5 Individual Differences, Personality & Guidance · 5.1 Individual differences, personality and guidance
5.1.1 Individual differences and intelligence
No two learners are alike: they differ in body, intelligence, aptitude, interest, attitude, achievement and personality because of heredity and environment; intelligence has been explained from Spearman's g and s to Gardner's multiple intelligences and Sternberg's triarchic theory, measured as IQ = (mental age ÷ chronological age) × 100 with individual or group, verbal or non-verbal tests, and widened by emotional intelligence (Goleman's five components).
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Core facts
Individual differences
- Individual differences = the ways in which people differ from one another in any measurable trait of personality: physical, mental, emotional and social.
- Inter-individual differences: between two or more persons (Ravi is taller than Sita). Intra-individual differences: within one person, across traits (good at mathematics, weak at drawing).
- Definitions: James Drever: variations or deviations from the average of the group in physical or mental traits; Woodworth: found in every psychological trait (ability, knowledge, habits, personality, character); C.V. Good: variation in one or many traits that marks one person off from another.
- Another division: inherited differences (physical, mental, temperamental) and acquired differences (social, cultural, educational, emotional).
- Areas: physical, intelligence (mental ability), aptitude, achievement, interests, attitudes, emotional, social, personality, learning style and speed, motor skills.
- Causes: heredity, environment (home, school, culture, nutrition), age and maturity, sex, race and nationality, socio-economic status, education and training.
- Heredity and environment interact. "The same fire which melts butter hardens the egg" means the same environment affects different individuals differently (2019 HWO). Studies of identical twins reared apart weigh heredity against environment; even identical twins are not alike in every trait.
- Francis Galton made the first scientific study of individual differences (Hereditary Genius, 1869; Inquiries into Human Faculty, 1883; anthropometric laboratory in London, 1884); he is called the father of differential psychology and of mental testing.
- Most traits are spread in a normal (bell-shaped) curve: most people near the average, few at the extremes.
- School provisions: ability grouping, Dalton plan (Helen Parkhurst, 1920, assignments and laboratories), Winnetka plan (Carleton Washburne, 1919), programmed instruction, differentiated instruction (tasks, pace and support varied by need), remedial teaching, enrichment and acceleration for the gifted, project method, individual attention.
Intelligence: definitions (in short)
- Word origin: Latin intellegere = to understand (to choose between).
- Binet: good judgement, understanding and reasoning ("good sense").
- Terman: the ability to carry on abstract thinking.
- Stern: general adaptability to new problems and conditions of life.
- Woodrow: the capacity to acquire capacity.
- Wechsler (1944): the aggregate or global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally and deal effectively with the environment (the most quoted).
- Thorndike classified intelligence into three kinds: abstract, social and mechanical (concrete).
- Thorndike's kinds of thinkers (people classified by their way of thinking): three, namely abstract thinkers, ideational thinkers (think in ideas, words and symbols) and object (concrete) thinkers (2022 HWO key: three). One BRAOU book adds a fourth (people led by sense experience); answer three.
Theories of intelligence
| Theory | Psychologist | Year | Key idea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uni-factor (monarchic) | Binet, Terman, Stern | early 1900s | one general power |
| Two-factor | Charles Spearman | 1904 | g (general) + s (specific) |
| Multi-factor (anarchic) | E.L. Thorndike | 1920s | many separate abilities |
| Group factor: primary mental abilities | L.L. Thurstone | 1938 | 7 PMAs |
| Sampling theory | Godfrey Thomson | 1916 | a test samples many bonds |
| Hierarchical | Cyril Burt, P.E. Vernon | 1950 | g → v:ed and k:m → specific |
| Structure of intellect | J.P. Guilford | 1967 | 5 × 4 × 6 = 120 abilities |
| Fluid and crystallised | R.B. Cattell (with J. Horn) | 1960s | Gf and Gc |
| Multiple intelligences | Howard Gardner | 1983 | 7, later 8 intelligences |
| Triarchic | Robert Sternberg | 1985 | analytical, creative, practical |
| PASS model | J.P. Das, Naglieri, Kirby | 1994 | planning, attention, simultaneous, successive |
- By number of factors (B.Ed. books): monarchic (unitary, one all-round power), oligarchic (a few group factors), anarchic (multi-factor: many independent abilities, Thorndike).
- Thurstone's 7 PMAs: Verbal comprehension, Word fluency, Number, Space, Memory, Perceptual speed, Reasoning.
