1. Chapter 1: Variations in Psychological Attributes
Individual Difference: For psychologists, individual differences refer to
distinctiveness and variations among people’s characteristics and
behaviour patterns.
Variability is a fact of nature. Individuals too vary in terms of physical
characteristics- tall, short, thin, fat etc. They also vary in terms of
psychological characteristics- like creativity, outgoing or withdrawn,
intelligent or dull, dominant or submissive etc.
Psychologists have two opinion related to individual differences:
Behaviours are influenced by personal traits- own personality,
intelligence etc.
Behaviours are influenced by situation factors- For e.g.- a person fwho
is aggressive may behave submissive in front of his boss. This view is
also known as situationism. This believes that situations and
circumstances (external factors) plays an important role to influence
human behaviour.
Assessment of Psychological Attributes: What is assessment? What are
different kinds of assessments?
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 can be of two types:
Informal assessment
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2. Formal Assessment
Informal Assessment: It varies from case to case, and from one person
to another. This is open to subjective interpretations. When
psychologists watch children playing and try to assess behaviour- this
would be under informal assessment.
Psychological assessment uses systematic testing, procedures to
evaluate abilities, behaviours and personal qualities of individuals.
Formal Assessment: It is objective, standardized and objective. For e.g.we assess IQ of a child to find out his or her intellectual strengths and
weaknesses. MALIN’s intelligence test is one of the standardized test
and can be said to be formal assessment.
Q. What are different psychological attributes which are of interest to
psychologists?
A. Psychological attributes are complex and multi-dimentional. To
assess a person, psychologists assess how he/she functions in various
domain or areas, such as cognitive, emotional, social etc.
The attributes are categorised on the basis of varieties of tests:
Intelligence: Intelligence tests measures the cognitive competence.
Intelligence is the global capacity to understand the world, to think
rationally and use available resources effectively when faced with
challenges.
Aptitude: Aptitude tests are used to predict what an individual will be
able to do if given proper training. For e.g.- a person with high
mechanical aptitude can be an automobile engineer with appropriate
training.
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3. Interest: Interest is individual’s preference towards any activity.
Assessment of interests of students may help to decide what subjects to
take to pursue any career.
Personality: Personality is enduring characteristics of a person that
make him/her distinct from others. Personality tests assess whether
one is dominant or submissive, moody or emotionally stable etc.
Values: Values are enduring beliefs about an ideal mode of behaviour.
In value assessment, psychologists try to determine the dominant
values of a person (e.g.- political, religious, social or economic)
Q. What are different assessment methods?
A. The different assessment methods are as follows:
1. Psychological tests: Psychological tests is an objective and
standardised measure of individual’s mental and/ or behavioural
characteristics. There are various kinds of objective and projective
tests.
2. Interview: Interview involves seeking information from the person on
one-to-one basis. For e.g.- journalists interviews important people on
various national or international issues.
3. Case study: Case study is an in-depth study of the individual in terms
of his/her psychological attributes, psychological history etc. For case
studies, different methods, e.g.- interview, observation, questionnaire,
psychological tests etc. are used.
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4. 4. Observation: Sometimes psychologists wants to understand the
behavioural phenomenon in natural setting. In this, systematic,
organised and objective process are used. The major challenge is
subjectivity in interpretation. Certain phenomena such as mother child
interaction is easy to observe.
5. Self report: Self report is a method in which a person provides factual
information about self or opinions, beliefs etc. he/she holds about
anything. In this interview schedule, questionnaire, personal diary or
psychological tests are used.
Q. How do psychologists characterise and define intelligence?
A. Albert Binet was one of the first psychologist who worked on
intelligence. He defined intelligence as the ability to judge well,
understand well and reason well.
Wechsler defined intelligence as the global and aggregate capacity of
an individual to think rationally, act purposefully and to deal effectively
with his/her environment.
Gardner and Sternberg suggested that an intelligent individual not
only adapts to the environment, but also actively modifies or shapes it.
The Oxford dictionary explains intelligence as the power of perceiving,
learning, understanding and knowing.
Thus, we can say that an intelligent person would have certain
attributes, like mental alertness, ready wit, quickness in learning and
ability to understand relationships.
Q. What are the different theories of intelligence?
A. Theories can be classified as:
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5. 1. Psychometric approach/ structural approach
2. Information processing approach.
The Psychometric approach considers intelligence as an aggregate of
abilities.
