knowledge interaction was found, such that visuospatial ability positively predicted mapping performance at low, but not high, levels of geological knowledge. This finding suggests that high levels of domain knowledge may sometimes enable circumvention of performance limitations associated with cognitive abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is clear from decades of research that, to a very large degree, success in music, games, sports, science, and other complex domains reflects knowledge and skills acquired through experience. However, it is equally clear that basic abilities, which are known to be substantially heritable, also contribute to performance differences in many domains, even among highly skilled performers. As we discuss here, our research shows that working memory capacity predicts performance in complex tasks even in individuals with high levels of domain-specific experience and knowledge. We discuss implications of our findings for the understanding of individual differences in skill and identify challenges for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigated determinants of success in a 'synthetic work' task designed to reflect the requirement for multitasking that is common to many occupations. Participants were administered tests of working memory capacity (WMC) and processing speed (PS), and they reported experience with videogames, a type of activity presumed to involve multitasking. Results revealed that WMC was a strong predictor of multitasking in a 'non-emergency' condition when the pace of the tasks was relatively slow, whereas PS was a weaker predictor. Additionally, there was evidence for the incremental validity of videogame experience (VGE), consistent with the possibility that multitasking is supported by a general, trainable skill. Finally, individual differences in strategy use accounted for a large proportion of the variance in multitasking, above and beyond other predictor variables, and WMC predicted use of an effective strategy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deliberate practice--that is, engagement in activities specifically designed to improve performance in a domain--is strongly predictive of performance in domains such as music and sports. It has even been suggested that deliberate practice is sufficient to account for expert performance. Less clear is whether basic abilities, such as working memory capacity (WMC), add to the prediction of expert performance, above and beyond deliberate practice. In evaluating participants having a wide range of piano-playing skill (novice to expert), we found that deliberate practice accounted for nearly half of the total variance in piano sight-reading performance. However, there was an incremental positive effect of WMC, and there was no evidence that deliberate practice reduced this effect. Evidence indicates that WMC is highly general, stable, and heritable, and thus our results call into question the view that expert performance is solely a reflection of deliberate practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify sources of individual differences in knowledge acquired under natural conditions. Through its direct influence on background knowledge, crystallized intelligence (Gc) had a major impact on political knowledge, acquired over a period of more than 2months, but there were independent influences of personality and interest factors, via exposure to political information through activities like reading the newspaper. We also found sex differences in political knowledge, favoring males, and these differences could not be explained in terms of any of the predictor variables we modeled. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In contextual cueing, the position of a search target is learned over repeated exposures to a visual display. The strength of this effect varies across stimulus types. For example, real-world scene contexts give rise to larger search benefits than contexts composed of letters or shapes. We investigated whether such differences in learning can be at least partially explained by the degree of semantic meaning associated with a context independently of the nature of the visual information available (which also varies across stimulus types). Chess boards served as the learning context as their meaningfulness depends on the observer's knowledge of the game. In Experiment 1, boards depicted actual game play, and search benefits for repeated boards were 4 times greater for experts than for novices. In Experiment 2, search benefits among experts were halved when less meaningful randomly generated boards were used. Thus, stimulus meaningfulness independently contributes to learning context-target associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review considers Russell T Warne's (2020) book In the Know: Debunking 35 Myths About Human Intelligence (Cambridge University Press). The book serves as a corrective for widespread misunderstandings about intelligence, and is a must-read for the layperson interested in intelligence, as well as intelligence researchers. • Review of Russell Warne's new book In the Know: Debunking 35 Myths About Human Intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate sources of inter-individual differences in current events knowledge. The study occurred in two sessions. In the initial session, 579 participants completed tests to ability, personality, and interest factors, as well as prior knowledge of current events. Approximately 10 weeks later, participants completed tests to assess new knowledge of current events, acquired since the initial session. Structural equation modeling revealed positive effects of both ability and non-ability factors on prior knowledge, and in turn, a large positive effect of prior knowledge on new knowledge. Results are interpreted in the context of theories of human intelligence that integrate ability and non-ability traits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

