Variations in Psychological Attributes

Written and reviewed by Subhra Gupta, Humanities faculty at UniDrill (M.A. Sociology, University of Delhi · 7 years teaching Humanities). Based on NCERT Psychology Class XII (Psychology), Chapter 1.

Why can your friend solve any sum but not sing, while another sings but struggles with sums?

Look around your class. One person grasps a theorem in seconds. Another reads people so well that she knows who is upset before anyone says a word. A third can fix a bike but dislikes essays. Psychologists call this variation individual differences: the distinctiveness among people in their characteristics and behaviour patterns. This chapter asks three questions about them. How do we measure the differences, what is intelligence, and how do abilities such as aptitude, emotional intelligence and creativity fit around it?

People differ, but situations matter too

Variability is a fact of nature. People vary in physical features (height, strength) and in psychological dimensions, being intelligent or dull, dominant or submissive, creative or not, outgoing or withdrawn. Each person is unique because of her particular combination of traits, present in varying degrees.

Sometimes situational pressure is so strong that people with very different traits respond in almost the same way.

Two views. For the exam: traits explain behaviour, while situationism emphasises external factors. Another reading: many psychologists hold that neither side alone is enough and that behaviour comes from the interaction between the person and the situation. The boss example shows both: the trait (aggression) exists, but the situation decides whether it shows.

Assessing psychological attributes

Assessment is the measurement of psychological attributes of individuals and their evaluation, often using multiple methods and standards of comparison. An attribute is said to exist in a person only if it can be measured by scientific procedures. Assessment can be formal (objective, standardised, organised) or informal (varies from assessor to assessor and is open to subjective interpretation). Psychologists are trained in formal assessment. Once an attribute is assessed we can predict future behaviour and, if the prediction is unwelcome, intervene.

Psychological attributes are not one dimensional. A line is just points, but a box needs length, width and height. In the same way a person must be assessed in several domains, such as cognitive, emotional and social. Five attributes are of special interest.

Methods of assessment.

What is intelligence?

The psychological idea of intelligence is different from the everyday one of quick wit and mental alertness. Definitions have changed.

Theories fall into two approaches.

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is treated separately from both approaches.

Psychometric theories at a glance.

Guilford's three dimensions.

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner argued that intelligence is not one thing. He studied extremely talented people and described eight independent intelligences that interact to solve problems. Being high on one tells you nothing about the others.

Two views. For the exam: Gardner's eight intelligences are independent and distinct. Another reading: many researchers in the psychometric tradition argue that these abilities are better seen as talents or skills that overlap with general mental ability. Gardner's theory has influenced teaching because it widens what schools value, while its claim of full independence is still debated.

Sternberg's triarchic theory

Robert Sternberg (1985) defined intelligence as the ability to adapt to, shape and select an environment to accomplish one's goals and those of one's society and culture. It is an information processing theory with three types.

The PASS model

J.P. Das, Jack Naglieri and Kirby (1994) proposed that intellectual activity depends on three interdependent neurological systems, the functional units of the brain. It is also an information processing model.

Das and Naglieri also created a battery of verbal and non verbal tasks, the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS), for ages 5 to 18. It measures basic cognitive functions presumed to be independent of schooling, and its results can be used to remedy cognitive deficits in children with learning problems.

Nature and nurture

Evidence for heredity comes mainly from twin and adoption studies. The more genes two people share, the more similar their scores.

Adopted children's intelligence is more like that of their biological than adoptive parents, but as they grow, it moves closer to that of their adoptive parents. Children from disadvantaged homes adopted into families of higher socio economic status show a large rise in scores. Deprivation lowers intelligence, while rich nutrition, a good family background and quality schooling raise it. The consensus is that intelligence results from the interaction of heredity and environment: heredity sets a range, and the support and opportunities in the environment decide where within that range a person develops.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: intelligence is an interaction of heredity and environment, and heredity sets a range. In reality: high heritability describes how much of the difference among people in a given population is linked to genes. It does not mean an individual's score is fixed, and it can change with the environment. Why it matters: an option that says "twin correlations prove intelligence cannot be changed" is wrong.

