1. Variations in Psychological Attributes

Variations in psychological attributes

Individual Differences

Distinctiveness and variations among people’s characteristics and behaviour patterns.

Distinctiveness

The quality of easily being describable

Situationism

Situations and circumstances influence one”s behaviour

Situationist perspective views human behaviour as a result of influence of external factors

Psychological Attributes

Specific Characteristics of a person that influence one’s behaviour and thoughts.

Multi-dimensional

Assessment

Refers to measurement of psychological attributes of individuals and their evaluation by multiple methods.

Domains of Psychological Attributes

Intelligence, Aptitude, Interest, Personality and Values

Intelligence

(According to David Wechsler)

global capacity of a person to think rationally, act purposefully and deal effectively with his/her environment’.

Intelligence test

provides a global measure of a person’s general cognitive competence including the ability to profit from schooling.

Aptitude

individual’s potential/capacity for acquiring skills or knowledge

Aptitude test

used to predict an individual’s capability/future performance if given the proper environment and training

Interest

an individual’s preference for engaging in specific activities

Interest test

helps decide what subjects or courses can be pursued comfortably and with pleasure.

helps us in making choices that promote life satisfaction and performance on jobs.

Personality

refers to relatively enduring characteristics of a person that make her or him distinct from others.

Personality test

helps us explain an individual’s behaviour and predict how she/he will behave in the future.

Values

enduring beliefs about an ideal mode of behaviour

Values test

determine dominant values of a person (e.g., political, religious, social or economic).

Formal Assessment

Objective, Standardised, by trained professionals. eg: Psychological test

Informal Assessment

Subjective, Non-standardised, by untrained professionals. Eg: Observation

Assesment Methods

Psychological tests, Interview, Case study, Observation and Self-report.

Psychological Test

objective and standardised measure of an individual’s mental and behavioural characteristics.

Purpose of Psychological Test

clinical diagnosis, guidance, personnel selection, placement, and training, personality assessment.

Interview

involves seeking information from a person on a one-to-one basis.

Purpose of Interview

Counseller-client, employee selection

Case study

an in-depth study of the individual. Mainly used by clinical psychologists.

Case study is based on

they are based on data generated by different methods, e.g. interview, observation, questionnaire, psychological tests, etc.

Observation

using systematic, organised, and objective procedures to record behavioural phenomena occurring naturally.

Demerits of Observation

observer has little control over the situation and the reports may suffer from subjective interpretations of the observer.

Self-report

method in which a person provides factual information about oneself and one’s opinions, beliefs.

Source of Self-report

Such data may be obtained by using an interview schedule, questionnaire, a psychological test, or a personal diary

Intelligence

(According to Alfred Binet)

intelligence is the ability to judge well, understand well and reason well.

Intelligence

(Oxford Dictionary)

explains intelligence as the power of perceiving, learning, understanding, and knowing

Psychometric Approach

considers intelligence as an aggregate of abilities. Focuses on knowing the structure of intelligence.

Information-Processing Approach

describes the processes used in intellectual reasoning and problem-solving. Focuses on how an intelligent person acts.

Psychometric Approach Theories

One-factor theory, Two-factor theory, Theory of primary mental abilities, Hierarchical model of intelligence and Guilford structure of Intellectual model.

Uni/One Factor Theory

By Alfred Binet(First theory on intelligence). Intelligence consists of a similar set of abilities which can be used for solving any or every problem in an individual’s environment.

Alfred Binet

1st psychologist who formalized the concept of intelligence in terms of mental operations.

Differentiating more intelligent from less intelligent people.

Two Factor Theory

By Charles Spearman(1927). Employed a statistical method called factor analysis. Intelligence consists of G factor and S factor.

General factor

mental operations which are primary and common to all performances. eg: reasoning, learning, problem-solving, memory.

Specific factor

specific abilities that allow individual to excel in their respective domains. eg: verbal, mechanical, mathematical, musical abilities.

Theory of Multiple Abilities

By Louis Thurstone(he didn’t believe that one factor ‘g’ could account for all intelligence). Intelligence consists of 7 primary abilities.

7 Primary Mental Abilities

Verbal comprehension, Numerical ability, Memory, Inductive reasoning, Perceptual speed, Word fluency, Spatial relations, etc.

Verbal Comprehension

ability to understand/comprehend words, concepts, ideas, etc.

Numerical Ability

ability to solve mathematical problems(quickly).

Memory

ability to recall information.

Inductive Reasoning

ability to form general conclusions using specific information.

Perceptual Speed

ability to perceive things (understand them or conceptualize in your own way) quickly.

Word Fluency

ability to communicate words fluently.

Spatial Relations

ability to visualise patterns and forms.

Hierarchical Model of Intelligence

By Arthur Jensen. Intelligence consists of abilities operating at 2 levels.

Level 1 - Associative Learning

Output is equal to input. eg: rote learning and memory.

Level 2 - Cognitive Competance

Involves higher-order skill

Transform input to produce an effective output.

Guilford Structure of Intellectual Model

classifies intellectual traits among 3 dimensions.

6×5×6 = 180 cells. (operants x contents x products)

Operants

nature of info on which intellectual operations are performed. eg: cognition, memory retention, memory recording, convergent production, divergent production.

Contents

what the respondent does, i.e., how the info is processed. eg: Auditory, Visual, Symbolic, Behavioural, Semantic.

Products

form in which info is processed by the respondent/final outcome or result of process. eg: Units, Classes, Relations, Systems, Transformations, Implications.

