The predictive power of personality measures is compared with the predictive power of measures of cognition captured by IQ and achievement tests. For many outcomes, personality measures are just as predictive as cognitive measures, even after controlling for family background and cognition. Moreover, standard measures of cognition are heavily influenced by personality traits and incentives. Measured personality traits are positively correlated over the life cycle. However, they are not fixed and can be altered by experience and investment. Intervention studies, along with studies in biology and neuroscience, establish a causal basis for the observed effect of personality traits on economic and social outcomes. Personality traits are more malleable over the life cycle compared to cognition, which becomes highly rank stable around age 10. Interventions that change personality are promising avenues for addressing poverty and disadvantage.
KPI_Library Bookmarks on 11 Nov 10Excerpted from Biehler/Snowman, Psychology Applied to Teaching, 8th ed., 1997, this page is part of Houghton-Mifflin's Project-Based Learning Space. This review of cooperative learning resources looks at the models of the Johnson Brothers, Slavin, and Sharan & Sharan, comparing and contrasting each. This page includes resources, results, and methods for using cooperative learning in the classroom.
