CHAPTER-1

INTELLIGENCE AND ABILITY

{I} INTELLIGENCE: what is meant by intelligence- theories regarding the nature of
intelligence; how intelligence is measured- the concept of IQ, intelligence tests- individual tests,
group tests, culture fair tests. Level of intelligence and associated characteristics (from gifted
through average to below average.)

Theories of intelligence:
Ø Two factor theory- Charles spearman
Ø Primary mental abilities- thurstone
Ø Raymond cattell- fluid and crystallised intelligence
Ø Guillford’s structure of intellect model.
Ø Triarchic theory- Sternberg
Ø Theory of multiple intelligence- howard Gardner.

How intelligence is measured

Ø The concept of IQ
Ø Intelligence tests
Ø Individual tests
Ø Stanford binet
Ø Weschler test
Ø Group test- Raven’s progressive matrices, culture fair tests- cattell’s culture fair test.
Ø Levels of intelligence and associated characteristics (from gifted through average to below
average.)
{II} APTITUDE, ACHIEVEMENT TEST AND INTEREST: meaning of these terms. Reason
for their assessment and means of assessment (different tools/ tests) used.
Ø What is meant by aptitude- when aptitude needs to be assessed
Ø GATB- general aptitude test battery
Ø Meaning and usefulness of achievement tests
Ø SC-II – Strong Campbell interest inventory

INTELLIGENCE
what is meant by intelligence-theories regarding the nature of intelligence;

What is meant by intelligence?

Intelligence is the global capacity to understand the world, think rationally and use available
resources effectively when faced with challenges.

Spearman’s Two-Factor Theory

The English psychologist, Charles Spearman (1863-1945), in 1904 proposed his theory of
intelligence called two-factor theory. According to him intellectual abilities are comprised of two
factors, namely; the general ability known as G-factor and specific Abilities known as S-factors.
The performance by the individual is determined by the G-factor and the S-factors. The total
intelligence of the individual is the sum total of the G-factor and the S-factors. The performance
of a particular task depends on the ‘G’ factor or general ability and the particular ‘S’ factor or
specific ability.

Characteristics of ‘G’ Factor:

1. It is universal inborn ability.
2. It is general mental energy.
3. It is constant.
4. The amount of ‘g’ differs from individual to individual.
5. It is used in every activity of life.
6. Greater the ‘g’ in an individual, greater is his success in life.

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Characteristics of ‘S’ Factor:
1. It is learned and acquired in the environment.
2. It varies from activity to activity in the same individual.
3. Individuals differ in the amount of ‘S’ ability.

‘G’ factor represents Native Intelligence thus when we respond to any situation or perform an
intellectual task, our general mental ability or ‘G’ factor is mainly responsible for it and our
specific ability in that particular task is responsible for the rest.

There are a large number of specific abilities such as ability to draw inferences, ability to
complete sentences, ability to code message etc.

Fig: Spearman’s Two-Factor Theory or Eclectic Theory

Different individuals differed both in their ‘G’ as well as ‘S’ factors. For e.g. an individual’s
performance in literature is partly due to his general intelligence and partly due some specific
aptitude for his language, i.e. G+S1. In mathematics his performance may be the result of G+S2.
In drawing, it may be due to G+S3 and in social sciences; it may be due to G+S4 and so on. Thus
the factor ‘G’ is present in all specific activities.

Educational Implications and relevance of Spearman’s Two –Factor Theory:

1. The theory gives a better insight to the teacher about the nature of intelligence.

2. The general ability differs from individual to individual.

3. The specific abilities also differ from individual to individual.

4. ‘S’ factor varies in degrees. Therefore, it can be modified by learning or habitual training

5. A child requires different amounts of ‘G’ and ‘S’ factors for achieving success in different
Subjects.

6. We require a high quality of ‘G’ factor for our success in life.

7. Both ‘G’ and ‘S’ have a high correlation.

8. This theory could be used to guide, construction of a set of ability test

Conclusion: Thus we see that spearman did not believe in the concept that mental power as
independent of one another. According to him they are unitary.

