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Are g and the General Factor of Personality Correlated?
Irwing, P., Booth, T., Nyborg, H., & Rushton, P.
In: 11th Annual Conference of the International Society for Intelligence Research. ; Washington, USA. 2010.
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Abstract
Life history (LH) theory posits that clusters of correlated traits lie on a continuum. Fast strategies are hypothesized to evolve in harsh and unpredictable environments, while the reverse holds for slow strategies. Previous research has shown that a slow strategy correlates with law abidingingness, behavioural restraint, maturational delay and longevity. Diverse characteristics are predicted to correlate together as a suite of characteristics genetically organized to meet the trials of life: survival, growth and reproduction. LH theory has also predicted (and found) a general factor of personality (GFP), and the evidence for this is now substantial. One outstanding issue is whether the GFP is related to the g factor of cognitive ability. There is reason going back to Spearman (1932; e.g., the work of Webb, 1915) to believe they are related. In this paper, we test this possibility using data from the Vietnam Experience Study which randomly sampled 4,462 Vietnam war veterans from a total sample of about five million Vietnam era army veterans. Exclusionary criteria included passing a fitness test, and achieving a final rank of no higher than sergeant, but otherwise the sample is representative of the US male population for the period 1965-1971.We applied hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and 15 cognitive ability tests. The MMPI yielded three first-order factors of Somatization, Internalizing and Externalizing, while the cognitive ability measures provided a fit to four first-order factors of Memory, Dexterity, Crystallized and Fluid intelligence. At the apex of both measures there was a general factor and we were able to fit a model which integrated both structures. This model provided a close fit to the data (χ2 = 3114.1, df = 235, RMSEA = .052, SRMR = .047, NNFI = .97), and provided an estimate of -.23 for the correlation between the GFP and g. Possible explanations for the low correlation will be discussed including that intelligence and personality are largely mutually exclusive reproductive strategies, the first aimed at generating resources and the second at maximizing one’s share of resources.