Gender differences in self‐estimated intelligence and their relation to gender‐role orientation

Previous research has demonstrated that gender differences in self‐estimated intelligence are domain specific: Males estimate their mathematical, logical and spatial abilities significantly higher than females. It has been frequently hypothesized that these differences are moderated by the individual's degree of gender‐role orientation. However, studies investigating the effect of gender‐role orientation on self‐estimated intelligence revealed highly inconsistent results. In the present study, 267 participants estimated their own abilities in 11 intelligence domains and completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Factor analysis of the 11 intelligence domains yielded four interpretable factors. Gender differences were identified for the mathematical–logical and the artistic intelligence factor. Additional analyses revealed a moderating effect of gender‐role orientation on gender differences in factor scores. Thus, the present study provided direct evidence for the notion that in male, but not in female individuals, self‐estimates of specific aspects of intelligence are markedly influenced by gender‐role orientation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inspection time and its relation to intelligence

Inspection time, defined as the minimum duration for which two different stimuli must be presented if they are to be perceived as different, was measured for both auditory and visual stimuli. The minimum durations were determined by means of a two- alternative forced-choice task for 50 children whose average age was 12 years 2 months. The times were correlated with the children's verbal (Mill-Hill vocabulary) and nonverbal (Raven matrices) intelligence. The Kendall correlation coefficients were ?.3188 and ?.0929 for the auditory and visual inspection times with verbal intelligence, and ?.2322 and ?.2676 for those times with nonverbal intelligence. Auditory and visual inspection times were correlated .1721 with each other. These results do not support earlier claims that inspection time is closely related to conventional measures of intelligence.     

Trait anxiety,stress, and learning a test of Saltz's hypothesis

Behavioral predictions from Saltz's, Spence's, and Spielberger's interpretations of trait anxiety were tested in a complex verbal learning task. Fifty-three high-anxious and 52 low-anxious male college students were randomly distributed to test conditions of failure-stress, pain-stress, or neutral instructions. The learning data revealed that high-anxious-failure and low-anxious-pain Ss were disrupted and supported Saltz's hypothesis; self-reported anxiety (A-State scale, STAI) was observed only in high-anxious-failure Ss and supported Spielberger's theory of the arousal of state anxiety as a function of trait anxiety. However, the contradiction between self-reported anxiety and learning behavior in low-anxious-pain Ss indicated that the verbal report of these Ss was an inaccurate or insensitive index of arousal.     

How personality relates to intelligence test performance: Implications for a theory of intelligence,ageing research and personality assessment

Previously reported findings indicate that variation of EEG evoked potential parameters is strongly related to both personality and intelligence differences (Robinson, 1982a, b). These data and the associated theory imply that personality should relate to intelligence test performance. Results are described in this report which indicate that subtest profiles obtained with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) differ significantly for Ss scoring highest and lowest on the Extraversion (E) scale of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ); introverts tend to do better on the ‘Verbal’ subtests while extraverts tend to do better on the ‘Performance’ measures. Ss with middling scores on the E scale of the EPQ can also be distinguished in terms of specific WAIS profiles. In this case the results define two contrasting groups. Young male Ss with middling E scores tend to have high Psychoticism (P) and low Lie (L) scores on the EPQ as well as having distinctive WAIS profiles characterized by higher scores on subtests normally associated with a ‘Memory’ or ‘Attention-Concentration’ factor. Higher scores were also obtained by this subgroup on the Picture Arrangement and Block Design subtests which were previously shown to load a P + /L ? factor. The converse is true for older female Ss who also have middling E scores. As well as demonstrating a systematic relationship between personality and intelligence test performance these data provide some further support for a model of brain-behaviour relationships proposed by Robinson. Within this theoretical framework a neurophysiologically meaningful explanation can be provided for the three major factors that reliably emerge in factor-analytic studies of the WAIS. From an applied viewpoint, the data indicate that personality differences can be assessed from performance on tests such as the WAIS. On this issue the results are discussed with particular reference to Gittinger's Personality Assessment System. Implications for ageing research are also discussed.     

Working memory capacity and its relation to general intelligence

Early investigations of working memory capacity (WMC) and reasoning ability suggested that WMC might be the basis of Spearman's g. However, recent work has uncovered details about the basic processes involved in working memory tasks, which has resulted in a more principled approach to task development. As a result, claims now being made about the relation between WMC and g are more cautious. A review of the recent research reveals that WMC and g are indeed highly related, but not identical. Furthermore, WM span tasks involve an executive-control mechanism that is recruited to combat interference and this ability is mediated by portions of the prefrontal cortex. More combined experimental-differential research is needed to understand better the basis of the WMC-g relation.     

College students' memory for vocabulary in their majors: evidence for a nonlinear relation between knowledge and memory.

The effect of domain knowledge on students' memory for vocabulary terms was investigated. Participants were 142 college students (94 education majors and 48 business majors). The measure of domain knowledge was the number of courses completed in the major. Students recalled three different lists (control, education, and business) of 20 words. Knowledge effects were estimated controlling for academic aptitude, academic achievement, and general memory ability. Domain-specific knowledge consistently predicted recall, above and beyond the effect of these control variables. Moreover, nonlinear models better represented the relation between knowledge and memory, with very similar functions predicting recall in both knowledge domains. Specifically, early in the majors more classes corresponded with increased memory performance, but a plateau period, when more classes did not result in higher recall, was evident for both majors. Longitudinal research is needed to explore at what point in learning novices' performance begins to resemble experts' performance.