.المملكة العربية السعودية
وزارة التعليم
الجامعة السعودية اإللكترونية
College of Administrative and Financial Sciences
Assignment 2
Deadline: 20/11/2021 @ 23:59
Course Name: Organizational Behavior
Student’s Name:
Course Code: MGT301
Student’s ID Number:
Semester: 1st
CRN:
Academic Year: 2021/2022 G
For Instructor’s Use only
Instructor’s Name: Dr xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Students’ Grade: 00/ 05
Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low
Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY
• The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated
folder.
• Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.
• Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented; marks may be
reduced for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page.
• Students must mention question number clearly in their answer.
• Late submission will NOT be accepted.
• Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or
other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions.
• All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font.
No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).
• Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.
Course Learning Outcomes-Covered
1 Evaluate ethical issues as related to organizational behavior and decision making from an
individual and organization perspective. (CLO6).
Assignment 2
Reference Source:
Textbook:Colquitt, J. A., LePine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J. (2019). Organizational behaviour: Improving
performance and commitment in the workplace (6th ed). Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Case Study: -
Case: FBI
Please read the case “FBI” from Chapter 10 “ABILITY” Page: - 328 given in your textbook –
Organizational behaviour: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace (6th ed). by
Colquitt, J. A., LePine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J. (2019) and Answer the following Questions:
Assignment Question(s):
1. Which specific cognitive and emotional abilities are likely to be most important for FBI special
agents? Explain. (1.25 Marks ) (Min words 150-200)
2. Identify the specific physical abilities that are assessed in the FBI’s annual physical fitness test.
Describe the responsibilities of special agents for which these abilities are likely to be most
important. (1.25 Marks ) (Min words 150-200)
3. How might the frequency of various special agent responsibilities make it important to test for
physical abilities (but not cognitive or emotional abilities) on an annual basis? Explain.
(1.25 Marks ) (Min words 200)
Part:-2
Discussion question: - Please read Chapter 10 “ABILITY” Carefully and then give your answers
on the basis of your understanding.
4. What combination of abilities is appropriate for the job of your dreams? Do you possess those
abilities? If you fall short on any of these abilities, what could you do to improve? (1.25 Marks )
(Min words 200-300)
Important Note: - Support your submission with course material concepts, principles, and theories
from the textbook and at least two scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles.
Due date for the submission of Assignment:- 2
• Assignment-2 should posted in the Black Board by end of Week-09.
• The due date for the submission of Assignment-2 is end of Week-11.
Answer:
1.
2.
3.
.
.
10
Ability
ORGANIZATIONAL
MECHANISMS
Organizational
Culture
Organizational
Structure
INDIVIDUAL
MECHANISMS
Job
Satisfaction
GROUP
MECHANISMS
Leadership:
Styles &
Behaviors
Stress
Job
Performance
Leadership:
Power &
Negotiation
Motivation
Teams:
Processes &
Communication
Teams:
Characteristics &
Diversity
INDIVIDUAL
OUTCOMES
Trust, Justice,
& Ethics
Organizational
Commitment
Learning &
Decision Making
INDIVIDUAL
CHARACTERISTICS
Ability
Personality &
Cultural Values
LEARNING GOALS
After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions:
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5
10.6
What is ability?
What are the various types of cognitive ability?
What are the various types of emotional ability?
What are the various types of physical ability?
How does cognitive ability affect job performance and organizational commitment?
What steps can organizations take to hire people with high levels of cognitive ability?
©Marmaduke St. John/Alamy
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
I
f you go to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s home
page, you’ll see links to lists of most wanted criminals, terrorists, and victims of kidnappings and other missing persons. You might also see an announcement regarding the
filing of charges against computer hackers, or a warning to
the public regarding a new type of investment fraud. In fact,
it won’t take you long to realize that the scope of the FBI’s
responsibilities is remarkably broad. The agency not only
provides assistance to municipal, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies, but it also conducts investigations into cybercrime, business crime, public corruption,
and terrorism. If that’s not enough, the FBI also runs programs
that provide assistance to crime victims and their families.
With all these responsibilities, it should not be surprising
to learn that there are many different types of jobs at the FBI.
The first job that might come to mind is that of the special
agent who does things like plan operations, interview suspects, and piece clues together to solve crimes. However,
carrying out the agency’s mission also requires intelligence
analysts, surveillance specialists, and linguists. Additionally,
the FBI employs professionals involved in specialized fields
such as accounting and finance, communications, counseling, engineering, law, mathematics, and medicine. So, what
are the implications to the FBI of having employees involved
in so many different types of jobs?
Although the FBI seeks to hire personnel who have
similar values and regard for the role of justice in society, the agency also needs people who possess the specific abilities required for the specific jobs that need to be
filled. To accomplish this, the FBI conducts extensive testing of job-specific abilities during the hiring process. For
example, when hiring intelligence analysts, the FBI tests for
whether applicants possess strong reasoning abilities. This
is because intelligence analysts need to be able to identify
potential causes for a problem, critically evaluate hypotheses regarding potential causes in light of available information, and draw sound conclusions as to which hypothesis is
most likely. As another example, the FBI tests for perceptual
abilities of those interested in becoming surveillance specialists. This is because surveillance personnel need to pay
attention to details and recognize patterns in observations
of people and objects. The FBI’s hiring process is expensive
and time-consuming; however, it believes that the safety of
the United States and its citizens depends on having personnel with abilities that are tailored to the requirements of
specific jobs.
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C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
ABILITY
10.1
What is ability?
Few people have the physical abilities necessary to
compete with professional
golfers such as Annika
Sorenstam, who is widely
considered to be the top
female golfer of all time.
The topic of ability is probably already familiar to you. This is because “ability” is an everyday
word in our language, and we’ve all developed a pretty good understanding of our own abilities.
All of us have experience doing things that require different abilities, and we received feedback, in
one form or another, as to how well we did. So knowing that you’re already familiar with the topic
of ability, why would we write an entire chapter on it for this textbook?
Well for one thing, there are many different abilities, some of which are important but might
not be as familiar to you. Another reason we’ve included a chapter on ability is, although it might
seem obvious that abilities are highly related to effectiveness in jobs, this relationship is truer in
some circumstances than in others. Finally, it may be useful to understand how organizations use
information about abilities to make good managerial decisions. Our chapter is organized around
these three issues.
Ability refers to the relatively stable capabilities people have to perform a particular range of
different but related activities.1 In contrast to skills, which can be improved over time with training and experience, ability is relatively stable. Although abilities can change slowly over time with
instruction, repeated practice, and repetition, the level of a given ability generally limits how much
a person can improve, even with the best training in the world. One reason for this stability relates
to the “nature vs. nurture” question, an issue that has been much debated in OB (see Chapter 9 on
personality and cultural values for more discussion of such issues). So, are abilities a function of
our genes, or are they something we develop as a function of our experiences and surroundings?
As it turns out, abilities are a function of both genes and the environment, and the amount
attributable to each source depends somewhat on the nature of the ability. Consider for a moment
abilities that are physical in nature. Although training that involves weightlifting, dancing, and
swimming can improve a person’s strength, equilibrium, and endurance, there are limits to how
much improvement is possible. As an example, there are millions of people who take golf lessons
and practice their swing for countless hours on a driving range, yet the vast majority of these
people could never compete in a professional golf tournament because they just can’t manage
to consistently hit that little white ball straight or far enough. As an example of abilities that are
cognitive in nature, you likely know people who, even if they went to the best schools on earth,
would have great difficulty doing well in jobs such as theoretical astrophysics that require a lot of
brainpower.
For abilities that are more cognitive in nature, such as those we mentioned in the chapter opening, it appears that genes and the environment play roughly equal roles.2 However, differences in
cognitive abilities due to the environment become less apparent as people
get older, and this may be especially
true for the effect of the family environment.3 As an example, though
neglect, abuse, and deprivation
may have a negative impact on how
children fare on standardized intelligence tests, that negative impact
does not tend to carry over into
adulthood. Beyond the family situation, there are some other factors in
the environment that affect cognitive
ability.4 For instance, the quantity of
schooling may be important because
it provides opportunities for people
to develop knowledge and critical
thinking skills.5 There’s also evi©John Gress/AP Images
dence that our choice of occupations
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
307
may influence our cognitive abilities. Complex work develops and exercises our minds, which
promotes higher performance on intelligence tests.6 Finally, certain biological factors are known
to affect cognitive abilities negatively during childhood. Examples include malnutrition, exposure
to toxins such as lead, and prenatal exposure to alcohol. In fact, over the last century average
scores on standardized intelligence tests have risen significantly in industrialized countries as the
quality and availability of education and health factors have improved, and the complexity of life
has increased.7
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR AN EMPLOYEE
TO BE “ABLE”?
As the examples in the previous paragraphs imply, there are different types of ability. Whereas
the golf example refers to physical ability, the theoretical astrophysics example refers to cognitive ability. In fact, there are many different facets of ability, and they can be grouped into
subsets by considering similarities in the nature of the activities involved. As we’ll talk about
in the sections to follow, abilities can be grouped into three general categories: cognitive, emotional, and physical. As our OB Internationally feature illustrates, there may be some abilities
that do not fit neatly into one of these three categories. Nevertheless, all abilities refer to what
people can do. That’s in contrast to personality (the subject of Chapter 9), which refers to what
people are like or what people will likely do. As with personality, organizational personnel and
hiring systems focus on finding applicants who possess abilities that match the requirements
of a given job.
COGNITIVE ABILITY
Cognitive ability refers to capabilities related to the acquisition and application of knowledge in
problem solving.8 Cognitive abilities are very relevant in the jobs most of you will be involved
with—that is, work involving the use of information to make decisions and solve problems.
