Ability and Developmental Differentiation of Intelligence: A Systematic Review of Continuous Modeling Studies

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Assessment and Learning: Review and Applications (San Diego)

Abstract

Differentiation hypotheses of intelligence concern changes in the structural organization of cognitive abilities that depend on ability or age. Specifically, the ability differentiation hypothesis proposes a decrease in common variance of different cognitive ability measures with increasing general ability – and thus, a decreasing influence of general intelligence on test performance. Analogously, the developmental differentiation hypothesis proposes a decrease in common variance with increasing age during childhood and adolescence. Only in recent years, evidence on these effects has been gathered using appropriate statistical methods based on continuous modeling of age effects. We present a systematic review of this literature on both differentiation effects. Ability differentiation was supported by a majority of the included studies, whereas developmental differentiation was predominantly not supported.

Authors

• Moritz Lion Breit, University of Trier

• Martin Brunner, University of Potsdam

• Franzis Preckel, University of Trier