- Gardner's intelligences (Frames of Mind, Harvard): linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal (7); naturalist added later (proposed 1995, in Intelligence Reframed, 1999) (8); existential suggested but not accepted as a full intelligence.
- Sternberg's triarchic theory (Beyond IQ, 1985, Yale): componential (analytical), experiential (creative), contextual (practical).
IQ
- Mental age (MA) = the age level at which a child performs on a test; introduced in the 1908 revision of the Binet-Simon scale. Chronological age (CA) = actual age.
- Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon, France, 1905: first practical intelligence test (30 items), made to pick out Paris school children who needed special help. Binet is the father of intelligence testing.
- William Stern (German, 1912) proposed the mental quotient MA ÷ CA; Lewis Terman multiplied it by 100 and popularised the term IQ in the Stanford-Binet scale, 1916.
- IQ = (MA ÷ CA) × 100. A child of CA 8 with MA 10 has IQ 125; with MA 6, IQ 75. IQ = 100 means MA equals CA.
- Deviation IQ (David Wechsler): a score with mean 100 and SD 15; used by all modern tests (the Stanford-Binet used SD 16). Wechsler scales: Wechsler-Bellevue (1939), WISC for children (1949), WAIS for adults (1955), WPPSI for pre-school children (1967).
IQ classification (Terman's table, as used in B.Ed. books)
| IQ | Class |
|---|---|
| 140 and above | genius or near genius |
| 120 to 139 | very superior |
| 110 to 119 | superior |
| 90 to 109 | normal / average |
| 80 to 89 | dull (below average) |
| 70 to 79 | borderline |
| 50 to 69 | moron (mild deficiency) |
| 25 to 49 | imbecile |
| below 25 | idiot |
- Flynn effect (James Flynn): average IQ scores have risen about 3 points per decade from one generation to the next.
- Today the old words moron, imbecile and idiot are not used: IQ below 70 = intellectual disability (mild about 50 to 69, moderate 35 to 49, severe 20 to 34, profound below 20).
Other tests and the qualities of a good test
- Aptitude = a present condition that shows a person's capacity to learn a particular skill with training (Bingham; Traxler). Aptitude tests predict future success, so they suit entrance and selection (best test for a B.Ed. entrance: an aptitude test, 2019 HWO). Example: DAT (Differential Aptitude Tests, Bennett, Seashore and Wesman, 1947).
- Achievement test: measures what a pupil has already learnt. Prognostic test: predicts future performance (2019 HWO); aptitude tests are prognostic. Diagnostic test: finds a learner's specific weak points so that remedial teaching can follow.
- Interest inventories: Strong Vocational Interest Blank, Kuder Preference Record. Attitude scales: Thurstone, Likert. Values: Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values (six values).
- Qualities of a good test: reliability (consistent scores on a retest), validity (measures what it claims to measure), objectivity (same score whoever marks it), usability / practicability (easy and cheap to give and score) and norms. Subjectivity is not a quality of a good test (2019 HWO).
Emotional intelligence (EI)
- Term defined by Peter Salovey and John Mayer (1990); popularised by Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (1995). EQ (emotional quotient): term coined by Reuven Bar-On, whose Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i, 1997) was the first validated EI measure. India: Dalip Singh (with N.K. Chadha) built an EQ test.
- Goleman's five components: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills.
- EI shows itself in better interpersonal relationships (2022 key).
Explained
1. Spearman vs Thurstone. Spearman (1904) found that scores on all mental tests correlate positively and explained this by one general factor g used in every task, plus a specific factor s for each task; he saw g as inherited "mental energy" and is called the father of factor analysis; mathematics depends more on g, music and drawing more on s. Thurstone, using his own factor analysis, found no single g but seven group factors (primary mental abilities), and built the PMA test. Thorndike went further: intelligence is a sum of many separate connections (multi-factor), and the three kinds (abstract, social, mechanical) are separate.
2. Guilford's structure of intellect (SI) model
| Dimension | Number | Items |
|---|---|---|
| Operations | 5 | cognition, memory, divergent production, convergent production, evaluation |
| Contents | 4 | figural, symbolic, semantic, behavioural |
| Products | 6 | units, classes, relations, systems, transformations, implications |
5 × 4 × 6 = 120 cells; later 150 (figural content split into visual and auditory) and 180 (memory split into recording and retention). Guilford's divergent thinking (many answers to one question) is the basis of creativity; convergent thinking (one correct answer) is what ordinary IQ tests measure.
