The Relationship between General Mental Ability and Workplace Deviance

Abstract

General Mental Ability (GMA) refers to an individual's capability to reason, plan, solve problems, and comprehend complex ideas. In the context of work and organizational psychology, GMA is one of the best predictors of overall job performance, and especially task and contextual performance. However, the relationship between GMA and a third dimension of overall job performance, workplace deviance, remains inconclusive and under-researched. We investigated this hypothesis using a sample of 391 individuals from various occupational fields. Using novel Bayesian cumulative link mixed effects models, our results show that even after controlling for all Five-Factor Model factors, GMA has a significant, yet weak effect on workplace deviant behavior. Our findings emphasize the need for a more comprehensive exploration of the influence of GMA across diverse occupational sectors to fully understand its impact on workplace behavior.