Do general mental ability and narrow abilities predict counterproductive work behavior?

Christopher D. Nye and Serena Wee

Chapter 17 in Handbook of Counterproductive Work Behavior, 2025, pp 298-316 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter examines the complex relationship between cognitive ability and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). We begin by elaborating on the structure of cognitive ability, which includes both general mental ability (GMA) and specific narrow abilities. We then examine the predictive validity of these cognitive abilities for workplace outcomes, particularly CWB, highlighting the relatively scarce research directly connecting cognitive ability with CWB. To deepen understanding of this relationship, we draw theoretical insights from criminology, considering potential mechanisms linking cognitive ability to CWB. The chapter culminates in a discussion of how these broader criminological perspectives could be applied to workplace deviance, proposing a future research agenda to address gaps in the existing literature. By integrating findings from adjacent fields, this chapter seeks to advance our understanding of the underexplored yet critical issue of how cognitive abilities influence CWB.

Keywords: Cognitive ability; Specific cognitive abilities; Counterproductive work behavior; Workplace deviance; Social learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035306664
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035306671.00025 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 403 Forbidden

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:22060_17

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().