This paper describes recent research investigating the relationship between the speed with which individuals can execute a number of basic cognitive processes and their performance on tests of intelligence and mental ability. The results are discussed in terms of 3 properties of the working-memory system, which limit the amount of information that can simultaneously be stored and processed. It is suggested that these limiting properties implicate the speed or efficiency with which a person can process information as an important factor underlying success or failure in solving a problem or performing any other intellectual task. The author discusses other research that indicates that certain personality variables, through their relationship with cortical arousal, may be partly responsible for the relationship between speed of processing and intelligence.
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