Variations in

Psychological Attributes
PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 1
VARIATIONS/VARIABILITY

Liability to change
• Differences between individuals, objects,
situations.
• A Fact of nature

Everything in our life is ever-changing and

so are we.
 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

• individual differences refer to distinctiveness and variations among

people’s characteristics and behaviour patterns.
(qualities of a person) (The way someone behaves in different situations)

height,
Physical Characteristics weight,
strength,
Humans vary in terms of hair colour,

intelligent or dull,
Psychological Dimensions dominant or submissive,
creative or not so creative,
outgoing or withdrawn,
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

• Traits
• Different traits can exist in varying degrees in an individual.
• Each one of us is unique and may exemplify a typical combination of various traits.
• Example

Why we are studying individual Differences?

SITUATIONISM

Internal factors (Personal Psychological Attributes

traits)
• Behaviours influenced by
External factors Situationism
(Situational factors)

• SITUATIONISM
• which states that situations and circumstances in which one is placed influence one’s
behaviour.
• The situationist perspective views human behaviour as resulting from interaction of
external and internal factors.
Psychological Attributes

• ATTRIBUTE: Characteristic/inherent part of someone which can cause a behaviour.

• Examples of Psychological attributes:
- time taken to react to a stimulus, i.e. reaction time,
- happiness.
• For our initial purpose of predicting behaviour, we require understanding of
Psychological attributes.
How to understand a Psychological Attribute?
ASSESSMENT
• Assessment refers to the measurement of psychological attributes of individuals
and their evaluation, often using multiple methods in terms of certain standards
of comparison.
Assessment
Formal objective, standardised, and organised
Assessment is of two types:
Informal Subjective, varies in standardization &
organization

• Psychologists trained in Formal assessment.

• Why assessment is done? PREDICTION of future behaviour
• If Prediction goes wrong? INTERVENTION
• Choice of attribute for assessment? DEPENDS ON PURPOSE
• Example: Pre-class Assignment to students
• Psychological assessment uses systematic testing procedures to evaluate
• abilities,
• behaviours, and
• personal qualities of individuals.
Domains of psychological attributes

• Psychological attributes are multidimensional.

If you want to have a complete assessment of a person, you will need to assess how s/he functions
in various domains or areas, such as cognitive, emotional, social, etc.

Important attributes
• Intelligence
• Aptitude
• Interest
• Personality
• Values
Intelligence

• Intelligence is the global capacity:

• understand the world (What is happening? Why is it happening?)
• think rationally, (What can it lead to? It is useful for me/not?)
• use available resources effectively
• when faced with challenges. (Is able to deal with challenges)
Understanding
and perceiving

• Intelligence tests provide a global measure of a person’s general cognitive competence

including the ability to profit from schooling.
• Generally, students having low intelligence are not likely to do so well in school-
related examinations, but their success in life is not associated only with their
intelligence test scores.
Aptitude

• Aptitude refers to an individual’s underlying potential for

acquiring skills.
• Aptitude tests are used to predict what an individual will be able
to do if given proper environment and training.
• Example:
• a person with high mechanical aptitude can profit from appropriate training
and can do well as an engineer.
• a person having high language aptitude can be trained to be a good writer.
Interest

• Interest is an individual’s preference for engaging in one or more

specific activities relative to others.
• Assessment of interests of students may help to decide what
subjects or courses they can pursue comfortably and with
pleasure.
• Knowledge of interests helps us in making choices that promote
life satisfaction and performance on jobs.
Personality

• Personality refers to relatively enduring characteristics of a person

that make her or him distinct from others.
• Personality tests try to assess an individual’s unique
characteristics, e.g. whether one is dominant or submissive,
outgoing or withdrawn, moody or emotionally stable, etc.
• Personality assessment helps us to explain an individual’s
behaviour and predict how she/he will behave in future.
Values

• Values are enduring beliefs about an ideal mode of behaviour.