Chances are good that your cognitive abilities have been tested several times throughout your
life. In fact, each year millions of children in the United States take standardized tests of intelligence at some point during elementary school, middle school, or high school.9 Although you
might not remember taking one of these, you probably remember taking the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). And though you probably thought about the SAT as a test that would have a
major impact only on where you could and could not go to college, the SAT is actually a test of
cognitive ability.
You might also remember that the SAT included a variety of different questions; some tested
your ability to do math problems, whereas other questions assessed your ability to complete sentences and make analogies. In fact, the different types of questions reflect specific types of cognitive ability that contribute to effectiveness on intellectual tasks. Table 10-1 lists many of these
cognitive ability types, along with their specific facets and some jobs in which they’re thought to
be important. The definitions and information in this table, as well as that discussed in the following sections, comes from research that produced a public database called O*NET, which outlines
requirements of employees in different types of jobs and occupations.10
VERBAL ABILITY Verbal ability refers to various capabilities associated with understanding and
expressing oral and written communication. Oral comprehension is the ability to understand spoken words and sentences, and written comprehension is the ability to understand written words and
sentences. Although these two aspects of verbal ability would seem highly related—that is, people
who have high oral comprehension would tend to have high written comprehension, and vice
versa—it’s not difficult to think of people who might be high on one ability but low on the other.
As an example, it’s been reported that as a result of his dyslexia, actor Tom Cruise has poor written comprehension and can learn his lines only after listening to them on tape.11
10.2
What are the various types
of cognitive ability?
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C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
OB
INTERNATIONALLY
What makes some people more or less effective in culturally diverse organizational contexts?
According to some, the answer to this question is cultural intelligence, or the ability to discern differences among people that are due to culture and to understand what these differences mean in
terms of the way people tend to think and behave in different situations. There are three sources
of cultural intelligence that correspond to the “head,” “body,” and “heart.” The source of cultural
intelligence that corresponds to the head is called cognitive cultural intelligence. This concept refers
to the ability to sense differences among people due to culture and to use this knowledge in planning how to interact with others in anticipation of a cross-cultural encounter. The source of cultural intelligence that corresponds to the body is called physical cultural intelligence, which refers
to the ability to adapt one’s behavior when a cultural encounter requires it. Finally, the source of
cultural intelligence that corresponds to the heart is called emotional cultural intelligence. This
concept refers to the level of effort and persistence an individual exerts when trying to understand
and adapt to new cultures.
Understanding cultural intelligence may be useful because it’s an ability that can be
improved through training. A training program could begin with an assessment to identify
sources of cultural intelligence that may be weak. Consider, for example, an individual who
is very knowledgeable about the customs and norms of another culture and is very willing to
learn more, but who just can’t alter her body language and eye contact so that it’s appropriate
for the other culture. In this particular case, the aim of the training would be to improve physical cultural intelligence. The individual might be asked to study video that contrasts correct
and incorrect body language and eye contact. The individual might also be asked to engage in
role-playing exercises to model the appropriate behavior and receive feedback from an expert.
Finally, the individual might be asked to take acting classes. Although an organization may rely
on improvements in employee cultural intelligence that result from exposure to new cultures
and cross-cultural experiences, the costs of poor performance in cross-cultural contexts can be
significant for both the employee and the organization, and therefore, training on cultural intelligence may have great utility.
Sources: P.C. Earley and S. Ang, Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions across Cultures (Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 2003); P.C. Earley and E. Mosakowski, “Cultural Intelligence,” Harvard Business Review 82 (2004),
pp. 139–46; L. Imai and M.J. Gelfand, “The Culturally Intelligent Negotiator: The Impact of Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
on Negotiation Sequences and Outcomes,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 112 (2010), pp. 83–98;
and M.M. Chao, R. Takeuchi, and J.L. Farh. “Enhancing Cultural Intelligence: The Roles of Implicit Culture Beliefs and
Adjustment.” Personnel Psychology 70 (2017), pp. 257–92.
Two other verbal abilities are oral expression, which refers to the ability to communicate
ideas by speaking, and written expression, which refers to the ability to communicate ideas in
writing. Again, though it might seem that these abilities should be highly related, this is not necessarily so. You may have taken a class with a professor who had authored several well-regarded
books and articles, but at the same time, had a very difficult time expressing concepts and
theories to students. Although there could be many reasons this might happen, one explanation
is that the professor had high ability in terms of written expression but low ability in terms of
oral expression.
Generally speaking, verbal abilities are most important in jobs in which effectiveness depends
on understanding and communicating ideas and information to others. As an example, the effectiveness of business executives depends on their ability to consider information from reports and
other executives and staff, as well as their ability to articulate a vision and strategy that promotes
employee understanding. As another example, consider how important the verbal abilities of a
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
TABLE 10-1
TYPE
309
Types and Facets of Cognitive Ability
MORE SPECIFIC FACET
JOBS WHERE RELEVANT
Verbal
Oral and Written Comprehension: Understanding written and spoken words and sentences
Oral and Written Expression: Communicating
ideas by speaking or writing so that others can
understand
Business executives;
police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers; clinical
psychologists
Quantitative
Number Facility: Performing basic math operations quickly and correctly
Mathematical Reasoning: Selecting the right
method or formula to solve a problem
Treasurers; financial managers; mathematical technicians; statisticians
Reasoning
Problem Sensitivity: Understanding when there
is a problem or when something may go wrong
Deductive Reasoning: Applying general rules to
specific problems
Inductive Reasoning: Combining specific information to form general conclusions
Originality: Developing new ideas
Anesthesiologists; surgeons;
business executives; fire
inspectors; judges; police
detectives; forensic scientists; cartoonists; designers
Spatial
Spatial Orientation: Knowing where one is relative to objects in the environment
Visualization: Imagining how something will
look after it has been rearranged
Pilots; drivers; boat captains;
photographers; set designers; sketch artists
Perceptual
Speed and Flexibility of Closure: Making sense
of information and finding patterns
Perceptual Speed: Comparing information or
objects with remembered information or objects
Musicians; firefighters; police
officers; pilots; mail clerks;
inspectors
Sources: Adapted from E.A. Fleishman, D.P. Costanza, and J. Marshall-Mies, “Abilities,” in An Occupational Information
System for the 21st Century: The Development of O*NET, ed. N.G. Peterson, M.D. Mumford, W.C. Borman, P.R. Jeanneret,
and E.A. Fleishman (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1999), pp. 175–95; and O*NET Website,
The O*NET Content Model: Detailed Outline With Descriptions, http://www.onetcenter.org/content.html/1.a?d=1#cm_1.a
(accessed May 20, 2009).
9-1-1 dispatcher might be if a
loved one suddenly became ill
and stopped breathing.
QUANTITATIVE ABILITY
Quantitative ability refers to two
types of mathematical capabilities. The first is number facility,
which is the capability to do
simple math operations (adding, subtracting, multiplying,
and dividing). The second is
mathematical reasoning, which
refers to the ability to choose
and apply formulas to solve
problems that involve numbers.
If you think back to the SAT,
©Universal Pictures/Photofest
Tom Cruise has dyslexia,
and he struggles with
written comprehension.
He learns the lines for his
movies by listening to them
on tape.
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C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
you can probably remember problems such as the following: “There were two trains 800 miles apart,
and they were traveling toward each other on the same track. The first train began traveling at noon
and averaged 45 miles per hour. The second train started off two hours later. What speed did the second train average if the two trains smashed into each other at 10:00 p.m. of the same day?”
Although number facility may be necessary to solve this problem, mathematical reasoning is
crucial because the test taker needs to know which formulas to apply. Although most of us wish
that problems like this would be limited to test-taking contexts (especially this particular problem),
there are countless situations in which quantitative abilities are important. For example, consider
the importance of quantitative ability in jobs involving statistics, accounting, and engineering.
Quantitative abilities may be important in less complex, lower-level jobs as well. Have you ever
been at a fast-food restaurant or convenience store when the cash register wasn’t working and the
clerk couldn’t manage to count out change correctly or quickly? If you have, you witnessed a very
good example of low quantitative ability, and perhaps some very annoyed customers as well. As
another example of a job that requires high quantitative ability, see our OB on Screen feature.
REASONING ABILITY Reasoning ability is actually a diverse set of abilities associated with sensing and solving problems using insight, rules, and logic. The first reasoning ability, problem sensitivity, is the ability to sense that there’s a problem right now or likely to be one in the near future.
In essence, problem sensitivity is the ability to sense that things just aren’t right, or are not tracking correctly or as expected. Anesthesiology is a great example of a job for which problem sensitivity is crucial. Before surgeries, anesthesiologists give drugs to patients so that surgical procedures
can take place without the patients experiencing pain. However, during the surgery, patients can
have negative reactions to the drugs that might result in the loss of life. So the ability of the anesthesiologist to sense when something is wrong even before the problem is fully apparent can be a
life-or-death matter.
A second type of reasoning ability is called deductive reasoning. This ability refers to the use
of general rules or hypotheses as a starting point to solve a problem. Individuals who possess
high deductive reasoning ability are able reach effective conclusions by comparing how available
information fits with an existing rule or hypothesis. When information is consistent with the rule
or hypothesis, the solution follows accordingly. When information is not consistent with a rule or
hypothesis, then the information is considered in light of a different rule or hypothesis, and the
process begins anew. Judges need to have strong deductive reasoning abilities because their job
involves the consideration of facts in light of existing rules of law to reach verdicts.
In contrast, inductive reasoning refers to the ability to consider several specific pieces of information to generate a hypothesis and a plausible solution. Individuals with high inductive reasoning
ability are able to produce solutions to problems by synthesizing available data and information.
Inductive reasoning is required of police detectives and crime scene investigators who must consider things like tire tracks, blood spatter, fibers, and fingerprints to reach conclusions about likely
perpetrators of crimes and causes of death.