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 PRIMARY MENTAL ABILITIES- (THURSTONE)

L.L. Thurstone an American psychologist. While working on a test of primary mental

abilities, he came to the conclusion that certain mental operations have in common a primary
factor which gives them psychological and functional unity and which differentiates them
from other mental operations. These mental operations constitute a group factor. So, there are
a number of groups of mental abilities each of which has its own primary factor.
Thurstone and his associates have differentiated nine such factors. They are:

1) Verbal factor (V): concerns comprehension of verbal relations, words and ideas.
2) Spatial factor (S) involved in any task which the subject manipulates an object imaginatively
in space.
3) Numerical factor (N): ability to do numerical calculations, rapidly and accurately.
4) Memory factor (M): involves the ability to memorize quickly.
5) Word Fluency Factor (W): involved whenever the subject is asked to think of the isolated
words at a rapid rate.
6) Inductive reasoning factor (RI): ability to draw inferences or conclusions on the basis of
specific instances.
7) Deductive reasoning factor (RD): ability to make use of generalized results.
8) Perceptual factor (P): ability to perceive objects accurately.
9) Problem-solving ability factor (PS): ability to solve problems with independent efforts.

RAYMOND CATTELL – FLUID AND CRYSTALLISED INTELLIGENCE

Raymond cattell proposed a theory of intelligence distinguishing between two types of

intelligence i.e fluid intelligence and a crystallised intelligence. Although viewed as different and
distinct, these two types of intelligence intermingle and interact to produce overall intelligence.

Fluid intelligence is considered to be the mental capacity of an individual which is required for
learning and problem solving.it dependent on neurological development and is relatively free
from the influences of education and culture.in other words it is derived from biological and
genetic factors and is less influenced by training and experience. This type of intelligence is put
to use when facing new and strange situations requiring adapatation, comprehension, reasoning,
problem solving and identifying relationship.it reaches full development by the end of an
individual’s adolescence.

Crystallized intelligence on the other hand is not a function of one’s neurological development
and therefore is not innate or unlearned like fluid intelligence. Rather it is specially learnt and it
therefore dependent on education and culture it involves ones’s acquired fund of general
information consisting of knowledge and skills essential for performing different tasks in one’s
day to day life. It can be identified through one’s fund of vocabulary, general knowledge of the
world affairs, the knowledge of customs, traditions and rituals , manner of behaving in the
society, handling of machines and tools, craftsmanship and art, computation and keeping of
accounts and various other such tasks requiring knowledge, experiencing and practice.

Crystallized intelligence is known for its evaluation through experience, training and interaction
with one’s environment over a number of years. That is why it is found to increase continuously
throughout one’s life span. Fluid intelligence seems to decrease slowly with age, but crystallized
intelligence stays level or even increase.

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 GUILLFORD’S STRUCTURE OF INTELLECT MODEL

Guilfords Structure of Intellect (SI)

Joy Paul Guilford, a United States psychologist, designed in 1955 a model of intelligence, based
on factor analysis. In the Guilfords Structure of Intellect (SI), all mental abilities are
conceptualized within a three-dimensional framework. There are three features of intellectual
tasks: the content, or the type of information; the product, or the form in which the information is
represented; and the operation, or type of mental activity performed.

These 5 x 6 x 6 = 180 mental abilities are listed below :

Content features in the Guilfords Structure of Intellect

Five content dimensions (broad areas of information to which the human intellect applies
operations) :

1. Visual : information perceived through seeing

2. Auditory : information perceived through hearing
3. Symbolic : information perceived as symbols or signs that stand for something else
(arabic numerals, letters of an alphabet, musical and scientific notations)
4. Semantic : concerned with verbal meaning and ideas
5. Behavioral : information perceived as acts of people

Product features in the Guilfords Structure of Intellect

Six products, in increasing complexity :

1. Units : single items of knowledge

2. Classes : sets of units sharing common attributes
3. Relations : units linked as opposites or in associations, sequences, or analogies
4. Systems : multiple relations interrelated to comprise structures or networks
5. Transformations : changes, perspectives, conversions, or mutations to knowledge
6. Implications : predictions, inferences, consequences, or anticipations of knowledge