3. Cattell's two intelligences. Fluid intelligence (Gf): reasoning and problem solving in new situations, largely biological, peaks in early adulthood. Crystallised intelligence (Gc): knowledge and skills gathered from education and culture (vocabulary, general knowledge), keeps rising into old age. Arthur Jensen (1969) spoke of Level I (associative, rote) and Level II (conceptual) abilities.
4. Gardner's intelligences with examples
| Intelligence | Shows in | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Linguistic | words, reading, writing | poet, journalist |
| Logical-mathematical | numbers, reasoning | scientist |
| Spatial | images, maps, design | architect, pilot |
| Musical | rhythm, pitch | musician |
| Bodily-kinaesthetic | body control | athlete, dancer, surgeon |
| Interpersonal | understanding others | counsellor, leader |
| Intrapersonal | understanding oneself | thinker, reflective person |
| Naturalist | plants, animals, nature | botanist, farmer |
For the teacher: teach one idea in several ways so that each child can use his or her strength.
5. Types of intelligence tests
| Verbal (language) | Non-verbal / performance | |
|---|---|---|
| Individual (one person at a time) | Stanford-Binet; Wechsler verbal scale | Kohs block design, Alexander's pass-along, Seguin form board, Porteus maze, Bhatia's battery |
| Group (many at once) | Army Alpha (USA, 1917, for literate recruits) | Army Beta (for illiterate recruits); Raven's Progressive Matrices (1938); Cattell's Culture Fair test |
- Individual tests: reliable and diagnostic, but slow and need a trained tester. Group tests: quick and cheap, good for screening and selection, less accurate for one child.
- Verbal tests suit literate people of the same language; non-verbal and performance tests suit young children, illiterate people, the deaf and people of another language.
- Culture-fair tests (Raven's, Cattell's) try to reduce the effect of language and culture.
- More tests: Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (J.C. Raven, 1938): 60 items in five sets A to E, a test of g; Coloured PM for young children and the elderly, Advanced PM for the able. Goodenough Draw-a-Man test (1926), a quick non-verbal test for children. Otis self-administering group test. Hindi verbal test Samanya Buddhi Pariksha.
- Indian tests: C.H. Rice's Hindustani adaptation of the Binet scale (1920s); C.M. Bhatia's Battery of Performance Tests (1955): Kohs block design (S.C. Kohs, 1920), Alexander's pass-along, pattern drawing, immediate memory, picture construction; S.S. Jalota's group test of general mental ability (Hindi).
- Uses: selection and classification, educational and vocational guidance, finding gifted and slow learners, diagnosing learning difficulties, research.
6. Goleman's five components, explained
| Component | Meaning | Classroom sign |
|---|---|---|
| Self-awareness | knowing one's own feelings, strengths, limits | "I get angry when I am tired" |
| Self-regulation | controlling impulses and moods | waits, calms down before replying |
| Motivation | inner drive towards goals, optimism | keeps trying after a low mark |
| Empathy | understanding others' feelings | comforts a homesick hostel-mate |
| Social skills | managing relationships, teamwork | resolves a quarrel, leads a group |
The first three are personal competences, the last two social competences. Mayer and Salovey's four-branch model (1997): perceiving, using, understanding and managing emotions. Unlike IQ, EI can be developed through life-skills education, which matters for hostel students living away from home.
7. More definitions of intelligence
| Thinker | Key idea |
|---|---|
| Piaget | adaptation to the physical and social surroundings |
| Garrett | abilities needed to solve problems that use symbols (words, numbers, diagrams) |
| H.G. Wells | recombining behaviour patterns to act better in a new situation |
| Stern | conscious adjustment of thinking to new demands |
8. Sternberg's three components (inside the componential part): metacomponents (plan, monitor, evaluate), performance components (carry out the task) and knowledge-acquisition components (learn new information).
9. Distribution of IQ. With mean 100 and SD 15, about 68% of people score between 85 and 115 and about 95% between 70 and 130; about 2% are above 130 (gifted range) and about 2% below 70.
10. What the teacher does about individual differences. Know each pupil (records, tests, observation); individualised and differentiated instruction; ability grouping where useful; varied methods and aids; remedial work for the weak and enrichment for the able; co-curricular activities matched to interests; educational and vocational guidance based on aptitude and interest.
Common traps
- ✗ "Intra-individual differences are differences between two students." ✓ That is inter-individual; intra = within one person.
- ✗ "IQ = (CA ÷ MA) × 100." ✓ IQ = (MA ÷ CA) × 100.
