Standard Area: Individual Differences

Standard Area: Individual Differences
Content Standards
After concluding this unit, students understand:
1. Concepts related to measurement of individual differences
2. Influence and interaction of heredity and environment on individual differences
3. Nature of intelligence
4. Nature of intelligence testing

Content Standards With Performance Standards and Suggested Performance Indicators
CONTENT STANDARD 1: Concepts related to measurement of individual differences
Students are able to (performance standards):
1.1 Define and understand the nature of test constructs, such as intelligence, creativity, and personality. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
• Recounting early attempts to measure human characteristics and develop tests
• Comparing and contrasting personality characteristics of two persons
1.2 Describe basic statistical concepts in testing
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
• Describing how test validity and reliability are established and related
• Determining which of two tests would be more useful for a particular purpose when given relevant data
about validity and reliability

CONTENT STANDARD 2: Influence and interaction of heredity and environment on individual differences
Students are able to (performance standards):
2.1 Explain how personality and intelligence may be influenced by heredity and environment. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
• Citing one or more studies demonstrating how environmental variables influence the development of intellectual skills
• Characterizing how studies of identical versus fraternal twins help establish the role of heredity in determining individual differences in intelligence
• Predicting which of two correlations will be higher: the correlation between the IQs of identical twins
or the correlation between the IQs of fraternal twins
• Describing how the interaction between children and parents relates to differences in motivation and personality
• Explaining the role of cultural and group norms in establishing the frames of reference we use in thinking about individual differences
• Describing the link between intelligence testing and the eugenics movement

CONTENT STANDARD 3: Nature of intelligence
Students are able to (performance standards):
3.1 Link intelligence to the use of cognitive skills and strategies. Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
• Explaining how cognitive processes, such as analogical reasoning and speed of processing, are involved in intelligence
• Discussing the role of planning and self-regulation in intelligence
• Contrasting the skills that people typically acquire in school with those that people acquire outside of school and discussing the skills most likely to be related to scores on intelligence tests
• Describing how intelligence test scores are derived
• Discussing the relationship between intelligence and musical, artistic, and other special abilities
3.2 Describe how intelligence changes over time.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
• Explaining why children’s capacity for intelligent behavior increases as they get older
• Explaining how practice and effort increase intelligence
• Explaining why education increases intelligence
3.3 Describe theories of intelligence.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
• Comparing traditional psychometric theories of intelligence to more recent approaches (e.g., Gardner’s multiple intelligences, Sternberg’s triarchic theory, theory of emotional intelligence)
• Debating whether intelligence is one or several abilities
• Describing emotional intelligence

CONTENT STANDARD 4: Nature of intelligence testing
Students are able to (performance standards):
4.1 Discuss how intelligence tests reflect differences among people.
Students may demonstrate this by:
• Describing what has changed and what has stayed the same if a child has the same intelligence test score in the ninth grade as in the first grade
• Explaining what would probably happen to the intelligence test score of a person who dropped out of school after the sixth grade
• Explaining the meaning of culture fair testing
4.2 Explain why intelligence tests predict achievement.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
• Citing correlations between IQ and academic achievement and explaining the correlation
• Predicting how intelligence test scores correlate with other measurable variables (e.g., grades, supervisor ratings, etc.)
• Explaining why intelligence tests and other aptitude tests correlate with ability to do a job, but tests of motivation and personality increase the ability to predict how well individuals will actually perform
• Exploring how ethnicity and gender can moderate achievement predictions based on intelligence tests
4.3 Explain the limitations of using conventional intelligence tests.
Students may indicate this by (performance indicators):
• Describing the abilities commonly measured by intelligence tests
• Describing other skills that may be included on tests of intelligence in other cultures
• Identifying specific examples in which conventional tests will not produce valid uses
• Discussing the risks involved in using tests outside of the cultural domain in which they were developed
• Identifying specific examples in which conventional tests will not produce valid results
• Exploring the consequences of using labels derived from testing, such as "genius," "normal," or "mentally/cognitively challenged"
• Discussing how test scores are used in college admissions