Psychology ch-1

• Individual variations are common within and across all species
• Individual differences


  Distinctiveness and variations among people's characteristics and behaviour patterns
• Situationism


  View that situations and circumstances influence one's behaviour more than personal traits
• Variability is a fact of nature, and individuals are no exception to this
• People differ from each other in the manner they perceive, learn, and think, as also in their performance on various tasks
• Assessment


  Measurement of psychological attributes of individuals and their evaluation, often using multiple methods in terms of certain standards of comparison
• Domains of psychological attributes

  • Intelligence
  • Aptitude
  • Interest
  • Personality
  • Values
• Psychological test


  Objective and standardised measure of an individual's mental and/or behavioural characteristics
• Interview


  Seeking information from a person on a one-to-one basis
• Case study


  In-depth study of the individual in terms of their psychological attributes, psychological history in the context of their psychosocial and physical environment
• Observation


  Employing systematic, organised, and objective procedures to record behavioural phenomena occurring naturally in real time
• Self-report


  A method in which a person provides factual information about themselves and/or opinions, beliefs, etc. that they hold
• Intelligence


  The global capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use available resources effectively when faced with challenges
• Psychological notion of intelligence is quite different from the common sensical notion of intelligence
• Psychometric approach


  Considers intelligence as an aggregate of abilities, expresses the individual's performance in terms of a single index of cognitive abilities
• Information-processing approach


  Describes the processes people use in intellectual reasoning and problem solving, focuses on how an intelligent person acts
• Psychologists have proposed several theories of intelligence
• Psychometric approach


  Considers intelligence as an aggregate of abilities, expresses individual performance in terms of a single index of cognitive abilities
• Alfred Binet was the first psychologist who tried to formalise the concept of intelligence in terms of mental operations
• Binet's theory of intelligence


  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
• Binet's theory came to be disputed when psychologists started analysing data of individuals collected using his test
• Spearman's two-factor theory of intelligence

  Intelligence consists of a general factor (g-factor) and some specific factors (s-factors)
• Thurstone's theory of primary mental abilities

  Intelligence consists of seven primary abilities: Verbal Comprehension, Numerical Abilities, Spatial Relations, Perceptual Speed, Word Fluency, Memory, and Inductive Reasoning
• Jensen's hierarchical model of intelligence

  Level I is associative learning, Level II is cognitive competence involving higher-order skills
• Guilford's structure-of-intellect model


  Classifies intellectual traits among three dimensions: operations, contents, and products
• Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences


  Intelligence is not a single entity, distinct types of intelligences exist which are independent of each other
• Types of intelligence in Gardner's theory


  • Linguistic
  • Logical-Mathematical
  • Spatial
  • Musical
  • Bodily-Kinaesthetic
  • Interpersonal
  • Intrapersonal
  • Naturalistic
• Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence

  Three basic types: Componential (analytical), Experiential (creative), and Contextual (practical)
• PASS model of intelligence

  Involves the interdependent functioning of three neurological systems: Arousal/Attention, Simultaneous/Successive Processing, and Planning
• Individual differences in intelligence can be due to heredity or environmental factors
• PASS processes


  Knowledge base developed either formally (by reading, writing, and experimenting) or informally from the environment<|>Interactive and dynamic in nature<|>Each has its own distinctive functions
• Cognitive Assessment System (CAS)


  Battery of verbal and non-verbal tasks that measure basic cognitive functions presumed to be independent of schooling<|>For individuals between 5 and 18 years of age
• Results of assessment


  Can be used to remedy cognitive deficits of children with learning problems
• Some people are more intelligent than others
• Heredity


  Influences on intelligence
• Environment


  Influences on intelligence
• Intelligence is a product of complex interaction of heredity (nature) and environment (nurture)
• Heredity


  Sets a range within which an individual's development is actually shaped by the support and opportunities of the environment
• Mental Age (MA)


  Measure of a person's intellectual development relative to people of her/his age group
• Chronological Age (CA)


  Biological age from birth