Toward an understanding of adult intellectual development: investigating within-individual convergence of interest and knowledge profiles.

To further our understanding of the role interests play in the development of adult intellect, this study examines the relationship between intraindividual differences in interest and knowledge profiles. On the basis of a sample of 330,154 individuals, results show a moderate, positive average intraindividual correlation between interest and knowledge that increases as individuals age and is stronger for men than for women. Consistent with recent theories regarding the development of adult intelligence, expertise, and talent, these results demonstrate that noncognitive intraindividual differences can add to one's understanding of the acquisition of knowledge and skills. The current findings regarding the intraindividual convergence of interests and knowledge substantiate K. Murphy's (1998) call for renewed research on interests and point to the usefulness of an intraindividual perspective in applied psychology.

Exploring fantasies of TAT reliability.

It has been argued that low TAT stability estimates are an artifact of retest instructions to be original and creative. This view was supported in a recent study by Winter and Stewart (1977) who found that test-retest reliability was higher when subjects were told on the second occasion to write the same stories than when they were told to write different stories. This study attempted to replicate Winter and Stewart's results and also to determine whether the similarity of stories did vary as hypothesized. The replication was only partially successful. More importantly, it was concluded that while instructions to write similar stories did improve reliability, the increase reflected only subjects' memory capabilities and not greater stability in motive expression. While true TAT stability may still be commonly underestimated, altering retest instructions to improve reliability does not appear to be the solution.