Operation features in the Guilfords Structure of Intellect

Six operations (general intellectual processes) :

1. Cognition : the ability to understand, comprehend, discover, and become aware of

information
2. Memory recording : the ability to encode information
3. Memory retention : the ability to recall information
4. Divergent production : the ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem; creativity
5. Convergent production : the ability to deduce a single solution to a problem; rule-
following or problem-solving
6. Evaluation : the ability to judge whether or not information is accurate, consistent, or
valid

Guilford’s original model was composed of 120 components, because he

combined Visualand Auditory content in a common Figural Content and he combined Memory
Recording and Memory Retention in a common Memory Operation. Guilford’s model is an open
system such that it allows for newly discovered categories to be added in any of the three
directions.

Guilfords Structure of Intellect has few supporters today, but Joy Paul Guilford is considered as
one of the founders of the Psychology of Creativity. He emphasized the distinction between
convergent and divergent thinking. In 1976 he introduced the developed model of Divergent

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Thinking as the main ingredient of creativity. Guilford appointed the following characteristics
for creativity :

§ Fluency : the ability to produce great number of ideas or problem solutions

§ Flexibility : the ability to simultaneously propose a variety of approaches to a specific
problem
§ Originality : the ability to produce new, original ideas
§ Elaboration : the ability to systematize and organize the details of an idea in a head and
carry it out
Peter Nilsson uses the following example to measure the creativity of people based on Guilford’s
concept of divergent production :

Creativity Measurement

Principles/Diagram:
v Reasoning and problem solving skills (Convergent and Divergent operations) can be
subdivided into 30 distinct activities (6 products × 5 contents)
v Memory operations can be subdivided into 30 different skills (6 products × 5 contents)
v Decision making skills (Evaluation operations) can be subdivided into 30 distinct
abilities (6 product × 5 contents)
v Language related skills (Cognitive operations) can be subdivided into 30 distinct
abilities (6 product × 5 contents)

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 OR

GUILLFORD’S STRUCTURE OF INTELLECT MODEL

Guilford and his associates developed a model of intellect on the basis of the factor analytical
research studies conducted by them research studies conducted by them, which involved a
number of intelligence tests. It consists of 5 x 6 x 5 = 150 factors in all which may constitute
human intelligence, where each parameter operations, contents and products may be further
subdivided into some specific factors and elements. Each one of these factors has a trigram
symbol, i.e. at least one factor from each of the three parameters has to be present in any specific
intellectual activity or mental task. (180 Factors according to the latest revision/120 factors).
Division of intellectual activity with parameters and specific factors:
Guilford and his associates developed a model of intellect on the basis of the factor analytical

Operation Contents Products

Evaluation (E) Visual factor (F) Units (U)

Convergent Thinking
Symbolic (S) Classes (C)
(C)
Divergent Thinking
Semantic (M) Relations (R)
(D)
Memory (M) Behavioural (B) Systems (S)

Cognition (C) Auditory (A) Transformation (T)

Implication (I)

Principles/Diagram:
vReasoning and problem solving skills (Convergent and Divergent operations) can be
subdivided into 30 distinct activities (6 products × 5 contents)
vMemory operations can be subdivided into 30 different skills (6 products × 5 contents)
vDecision making skills (Evaluation operations) can be subdivided into 30 distinct abilities
(6 product × 5 contents)
vLanguage related skills (Cognitive operations) can be subdivided into 30 distinct abilities
(6 product × 5 contents)

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 TRIARCHIC THEORY- STERNBERG
Theorist- Robert Sternberg
He gave three basic types of intelligences

Component or analytical – the ability to think critically and analytically, people high on this
type score well on standard academic tests or make excellent students. Example- professors,
teachers are high on this one.

Experimental or creative – insight and ability to formulate new ideas, people high on this type
excel on zeroing in on what information is crucial in a given situation and / or combining
seemingly unrelated facts. Example- any inventions like minting coins, printing press.

