Psychological Intelligence And Individual Differences
Psychological Intelligence
An individual is someone who has a different personality of his/her own that differentiates him from a group of people. This individual has a distinctive intelligence level, achievement abilities and aptitude. As far as Psychological Intelligence and Individual Differences is concerned, it can be defined as the “ability to reason about personality and personality-relevant information and to use that information to guide one’s actions and more generally, one’s life” (as qtd. in Mayer, Panter & Caruso, 2012, p. 124). In other words, psychological intelligence is a basic psychological capability in an individual that allows him/her to give explanation, plan and prepare and get to the bottom of troubles. Intelligence is something that is not acquired by reading books or being academically bright. In the similar fashion, achievement is the way a task is performed in a successful manner (Travers. 1970, p. 447). However, aptitude is a natural tendency to carry out a task.
Scientists Research, Individual Differences
In times, scientists researched and studied on the individual differences and were able to make the conclusion that it is a different subject when compared with experimental psychology. At the same time as experimental psychology puts emphasis on the processes that find out performance of individuals in certain tentative conditions, the field of individual differences is related with the stable distinguishing psychological traits among people, principally those that simplify across miscellaneous circumstances (Williams, Myerson & Hale, 2008, p. 219). The differences in the behavioral patterns in human beings in which psychologists take interest are personality traits and cognitive abilities. In this regard, a number of tests have been created in order to evaluate Psychological Intelligence and Individual Differences, abilities and personalities of the people. Such tests include vocabulary tests, short-term memory duration tests, analogical analysis and interpretation, pictures’ scanning etc. (Williams, Myerson & Hale, 2008, p. 219).
Thus, numerous tests developed in the past have been successful in concluding that intelligence is not the only original ability that helps to differentiate people but there is a mixed set comprising of cognitive skills by which variations could be made among people. It is important to note here that the up-to-date findings reveal that an approach towards analyzing individual behavior will be of great value to understand intelligence-related individual differences (Williams, Myerson & Hale, 2008, p. 219).
Psychological Testing and Advancement
In the same connection, scientists marked out the facts, data and skills that are important for using tests to measure intelligence and abilities of individuals. Therefore, guidelines were developed for test user qualifications by a number of international professional organizations. The latest version of the ethical principles introduced by APA (American Psychological Association) includes various standards that are associated with proper test use that include “specific principles related to the boundaries of competence for psychologists and the appropriate application and use of psychological assessment techniques” (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000, p.11).
Even though professionals related to different disciplines have developed and used tests, major contributions have also been rendered by several graduates who have acquired their doctorates in the field of psychology (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000, p.16). This is because psychology is broadly recognized as the historical root for testing individual differences as it has made the research evidence available to the psychologists and has also provided professional training for the advancement of proficient psychosomatic analysis and evaluation (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000).
Technological Transformation
The process to test psychological condition of individuals particularly the intelligence has went through considerable technological transformations over the last several decades. At the outset, the usage of computers for the administration of tests and for scoring and giving clarifications at the end of the tests has turned out to be a major part of testing on a daily basis (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000, p. 69). Furthermore, the rising innovative technologies including the Internet have been able in successfully expanding the related applications from corner to corner covering great distances. It can be said that the new technologies have significantly impacted the relationship between the users, takers, and the consumer of the tests (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000).
Projective Tests
As far as projective tests are concerned, these are the types of personality tests in which individuals are asked to respond to indistinct/confusing scenes, letters or pictures (Huss, 2009, p.31). Projective tests were introduced by the psychoanalytic school of thought that believes in the notion that every human being has feelings/urges that are unconscious. Thus, projective tests emerged on the scene with the intention of uncovering such unconscious thoughts that are not comprehended by the conscious attentiveness (Huss, 2009, p. 31). Projective tests are intended to let the assessor observe the process of thinking and behavioral traits of the individual taking the test (Huss, 2009, p. 31). Thus, the projective tests are psychological tests that allow an examiner to test the personality traits of an individual as well as his/her cataleptic urges and general mental health (Huss, 2009, p. 31). Rorschach inkblot test and the Thematic Apperception Test are the two very renowned projective tests (Huss, 2009, p.31). The scoring of projective tests can be interpreted in three ways i.e. norm, mean or standard deviation. Norms refers to a scores list and consequent/matching percentile ranks, ideal standard scores or other altered scores of an examinee grouping that were examined to derive a standardized test (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013, p. 53). Mean is simply defined as the average scoring way that calculates result by summing up all of the scores collectively and then the answer is divided by the number of scores taken (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013, p. 53). Last but not the least; standard deviation is an important statistical measure that is employed to measure how much the individual interpretations are spread across the mean scores (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013, p. 53).
The Consequences of new Technologies
Coming back to the significance of psychological testing and advancement in the field in the past few decades, it is crystal clear that there are more positive changes as compared to the negative ones (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000, p. 69). The consequences of new technologies comprise of more accessibility, better precision and increased tests availability. The ongoing improvements in the advancement and progression of inferred algorithms and systems that have been supervised by the best professionals have led to retreating contemporaneous misunderstanding of the testing process by the human beings (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000, p. 69). The modern technology in the measurement of Psychological Intelligence and Individual Differences in the mentioned domains has simplified a number of aspects of the process of analysis and evaluation of human mentality. However, new technological applications in the process of testing human intelligence and ability have also gave birth to intricate testing services despite the fact that there has been a lot of improvement (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000, p. 69). Therefore, it has become an essential thing to supply the concerned professional with more knowledge and skills to help them handle the increased scientific complexity (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000, p. 69). As luck would have it, such availability of better hi-tech complexity may direct the concerned people to improved technical education and training in the basics of employment of psychological tests (“Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications”, 2000, p. 69).
Conclusion
To cut a long story short, the scientists have been studying individual differences for many years and believe in the significance of psychological testing (Fagan & Wise, 1995). This is because differentiating the differences among people allows health care providers to understand, comprehend and solve their patients’ problems. Individual differences’ testing helps them in the development of an individualized intervention strategy that may comprise of medication use, behavior modification or psychotherapeutic classes and a number of other plans for the identification and resolution of problems in a fruitful and constructive manner (Fagan & Wise, 1995).
References
Fagan, T., & Wise, P. S. (1995). School psychology: Past, present and future. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.
Huss, M. T. (2009). Forensic psychology : research, practice, and applications. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publications.
Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2013).Psychological testing : principles, applications, & issues. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Mayer, J. D., Panter, A. T., & Caruso, D. R. (2012). Does Personal Intelligence Exist? Evidence From a New Ability-Based Measure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 94(2), 124-140.
Report of the Task Force on Test User Qualifications . (n.d.). APA. Retrieved August 29, 2013, from http://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/qualifications.pdf
Travers, J. F. (1970). Fundamentals of Educational Psychology. Scranton, PA: International Text Book Company.
Williams, B., Myerson, J., & Hale, S. (2008). INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, INTELLIGENCE, AND BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of behavior, 90(2), 219-231.