Finally, originality refers to the ability to develop clever and novel ways to solve problems. Larry
Page and Sergey Brin, the two founders of Google, provide good examples of originality. They not
only developed the Internet search software that gave Google a competitive advantage, and created the first completely new advertising medium in nearly half a century, but they also refuse
to follow conventional wisdom when it comes to managerial practices and business decisions.12
Clearly, originality is important in a wide variety of occupations, but in some jobs, originality is
the most critical ability. For example, a cartoonist, designer, writer, or advertising executive without originality would find it difficult to be successful.
SPATIAL ABILITY There are two main types of spatial ability, or capabilities associated with
visual and mental representation and manipulation of objects in space. The first is called spatial
orientation, which refers to a good understanding of where one is relative to other things in the
environment. A tourist with high spatial organization would have no trouble finding her way back
to her hotel on foot after a long day of sightseeing, even without a map or help from anyone on the
street. The second spatial ability is called visualization, which is the ability to imagine how separate things will look if they were put together in a particular way. If you’re good at imagining how
a room would look if it were rearranged, or if your friends are impressed that you can buy things
that go together well, chances are that you would score high on visualization.
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
OB
ON SCREEN
HIDDEN FIGURES
What I’m asking you to do, what I’m asking everyone in that room, all my geniuses, is to look
beyond the numbers, to look around them, through them, to ask the questions we don’t even
know how to ask, at math that doesn’t yet exist, because without it, we’re not going anywhere.
With those words, head of NASA’s Space Task Group, Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) tries to convey a sense of urgency to his group of mathematicians, in the movie Hidden Figures (Dir. Theodore
Melfi, Levantine Films, 2017). In 1961 the United States was in a race with the Soviet Union to
establish supremacy in space. The Soviets had beaten the United States in getting the first satellite and human to orbit the earth, and in order to avoid falling further behind, Harrison needed
his mathematicians to figure out how to calculate the trajectory of a spacecraft that’s subject to
changing forces of gravity. Electronic computers were in their infancy, so NASA relied upon on
a team of math gurus to apply mathematical theories and formulas, and to perform large numbers of calculations by hand. Fortunately, Katherine Johnson (Taraji Henson), an extraordinarily
gifted NASA employee, had just joined Harrison’s group of human “computers.”
©Moviestore collection Ltd/Alamy
Throughout the film, there are examples of Katherine’s quantitative abilities. In one scene, for
example, Katherine is invited by Harrison to a meeting of high-level NASA employees who were trying to solve problems related to the launch and recovery of Friendship 7. Astronaut John Glenn, who
was slated to orbit the earth in this spacecraft, was particularly impressed when Katherine stepped up
to a blackboard with a piece of chalk and worked through a long series of equations to produce the
latitude and longitude where he would land. Glenn’s trust in Katherine’s quantitative abilities was evident later in the film when he refused to launch in Friendship 7 until she double checked calculations
performed by others and a new IBM computer. What makes this true story even more remarkable is
that Katherine Johnson is an African American who worked in an era of racial segregation and male
dominance in the sciences and mathematics. Her accomplishments at NASA not only speak to her
remarkable quantitative abilities, but also her amazing determination and perseverance.
PERCEPTUAL ABILITY Perceptual ability refers to being able to perceive, understand, and recall
patterns of information. More specifically, speed and flexibility of closure refers to being able to pick out
a pattern of information quickly in the presence of distracting information, even without all the information present. People who work for the Central Intelligence Agency likely need speed and flexibility
of closure to break secret codes. Related to this ability is perceptual speed, which refers to being able to
311
312
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
Pilots flying in conditions
where there’s poor visibility
have to rely on various
instruments and their spatial ability to visualize their
absolute position and, just
as important, their position
relative to other objects,
some of which are also
moving.
examine and compare numbers, letters,
and objects quickly. If you can go into
the produce section of a supermarket
and choose the best tomatoes faster
than the people around you, chances
are you have high perceptual speed.
Effectiveness in jobs in which people
need to proofread documents, sort
things, or categorize objects depends a
lot on perceptual speed.
GENERAL COGNITIVE ABILITY
If you’ve read the preceding sections
carefully, you probably thought about
where you stand on the different types
of cognitive abilities. In doing so, you
may have also reached the conclusion
that you’re higher on some of these
abilities and lower on others. Maybe
©Steve Bloom/Getty Images
you think of yourself as being smart in
verbal abilities but not as smart in quantitative abilities. In fact, most people score more similarly
across their cognitive abilities than they realize. People who are higher than average on verbal abilities also tend to be higher than average on reasoning, quantitative, spatial, and perceptual abilities,
and people who are lower than average on verbal abilities tend to be lower than average on the
other abilities. Although this consistency might not apply to everyone, it applies often enough that
researchers have been trying to understand why this occurs for well over 100 years.13
The most popular explanation for the consistency in the levels of different cognitive abilities
within people is that there’s a general cognitive ability—sometimes called the g-factor or simply g—
that underlies or causes all of the more specific cognitive abilities we’ve discussed so far.14 To
understand what this means more clearly, consider the diagram in Figure 10-1 that depicts general
cognitive ability as the area in common across the more specific cognitive abilities that we’ve discussed. This overlap exists because each of the specific abilities depends somewhat on the brain’s
ability to process information effectively. So, because some brains are capable of processing information more effectively than others, some people tend to score higher across the specific abilities,
whereas others tend to score lower.
You’re probably familiar with the intelligence quotient, which is known as IQ. Well, IQ was
something originally used in educational contexts to diagnose learning disabilities, and accordingly, tests to measure IQ were developed using questions with which students with learning disabilities might struggle. IQ tests were then scaled as a percentage that indicated a person’s mental
age relative to his or her chronological age. IQ scores lower than 100 were interpreted as indicating
a potential learning or educational deficiency, whereas scores higher than 100 were interpreted as
indicating that someone was particularly bright for his or her age. However, it turns out that IQ
tests and tests of general cognitive ability are often quite similar in terms of the types of questions
included, and more importantly, scores on the two types of tests say pretty much the same thing
about the people who take them.15
Does a high IQ boost effectiveness of people in work contexts? We’ll discuss this matter in
some detail later, but it’s worth pointing out here that IQ is associated with outcomes that are very
relevant to you, your employer, and perhaps society in general.16 For example, researchers have
shown that individuals with higher IQ tend to be healthier and economically better off, and as a
consequence of these two factors, they tend to feel happier and more satisfied with their lives.17
They also tend to have fewer accidents that cause injury, less cardiovascular disease, and not surprisingly given the first two associations, they also tend to live longer.18 Although the explanation
for these relationships is not altogether clear, it’s likely that people with higher IQ become more
knowledgeable about the prevention and management of injury and disease, and in addition, may
have advantages with respect to the availability of health care and knowledge that helps them
adapt to challenging circumstances.19
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
FIGURE 10-1
The “g-factor”
Verbal
Quantitative
Spatial
g
Perceptual
Reasoning
Source: Adapted from J.J. Johnson and J.B. Cullen, “Trust in Cross-Cultural Relationships,” in Blackwell Handbook of
Cross-Cultural Management, ed. M.J. Gannon and K.L. Newman (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2002), pp. 335–60.
EMOTIONAL ABILITY
Consider the case of Dick Snyder, who headed the publishing firm Simon & Schuster. He seemed
unable to control or perceive his emotions, and he regularly blew up at and humiliated his subordinates.20 To make matters worse, he didn’t understand that his lack of emotional control and understanding was having a negative impact on his team, and he eventually was fired, despite leading
his company to higher levels of earnings. In this section of the chapter, we describe the concept of
emotional ability—precisely the type of ability that Dick Snyder appears to lack.
So how is emotional ability different than cognitive ability? Most of us know someone who is
very smart from a “cognitive ability” or IQ standpoint, but at the same time, the person just can’t
manage to be effective in real-world situations that involve other people. As an example, you may
have played Trivial Pursuit with a group of friends and found someone at the table who could not
only answer the majority of the questions correctly but also managed to say odd or inappropriate
things throughout the game. You may also know someone who doesn’t seem very “book smart”
but always seems able to get things done and says the right things at the right time. In the context
of the same Trivial Pursuit game, such a person might have answered most of the game questions
incorrectly but, sensing how uncomfortable and angry people were becoming with the annoying
player, made jokes to lighten things up.
In fact, for several decades now, researchers have been investigating whether there’s a type
of ability that influences the degree to which people tend to be effective in social situations,
regardless of their level of cognitive abilities.21 Although there has been some debate among these
researchers,22 many believe now that there’s a human ability that affects social functioning, called
emotional intelligence.23 Emotional intelligence is defined in terms of a set of distinct but related
abilities, which we describe next.24
SELF-AWARENESS The first type of emotional intelligence is self-awareness, or the appraisal
and expression of emotions in oneself. This facet refers to the ability of an individual to understand the types of emotions he or she is experiencing, the willingness to acknowledge them, and
the capability to express them naturally.25 As an example, someone who is low in this aspect of
emotional intelligence might not admit to himself or show anyone else that he’s feeling somewhat
anxious during the first few days of a new job. These types of emotions are perfectly natural in a
new job context, and ignoring them might increase the stress of the situation. Ignoring those emotions might also send the wrong signal to new colleagues, who might wonder, “Why isn’t the new
hire more excited about working for us?”
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10.3
What are the various types
of emotional ability?
OTHER AWARENESS The second facet of emotional intelligence is called other awareness, or
the appraisal and recognition of emotion in others.26 As the name of this facet implies, it refers to
a person’s ability to recognize and understand the emotions that other people are feeling. People
who are high in this aspect of emotional intelligence are not only sensitive to the feelings of others
but also can anticipate the emotions that people will experience in different situations. In contrast,
people who are low in this aspect of emotional intelligence do not effectively sense the emotions
that others are experiencing, and if the emotions are negative, this inability could result in the person doing something that worsens the situation. As an example, have you ever had a professor who
couldn’t sense that students in class didn’t understand the material being presented in a lecture?