• A person having a value sets a standard for guiding her/his actions
in life and also for judging others.
• In value assessment, we try to determine the dominant values of a
person (e.g., political, religious, social or economic).
ASSESSMENT METHODS

• Psychological Test
• Interview
• Case Study
• Observation
• Self-Report
Psychological Test

• Psychological Test is an objective and standardised measure of an

individual’s mental and/or behavioural characteristics.
• e.g., intelligence, aptitude
Objective
• used for the purposes of clinical diagnosis, guidance,
Test personnel selection, placement, and training.
Two types

Projective • assessment of personality

test
Interview

• Interview involves seeking information from a person on a one-to-

one basis.
• Examples:
• When a counsellor interacts with a client,
• A salesperson makes a door-to-door survey regarding the usefulness of a
particular product,
• An employer selects employees for her/his organisation, or
• A journalist interviews important people on issues of national and
international importance.
Case Study

• Case Study is an in-depth study of the individual in terms of her/his

psychological attributes, psychological history in the context of her/his
psychosocial and physical environment.
• Usage of Case Studies:
• Widely used by clinical psychologists.
• Case analyses of the lives of great people can also be highly illuminating for those
willing to learn from their life experiences.
• Case studies are based on data generated by different methods, e.g.
interview, observation, questionnaire, psychological tests, etc.
Observation

• Observation involves employing systematic, organised, and

objective procedures to record behavioural phenomena occurring
naturally in real time.
• Example: phenomena such as mother-child interactions can be
easily studied through observation.
• The major problems with observational methods:
• observer has little control over the situation
• reports may suffer from subjective interpretations of the observer.
 Self-Report

• Self-Report is a method in which a person provides factual

information about herself/himself and/or opinions, beliefs, etc.
that s/he holds.
• Such information may be obtained by using an interview schedule
or a questionnaire, a psychological test, or a personal diary.
Importance of intelligence as a Construct

• To know how individuals differ from one another.

• It provides an understanding of how people adapt their behaviour
according to the environment they live in.
• Observable traits of intelligent people: mental alertness, ready wit,
quickness in learning, and ability to understand relationships.
Definitions of Intelligence

OXFORD DICTIONARY Alfred Wechsler Gardner and Sternberg

Binet

Power of: Ability to: Global and aggregate • adapts to the

capacity to: environment,
• perceiving, • judge well, • think rationally, • actively modifies or
• learning, • understand well, • act purposefully, shapes it
• understanding, • reason well • deal effectively with the
• knowing. environment
 Classification of Intelligence Theories

PSYCHOMETRIC INFORMATION PROCESSING

1) Considers intelligence as an aggregate 1) Describes the processes people use in
of abilities. intellectual reasoning and problem
solving.
2) Focuses on the structure of intelligence 2) Focuses on how an intelligent person
and its underlying dimensions. acts.

3) Expresses the individual’s performance 3) Studies cognitive functions underlying

in terms of a single set of cognitive intelligent behaviour.
abilities.
Psychometric approach Theories

• UNI OR ONE FACTOR THEORY

• TWO FACTOR THEORY
• THEORY OF PRIMARY MENTAL ABILITIES
• HIERARCHICAL MODEL OF INTELLIGENCE
• STRUCTURE OF-INTELLECT MODEL
UNI or ONE FACTOR THEORY

• Proposed by:
Alfred Binet
• Rationale behind his Theory:
Differentiating more intelligent from less intelligent individuals.
• Concept/Theory:
Intelligence consists of one similar set of abilities which can be used for solving any or
every problem in an individual’s environment.
• Why new theories came?
This theory came to be disputed when psychologists started analysing data of
individuals, which was collected using Binet’s test.
TWO FACTOR THEORY

• Proposed by: Charles Spearman IN 1927

• METHOD: statistical method called factor analysis.
General factor includes mental operations which are primary
(g-factor and common to all performances.
• Concept/theory:
Specific factors Includes Specific abilities apart from
(s-factors general factors

• EXAMPLE: Excellent singers, architects, scientists, and athletes may be high

on g-factor, but in addition to this, they have specific abilities which allow
them to excel in their respective domains.
Theory of primary mental abilities

• Proposed by: Louis Thurstone’s theory.

