Psychological Attributes: Ability, Interests, & Personality

Attributes and Decision Making Certain psychological attributes have been shown to be more relevant for decision making regarding individuals -- but this depends on the nature of the decision. When using psychological attributes in making decisions, it is absolutely vital to match the appropriate attribute with the predicted behavior. For example, measures of general intelligence wouldn’t be of much use in determining an appropriate psychological treatment.

Attributes and Decision Making (cont.) All psychological attributes of interest are assumed to be normally distributed. Therefore, all psychological attributes should reveal individual differences (used for comparisons). This assumption of normal distribution is necessary in order to analyze data with parametric statistics.

Attitudes and Opinions are also relatively fluid from 18 to 25. Fluid Attributes Fluid attributes such as mood can change on an hour to hour basis. This instability indicates that moods are not great predictors of future behavior within a particular situation. Attitudes and Opinions are also relatively fluid from 18 to 25. Personal Values can also change over time. The fluidity of the above attributes makes them less than optimal predictors of important behaviors

Stable Attributes Stable attributes are essential in making long term predictions. e.g., Adult Intelligence Intelligence, although relatively fluid at an early age, is relatively stable across the majority of adult years. Researchers believe that an individual’s personality is basically set by age 5. Broad classes of Interest are also relatively stable. Due to the relative stability of measures of ability, interest, and personality, these three areas are the primary focus of people using psychological tests to predict future behavior.

What is Intelligence? Intelligence is a construct (i.e, concrete observational entities), not a concrete object. Researchers disagree on what the definition of intelligence should be. Although we may not be able to definitively answer what intelligence is, we can list behaviors which we feel represent some level of intelligence. For Example: - Crossing a busy street without looking both ways. - Being able to solve a Rubiks cube - Being able to get a super low airfare on priceline.com Additionally, none of these behaviors alone can be said to represent the entire range of intelligent behavior.

What is Intelligence (cont.)? Scientists believe that intelligence is a valid and useful construct for two reasons : First, a wide variety of mental processing tasks show systematic individual variation. An individual who performs well on one measure of cognitive ability, will likely perform well on other measures of mental processing. Second, this construct is related to success in a wide variety of life tasks : school performance, training programs, and work behaviors. So, since intelligence does exhibit consistent individual differences and can be used to predict performance in a number of important areas.

What is Intelligence (cont.)? Although experts differ on an exact definition of intelligence most agree that intelligent behavior has at least two components: 1. The ability to learn from experience. 2. The ability to adapt to the surrounding environment.

Definition of Intelligence (1) The ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations : the skilled use of reason (2) : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (Webster's) The cognitive abilities of an individual to learn from experience, to reason well, and to cope effectively with the demands of daily living.

History of Intelligence - Relatively modern phenomenon - not until 1890 - Before 1900, psychologists were not able distinguish intelligence from other human characteristics - Early development of theories of intelligence and test construction started in England & France. - Galton & Cattell looked at individual differences - i.e., reaction time, measures of strength - Classification of mentally retarded - treatment was inhumane. Gardner has since added an eighth intelligence which he called naturalist intelligence. This demonstrates ability in the natural setting, such as knowing what is edible or dangerous in the wild, etc.

History of Intelligence (cont History of Intelligence (cont.) - Binet was commissioned by Ministry of Public Instruction to construct a test that differentiates children with learning disabilities from non-learning disabled children. - Binet-Simon scale was created and contained 30 items arranged in order of difficulty. - Most items called for the use of language, reasoning, or comprehension. - Binet-Simon scale was revised by Terman (1916) and renamed Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test - the term IQ is born. Gardner has since added an eighth intelligence which he called naturalist intelligence. This demonstrates ability in the natural setting, such as knowing what is edible or dangerous in the wild, etc.

