Individual differences in information processing: An investigation of intellectual abilities and task performance during practice

A conceptual theory for predicting the relations between intellectual abilities and performance during task practice is proposed and evaluated. This macro-theory integrates modern hierarchical theories of intellectual abilities with information-processing theories of automatic and controlled processing (Schneider & Shiffrin, 1977) and performance-resource functions (Norman & Bobrow, 1975). An empirical evaluation of the theory is provided from an experiment with high school and college students. Subjects practiced for several hours on verbal and spatial memory tasks with consistent and varied information-processing manipulations. Derived correlations between ability factors and task performance measures indicate support for the theory and support for linkage of the concepts of intellectual abilities and attentional resources.