• CONCEPT: It states that intelligence consists of seven primary abilities, each of which is
relatively independent of the others. These primary abilities are:
(i) Verbal Comprehension (grasping meaning of words, concepts, and ideas),
(ii) Numerical Abilities (speed and accuracy in numerical and computational skills),
(iii) Spatial Relations (visualising patterns and forms),
(iv) Perceptual Speed (speed in perceiving details),
(v) Word Fluency (using words fluently and flexibly),
(vi) Memory (accuracy in recalling information), and
(vii) Inductive Reasoning (deriving general rules from presented facts).
Hierarchical model of intelligence

• PROPOSED BY: Arthur Jensen

• CONCEPT: Abilities operating at two levels:

• Level I is the associative learning in which output is more or less

similar to the input (e.g., rote learning and memory).

• Level II, called cognitive competence, involves higher-order skills

as they transform the input to produce an effective output.
 Structure of-intellect model

• J.P. Guilford proposed the structure of-intellect model which classifies

intellectual traits among three dimensions.
1. cognition,
2. memory recording
OPERATIONS 3. memory retention,
(what the respondent does) 4. Divergent production, 1. visual,
5. Convergent production,
2. auditory,
6. evaluation.
CONTENTS
3. symbolic
nature of information on which intellectual 4. semantic
operations are performed. 1. units, 5. behavioural
2. classes,
3. relations,
PRODUCTS
4. systems,
(the form in which information is
5. transformations,
processed by the respondent)
6. implications.
Structure of-intellect model

• This classification includes 6*5*6 categories,

• The model has 180 cells.
• Each cell is expected to have at least one factor or ability;
• some cells may have more than one factor.
• Each factor is described in terms of all three dimensions.
Information-processing approach: Theories

• Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
• Planning, Attention-arousal, and Simultaneous-successive (PASS)
Model of Intelligence
Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• Proposed by: Howard Gardner

• According to him, intelligence is not a single entity; rather distinct types
of intelligences exist.
• Each of these intelligences are independent of each other.
• Different types of intelligences interact and work together to find a
solution to a problem.
• Sample of Study: extremely talented persons, who had shown exceptional
abilities in their respective areas
• Described eight types of intelligence.
Linguistic Intelligence

• Linguistic: skills involved in the production and use of language

• The capacity to use language fluently and flexibly to express one’s
thinking and understand others.
• Persons high on this intelligence are ‘word-smart’, i.e. they are
sensitive to different shades of word meanings, are articulate, and
can create linguistic images in their mind.
• Poets and writers are very strong in this component of
intelligence.
Logical-Mathematical

• Logical-Mathematical: skills in scientific thinking and problem

solving
• Persons high on this type of intelligence can think logically and
critically.
• They engage in abstract reasoning, and can manipulate symbols to
solve mathematical problems.
• Scientists and Nobel Prize winners are likely to be strong in this
component.
Spatial Intelligence

• Spatial: skills in forming visual images and patterns

• It refers to the abilities involved in forming, using, and
transforming mental images.
• The person high on this intelligence can easily represent the
spatial world in the mind.
• Pilots, sailors, sculptors, painters, architects, interior decorators,
and surgeons are likely to have highly developed spatial
intelligence.
Musical Intelligence

• Musical: sensitivity to musical rhythms and patterns

• It is the 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.
Bodily-Kinaesthetic

• Bodily-Kinaesthetic: using whole or portions of the body flexibly

and creatively
• This consists of the use of the whole body or portions of it for
display or construction of products and problem-solving.
• Athletes, dancers, actors, sportspersons, gymnasts, and surgeons
are likely to have such kind of intelligence.
Interpersonal Intelligence

• Interpersonal: sensitivity to subtle aspects of others’ behaviours

• This is the skill of understanding the motives, feelings and
behaviours of other people so as to bond into a comfortable
relationship with others.
• Psychologists, counsellors, politicians, social workers, and religious
leaders are likely to possess high interpersonal intelligence.
Intrapersonal Intelligence

• Intrapersonal: awareness of one’s own feelings, motives, and desires

• This refers to the knowledge of one’s internal strengths and limitations
and using that knowledge to effectively relate to others.
• Persons high on this ability have finer sensibilities regarding their identity,
human existence, and meaning of life.
• Philosophers and spiritual leaders present examples of this type of
intelligence.
Naturalistic Intelligence

• Naturalistic: sensitivity to the features of the natural world

• This involves complete awareness of our relationship with the
natural world.
• It is useful in recognising the beauty of different species of flora
and fauna, and making subtle discriminations in the natural world.
• Hunters, farmers, tourists, botanists, zoologists, and bird watchers
possess more of naturalistic intelligence.
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

• Proposed by: Robert Sternberg (1985)

• Intelligence as the ability:
• to adapt,
• to shape, and
• select environment
• to accomplish one’s goals and those of one’s society and culture”.