What accounts for individual differences in the sort of knowledge that people may draw on in everyday cognitive tasks, such as deciding whom to vote for in a presidential election, how to invest money in the stock market, or what team to bet on in a friendly wager? In a large sample of undergraduate students, we investigated correlates of individual differences in recently acquired knowledge of current events in domains such as politics, business, and sports. Structural equation modeling revealed two predictive pathways: one involving cognitive ability factors and the other involving two major nonability factors (personality and interests). The results of this study add to what is known about the sources of individual differences in knowledge and are interpreted in the context of theoretical conceptions of adult intelligence that emphasize the centrality and importance of knowledge (e.g., Ackerman, 1996; Cattell, 1971). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2 studies, the authors used a combination of psychometric and experimental techniques to investigate the effects of domain-general and domain-specific working memory factors on offline decisions concerning attachment of an ambiguous relative clause. Both studies used English and Dutch stimuli presented to English- and Dutch-speaking participants, respectively. In Study 1, readers with low working memory spans were less likely to use recency strategies for disambiguation than were readers with high spans. This finding is inconsistent with predictions of locality- and resource-based accounts of attachment. Psychometric analyses showed that both domain-specific (verbal) and domain-general working memory accounted for the effect. Study 2 found support for the hypothesis that segmentation strategies imposed during silent reading can account for the counterintuitive relationship. Results suggest that readers with low spans have a greater tendency to break up large segments of text because of their limited working memory, leading to high attachment of the ambiguous relative clause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that both working memory capacity and domain knowledge contribute to individual differences in higher-level cognition. This study evaluated three hypotheses concerning the interplay between these factors, The compensation hypothesis predicts that domain knowledge attenuates the influence of working memory capacity on higher-level cognition, whereas the rich-get-richer hypothesis predicts that working memory capacity enhances use of domain knowledge. The independent influences hypothesis states simply that working memory capacity and domain knowledge make additive contributions to higher-level cognition. Participants representing wide ranges of working memory capacity and knowledge of baseball performed tasks that emphasized keeping track of information in a dynamic environment. The baseball task involved tracking the movements of baseball players on a baseball diamond, The spaceship task was structurally isomorphic to this task but its content was arbitrary. Results revealed greater use of baseball knowledge in the baseball task than in the spaceship task. However, even at high levels of baseball knowledge, this knowledge use did not alter the relationship between working memory capacity and task performance. This finding is inconsistent with compensation and rich-get-richer hypotheses. Instead, it suggests that working memory capacity and domain knowledge may operate independently under certain conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors agree with P. L. Ackerman, M. E. Beier, and M. O. Boyle (2005) that working memory capacity (WMC) is not isomorphic with general fluid intelligence (GO or reasoning ability. However, the WMC and Gf/reasoning constructs are more strongly associated than Ackerman et al. (2005) indicate, particularly when considering the outcomes of latent-variable studies. The authors' reanalysis of 14 such data sets from 10 published studies, representing more than 3,100 young-adult subjects, suggests a strong correlation between WMC and Gf/reasoning factors (median r = .72), indicating that the WMC and Gf constructs share approximately 50% of their variance. This comment also clarifies the authors' "executive attention" view of WMC, it demonstrates that WMC has greater discriminant validity than Ackerman et al. (2005) implied, and it suggests some future directions and challenges for the scientific study of the convergence of WMC, attention control, and intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate correlates of knowledge acquisition within a real-world domain -- basketball. The study employed a longitudinal design and involved two sessions, with approximately 2.5 months between sessions. Session 1 occurred near the beginning of the men's college basketball season, and Session 2 occurred after the season, There was an indirect effect of interest in basketball on new basketball knowledge, via exposure to domain-relevant information. In addition, prior basketball knowledge had a strong effect on new basketball knowledge distinct from an influence through basketball exposure. This finding suggests that prior knowledge may provide a framework into which new knowledge can be integrated. By contrast, there was no effect of fluid intelligence on new basketball knowledge. Although somewhat surprising given evidence that this aspect of intelligence may play a role in the acquisition of certain types of knowledge, this finding accords with the view that knowledge is a major determinant of various aspects of cognitive functioning, including learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study that evaluated three descriptive models concerning the joint effects of domain knowledge and working memory capacity on cognitive performance. Methodology of the study; Results and discussion on the study.

