Intelligence-personality associations reconsidered: The importance of distinguishing between general and narrow dimensions of intelligence

Charlie L. Reeve, Rustin D. Meyer, Silvia Bonaccio

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

The relationship between intelligence and personality has been of scientific interest for over 100 years. However, most contemporary estimates of these relationships are limited because they do not separate the variance due to general and narrow cognitive abilities. This study demonstrates that this methodological oversight can distort estimates of intelligence-personality associations by masking true effects and falsely showing others. To test this proposition, we examine correlations between several personality and ability scales, and then repeat the analyses using latent modeling techniques where variance due to general intelligence (g) and narrow mental abilities is appropriately separated. Our results show that estimates of specific intelligence-personality associations based on observed test scores can be both erroneously inflated or deflated.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)387-402
Number of pages16
JournalIntelligence
Volume34
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2006

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

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