The Information processing approach describes the processes people
use in intellectual reasoning and problem solving. In this, the focus is on
how an intelligent person acts.
Some representations of these theories (Psychometric approach) are:
Uni-or one factor theory of intelligence- Binet
Two factor theory- Charles Spearman in 1927
Theory of Primary Mental abilities- Louis Thurston
Hierarchical model of intelligence- Arthur Jensen
Structure of Intellect Model- J.P. Guilford
Uni or One Factor Theory of Intelligence: Binet conceptualised
intelligence as consisting of one similar set of abilities which can be
used for solving any or every problem in an individual’s environment.
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6. Two Factor Theory: In 1927, Charles Spearman proposed two factor
theory of intelligence. Here he employed a statistical method called
factor analysis. He mentioned intelligence consists of:
General Factor (g-factor)
Specific factor (s-factor)
In excellent singers, architects, scientists, athletes, who may be high on
g-factor, their s-factor (specific abilities) are also high in their
respective domains.
Theory of Primary Mental Abilities: After Charles Spearman, Louis
Thurston proposed this theory. He suggested that intelligence consists
of seven primary abilities, each of which is relatively independent of the
others. These primary abilities are:
Verbal comprehension (grasping meaning of words, concepts and
ideas).
Numerical abilities (speed and accuracy in numerical and
computational skills).
Spatial Relations (Visualizing pattern and forms).
Perceptual speed (speed in perceiving details).
Word Fluency (using words fluently and flexibly).
Memory (accuracy in recalling information).
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7. Inductive Reasoning (deriving general rules for presented facts).
Hierarchical model of intelligence: Arthur Jensen proposed this model.
He mentioned intelligence consists of abilities that operates at 2 levels:
Level I
ii. Level II
Level I: This is the associative learning in which output is more or less
similar to input (e.g.- Rote learning and memory)
Level II: This is called cognitive competence. This involves higher-order
skills as they transform the input to produce an effective output
(creating story with help of picture).
Structure of Intellect Model: This was proposed by J.P. Guilford. He
classified intellectual traits among 3 dimensions:
Operations
Contents
Products
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8. Operations: What the respondent does- cognition, memory, recording,
memory retention, divergent production, convergent production and
evaluation.
Contents: Refers to the nature of materials or information on which the
operations are performed (visual, auditory, symbolic- e.g.- letters,
numbers; semantic- e.g.- words; behaviour- e.g.- information about
people’s behaviour, attitudes, needs etc.)
Products: Refers to the form in which information is processed by the
respondent. Products are classified intoUnits b. Classes
e. Transformations
c. Relations d. Systems
f. Implications
6 X 5X 6 categories. So has 180 cells. Each cells- has at least one factor
or ability. Some cells have more than one factor. Each factor is
described in terms of all 3 dimensions.
Q Explain the theory of Multiple Intelligence. (Information Processing
Approach)
A. Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligence.
According to him, there are 8 types of intelligence which interact and
work together to find a solution to a problem. But they are independent
of each other. The 8 types are:
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9. 1. Linguistic: It is the capacity to use language fluently to express one’s
thinking and understand others. Persons high on this intelligence are
‘word-smart’. Poet and writers are very strong on this component of
intelligence.
2. Logical-Mathematical- (scientific thinking and problem solving)People with this intelligence engage in abstract reasoning, can think
logically and critically, can solve mathematical problems effectively.
Scientists and Nobel Prize winners are likely to be strong in this
component.
3. Spatial (Skills in forming, visual images and patterns)- The person
high on this intelligence can easily represent spatial world in their
mind. Pilots, sailors, sculptors, painters, architects, interior decorators
and surgeons are high on this intelligence.
4. Musical (Sensitivity to musical rhythms and patterns)- People high
on this intelligence are very sensitive to sounds and vibrations, and in
creating new patterns of sounds.
5. Bodily-kinesthetic (Using whole or portions of the body flexibly and
creatively)- Athletes, dancers, actors, sportspersons, gymnasts, and
surgeons are high on this intelligence.
6. Interpersonal (sensitivity to subtle aspects of other’s behaviours)This is the skill of understanding the motives, feelings and behaviours
or other people so as to have comfortable relationship with others.
Psychologists, counsellors, politicians, social workers, and religious
leaders are high on this intelligence.
