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General Ability Level Moderates Cognitive-Achievement Relations for Mathematics
Christopher R Niileksela1, Jacob Robbins2, Daniel B Hajovsky2
1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
Journal of Intelligence
|June 25, 2025
Summary
Spearman's Law of Diminishing Returns (SLODR) shows general intelligence impacts math more for lower ability students. Higher general cognitive abilities predict math skills better in average and high ability learners.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Spearman's Law of Diminishing Returns (SLODR) posits differential predictive power of general intelligence and broad cognitive abilities on academic skills based on general ability levels.
- Limited research has explored how cognitive-mathematics relationships vary across different general cognitive ability strata.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the relationships between cognitive abilities and mathematics differ across varying levels of general cognitive ability in school-aged children.
- To test the applicability of Spearman's Law of Diminishing Returns to the cognitive-mathematics domain.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multi-group structural equation modeling to analyze data from large standardization samples of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, Third and Fourth Editions.
- Examined cognitive-mathematics relations in two distinct school-aged cohorts: grades 1-5 and grades 6-12.
Main Results:
- Confirmed that the relationships between cognitive abilities and mathematics performance are contingent upon general ability levels.
- General intelligence demonstrated a stronger relative influence on mathematics outcomes for individuals with lower general ability.
- Broad cognitive abilities exhibited a stronger relative predictive effect on mathematics for those with average and high general ability.
Conclusions:
- Findings support a nuanced understanding of cognitive-mathematics relations, aligning with predictions derived from Spearman's Law of Diminishing Returns.
- The relative importance of general intelligence versus broad cognitive abilities in predicting mathematical skills is moderated by an individual's overall cognitive capacity.
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