Why General Mental Ability, not IQ

General-Mental-Ability (GMA) and IQ are closely related constructs. We use the term GMA because it is the more commonly used term in workplace psychology.

The limits of GMA and personality

While GMA and personality are valuable predictors of job performance, they each have important limitations. GMA reflects how people reason and learn, but real-world success, especially during critical moments, requires much more. Success requires management of high-stakes, time-sensitive situations that demand focused attention, emotional control, and rapid, adaptive action.

Personality assessments, meanwhile, rely on self-report, which is subject to faking, social-desirability, and bias.

What executive functions add

Executive Functions are specially designed to capture how people manage these critical moments. They reflect how individuals manage complexity under pressure, whether sticking to a plan, juggling priorities, adapting to change, or regulating behavior in uncertain conditions.

Importantly, Executive Functions help distinguish between successful and unsuccessful individuals who score equally on GMA. In many competitive environments, where candidates have similarly strong reasoning abilities, what sets people apart is their ability to stay effective when things don't go according to plan. Executive Functions capture that difference.

Measures of Executive Functions, by contrast:

  • Are performance-based, not self-reported like personality tests.
  • Provide unique predictive value in real-world decision-making, especially in dynamic, team-based, and cognitively demanding roles.