History of Intelligence (cont.) Sir Francis Galton Charles Spearman General factor (g) Louis Thurstone Gardner has since added an eighth intelligence which he called naturalist intelligence. This demonstrates ability in the natural setting, such as knowing what is edible or dangerous in the wild, etc. J. P. Guilford Howard Gardner

The Biological Basis of Intelligence Galton (1822-1911) - view of intelligence is that it is a single general factor that is the basis. G factor A greater ability to form neural connections which leads to a better general intellectual performance (i.e. if we are generally intelligent, we are more likely to develop strong mechanical, musical, artistic, and other kinds of ability) Better able to learn from experience Brain can process information more quickly

Two Factor Theory of Intelligence Spearman observed that an individual’s scores on any two cognitively demanding tasks were positively correlated. This led him to believe that a general intellectual factor (g), was responsible for this correlation. Basically His Idea Was: Different types of problems require different types of abilities. For example, the abilities needed to fix a car are at least somewhat different from the abilities needed to do a geometric proof in math class. But, all types of problems require an ability to see relationships between things and to manipulate those relationships. All types of problems require g. So performance on all tasks are determined by a general factor (g) which determines the ability to see relationships and manipulate those relationships and more specific factors (s)

Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence Cattell (1963) agreed with Spearman but argued that g was made up of two types of general intelligence: Fluid Intelligence - the ability to see relationships, i.e. analogies and number and digit series completion. For example : 2 4 8 16 ___ Crystallized Intelligence - an individuals acquired set of knowledge and skills. In cognitive psychology, crystallized intelligence is further divided into: Declarative Knowledge: Fact based information Procedural Knowledge: How to do things. Fluid and Crystallized intelligence measures are correlated, but distinct As we get older, fluid intelligence remains virtually unchanged, but crystallized intelligence declines with age.

Grouping Factors of Intelligence Thurstone didn’t believe that the g factor could explain all variation across cognitive tests. Thurstone theorized that there were common group factors present in different classes of tests. For example, a reading comprehension test and a vocabulary test show greater correlation than do a reading comprehension test and a measure of numerical ability. These group factors are independent of one another, but still related to g.

Grouping Factors of Intelligence (cont.) Thurstone hypothesized seven primary mental abilities, which together combined to create g: 1. Verbal Comprehension - vocabulary, reading, verbal analogies 2. Word Fluency --- anagrams, rhyming tests 3. Number -- mathematical operations 4. Space - spatial visualizations and mental transformation. 5. Associative Memory -- rote memory 6. Perceptual Speed -- quickness in noticing similarities and differences 7. Reasoning - skill in inductive, deductive, and math problems

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence Howard Gardiner argues that there are really many different and independent types of intelligences. He suggests that people may be very good at some of these skills, while not at others. 7 Independent Types of Intelligence Linguistic (verbal) Logical-mathematical Musical Spatial (artistic) Kinesthetic (athletic) Interpersonal (social skills) Intrapersonal (personal adjustment)

Gardner’s Seven Intelligences

Gardner’s Seven Intelligences

Measures of Intelligence Individual Intelligence Tests - Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale - The Wechsler Scales Group Tests Army Alpha : consisted of 8 subtests measuring verbal, numerical, & reasoning abilities. Army Beta : equivalent non-verbal test and used pictorials & nonverbal instruction Group intelligence tests were an outgrowth of the armed forces’ need to classify its recruits to see where they could best be utilized.

Stanford-Binet Measure of Intelligence - Students who were not succeeding in school were being placed in schools for the mentally retarded. But some of these students were not mentally retarded at all, but were not succeeding in school for other reasons. So - Binet's job was to come up with a test that would distinguish between those two groups of students. - Binet's test was later adapted in the United States by Lewis Terman at Stanford University. Hence the test is now known as the Stanford/Binet Test. It includes questions testing vocabulary knowledge, comprehension, recognition of absurdities, the ability to reproduce visual patterns etc.

The Wechsler Scales The most common current intelligence test is the Weschler Intelligence test. There are different Weschler tests for different age groups. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) The Weschler tests gives three scores: 1. Verbal Score 2. Performance Score 3. Combined Score

Construction of Intelligence Tests Mental Age (MA) Chronological Age (CA) Intelligence Quotient (IQ) IQ = MA/CA x 100 Ratio IQ Deviation IQ Stern’s intelligence quotient became a more useful way of reporting potential. It was adopted by Terman when he modified the Binet-Simon Scale for US use. This modification became the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Normal distribution Because Mental Age doesn’t typically grow after 25, this method underestimates most adult IQs.