Examines the role of working memory in learning disabilities (LD). Measurement of the different components of working memory; Link between the general intelligence and LD; Important aspect of general intelligence; Impact of LD on the real-world functioning.

Abstract: The deliberate practice view has generated a great deal of scientific and popular interest in expert performance. At the same time, empirical evidence now indicates that deliberate practice, while certainly important, is not as important as Ericsson and colleagues have argued it is. In particular, we (Hambrick, Oswald, Altmann, Meinz, Gobet, & Campitelli, 2014-this issue) found that individual differences in accumulated amount of deliberate practice accounted for about one-third of the reliable variance in performance in chess and music, leaving the majority of the reliable variance unexplained and potentially explainable by other factors. Ericsson's (2014-this issue) defense of the deliberate practice view, though vigorous, is undercut by contradictions, oversights, and errors in his arguments and criticisms, several of which we describe here. We reiterate that the task now is to develop and rigorously test falsifiable theories of expert performance that take into account as many potentially relevant constructs as possible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Provides information on a study which examined the relative contributions of different factors to the successful solution of crossword puzzles and investigated the moderators of the age-cognition relations. Methodology of the study; Results and discussion on the study.

Analyses of new data and of previously published data were conducted to examine the degree to which age-related variance was shared across cognitive and noncognitive variables and to investigate possible alterations in the composition of a factor common to all variables as a function of age. The results indicated that measures of visual acuity, grip strength, and blood pressure shared age-related variance with measures of perceptual speed, episodic memory, spatial visualization, and inductive reasoning. However, although the cognitive variables shared similar amounts of variance in age-restricted and age-partialed analyses, the variance shared between cognitive and noncognitive variables was substantially reduced after controlling the influence of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What explains the acquisition of exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive specialized practice facilitate excellence, or is a multidisciplinary practice background better? We investigated this question in sports. Our meta-analysis involved 51 international study reports with 477 effect sizes from 6,096 athletes, including 772 of the world's top performers. Predictor variables included starting age, age of reaching defined performance milestones, and amounts of coach-led practice and youth-led play (e.g., pickup games) in the athlete's respective main sport and in other sports. Analyses revealed that (a) adult world-class athletes engaged in more childhood/adolescent multisport practice, started their main sport later, accumulated less main-sport practice, and initially progressed more slowly than did national-class athletes; (b) higher performing youth athletes started playing their main sport earlier, engaged in more main-sport practice but less other-sports practice, and had faster initial progress than did lower performing youth athletes; and (c) youth-led play in any sport had negligible effects on both youth and adult performance. We illustrate parallels from science: Nobel laureates had multidisciplinary study/working experience and slower early progress than did national-level award winners. The findings suggest that variable, multidisciplinary practice experiences are associated with gradual initial discipline-specific progress but greater sustainability of long-term development of excellence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to provide a brief guide to major conceptual and statistical problems that are unique to the study of individual differences in intelligence and various intellectual abilities, in the context of laboratory experimental studies, and to suggest strategies to successfully navigate these problems. Such studies are generally designed so that the goal is to evaluate the relationships between individual differences in basic task performance or related markers on the one hand, and individual differences in intellectual abilities on the other hand. Issues discussed in this paper include: restriction-of-range in talent, method variance and facet theory; speed vs. power; regression to the mean; extreme-groups designs; difference scores; differences in correlations; significant vs. meaningful correlations; factor- pure tests; and criterion variables. A list of representative "do" and "don't" recommendations is provided to help guide the design and evaluation of laboratory studies. • Examination of individual differences represents a departure from traditional experimental psychology investigations. • Numerous statistical pitfalls in assessing abilities in laboratory