7. Intrapersonal (Awareness of one’s own feelings, motives and
desires)- This refers to knowing one’s own internal strengths and
limitations and using this knowledge to relate to others. Philosophers
and spiritual leaders are high on this intelligence.
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10. 8. Naturalistic (sensitivity to the features of natural world)- This is
useful to make discriminations in natural world. This involves creating
complete awareness of our relationship with the natural world.
Hunters, farmers, tourists, botanists, zoologists, and bird watchers
possess more of naturalistic intelligence.
Q. Explain Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (Information processing
approach)
A. Triarchic Theory of Intelligence was proposed by Robert and
Sternberg (1985). According to him, intelligence is the ability to adapt,
to shape and select environment to accomplish one’s goals and those of
one’s society and culture.
He mentioned 3 basic types of intelligenceComponential
Experiential
Contextual
Componential Intelligence- This is also called analytical intelligence as
it analyses information to solve problems. There are 3 components in
this intelligence:
Knowledge acquisition component: This is responsible for learning and
acquisition of the ways of doing things.
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11. Metal or higher order component: This involves planning concerning
what to do and how to do.
Performance component: This involves actually doing things.
Experiential: This is also called creative intelligence. This involves using
the past experiences creatively to solve novel problems. Person high on
this intelligence integrates various experiences to make new
discoveries and inventions.
Contextual intelligence: This is also called practical intelligence. It
involves the ability to deal with environmental demands encountered
on a daily basis. We can also call it ‘street smartness’ or ‘business sense’.
These people tend to be successful in life.
This theory of Sternberg represents the information-processing
approach to understand intelligence.
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12. Q. Explain the PASS Model of Intelligence (Information Processing
Approach).
Or
“Any intellectual activity involves the independent functioning of three
neurological system.” Explain with reference to the PASS Model.
A. This model has been developed by J.P.Das, Jack Naglieri and Kirby
(1994). According to this model, intellectual functioning involves three
neurological systems, called the functional units of the brain. These
units are responsible for arousal/attention, coding or processing and
planning respectively.
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13. Arousal/Attention: This is basic to any behaviour that helps us to
attend to stimuli. Arousal and attention enables a person to process
information. Too much or too little arousal can interfere attention. For
e.g.- when a student is told by a teacher about a test which he/she
plans to take, it would arouse the student to attend to the specific
chapter.
Information
of test
Arousal
Attention to
chapters
Thus, arousal forces a student to focus attention on reading, learning
and revising the contents of the chapters.
Simultaneous and successive Processing: Simultaneous processing
takes place when we perceive the relations among various concepts
and integrate them into meaningful patterns of comprehension. This
helps us grasping the meaning and relationship between the given
abstract figures. For e.g.-
Find the missing part:
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14. A
B
C
Such kind of items are in Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) test
where a part is removed from a design. The subject has to find out
missing part. This he is processing the part simultaneously thinking of
design.
Successive processing takes place when we remember all the
information serially. Here recall of one leads to the recall of another.
Learning of digits, alphabets, multiplication tables etc. are examples of
successive processing.
Planning: This is essential feature of intelligence. After information is
attended and processed, planning is activated. It allows us to think of
the possible courses of action, implement them and then evaluate their
effectiveness. If plan does not work, it is modified. For e.g.- when a test
is scheduled, student needs to set goals, plan a time schedule of study,
get clarifications in case of problems and if one is not able to tackle the
chapters, then he/she needs to think of other ways (e.g.- give more
time, study with a friend etc.).
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15. COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (CAS):
Das and Naglieri developed a battery of tests, known as CAS. It consists
of
Verbal tasks
Non-verbal tasks
These tasks measure basic cognitive functions presumed to be
independent of schooling. This battery of tests is meant for individuals
between 5 to 18 years of age.
The results of assessment can be used to remedy the cognitive deficits of
children with learning problems.
Q. To what extent is our intelligence the result of heredity (nature) and
environment (nurture)? Discuss.
A. There has been various studies that support the intelligence is the
result of heredity (nature) , while there are also studies that support
intelligence is result of environmental factors(nurture)
The studies that supported intelligence as the result of hereditydid
research an identical twins , fraternal twins and adopted children. The
findings are as follows:The intelligence of identical twins reared together correlate almost
0.90
Twins separated early in childhood also showed considerable similarity
in intellectual, behavioural and personality characteristics. The
intelligence of identical twins reared in different environments
correlated 0.72.
