IQ and ego-resiliency: conceptual and empirical connections and separateness

Abstract

The constructs of intelligence and ego-resiliency are discussed. The personality implications of "pure intelligence" and "pure ego-resilience" were identified. Intelligence (IQ) was indexed by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and ego-resiliency by an inventory scale. Residual scores measuring "pure intelligence" and "pure ego-resilience" were correlated with the items of the observer-based California Q-sort, used to describe participants. Persons relatively high on ego-resilience tend to be more competent and comfortable in the "fuzzier" interpersonal world; persons defined primary by raw IQ tend to be effective in the "clearer" world of structured work but tend also to be uneasy with affect and less able to realize satisfying human connections. Gender differences exist in the relations of ego-resilience and intelligence and in their adaptive relevance.