Construct validity of complex problem solving: A comprehensive view on different facets of intelligence and school grades

Abstract

Although complex problem solving (CPS) has attracted increasing amounts of attention in recent years (e.g., in the PISA study), the role of CPS in the nomological network of intelligence is controversial. The question of whether CPS is a distinct construct is as old as CPS research itself, but previous studies have had specific shortcomings when addressing the question of whether CPS is a separable or independent construct. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to combine the advantages of previous studies to facilitate a less biased view of the relation between CPS and established intelligence constructs. A sample of 227 German university students worked on a comprehensive measure of intelligence (Berlin Intelligence Structure test) and two CPS assessment tools (MicroDYN and MicroFIN). Furthermore, final school grades (GPA) served as an external criterion. We applied confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling to investigate the relation between CPS and established intelligence constructs on the basis of different psychometric approaches (i.e., first-order model, nested factor model). Moreover, we examined the incremental validity of CPS in explaining GPA beyond established intelligence constructs. Results indicate that CPS represents unique variance that is not accounted for by established intelligence constructs. The incremental validity of CPS was found only when a commonly used narrow operationalization of intelligence was applied (i.e., figural reasoning) but not when a broad operationalization was applied.