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16. Fraternal twins reared together correlated almost 0.60 and those of
brothers and sisters reared together correlated about 0.50
Fraternal twins reared apart correlated about 0.25.
Studies with adopted children also showed that their intelligence is
more similar to their biological parents.
The studies which supported environmental role in intelligence came
up with the following findings:Studies reported that as children grow with age, their intelligence level
tends to move closer of their adoptive parents.
Children from disadvantaged homes adopted into families with higher
socio- economic status exhibit a larger increase in intelligence score
Evidence showed that environmental deprivation lowers intelligence,
while rich nutrition, good family background and quality schooling
increase intelligence.
Thus , psychologists believe that intelligence is a product of complete
interaction of heredity (nature) and environment (nurture). Heredity
sets a range within an individuals development which is then shaped by
the support and opportunities of environment
Studies – supported both heredity supportIdentical twins (reared together) = 0.90
Identical separate reared =0.72
Fraternal twins =0.25
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17. Adopted – intelligence of children similar to biological parents.
Studies- environmental support—
As children grows- intelligence- closer to adoptive parents
Disadvantaged homes- when adopted in high SES family – increased
intelligence.
Environmentaldeprivation- reduced intelligence
Conclusion- inter play of heredity & environmental heredity sets range
within - then shaped by environment.
Q What is IQ? How do psychologists classify people on the basis of IQ
scores?
Ans. In 1905, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon, made the first
successful attempt to measure intelligence. In 1908, the scale was
revised and they gave the concept of Mental Age (MA). MA is the
measure of a person’s intellectual development relative to his/her age
group. Chronological Age (CA) is the biological age from birth. For a
bright chid, MA would be more than CA. For a dull child, MA would be
less than CA.
Binet and Simon defined retardation as being two mental age years
below the chronological age.
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18. IQ refers to mental age divided by chronological age, and multiplied by
100. This concept of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was given by William
Stern in 1912.
IQ= MA/CA X 100.
When MA = CA, then IQ = 100
When MA > CA, then IQ > 100
When MA < CA, then IQ < 100
For e.g.- a 10 year old child with a mental age of 12 would have an IQ of
120.
MA (12)/ CA (10) X 100 = 120/10=120
Thus this child has above average IQ.
Q. What would be IQ of 14 years old child with mental age of 16?
What would be mental age of 12 years old child with IQ of 90?
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19. On the other hand, a child with MA of 7 and CA of 10, would have IQ of
70. This would mean below average IQ.
Q. Explain IQ based on Normal Probability Curve.
A. Normal Curve for IQ Distribution:
IQ scores are distributed in the population in such a way that the scores
of most people fall in the middle range of distribution. Only a few
people have very low or very high scores. This type of distribution is
symmetrical around the central value, called the mean.
The mean IQ score in a population is 100. So, people with IQ scores
between 90 to 110 are average (normal intelligence).
Those below 70 are suspected to have ‘mental retardation’, while
persons with IQ above 130 are considered to have exceptional talents.
Normal Curve Pattern showing Distribution of IQ scores in the
population: (give diagram given at the last page)
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20. 2 percent of the population have IQ above 130 (intellectually gifted)
and same percent have IQ below 70 (mentally retarted).
IQ Range
Descriptive Level
Percent in Population
Above 130
Very superior
2.2
120-130
Superior
6.7
110-119
High Average
16.1
90-109
Average
50.0
80-89
Low Average
16.1
70-79
Borderline
6.7
Below 70
Mentally
challenged/retarted
2.2
Q. What are the variations of Intelligence?
Ans.
Intellectual Deficiency: Those children who show intellectual who show
intellectual deficiency are termed as ‘mentally challenged’ or ‘mentally
retarded’. The Americal Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD)
views MR as significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning
existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested
during the developmental period.”
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21. This definition points to three basic features:
Significantly sub-average intellectual functioning- Persons having IQ
below 70 are judged to have sub-average intelligence.
Deficits in adaptive behavior- Adaptive behavior refers to a person’s
capacity to be independent and deal effectively with one’s environment.
Deficit must be observed during the developmental period, that is
between 0 to 18 years of age.
Different levels of retardation are:
Mild Retardation (IQ 59 to 69)
Moderate Retardation (IQ 40 to 54)
Severe Retardation (IQ 25 to 39)
People with Mild Retardation: Although the development of people
with mild retaration is typically slower than that of their peers, but
they an function quite independently, hold jobs and families.
