variations in psychological attributes

• Situationism


  States that situations and circumstances in which one is placed influence one’s behaviour
• The situationist perspective views human behaviour relatively more as a result of influence of external factors
• One of the main concerns of modern psychology has been the study of individual differences
• Intelligence is a popular psychological attribute of interest to psychologists
• Assessment is the first step in understanding a psychological attribute
• Assessment


  Refers to the measurement of psychological attributes of individuals and their evaluation, often using multiple methods in terms of certain standards of comparison
• Formal assessment


  Objective, standardised, and organised
• Informal assessment


  Varies from case to case and from one assessor to another and, therefore, is open to subjective interpretations
• Psychologists are trained in making formal assessment of psychological attributes
• Once assessment is done


  We can use this information to predict how a person will probably behave in the future
• If the predicted consequence is not what we want


  We may want to intervene to effect a change in the person's behaviour
• The attribute chosen for assessment depends upon our purpose
• Domains of Psychological Attributes

  • Cognitive
  • Emotional
  • Social
• Intelligence is the global capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use available resources effectively when faced with challenges
• Intelligence tests provide a global measure of a person’s general cognitive competence including the ability to profit from schooling
• Aptitude refers to an individual’s underlying potential for acquiring skills
• Aptitude tests are used to predict what an individual will be able to do if given proper environment and training
• Interest is an individual’s preference for engaging in one or more specific activities relative to others
• Assessment of interests of students may help to decide what subjects or courses they can pursue comfortably and with pleasure
• Personality refers to relatively enduring characteristics of a person that make them distinct from others
• Knowledge of interests helps us in making choices that promote life satisfaction and performance on jobs
• Personality


  Relatively enduring characteristics of a person that make them distinct from others
• Personality tests


  1. Assess an individual’s unique characteristics, e.g., dominance, submissiveness, outgoingness, withdrawal, moodiness, emotional stability, etc.

  2. Help explain an individual’s behaviour and predict how they will behave in the future
• Values


  Enduring beliefs about an ideal mode of behaviour
• Value assessment


  Determining the dominant values of a person (e.g., political, religious, social, or economic)
• Assessment Methods


  • Psychological Test
  • Interview
  • Case Study
  • Observation
  • Self-Report
• Psychological Test


  • Objective and standardised measure of an individual’s mental and/or behavioural characteristics
  • Widely used for clinical diagnosis, guidance, personnel selection, placement, and training
• Interview


  • Involves seeking information from a person on a one-to-one basis
  • Used in various scenarios like counselling, sales, employment, journalism
• Case Study


  • In-depth study of an individual in terms of their psychological attributes and history in the context of their environment
  • Widely used by clinical psychologists
• Observation


  • Systematic, organised, and objective procedures to record behavioural phenomena occurring naturally in real time
  • Problems include lack of control over the situation and subjective interpretations
• Self-Report


  • Method where a person provides factual information about themselves and/or opinions, beliefs, etc.
  • Information obtained through interview schedules, questionnaires, psychological tests, or personal diaries
• Intelligence


  A key construct to understand how individuals differ from one another and adapt their behaviour according to their environment
• Psychological notion of intelligence is different from common sensical notion
• Alfred Binet: '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 deal effectively with their environment'
• Gardner and Sternberg: 'Suggested that an intelligent individual not only adapts to the environment but also actively modifies it'
• Intelligence


  The global and aggregate capacity of an individual to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with their environment
• Psychologists like Gardner and Sternberg suggest that an intelligent individual not only adapts to the environment but also actively modifies or shapes it
• Discovering the Attributes of Intelligent Persons

  1. Think of the most intelligent classmate and describe them

  2. Describe attributes of 3 other intelligent persons in your environment

  3. Judge newer additions with reference to the most intelligent classmate

  4. Make a list of attributes of intelligent behaviours and frame a definition

  5. Discuss the report with classmates and teacher

  6. Compare with researchers' views on intelligence
• Theories of Intelligence


  • Psychometric/structural approach
  • Information-processing approach