ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of cognitive ability’s key role in staffing organizations and provides evidence-based practice recommendations. It presents a brief synopsis of the history, current usage, and acceptance of cognitive ability tests in employee selection. The chapter highlights the theoretical underpinnings and structure of cognitive ability as a construct. It discusses developments in its measurement. The chapter also presents an overview of the criterion-related validity of cognitive ability tests in predicting valued work behaviors and outcomes, including non-task-performance criteria that have been increasingly investigated in recent years. It also discusses the issue of group differences in cognitive ability test scores both within the United States and internationally. The chapter also presents future research and challenges facing organizations that intend to use cognitive ability tests in making employee selection decisions. Somewhat easier challenge is that of enhancing the acceptability of cognitive ability measures among applicants to high-complexity jobs.