When that professor continued to press on with the slides, oblivious to the fact that the students
were becoming even more confused, it was poor other awareness in action. As another example,
an accountant at Chemical Bank in New York recalls that his boss asked him to refine his skills in
this aspect of emotional intelligence.27 Although he was a good accountant, he needed help showing interest in other people’s emotions so that discussions with clients were less contentious. As a
final example, the CEO of Forte Hotels, a chain of luxury hotels in Europe, prizes employees who
have the ability to understand the customer’s emotions so they can react accordingly. “I know the
most amazing waitress,” he says. “She can look at a counterful of people eating breakfast and tell
immediately who wants chatting up, who wants to be left alone. Uncanny. Just uncanny.”28
EMOTION REGULATION The third facet of emotional intelligence, emotion regulation, refers to
being able to recover quickly from emotional experiences.29 As an example of this aspect of emotional intelligence, consider the possible responses of someone on his way to work, who is driving
just below the speed limit in his brand new Toyota Prius who gets cut off by an aggressive driver who,
as she passes by, throws a half-filled plastic bottle of Mountain Dew out the window and shouts an
obscenity. If the Prius driver can regulate his emotions effectively, he recovers quickly from the initial
anger and shock of the encounter. He would be able to get back to whatever he was listening to on
the radio, and by the time he got to work, the incident would likely be all but forgotten. However,
if this person were not able to regulate his emotions effectively, he might lose his temper, tailgate
the aggressive driver, and then ram his new Prius into her vehicle at the next stoplight. We hope it’s
obvious to you that the former response is much more appropriate than the latter, which could prove
quite costly to the individual. Although this example highlights the importance of regulating negative
emotions, we should also point out that this aspect of emotional intelligence also applies to positive
emotions. Consider, for example, the response of someone who is told that he’s about to receive a
significant pay raise. If this person is unable to regulate his own emotions effectively, he might feel
joyous and giddy the rest of the day, flashing jazz hands to his coworkers. As a consequence, he’s not
able to accomplish any more work that day, never mind alienating everyone around him.
“Other awareness” is one
aspect of emotional intelligence that allows us to
empathize with others and
understand their feelings.
USE OF EMOTIONS The fourth aspect of emotional intelligence is the use of emotions.30 This
capability reflects the degree to which people can harness emotions and employ them to improve
their chances of being successful in whatever they’re seeking to do. For example, researchers have
shown that when employees who face novel circumstances harness their positive emotions, they
can produce solutions that are more
creative.31 To understand this facet of
emotional intelligence more clearly,
consider a writer who’s struggling to
finish a book but is under a serious
time crunch because of the contract
with the publisher. If the writer were
high in this aspect of emotional intelligence, she would likely psych herself
up for the challenge and encourage
herself to work hard through any
bouts of writer’s block. In contrast,
if the writer were low in this aspect
of emotional intelligence, she might
©Digital Vision/Getty Images
begin to doubt her competence as a
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
writer and think about different things she could do with her life. Because these behaviors will
slow progress on the book even further, the number and intensity of self-defeating thoughts might
increase, and ultimately, the writer might withdraw from the task entirely.
APPLYING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Although you may appreciate how emotional intelligence can be relevant to effectiveness in a variety of interpersonal situations, you might be wondering whether knowledge of emotional intelligence can be useful to managers in their quest to
make their organizations more effective. It turns out there’s growing evidence that the answer to
this question is “yes,” albeit with a few caveats.32
As one example of the usefulness of emotional intelligence, the U.S. Air Force found that
recruiters who were high in some aspects of emotional intelligence were three times more likely
to meet recruiting quotas than recruiters who scored lower in the same aspects of emotional
intelligence.33 Recruiters with high emotional intelligence were more effective because they projected positive emotions and could quickly sense and appropriately respond to recruits’ concerns.
Because these capabilities made recruiting easier, there was less pressure to meet performance
quotas, which translated into fewer hours at the office, higher satisfaction, and ultimately higher
retention. In fact, after the Air Force began requiring new recruiters to pass an emotional intelligence test, turnover among new recruiters dropped from 25 percent to 2 percent. Given that, on
average, it costs about $30,000 to train a new recruiter, this lower turnover translated into about
$2.75 million in savings a year.
As a second example of the usefulness of emotional intelligence, Paris–based L’Oréal, the
world’s largest manufacturer of cosmetics and beauty products, was interested in the use of emotional intelligence in the hiring of sales agents who could perform their jobs more effectively.34
How well did this idea work out for the company? The sales agents who were hired based mainly
on their emotional intelligence scores had sales that were $91,370 greater than agents who were
hired on the basis of other information. The company also found that the agents who were selected
on the basis of their emotional intelligence scores were 63 percent less likely to quit during their
first year as compared to the other agents. Sales agents with high emotional intelligence were able
to better understand client needs, and because this results in higher performance and less frustration, these agents tend to stay with the company longer.
The two previous examples illustrate the usefulness of staffing and training practices based on
emotional intelligence. In fact, there’s growing evidence from researchers that emotional intelligence may have an important impact on employee job performance across a wide variety of settings.35 There’s also evidence that emotional intelligence may have a significantly stronger impact
on the job performance of some employees more than others. One recent study, for example,
found that emotional intelligence is a more important determinant of job performance for employees with lower levels of cognitive ability.36 The explanation for this relationship is easy to understand if you consider that, in many circumstances, high emotional intelligence can compensate
somewhat for low cognitive intelligence. In other words, exceptional “people smarts” can, to some
extent, make up for deficiencies in “book smarts.” See our OB at the Bookstore feature for another
perspective on how and why emotional intelligence may be crucial for job performance.
Although the picture of emotional intelligence we’ve painted so far is very upbeat, it’s important to mention that there may be a “dark side” to this ability. Specifically, there’s some evidence
that emotional intelligence is correlated positively with behaviors at work that are more counterproductive in nature.37 That is, certain individuals with higher levels of emotional intelligence
may tend to engage in more counterproductive behaviors such as gossiping, harassment, and even
theft. This might come as some surprise to you given all the positives of emotional intelligence we
mentioned in the previous paragraphs. However, consider that the ability to understand and influence others’ emotions can be used to achieve personal goals that are not necessarily compatible
with the goals and values of the organization or society.38 In essence, emotional intelligence may
provide individuals with a gift of being able to influence how other people feel, and unfortunately,
that gift can be abused if the individual is inclined toward questionable ends.39
ASSESSING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE As we discussed previously, cognitive abilities are
typically assessed using measures with questions such as those included in SAT or IQ tests. So
how is emotional intelligence assessed? One type of emotional intelligence assessment is similar
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OB
AT THE BOOKSTORE
HUMILITY IS THE NEW SMART
by Edward D. Hess & Katherine Ludwig (Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler, 2017).
Society is on the leading edge of a technology tsunami. Advances in artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, virtual reality, robotics, nanotechnology, deep learning, mapping the human brain,
and biomedical, genetic, and cyborg engineering will revolutionize how most of us live and work.
With those words, authors Hess and Ludwig provide the backdrop for their assertion that in order to maintain our relevance in
light of machines that can think and learn, humans will have to
fundamentally adapt how we think and learn. Machines can process, remember, pattern match, explain variance and synthesize
data faster than anyone who ever lived, and as machines continue to
improve in their capabilities, there will be fewer and fewer jobs that
require humans. What will be left for us to do will require high-level
critical thinking, creativity, and effectively engaging with others.
Unfortunately, the authors claim that these are precisely the abilities that run counter to human nature. That is, we process information quickly using mental shortcuts, we’re emotional and defensive
about our ideas, and we’re self-centered. So how are we to develop
the abilities we need to be successful in the “smart machine age?”
©Roberts Publishing Services
According to Hess and Ludwig, we first need to rethink what
smart means. Current definitions refer to how much one knows and can apply to solve problems
relative to others. Smart in the smart machine age, or “NewSmart,” is more about quality than
quantity. It involves quieting one’s ego, managing one’s emotions, thinking and listening reflectively, and connecting emotionally with others. The authors suggest that the key to unlocking
NewSmart is to develop humility, an orientation that is open-minded about possibilities, accurate
in self-perceptions and acceptance of one’s strengths and weaknesses, and an appreciation for the
value of others. When we possess this type of humility, we can think more creativity, admit when
we might not have the right answer, learn iteratively, and build relationships that allow for true
collaboration to occur. Although some of the arguments in the book may seem a little abstract, the
underlying problem is nevertheless compelling. Moreover, there are tools and assessments in the
book that explain how the ideas can be put into practice.
to a SAT-style test, because questions are scored as correct or incorrect. Test takers are asked to
describe the emotions of people depicted in pictures, predict emotional responses to different situations, and identify appropriate and inappropriate emotional responses. After a person takes the test,
it gets sent back to the test publisher to be scored. Another type of assessment asks people about
behaviors and preferences that are thought to reflect emotional intelligence. One of the first tests
of this type, the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i),40 includes 133 such questions. Although
the EQ-i has been used by many organizations in an attempt to improve managerial practices and
organizational effectiveness, it has been criticized for measuring personality traits more than actual
abilities.41 More recently, a group of researchers published a very short and easy-to-score measure
specifically designed to assess each of the four facets of emotional intelligence described in this section.42 Although this assessment is similar in format to the EQ-i, the items don’t appear to overlap
as much with items that measure different aspects of personality. You can take the test yourself in
our OB Assessments feature to see where you stand in terms of emotional intelligence.
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
OB
ASSESSMENTS
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
How high is your emotional intelligence? This assessment will tell you where you stand on the four
facets of emotional intelligence discussed in this chapter—self-awareness, other awareness, emotion regulation, and emotion use. Answer each question using the response scale provided. Then
follow the instructions below to score yourself. (Instructors: Assessments on job ability preferences and tolerance for emotional labor can be found in the PowerPoints in the Connect Library’s
Instructor Resources and in the Connect assignments for this chapter.)