• According to this theory, there are three basic types of intelligence:

• Componential,
• Experiential,
• Contextual.
Componential Intelligence

• Also called as analytical intelligence.

• It is the analysis of information to solve problems.
• Persons high on this ability think analytically and critically.
• They have higher chances of succeeding in schools.
• This intelligence has three components, each serving a different function.
• Knowledge acquisition component: responsible for learning and acquisition of the ways of
doing things.
• Meta or a higher order component: involves planning concerning what to do and how to
do.
• Performance component: involves actually doing things.
Experiential Intelligence

• Also called as 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.
• They quickly find out which information is crucial in a given situation.
Contextual Intelligence

• Also called as practical intelligence.

• Involves the ability to deal with environmental demands encountered on a
daily basis.
• It may be called ‘street smartness’ or ‘business sense’.
• Persons high on this aspect they turn out to be successful in life, because:
• They 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

Arousal/Attention Processing Planning

• Developed by J.P. Das, Jack Naglieri, and Kirby (1994).

• According to this model, intellectual activity involves the interdependent
functioning of three neurological systems, called the functional units of brain.
• These PASS processes operate on a knowledge base developed either formally
(by reading, writing, and experimenting) or informally from the environment.
• These processes are interactive and dynamic in nature; yet each has its own
distinctive functions.
Arousal/Attention

• State of arousal is basic to any behaviour as it helps us in attending to

stimuli:
• To enable a person to process information.
• focusing our attention to the relevant aspects of a problem.
• Too much or too little arousal would interfere with attention.
• Example: 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. Arousal forces you to focus your attention on
reading, learning and revising the contents of the chapters.
 Simultaneous and Successive Processing

Simultaneous processing Successive Processing

takes place when takes place when

• you perceive the relations among various • you remember all the information serially, so that
concepts, and the recall of one leads to the recall of another.
• integrate them into a meaningful pattern for
comprehension.
• helps you in grasping the meaning and relationship
between the given abstract figures.

For example, in Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) For example: Learning of digits, alphabets,
Test, a design is presented from which a part has multiplication tables, etc.
been removed. You are required to choose one of the
six options that best completes the design.
EXAMPLE OF RSPM TEST CARD
Planning

• This is an essential feature of intelligence.

• After the information is attended to and processed, planning is activated.
• It allows us to think of the possible courses of action,
• implement them to reach a target, and
• evaluate their effectiveness.
• If a plan does not work, it is modified to suit the requirements of the task or
situation.
• For example, 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 (e.g., give more time,
study with a friend, etc.) to meet your goals.
Cognitive Assessment System (CAS).

• Das and Naglieri have also developed a battery of tests, known as

the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS).
• It 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.
Why are some people more intelligent than others?
NATURE OR NURTURE

• Heredity- something that sets a range within which an individual’s

development is actually shaped by the support and opportunities in the
environment.
• There is a general consensus amongst psychologists that intelligence is
the product of complex interaction of heredity (nature) and environment
(nurture)
 Assessment of Intelligence

• First successful attempt to formally measure intelligence - Alfred Binet and

Theodore Simon (1905)
Mental Age (MA) Chronological Age (CA)
• Measure of a person’s intellectual development relative • the biological age from birth.
to people of her/his age group.
• A mental age of 5 means that a child’s performance on
an intelligence test equals the average performance
level of a group of 5-year olds.
• Concept proposed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon
in 1908
Intelligence Quotient

• In 1912 William Stern devised the concept of Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

IQ= MA/CA x 100

• 100 is used as the multiplier to avoid a decimal point.
Bright child = MA > CA
Dull child = MA < CA
• Retardation is being 2 MA years below the CA
 Normal curve

• The frequency distribution for the IQ

scores tends to approximate a bell-
shaped curve, called the normal curve.
• This type of distribution is symmetrical
around the central value, called the
mean.