Measuring intelligence: mental age and IQ

In 1905 Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon made the first successful attempt to measure intelligence formally. In 1908 they introduced mental age (MA), a measure of intellectual development relative to others of the same age. A mental age of 5 means the child performs like the average 5 year old. Chronological age (CA) is age from birth. In 1912 William Stern devised the intelligence quotient (IQ).

$$\text{IQ} = \dfrac{\text{MA}}{\text{CA}} \times 100$$

The multiplier 100 removes the decimal. If MA equals CA, IQ is 100. If MA is more than CA, IQ is above 100, and the reverse gives an IQ below 100. The average IQ in the population is 100, whatever the age.

Worked example: computing IQ. A 10 year old child has MA 12. Then $\text{IQ} = \dfrac{12}{10} \times 100 = 120$. The same child with MA 7 has $\text{IQ} = \dfrac{7}{10} \times 100 = 70$. To find a mental age from an IQ, rearrange: $\text{MA} = \dfrac{\text{IQ} \times \text{CA}}{100}$. A 12 year old with IQ 90 has $\text{MA} = \dfrac{90 \times 12}{100} = 10.8$ years. A common wrong step is to divide CA by MA, which gives the reverse number.

Pause and predict: a child aged 8 performs like an average 6 year old. What is the IQ, and is it above or below average?

Check your answer: $\dfrac{6}{8} \times 100 = 75$. It is below the average of 100 and falls in the borderline range of 70 to 79.

IQ scores form a normal curve, a bell shape symmetrical around the mean of 100. Most people score in the middle and few score very high or low. People between 90 and 110 have normal intelligence.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: the average IQ is 100 whatever the age. In reality: in many countries raw performance on intelligence tests rose across the twentieth century, a pattern called the Flynn effect, so test makers periodically re-norm their tests to keep the average at 100. Why it matters: an IQ score has meaning only compared with the group on which the test was normed.

The two extremes: disability and giftedness

Intellectual disability is defined as significantly sub average general intellectual functioning existing together with deficits in adaptive behaviour and appearing in the developmental period. That gives three features.

Intellectual giftedness. Lewis Terman's study began in 1925. He followed the lives of about 1500 children with IQs of 130 and above to see how intelligence related to career success and adjustment. Two terms are often mixed up.

Giftedness is not the same as brilliant academic performance, since athletes with superior psychomotor ability are also gifted. Gifted children typically show larger attention span, good recognition memory, preference for novelty and early language. They also show advanced logical thinking, high speed of processing, strong generalisation and discrimination, original thinking, high intrinsic motivation and self esteem, non conformist thinking and a preference for solitary academic work. Identification should combine test scores with teachers' judgement, school records, parent interviews, and peer and self ratings. Gifted children need special enrichment programmes.

Types of intelligence tests

Tests developed in America and Europe reflect an urban, middle class cultural ethos, and their norms come from western groups, so people from other settings may be disadvantaged. It is nearly impossible to design one test that is equally meaningful in all cultures. Non verbal and performance tests reduce cultural bias.

Intelligence testing in India. S.M. Mohsin made a pioneering attempt to construct an intelligence test in Hindi in the 1930s. C.H. Rice attempted to standardise Binet's test in Urdu and Punjabi and Mahalanobis in Bengali. The National Library of Educational and Psychological Tests (NLEPT) at the National Council of Educational Research and Training has documented Indian tests. Among them, Bhatia's Battery of Performance Tests is quite popular, and the Draw a Man Test was developed by Pramila Pathak.

Misuses of intelligence tests. In untrained hands, a poor score may stigmatise a child and lower self respect, invite discrimination, underestimate the IQ of children from disadvantaged backgrounds when the test favours the middle class, and give a wrong impression that tests capture creativity and practical intelligence. They do not, and they relate only modestly to success in life. Tests should be used and interpreted by trained psychologists.

Culture and intelligence

Vygotsky argued that culture provides the social context in which people grow and understand the world. Elementary mental functions such as crying, attending to a mother's voice, walking and running are universal. Higher mental functions such as problem solving and thinking are largely shaped by culture. Sternberg's contextual intelligence also treats intelligence as a product of culture.

Many tests developed in western cultures look precisely for the first set of skills. Non western cultures, in addition to individual cognitive competence, look for skills in relating to others. The boundaries are gradually vanishing under western influence.