1
TOTALLY
DISAGREE
2
DISAGREE
3
SOMEWHAT
DISAGREE
4
NEUTRAL
5
SOMEWHAT
AGREE
6
AGREE
7
TOTALLY
AGREE
1. I have a good sense of why I have certain feelings most of the time.
2. I have a good understanding of my own emotions.
3. I really understand what I feel.
4. I always know whether or not I am happy.
5. I am a good observer of others’ emotions.
6. I always know my friends’ emotions from their behavior.
7. I am sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others.
8. I have a good understanding of the emotions of people around me.
9. I always set goals for myself and then try my best to achieve them.
10. I always tell myself I am a competent person.
11. I am a self-motivating person.
12. I would always encourage myself to try my best.
13. I am able to control my temper so that I can handle difficulties rationally.
14. I am quite capable of controlling my own emotions.
15. I can always calm down quickly when I am very angry.
16. I have good control over my own emotions.
SCORING AND INTERPRETATION:
• Self-Awareness: Sum up items 1–4. _________
• Other Awareness: Sum up items 5–8. _________
• Emotion Use: Sum up items 9–12. _________
• Emotion Regulation: Sum up items 13–16. _________
If you scored 19 or above, then you are above average on a particular dimension. If you scored
18 or below, then you are below average on a particular dimension.
Sources: K.S. Law, C.S. Wong, and L.J. Song, “The Construct and Criterion Validity of Emotional Intelligence and Its
Potential Utility for Management Studies,” Journal of Applied Psychology 89 (2004), pp. 483–96; and C.S. Wong and K.S.
Law, “The Effects of Leader and Follower Emotional Intelligence on Performance and Attitude,” The Leadership Quarterly
13 (2002), pp. 243–74.
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PHYSICAL ABILITY
Physical abilities are likely very familiar to you because many of you took physical education
classes early in your school career. Maybe you were evaluated on whether you could climb a rope
to the ceiling of a gymnasium, run around a track several times, or kick a ball to a teammate who
was running full stride. Or maybe you’ve applied for a job and had to take a test that assessed your
ability to manipulate and assemble small mechanical parts. As a final example, and the one likely
to be most familiar, you’ve probably been subject to tests that measure the quality of your vision
and hearing. Although these examples may not seem to be related, each refers to a different type
of physical ability. In this section, we review a few important types of physical abilities, which are
summarized in Table 10-2. We note that the definitions and information in this table (and in the
following sections) come from O*NET, which as we mentioned previously, outlines requirements
of employees in different types of jobs and occupations.43
STRENGTH Although strength generally refers to the degree to which the body is capable of exerting force, there are actually several different types of strength that are important, depending on the
job. Static strength refers to the ability to lift, push, or pull very heavy objects using the hands, arms,
legs, shoulders, or back. Static strength is involved in jobs in which people need to lift objects like
boxes, equipment, machine parts, and heavy tools. With explosive strength, people exert short bursts
of energy to move the body or an object. Employees who are required to run, jump, or throw things at
work depend on their explosive strength to be effective. The final type of strength, dynamic strength,
refers to the ability to exert force for a prolonged period of time without becoming overly fatigued
and giving out. Dynamic strength is involved in jobs in which employees have to climb ropes or ladders or pull themselves up onto platforms. Although jobs requiring physical strength may vary as to
which category is important, there are also many jobs that require all three categories. Firefighters,
for example, must typically pass grueling tests of strength before being hired. In Dublin, California,
one part of the firefighter strength test involves climbing a long flight of stairs under time constraints
without touching the rails while wearing a 50-pound vest and carrying another 25 pounds of equipment. Another part of the test involves safely moving a 165-pound dummy out of harm’s way.44
10.4
What are the various types
of physical ability?
STAMINA Stamina refers to the ability of a person’s lungs and circulatory system to work efficiently while he or she is engaging in prolonged physical activity. Stamina may be important in
jobs that require running, swimming, and climbing. In fact, stamina is involved whenever the
nature of the physical activity causes the heart rate to climb and the depth and rate of breathing
to increase for prolonged periods of time. As you can imagine, the firefighter test described in the
previous paragraph assesses stamina as well as strength.
FLEXIBILITY AND COORDINATION Generally speaking, flexibility refers to the ability to
bend, stretch, twist, or reach. When a job requires extreme ranges of motion—for example, when
people need to work in a cramped compartment or an awkward position—the type of flexibility
involved is called extent flexibility. If you’ve ever watched a person working inside the trunk of a
car installing speakers, you’ve seen extent flexibility. When a job requires repeated and somewhat
quick bends, stretches, twists, or reaches, the type of flexibility involved is called dynamic flexibility. To understand what dynamic flexibility involves, picture a house painter on a ladder trying to
paint some trim just barely within reach.
In addition to flexibility, coordination, or the quality of physical movement, may be important
in some jobs. Gross body coordination refers to the ability to synchronize the movements of the
body, arms, and legs to do something while the whole body is in motion. In contrast, gross body
equilibrium involves the ability to maintain the balance of the body in unstable contexts or when
the person has to change directions. Jumping rope effectively requires gross body coordination;
walking on a balance beam requires gross body equilibrium. Both types of coordination are important in contexts that involve quick movements. However, gross body equilibrium is more important when the work environment is artificially elevated and inherently unstable.
PSYCHOMOTOR ABILITIES There are several different examples of psychomotor abilities, which
generally refer to the capacity to manipulate and control objects. Fine manipulative abilities refer to
the ability to keep the arms and hands steady while using the hands to do precise work, generally on
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
TABLE 10-2
TYPE
Physical Abilities
MORE SPECIFIC FACET
JOBS WHERE RELEVANT
Strength
Static: Lifting, pushing, pulling heavy
objects
Explosive: Exerting a short burst of
muscular force to move oneself or objects
Dynamic: Exerting muscular force
repeatedly or continuously
Structural iron and steel
workers; tractor trailer and
heavy truck drivers; farm
workers; firefighters
Stamina
Exerting oneself over a period of time
without circulatory system giving out
Athletes; dancers; commercial
divers; firefighters
Flexibility and
Coordination
Extent Flexibility: Degree of bending,
stretching, twisting of body, arms, legs
Dynamic Flexibility: Speed of bending,
stretching, twisting of body, arms, legs
Gross Body Coordination: Coordinating
movement of body, arms, and legs in
activities that involve all three together
Gross Body Equilibrium: Ability to
regain balance in contexts where balance
is upset
Athletes; dancers; riggers;
industrial machinery
mechanics; choreographers;
commercial divers; structural
iron and steel workers
Psychomotor
Fine Manipulative Abilities: Keeping hand
and arm steady while grasping, manipulating, and assembling small objects
Control Movement Abilities: Making quick,
precise adjustments to a machine while
operating it
Response Orientation: Quickly choosing
among appropriate alternative movements
Response Time: Quickly responding to
signals with body movements
Fabric menders; potters;
timing device assemblers;
jewelers; construction drillers;
agricultural equipment
operators; photographers;
highway patrol pilots; athletes
Sensory
Near and Far Vision: Seeing details of an
object up close or at a distance
Night Vision: Seeing well in low light
Visual Color Discrimination: Detecting differences in colors and shades
Depth Perception: Judging relative
distances
Hearing Sensitivity: Hearing differences
in sounds that vary in terms of pitch and
loudness
Auditory Attention: Focusing on a source of
sound in the presence of other sources
Speech Recognition: Identifying and understanding the speech of others
Electronic testers and
inspectors; highway patrol
pilots; tractor trailer, truck,
and bus drivers; airline pilots;
photographers; musicians
and composers; industrial
machine mechanics; speech
pathologists
Sources: Adapted from E.A. Fleishman, D.P. Costanza, and J. Marshall-Mies, “Abilities,” in An Occupational Information
System for the 21st Century: The Development of O*NET, ed. N.G. Peterson, M.D. Mumford, W.C. Borman, P.R. Jeanneret,
and E.A. Fleishman (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1999), pp. 175–95; and O*NET Website,
The O*NET Content Model: Detailed Outline with Descriptions, http://www.onet center.org/content.html/1.A?D=1#Cm_1.A
(accessed May 20, 2009).
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small or delicate objects such as arteries, nerves, gems, and watches. Control movement abilities are
important in tasks for which people have to make different precise adjustments, using machinery to
complete the work effectively. Anyone who drills things for a living, whether it be wood, concrete, or
teeth, needs this type of ability. The ability to choose the right action quickly in response to several
different signals is called response orientation. It shouldn’t be too difficult to imagine the importance
of response orientation for an airline pilot who responds to the flashing lights, buzzers, and verbal
information triggered during an in-flight emergency. The final psychomotor ability we describe is
called response time. This ability reflects how quickly an individual responds to signaling information after it occurs. Returning to the previous example, most of us would feel more secure if our
airline pilot had both a fast response orientation and a quick response time. After all, making the
right decision may not be useful in this context if the decision is made too late!
Noel Lee founded Monster
Cable after using his
extraordinary auditory ability to identify which type of
speaker wire sounds best.
SENSORY ABILITIES Sensory abilities refers to capabilities associated with vision and hearing.
Examples of important visual abilities include the ability to see things up close and at a distance
(near and far vision) or in low light contexts (night vision), as well as the ability to perceive colors
and judge relative distances between things accurately (visual color discrimination and depth perception). There are many different jobs that emphasize only one or two of these visual abilities. For
example, whereas effectiveness as a watch repairer depends on good near vision, effectiveness
as an interior designer depends on visual color discrimination. However, there are other jobs in
which effectiveness might depend on almost all categories of visual abilities. A fighter pilot needs
near vision to read instruments and checklists, far vision and depth perception to see enemy targets and landmarks, night vision to conduct operations in low light, and visual color discrimination to interpret information from warning lights and computer readouts correctly.