People with Moderate Retardation: They lag behind their peers in
language and motor skills. They can be trained in self-care skills, and
simple social and communication skills. They need to have moderate
degree of supervision in everyday task.
People with profound and severe retardation: They are incapable of
managing life and need constant care for their whole life.
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22. Intellectual Giftedness: The study of gifted individuals started in 1925
by Lewis Terman. He followed the lives of 1500 children with IQs above
130. He studied how intelligence is related to occupational stress and
life adjustment.
Difference between ‘giftedness’ and ‘talent’:
‘Giftedness’s exceptional general ability wide variety of areas. ‘Talent’ is
a narrower term and refers to remarkable ability in a specific field
(e.g.- Spiritual, social, aesthetic etc.). The highly talented are sometimes
called ‘prodigies’.
Psychologists pointed out that giftedness from the teacher’s point of
view depends on:
High ability
High creativity
High commitment
Few characterstics of giftedness are:
Advanced logical thinking, questioning and problem solving behavior.
High speed in processing information.
Advanced level of original and creative thinking.
High level of intrinsic motivation and self esteem.
Independent and non-conformist thinking.
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23. Preference for solitary academic activities for long periods.
Performance on intelligence tests are used with other assessment liketeacher’s judgement, school achievement record, parent’s interview,
peer and self rating etc.
Q. What are the different types of intelligence tests?
Ans. Intelligence tests are of several types:
On the basis of Administration procedure:
Individual test
Group test
On the basis of nature of items:
Verbal test
Non-verbal
Performance test
On basis of administration procedure:
Individual test:
This can be administered to one person at a time.
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24. Requires the test administrator to establish a rapport with the subject
and be sensitive to his/her feelings, moods and expressions during the
testing conduction.
Allow people to answer orally or in written form or manipulate objects
as per the tester’s instructions.
Group test:
Can be administered to several person simultaneously.
Do not allow an opportunity to be familiar with the subject’s feelings.
Group tests generally seek written answers usually in a multiple-choice
format.
(If you are asked- write the difference between the individual test and
group test):
S.No.
Individual Test
Group Test
1
Administered to one person at a
time.
Can be administered to
several persons at a time.
2
Require test administrator to
establish rapport with the subject
and be sensitive to his/her feelings,
moods and expressions during
Do not allow an opportunity
to be familiar with subject’s
feelings.
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25. testing session.
3
Allow people to answer orally or in
a written form or multiple objects
as per tester’s instruction.
Generally seek written
answers usually in a multiplechoice format.
On Basis of Nature of Items:
Verbal Tests: Require subjects to give verbal responses either orally or
in written form.
So, verbal tests can be administered only to literate people.
Non-verbal tests:
Use pictures or illustrations as test items.
Raven’s progressive Matrices (RPM) is an example of non-verbal test.
Performance tests:
Requires subjects to manipulate objects and other materials to perform
task. Written language is not necessary for answering the items.
For e.g.- Koh’s Block Design Test- This contains wooded blocks. Needs
to arrange the blocks to produce a design.
Advantage- Can be administered to persons of any culture.
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26. Q. What do you understand by culture fair and culture biased test.
(Question may come to give difference).
Ans. If a test that is designed in such a way that it can be administered
only in a particular culture and not in other, it is called culture bias
test. For e.g.- if a test is developed in Americal and Europe which
represent urban and middle class then educated middle class white
subjects can perform well. May be the subjects of Asia and Africa may
not perform these tests. Thus, they would be culture biased tests. Most
of the tests are culture biased. Thus, to have higher reliability,
psychologists try to design tests appropriate to a particular culture.
On the other hand the tests that does not discriminate against
individuals belonging to different cultures, is called culture-fair test.
The itmes are constructed in such a manner that they have common
elements of all cultures.
Non-verbal and performance tests help to reduce the cultural bias.
Q. Name some verbal and non-verbal tests developed in India.
Ans.
S.No.
Verbal
Performance
1
CIE Verbal Group test of intelligence
CIE Non-Verbal Group Test
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27. by Uday Shankar.
of Intelligence.
2
Group Test of General Mental Ability
by S. Jalota
Bhatia’s Battery of
Performance Tests
3
Group Test of Intelligence by Prayag
Mehta.