Contextual or practical - they have high adaptive sense or are street smart. They are adept at
solving problems of everyday life. Example- carrying the baby on the back while doing work.

THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE – HOWARD GARDNER

Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of an individual to act purposefully, think

rationally and deal effectively with the environment.
Howard Gardener gave the theory of multiple intelligence. It is based on Charles Spearman two
factor theory.
The seven kinds of intelligence: -

Linguistic Intelligence –
ü It is responsible for all kinds of linguistic competence abilities, talents and skills available
in human beings.
ü It is best broken down into components of syntax, semantics, pragmatics as well as
school-oriented skills such as written or oral expression and understanding.
ü Profession- Authors, Writers, Lyricists.

Logical- Mathematical Intelligence –

ü It is responsible for all types of abilities, talents, skills in the area of logic and
mathematics.
ü It is best broken down into components like deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning,
scientific thinking – solving logical puzzles, carrying out calculations.
ü Profession – Mathematicians, Accountants.

Visual- Spatial Intelligence –

ü Concerned with the abilities, talents and skills involving the representation and
manipulation of spatial configuration and relationships.
ü Profession – Fashion designers, interior designers, painters.

Musical Intelligence –
ü Covers abilities, talents, & skills pertaining to the field of music.
ü Demonstrated through one’s capacity for pitch discrimination, sensitivity to rhythm,
texture& timbre, ability to hear and produce music.
ü Profession- Music directors, singers, composers.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence –
ü It is concerned with the abilities, talents and skills involved in using one’s body parts
or its various parts to perform skilful and purposeful movements.
ü Profession- Dancers, athletes.

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Intra-personal Intelligence –
ü Consists of an individual’s abilities to enable him to know himself.
ü It includes knowledge and understanding of one’s own cognitive strengths, styles, and
mental functioning, as well as, range of emotions and skills to utilize one’s fund of
knowledge in practical situation.
ü It provides an insight into one’s total behaviour.
It is therefore said to be the most private nature whose access is through self-
expression.
E.g. – Yogis, saints

Inter-personal intelligence –
ü Consists of abilities to understand individuals other than oneself and one’s relation to
others.
ü Profession – Psychotherapies, teachers, politicians.

Naturalistic Intelligence –
ü This was added in 1995.
ü It consists of the ability to recognize flora and fauna, to make consequential
distinctions in the natural world, to nurture one’s natural environment.
ü Professions – Botany, zoologist.
Existential Intelligence –
The ability to understand spiritual world. However this is being explored still.

How intelligence is measured-

the concept of IQ, intelligence tests- individual tests, group tests, culture fair tests. Levels of intelligence
and associated characteristics (from gifted through average to below average).

CATTELL’S CULTURE FAIR TEST

CATTELL CULTURE FAIR TEST

One of the main pushbacks against the most famed intelligence tests like the Stanford
Binet and Wechsler Intelligence Scale is that they can be culturally biased based on the
experiential and language influences included in the questions. Raymond B. Cattell, PhD,
developed the Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT) with the intention of creating a test
that was not influenced by these cultural elements, much like the Raven’s Progressive
Matrices test. He began his work on the measurement of intelligence in the 1920s and in 1930 he
published his first endeavor, the Cattell Group, and Inventory, which was designed for children.
Later revisions came in 1940, 1944 and 1961 as the test underwent tweaks in sequencing,
difficulty, and format. The Cattell Culture Fair Test is currently in its third edition, which is
commonly referred to as CFIT III.

The test can be administered either individually or in a group setting. There are three intelligence
scales measured, with Scale I including eight subtests while Scales II and III contain four
subtests each. Not every individual will be tested on each scale, as the test is administered based
on age and abilities.

Ø Scale I: For children aged 4 to 8 (and older) and people with mental handicaps
Ø Scale II: For children aged 8-14 as well as average adults
Ø Scale III: For children aged 14 and up as well as adults of superior intelligence

CFIT Scoring

The Cattell Culture Fair Test also differs from its counterparts in how it is scored. While most IQ
tests use a standard deviation of 15 and have a median of 100, the Cattell uses a standard
deviation of 24. So while the main bell curve of typical IQ scores places people within the range

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of 85-115, the CFIT’s primary range places test takers within a range of 76-124, which would be
considered an “average” IQ within the test’s scoring range.

