Challenging the 'Law of diminishing returns'

[Abstract]: 'The Law of Diminishing Returns' (Spearman, 1927) states that the size of the average correlation between cognitive tasks tends to be relatively small in high ability groups and relatively high in low ability groups. Studies supporting this finding have tended to contrast very low ability subjects (IQ < 78) with subjects from higher ability ranges and to use tests that have poor discriminatory power among the higher ability levels. In the first study described in this paper, tasks that provide good discrimination among the higher ability levels were used. A sample of High ability (N = 25) and of Low ability (N = 20) 15-years old boys completed four single tests, two with low and two with high g saturations, and two competing tasks formed from these single tests. The results indicated that, contrary to the predictions of the Law of Diminishing Returns, the amount of common variance was greater in the High ability group. It is suggested that the Law of Diminishing Returns does not take into account the factor of task difficulty and that there are situations where the exact reverse of this law holds. A second study again compared correlations obtained with extreme groups (N=28 & N=29), this time on measures of Perceptual Speed, which are easy for all ability levels. Results indicated that correlations among the Perceptual Speed measures were the same for both groups. In neither of these studies was there any support for the Law, which seems to be dependent on the very high correlations obtained from samples at the extreme lower end of the ability continuum

Competing tasks as an index of intelligence

[Abstract]: Most studies involving competing (or dual) tasks have been concerned with the investigation of models of attention and have stressed the importance of task characteristics in determining competing-task performance. The relatively few studies which have looked at indi¬vidual differences in competing-task performance suggest that measures of this performance could reflect operations which are central to cognitive functioning. This paper examines two key questions which stem from this research: is there a separate ability involved in competing-task performance? Is competing-task performance more indicative of general intellectual functioning? A battery composed of both single and competing tasks was presented to 91 Ss. Two sets of scores, primary and `secondary', were obtained from the competing tasks. The results indicate that `single' and `primary' scores are basically measuring the same thing but that secondary' scores measure what is perhaps a time-sharing factor. There is also some evidence that primary and secondary scores are more indicative of the general factor, as measured by this battery, than their single counterparts

Teasing Apart Overclaiming, Overconfidence, and Socially Desirable Responding

Contamination with positivity bias is a potential problem in virtually all areas of psychological assessment. To determine the impact of positivity bias, one common approach is to embed special indicators within one’s assessment battery. Such tools range from social desirability scales to overconfidence measures to the so-called overclaiming technique. Despite the large literature on these different approaches and underlying theoretical notions, little is known about the overall nomological network—in particular, the degree to which these constructs overlap. To this end, a broad spectrum of positivity bias detection tools was administered in low-stakes settings (N = 798) along with measures of the Big Five, grandiose narcissism, and cognitive ability. Exploratory factor analyses revealed six first-order and two second-order factors. Overclaiming was not loaded by any of the six first-order factors and overconfidence was not explained by either of the two second-order factors. All other measures were confounded with personality and/or cognitive ability. Based on our findings, overclaiming is the most distinct potential indicator of positivity bias and independent of known personality measures.Peer Reviewe

Militant Extremist Mindset in Post-conflict Regions of the Balkans

This study explores the structure of Militant Extremist Mindset (MEM) within a sample of participants living in areas with enhanced risk of intergroup conflict. We were also interested in comparing members of three different ethnic groups (Serbs, Albanians, and Bosniaks) on MEM measures. A short version of the MEM scale was created for future use. We found that the factorial structure of MEM was replicated in the sample composed of people from both sides of a conflict. Ethnic groups did not differ significantly on the Grudge component of MEM. Group differences were pronounced on the Pro-violence and Utopianism factors. Albanians scored higher than Bosniaks and Serbs on these two dimensions. However, significant differences were obtained on the Ethos of Conflict (EOC) factor when groups of Serbs living within and outside areas of recent conflict were compared

Abilities involved in performance on competing tasks

It has been suggested that situations requiring the division of attention between competing activities can tap abilities which are central to cognitive functioning. This paper attempted to determine whether there are identifiable characteristics in the single tests that will help to predict changes in general factor loadings when they are presented as components of competing tasks. The framework for the study was provided by the theory of fluid (GO and crystallized (Gc) intelligence. A battery of single and competing tasks was presented to 126 subjects. The competing tasks represented a variety of within and across factor combinations from different levels of the Gf/Gc hierarchy. Modality of presentation was also varied in some combinations. The results indicate that single and competing tasks measure the same broad ability of the Gf/Gc theory and that general factor loadings can decrease as well as increase in the competing task situation. There is also evidence that these tendencies depend, to some extent, on the degree to which the tasks require the same cognitive factors or use the same sensory modalities. Overall, it is assumed that competing tasks do make greater demands on general ability but that, unless the requirements of the single tests themselves are relatively small, performance breakdown, with an accompanying decrease in general factors loadings, is the likely outcome

