What is the G Factor (General Intelligence)?

General intelligence may be characterised as a construct composed of several cognitive talents. These qualities enable people to learn and solve difficulties.

This essential mental capacity is the foundation for particular mental talents such as spatial, numerical, mechanical, and linguistic abilities. This general intelligence is thought to impact performance in all cognitive activities

How does it work?

Athleticism can be used to compare general intelligence. A person may be a fantastic runner, but this does not guarantee that they will also be a great figure skater.

However, because these people are athletic and fit, they will most likely perform far better in other physical activities than less coordinated and sedentary people.

General Intelligence components

General intelligence is said to be made up of several major components. These are some examples:

  • Fluid reasoning: The capacity to think creatively and solve difficulties.

  • Knowledge: This is a person's general comprehension of a wide range of things and is analogous to crystallised intelligence.

  • Quantitative reasoning refers to an individual's ability to answer numerical difficulties.

  • Visual-spatial processing: It refers to a person's ability to comprehend and manipulate visual information by putting puzzles together and replicating complicated forms.

  • Working memory is the use of short-term memory, such as the ability to repeat a list of objects.

G Factor and job success

Job Success IQ has long been regarded to be related to professional success. This is why psychological testing for pre-employment screening and job placement has become popular. Many have questioned whether broad mental talents were more significant than specialised cognitive abilities.

According to 2020 research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, both general intelligence and particular mental abilities significantly impact professional success, including salary and job accomplishment.

As the intricacy of the task rises, so does the relevance of the g factor for job performance. Higher general intelligence becomes more valuable in vocations with a high degree of complexity.