Sophie von Stumm

The Hungry Mind: Intellectual Curiosity Is the Third Pillar of Academic Performance

Over the past century, academic performance has become the gatekeeper to institutions of higher education, shaping career paths and individual life trajectories. Accordingly, much psychological research has focused on identifying predictors of academic performance, with intelligence and effort emerging as core determinants. In this article, we propose expanding on the traditional set of predictors by adding a third agency: intellectual curiosity. A series of path models based on a meta-analytically derived correlation matrix showed that (a) intelligence is the single most powerful predictor of academic performance; (b) the effects of intelligence on academic performance are not mediated by personality traits; (c) intelligence, Conscientiousness (as marker of effort), and Typical Intellectual Engagement (as marker of intellectual curiosity) are direct, correlated predictors of academic performance; and (d) the additive predictive effect of the personality traits of intellectual curiosity and effort rival that the influence of intelligence. Our results highlight that a “hungry mind” is a core determinant of individual differences in academic achievement.

Investment and intellect: A review and meta-analysis

Cognitive or intellectual investment theories propose that the development of intelligence is partially influenced by personality traits, in particular by so-called investment traits that determine when, where, and how people invest their time and effort in their intellect. This investment, in turn, is thought to contribute to individual differences in cognitive growth and the accumulation of knowledge across the life span. We reviewed the psychological literature and identified 34 trait constructs and corresponding scales that refer to intellectual investment. The dispositional constructs were further classified into 8 related trait categories that span the construct space of intellectual investment. Subsequently, we sought to estimate the association between the identified investment traits and indicators of adult intellect, including measures of crystallized intelligence, academic performance (e.g., grade point average), college entry tests, and acquired knowledge. A meta-analysis of 112 studies with 236 coefficients and an overall sample of 60,097 participants indicated that investment traits were mostly positively associated with adult intellect markers. Meta-analytic coefficients ranged considerably, from 0 to .58, with an average estimate of .30. We concluded that investment traits are overall positively related to adult intellect; the strength of investment-intellect associations differs across trait scales and markers of intellect; and investment traits have a diverse, multifaceted nature. The meta-analysis also identified areas of inquiry that are currently lacking in empirical research. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.

Childhood behavior problems and health at midlife: 35-year follow-up of a Scottish birth cohort

BACKGROUND Childhood behavior problems are associated with premature mortality. To identify plausible pathways that may account for this association, we explored the extent to which childhood behavior problems relate to health behaviors and health outcomes at midlife. METHODS The Aberdeen Children of the 1950s (ACONF) study comprises 12,500 children from the Aberdeen area, Scotland, UK. Childhood behavior problems were assessed by teacher ratings at childrens age of 6-12 years. Between 2001 and 2003, surviving study members, then aged 46-51 years, were mailed a questionnaire containing enquiries about physician-diagnosed conditions (long-term disease, diabetes, high blood pressure), general health, well-being, weight, smoking, and alcohol intake. A total of 7,183 responded. RESULTS Two dimensions of externalizing (conduct problems and hyperactivity) and one of internalizing (emotional problems) behaviors were associated with adult health. Childhood conduct problems were related to an increased risk of long-term disease (odds ratio per one standard deviation increase; 95% confidence interval: 1.15; 1.02-1.29 for men; 1.26; 1.08-1.47 for women), obesity (1.16; 1.01-1.33 in men; 1.38; 1.14-1.68 in women), cigarette smoking (1.20; 1.07-1.34 in men; 1.17; 1.01-1.35 in women), and lower well-being. Childhood hyperactivity was associated with earlier initiation of smoking in men and women; smoking more cigarettes in women; and binge-drinking, as well as a higher frequency of hangovers in men. Internalizing behavior was related to a reduced the risk of ever smoking (.87; .80-.95 in men; .92; .85-.99 in women) and to healthier drinking patterns. In women but not men, internalizing problems also predicted a later age of smoking onset. Adjusting for socio-economic status of origin, childhood intelligence, education and age had negligible effects on these results. CONCLUSIONS Childhood behavior problems were associated with a series of adult health-related habits that may partially account for the link between early problem behaviors and premature mortality.

Decomposing self-estimates of intelligence: Structure and sex differences across 12 nations

This study examines the structure of self-estimates of intelligence (SEI) across 12 nations (Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Iran, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, UK and US). Participants rated themselves on general and specific abilities from three popular models of intelligence: Gardners multiple intelligences, Sternbergs triarchic theory of intelligence, and Golemans emotional intelligence. The results showed that (a) laypeople across nations have similar and invariant concepts of intelligence, (b) concepts of intelligence are cross-culturally closely related to academic notions of intellectual ability and (c) sex differences in general and specific SEI favouring men are consistent across countries. Male hubris and female humility in SEI seem independent of sex differences in actual cognitive ability and national levels of masculinity-femininity. Furthermore, international mean differences in general SEI could not be attributed to discrepancies in national intelligence quotient (IQ) levels or to cultural variations.

