The locus of adult intelligence: Knowledge, abilities, and nonability traits

Some intelligence theorists (e.g., R. B. Cattell, 1943; D. O. Hebb, 1942) h ave suggested that knowledge is one aspect of human intelligence that is we ll preserved or increases during adult development. Very little is known ab out knowledge structures across different domains or about how individual d ifferences in knowledge relate to other traits. Twenty academic and technol ogy-oriented tests were administered to 135 middle-aged adults. In comparis on with younger college students, the middle-aged adults knew more about ne arly all of the various knowledge domains. Knowledge was partly predicted b y general intelligence: by crystallized abilities, and by personality, inte rest, and self-concept. Implications of this work are discussed in the cont ext of a developmental theory that focuses on the acquisition and maintenan ce of intelligence-as-knowledge, as well as the role of knowledge for predi cting the vocational and avocational task performance of adults.