Intelligence

and
Individual
Differences
EDU 1
Read and Interpret
What is Intelligence?
• Learn from experience: The
acquisition, retention, and use of
knowledge is an important component
of intelligence.
• Recognize problems: To put
knowledge to use, people must be able
to identify possible problems in the
environment that need to be addressed.
• Solve problems: People must then be
able to take what they have learned to
come up with a useful solution to a
problem they have noticed in the world
around them.
What is Individual Difference?
Individual differences refer to the extent and type of
distinctions among individuals on some of the significant
psychological traits, personal characteristics, cognitive
and emotional components.
 Dissimilarity is principle of nature.
Individual No two persons are alike. All the
Differences individuals differ from each other in
many aspects.
A. Heredity
An individual’s height, size, shape and color of hair, shape of
face, nose, hands and legs so to say the entire structure of the
body is determined by his heretical qualities. Intellectual
differences are also to a great extent influenced by hereditary
factor.
B. Environment

Environment does not refer only physical

surroundings but also it refers the different types
of people, society, their culture, customs,
traditions, social heritage, ideas and ideals.
C. Nationality
• Asian
parents tend to be more
authoritative whereas Western
parents tend to be more
permissive. As a result, Asians
adults and Western adults
become different in terms of
personality and behavior.
Asian parents who are
inherently stricter and
pressure the child into
being obedient, create
generations of children
who grow up to be
collectivized. They tend
to stick to family and
follow a generic path in
life set for them.
 • A 2013 study shows that about 18
D. Gender percent of women share similar
personalities with men, and 18
percent of men share similar
personalities with women. But the
majority of women have
personality traits that are quite
distinct from those of men, and vice
versa, the researchers say.
• Men tend to be more dominant
(forceful and aggressive) and
emotionally stable, while women
tend to be more sensitive, warm
(attentive to others) and
apprehensive, the study found.
E. Age
• Age is another factor which is
responsible in bringing individual
differences.
• When one grows in age can
acquire better control over our
emotions and better social
responsibilities. When a child
grows then this maturity and
development goes side by side.
F. Language
 7,117 languages are
spoken today.

How many
languages 40% of languages are
are there now endangered, often
in the with less than 1,000
world? speakers remaining.
What is the most spoken language?
 What are
the top 10
most
spoken
languages?
 What
countries
have the most
languages?
Concept of
Intelligence
by Alfred Binet
EDU 1
Concept of Intelligence
by Alfred Binet
During the early 1900s, the French
government asked Binet to help
decide which students were most
likely to have trouble in school.
The government had passed laws
requiring that all French children
attend school, so it was important
to find a way to identify children
who would need specialized
assistance.
Theodore Simon
Binet and his colleague,
Theodore Simon, began
developing questions that
focused on areas not explicitly
taught in schools, such as
attention, memory, and
problem-solving skills.
Using these questions, Binet
determined which ones served
as the best predictors of school
success.
He quickly realized that some
children were able to answer
more advanced questions that
older children were generally
able to answer, and vice versa.
Based on this observation,
Binet suggested the concept of
mental age, or a measure of
intelligence based on the
average abilities of children of a
certain age group.
General
Intelligence
by Charles Spearman
EDU 1
 Charles Spearman
• General intelligence, also known
as g factor, refers to the existence
of a broad mental capacity that
influences performance on
cognitive ability measures.
Charles Spearman first described
the existence of general
intelligence in 1904. According to
Spearman, this g factor was
responsible for overall
performance on mental ability
tests.
The idea is that this
underlying general
intelligence influences
performance on all
cognitive tasks.

General intelligence can

be compared to
athleticism. A person
might be a very skilled
runner, but this does not
necessarily mean that
they will also be an
excellent figure skater.
Many modern intelligence tests, including the Stanford-Binet, measure some
of the cognitive factors that are thought to make up general intelligence.
1. Visual-spatial processing: Abilities such as putting together puzzles and
copying complex shapes
2. Quantitative reasoning: The capacity to solve problems that involve
umbers
3. Knowledge: A person's understanding of a wide range of topics
4. Fluid reasoning: The ability to think flexibly and solve problems
5. Working memory: The use of short-term memory (such as being able to
repeat a list of items)
Quantitative Reasoning:
Quantitative Reasoning:
Primary
Mental
Abilities
by Louis Thurstone
EDU 1
Psychologist Louis L. Thurstone (1887–1955) offered a
differing theory of intelligence. Instead of viewing
intelligence as a single, general ability, Thurstone's theory
focused on seven different primary mental abilities.
1. Associative memory: The ability to memorize and
recall
2. Numerical ability: The ability to solve arithmetic
problems
3. Perceptual speed: The ability to see differences and
similarities among objects
4. Reasoning: The ability to find rules
5. Spatial visualization: The ability to visualize
relationships
6. Verbal comprehension: The ability to define and
understand words
7. Word fluency: The ability to produce words rapidly
Perceptual Speed:
Reasoning Test:
Reasoning Test:
halt up
cold down
stop street

Verbal Comprehension
Verbal Comprehension
Spatial Visualization
Factors
Affecting
Child’s
Cognitive
Development
EDU 1
 mother

playmates
adult
Stimulus is anything that causes an organism to react or
respond is called a stimulus (plural: stimuli).
Stimuli can be external (outside the organism) or internal
(inside the organism).