posted on 2017-04-28, 09:07authored byKevin R. Murphy
A series of papers showing that measures of general cognitive ability predicted performance
on the job and in training and that measures of specific cognitive abilities rarely made an incremental
contribution to prediction led to a premature decline in research on the roles of specific abilities
in the workplace. Lessons learned from this research include the importance of choosing the right
general cognitive measures and variables, the relative roles of prediction vs. understanding and the
need for a wide range of criteria when evaluating the contribution of specific skills such as complex
problem solving. In particular, research published since the “not much more than g” era suggests
that distinguishing between fluid and crystallized intelligence is important for understanding the
development and the contribution of complex problem solving.