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COGNITIVE ABILITIES OF EMIRATI AND GERMAN ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2013

HEINER RINDERMANN ,
ANTONIA E. E. BAUMEISTER  and
ANNE GRÖPER
HEINER RINDERMANN*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany
ANTONIA E. E. BAUMEISTER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany
ANNE GRÖPER
Affiliation:
Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

According to human capital theory, individual competences and personality attributes are relevant for individual productivity and income. Within human capital, intelligence is crucial. To study engineering and work successfully as an engineer, high cognitive abilities are necessary, especially for work in research and development. In a study of 30 German and 30 Emirati engineering students (mean age: 22 years), both groups were tested with mathematical and figural intelligence scales (CogAT). German engineering students achieved a mean IQ of 116, and Emirati students 104 (in converted UK norms). In both groups male students achieved better results than females (2 to 4 IQ point difference). The results are compared with those from PISA and TIMSS. The possible causes of these results, their consequences and strategies for improvement are discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , March 2014 , pp. 199 - 213
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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