Understanding the Boy's Development Discrepancy

This question presents a scenario about a 10-year-old boy who shows significant differences in various developmental areas. Specifically, his intelligence is measured as being that of a 12-year-old, while his social behaviour is like that of a 6-year-old. The core of the question is to identify the term used to describe such a discrepancy within the same individual.

Defining Key Concepts

Let's look at the terms used in the options:

• Intraindividual difference: This refers to the variations or differences found within a single person across different domains, skills, or developmental stages at a particular point in time. For example, a person might be strong in verbal skills but weaker in mathematical skills.
• Interindividual difference: This refers to the differences observed *between* two or more separate individuals. It's how one person compares to others in terms of abilities, traits, or behaviours.
• Aberration and Anomaly: These terms generally mean a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected. While a significant developmental gap might be considered unusual, these are not specific psychological terms for describing differences within an individual's functioning.

Analyzing the Boy's Situation

In this specific case:

• The boy is 10 years old (chronological age).
• His cognitive ability (intelligence) is advanced, matching a 12-year-old.
• His social skills (social behaviour) are delayed, matching a 6-year-old.

The key observation is that these differences (intelligence vs. social behavior) exist within the same individual. He is not being compared to other 10-year-olds (which would be interindividual difference), but rather his own different developmental areas are being compared.

Conclusion on the Discrepancy

Therefore, the discrepancy between the boy's advanced intelligence and his less developed social behavior is a classic example of an intraindividual difference. This highlights that development isn't always uniform across all areas for a single child.