Measurement of intelligence and personality within the Cattellian psychometric model

Abstract

Cattellian research has been prodigious in systematically investigating the structure of personality traits alongside important cognitive/ability dimensions. Source traits delineated factor analytically in both intrapersonal psychological domains have been incorporated into multidimensional measurement instruments such as the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), Clinical Analysis Questionnaire (CAQ), Objective-Analytic (O-A) Battery, Culture Fair Intelligence Tests (CFIT), and Comprehensive Ability Battery (CAB). Several downward extensions of these instruments have been developed such as the High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ), Children's Personality Questionnaire (CPQ), and Early School Personality Questionnaire (ESPQ). Boyle (1983) has shown under non- emotive conditions that intellectual abilities tend to overshadow personality traits, in cognitive information processing. Nevertheless, under stressful emotional conditions, involvement of personality traits is enhanced such that cognitive factors may play only a minor role in influencing performance outcomes. The Cattellian psychometric model is one of the few approaches which attempts to index intelligence along with temperament. The present paper provides an overview of the Cattellian integration of intelligence and personality measurement, and discusses some of its benefits and problems.