What does the Cattell Culture Fair Test Measure?

Dr. Cattell divided intelligence into two types – crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence.
Crystallized intelligence is intelligence gained from an individual’s experience like general
knowledge and verbal memory. Education and schooling are thought to be reflected within
crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence, on the other hand, is seen as the biological ability to
gain knowledge and problem solve. Thus, the test is centered around measuring fluid intelligence
through reasoning speed, inductive reasoning and spatial reasoning, which are all done
independently of culture and schooling.

Example Cattell Culture Fair Question

All of the questions on the Cattell Culture Fair test are visual in nature, but an example question
type can be seen below, where the test taker would select the object from the multiple choice
options that would best complete the pattern for the location indicated with a question mark.

Practical Applications of the CFIT-III

The Cattell Cutlure Fair III has a number of ways it is currently used. Most notably:

Ø Aids in identification of learning disabilities

Ø Selecting students for accelerated programs
Ø Identifying probably success in secondary education
Ø Providing guidance for vocational paths
Ø Admittance to high IQ societies such as the Triple Nine Society

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

David Wechsler published the first test for assessing intelligence in adults in 1939. The Wechsler
Adult Intelligence Scale contains many items that assess nonverbal reasoning ability and
therefore depends less on verbal ability that does the Stanford-Binet. It also provides separate
scores of verbal intelligence and nonverbal or performance intelligence, as well as a score that
indicates overall intelligence.

The term intelligence quotient, or IQ, is also used to describe the score on the Wechsler test.
However, the Wechsler test presented scores based on a normal distribution of data rather than
the intelligence quotient. The Normal Distribution is a symmetrical bell-shaped curve that
represents how characteristics like IQ are distributed in a large population. In this scoring
system, the mean IQ score is set at 100, and the standard deviation is set at 15. The test is
constructed so that about two-thirds of people tested (68 percent) will score within one standard
deviation of the mean, or between 85 and 115.

On the Wechsler test, the IQ score reflects where a person falls in the normal distribution of IQ
scores. Therefore, this score, like the original Stanford-Binet IQ score, is a relative score,

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indicating how the test taker’s score compares to the scores of other people. Most current
intelligence tests, including the revised versions of the Stanford-Binet, now have scoring systems
based on the normal distribution. About 95 percent of the population will score between 70 and
130 (within two standard deviations from the mean), and about 99.7 percent of the population
will score between 55 and 145 (within three standard deviations from the mean).

(OR)

David weschler developed a scale for measuring intelligence in 1939. The WAIS is an
individual test. It consists of two parts, the verbal part has six tests and non verbal or
performance part has five tests which require a minimum of language. The full scale is a
combination of the two.it is used for 16 to 64 years and takes 1 hour.

Verbal tests

S.NO TEST DESCRIPTION

1. information 29 questions are given which intend to a test a recall of knowledge
concerning wider varieties of information.
2. comprehension 14 items which intend to measure understanding of knowledge
concerning a certain object, event or the meaning of proverbs.
3. arithmetic 14 arithmetical problems which intend to measure numerical ability,
given orally and are to be solved through mental manipulation. No
paper and pencil allowed.
4. similarities 13 items which intend to measure absratct verbal reasoning, require
the examines to compare two objects and determine the relationship
between the two.
5. Digit span Intends to measure meaning for digits. In the first part, the examinee
is required to repeat in the same order 3-9 digits presented in a
forward direction and in the second part, he is required to repeat the
digit in a backward direction.
6. vocabulary Intends to measure verbal ability, 40 words of increasing difficulty
are presented ad the examinee is required in a backward direction.

