“Every man is in certain respects (a) like all other men, (b) like some other men, (c) like no other man.” Henry Murray and Clyde Kluckhohn (1948) in Personality in Nature, Society, and Culture

“Every man is in certain respects (a) like all other men, (b) like some other men, (c) like no other man.” Small group discussion— Find something that your whole group has is common, something some of you have in common, something that makes each of you unique. What kind of differences have you observed (or would you expect) in a typical classroom?

Individual Differences Personality Interests Intelligence

Importance of physics class Unimportant Slightly Neutral Slightly Important unimportant important Entire physics class

Group differences in importance Unimportant Slightly Neutral Slightly Important unimportant important Other non-majors Engineering majors Physics majors

Personalized system of instruction

Group differences in PSI

Aptitude theory Aptitude-Treatment Interactions (ATI) Adapting instruction to meet students’ individual characteristics improves outcomes

Intelligence Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Mental age/chronological age x 100 Mean is 100, 68% of population between 85 and 115, only 16% above 115 Correlates with academic achievement r=.50

Spearman’s theory g S

Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities Verbal comprehension Word fluency Number facility Spatial visualization Associative memory Perceptual speed Reasoning

Verbal Comprehension Perceptual Word fluency Speed Spatial Reasoning General Intelligence Gc (Crystallized) Gf (Fluid) Verbal Comprehension Numerical Ability Word fluency Spatial Rotations Perceptual Speed Reasoning Define gc and gf here and narrower abilities

Crystallized intelligence Volume, depth and breadth of knowledge in various domains Content knowledge specific to domains May be product of Gf Efficiency in well- practiced domains Stable or increases with age Fluid Intelligence Analytic problem-solving abilities General ability applicable to new situations Efficiency in new domains Decreases with age Let’s talk about gc and gf in more detail

Gc and Gf tests What month comes right before December? What is the capital of France? Who was Mark Twain? What's the difference between a civil and criminal court trial?

When is Gf or Gc more important?

What does intelligence predict? School achievement (r=.50) Verbal intelligence scores predict reading achievement (r=.83) General intelligence predicts career success (r=.41) Work evaluations (r=.50) Occupational status, changes in occupational status, acquisition of knowledge in occupational settings, and income

Aptitude-Treatment Interactions with Intelligence Speed of learning and amount of practice required Amount of structure needed, scaffolding

Personality traits Enduring tendencies to behave in a certain way across situations Big Five personality traits

Example personality questions Rate each of the adjectives below as they apply to you on a scale 1 to 9, extremely inaccurate to accurate Talkative Sympathetic Orderly Envious Deep

Big Five Personality Traits Openness to Experience Conservatism Imaginative, intellectual, variety-seeking Down-to-earth, prefers routines

Big Five Personality Traits Openness to Experience Conservatism Conscientiousness Spontaneity Organized, planful, dependable Pleasure-seeking, undependable

Big Five Personality Traits Openness to Experience Conservatism Conscientiousness Spontaneity Introversion Extroversion Talkative, sociable, assertive Quiet, solitary, reserved

Big Five Personality Traits Openness to Experience Conservatism Conscientiousness Spontaneity Introversion Extraversion Agreeableness Individualism Warmhearted, trusting, compassionate Skeptical, self-serving

Big Five Personality Traits Openness to Experience Conservatism Conscientiousness Spontaneity Introversion Extraversion Agreeableness Individualism Emotional Stability Neuroticism Calm, even-tempered Emotional, anxious, irritable

Work performance interaction

Adapting instruction to personality Grouping extroverts and introverts What personality dimension would relate to having high test anxiety? Encouraging students to explore other cultures or perspectives Social skills training Homework and project reminders

Interests Enduring preferences for certain activities, hobbies, or occupations. Holland’s vocational “personality” or interest types Individuals may have many or few interests

Example interest questions Check Yes/No Are you... Mechanical? Persuasive? Friendly? Can you... Start projects? Play a musical instrument? Lead a group? Do you like to... Perform experiments? Do volunteer service? Work in groups?

Architect, Firefighter Realistic Conventional Enterprising Social Artistic Investigative Occupational interests and environments Scientist, Engineer Architect, Firefighter Musician, Writer Accountant, Librarian Nurse, Teacher Journalist, Stockbroker

Anyone preparing to teach: How might individual differences affect your instruction? Pick a specific example of how you might have to adapt to differences in intelligence, personality, interests, or cultural backgrounds. Anyone interested in measurement: Do individual differences ever act as construct-irrelevant sources of error on tests? Consider personality and interest traits. Anyone interested in health care: how do individual differences in patients affect how you interact with them? Anyone interested in counseling: What kind of assessments have you given clients to better assess their counseling needs? How could you use the traits we talked about today for career counseling? Marriage counseling? Occupational counseling?

Areas of controversy Heritability of traits All traits are influenced by experience

Take away messages General intelligence is an important predictor of learning and life outcomes. Intelligence is a hierarchy of general and specific abilities that help us to adapt to a variety of situations. Personality is an important contributor to success in life beyond intelligence. Interest help us understand why individuals with the same level of intelligence choose different paths in life. Individual differences are important to adapting instruction in the classroom to optimize learning.