Why Cognitive Aptitude is Such a Great Predictor of Job Performance (2024)

Cognitive aptitude tests are some of the best tools for predicting job performance. A strong and long-standing body of research demonstrates that cognitive aptitude tests are valid, reliable, and significantly more predictive than job experience and unstructured interviews.

What is it about cognitive aptitude that makes it so good at predicting job performance?

Cognitive aptitude is the ability to think critically, solve problems, learn new skills, and digest and apply new information; essentially these tests measure many of the qualities that employers look for in almost every job description they create. Because cognitive aptitude is associated with decision making ability and situational judgment, pre-employment aptitude tests often have even greater efficacy as a predictive tool the higher you move up the job ladder. The abilities that aptitude tests assess are well-suited for hiring employees who are, for instance, tasked with making independent decisions, coming up with big picture ideas, or managing others. While the abilities measured by aptitude tests are drivers of performance for almost any job, they tend to be less predictive for roles that involve a lot of repetition and routine than they are for jobs that require problem-solving and frequent decision-making.

While cognitive aptitude tests measure general intelligence, they are not the same as pure IQ tests. Cognitive aptitude tests measure many of the same things that IQ tests measure, but they also measure other abilities that are more specifically relevant to job performance. For example, cognitive aptitude tests often measure attention to detail, an ability that is nearly universally applicable to every type of job, but is less commonly associated with “pure intelligence.” These are the types of abilities that drive job performance because they’re so relevant to the day-to-day tasks of many employees. Ultimately by blending practical abilities with general aptitude, pre-employment cognitive aptitude tests are highly successful at identifying the candidates who are most likely to succeed in their positions.

Why Cognitive Aptitude is Such a Great Predictor of Job Performance (1)

Michelle Silverstein

Michelle Silverstein is the Director of Corporate Marketing at Criteria, a leading provider of pre-employment assessments. With a background in B2B and SaaS, Michelle is a passionate advocate for helping companies make more informed talent decisions through evidence-based hiring practices.

Why Cognitive Aptitude is Such a Great Predictor of Job Performance (2024)

FAQs

Why Cognitive Aptitude is Such a Great Predictor of Job Performance? ›

Because cognitive aptitude is associated with decision making ability and situational judgment, pre-employment aptitude tests often have even greater efficacy as a predictive tool the higher you move up the job ladder.

Is cognitive ability a good predictor of job performance? ›

THE RESEARCH STUDY

Overall, they found that cognitive ability remains a good predictor of job performance across all levels of job experience. That is, even with a larger amount of job experience (e.g., serving in the military for many months), cognitive ability was still important for successful performance.

Is cognitive ability useful for predicting task performance? ›

Cognitive abilities exert a significant, independent, and broad-based effect on people's ability to use computers. High cognitive abilities predict high overall performance, fast task completion times, and low mental load, with working memory and executive functioning bearing the largest effects.

What is the best predictor of job performance? ›

What are the 10 best predictors of job performance?
  • Cognitive ability. ...
  • Emotional intelligence. ...
  • Technical, job-specific skills. ...
  • Growth mindset. ...
  • Learning agility. ...
  • Adaptability. ...
  • Creative problem-solving. ...
  • Motivation.
Aug 28, 2024

Do aptitude tests predict job performance? ›

In conclusion, aptitude tests serve as valuable tools in predicting job performance across various industries by providing a standardized method for assessing an individual's cognitive abilities and potential for success in specific roles.

What is the strongest predictor of performance? ›

TalentSmartEQ tested emotional intelligence alongside 33 other important workplace skills, and found that emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining a full 58% of success in all types of jobs.

Why is cognitive ability important in the workplace? ›

Cognitive skills are the main drivers of innovation. They give employees the mental tools to produce, tweak, and share new ideas. Outside-the-box thinking is crucial to individual and organizational growth because it helps employees solve and avoid problems, and improve existing processes.

Which is the strongest predictor of task performance at work? ›

Cognitive ability is consistently the best predictor of job performance across all job types, levels and industries. Cognitive ability covers a wide variety of aptitudes including spatial reasoning, logical reasoning, verbal skills, computational skills, and analytical skills.

Does cognitive ability predict job performance more for highly complex or not very complex jobs? ›

Not surprisingly, research has shown that the complexity of a job moderates the relationship between general cognitive ability and performance; it predicts the strongest for high complexity roles, followed by medium complexity roles, and then low complexity roles.

Why is cognitive performance important? ›

Cognitive performance is a measure of how well our brain functions. After a traumatic brain injury, it's common for patients to report cognitive performance difficulties. These deficits can present as problems in everyday brain functions such as: Attention.

What is the strongest predictor of success at a job? ›

The best predictors for good job performance are volunteering, putting in extra effort, cooperating, following rules and procedures, and endorsing organizational goals.

What is one of the greatest predictors of job success? ›

Factors that are more likely to lead to the best candidate are a proven track record at prior jobs, general mental ability (or aptitude), and behaviors that are more highly-correlated to success.

What are the Big Five predictors of job performance? ›

The Big Five personality traits are the neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness and agreeableness are very important in developing employee performance and increase the job performance.

How can aptitude lead to job success? ›

Did you know that aptitude measurements are designed to predict someone's potential to learn or acquire the skills to perform specific tasks? In a nutshell, this information helps us to identify the types of work tasks we are likely to master quickly – – tasks in which success is likely to arise for us.

Can tests that measure cognitive ability predict job performance? ›

Cognitive ability assessments are one of the most effective tools for predicting job performance and commonly used by HR Professionals for selection purposes.

Do aptitude tests predict success? ›

Most aptitude tests can suggest the likelihood of success in education and a career, but they are not always 100% accurate predictions.

Which is a better predictor of performance cognitive ability or positive personality? ›

If there's one "rule" in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, it's that intelligence (i.e., cognitive ability) is the strongest predictor of job performance.

Which personality trait is the best predictor of job performance? ›

In terms of performance, conscientiousness is above and beyond the strongest predictor across all job types. This makes sense because conscientious individuals are more driven, have a higher need for job achievement and are more detail oriented.

Which of the following is the strongest predictor of job performance? ›

Cognitive ability is consistently the best predictor of job performance across all job types, levels and industries.

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