Draw-a-man Test by
Pramila Pathak.
4
The Bihar Test of Intelligence by
S.M.Mohsin.
Adaptation of Wechsler
Adult Performance
Intelligence Scale by
R.Ramalingaswamy.
5
Group tst of Intelligence by Bureau of
Psychology, Allahabad.
6
Indian Adaptation of Stanford-Binet
Test (Third Edition) by S.K.
Kulshreshtha.
7
Test of General Mental Ability (Hindi)
by M.C.Joshi.
Q. Misuses/ Uses of Intelligence Test.
Ans. Uses:
Can be used for selection, counseling, guidance, self analysis and
diagnosis.
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28. Misuses:
Poor Performance on test may attach stigma to children and so, effect
their performance.
The tests may bring discriminatory practices from parents, teachers
and elders.
If a test is biased in favour of middle class and higher population, then
these tests may underestimate the IQ of children coming from
disadvantaged section of society.
Intelligence tests do not capture the creative potentials and practical
side of intelligence. They also do not relate much to success in life.
Intelligence can be potential factor for achievement in various spheres
of life.
Therefore, only trained psychologists should administer and analyse
the scores of the test.
Q. What are the different intelligence testing in India?
Ans. 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.
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29. Then attempts were made by Indian researchers to develop Indian
norms for some western tests including RPM, WHIS, Alexander’s
Passalong, Cube Construction, and Koh’s Block Design.
Long and Mehta prepared a Mental Measurement Handbook listing out
103 tests of intelligence in India.
Then the National Library of Educational and Psychological Tests
(NLEPT) at the National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT) has documented the Indian Tests.
Critical reviews of Indian test are published in the form of handbooks.
NCERT brought out handbooks in the area of intelligence, aptitude,
personality, attitudes and interests. Some of the Indian test developed
in India are- Verbal and Performance Tests- given earlier).
Q. All persons do not have same intellectual capacity. How do
individuals vary in their intellectual abiltiy. Explain.
A. As every fingers are not equal, as every person is not similar in
height, weight and looks, similarly, individuals also vary in their
intellectual ability.
There are mainly two extreme forms of variabtions:
i. Intellectual deficiency
ii. Intellectua giftedness
29

30. But within these two category too, there can be variations.
The children who show intellectual deficiency are termed as ‘mentally
challenged’ or ‘mentally retarded’. But now these terms are altered and
the term ‘differently abled’ are given to them as it is believed that they
may not perform or stand in the parameter of average but they do have
various other abilities which needs to be focused on.
If we look into this category of intellectual deficiency, there are
varations within this category too:
i. Mild retardation (IQs 55-69)
ii. Moderate Retardation (IQs 40-54)
iii. Severe Retardation (IQs 25-30)
iv. Profound Retardation (IQs beow 25)
These categories of intellectual deficiency have different levels of
abilities. For e.g.- mild retardation is slower than that of peer, but they
can function quite independently, hold jobs.
As the level of retardation increases, the difficulties are strongly
marked.
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31. People with moderate retardation- they lag behind their peers in
language and motor skills. They can be trained in self-care skills, and
simple social and communication skills. But they need moderate degree
of supervision in everyday tasks.
Individual with profound and severe retardation- They are capable of
managing life and need constant care for their entier lives.
The American Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD) views mental
retardation as “significantly sub-average general intellectual
funcitoning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavaior
and manifested during the developmental period.
Thus three features are needed for Mental Retardation:
1. A person must show significantly sub-average intellectual
functioning (IQ below 70).
2. There needs to be deficit in adaptive behavior.
3. The deficit must be observed during the developmental period (0 to
18 years).
On the other hand, the intellectual gifted individuals show higher
performance because of their outstanding potentialities. Gifted childrne
show early signs of intellectual superiority. Athletes who show superior
psychomotor abilty are also gifted.
(you may give characteristics of giftedness).
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32. Thus, we find that there is variations in intellectual ability.
Q How intelligence is related to culture?
A. The cultural environment provides a context for intelligence to
develop. Vigotsky, a Russian Psychologist, argued that culture provides
a social context in which people live, grow, and understand the world
around them. For e.g.- 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 judgement is considered to represent
intelligence.
A culture is defined as 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.
According to Vygotsky, while the elementary mental functions (e.g.crying, attending to mother’s voice, sensitivity to smell, walking and
running) are universal, the manner in which higher mental functions
such as problem solving and thinking operate are largely cultureproduced.
