While rummaging around the internet this evening I stumbled on an article in Scientific American about g (general intelligence). Linda Gottfredson presents a nice concise synthesis of the majority view on the existence of g.
As for me....I still do not know if g exists, and if it does, what it represents (although I recently posted some empirical data in support of the "working memory may be g" position). Much better minds than mind have been debating the g vs no-g position since the days of Spearman. I've personally sat in a small room and witnessed John Horn and the late Jack Carroll strongly argue (to put it in mild terms) both positions. Both made convincing points.
Regardless, as a practical manner, g-based IQ scores are indeed powerful predictors, on the average, across a wide variety of domains. However, as reported in a prior post, a number of specific (narrow and/or broad) CHC abilities have been found to provide incremental validity above and beyond g.
Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests
