What traumatic event does Zitkala-Sa describe at the school?

The forcible cutting of her long hair

Why was the cutting of her hair so humiliating to Zitkala-Sa?

Among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and mourners

How is intelligence defined by Wechsler?

As the global and aggregate capacity of an individual to think rationally, act purposefully and deal effectively with the environment.

Distinguish between the psychometric and information-processing approaches.

The psychometric approach treats intelligence as an aggregate of abilities expressed as an index like IQ; the information-processing approach studies the cognitive processes used in reasoning and problem solving.

What is Spearman's two-factor theory?

Intelligence consists of a general factor (g) common to all performances and specific factors (s) that allow excellence in particular domains.

Name the three types of intelligence in Sternberg's triarchic theory.

Componential (analytical), experiential (creative) and contextual (practical) intelligence.

How is IQ calculated and interpreted?

IQ = (mental age / chronological age) x 100; scores of 90-110 are average, below 70 suggest intellectual disability and above 130 indicate giftedness.

What is integral intelligence in the Indian tradition?

It is a holistic notion (buddhi) emphasising connectivity with the social world, combining cognitive, social, emotional and entrepreneurial competence.

What is emotional intelligence?

It is the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, discriminate among them and use this information to guide thinking and action; expressed as EQ.

Differentiate between aptitude and interest.

Aptitude is the potential to acquire a specific skill after training; interest is a preference for engaging in particular activities relative to others.

How are creativity tests different from intelligence tests?

Creativity tests are open-ended and assess divergent thinking, whereas intelligence tests usually involve convergent thinking with a single correct answer.

Variations in Psychological Attributes

Q: What are individual differences?

They refer to the distinctiveness and variations among people's characteristics and behaviour patterns, studied to understand how people differ.

Class 12 Psychology · Psychology · Chapter 1

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CBSE Class 12 · Psychology

140 board marks counted, chapter by chapter

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140 board marks counted, chapter by chapter

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20 of 140 board marks: therapies, Ch 5
6-mark questions on Freud, RET and Beck
IQ bands and twin correlations from the book

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Summary

This chapter studies how and why people differ from one another. Individual differences are the distinctive variations in people's characteristics and behaviour; the situationist view stresses that circumstances also shape behaviour. Psychological attributes such as intelligence, aptitude, interest, personality and values are multi-dimensional and are measured through assessment using tests, interviews, case studies, observation and self-report. Intelligence is the global capacity to understand the world, think rationally and use resources effectively. Theories fall into two camps: psychometric approaches (Spearman's g and s factors, Thurstone's primary mental abilities, Guilford's structure-of-intellect) and information-processing approaches (Gardner's eight multiple intelligences, Sternberg's triarchic theory of componential, experiential and contextual intelligence, and the PASS model of planning, attention-arousal and simultaneous-successive processing). Intelligence is a product of the interplay of nature and nurture. IQ, devised by Stern, is mental age divided by chronological age times 100; IQ scores form a bell-shaped normal curve. Those below 70 may have intellectual disability and those above 130 are gifted. Western culture promotes technological intelligence while the Indian tradition emphasises integral intelligence (buddhi). Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive and regulate emotions. Aptitude is potential for acquiring specific skills, and creativity is the ability to produce novel, useful ideas.

Individual differencesAssessment of attributesTheories of intelligenceMultiple intelligencesTriarchic theoryPASS modelIQ and variationsCulture and intelligenceEmotional intelligenceAptitude and creativity

Key terms

Individual differences

Distinctiveness and variations among people's characteristics and behaviour patterns.

Intelligence

The global capacity to understand the world, think rationally and use resources effectively to meet life's demands.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100; devised by William Stern.

Multiple intelligences

Gardner's view that intelligence is not single but exists as eight relatively independent types.

PASS model

Das, Naglieri and Kirby's model based on Planning, Attention-arousal and Simultaneous-successive processing.

Emotional intelligence

A set of skills underlying accurate appraisal, expression and regulation of one's own and others' emotions.

Aptitude

An individual's underlying potential for acquiring specific skills given proper training.

Extra questions & answers

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Individual differences refer to:

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