Greater cognitive abilities, linked to intelligence, imply a better salary... until the best salaries are reached, where the relationship stagnates and even breaks, according to an article published by Swedish and Dutch researchers in the journal European Sociological Review recently.
"Are the highest paid and most prestigious jobs performed by highly intelligent people?" the authors wondered. By correlating cognitive abilities with payroll, the authors have concluded that earning more does not mean being smarter or more deserved.
The authors state that there were no empirical studies investigating cognitive abilities at different job levels, mainly due to a lack of large-scale data. To solve it, they used the Swedes. Upon admission to compulsory military service, they completed a test of cognitive skills, such as oral comprehension, technique, space or logic, where they could score between 1 and 9. The researchers took the results of 18-19 year old men who completed between 1971-1977 and 1980-1999, to later cross it with their salaries between 35 and 45 years of age, including only those with careers of more than 11 years. Neither women nor immigrants are included in the study, since military service was not compulsory for them in the initial periods studied. Thus, they ended up with 59,000 profiles.
The first picture they saw was as expected: higher cognitive abilities are linked to higher salaries, something for which there was "theoretical and empirical consensus." But by focusing on top earners, the skills held up or even fell. Abstract: "Past a certain salary level, having a higher salary no longer indicates cognitive ability", state Marc Keuschnigg (Linköping University, University of Leipzig), Arnout van de Rijt (U. Utrecht, EUI (Italy)) and Thijs Bol (U. of Amsterdam), the authors.
The change in trend would occur in salaries above about 80,000 euros per year. It is reflected in the following graph, where from 600,000 crowns (about 60,000 adjusted euros) you enter "a plateau" and from 800,000 Swedish crowns you see a setback in cognitive abilities. Thus, the highest paid are not more intelligent than those who earn a little less.
What explanation is there? The researchers point to two factors for "job success." One, luck, a specific event that has triggered your business or career. Another, the greater family resources, with better connections with other workers in already prominent positions. "The class and the advantages in the connections of those with a family belonging to the elite are fundamental to access the most privileged and best paid jobs," the researchers point out based on previous studies. By leaning on each other, this could increase income gaps.
Another factor to take into account is that jobs that require more cognitive skills are not necessarily the best paid, such as teachers.
It also ensures that people with higher cognitive abilities can take their salary for granted. They value that they already earn enough, especially if to earn more they have to sacrifice time with family, friends or hobbies. In Sweden, where the men in the study lived, there is the lagom philosophy, which is committed to seeking balance and moderation rather than always going for more.
Based on previous studies, another reason can be added. The smartest usually lack emotional intelligence, and climbing the career path also involves liking your peers and bosses as well as being good at what you do.
In this way, being smarter will carry up to a certain point in the career, at which point other factors can come into play, such as social relationships and non-cognitive skills (motivation, interaction). The authors point out that this is something to worry about, because the people who earn the most usually make decisions that affect many others.
In terms of merit and cognitive abilities, then, "we find no evidence that those with the best jobs, who pay extraordinary salaries, deserve more than those who earn only half those salaries," it is exposed.