The Sanskrit word buddhi is broader than the western concept of intelligence. According to J.P. Das it includes mental effort, determined action, feelings and opinions along with cognitive competence such as knowledge, discrimination and understanding. It is also knowledge of one's own self based on conscience, will and desire. Four facets of intelligence are identified in the Indian tradition.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) extends intelligence to include emotions. It builds on the Indian notion above. Some people are academically talented yet face problems in family, workplace and relationships, and a lack of emotional intelligence may be the reason. The concept was introduced by Salovey and Mayer, who described it as the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, discriminate among them and use the information to guide one's thinking and actions. It is the "feeling side" of intelligence. The Emotional Quotient (EQ) expresses it in the same way IQ expresses intelligence.

Emotionally intelligent people are sensitive to their own feelings, notice others' emotions through body language, voice, tone and facial expression, and relate their emotions to their thoughts so that these are taken into account in problem solving and decisions. They understand the powerful influence of the nature and intensity of their emotions, and they control and regulate their emotions and expression to achieve harmony and peace.

Programmes to improve students' emotional intelligence have beneficial effects on academic achievement, encourage cooperative behaviour and reduce antisocial activity.

Aptitude: special abilities

Intelligence tests assess general mental ability. Aptitude refers to special abilities in a particular field. It is a combination of characteristics that indicates a person's capacity to acquire a specific knowledge or skill after training. Psychologists noticed that people with similar intelligence could differ widely in acquiring certain skills. In class, you may go to one friend for maths, another for literature, a third for singing. These are aptitudes, and they can be enhanced with proper training.

Success in a field needs both aptitude and interest. A student with high mechanical aptitude and strong interest in engineering is likely to become a good mechanical engineer. If only one is present the outcome will not be satisfactory.

Pause and predict: a student is very interested in music but tests show little aptitude for it, while another has high music aptitude and no interest. Who is likely to succeed?

Check your answer: neither is likely to do well on the strength of just one factor. Interest without aptitude lacks the potential to acquire the skill, and aptitude without interest lacks the preference to pursue it. Both together are needed.

Aptitude tests come in two forms. Independent (specialised) tests include clerical, mechanical, numerical and typing aptitude. Multiple (generalised) aptitude tests are batteries measuring several separate but homogeneous areas, such as the Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT), the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). DAT is the most commonly used in educational settings and has eight subtests: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning, clerical speed and accuracy, mechanical reasoning, space relations, spelling and language usage. J.M. Ojha developed an Indian adaptation.

Creativity

Creativity is the production of something new and unique: a novel solution, an invention, a poem, a painting, a new chemical process. It is not limited to eminent people such as Tagore, Einstein, C.V. Raman and Ramanujan. Ordinary people in pottery, carpentry or cooking can be creative, although not at the same level as an eminent scientist or writer. Einstein's theory of relativity is an example of the highest level, bringing out altogether new ideas, facts or theories. Another level is modifying what has been established, putting things in new perspectives or new uses.

Where do the variations come from? Both heredity and environment. Heredity sets the limits of creative potential. Environmental factors such as motivation, commitment, family support, peer influences and training decide how much is realised, when and in what direction. No training can turn an average person into Tagore or Shakespeare, but everyone can raise her creative potential above its present level.

Creativity and intelligence. Compare two students. Sunita scores top marks, grasps quickly and reproduces accurately, but rarely produces ideas of her own. Rita is average in studies but improvises new ways of helping at home and doing assignments. Sunita is seen as more intelligent and Rita as more creative.

Terman found in the 1920s that people with high IQ were not necessarily creative, and creative ideas can come from people without a very high IQ. Both high and low creativity are found in highly intelligent children and in children of average intelligence. The relationship is positive, because every creative act needs a minimum ability to acquire, comprehend, retain and retrieve knowledge. A certain level of intelligence is needed for creativity, but beyond that level intelligence does not correlate well with creativity.

Tests use words, figures, action and sounds as stimuli, and some are specific to literary, scientific or mathematical creativity. Psychologists who developed creativity tests include Guilford, Torrance, Khatena, Wallach and Kogan, Paramesh, Baqer Mehdi and Passi. They must be administered and interpreted only after extensive training.

Who said what

Exam traps

60-second revision

Where this chapter connects

• Earlier chapter: Thinking introduces convergent and divergent thinking and the steps of creative thinking, which this chapter applies to creativity tests.
• Next chapter: Self and Personality takes up personality, the attribute introduced here, and its assessment through projective techniques.
• Related chapter: Motivation and Emotion covers the emotions that emotional intelligence monitors and regulates.
• Related chapter: Psychological Disorders revisits intellectual disability in the context of developmental disorders.