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33. The technological advanced societies promote a type of behavior that
can be called Technological Intelligence. In these societies, persons are
well-versed in skills of attention, observation, analysis, performance,
speed and achievement orientation. The tests of Western culture look
for these skills in an individual.
On the other hand, technological intelligence is not so valued in many
Asian and African societies. Some non-western cultures value selfreflection and collective orientation as opposed to personal
achievement and individualistic orientation.
Q. What is the Intelligence as valued in Indian Tradition?
A. Intelligence in the Indian Tradition can be termed as integral
intelligence. This gives connectivity with the social and world
environment. In this, focus is on holistic perspective where value is
given to both a cognitive and non-cognitive processes as well as their
integration.
In India, the term ‘buddhi’ has been taken from Sanskrit to represent
intelligence.
According to J.P.Das, buddi includes such skills as:
Mental Effort
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34. Determined action, feelings and opinions.
Cognitive competence- knowledge, discrimination and understand.
Among other things, buddhi is the knowledge of one’s own self based on
conscience, will and desire.
Thus, the concept of buddhi has been both affective and cognitive
component.
The following competencies are viewed in Indian culture:
i. Cognitive capacity (sensitivitiy to understanding, discrmination,
problem solving and effective communication)
ii. Social competence: (Respect for social order, commitment to elders,
the young and the needy, concerns about others, recognizing tohers’
perspectives).
iii. Emotional competence (self regulation and self monitoring of
emotions, honesty, politeness, good conduct and self evaluation).
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35. iv. Entrepreneurial competence (commitment, persistence, patience,
hardwork, vigilance and goal directed behavior).
Q. How the intelligence of Indian culture different from that of Western
culture?
Ans. The intelligence of Western culture values the tchnological skills
like attention, observation, analysis, performance, speed and
achievement orientation. On the other hand, the intelligence of Indian
culture values holistic perspective, where equal attention is paid to
cognitive and non-cognitive process as well as their integration.
The Western Society intelligence can be termed as ‘technological
intelligence’ while that of Indian culture can be termed as ‘integral
intelligence’.
While in Western culture, we call ‘intelligence’, in Indian culture is
called ‘buddhi’.
Q. What is EQ/ EI (Emotional Quotient/ Emotional Intelligence)?
Or
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36. Which of the two, IQ or EQ, do you think would be more related to
success in life and why?
Ans. Various researches has been done on both IQ and EQ in relation to
its success in life. It is found in various researches that a good IQ and
scholastic record is not enough to be successul in life. There are many
people who are academically talented, but not successful in their life.
They experience problems in family, workplace and interpersonal
relationship.
Thus, the term emotional intelligence came up as it was found that the
people who are scholastically intelligent lack emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence is a set of skills that underlie accurate appraisal,
expression, and regularion of emotions. It is the feeling side of
intelligence. The concept of EI was first introduced by Salovey and
Mayor who considered EI 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.”
Emotional Quotient (EQ) is used to express emoitonal intelligence as IQ
is used to express intelligence.
Thus, we can say that EI refers to the ability to process emotional
information accurately and efficiently.
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37. Emotional intelligence can be used to help individuals dealing with
stress and challenges. Training on EI has helped students to improve
their adademic performance also. EI also encouarage cooperative
behavior and reduce their antisocial activities.
The characteristics of Emotionally Intelligent Persons are:
1. Perceive and be sensitive to one’s feelings and emotions.
2. Perceive and be sensitive to various types of emotions in others by
noting their body language, voice and tone, and facial expression.
3. Relate one’s emotions to one’s thoughts so that one can take them
into account while solving problems and taking decisions.
4. Understand the powerful influence of the nature and intensity of
one’s emotions.
5. Control and regulate one’s emotions and their expressions while
dealing with self and others to achieve harmony and peace.
Q. How aptitude is different from interest and intelligence? How is
aptitude measured?
Ans. 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. The
knowledge of aptitude can help us to predict an individual’s future
performance.
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38. On the other hand, intelligence is employed to know how individuals
differ from one another in terms of perceiving, learning, understanding
and knowing. Different psychologists had different views in defining
intelligence.
According to Alfred Binet, “Intelligence is the ability to judge well,
understand well and reason well.”
