Relationships between intellectual control beliefs and psychometric intelligence in adulthood

This longitudinal study examined perceived control of intelligence and its relationship with intellectual performance. A large sample (ages 43-84) was administered the short form of Lachman's PIC and psychometric tests of eight intellectual abilities in both 1985 and 1987. There were significant cross-sectional age differences in the three scales: Internal (INT), Powerful Others (POW), and Chance (CHA). The three scales correlated with all intellectual abilities, with relationships being largest for POW. The PIC scales showed lower test-retest correlations than the intelligence tests. Individual differences in change in POW and CHA were also correlated with prior levels of psychometric intelligence, and path analyses suggested a small but significant prediction of change in POW by prior levels of intelligence.