| The purpose of this study was to empirically examine the suggestion by Gottfredson (1986b) that general ability (g) is the "single most useful worker attribute for predicting job performance" (p. 380). This statement calls into question current practices within the field of vocational psychology with regard to the variables that are frequently used in the process of career counseling. The problem under investigation was to objectively compare the efficacy of the general factor of ability (g) as described by Gottfredson (1986b) with the more traditionally used Trait Factor variables of personality and values, in predicting the outcome variables of tenure style and job level hierarchy. An ex-post facto experimental design was employed. This design was guided by past and present theoretical and empirical data, as well as by specific research hypotheses. Thus, the research hypotheses were derived by both logical and empirical findings. The subjects for this study were collected from the client files of the Cleveland, Ohio office of PRADCO. PRADCO is a national consulting firm which contracts with other organizations to provide services germane to management. There were 160 randomly selected client files, equally numbered from both a group of middle management candidates and a group of upper management candidates. The instruments used in the study included: (a) PRADCO Personal Profile; (b) Wesman Personnel Classification Test; and, (c) The Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey. The statistical procedures chosen for the study were The General Linear Model, model comparison procedures. The results indicated that general ability (g) could differentiate between upper and middle management candidates over and above personality and expressed values variables (F(1,133) = 8.6729, p {dollar}<{dollar} 0.0039). The results support the position that general ability (g) is a useful attribute to consider when addressing vocational concerns, as long as the contexts of personality variables and expressed values are also considered. |