• IQ scores are distributed in the population in

such a way that the scores of most people tend
to fall in the middle range of the distribution.
• Only a few people have either very high or very
low scores.
People with IQ scores in the
range of

• 90–110: have normal

intelligence.
• Below 70:‘mental retardation’
• Above 130: have exceptional
talents (intellectually gifted)

One practical use of

intelligence test is to identify
persons at the extremes of
intellectual functioning.
• 2 percent of the population
have IQ above 130/below 70
Mental retardation

The American Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD) views mental retardation as

“significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in
adaptive behaviour and manifested during the developmental period”.
This definition points to three basic features.
• First, in order to be judged as mentally retarded, a person must show significantly sub-average
intellectual functioning. Persons having IQs below 70 are judged to have sub-average intelligence.
• The second relates to deficits in adaptive behaviour. Adaptive behaviour refers to a person’s
capacity to be independent and deal effectively with one’s environment.
• The third feature is that the deficits must be observed during the developmental period, that is
between 0 and 18 years of age.
 Levels of Mental Retardation
Mild Moderate Severe Profound
retardation retardation retardation retardation
(IQs 55–69) (IQs 40–54) (IQs 25–39) (IQs below 25)

• development is typically • lag behind their peers in incapable of incapable of

slower than that of their language and motor skills. managing life and managing life and
peers • can be trained in self-care need need
• they can function quite skills, and simple social constant care for constant care for
independently, hold jobs and communication skills. their entire lives. their entire lives.
and families. • Require moderate degree Eg: food and toilet
• Eg: of supervision in everyday needs
• Will take time in tasks.
understanding abstract • Eg: difficulty in tying laces,
concepts like, justice, expressing about basic
freedom needs; can learn basic
• Difficulty in understanding greeting skills (Please,
sarcasm sorry)
Intellectual Giftedness

• The study of gifted individuals began in 1925, when Lewis Terman followed the lives of about 1500 children with
IQs of 130 and above to examine how intelligence was related to occupational success and life adjustment.
• Early signs of intellectual superiority shown by Gifted children :
• larger attention span,
• good recognition memory,
• preference for novelty,
• Sensitivity to environmental changes, and
• Early appearance of language skills.

• To equate giftedness with brilliant academic performance is not correct.

• Athletes who show superior psychomotor ability are also gifted.
• Each gifted student possesses different strengths, personalities and characteristics.
• Intellectually gifted individuals show higher performance because of their outstanding potentialities.
Talent and Giftedness

• Although the terms ‘talent’ and ‘giftedness’ are often used interchangeably, they
mean different things.

Giftedness Talent
• exceptional general ability • is a narrower term
• shown in superior performance in a wide • refers to remarkable ability in a specific
variety of areas. field (e.g., spiritual, social, aesthetic)
• The highly talented are sometimes called
‘prodigies’.

• From the teachers’ point of view, giftedness depends on a combination of high ability,
high creativity, and high commitment (as per psychologists)
Important characteristics of gifted children

• Advanced logical thinking, questioning and problem solving behaviour.

• High speed in processing information.
• Superior generalisation and discrimination ability.
• Advanced level of original and creative thinking.
• High level of intrinsic motivation and self-esteem.
• Independent and non-conformist thinking.
• Preference for solitary academic activities for long periods.
Identifying gifted children

Methods for identifying gifted children:

• Performance on intelligence tests
• teachers’ judgment,
• school achievement record,
• parents’ interviews,
• Peer and self-ratings

Helping them reach their full potential:

• educational programmes beyond regular classrooms.
• life enrichment programmes that can sharpen children’s skills in productive thinking, planning,
decision-making, and communication.
 Types of Intelligence Tests
PURPOSE OF TESTING TYPE OF TEST
administration procedure • individual
• group
the nature of items • verbal
• Non-verbal
• performance
the extent to which an • Culture-fair
intelligence test favours one • culture-biased
culture over another
 Individual or Group Tests
Area of Individual Group
difference
Administration can be administered to one person at a can be administered to several
time. persons simultaneously.

