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Differentiation of intelligence refers to changes in the structure of intelligence that depend on individuals' level of general cognitive ability (ability differentiation hypothesis) or age (developmental differentiation hypothesis). The present article aimed to investigate ability differentiation, developmental differentiation, and their interaction with nonlinear factor analytic models in 2 studies. Study 1 was comprised of a nationally representative sample of 7,127 U.S. students (49.4% female; M-age = 14.51, SD = 1.42, range = 12.08-17.00) who completed the computerized adaptive version of the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery. Study 2 analyzed the norming sample of the Berlin Intelligence Structure Test with 1,506 German students (44% female; M-age = 14.54, SD = 1.35, range = 10.00-18.42). Results of Study 1 supported the ability differentiation hypothesis but not the developmental differentiation hypothesis. Rather, the findings pointed to age-dedifferentiation (i.e., higher correlations between different abilities with increasing age). There was evidence for an interaction between age and ability differentiation, with greater ability differentiation found for older adolescents. Study 2 provided little evidence for ability differentiation but largely replicated the findings for age dedifferentiation and the interaction between age and ability differentiation. The present results provide insight into the complex dynamics underlying the development of intelligence structure during adolescence. Implications for the assessment of intelligence are discussed.
Peer groups are critical socialization agents for the development of social behavior in adolescence, but studies examining peer-group effects on individuals' prosocial behavior are scarce. Using a two-wave, multilevel data set (N = 16,893, 8481 male; 8412 female; mean age at Time 1: 14.0 years) from 1308 classes in 252 secondary schools in Germany, main effects of the classroom level of prosocial behavior, cross-level interactions between the classroom and the individual levels of prosocial behavior at Time 1, and the moderating role of gender were examined. The results showed that adolescents in classrooms with high collective levels of prosocial behavior at Time 1 reported more prosocial behavior at Time 2, about two years later, reflecting a class-level main effect. A significant cross-level interaction indicated that a high classroom level of prosocial behavior particularly affected individuals with lower levels of prosocial behavior at Time 1. The influence of same-gender peers was larger compared with opposite-gender peers. The findings are discussed with respect to social learning mechanisms in the development of prosocial behavior and their implications for interventions to promote prosocial behavior.