Guilford model cells

6×5×6 = 180

Information-Processing Approach Theories

Theory of multiple intelligence, PASS model of intelligence and Triarchic theory of intelligence.

Theory of Multiple Intelligence

Howard Gardner,according to whom intelligence is not a single entity rather distinct types of intelligence exists

Linguistic

It is the capacity to use language fluently and flexibly to understand one’s thinking and understand others.

Eg: Poets and writers are very strong in this component

Logical - Mathematical

Ability to think logically and solve problems. They can engage in abstract reasoning and can manipulate symbols to solve mathematical problems.

Eg: Scientists and nobel prize winners

Spatial

Abilities involved in forming, using and transforming mental images. This person can easily represent spatial world in mind.

Eg: pilots, sailors, sculptors, painters, architects, interior decorators, surgeons, etc; develop high spatial intelligence.

Musical

Capacity to produce, create and manipulate musical patterns. Persons high on this intelligence are very sensitive to sounds and vibrations, and in creating new patterns of sounds.

Eg: Musicians, singers

Bodily-Kinesthetic

ability to use whole or portions of the body (flexibly and creatively) for display or construction of products and problem solving.

Eg: Athletes, dancers, actors, sportspersons, gymnasts and surgeons are likely to have such intelligence.

Interpersonal

Ability to understand feelings, motives, behaviours,etc; pf other people so as to bond into a comfortabale relationship with others.

Eg: Psychologists, counsellors, politicians, social workers, and religious leaders are likely to posses this.

Intrapersonal

Ability to understand one’s own feelings, motives and desires. Knowledge of one’s internal strengths and limitations.

Eg: Philosophers and spiritual leaders

Naturalistic

Ability to identify features of natural world. Complete awareness of our relationship with natural world.

Eg: Hunters, farmers, tourists, botanists, zoologists and bird watchers.

Triarchic theory of Intelligence

Proposed by Robert Sternberg (1985). Consists of Componential, Experiential and Contextual Intelligence.

Intelligence (Robert Sternberg)

Ability to adapt, to shape and select an environment to accomplish one’s goals and those of one’s society and culture.

Componential/Analytical Intelligence

analysis of information to solve problems. Persons high on this ability think analytically and critically and succeed in schools

Knowledge acquisition component

responsible for learning and acquisition of the ways of doing things.

Meta/Higher order component

involves planning concerning what to do and how to do.

Performance component

involves actually doing things.

Experiential/Creative Intelligence

involved in using past experiences creatively to solve novel problems. It is reflected in creative performance. Persons high on this aspect integrate different experiences in an original way to make new discoveries and inventions

Contextual/Practical Intelligence

ability to deal with environmental demands encountered daily. It may be called ‘street smartness’ or ‘business sense’. Persons high on this aspect easily adapt to their present environment or select a more favourable environment than the existing one, or modify the environment to fit their needs.

PASS Model of Intelligence

Developed by J.P. Das, Jack Neglieri and Kirby (1994). Planning, Attention/arousal, and Simultaneous-successive processing (PASS) involve the interdependent functioning of three neurological systems, called the functional units of brain.

Arousal/Attention

State of arousal is basic to any behaviour as it helps us in attending to stimuli. It enables a person to process information. An optimal level of arousal focuses our attention to the relevant aspects of a problem.

Eg: when you are told by your teacher about a test which s/he plans to hold, it would arouse you to attend to the specific chapters

Simultaneous Processing

when you perceive the relations among various concepts and integrate them into a meaningful pattern for comprehension.

Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) Test presents a design from which a part has been removed. You are required to choose one of the six options that best completes the design

Successive processing

helps you grasp the meaning and relationship between the given abstract figures. It takes place when you remember all the information serially so that the recall of one leads to the recall of another.

Eg: Learning digits, alphabets, multiplication tables, etc.

Planning

After the information is attended to and processed, this is activated. It allows us to think of the possible courses of action, implement them to reach a target, and evaluate their effectiveness.

Eg: to take the test scheduled by your teacher, you would have to set goals, plan a time schedule of study, get clarifications in case of problems and if you are not able to tackle the chapters assigned for the test, you may have to think of other ways to meet your goals.

Cognitive Assessment System (CAS)

Consists of verbal as well as non-verbal tasks that measure basic cognitive functions presumed to be independent of schooling. The battery of tests is meant for individuals between 5 and 18 years of age. The results of assessment can be used to remedy cognitive deficits of children with learning problems.

Nurture

refers to all those environmental factors that can influence an individual such as parenting style, family, culture, peer, etc.

Nature

genetic factors that one has inherited from their biological parents such as height.

It influences physical and psychological traits.

Mental Age

measure of a person’s intellectual development relative to people of his/her age group.

Chronological age

is the biological age from birth

Retardation

child’s mental age is less than 2 years of their chronological age.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Refers to mental age divided by chronological age * 100

Intellectual Deficiency

The American Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD) views “significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behaviour and manifested during the developmental period”.

Giftedness

Giftedness is exceptional general ability shown in superior performance in a wide variety of areas.

Talent

Talent refers to remarkable ability in a specific field, e.g., social, and are often called prodigies.

Culture

cultural environment provides a context for intelligence to develop.

Intelligence

helps individuals to adapt to their environment and solve problems effectively.

Emotional Intelligence

According to Salovey and Mayer, “ the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s emotions, to discriminate among them and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and actions”.

Emotional Quotient

used to express emotional intelligence in the same way as IQ is used to express intelligence.

Creativity

It refers to the ability to think in novel and unusual ways and to came up with unique solutions to problems.

It is determined by both heredity and environment.