1. Chapter 10 Ability McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Slide 10-2 Learning Goals  What is ability, and where do individual differences in ability come from?  What are the various types of cognitive ability?  What are the various types of emotional ability?  What are the various types of physical ability?  How does cognitive ability affect job performance and organizational commitment?  What steps can organizations take to hire people with high levels of cognitive ability?

3. Slide 10-3 Ability  Ability  Ability is relatively stable.  Abilities are a function of both genes and the environment.  OB on Screen  Gattaca

4. Slide 10-4 Cognitive Ability  Cognitive abilities  Verbal ability  Oral comprehension  Written comprehension  Oral expression  Written expression

5. Slide 10-5 Cognitive Ability, Cont’d  Quantitative ability  Number facility  Mathematical reasoning

6. Slide 10-6 Cognitive Ability, Cont’d  Reasoning ability  Problem sensitivity  Deductive reasoning  Inductive reasoning  Originality

7. Slide 10-7 Cognitive Ability, Cont’d  Spatial ability  Spatial orientation  Visualization  Perceptual abilities  Speed and flexibility of closure  Perceptual speed

8. Slide 10-8 Types and Facets of Cognitive Ability Table 10-1

9. Slide 10-9 Cognitive Ability, Cont’d  People who are high on verbal abilities also tend to be high on reasoning, quantitative, spatial, and perceptual abilities.  The most popular explanation for the similarity in the levels of different cognitive abilities within people is that there is a general mental ability —sometimes called g or the g factor.

10. Slide 10-10 The “g-factor” Figure 10-1

11. Slide 10-11 Emotional Ability  Emotional intelligence  Self-awareness  Ability of an individual to understand the types of emotions he or she is experiencing, the willingness to acknowledge them, and the capability to express them naturally.  Other awareness  Person’s ability to recognize and understand the emotions that other people are feeling.

12. Slide 10-12 Emotional Ability, Cont’d  Emotional intelligence, continued  Emotion regulation  Use of emotions  It is a more important determinant of job performance for people with lower levels of cognitive intelligence.  It is the foundation for cultural intelligence.

13. Slide 10-13 Physical Abilities  Strength  Static strength  Explosive strength  Dynamic strength

14. Slide 10-14 Physical Abilities, Cont’d  Stamina  Flexibility  Extent flexibility  Dynamic flexibility  Gross body coordination  Gross body equilibrium

15. Slide 10-15 Physical Abilities Adapted from Table 10-2

16. Slide 10-16 Physical Abilities, Cont’d  Psychomotor abilities  Fine manipulative abilities  Control movement abilities  Response orientation  Response time

17. Slide 10-17 Physical Abilities, Cont’d  Sensory abilities  Near and far vision  Visual color discrimination and depth perception  Hearing sensitivity  Auditory attention  Speech recognition

18. Slide 10-18 What Are the Specific Types of Ability? Figure 10-3

19. Slide 10-19 Discussion Questions  What combination of abilities is appropriate for the job of your dreams? Do you possess those abilities?  If you fall short on any of these abilities, what could you do to improve?

20. Slide 10-20 How Important Is Ability  Cognitive ability is a strong predictor of job performance — in particular, the task performance aspect.  People who have higher general cognitive ability tend to be better at learning and decision making.  Cognitive ability tends to be more strongly correlated with task performance than citizenship behavior or counterproductive behavior.  Research has not supported a significant linkage between cognitive ability and organizational commitment.

21. Slide 10-21 Effects of General Cognitive Ability on Performance and Commitment Figure 10-4

22. Slide 10-22 The Wonderlic Personnel Test  Given the strong relationship between general cognitive ability and job performance, many organizations are using ability tests to hire new employees.  Wonderlic Personnel Test  Offers recommendations for minimum passing scores for different job families.

23. Slide 10-23 Suggested Minimum Wonderlic Scores for Various Jobs JOBAVERAGE SCORES Mechanical Engineer30 Attorney29 Executive28 Nurse26 Firefighter21 Unskilled Laborer17 Maid-Matron16 Adapted from Table 10-3

24. Slide 10-24 Takeaways  Ability refers to the relatively stable capabilities of people to perform a particular range of different but related activities. Differences in ability are a function of both genes and the environment.  Cognitive abilities include verbal ability, quantitative ability, reasoning ability, spatial ability, and perceptual ability. General mental ability, or g, underlies all of these more specific cognitive abilities.  Emotional intelligence includes four specific kinds of emotional skills: self-awareness, other awareness, emotion regulation, and use of emotions.

25. Slide 10-25 Takeaways, Cont’d  Physical abilities include strength, stamina, flexibility and coordination, psychomotor abilities, and sensory abilities.  General cognitive ability has a strong positive relationship with job performance, due primarily to its effects on task performance. In contrast, general cognitive ability is not related to organizational commitment.  Many organizations use cognitive ability tests to hire applicants with high levels of general mental ability. One of the most commonly used tests is the Wonderlic Personnel Test.