Performance scale

7. Digit symbol 9 digits each with different symbols are given. The numbers in
jumbled order are given and the examinee is to write the matching
symbols with each digit.
8. Picture Measure the ability to analyse parts from the whole. 21 cards each
completion contains a picture from which something is missing- the testee is to
fill in the missing part.
9. Block design Intends to measure the ability to analyse the complex whole.
10. Object assembly Examinee attempt to solve picture puzzles
11. Picture Examinees arrange 6 seats of pictures to make a sensible story
arrangement

This test is a point scale. Measuring full scale IQ, verbal IQ and performance IQ.

Group Intelligence Tests

Individual intelligence tests can be given only by specially trained psychologists. Such tests
are expensive and time-consuming to administer, and so educational institutions often use tests
that can be given to a group of people at the same time. Commonly used group intelligence tests
include the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test and the Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Test.

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The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
In 1916, Lewis Terman and his colleagues at Stanford University created the Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale by expanding and revising the Binet-Simon scale. The Stanford-Binet yielded
scores in terms of intelligence quotients. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is the mental age divided
by the chronological age and multiplied by 100. IQ scores allowed children of different ages to
be compared.
Example: A ten-year-old whose performance resembles that of a typical twelve-year-old has an
IQ of 120 (12 divided by 10 times 100).

How Standford Binet test can be used to measure intelligence:

Binet and Simon developed a test to identify mentally retarded children in French schools.
Subsequently, several English-language versions of the test were produced. The most successful
was brought out in 1916 by Lewis Terman of Stanford University. Terman’s scale, known as the
Stanford-Binet, became the model for many intelligence tests and has itself been revised several
times (Terman & Merrill, 1973).

Binet devised his test by age-levels. This was because he observed that mentally retarded
students seemed to think like non-retarded children at younger ages. Following Binet’s lead,
other test constructors have also produced age scales. Within these scales, the tasks at each level
are those which average children of that age should find moderately difficult. Children are given
only the levels in their range.

For testing purposes, the lowest level at which all items are passed by a given child is that child’s
basal age. Computation was based on a number of items passed correctly. Test takers receive two
months credit of MA for each item passed. Starting with the basal age, the tester adds additional
credit for each item the child passes until the child reaches a ceiling age – that is, the highest
level at which all items within the level are failed. The Stanford –Binet was so constructed that a
random population of children of a given chronological age (CA) obtains an average score or
mental age (MA), equal to their CA. An individual’s performance on the test can therefore, be
expressed as a mental-age score.

Binet and Terman worked from a notion of intelligence as an overall ability related to abstract
reasoning and problem solving; judgement was the term Binet used. The items become less
concrete and more verbal as one goes up the age scale. It is noted that an individual’s score is
expressed as a mental age. It did not take psychologists long to note that the MA could be
expressed in relation to the CA in order to estimate the rate of development. The MA/CA ratio
yields the Intelligence Quotient (IQ), a concept proposed by psychologist William Stern in 1912.
If two children both obtain an MA of 5 years on an intelligence test, but one child is 4 years and
the other is 6, obviously the younger child is developing intellectually at a much faster rate. To
express this fact in the form of IQs, we take the ratio of MA to CA and multiply by 100 to
eliminate decimals.

IQ = MA/CA X 100
CHILD 1 : IQ=5/4 X 100
CHILD 2: IQ=5/6 X 100

Thus, the bright child mentioned above earns an IQ of 125 and the slower child earns an IQ of 83
If the individual’s MA or CA are equal and the IQ of 100 was obtained. This is considered to be
an average score. IQ above 100 indicated that the person’s intellectual age was greater than
his/her CA. Numbers below 100 indicated that individual was less intelligent than his/her peers.
Uses – school placement, determined presence of learning disability or developmental delay,
tracking intellectual development included in neuro-psychological testing to assess the brain
function of individual with neurological impairment/ Compare with Wechsler (at least one)

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 LEVELS OF INTELLIGENCE
Normal distribution of IQs for a test with a S.D of 15. This is according to Wechsler.

