Critical Places Beyond the Psychology of Well-Being and Competitiveness

The purpose of the present contribution is to look beyond the limits evident in dualistic discourses in educational practices. Torn between the promises of well-being or the hard facts of competitiveness, educational institutions at all levels of instruction might miss the point of a more holistic approach to learning and creativity. Looking beyond dichotomous discourses in educational practices is harder than ever, in a world where globalisation demands high standards of competitiveness and neoliberalism denies all but economic growth targets. Approaches that envision different solutions are necessarily imaginative, critical and alternative to rigid discourses. In order to find foundational evidence for alternative ways of thinking and talking about learning, I will look at how Dewian and Vygotskyan conceptualisations walk the same paths and go towards holistic suggestions. Concluding remarks will address the disruptive potential of critical thinking in schools for the future.     

General Mental Ability and pay: Nonlinear effects

While many studies have examined the linear relationship between intelligence and economic success, only few, if any, examined their nonlinear relationships. The current study examines such relationships in a large, nationally representative sample, using pay as an indicator of economic success. The results show that the effect of General Mental Ability (GMA) on pay depends on occupational complexity; the greater the complexity, the stronger the effect. They also show that, by and large, there is a marginally decreasing (concave) effect of GMA on pay. Methodological and practical questions concerning the relationship between cognitive ability and pay are discussed.     

On intelligence education and religious beliefs

A number of authors have suggested that education mediates the negative effect of intelligence on religiosity. However, there is very little direct evidence for this mediation, and the indirect evidence is contradictory. The results of the current paper suggest that, by and large, education does not mediate the effect of intelligence on religiosity. However, the results also suggest that since education has a positive effect on religiosity when religious background is strong and a negative effect when religious background is weak, and since intelligence has a positive effect on education, the negative effect of intelligence on religiosity is stronger when religious background is strong than when it is weak. We examine this mediated moderation model in two large, nationally representative, databases.     

Intelligence and religiosity: Within families and over time

We study the effect of intelligence (General Mental Ability) on religiosity using research designs that allow for stronger causal inferences compared to previous research in this area. First, we examine how between-siblings differences in intelligence are related to differences in their religiosity. Second, we examine how intelligence is related to changes in religiosity over time. The results of both designs suggest that intelligence has a strong negative effect on religiosity. In addition, our results also suggest that intelligence interacts with age in determining religiosity: the more intelligent the person, the stronger the negative effect of age on religiosity.