Interactions between intelligence and personality: results from two large samples

Police applicants (N=15,332) and felons (N=15,460) completed the Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, the psychopathology scales of the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire, and the Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT). The correlation between the two ability tests (Cattell Scale B and CFIT) was found to increase with level of neuroticism. Examination of the second order factor structure of the psychopathology scales showed the existence of Depression and Impulsivity components. The variance of the Depression component falls with ability level. Alternative interpretations of this result in terms of personality differentiation with ability, changes in degree of item comprehension with ability and possible contributions of faking are discussed.