INDEPENDENT EFFECTS OF PERSONALITY AND SEX ON SELF-ESTIMATED INTELLIGENCE: EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRIA

-The effects of sex and personality traits on self-estimates of intelligence were examined in a sample of 302 Austrian adults (143 men, 159 women). Confirming previous research, men had higher self-estimates of logical and spatial abilities than did women, and these differences were partly explained in terms of womens higher Neuroticism scores. Neuroticism (negatively) and openness (positively) accounted significantly for variances in self-estimates of spatial and logical intelligence. However, sex had stronger direct and indirect effects on self-estimates of intelligence. Sex and personality effects appear to be largely independent. thus, being male, emotionally stable, and open to new experiences is likely to result in higher self-estimates of spatial and logical abilities.

The new genetics of intelligence

Intelligence — the ability to learn, reason and solve problems — is at the forefront of behavioural genetic research. Intelligence is highly heritable and predicts important educational, occupational and health outcomes better than any other trait. Recent genome-wide association studies have successfully identified inherited genome sequence differences that account for 20% of the 50% heritability of intelligence. These findings open new avenues for research into the causes and consequences of intelligence using genome-wide polygenic scores that aggregate the effects of thousands of genetic variants.

Typical intellectual engagement and cognition in the ninth decade of life: The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921.

Investment traits--the tendency to seek out and engage in cognitive activity--might affect intellectual growth across the life span, specifically the development from fluid to crystallized intelligence. Here we explore how childhood IQ at age 11 years, IQ at age 79, and the investment trait Typical Intellectual Engagement (TIE) at age 81 affect the mean level and change in verbal fluency scores, used as an indicator of crystallized intelligence, across the ages 79, 83, and 87 in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (maximum N = 569; Deary, Whiteman, Starr, Whalley, & Fox, 2004). A first latent growth model showed significant variance in the mean level of verbal fluency and significant decline in verbal fluency from age 79 to age 87. The rate of change was invariant across study participants in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921. A second model found that IQ at age 11 significantly predicted IQ at age 79 (β = .66; p < .001), which in turn predicted verbal fluency and TIE in the ninth decade of life with standardized path parameters of .46 and .15 (p < .001), respectively. TIE had a significant association with verbal fluency (β = .14, p = .002); together, IQ at age 11 and 79 and TIE accounted for 25.5% of the variance in verbal fluency. A final model identified the TIE subfactor of intellectual curiosity as a significant mediator of the effect of IQ on verbal fluency; the TIE subfactors abstract thinking, reading, and problem solving showed no significant associations. In summary, TIE--in particular, intellectual curiosity--significantly mediated the effects of IQ on crystallized intelligence in old age. Because there was no significant between-subjects variance in verbal fluency trajectories in the current study, neither TIE nor IQ were associated with individual differences in cognitive decline.

A Taxonomy of Self-Estimated Human Performance

Previous research often examined self-estimated intelligence in relation to academic models of human cognitive ability or popular models of intelligence (e.g., Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences). The present study employed a different concept of ability, namely, Fleishman’s (1975) structure of human performance, to investigate the psychometric structure of self-estimates. A structural equation model generally confirmed Fleishman’s apriori taxonomy. In addition, the structure of self-estimated abilities closely resembled models of measured cognitive ability (e.g., Carroll, 1993) and one latent trait, termed general factor , was identified. Modest sex differences in self-estimated ability were confirmed in favor of men; however, the latter were noteworthy only for the domains of spatial orientation and physical strengths. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Heritability of Intraindividual Mean and Variability of Positive and Negative Affect: Genetic Analysis of Daily Affect Ratings Over a Month

Positive affect (e.g., attentiveness) and negative affect (e.g., upset) fluctuate over time. We examined genetic influences on interindividual differences in the day-to-day variability of affect (i.e., ups and downs) and in average affect over the duration of a month. Once a day, 17-year-old twins in the United Kingdom (N = 447) rated their positive and negative affect online. The mean and standard deviation of each individual’s daily ratings across the month were used as the measures of that individual’s average affect and variability of affect. Analyses revealed that the average of negative affect was significantly heritable (.53), but the average of positive affect was not; instead, the latter showed significant shared environmental influences (.42). Fluctuations across the month were significantly heritable for both negative affect (.54) and positive affect (.34). The findings support the two-factor theory of affect, which posits that positive affect is more situational and negative affect is more dispositional.

Intellect and cognitive performance in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

Investment personality traits are thought to positively affect cognitive performance in old age, even after controlling for prior cognitive ability. In the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (N = 1,091), a cross-lagged model tested for reciprocal effects of the investment trait Intellect on verbal fluency, an indicator of crystallized intelligence, at age 70 and 73 years, while adjusting for general IQ at age 11 and 70 years. Intellect at age 70 was weakly associated with contemporaneous verbal fluency but had no significant effects on fluency at age 73. Conversely, verbal fluency at age 70 was significantly, positively related to Intellect at age 73. The results suggest that better verbal fluency precedes intellectual investment in old age rather than the other way around.