Abilities related to hearing, also referred to as auditory abilities, include the capability to hear and
discriminate sounds that vary in terms of loudness and pitch (hearing sensitivity), being able to focus
on a single sound in the presence of many other sounds (auditory attention), and the ability to identify
and understand the speech of another person (speech recognition). Perhaps the most obvious jobs for
which auditory abilities would be important are musicians and composers (yes, we are going to ignore
exceptions like Beethoven, who was deaf at the time he wrote his Ninth Symphony). However, with
these jobs, the emphasis would likely be on hearing sensitivity and auditory attention rather than
speech recognition (who listens to lyrics these days?). Another job for which auditory abilities might
be crucially important is a restaurant server, especially if the restaurant is crowded and noisy. In this
context, a server needs auditory attention and speech recognition to be able to isolate and understand
the words of a single patron against the backdrop of the loud chatter. As an example of a company
that exists because of auditory ability, consider the case of Monster Cable, the Brisbane, California–
based manufacturer of audiovisual cables and accessories. Noel Lee, the company’s founder, started
out by comparing the sound of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Michael Jackson’s “Liberian Girl”
using different types of speaker wire.45 He listened to the music over and over again and carefully considered the dynamics, loudness, bass response, and high frequencies of the music to determine which
combination of wire thickness,
composition, and braiding pattern sounded best.
SUMMARY: WHAT
DOES IT MEAN FOR
AN EMPLOYEE TO
BE “ABLE”?
©Richard Shotwell/AP Images
Thus far in the chapter, we’ve presented you with a fairly detailed
description of the domain of
human abilities, which are summarized in Figure 10-2. Although
the list of abilities included in
the figure may seem somewhat
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
FIGURE 10-2
321
What Does It Mean for an Employee to Be “Able”?
OVERALL
ABILITY
Cognitive
Ability
Emotional
Ability
Physical
Ability
• Verbal
• Self-Awareness
• Strength
• Quantitative
• Other Awareness
• Stamina
• Reasoning
• Emotion Regulation
• Flexibility &
• Spatial
• Use of Emotions
• Perceptual
Coordination
• Psychomotor
• Sensory
Source: Adapted from J.J. Johnson and J.B. Cullen, “Trust in Cross-Cultural Relationships,” in Blackwell Handbook of
Cross-Cultural Management, ed. M.J. Gannon and K.L. Newman (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2002), pp. 335–60.
daunting, we hope that you can appreciate that this set of abilities describes each and every one of us.
Moreover, as we have alluded to throughout the chapter, these abilities play an important role in determining how effective we can be at different tasks and jobs.
HOW IMPORTANT IS AB ILITY?
So, now that you know what ability is and where it comes from, let’s turn to the next important
question: Does ability really matter? That is, does ability have a significant impact on job performance and organizational commitment—the two primary outcomes in our integrative model of
OB? The answer to this question depends on what type of ability you are referring to—cognitive,
emotional, or physical. We focus our discussion on general cognitive ability because it’s the most
relevant form of ability across all jobs and is likely to be important in the kinds of positions that
students in an OB course will be pursuing. As it turns out, there’s a huge body of research linking
general cognitive ability to job performance, as summarized in Figure 10-3.46
The figure reveals that general cognitive ability is a strong predictor of job performance—in particular, the task performance aspect. Across all jobs, smarter employees fulfill the requirements of
their job descriptions more effectively than do less smart employees.47 In fact, of all the variables
discussed in this book, none has a stronger correlation with task performance than general cognitive ability. Thousands of organizations, many of which are quite well known, assess cognitive ability in efforts to select the best candidates available for specific jobs.48 The use of cognitive ability
10.5
How does cognitive ability
affect job performance
and organizational
commitment?
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C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
FIGURE 10-3
Effects of General Cognitive Ability on Performance and Commitment
Cognitive
Ability
Job
Performance
General cognitive ability has a strong positive effect on Task Performance. However,
the correlation is higher for jobs that are more complex than average and lower for jobs
that are less complex than average. The effects of general cognitive ability are near
zero for Citizenship Behavior and Counterproductive Behavior.
Cognitive
Ability
Organizational
Commitment
General cognitive ability has a weak effect on Affective Commitment, Continuance
Commitment, and Normative Commitment. The desire to remain a member of the
organization is not influenced much by cognitive ability.
Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).
Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).
Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).
Sources: J.W. Boudreau, W.R. Boswell, T.A. Judge, and R.D Bretz, “Personality and Cognitive Ability as Predictors
of Job Searc among Employed Managers,” Personnel Psychology 54 (2001), pp. 25–50; S.M. Colarelli, R.A. Dean, and
C. Konstans, “Comparative Effects of Personal and Situational Influences on Job Outcomes of New Professionals,” Journal
of Applied Psychology 72 (1987), pp. 558–66; D.N. Dickter, M. Roznowski, and D.A. Harrison, “Temporal Tempering: An
Event History Analysis of the Process of Voluntary Turnover,” Journal of Applied Psychology 81 (1996), pp. 705–16; and
F.L. Schmidt and J. Hunter, “General Mental Ability in the World of Work: Occupational Attainment and Job Performance,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 86 (2004), pp. 162–73.
tests for this purpose appears to be quite reasonable, given that scores on such tests have a strong
positive correlation with measures of performance across different types of jobs.49
In fact, this relationship holds even for performance in academic contexts. We mentioned the
Scholastic Assessment Test, or the SAT, several times in this chapter because it’s likely to be quite
familiar to you and because it largely reflects general cognitive ability.50 Most colleges and universities in the United States take these scores into account when deciding which students to admit
because they believe that higher scores increase the chances that students will be successful in college. But does the SAT really relate to how well someone does in college? Many of you are likely
to be skeptical because you probably know someone who did extremely well on the SAT but performed poorly as a college student. Similarly, you probably know someone who didn’t do that well
on the SAT but who performed well as a college student. Indeed, it is true that certain tendencies
(such as working hard, setting high personal goals, and staying organized) and choices (such as
which courses to take) play a nontrivial role in the grades earned in college.51 However, as it turns
out, the SAT is actually good at predicting college performance above and beyond these factors.
Students with higher SAT scores tend to perform much better in their first year of college, end up
with a higher cumulative grade point average, and have a higher likelihood of graduating.52 The
same finding applies to predicting success in graduate level school as well. The Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, is similar to the SAT in structure and content, and students who
score higher on this test prior to admission to graduate school tend to achieve better grade point
averages over the course of their graduate program.53
So what explains why general cognitive ability relates to task performance? People who have
higher general cognitive ability tend to be better at learning and decision making (which we
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
covered in detail in Chapter 8). They’re able to gain more knowledge from their experiences at a
faster rate, and as a result, they develop a bigger pool of knowledge regarding how to do their jobs
effectively.54 There are, however, three important caveats that we should mention. First, cognitive
ability tends to be much more strongly correlated with task performance than with citizenship
behavior, and the relationship between cognitive ability and counterproductive behavior is essentially zero.55 An increased amount of job knowledge helps an employee complete job tasks, but
it doesn’t necessarily affect the choice to help a coworker or refrain from breaking an important
rule. Second, the positive correlation between cognitive ability and performance is even stronger
in jobs that are complex or situations that demand adaptability.56 Third, people may do poorly on
a test of general cognitive ability for reasons other than a lack of cognitive ability. As an example,
people who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds may do poorly on such tests,
not because they lack the underlying cognitive ability but because they may not have had the learning opportunities needed to provide the appropriate responses.
In contrast to relationships with job performance, research has not supported a significant
linkage between cognitive ability and organizational commitment.57 On the one hand, we might
expect a positive relationship with commitment because people with higher cognitive ability tend
to perform more effectively, and therefore, they might feel they fit well with their job. On the other
hand, we might expect to see a negative relationship with commitment because people with higher
cognitive ability possess more job knowledge, which increases their value on the job market, and
in turn the likelihood that they would leave for another job.58 In the end, knowing how smart an
employee is tells us very little about the likelihood that he or she will remain a member of the
organization.
A PPLICATION: SELE CTING HIGH COGNITIVE
A BI LI TY EMPLOYEE S
Given the strong relationship between general cognitive ability and job performance, it isn’t surprising that many organizations apply the content of this chapter to hire new employees. As an
example, consider how Google goes about hiring employees whom it believes are the best and the
brightest. To attract intelligent people to apply for a job, the company placed billboards in Silicon
Valley and Harvard Square with the brainteaser, “first 10-digit prime found in consecutive digits of
e.com.” (The “e” in the question refers to the transcendental number used as the basis for natural
logarithms, and the first 10-digit prime number in this string turns out to be 7427466391.) People
who solved the brainteaser went to the website where there was a more difficult brainteaser. Solving that one resulted in Google asking for the person’s résumé.59 The company also developed
something called the Google Labs Aptitude Test (GLAT for short) and published it in magazines
that smart techies might read. The GLAT is similar to the SAT and includes questions such as,
“How many different ways can you color an icosahedron with one of three colors on each face?”
Google used the GLAT to attract people who are smart and who are interested in the types of
problems in the test. The people who are ultimately brought in for a job interview typically face
10-person interview panels and are confronted with very difficult questions. People who apply
for a technical job might be asked to solve math algorithms and answer technical questions about
software and computer networking.60 It’s also likely that they’ll be asked brainteaser questions
that rely upon both general intelligence and the originality facet of reasoning ability. For example,
“How many golf balls fit in a school bus?” and “You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and your
mass is proportionally reduced so as to maintain your original density. You are then thrown into
an empty glass blender. The blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?”61 Although
you might not look forward to the prospect of having to answer these types of questions in an
already stressful job interview, other companies such as Microsoft use a similar approach to hire
highly intelligent employees, so it’s something for which you might want to be prepared.62
Of course, companies outside the high-technology sector are also interested in hiring employees
who have high cognitive ability, and applicants for jobs in many of these companies are given a cognitive ability test as part of the selection process. One of the most widely used tests is the Wonderlic
323
324
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
FIGURE 10-4
Sample Wonderlic Questions
1. Which of the following is the earliest date?
A) Jan. 16, 1898 B) Feb. 21, 1889 C) Feb. 2, 1898 D) Jan. 7, 1898 E) Jan. 30, 1889
2. LOW is to HIGH as EASY is to ?.
A) SUCCESSFUL B) PURE C) TALL D) INTERESTING E) DIFFICULT
3. A featured product from an Internet retailer generated 27, 99, 80, 115 and 213 orders over a 5-hour period.
Which graph below best represents this trend?
