Sex differences on the Attention Test (AC), the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), and the Brazilian Cognitive Battery (BPR5), were investigated using four large samples (total N=6780), residing in the states of Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo. The majority of samples used, which were obtained from educational settings, could be considered a…

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…

Three prominent theories of intelligence, the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC), extended fluid-crystallized (Gf-Gc) and verbal-perceptual-image rotation (VPR) theories, provide differing descriptions of the structure of intelligence (McGrew, 2009; Horn & Blankson, 2005; Johnson & Bouchard, 2005b). To compare these theories, models representing them were…

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…

Research into sex differences in general intelligence, g, has resulted in two opposite views. In the first view, a g-difference is nonexistent, while in the second view, g is associated with a male advantage. Past research using Multi-Group Covariance and Mean Structure Analysis (MG-CMSA) found no sex difference in g. This failure raised the…

Measures of broad fluid abilities including verbal, quantitative, and figural reasoning are commonly used in the K-12 school context for a variety of purposes. However, differentiation of these domains is difficult for young children (grades K-2) who lack basic linguistic and mathematical literacy. This study examined the latent factor structure…

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…

In an argument for orthogonal variables to explain intelligence, higher-order constructs, including "g" as a single thing in intelligence, are suggested to inevitably result from complex systems with interrelated parts. Biological reductionism and other arguments for the higher-order constructs as explanations of intellectual functioning…

and discussed.There has been some debate recently over the scoring, reliability and factor structure of ability measures of emotional intelligence (EI). This study examined these three psychometric properties with the most recent ability test of EI, the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT V2.0; Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso,…

Studied whether a primary imagery (IM) factor can be identified as a separate dimension of individual differences in the spatial ability domain. Findings for 213 adults suggest the existence of three first-order IM factors, and a second-order confirmatory factor analysis suggests that the visual imagery dimensions can be located within the spatial…

Cluster analysis, applied to Carroll's cognitive theory, indicates that the obtained clusters make intuitive sense and imply that taxonomy is possible. Moreover, some clusters are similar to those suggested by other theories, especially the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence. (Author/CP)

Created an adaptation of the Digit Symbol subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Digit Symbol Rotation test, and evaluated its "g" loading with 54 adults. Results suggest the Digit Symbol Rotation test has more factorial validity than Digit Symbol, but remains equally easy to administer and score. (SLD)