Contextualizing intelligence in assessment: The next step

Intelligence theory and assessment in HR and I/O contexts are unlikely to make major advancements when intelligence continues to be treated as a decontextualized set of skills. Models of cognitive style, situated cognition, and practical intelligence present a more contextualized view of intelligence, but are either too broad or too embedded in context to guide HR and I/O assessment. We propose a new model that draws a closer link between cognition and context; the model builds on recent developments in cross-cultural personality research, where decontextualized and contextualized models are combined. We propose an assessment procedure in which social and cognitive characteristics of job situations are simulated, a method we label Controlled Situated Assessment. In order to be successful at the task, individuals need many different resources, cognitive skills, communication skills, and personality. By increasing the ecological validity of the tasks, we expect a higher predictive validity, as compared to decontextualized assessments of intelligence.