studies may lead to limited or erroneous conclusions. • Attention to a facet framework for intelligence assessment may yield more robust findings from laboratory studies. • In general, use of single, homogeneous-content intellectual ability tests is not recommended. • Tests should adequately sample the underlying content of the factor of interest. • Design and analysis dos and don'ts are provided for experimental studies where correlations with abilities is a goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To what extent does junior athletic performance predict senior athletic performance (i.e., in the highest, open-age category)? This question is the subject of a lively debate in the literature. Following traditional theories of giftedness and expertise, some researchers and practitioners have proposed that a high level of junior performance is a prerequisite for the development of a high level of later senior performance. Sceptics of this view hold that junior performance has limited predictive value for later senior performance, pointing to empirical evidence indicating that predictors (e.g., participation patterns) of junior performance and of senior performance differ. The straightforward way to resolve this controversy empirically is to test the correlation between junior and senior performance. Objective: To provide robust and generalizable evidence on this issue, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant studies. The aim was to quantify the overall correlation between junior and senior performance and then test whether correlations vary across junior age categories and subsamples (e.g., types of sports). Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in SPORTDiscus, Eric, ProQuest, PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus, WorldCat, and Google Scholar from 27 January through 30 April 2022. We searched for original studies that recorded athletes' junior and senior performance longitudinally and included measures of association between junior and senior performance. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version for nonrandomized studies. Results: The search yielded k = 129 effect sizes from N = 13,392 athletes from a wide range of Olympic sports, 62% male and 38% female, from 2006 to 2021. Four central findings emerged: (1) Overall, the meta-analytic pooled correlation between junior and senior performance was r ¯ = 0.148. That is, junior performance explained only 2.2% of the reliable variance in senior performance. (2) The finding was robust across types of sports, sexes, wider or narrower performance ranges, national or international samples, and binary or continuous performance measures. (3) Effects varied across junior age categories: the younger the junior age category, the lower the correlation between junior and senior performance, with r ¯ ranging from r ¯ = − 0.052 to r ¯ = 0.215. That is, across junior age categories, junior performance explained 0–4.6% of the reliable variance in senior performance. (4) The quality of primary studies was high. Discussion: The results suggest that junior performance has very little, if any, predictive value for senior performance. The findings run counter to claims from traditional theories of both giftedness and expertise. From an applied perspective, talent selection typically begins around puberty or younger—age ranges where youth performance is uncorrelated or negatively correlated with later senior performance. The evidence presented here raises serious questions about the use of junior performance for talent selection purposes. A PRISMA-P protocol was registered at https://osf.io/gck4a/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual differences in behavior are the raw material upon which natural selection acts, but despite increasing recognition of the value of considering individual differences in the behavior of wild animals to test evolutionary hypotheses, this approach has only recently become popular for testing cognitive abilities. In order for the intraspecific approach with wild animals to be useful for testing evolutionary hypotheses about cognition, researchers must provide evidence that measures of cognitive ability obtained from wild subjects reflect stable, general traits. Here, we used a multi-access box paradigm to investigate the intra-individual reliability of innovative problem-solving ability across time and contexts in wild spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). We also asked whether estimates of reliability were affected by factors such as age-sex class, the length of the interval between tests, or the number of times subjects were tested. We found significant contextual and temporal reliability for problem-solving. However, problem-solving was not reliable for adult subjects, when trials were separated by more than 17 days, or when fewer than seven trials were conducted per subject. In general, the estimates of reliability for problem-solving were comparable to estimates from the literature for other animal behaviors, which suggests that problem-solving is a stable, general trait in wild spotted hyenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]