IQ DESCRIPTION

130 and above Very superior

120-129 superior

110-119 Bright normal

85-109 average

70-84 borderline

55-69 Mild mentally retarded

40-54 Moderately mentally retarded

25-39 Severely mentally retarded

Below 25 Profound mentally retarded

Gifted children:

According to Prem Pasricha (1964):

The gifted child is the one who exhibits superiority in general intelligence or the one who is in
possession of special abilities of a high order in the fields which are not necessarily associated
with a high intelligence quotient.
(Any other definition or explanation of giftedness highlighting superiority in general intelligence
or special abilities of a higher order should be accepted)

Characteristics of gifted children:

The gifted child is essentially an exceptional child.

In comparison to children of his own group, he is superior in some ability or group of
abilities.
In most cases, the gifted child invariably exhibits superior performance only in the area
or areas of his giftedness.
The appellation “gifted children” is applicable to not only the academically talented but
also to those who show promise in other spheres such as: (a) Music, dance. Drama,
painting, sculpture, writing and other creative arts, (b) mechanical work. (c) c) Social
leadership and human relationships (d) Creative scientific experimentation and
exploration (e) Physical activities like games, sports and gymnastics.
A gifted child need not necessarily possess a very high intelligence quotient.

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 If he receives proper attention and opportunity for self-expression and development, the
gifted child can make noteworthy contribution to the welfare of society, the nation and
humanity at large.
Performs difficult mental task.
Is alert, keenly observant and responds quickly.

APTITUDE, ACHIEVEMENT AND INTEREST

Achievement test:

Achievement refers to what a person has acquired or achieved after the specific training or
instructions have been imparted.

Achievement test is also known as proficiency test, in which one measures the extent to which
the person has acquired or achieved certain information or proficiency as a function of
instruction or training (Tuckman 1975).

The main uses of achievement tests are:

1) Achievement tests are an effective way to check any weakness in the instructions or even
slackness on the part of the examinee. If weakness is found in the instructor, or the teacher may
be asked to improve his instruction so that it may include the subsequent instruction.

2) It is also effective in the formulation of education boards and provides a very easy means of
critical examination of the content and method of instruction.

3) It also helps in adapting the instruction according to the individual need of the learner. The
performance on the achievement test directly reveals the need for further guidance to be given to
each learner and accordingly the instruction can be modified to suit the individual need.

4) Special achievement tests are meant for measuring the achievement of the pupils in some
selective areas may conveniently be grouped into two distinct groups – the diagnostic tests and
standardized end of course examinations. The diagnostic tests help to identify the educationally
retarded pupils and to suggest remedial programmes. The standard end course examinations are
the series of the achievement tests for different subjects taught at either school or college level.

A lot of human energy and resource can be saved if people are selected for jobs, promoted and
transferred on the basis of their scores in achievement tests. Achievement test can be used in
business, industry and educational institutions.

They are used to evaluate teachers’ effectiveness of different teaching methods, school
administrators and supervisors.

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 STRONG – CAMPBELL INTEREST INVENTORY (SC-II)

(a) Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SC-II) has been the subject of 50 years of research. It
is mainly taken from Strong’s earlier version ‘Strong Vocational Interest Blank”. SCII represents
the 1974 revision of the SVIB formulated by E.K. Strong Junior. The type of scores that this
inventory gives, indicates the degree to which a person is similar in his interest to persons in a
particular occupation.
Description of the test:
In SCII the men’s and women’s forms of SVIB were merged. It consists of 325 items grouped in
7 parts. All the items were selected on the basis of empirical criterion keying. Items in first five
parts fall into following categories:
1. Occupations
2. School subjects
3. Activities (of making a speech, raising money for charity etc.)
4. Amusements (things you would like to do when you have a lot of time)
5. Day to day contact with various types of people (e.g. military officers)

