An Investigation of Objective Person-Environment Fit: The Dark Side of Intelligence

Most previous studies of Person-Environment fit have failed to use objective measures of the work environment that are independent of the person examined. The current research investigated the moderating role of group size (an objective measure obtained from company records), on the relationship between intelligence and pay satisfaction. The intelligence was measured as general intelligence or “g” and “reasoning”. On the basis of data from 257 shop-floor workers in a factory, results indicated that group size moderated the relationship between intelligence and satisfaction with pay - the relationship was negative in large groups and positive in small groups.