Graduating high school seniors (N=860) responded to 120 items of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank designed. It was hypothesized that preferences for occupations indicate personality and motivational differences among respondents. Canonical analysis revealed that interest measures and job-related motivational measures were significantly related…

Self-concept, intelligence and academic achievement were examined in students preparing to teach in primary, elementary, secondary, and special education (N=267). Differences in self-concept, but not in intelligence and academic achievement, were found among groups of student teachers. (Author)

This study explores personality differences between adult women students in an undergraduate college and women of the usual undergraduate age. Seven of the 18 California Personality Inventory (CPI) scale comparisons showed significant differences, and eight of the 14 Omnibus Personality Inventory (OPI) scale comparisons showed significant…

Cognitive style, the impulsivity-reflectivity dimension, is reviewed as an individual difference that does significantly affect a learning/teaching situation. Relevance of impulsivity-reflectivity for learners in a problem-solving situation is established. Conclusions emphasize the importance of this individual difference. (Author)

Children with experience of creative drama significantly improved their self and man drawings and gave more verbal descriptions showing awareness of individual differences for both current and future self. (Author)

Preferences for and learning activity in instrumental and expressive education are examined. Interview data of 256 Nebraskans, 55 or older, show preference differences according to sex, race, marital status, and location grouping. Comparisons with earlier (1972) data are included. An increased, overall preference for instrumental education was…

Ways in which the "field experience"--including both job-related activities and life-span developments--of adults affects the teaching of developmental psychology are examined. Psychological differences between traditional (18 to 22-year-olds) and adult students are studied. (Editor/LBH)

In spite of the use of nominations, rating scales, checklists, standard measuring instruments, culture-specific models, quota system models, and identification and instructional models, the number of Black students identified as gifted remains very small. New practices for identifying this subgroup must emphasize the diversity within the Black…

The study compared performance on the Continuous Performance Task by 18 elementary grade children having attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH), 15 conduct disordered, 26 mixed conduct disorder and ADDH, 15 emotionally disturbed, 22 learning disabled, and 15 nondisabled students. Hyperactive children did not demonstrate a unique…

This presentation of a speech to gifted teenagers discusses the pressures of giftedness. It focuses on the demands placed on gifted teenagers by others and by themselves, their need to develop self-confidence, their uniqueness and yet similarities with others, the balance between creativity and conformity, and the unimportance of popularity. (JDD)

Examined relationship between demographic variables and recreational substance use in college students (N=832). Results revealed that persons using certain recreational substances differed significantly from nonusers. Marijuana users differed from nonusers on parental income, high school grade point average, and political orientation. No…

The article reviews the role of development and individual differences in the concept of discrepancy as applied to the differential diagnosis of learning disabilities. It is concluded that discrepancy may be better used within learning disabilities rather than in distinguishing between learning disabilities and other handicapping conditions.…

The article criticizes current special education practices, noting that the concept of individual differences has led ultimately to the practice of labeling children with special needs. The "medical model" has put children in special classes, where they tend to perpetuate and reinforce both the labels and behaviors implied by those labels.…

Genetic and environmental correlations among 11 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) subtests were estimated from a sample of 143 twin pairs using the methodology of multivariate behavioral genetics. Correlations due to within-pair environmental influences were generally small, whereas those due to shared environmental…

Contends persistent heterogenity observed among older adults indicates aging processes are the synergistic products of biological, psychosocial, and cultural factors. Asserts evidence of modifiability promotes consideration of alternative policies regarding the construction of alternative futures for older adults and aging societies. (Author/ABL)