According to Wechsler, “Intelligence is the global and aggregate
capacity of an individual to think rationally, act purposefully and to
deal effectively with his/her environment.”
According to Gardner and Sternberg, “Intelligent individuals not only
adapt to the environment but also actively modifies or shapes it.”
Interest, is different that the intelligence and aptitude as it is the
preference for a particular activity. For e.g., a person may be interested
in a particular job or activity, but may not have aptitude in it. Similarly,
a person may have the aptitude for performing a job, but may not be
interested in doing that. In both cases, the outcome will not be
satisfactory.
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39. A person who has high mechanical aptitude and strong interest in
engineering is more likely to be successful mechanical engineer.
People with similar intelligence may differ widely in acquiring certain
knowledge or skills. So, we need to assess the aptitude to help the
person select the future option. The various aptitude tests are available
in two forms:
Independent (Specialised) aptitude tests.
Multiple (generalised) aptitude tests.
Independent (Specialised) aptitude Tests: E.g.- Clerical aptitude,
mechanical aptitude, numerical aptitude and typing aptitude.
Multiple (generalised) aptitude tests: It exists in the form of test
batteries, which measure aptitude in several separate but
homogeneous areas:
Differential Aptitude Test (DAT)
General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB)
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)
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40. DAT is most commonly used in educational settings. It consists of 8
independent subjects:
i. Verbal Reasoning.
ii. Numerical Reasoning
iii. Abstract Reasoning
iv. Clerical Speed and Accuracy
v. Mechanical Reasoning
vi. Space Relations
vii. Spelling
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, Literacy, clerical and teaching aptitude.
Q. What is creativity? How creativity is related to intelligence?
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41. Ans. One common element in creativity is the production of something
new and unique. 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.
Creativity is not just limited to only artist, scientist, poet, or inventor.
An ordinary individual who is engaged in pottery, cooking, carpentary
etc. can also be creative.
Einstein 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 the way of modifications, by putting
things in new perspectives or to new use.
There are variations in creativity. These variations can be known
through the self chosen activities. In some cases, opportunities need to
be provided before they can manifest their hidden potential for
creativity. Limits of the creative potential are set by heredity,
environmental factors which stimulate the development of creativity.
The environmental factors that shape creativity are motivation,
commitment, family support, peer influences, training opportunities
etc. Some prominent personalities who showed high level of creativity
are- Tagore, Einstein, C.V. Raman, Ramanujan, etc.
There has been various debate on relationship between creativity and
intelligence. Some of those arguments are as under:
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42. Teman, in 1920s, found that persons with high IQ were not necessarily
creative. At the same time, creative ideas could come from persons who
did not have very high IQ.
Researches also found that both high and low level of creativity can be
found in highly intelligent and also average intelligent children.
The same person can be creative as well as intelligent, but it is not
necessary that intelligent ones, in conventional sense, must be creative.
Thus, Intelligence by itself does not ensure creativity.
Some reasearches found that the relationship between creativity and
intelligence is positive. All creative acts require some minimum ability
to acquire and capacity to comprehend, retain and retrieve. The artist
must understand the effect that will be produced by a particular
technique of painting, a scientist must be able to reason. Certain level
of intelligence is required for creativity but beyond that intelligence
does not correlate well with creativity.
Creativity tests involves divergent thinking while intelligence test
involves convergent thinking.
Various creativity tests are developed to assess the variations in terms
of potential for creativity. Features of creativity tests are:
They are open ended. They permit the person to think of different
answers to questions or problems.
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43. Creativity tests involve divergent thinking and assess such abilities as
ability to produce a variety of ideas, i.e., ideas which are off-the-beaten
track, ability to see new relationships between seeemingly unrelated
things, ability to guess causes and consequences, ability to put things in
a new context etc.
In Intelligence test, the person has to think of the right solution to the
problem and assesses the abilities like memory, logical reasoning,
accuracy, perceptual thinking, and clear thinking.
In creativity test, there is great scope for the expression of spontaneity,
originality, and imagination.
A few investigators have also developed tests of creativity in areas such
as literary creativity, scientific creativity, mathematical creativity etc.
Some famous psychologists who developed the creativity tests are
Guilford, Torrance, Khatena, Wallach and Kogan, Paramesh, Baqer
Mehdi and Passi. Each test has a standardised procedure, a complete
set of manual and interpretation guide. These tests can be used only
after extensive training in administration and interpretation of test
scores.
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