Testing the indifferentiation hypothesis during childhood, adolescence and adulthood

The general (g) factor is the most general and relevant cognitive ability. This factor is considered to be one of the most important predictors of academic achievement and of many other socially relevant behavioral outcomes. In the last decades, many researchers have investigated the possible change...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Juan Espinosa, Manuel de, Cuevas Esteban, Lara, Escorial Martín, Sergio, García, Luis F.
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2006
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositório:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/132674
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/132674
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Cognitive abilities structure
G factor
Indifferentiation hypothesis
WAIS
TEA battery
Aptitudes e inteligencia (Psicología)
Psicología evolutiva
Psicología diferencial
61 Psicología
Descrição
Resumo:The general (g) factor is the most general and relevant cognitive ability. This factor is considered to be one of the most important predictors of academic achievement and of many other socially relevant behavioral outcomes. In the last decades, many researchers have investigated the possible changes in the relevance of the g factor from childhood to adulthood. The indifferentiation hypothesis states that the variance attributed to the g factor and the main cognitive abilities will not change over the life span. In the present study, the authors tested that hypothesis in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood by using 2 different cognitive batteries (Test of Educational Ability [TEA; S. A. TEA, 1999], Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales [WAIS; D. Wechsler, 1955]), which they administered in 2 different countries-Spain (TEA) and the United States (WAIS). The ages of the participants (N = 2,384) ranged from 8 to 54 years. Results showed that the number of factors extracted and the relevance were the same for every age group in both batteries, as predicted by the indifferentiation hypothesis. The authors discuss implications of intelligence assessment.