... (also referred to as g) and (b) lower level of broad/specific (from here on referred to as specific) abilities. Historically, cognitive ability was thought to be a variable that should be interpreted independent of interests (e.g., Holland, 1997; Smith, 1958)
Cognitive ability appeared to be relevant to career counselling insofar as it provided context on whether an individual will be able to be successful in a career given its relative complexity compared to other careers in the same interest field (Gottfredson & Holland, 1996; Toker & Ackerman, 2012). Tracey and Rounds (1996) added a third orthogonal dimension to the interest circumplex called prestige, that seems to partially capture these ideas. The prestige is believed to represent perceived prestige, effort, and skill requirements of occupations (Sodano & Tracey, 2008), although it could also be related to education level, cognitive ability, work complexity, and values (Ackerman & Heggestad, 1997; Hansen, 1996; Lubinski, 2010; Tracey & Rounds, 1996).
Pässler et al. (2015) and Wiernik (2016) conducted a meta-analysis of cognitive abilities with vocational interests. They found that general mental ability was positively correlated with the Investigative and Artistic interests, and somewhat negatively correlated (or uncorrelated) with the Social interest. Wiernik (2016) also investigated the relationship between specific abilities and interests (see Table 3). The Realistic and Investigative interests showed positive relationships with Fluid Reasoning and Visual Processing. The Investigative interest also showed positive relationship’s Verbal Ability and Processing Speed. The Artistic interest showed positive relationships with Verbal Ability and socio-emotional abilities, and the Social interest showed positive relationships with emotional and interpersonal abilities (a full list of abilityinterest relationships can be obtained from Wiernik, 2016). The relationships between cognitive abilities and interests relative to personality-interest relationships, are comparatively less researched (Wiernik, 2016). Practitioners are encouraged to continue to review the literature to make sense of this emerging area of study and any potential implications in career counselling.
Several theoretical points of departure exist on the relationship between specific abilities and interest. Firstly, abilities, traits, and interests are argued to form trait complexes that share a common developmental origin (Ackerman et al., 2011; Wiernik, 2016). Different configurations of individual characteristics give rise to a (1) social [trait Extraversion; Social and Enterprising interests], (2) science/math [Quantitative knowledge and Visual processing abilities; Realistic and Investigative interests], (3) clerical/conventional [Processing speed ability; trait Conscientiousness; Conventional interests], or (4) intellectual/cultural [Reading and writing ability; trait Openness; Investigative and Artistic interests] complex (Ackerman & Heggestad, 1997).
A strong interest in a field might make it easier for individuals to invest significant energy and persist with enthusiasm to acquire more knowledge and demonstrate ability in a career (Ackerman et al., 2001; Silvia, 2006; Wiernik, 2016). A strong Investigative interest could, for example, direct an individual towards the development of scientific knowledge,whereas a strong Enterprising interest could direct an individual towards the acquisition of interpersonal knowledge (Ackerman, 2000). Specific abilities and interests might, therefore, be mutually reinforcing (e.g., Silvia, 2001). An alternative explanation of the relationship between specific abilities and interest focuses on the development of interests in response to an arrangement of specific abilities. Wiernik et al. (2016) argue that individuals pursue specific interest fields to capitalise on their strengths and minimise the effect of their weaknesses. Specific abilities might, therefore, tilt individuals towards forming certain interests (Lubinski, 2010). For example, a strength for Quantitative or Spatial Reasoning might lead an individual to pursue a science and math field, while a Verbal Ability could tilt an individual towards the arts and humanities. A balanced profile of abilities, in turn, could lead to the pursuit of fields such as law, business, or the social or biological sciences (Wiernik, 2016). Pässler et al.’s (2015) meta-analysis provides some support for the tilt theory of which the meta-analytical correlations are reported in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Meaningful Relationships between Interest and Cognitive Ability