Rapport & • require the test administrator to do not allow an opportunity to

sensitivity to establish a rapport with the subject, be familiar with the subjects’
feelings and feelings.
• be sensitive to her/his feelings, moods
and expressions during the testing
session.
Mode of response allow people to answer orally or in a generally seek written answers
written form or manipulate objects as per usually in a multiple-choice
the tester’s instructions. format.
 Verbal, Non-Verbal, or Performance Tests
Verbal Non-Verbal Performance

Nature of items Verbal tests The non-verbal tests use Performance tests require
require subjects to give verbal pictures or illustrations as subjects to
responses test items. manipulate objects and
either orally or in a written other materials to
form. perform a task.
Written language is not
necessary for answering the
items.

Literate or can be administered only to Can be administered to Can be administered to

illiterate literate people. literate and illiterate both literate and illiterate

Examples Stanford Binet Test Raven’s Progressive Matrices Kohs’ Block Design Test
(RPM) Test is an example of a
non-verbal test.
Kohs’ Block Design Test
 Culture-Fair or Culture-Biased Tests
Culture-Biased Culture-Fair

Many intelligence tests show a bias to the culture in Culture-fair or culturally appropriate, i.e. one that
which they are developed. does not discriminate against individuals belonging
to different cultures.

Tests developed in America and Europe represent In such tests, items are constructed in a manner
an urban and middle class cultural ethos. Hence, that they assess experiences common to all cultures
educated middle class white subjects generally or have questions in which language usage is not
perform well on those tests. The items do not required.
respect the cultural perspectives of Asia and Africa.

the cultural bias usually associated with verbal Non-verbal and performance tests help reduce the
tests. cultural bias.
 Some Misuses of Intelligence Tests

• Poor performance on a test may attach a stigma to children and thereby adversely affect their performance
and self-respect.
• The tests may invite discriminating practices from parents, teachers and elders in the society.
• Administering a test biased in favour of the middle class and higher class populations may underestimate the
IQ of children coming from disadvantaged sections of the society.
• Intelligence tests do not capture creative potentialities and practical side of intelligence, and they also do not
relate much to success in life. Intelligence can be a potential factor for achievement in various spheres of
life.
• It is suggested that one should guard against erroneous practices associated with intelligence tests and take
the help of trained psychologists to analyse an individual’s strengths and weaknesses.
 Intelligence Testing in India

• S.M. Mohsin made a pioneering attempt in constructing an intelligence test in Hindi. in the 1930s.
• C.H. Rice attempted to standardise Binet’s test in Urdu and Punjabi.
• At about the same time, Mahalanobis attempted to standardise Binet’s test in Bengali.
• Attempts were also made by Indian researchers to develop Indian norms for some western tests including
RPM, WAIS, Alexander’s Passalong, Cube Construction, and Kohs’ Block Design.
• Long and Mehta prepared a Mental Measurement Handbook listing out 103 tests of intelligence in India that
were available in various languages.
• The National Library of Educational and Psychological Tests (NLEPT) at the National Council of Educational
Research and Training (NCERT) has documented Indian tests.
• Critical reviews of Indian tests are published in the form of handbooks. NLEPT has brought out the
handbooks in the area of intelligence, aptitude, personality, attitudes, and interests.
 CULTURE AND INTELLIGENCE

• A major characteristic of intelligence is that it helps individuals to adapt to

their environment. The cultural environment provides a context for
intelligence to develop.
• Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, has argued that culture provides a social
context in which people live, grow, and understand the world around them.
• For example:
• In less technologically developed societies, social and emotional skills in relating to
people are valued.
• While in technologically advanced societies, personal achievement founded on abilities of
reasoning and judgment is considered to represent intelligence.
 CULTURE AND INTELLIGENCE

• Culture is a collective system of customs, beliefs, attitudes, and

achievements in art and literature.
• A person’s intelligence is likely to be tuned by these cultural parameters.
• Many theorists have regarded intelligence as attributes specific to the
person without regard to their cultural background.
• The unique features of culture now find some representation in theories of
intelligence.
• Sternberg’s theory
• Vygotsky’s theory
 Intelligence Theories and Culture

