Individual Differences

in Learning
 Individual Differences
O Defined as personal characteristics that
distinguish learners from each other in
the teaching and learning processes
O Learners are unique individuals who
bring a critical set of variables to each
learning situation, including delicate
traits as indicators of their potential and
the history of achievement as signs of
previous accomplishments and predictors
of future performance.
 Theories of Intelligence

O There are different theories about

intelligence, none of which agree
with each other.
O Every approach to thinking comes
up with its own different perspective
and assumptions, often
contradicting at least one earlier
theory.
 Faculty Theory
O It is the oldest theory regarding the
nature of intelligence and flourished
during 18th and 19th century.
O According to this theory, mind is made
up of different faculties like reasoning,
memory, discrimination, imagination,
etc.
O These faculties are independent of each
other and can be developed by vigorous
training.
 Spearman’s Two-factor Theory
O Itwas developed in 1904 by an English
Psychologist, Charles Spearman, who proposed
that intellectual abilities were comprised of
two factors: one general ability or common
ability known as ‘G’ factor and the other a
group of specific abilities known as ‘S’ factor.
Concept:
O G’ factor is universal inborn ability.
O Greater ‘G’ in an individual leads to greater
success in life.
O ‘S’ factor is acquired from the environment. It
varies from activity to activity in the same
individual.
 Thorndike’s Multifactor
Theory

O Thorndike believed that there was nothing

like General Ability. Each mental activity
requires an aggregate of different set of
abilities.
Four Attributes Of Intelligence
 Level
O refers to the level of difficulty of a task that can
be solved.
 Range
O refers to a number of tasks at any given
degree of difficulty.
 Area
O means the total number of situations at each
level to which the individual is able to respond.
 Speed
O is the rapidity with which we can respond to
the items.
Thurstone’s theory Primary
mental abilities/Group
factor theory
O States that Intelligent Activities are not an expression
of innumerable highly specific factors, as Thorndike
claimed.
O Nor is it the expression primarily of a general factor
that pervades all mental activities.
O It is the essence of intelligence, as Spearman held.
O Instead, the analysis of interpretation of Spearman
and others led them to the conclusion that ‘certain’
mental operations have in common a ‘primary’ factor
that gives them psychological and functional unity and
that differentiates them from other mental operations
O These mental operations then constitute a
group.
O A second group of mental operation has its
own unifying primary factor, and so on. In
other words, there are a number of groups
of mental abilities, each of which has its
own primary factor, giving the group a
functional unity and cohesiveness
 Six Primary Factors
 Number Factor (N)
O Ability to do Numerical Calculations rapidly and accurately.
 The Verbal Factor (V)
O Found in tests involving Verbal Comprehension.
 The Space Factor (S)
O Involved in any task in which the subject manipulates the
imaginary object in space.
 Memory (M)
O Involving ability to memorize quickly.
 The Word Fluency Factor (W)
O Involved whenever the subject is asked to think of isolated
words at a rapid rate.
 The Reasoning Factor (R)
O Found in tasks that require a subject to discover a rule or
principle involved in a series or groups of letters.
 GUILFORD’S MODEL OF STRUCTURE OF
INTELLECT

O Denied the existence of a general factor,

G, or even rejected possibility of
intelligence being reduced to just a few
factors and posted 120 unique intellectual
abilities.
O Guilford (1967, 1985, 1988) proposed a
three dimensional structure of intellect
model.
O According to Guilford every intellectual
task can be classified according to its
content, mental operation and product of
mental operation.
1.Content
O He further classified content into five
categories, namely, Visual, Auditory,
Symbolic, Semantic and Behavioral.
2.Mental operation involved.
O He classified operations into five categories,
namely, Cognition, Memory retention,
Memory recording, Divergent production,
Convergent production and evaluation.
3.The product resulting from the operation.
O He classified products into six categories,
namely, Units, Classes, Relations, Systems,
Transformations and Implications.
 VERNON’S HIERARCHICAL THEORY

O Vernon’ description of different levels of

intelligence may fill the gaps between two
extreme theories, the two-factor theory of
Spearman, which did not allow for the
existence of group factors, and the multiple-
factor theory of Thurstone, which did not
allow a ‘‘g’’ factor.
O He concludes that individual difference in
intelligence are approximately 60%
attributable to genetic factors, and that
there is some evidence implicating genes in
racial group differences in average levels of
mental ability.
 CATTELL’S FLUID AND
CRYSTALLIZED THEORY

OThe fluid aspect of this theory says

that intelligence is a basic capacity
due to genetic potentiality.
OWhile this is affected by the past and
new experiences, the crystallized
theory is a capacity resultant of
experiences, learning and
environment.
CONCEPT :
O This theory has two fundamental types
of theory the fluid intelligence and
crystallize intelligence, fluid intelligence
is the capacity for insight into complex
relationships, acquiring new concepts,
demonstrates general brightness and
adaptability in novel situations while
crystallized intelligence is a combination
of acquired knowledge and developed of
intellectual skills.
 GARDNER’S THEORY OF MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCE

O Howard Gardner in his book ‘‘Frames of Mind, The Theory

of Multiple Intelligence’’ (1983), puts forth a new and
different view of human intellectual competencies.
O He argues boldly and cogently that we are all born with
potential to develop a multiplicity of Intelligence, most of
which have been overlooked in our testing society, and all
of which can be drawn upon to make us competent
individuals.
O The potential for musical accomplishments, bodily mastery
and spatial reasoning, and the capacities to understand
ourselves as well as others are, Gardner argues, ‘‘the
multiple forms of intelligence that we must add to the
conventional—and typical tested—logical and linguistic
skills long called I.Q.’’.
STERNBERG’S TRIARCHIC THEORY

O Psychologist Robert Sternberg (1985) has

constructed a three—pronged, or triarchic
theory of intelligence.
O Work on a concept of intelligence that
goes beyond the conventional or
traditional theories that are confined to
mental ability skills.
Three types of intelligence:
O Analytical Intelligence
O is what we generally think of as academic ability.
O It enables us to solve problems and to acquire new
knowledge.
O Problem—solving skill include encoding information,
combining and comparing pieces of information and
generating a solution.
O Creative Intelligence
O is defined by the abilities to cope with novel situations
and to profit from experience.
O The ability to quickly relate novel situations to familiar
situations (that is, to perceive similarities and
differences) fosters adaptation.
O Moreover, as a result of experience, we also become
able to solve problems more rapidly.
O Practical Intelligence—or ‘‘street smarts’’,
O enable people to adapt to the demands of their
environment.
ANDERSON’S THEORY: COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT

O Anderson proposes that human cognitive

architectures will have adapted optimally
to the problems posed in their
environment.
O Therefore, discovering the optimal
solution to the problem posed by the
environment, independent of the
architecture, is equivalent to discovering
the mechanism used by the architecture.
O A ‘Rational Analysis’, as it is called.
 EYSENCK’S STRUCTURAL THEORY

O Eysenck discovered the neurological

correlates of intelligence.
O Wherein he gives three correlates of
intelligence and found that the waves of
intelligent individuals are complex.
O He identified three correlates of intelligence
i.e. reaction time, inspection time and average
evoked potential.
O First two are observed behavior.
O Third behavior, is description of mental waves.
 Ceci’s Biological Theory
O Ceci (1990) proposes that there are multiple
cognitive potentials.
O These multiple intelligences are biologically based
and place limits on mental processes.
O These are closely linked to the challenges and
opportunities in the individual’s environment.
O In his view, context is essential to the
demonstration of cognitive abilities.
O By context, he means domain of knowledge and
other factors such as personalities, motivation and
education.
O Context can be mental, social or physical