Aptitudes

Definition of Aptitude

Lyn Corno and his colleagues formally define aptitude as the degree of readiness to learn and to perform well in a particular situation or domain. Individuals bring many characteristics that they have learned through their life experiences to the situation, such as knowledge, skills, attitudes, beliefs, values, motivation, and persistence. A small set of these characteristics or aptitudes helps them take advantage of formal and informal learning opportunities. Examples of characteristics that commonly function as academic aptitudes include the ability to make connections using previous information, to transfer knowledge to new situations, to use feedback in correcting errors, to organize information into generalizations, and to manage time. David Lohman notes that aptitudes are not necessarily positive and cites examples of individuals who have the propensity to have or to cause accidents, lie, be unsociable, or create problems. Phillip Ackerman has studied clusters of aptitudes or traits that combine to produce certain outcomes that are observed in academic contexts. He has described these aptitude complexes as combinations of traits such as abilities, attitudes, personality variables, and prior knowledge that are particularly useful for efficient learning.

Given the definition, aptitude is tightly linked to context. To understand the aptitudes that might assist an individual in acquiring new information, the context must be carefully examined. Consequently, defining the situation is part of defining the aptitude and ultimately leads to the individual's achievement in a specific setting. For example, discussions, lectures, problem-based tasks, and cooperative groups all require different types of aptitudes for an individual to be successful. Sometimes the same situation that elicits modes of responding that function as aptitudes in one individual can also elicit modes of responding that thwart goal attainment in others. For example, Lee Cronbach and Richard Snow reported that discovery-oriented or constructivist approaches to learning generally succeed better than more didactic approaches with more able learners. These students can use their superior reasoning abilities in ill-structured learning situations. Other students, however, might need more structure and be more anxious in situations where the learning tasks are open ended. In summary, changing the context changes in small or large measure the personal characteristics or aptitudes that influence success in the context.

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