The Effects of Cognitive Ability and Conscientiousness on Performance Over Time: A Censored Latent Growth Model

This study examined the extent to which cognitive ability and conscientiousness predicted initial academic performance (i.e., grade point average) and changes in performance over the course of college students' careers. A censored latent growth model that controlled for initial performance was used. Results showed positive effects of cognitive ability and conscientiousness on initial performance, but only positive effects of conscientiousness on performance change. However, because initial performance negatively affected performance change, cognitive ability and conscientiousness negatively indirectly affected performance change through initial performance. In addition, results revealed cognitive ability accounted for more variance in initial performance than conscientiousness, and conscientiousness accounted for more variance in performance change than cognitive ability. Finally, results show that, beyond the third semester, conscientiousness is a better predictor of student performance than cognitive ability.     

Self-Regulation and Performance in High-Fidelity Simulations: An Extension of Ego-Depletion Research

This article extends the research literature related to “ego-depletion.” Although numerous studies have focused on the self-regulatory failure associated with ego-depletion, the extant literature is generally characterized by relatively simple behavioral manipulations and dependent measures. Two studies are described that extend previous ego-depletion findings by employing a high-fidelity, customer service simulation as an ego-depleting manipulation (Study 1) and by using performance on a cognitively demanding naval combat simulator as a dependent measure (Study 2). Results of both studies show the generalizability of the effects of ego-depletion; the implications for self-regulatory failure in more naturalistic settings are discussed.