<p>If by cognitive function you mean IQ, then that's most of the focus of the intelligence research, as in the main motivation to study IQ. In one large UK study of children <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289606000171" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the correlation was 0.81</a>.
But there are <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886912001894" rel="nofollow noreferrer">personality factors influencing academic performance as well</a>. Even with respect to IQ [as measured in pracice], it is <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/04/what-does-iq-really-measure" rel="nofollow noreferrer">suspected that it is influenced in part by motivation</a>, which itself may be an interaction between personality and the context/environment. And to the extent that self-discipline is different than [short-term] motivation, some research suggest <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16313657" rel="nofollow noreferrer">it may matter even more</a> for academic performance.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-24T06:57:25.297Z
hmm what about factors such as attention or executive function (e.g. do people that perform better on exams also perform better on working memory tasks in the lab?)
Simon
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-24T07:03:58.053Z
@Simon: ADHD is known to impair academic performance. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl054
got trolled too much this week
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-24T05:22:41.513Z
2017-11-24T06:11:01.173Z
2017-11-24T06:11:01.173Z
got trolled too much this week
<p>Is there any literature suggesting a relationship between academic performance and cognitive function?</p>

<p>I'm trying to find something that suggests which cognitive functions/domains are typically utilized when taking school exams. Obviously this will depend heavily on the nature of the exam, but are there any studies that have looked at this generally?</p>

<p>For example, do people that perform better on exams also perform better on computer based tasks assessing working memory, or ignoring visual distractors etc? Hence allowing you to narrow down the specific set of cognitive functions associated with taking an exam?</p>

<p>EDIT: by cognitive function, I'm referring to things like working memory, sustained attention, executive function, spatial processing. Not so much IQ or any measures of intelligence</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-24T17:15:58.447Z
If by "cognitive function" you mean "IQ" or something else, you should edit your question to reflect this.
Seanny123
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-24T21:15:46.077Z
I dont mean IQ. Ive updated the question to include the types of functions Im talking about
Simon
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-24T21:17:25.440Z
You might want to make this question about IQ and then make separate questions for the other factors. Sticking them all into one question makes this question super broad.
Seanny123
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-25T00:52:06.880Z
you should read into "positive manifold". my intuition is that whatever is tapping most into psychometric g will be the strongest correlation, but that would suggest that if your exam was a reaction time task, then fluid intelligence would be better, not the equivalent ECT.
faustus
<cognitive-psychology>
Academic performance
Simon
# Academic performance

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-24)

Is there any literature suggesting a relationship between academic performance and cognitive function?

I'm trying to find something that suggests which cognitive functions/domains are typically utilized when taking school exams. Obviously this will depend heavily on the nature of the exam, but are there any studies that have looked at this generally?

For example, do people that perform better on exams also perform better on computer based tasks assessing working memory, or ignoring visual distractors etc? Hence allowing you to narrow down the specific set of cognitive functions associated with taking an exam?

EDIT: by cognitive function, I'm referring to things like working memory, sustained attention, executive function, spatial processing. Not so much IQ or any measures of intelligence

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If by "cognitive function" you mean "IQ" or something else, you should edit your question to reflect this.  
> **username_0**: I dont mean IQ. Ive updated the question to include the types of functions Im talking about  
> **username_1**: You might want to make this question about IQ and then make separate questions for the other factors. Sticking them all into one question makes this question super broad.  
> **username_2**: you should read into "positive manifold". my intuition is that whatever is tapping most into psychometric g will be the strongest correlation, but that would suggest that if your exam was a reaction time task, then fluid intelligence would be better, not the equivalent ECT.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-11-24. Score: 1

If by cognitive function you mean IQ, then that's most of the focus of the intelligence research, as in the main motivation to study IQ. In one large UK study of children [the correlation was 0.81](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289606000171).
But there are [personality factors influencing academic performance as well](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886912001894). Even with respect to IQ [as measured in pracice], it is [suspected that it is influenced in part by motivation](http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/04/what-does-iq-really-measure), which itself may be an interaction between personality and the context/environment. And to the extent that self-discipline is different than [short-term] motivation, some research suggest [it may matter even more](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16313657) for academic performance.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: hmm what about factors such as attention or executive function (e.g. do people that perform better on exams also perform better on working memory tasks in the lab?)  
> **username_3**: @username_0: ADHD is known to impair academic performance. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl054  

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