Spearman's law of diminishing returns (SLODR) posits that at higher levels of general cognitive ability the general factor ("g") performs less well in explaining individual differences in cognitive test performance. Research has generally supported SLODR, but previous research has required the a priori division of respondents into…

Researchers interested in working memory have debated whether it should be considered a single latent cognitive ability or a set of essentially independent latent abilities distinguished by domain-specific memory and/or processing resources. Simultaneously, researchers interested in cognitive aging have established that there are substantial…

This paper compares different theoretical models of the structure of intelligence, based on the analysis of data obtained in a series of measured abilities corresponding to the Spectrum assessment activities (Gardner, Feldman & Krechevsky, 1998) in a sample of 393 children enrolled in kindergarten and first grade. The data were analyzed using…

The objective of this study is to explore the potential for developing IRT-based working memory scales for assessing specific working memory components in children (8-13 years). These working memory scales should measure cognitive abilities reliably in the upper range of ability distribution as well as in the normal range, and provide a…

Spearman's "law of diminishing returns" or SLODR refers to a decrease in "g" saturation as ability level increases. SLODR has been demonstrated in a number of intellectual batteries but several important aspects of the phenomenon are not yet well understood. We investigated the presence of SLODR in the Kaufman Assessment…

A historical increase in the number of factors purportedly measured by commercial tests of cognitive ability may result from four distinct pressures including: increasingly complex models of intelligence, test publishers' desires to provide clinically useful assessment instruments with greater interpretive value, test publishers' desires to…

A three-stratum theory of intelligence was tested using hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis with the LISREL computer program. Results from subsamples of a group of 6,359 participants aged 2 to 90 years supported the 3-stratum theory, but did not support developmental changes in the organization of cognitive abilities. (SLD)

This study was designed to test the reliability of five major models of the structure of cognitive abilities. A battery of 16 tests was administered to 1000 Swedish sixth graders. Based on the results, a three-level hierarchical LISREL-based model (the HILI-model) is suggested. (Author/EGS)

This study explored the structure of elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs) and relations between the corresponding construct(s) with processing speed (Gs) and fluid intelligence (Gf). Participants (N=321) completed 14 ECTs, 3 Gs, and 6 Gf marker tests, all administered in paper-and-pencil format to reduce potential confounds evident when tasks are…

This study examined whether a timesharing factor can be identified when a number of competing tasks are presented in the midst of a range of single tests designed to sample a broad range of psychological dimensions. A battery of single and competing tasks was presented to 126 subjects. (Author/LMO)

This study investigates the nature and the factor structure of infant intelligence. The Bayley Mental Scale items were administered. According to the analysis, intelligence at any age is a set of separate mental abilities at each age, and there are a variety of paths through which mental development occurs. (JAZ)

The hierarchical and radex models of ability organization are shown to be parallel. Both suggest a complexity continuum for cognitive performance tasks which, in the radex model, corresponds to the general-to-specific dimension in factor analyses. The bases for this continuum indicate its importance for theories of intelligence. (Author/RD)

Members of 118 families were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; a cognitive test battery; and tests of visual, auditory, and figure memory. Factor analysis of memory scores resulted in four-factor solution. Significant spouse correlations and significant midparent-midchild regressions were found for some of the memory measures.…

Cross-cultural generalizability of Cattell's triadic theory of ability structure was examined for Hebridean, Ugandan, Canadian Eskimo, and native Indian samples. Four of the six postulated second-order capacities were found as well as a Piagetian conservation factor. At a most global order of generality, two larger, third-order factors were found.…

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test first- and second-order factor models on cognitive abilities and their invariance across samples of 234 male and 225 female secondary school students. Factor models suggest that males and females may use different problem-solving strategies for spatial analogies, matrices, and numerical problems. (SLD)