[Capacity limitation and intellectual ability].

In a study examining the influence of cognitive capacity limitation on intellectual ability, 124 university students were subjected to 7 computer-based tests in which cognitive demands were manipulated by varying the number of required ordering, arithmetic, and memory operations, respectively. Intelligence data were obtained by forming a composite score from Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and the Berlin Intelligence Structure Test. Increases in cognitive demands led to increases in reaction times and number of errors as well as to increases in common variance and in correlations between intelligence and number of errors in 5 and 2 (of 5) comparisons, respectively, while correlations between intelligence and reaction time were found to decrease with increasing task demands in 3 comparisons. All correlations were reduced considerably when storage capacity and coordination efficiency were partialled out. These findings suggest a relationship between capacity limitation and intellectual ability.