The examinee has to express his preferences for these items under three categories: “Like” (L),
“Indifferent”(I), or “Dislike” (D). The remaining two parts require the respondent to express a
preference between paired items e.g. dealing with things vs dealing with people.
Scoring:
In order to establish the scoring key for an occupation Strong and Campbell compare the
responses of persons in general to responses of persons within that occupation. Since the
responses of men and women show substantial differences on a number of interest items, the
comparisons have been carried out separately for men and women.
The total score is the sum of the item- responses. A raw score is obtained in this way for each of
the occupations. The raw scores are converted into standard scores where the mean for the
sample is taken to be 50 and standard deviation to be 10. A standard score of 45 or above is
considered similar to those in occupation and thus indicative of interest whereas a score of 25 or
less is considered to be dissimilar. A score between 26 and 44 is viewed as rather uninformative.
The Strong Campbell Inventory has added two types of scales that were not there in the original
SVIB.
The first of these scales is called the General Occupational Themes Scales. Each theme is
described not only by the occupations that appear to relate to it but also by a set of adjectives that
are thought to be typical of person in whom that theme is predominant. Thus a person high on a
realistic theme is described as robust, rugged, practical, stable, natural and persistent. The six
themes given are Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional.
Finally, the SCII provides Basic Interest Scales. These are scores based on small clusters of
items in which the items correlate fairly substantially with each other and appear to share
common content.
This inventory has fairly good reliability and validity. Scores in most interest inventories are
quite stable over short periods of time such as two weeks or a month. Correlation of about 0.90
are typical of those reported in manuals for both the Strong and Kuder Inventories. Takes 25
minutes.

{OR}

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STRONG CAMPBELL INTEREST INVENTORY (SC-II)
It has 325/400 items referring to occupations, school subjects, activities, amusements, types of
people for which the examinee expresses.
a. Likes
b. Indifferences
c. Disliking- since the responses of men and women show substantial difference on a
number of interest items, therefore, comparisons have been carried out separately for men
and women , 50 different occupations have been listed under 6 themes.
1. Realistic
2. Investigate
3. Artistic
4. Social
5. Enterprising
6. Conventional
SC-II provides basic interest scales. The scores are based on small cluster of scores.

APTITUDE:
Aptitude refers to special abilities in a particular field of activity. It is a combination of
characteristics that indicate an individual’s capacity to acquire some specific knowledge or skill
after training.
REASONS FOR ASSESSING APTITUDE:
1. GUIDANCE- aptitude can be used for the purpose of guidance in selecting subjects for
studying in schools and colleges. It can be used for selecting the profession of a person’s
choice. Psychologists and counsellors must supplement the results of aptitude tests with
intelligence tests, school records, interview and interests tests.
2. Selection for jobs- The employer can use aptitude tests for selecting persons for
different jobs.
3. Admission- aptitude tests can be used for admission of candidates into various types of
professional training such as teaching, medicine, engineering etc. aptitude test should be
used for only as one source of information in the total picture.
4. Counselling- with explanation

GENERAL APTITUDE TEST BATTERY

The aptitudes that are measured by the General Aptitude Test Battery are as follows:
G – General Learning Ability: The ability to catch on or understand instructions and
underlying principles, the ability to reason and make judgements. Closely related to doing
well in school.
V – Verbal aptitude: The ability to understand the meaning of words and to use them
effectively. The ability to understand relationships between words and to understand the
meaning of whole sentences and paragraphs.
N- Numerical Aptitude: The ability to perform arithmetic operations quickly and
accurately.
S- Spatial Aptitude: The ability to think visually of geometric forms and to
comprehend the two-dimensional representation of three-dimensional objects. The ability
to recognize the relationships, resulting from the movement of objects in space.
P-Form Perception: The ability to perceive pertinent details in objects or in pictorial
or graphic material. Ability to make visual comparisons and discriminations and see
slight differences in shapes and shading of figures and widths and lengths of lines.

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 Q-Clerical Perception: The ability to perceive detail in verbal or tabular material.
Ability to observe differences in copy, to proofread words and numbers and to avoid
perceptual errors in arithmetic computation.
K- Motor Co-ordination: The ability to coordinate eyes and hands or fingers rapidly
and accurately in making precise movements with speed. Ability to make movement
response accurately and swiftly.
F- Finger Dexterity: The ability to move fingers and manipulate small objects with
fingers, rapidly or accurately.
M- Manual Dexterity: The ability to move hands easily and skilfully. Ability to work
with hands in placing and turning motions .

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