title: Processing speed mediates the development of general intelligence (g) in adolescence.
abstract: In the research reported here, we examined whether processing speed mediates the development of general intelligence (g) in adolescence. Using the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a battery of 12 diverse cognitive tests, we assessed processing speed and g in a large sample of 13- to 17-year-olds obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 6,969). The direct effect of age on g was small compared with the total effect of age on g, which was almost fully mediated through speed. The results suggest that increases in g in adolescence can be attributed to increases in mental speed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Texas at San Antonio, TX 78249, USA. thomas.coyle@utsa.edu
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Coyle
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Pillow
authors.forename: Anissa C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kochunov
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000367:Age Factors; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*