Special Thanks

This book could never have been created by two people alone. We acknowledge and express our gratitude to the hundreds of individuals and organizations that contributed to the data and to the analyses of the findings presented. They are properly acknowledged in the preceding section.

We are also grateful to several colleagues for their thought partnership, intellectual guidance, data, and editorial contributions. Chief among these individuals was Stephan Dilchert. From the inception to the completion of this manuscript and associated materials, our thinking and writing benefited greatly from his acumen and advice. His thoughtful editing significantly enhanced the clarity of our reporting. His guidance and support were indispensable.

External scholarly review was an important part of quality control for this volume. The following scientists and practitioners had deep expertise in personality, cognitive abilities, and the methodologies employed in our research. They read earlier outlines, shorter manuscript versions of this work, or current chapters relevant to their expertise, and provided comments and insights that improved this work. We are tremendously grateful. Any potential inaccuracies that may remain are our own.

Auke Tellegen, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota

Brenton Wiernik, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Southern Florida

Brian S. Connelly, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Toronto

Chockalingam Viswesvaran, Ph.D., Professor, Florida International University

Colin DeYoung, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Minnesota

Irving Gottesman, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia

Jack Kostal, Ph.D., Applied Researcher, General Mills

John P. Campbell, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota

Kevin McGrew, Ph.D., Founder, Institute for Applied Psychometrics

Matthew K. McGue Ph.D., Regents Professor, University of Minnesota

Michael Wilmot, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas

Robert Eichinger, Ph.D., CEO TalentTelligent LLC

Roger Pearman, Ed.D., Applied Researcher, Leadership Performance Systems

Thomas Dohm, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Measurement, University of Minnesota

Projects of this magnitude are typically undertaken using sizable grants or sponsorship from organizations. This project had no funding or sponsorship. We only relied on our own efforts and the goodwill of volunteers. Deniz’ Hellervik Professorship afforded her time to devote to this work during summers, and her one-semester sabbatical leave during Fall 2022 enabled the successful completion of this long-running project. Kevin’s Eichinger Fellowship similarly provided critical time to devote to this work.

We were each influenced by those who came before us. We owe an intellectual debt to those whose ideas fueled our foundational knowledge and understanding of personality, abilities, and psychometric methods. We would like to acknowledge the influence of Harrison Gough, Auke Tellegen, Jim Butcher, Bob and Joyce Hogan, Marvin Dunnette, Leaetta Hough, Raymond Cattell, Claude Shannon, and John Carroll, as well as Frank Schmidt and John (Jack) Hunter. By inventing psychometric meta-analysis, the latter two individuals made research like ours possible. Their mentorship continues to provide scholarly sustenance. We are honored to count ourselves among their intellectual descendants.

We also are thankful for the personal support each of us received from our families and friends. The energy directed to this opus for over 13 years also reflects their personal contributions and sacrifices. For this, Kevin is immeasurably grateful to his parents and his partner, Taryn Ibach. Deniz would like to express her sincere appreciation to her intellectual family members, to the Ones and Haner families, and especially to her daughter, Daria M. Haner.

Science is built on the backs of scholars. We believed in this project with ardent fervor, forgoing leisure, friends, family, wealth, and health in the hope of contributing to science. We dedicate this to all those who produced the primary studies on which this work is founded. This is our collective monument to personality and cognitive ability constellations.