Depression and life satisfaction among European and Confucian adolescents

The purpose of this study was to compare adolescents from Europe and Confucian Asia on measures of psychological constructs that reflect either maladjustment or positive outlook on life. Empirical findings are reported based on N = 7,167 secondary school students (15 years old) from Confucian Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) and from Europe (Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Serbia, and Latvia with 2 nationalities—Latvian and Russian). Participants’ responses were used to assess several aspects of personality and psychopathology, in addition to well-being, social attitudes, and parental styles. Exploratory factor analysis of these measures produced 4 factors: Depression, Life Satisfaction, Toughness and Modesty. Adolescents from Confucian countries show higher levels of Depression and lower levels of Life Satisfaction in comparison to their European counterparts. The most potent influences on Depression and Life Satisfaction were found to be Toughness and Parental Warmth variables, both of which are, in turn, linked to differences between regions/cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Large-scale cross-cultural studies of cognitive and noncognitive constructs

Although cross-cultural studies that employ survey methodology in a small number of countries are likely to continue, either as a pilot or as an in-depth analysis of phenomena that may be limited to a few countries or world regions, much of the future empirical work and theorizing will be based on large-scale studies that involve many countries. This trend is being encouraged by the emerging political and economic regional alliances and globalization processes. From among the different applied sub-disciplines of psychology, two have been particularly responsive to these developments. Educational psychology has been focused on comparing countries on measures of achievement in areas such as mathematics, language, science, civics and other subjects taught in schools. These, along with various measures of abilities, belong to a class of cognitive processes. Industrial/Organizational psychology, on the other hand, has focussed on what can be broadly defined as the study of cross-cultural differences in values, including personality and social attitudes and norms in order to gain an improved understanding of processes that affect communication among people from different world regions. These can be labelled as noncognitive processes. This special issue provides a snapshot of some recent large-scale cross-cultural work on cognitive and non-cognitive constructs. As it turns out, however, of the five studies included in this selection three have crossed the boundaries and contain information on both sets of constructs. These three studies examine the link between non-cognitive and cognitive processes using individual and country-level data. In this introduction I shall summarize the main findings of each study. In the last part I shall comment on some of the issues that arise from this line of research

Four GLOBE dimensions of perceived social norms in 33 countries

In this article we report on an attempt to replicate the findings from the GLOBE (House et al., 2004) study that utilized measures of perceived social norms. This study was based on N = 6938 participants from 33 countries. Four out of nine original dimensions were identified: Humane Orientation, Uncertainty Avoidance/Future Orientation, Power Distance and Gender (Non)Egalitarianism. At the country level, these factors correlated reasonably well with the original GLOBE scales. We report profiles of means for all countries and for nine world regions. For the four perceived social norms, the percentage of total variance — i.e., effect size based on eta-squared statistics and hierarchical linear modelling decompositions — attributable to cross-cultural differences is .20. This effect size is larger than those reported for measures of personality traits and values (Stankov, 2011)

Individual differences within the psychological atlas of the world

This paper presents findings based on 8883 participants from 33 countries. It employs mixture modeling (latent profile analysis) to classify individuals into latent classes/groups. The analyses are based on 12 factor scores from the domains of social attitudes (3 factors), social axioms (5 factors) and social norms (4 factors). Five latent classes were identified and most countries tend to have individual members from each class. The three largest groups consisting of 75% of the total number of participants differed in terms of the mean levels on factor scores. Group 1, labeled Liberal, had low mean factor scores on 11 out of 12 measures. Group 2, labeled Moderate, had average factor scores and Conservative Group 3 had high scores. Participants from each group were more common in some and less common in other countries. European countries plus Australia and Canada had the largest number of individuals belonging to Liberal Group 1. Conservative Group 3 had large number of individuals from South Asia and South-East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. All other countries in our sample, including the USA, Russia and China had the largest number of people from the Moderate Group 2