Sternberg’s notion of contextual or practical intelligence implies that intelligence is a

product of culture.
Vygotsky also believed that cultures, like individuals, have a life of their own.
• Cultures grow and change.
• In the process of growing & changing, cultures specify what will be the end-product
of successful intellectual development.
• According to him, elementary mental functions (e.g., crying, attending to mother’s
voice, sensitivity to smells, walking, and running) are universal,
• But the manner in which higher mental functions such as problem solving and
thinking operate are largely culture-produced.
 Technological intelligence
Technologically advanced societies adopt child rearing practices that foster following skills among children:
• generalisation and abstraction,
• speed,
• minimal moves, and
• Mental manipulation

These societies promote a type of behaviour, which can be called technological intelligence.
In these societies, persons are well-versed in skills of:
• attention,
• observation,
• analysis,
• performance,
• speed, and
• achievement orientation.

Intelligence tests developed in western cultures look precisely for these skills in an individual.
• Technological intelligence is not so valued in many Asian and African societies.
These value:
• cognitive competence
• skills to relate to others in the society.
• self-reflection and collectivistic orientation
(as opposed to personal achievement and individualistic orientation)
 Integral intelligence

• gives emphasis on connectivity with the social and world environment.

• Indian thinkers view intelligence from a holistic perspective where equal attention is paid to
cognitive and non-cognitive processes as well as their integration.

Concept of Buddhi:
• more pervasive in scope than the western concept of intelligence.
• Buddhi, according to J.P. Das, includes such skills as mental effort, determined action,
feelings, and opinions along with cognitive competence such as knowledge, discrimination, and
understanding.
• buddhi is the knowledge of one’s own self based on conscience, will and desire.
• Thus, the notion of buddhi has affective and motivational components besides a strong
cognitive component.
Facets of intelligence in the Indian tradition

• Cognitive capacity (sensitivity to context, understanding, discrimination,

problem solving, and effective communication).
• Social competence (respect for social order, commitment to elders, the
young and the needy, concern about others, recognising others’
perspectives).
• Emotional competence (self-regulation and self-monitoring of emotions,
honesty, politeness, good conduct, and self-evaluation).
• Entrepreneurial competence (commitment, persistence, patience, hard
work, vigilance, and goal-directed behaviours).
IQ is not enough?

• A good IQ and scholastic record is not enough to be successful in

life.
• You may find many people who are academically talented, but are
unsuccessful in their own life. They experience problems in family,
workplace and interpersonal relationships.
• What do they lack?

Some psychologists believe that the source of their difficulty may be a lack of
emotional intelligence.
 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

• This concept was first introduced by Salovey and Mayer.

• They considered emotional intelligence as “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”.

• The notion of emotional intelligence broadens the concept of intelligence beyond the
intellectual sphere/domain and considers that intelligence includes emotions.
• You may note that it builds on the concept of intelligence in the Indian tradition.
• Emotional intelligence is a set of skills that underlie accurate appraisal, expression,
and regulation of emotions.
• It is the feeling side of intelligence.
Emotional Quotient (EQ)

• Emotional Quotient (EQ) is used to express emotional

intelligence in the same way as IQ is used to express
intelligence.
• In simple terms, emotional intelligence refers to the
ability to process emotional information accurately and
efficiently.
Improving Emotional Intelligence

• Emotional intelligence is receiving increasing attention of educators for

dealing with students who are affected by stresses and challenges of the
outside world.
• Programmes aimed at improving students’ emotional intelligence have
beneficial effects on their academic achievement.
• They encourage cooperative behaviour and reduce their antisocial
activities.
• These programmes are very useful in preparing students to face the
challenges of life outside the classroom.
 Characteristics of Emotionally Intelligent
Persons

• Perceive and be sensitive to your feelings and emotions.

• Perceive and be sensitive to various types of emotions in others by noting their
body language, voice and tone, and facial expressions.
• Relate your emotions to your thoughts so that you take them into account
while solving problems and taking decisions.
• Understand the powerful influence of the nature and intensity of your
emotions.
• Control and regulate your emotions and their expressions while dealing with
self and others to achieve harmony and peace.
Aptitude : Nature

• Aptitude refers to special abilities in a particular field of activity.