- ✗ "Binet coined the term IQ." ✓ Stern proposed the quotient (1912); Terman used "IQ" in the Stanford-Binet (1916). Binet gave mental age.
- ✗ "Normal IQ is 110 to 120." ✓ 90 to 109 (about 90 to 110). The 2025 key's option "90 to 100" is the nearest given choice; the standard band is 90 to 109.
- ✗ "Two-factor theory: Thurstone." ✓ Spearman (g and s, 1904); Thurstone = primary mental abilities (7).
- ✗ "Thorndike divided intelligence into g and s." ✓ Thorndike: abstract, social, mechanical (multi-factor).
- ✗ "Guilford's model has 7 abilities." ✓ 120 (5 operations × 4 contents × 6 products); 7 is Thurstone.
- ✗ "Gardner gave the triarchic theory." ✓ Gardner = multiple intelligences (1983); Sternberg = triarchic (1985).
- ✗ "Gardner's original list had 8 intelligences." ✓ 7 in 1983; naturalist added later (1995; Intelligence Reframed, 1999).
- ✗ "Emotional intelligence was coined by Goleman." ✓ Salovey and Mayer (1990) defined it; Goleman (1995) popularised it.
- ✗ "Raven's Progressive Matrices is a verbal test." ✓ It is a non-verbal, culture-fair group test.
- ✗ "Subjectivity is a quality of a good test." ✓ Objectivity is; the others are reliability, validity, usability and norms.
- ✗ "An achievement test predicts future success." ✓ That is a prognostic (aptitude) test; an achievement test measures what has already been learnt; a diagnostic test finds weak points.
- ✗ "Thorndike classified thinkers into four kinds." ✓ Per the APPSC 2022 key, three (abstract, ideational, object thinkers).
- ✗ "Army Beta was for literate soldiers." ✓ Army Alpha = literate (verbal); Army Beta = illiterate (non-verbal).
Quick revision
- Inter = between persons; intra = within a person; heredity × environment ("same fire melts butter, hardens egg").
- Galton: father of individual differences (Hereditary Genius 1869); intelligence from Latin intellegere (to understand).
- Spearman 1904: g + s; Thurstone 1938: 7 PMAs; Thorndike: abstract, social, mechanical; three kinds of thinkers.
- Guilford 1967: SI model 120 (5 × 4 × 6); divergent thinking = creativity.
- Cattell: fluid vs crystallised; Gardner 1983: 7 + naturalist (1999) = 8.
- Sternberg 1985 triarchic: analytical, creative, practical; aptitude test = prognostic, for entrance tests.
- Binet-Simon 1905; mental age 1908; Stern 1912; Terman Stanford-Binet 1916.
- IQ = MA/CA × 100; deviation IQ (Wechsler) mean 100, SD 15.
- Normal 90 to 109; 140+ genius; below 70 intellectual disability; good test = reliable, valid, objective, usable.
- EI: Salovey and Mayer 1990; Goleman 1995: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills.
Go deeper: Deeper (beyond what APPSC Paper I usually asks)
Deeper Advanced
1. Hierarchical model. Burt and Vernon put g at the top; under it two major group factors, v:ed (verbal-educational) and k:m (spatial-mechanical, practical); under these minor group factors, and specific factors at the bottom. Later models (Carroll's three-stratum, the CHC model) follow the same idea of g at the top.
2. PASS model. J.P. Das (born in Odisha), with Jack Naglieri and John Kirby, built on A.R. Luria's work on brain functions: Planning, Attention-arousal, Simultaneous processing (seeing parts as a whole) and Successive processing (handling items in order). The Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) measures them. NCERT notes it as an information-processing view of intelligence.
3. Indian idea of intelligence. NCERT describes an integral Indian view that stresses connection with the social world and covers cognitive capacity, social competence, emotional competence and entrepreneurial competence, in contrast to the Western stress on speed and abstract reasoning ("technological intelligence").
4. Limits of IQ. The ratio IQ fails for adults (mental age stops rising in the mid-teens while chronological age keeps rising), which is why Wechsler moved to the deviation IQ. Tests can be culturally biased, a single score hides intra-individual differences, and IQ does not measure creativity, motivation or emotional and social skills. A child's IQ is fairly stable but can change with a large change in environment.
5. Sternberg's successful intelligence. Sternberg later said that intelligence is the ability to reach one's goals in life by balancing analytical, creative and practical abilities, adapting to, shaping or selecting one's environment.
Practise this topic. Questions on Individual differences and intelligence (IQ, theories, emotional intelligence), with answers explained.
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