Construction of Intelligence Tests - On modern tests, a deviation IQ is obtained. - By comparing your actual score on an intelligence test to the average score on that test, we determine whether you are above average, below average , or average in intelligence. - We take the raw data from the test (your score, the average, and the standard deviation) and we statistically transform the score into a distribution where the mean is 100 and the standard deviation is 15. Stern’s intelligence quotient became a more useful way of reporting potential. It was adopted by Terman when he modified the Binet-Simon Scale for US use. This modification became the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.

Characteristics of Good Intelligent Tests 1. Standardization 2. Norms 3. Objectivity 4. Reliability 5. Validity

Importance of Intelligence Scores Predicts to some extent how well we will do in life Predictability of Intelligence Scores Many occupations are available only to persons with college or graduate degrees. It takes less time to train persons with higher intelligence to a high level of job knowledge and skill. Persons with higher intelligence tend to perform better in complex jobs.

Race-Ethnic Differences Differences in intelligence and achievement: White Americans score 15 points than African Americans Asian Americans score higher than White Americans Gap is narrowing There is much controversy regarding the bias of intelligence testing. In the US, critics have argued that the widely used IQ tests are biased toward white, middle-class America. They are biased against non-whites, the poor, people whose first language is not English, etc. Many psychometrists feel that it is virtually impossible to develop a culture free intelligence test. Give your students a feel of what it is like to be out of the loop when it comes to IQ tests. Administer the following test: (1)      How long does it take to cook chitlins (24 hrs) (2)      What does blood mean? (relative) (3)      What is sweetgrass used for? (Native American purification ceremony) (4)      Who is Nick Carter? (one of the Back Street Boys) (5)      What does qu’est que c’est que ca mean? (what’s that) (6)      What is a lanai? (a patio or porch from Hawaiian) (7)      What does ciao mean? (hello or good-bye) (8)      What is K2 (2nd highest mountain in world in Himalayas) (9)      Who is Alan Freed? (DJ that coined phrase Rock ‘n Roll) (10)  What is a bris? (Jewish circumcision ceremony) Discuss with them how they felt when taking the test and about their performance.

Definition of Personality Personality refers to “factors” inside people that explain their behavior (MacKinnon, 1944). The sum total of typical ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that makes a person unique.

History of Personality Ancient Greeks characterized human character by excessive influence of bodily fluids: blood, yellow & black bile, and phlegm. Early psychological examinations looked at psychopathology. By the 1930’s researchers started looking at the structure of everyday behaviour. Came up with universal traits.

Traits Relatively enduring patterns of behavior (thinking, acting, and feeling) that are relatively consistent across situations. Trait Examples - introvert extrovert assertiveness persistence (Mayer) narcissism resilience

The Trait Theory Many agree that five basic traits provide a complete description of our personalities. They are: Openness - refers to open-minded thinking and interest Conscientiousness - refers to how organized and persistent we are in pursuing our goals. Extroversion - refers to the preference for, and beheviour in social situations Agreeableness - refers to how well we tend to interact with others The acronym OCEAN will help students to remember the five factors that completely describe our personality. Neuroticism - refers to the tendency to experience negative thoughts and feelings. Additions to the Big Five? – Honesty, Respect, Integrity,.

How Personality is Assessed Frank (1939) stated that “an initial difficulty in the study of personality is the the lack of any clear cut conception of what is to be studied. Projective Tests Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Rorschach Inkblot Test Objective Tests Almost all clinicians begin with the interview to obtain a history, medical concerns and previous psychological concerns. The clinician rarely uses the interview method by itself but rather in conjunction with other techniques. Projective tests are used less today because their validity is in question. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) 16PF Myers Briggs Inventory

What Are Projective Tests? A projective test uses ambiguous stimuli designed to reveal the contents of the client’s unconscious mind.

What Are Objective Tests? In an objective test, no attempt is made to subjectively understand what the person means by answer to each question.

What Make a Good Personality Measure Interpretability - Broad vs. Narrow (more reliable) Stability - Are tests valid? - Are they reliable? - Are they standardized?

Strong (1943) defined interest as “a response to liking” Interest Testing Strong (1943) defined interest as “a response to liking” Things that we like elicit positive feelings, things in which we have little interest elicit little emotions, and things we have disinterested in elicits apathy or feelings of aversion Interests are different that abilities - just because you like something doesn’t mean you can do it well. Interests are related to satisfaction, rather than performance.