ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on how the reliance on the cognitive ability-performance relation has yielded a flawed model of selection that is overly loaded on cognition. A basic question of research in Industrial and Organizational (I/O) psychology is how to predict job performance. The prediction of job performance is one of the most complex questions facing the field of I/O psychology. The chapter examines the missing aspects of the model of personnel selection that has emerged, and argues that this model is overly loaded on cognition. The primary focus of personnel selection research is to identify individuals who have the ability to perform particular jobs. The analogous question for intelligence is which structural model of this construct best predicts job performance. A critical issue involves the overall strength of the relation between cognitive ability and job performance. Although many note the consistent predictive validity of cognitive ability tests, they only account for approximately 25% of the variance in job performance.