• It is a combination of characteristics that indicates an individual’s
capacity to acquire some specific knowledge or skill after training.
• Difference between intelligence & aptitude?
intelligence tests assess a general mental ability while aptitude refers to
special abilities
• We assess aptitude with the help of selected tests.
• The knowledge of aptitude can help us to predict an individual’s future
performance.
Aptitude & intelligence

• While assessing intelligence, psychologists often found that people with

similar intelligence differed widely in acquiring certain knowledge or
skills.
• For example, you may observe in your class that there are certain areas in
which some intelligent students do not do well.
• When you have a problem in mathematics, you may turn to Aman for help, and
• with similar difficulties in literature you may consult Avinash.
• You may request Shabnam to sing for your annual function, and
• may turn to John when facing a problem with your bike.
• These specific skills and abilities are called aptitudes. With proper training
these abilities can be considerably enhanced.
APTITUDE & INTEREST

• In order to be successful in a particular field, a person must have both

aptitude and interest.
• Interest is a preference for a particular activity; aptitude is the
potentiality to perform that activity.
• A person may be interested in a particular job or activity, but may not
have the aptitude for it. Similarly, a person may have the potentiality for
performing a job, but may not be interested in doing that.
• In both cases, the outcome will not be satisfactory. A student with high
mechanical aptitude and strong interest in engineering is more likely to
be a successful mechanical engineer.
Measurement of Aptitude

• Aptitude tests are available in two forms:

• independent (specialised) aptitude tests, and
• multiple (generalised) aptitude tests.
• Examples of independent aptitude tests: Clerical Aptitude, Mechanical
Aptitude, Numerical Aptitude, and Typing Aptitude.
• Multiple Aptitude Tests exist in the form of test batteries, which measure
aptitude in several separate but homogeneous areas.
• Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT), the General Aptitude Tests Battery
(GATB), and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) are
well-known aptitude test batteries.
DAT

• DAT is most commonly used in educational settings.

• It consists of 8 independent subtests:
(i) Verbal Reasoning,
(ii) Numerical Reasoning,
(iii) Abstract Reasoning,
(iv) Clerical Speed and Accuracy,
(v) Mechanical Reasoning,
(vi) Space Relations,
(vii) Spelling, and
(viii) Language Usage.
• J.M. Ojha has developed an Indian adaptation of DAT.
• Several other aptitude tests have been developed in India for measuring scientific, scholastic, literary,
clerical, and teaching aptitudes.
 CREATIVITY

• There are differences in the potential for creativity across individuals and
the manner in which creativity is expressed.
• Some are highly creative and others are not so creative.
• Some may express creativity in writing, still others in dance, music,
poetry, science and so on.
• Manifestations of creativity can be observed in a novel solution to a
problem, an invention, composition of a poem, painting, new chemical
process, an innovation in law, a breakthrough in preventing a disease and
the like.
• Despite differences, one common element among these is the production
of something new and unique.
 Expression of Creativity

• We generally think of creativity in terms of creative persons like Tagore, Einstein, C.V.
Raman, Ramanujan etc. who have made outstanding contributions in different spheres.
• In recent years, our understanding of creativity has broadened. Creativity is not just
limited to a selected few — the artist, the scientist, the poet or the inventor. An
ordinary individual who is engaged in simple occupations like pottery, carpentry,
cooking, etc. can also be creative.
• However, it has been said that they are not working at the same level of creativity as
an eminent scientist or a writer.
• Hence, we can say that individuals vary in terms of the level and the areas in which
they exhibit creativity and that all may not be operating at the same level.
Levels of creativity

• Einstein’s theory of relativity is an example of the highest level of

creativity which implies bringing out altogether new ideas, facts,
theory, or a product.
• Another level of creativity is working on what has already been
established earlier by way of modifications, by putting things in
new perspectives or to new use.
 Manifestation of Creativity

• Research literature suggests that children begin to develop their imagination

during the early years of childhood but they express creativity mostly through
physical activities and in non-verbal ways.
• When language and intellectual functions are fully developed and store of
knowledge is adequately available, creativity is expressed through verbal
modes too.
• Those who are outstanding in their creativity may give an indication about the
direction in which their creativity lies through their self-chosen activities.
• In some cases, however, opportunities need to be provided before they can
manifest their hidden potential for creativity.