A
B
C
D
E
4. What is the next number in the series? 29 41 53 65 77 ?
A) 75 B) 88 C) 89 D) 98 E) 99
5.
One word below appears in color. What is the OPPOSITE of that word? She gave a complex answer to the
question and we all agreed with her.
A) long B) better C) simple D) wrong E) kind
6. Jose’s monthly parking fee for April was $150; for May it was $10 more than April; and for June $40 more than
May. His average monthly parking fee was? for these 3 months.
A) $66 B) $160 C) $166 D) $170 E) $200
7. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?
Sandra is responsible for ordering all office supplies.
Notebooks are office supplies.
Sandra is responsible for ordering notebooks.
A) yes B) no C) uncertain
8. Which THREE choices are needed to create the figure on the left? Only pieces of the same color may overlap.
A
B
C
D
E
9. Which THREE of the following words have similar meanings?
A) observable B) manifest C) hypothetical D) indefinite E) theoretical
10. Last year, 12 out of 600 employees at a service organization were rewarded for their excellence in customer
service, which was ? of the employees.
A) 1% B) 2% C) 3% D) 4% E) 6%
Answers:
1. E,
2. E,
3. D,
4. C,
5. C, 6. D,
7. A, 8. BCD,
9. CDE, 10. B
Source: Wonderlic WPT—Sample Questions. Reprinted with permission of Wonderlic, Inc. Copyright 2007 Wonderlic, Inc
with permission.
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
Cognitive Ability Test, a 12-minute test of general cognitive ability that consists of 50 questions. It’s
been in use for several decades now and has been given to more than 120 million people by thousands of organizations.63 From the example items that appear in Figure 10-4, you should be able to
see how the items correspond with many of the cognitive abilities that we’ve described previously.
People who take the test receive one point for each correct response, and those points are
summed to give a total score that can be used as a basis for selecting people for different jobs. The
Wonderlic User’s Manual offers recommendations for minimum passing scores for different job
families, some of which are included in Table 10-3. For example, a score of 17 is the minimum suggested score for an unskilled laborer, a score of 21—which is the average for high school graduates
and corresponds to an IQ of approximately 100—is the minimum suggested score for a firefighter.
A score of 28 is the minimum suggested score for upper-level managerial and executive work and
around the average for all college graduates.
Chances are you’ll hear about the Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test every March and April. This
is because the National Football League (NFL) administers the test to players who enter the draft,
and teams consider the scores when selecting players. One question that people always debate
during this time is whether scores on a test of cognitive ability are relevant to a football player’s
performance on the field. Although supporters of the Wonderlic’s use in the NFL argue that cognitive ability is necessary to remember plays and learn complex offensive and defensive systems,
many people wonder how the ability to answer questions like those listed in Figure 10-4 relates to
a player’s ability to complete a pass, run for a touchdown, tackle an opponent, or kick a field goal.
Moreover, detractors of the Wonderlic wonder why a poor score should overshadow a record of
superior accomplishments on the playing field. So who’s right? Well, the results of at least one
study indicate that a player’s Wonderlic score does not predict subsequent performance in the NFL
and that this effect is not influenced much by the position of the player being considered.64
TABLE 10-3
Suggested Minimum Wonderlic Scores for Various Jobs
JOB
MINIMUM SCORES
Mechanical Engineer
30
Attorney
29
Executive
28
Teacher
27
Nurse
26
Office Manager
25
Advertising Sales
24
Manager/Supervisor
23
Police Officer
22
Firefighter
21
Cashier
20
Hospital Orderly
19
Machine Operator
18
Unskilled Laborer
17
Maid-Matron
16
Source: Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test and Scholastic Level Exam: User’s Manual (Vernon Hills, IL: Wonderlic Cognitive
Ability Test, Inc., 1992), pp. 28–29. Reprinted with permission.
325
10.6
What steps can organizations take to hire people
with high levels of
cognitive ability?
326
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
Before closing, we should mention here that the use of cognitive ability tests for hiring purposes may unintentionally discriminate against groups of individuals who, for a variety of reasons
that we discussed earlier in this chapter, tend to score lower.65 A great deal of research has examined this issue, and has concluded that although these tests are not technically biased because they
do not underpredict the job performance of disadvantaged groups, they should be used cautiously,
especially in situations in which a diverse workforce is desired.66 One way of accomplishing this is
to use a combination of hiring tests. In addition to, or instead of, a test of general cognitive ability,
a company could use a battery of tests that measure narrower cognitive abilities and noncognitive
traits such as emotional intelligence and personality.67 It may also be possible that organizations
could deemphasize cognitive ability when hiring, and instead, train employees in the cognitive
skills needed for the job. Although this type of training isn’t something that boosts IQ scores, it
has been shown to enhance important mental skills, as well as increasing confidence and performance in a variety of tasks.68
TA K EAWAYS
10.1 Ability refers to the relatively stable capabilities of people to perform a particular range of
different but related activities. Differences in ability are a function of both genes and the
environment.
10.2 Cognitive abilities include verbal ability, quantitative ability, reasoning ability, spatial
ability, and perceptual ability. General cognitive ability, or g, underlies all of these more
specific cognitive abilities.
10.3 Emotional intelligence includes four specific kinds of emotional skills: self-awareness,
other awareness, emotion regulation, and use of emotions.
10.4 Physical abilities include strength, stamina, flexibility and coordination, psychomotor abili-
ties, and sensory abilities.
10.5 General cognitive ability has a strong positive relationship with job performance, due
primarily to its effects on task performance. In contrast, general cognitive ability is only
weakly related to organizational commitment.
10.6 Many organizations use cognitive ability tests to hire applicants with high levels of general
cognitive ability. One of the most commonly used tests is the Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test.
K EY TERMS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ability
Cognitive ability
Verbal ability
Quantitative ability
Reasoning ability
Spatial ability
Perceptual ability
General cognitive ability
Emotional intelligence
Self-awareness
Other awareness
p. 306
p. 307
p. 307
p. 309
p. 310
p. 310
p. 311
p. 312
p. 313
p. 313
p. 314
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Emotion regulation
Use of emotions
Strength
Stamina
Flexibility
Coordination
Psychomotor ability
Sensory abilities
Wonderlic Cognitive
Ability Test
p. 314
p. 314
p. 318
p. 318
p. 318
p. 318
p. 318
p. 320
p. 325
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
DIS C USSI ON QUESTION S
10.1 What roles do learning, education, and other experiences play in determining a person’s
abilities? For which type of ability—cognitive, emotional, or physical—do these factors play
the largest role?
10.2 Think of a job that requires very high levels of certain cognitive abilities. Can you think of
a way to redesign that job so that people who lack those abilities could still perform the
job effectively? Now respond to the same question with regard to emotional and physical
abilities.
10.3 Consider your responses to the previous questions. Are cognitive, emotional, and physical
abilities different in the degree to which jobs can be redesigned to accommodate people
who lack relevant abilities? What are the implications of this difference, if there is one?
10.4 Think of experiences you’ve had with people who demonstrated unusually high or low
levels of emotional intelligence. Then consider how you would rate them in terms of their
cognitive abilities. Do you think that emotional intelligence “bleeds over” to affect people’s
perceptions of cognitive ability?
10.5 What combination of abilities is appropriate for the job of your dreams? Do you
possess those abilities? If you fall short on any of these abilities, what could you do
to improve?
CASE: FBI
The FBI’s website provides a vivid description of the job of a special agent. One day a special
agent may be focused on recruiting a human source of information from a foreign country to
avert a terrorist attack. Another day may involve several different activities; testifying in court in
the morning, planning a sting operation over lunch, chasing down a suspect on a Most Wanted
list in the afternoon, and speaking at a community event in the evening. To be effective at these
tasks, special agents not only need to be physically fit, but they also need to be able to work
independently, be adaptable to changing and sometimes very dangerous situations, make logical
decisions based on all available facts, and communicate effectively and articulately, both orally
and in writing.
To make sure new hires possess these abilities, the FBI requires that special agent applicants
go through a series of examinations, which include a three-hour session consisting of cognitive,
behavioral, and logical reasoning tests, a 90-minute written test that measures problem solving
abilities, a one-hour panel interview intended to supplement the information gathered in the
other testing, physical fitness tests, and a medical exam which, among other things, tests vision
and hearing. One of the assumptions behind this testing is that new hires will possess the
abilities necessary to have an effective and long career as an FBI special agent. But is this
assumption valid?
On the one hand, many of the abilities that are tested during the hiring process remain relatively stable over time. So, for example, an agent who scored high on the logical reasoning ability
test when hired will have high logical reasoning ability years later. On the other hand, some abilities change over time, and not for the better! Most notably, physical abilities tend to erode due to
the process of aging and coping with the demands of work and life. In recognition of this specific
issue, the FBI recently instituted annual physical fitness testing. The test includes the number
of sit-ups in one minute, a timed 300-meter sprint, the maximum number of pushups (untimed),
and a timed 1.5 mile run. The scoring system is based on an agent’s age and sex, and those who
327
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C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
score below standard (or who do not take the test without a medical excuse) are given a rating
of no higher than “Minimally Successful” on the “Maintaining High Professional Standards”
dimension of their annual performance review.
10.1 Which specific cognitive and emotional abilities are likely to be most important for FBI
special agents? Explain.
10.2 Identify the specific physical abilities that are assessed in the FBI’s annual physical fitness
test. Describe the responsibilities of special agents for which these abilities are likely to be
most important.
10.3 How might the frequency of various special agent responsibilities make it important to
test for physical abilities (but not cognitive or emotional abilities) on an annual basis?
Explain.
Sources: FBI, “News and Features,” https://www.fbi.gov (accessed March 20, 2017); FBI, “Jobs: Career Paths,” https://
www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths (accessed March 20, 2017); M.S. Schmidt, “Battling Crime and Calories at F.B.I. (Fit
Bureau of Investigation),” The New York Times, April 4, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/06/us/battling-crime
-and-calories-at-fbi-fit-bureau-of-investigation.html?emc=edit_th_20150406&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=71709239&_r=1.
EX ERC ISE: E MOTION AL IN TE LLIG E N C E
The purpose of this exercise is to help you become more aware of your emotions and the emotions of others, as well as to see how emotions can be regulated and used in your daily life. This
exercise uses groups, so your instructor will either assign you to a group or ask you to create your
own group. The exercise has the following steps:
10.1 Think about situations in which you’ve experienced each of the following four emotions:
•
•
•
•
Joy
Anxiety
Sadness
Anger
10.2 In writing or in discussion with your group, answer the following questions about each
situation:
a. What, exactly, triggered your emotion in this situation?
b. What impact did your emotions have on the outcome of the situation? Consider how
your emotions affected you, others, and the general outcome of the situation. (Was it
positive or negative?)
c. What strategies did you use to deal with the emotion?
d. What other strategies could you have used to deal with the emotion?
For example, one student noted: “I always get anxious when I take tests. Last week, I was
supposed to have a midterm in Accounting, and sure enough, the upcoming test triggered
my anxiety. Because I was anxious, I put off studying, and I tried to get some friends to
go out to a club with me. We all had a good time that night, but the next day I got a D on
my Accounting test, and two of my friends failed their Management midterms. I was using
procrastination and avoidance as strategies for dealing with my anxiety. Another strategy I
could have used was to face the anxiety head-on by talking to my professor to get a better
understanding of the material that was going to be on the test, or by getting a group of my
friends together to form a study group for Accounting.”
C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability
10.3 Compare your responses with the responses of your fellow group members. As a group,
answer the following questions:
a. What emotional triggers do you share? In what ways are your emotional triggers
different?
b. Are there some strategies for dealing with emotions that seem especially helpful?
Unhelpful?
c. According to the stories told by the group, are there times when emotions actually help
get a task done or a goal accomplished? How might you harness your emotions to help
you achieve specific outcomes in the future?
Source: Adapted from M.A. Brackett and N.A. Katulak. “Emotional Intelligence in the Classroom: Skill-Based Training
for Teachers and Students.” Improving Emotional Intelligence: A Practitioner’s Guide, ed. J. Ciarrochi and J.D. Mayer. New
York: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis, 2006, pp. 1–27.
EN DN OTES
10.1 Fleishman, E.A.; D.P.
Costanza; and J.
Marshall-Mies.
“Abilities.” In
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for the 21st Century:
The Development
of O*NET, ed. N.G.
Peterson, M.D.
Mumford, W.C. Borman, P.R. Jeanneret,
and E.A. Fleishman.
Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association, 1999,
pp. 175–95.
10.2 Neisser, U.; G. Boo-
doo; T.J. Bouchard;
A.W. Boykin; N.
Brody; S.J. Ceci; D.F.
Halpern; J.C. Loehlin;
R. Perloff; R.J. Sternberg; and S. Urbina.
“Intelligence: Knowns
and Unknowns.”
American Psychologist
51 (1996), pp. 77–101.
10.3 McCartney, K.; M.J.
Harris; and F. Bernieri. “Growing Up
and Growing Apart:
A Developmental
Meta-Analysis of Twin
Studies.” Psychological
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10.4 Cottrell, J.M.; D.A.
Newman; and G.I.
Roisman. “Explaining the Black-White
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a Theory of Adverse
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10.5 Ceci, S.J. “How Much
Does Schooling
Influence General
Intelligence and
Its Cognitive
Components? A
Reassessment of the
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(1991), pp. 703–22.
10.6 Kohn, M.L., and C.
Schooler. “Occupational Experience and
Psychological Functioning: An Assessment
of Reciprocal Effects.”
American Sociological
Review 38 (1973),
pp. 97–118; Kohn,
M.L., and C. Schooler.
Work and Personality:
An Inquiry into the
Impact of Social
Stratification. Norwood,
NJ: Ablex, 1983;
and Neisser
et al., “Intelligence.”
10.7 Winerman, L.
“Smarter Than Ever?”
Monitor on Psychology, March 2013, pp.
30–33.
10.8 O*NET Online,
http://online.onet
center.org/find/
descriptor/browse/
Abilities/#cur
(accessed June 5,
2006).
10.9 Keiser, H.N.; P.R.
Sackett; N.R. Kuncel;
and T. Brothen. “Why
Women Perform
Better in College
Than Admission
Scores Would Predict:
Exploring the Roles
of Conscientiousness
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Patterns.” Journal of
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(2016), pp. 569–81.
10.10 Fleishman et al.,
“Abilities”; and
O*NET Website. The
O*NET Content Model:
Detailed Outline with
Descriptions (n.d.),
http://www.onetcenter
.org/content.html/
1.A?d=1#cm_1.A.
10.11 Disability Fact Sheet
Handbook, University
of California, Irvine.
http://www.disability
.uci.edu/disability_
handbook/famous_
people.htm (accessed
June 9, 2006).
10.12 Vogelstein, F. “Google
@ $165: Are These
Guys for Real?”
Fortune, December 13,
2004, p. 98, ProQuest
database (accessed
May 14, 2007).
10.13 Carroll, J.B. Human
Cognitive Abilities:
A Survey of FactorAnalytic Studies.
New York: Cambridge
University Press,
1993; Cattell, R.B.
“The Measurement of
Adult Intelligence.”
Psychological Bulletin
40 (1943), pp. 153–93;
Galton, F. Inquire
into Human Faculty
and Its Development.
London: Macmillan,
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C. “General Intelligence, Objectively
Determined and
Measured.” American
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Mental Abilities.” Psychometric Monographs
(Whole No. 1, 1938);
and Vernon, P.E. The
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Abilities. London:
Methuen, 1950.
10.14 Spearman, “General
Intelligence”; and
Spearman, C. The
Abilities of Man: Their
Nature and Measurement. New York:
Macmillan, 1927.
10.15 Neisser et al.,
“Intelligence.”
10.16 Rindermann, H., and
J. Thompson. “Cognitive Capitalism: The
Effect of Cognitive
Ability on Wealth,
as Mediated through
Scientific Achievement and Economic
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10.17 Judge, T.A.; R. Ilies;
and N. Dimotakis.
“Are Health and Happiness the Product
of Wisdom? The
Relationship of General Mental Ability
to Educational and
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10.18 Deary, I.J.; A. Weiss;
and G.D. Batty.
“Intelligence, Personality, and Health Outcomes.” Psychological
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10.19 Batty, G.D.; I.J.
Deary; and L.S. Gottfedson. “Premorbid
(Early Life) IQ and
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Annals of Epidemiology
17 (2007), pp. 278–88.
10.20 Farnham, A. “Are
You Smart Enough
to Keep Your Job? In
an Age of Teamwork
and Fluid Careers, IQ
Alone Doesn’t Cut It
Anymore.” CNNMoney
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ment of the Bar-On
EQ-i: A Measure
of Emotional Intelligence and Social
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1997; Gardner, H.
The Shattered Mind.
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Emotional Intelligence:
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R.K. “Intelligence and
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10.22 Matthews, G.; A.K.
Emo; R.D. Roberts;
and M. Zeidner.
“What Is This Thing
Called Emotional
Intelligence?” In A
Critique of Emotional
Intelligence: What Are
the Problems and How
Can They Be Fixed?,
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Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2006, pp. 3–36;
and Mayer, J.D.; P.
Salovey; and D.R.
Caruso. “Emotional
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Traits?” American Psychologist 63 (2008),
pp. 503–17.
10.23 Salovey, P., and J.D.
Mayer. “Emotional
Intelligence.” Imagination, Cognition, and
Personality 9 (1990),
pp. 185–211; and
Mayer, J.D.; R.D.
Roberts; and S.G.
Barside. “Human
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Intelligence.” Annual
Review of Psychology
59 (2008),
pp. 507–36.
10.24 Davies, M.; L.
Stankov; and R.D.
Roberts. “Emotional
Intelligence: In
Search of an Elusive
Construct.” Journal of
Personality and Social
Psychology 75 (1998),
pp. 989–1015.
10.25 Law, K.S.; C.S. Wong;
and L.J. Song. “The
Construct and Criterion Validity of Emotional Intelligence and
Its Potential Utility for
Management Studies.”
Journal of Applied
Psychology 89 (2004),
pp. 483–96.
10.26 Ibid.
10.27 Farnham, “Are You
Smart Enough to
Keep Your Job?”
10.28 Ibid.
10.29 Davies et al., “Emo-
tional Intelligence”;
and Law et al., “The
Construct and Criterion Validity of Emotional Intelligence.”
10.30 Ibid.
10.31 Parke, M.R., M.G.
Seo; and E.N. Sherf.
"Regulating and
Facilitating: The Role
of Emotional Intelligence in Maintaining
and Using Positive
Affect for Creativity."
Journal of Applied
Psychology 100 (2015),
pp. 917–34.
10.32 Cherniss, C. “The
Business Case for
Emotional Intelligence.” Consortium for
Research on Emotional
Intelligence in Organizations, 2004, http://
www.eiconsortium.
org/research/business_
case_for_ei.htm;
Cote, S., and C.T.H.
Miners. “Emotional
Intelligence, Cognitive Intelligence, and
Job Performance.”
Administrative Science
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