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Origins of Intelligence Assessments/Inventories (“Testing”)

Plato: Saw & noted individual differences

Intelligence Test: *Binet (1905 +-) method of assessing

an individual’s mental aptitudes & comparing them to those of others, using numerical scores

Testing Paris school kids to ID those who were low & needed help

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Mental Age measure of intelligence test performance

devised by Alfred Binet, Paris, late 1800’s Why? to ID slower kids in Paris school system

to help them do better chronological age: actual age mental age: if a child does as well as the

average 8-year-old is said to have an IQ of 100

Stanford-Binet: widely used American revision of Binet’s original intelligence test (1914-15)

revised by Terman at Stanford University Stern designed the intelligence quotient (IQ)

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Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Originally, ratio of mental age (ma) to

chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 IQ = ma ÷ ca x 100 (ma/ca x 100)

on contemporary tests, the avg performance for a specific age is assigned a score of 100

Most intellg. tests (including the Stanford-Binet) no longer compute an “IQ” score (reification: p. 422)

What IS Intelligence? ability to learn from experience, solve

problems, & use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Is determined by a social definition & varies from culture to culture, era to era

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What is Intelligence?

Factor Analysis statistical procedure that identifies clusters

of related items (called factors) on a test ID’s different performance dimensions that

underlie our total score These factors indicate a basic ability level

Eugenics: Terman & others belief that genetics was the predominate factor in IQ

--was a “scientific” sort of racism…no major basis in modern psych…Basically said some races, etc., were genetically better than others.

Who used these ideas?

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Spearman’s G Factor:

Spearman’s General Intelligence (g factor) Spearman & others said one

single factor (a general factor) underlies specific mental abilities

This factor is measured by every task on an intelligence test

g = general

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Most commonly administered intelligence assessments:

WISC-IV: most commonly used IQ test for ages 6-16

WAIS -III is for adults.  WIPPSI-III is for preschoolers. Others also use the Stanford-Binet,

5th edition, or the Kaufman ABC-II battery for children.

NOTE: Roman numerals reflect the multiple revisions of the tests since their original versions.

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Are There Multiple Intelligences? Savant Syndrome

condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill… --often (NOT always..) related to autism Computation Drawing (EX below)

Social Intelligence the know-how involved in comprehending social

situations & managing oneself successfully Emotional Intelligence p.426

ability to perceive, express, understand, & regulate emotions

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Intelligence & Creativity

Creativity: the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas… Those = creative usually have at least

avg. or above avg. g factor Things that make this possible:

Expertise (have knowledge base) imaginative thinking skills (outside the box)

venturesome personality (take chances) intrinsic motivation creative environment

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Brain Function & Intelligence People who can

perceive the stimulus FLASHED very quickly tend to score somewhat higher on intelligence tests

P. 430: processing speed, perceptual speed & neurological speed are all involved in assessing the final intellig. Score.

BUT…is that valid? Is FASTER actually BETTER?

Idea is that faster can process MORE info

Stimulus Mask

When FLASHED, is Long side on left or right?

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Assessing (“Testing”!!) Intelligence

Aptitude Test: designed to predict a person’s future performance looks at abilities…what you should be able to

do aptitude is the capacity to learn

Achievement Test test designed to assess what person has

learned Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

most widely used intelligence test (WWI) 2 subtests 1) verbal 2) performance

(nonverbal)

WAIS-R = revised adult test; WISC-R = revised kids’ test

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Assessing Intelligence: Weschler added Performance Component in 1939 b/c of problems assessing those w/ some verbal disadvantages

Sample Items from the WAIS

From Thorndike and Hagen, 1977

VERBAL response General Info Similarities Arithmetic ReasoningVocabularyComprehensionDigit Span

PERFORMANCE

Picture Completion Picture ArrangementBlock DesignObject AssemblyDigit-Symbol Substitution

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WAIS-R EX’s: Visual Analogies…..block design….. pic sequencing…..WAIS-R performance assessment kit

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Assessing Intelligence

Standardization defining meaningful scores by comparison w/ the

performance of a pre-tested standardization group to create a norm…what is “normal”

Normal Curve symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the

distribution of many physical & psych. Attributes PEAK (mid-point) of curve = 50th percentile—

mid-point… ½ higher than that & ½ lower than that…

most scores fall near the avg, & fewer & fewer scores lie near the extremes

Divergent vs. convergent thinking:ADD!

2 kinds of thinking: Convergent: 1 right answer – like IQ on tests (damage to left parietal can hurt this kind)Divergent: More creative.. “outside the box” Damage to the FRONTAL lobe can hurt this type

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Normal Curve: (sometimes aka the bell curve) 3 magic #’s: 68 (15 pts. above or below mid-pt.)

96 (or 95) 2 (inclusive of 99.7%)So..what’s mentally challenged & “genius” ? (Psy’s HATE “genius”)

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Kids getting smarter?! Who’d a thunk it… Flynn effect: Consistent worldwide rise in IQ scores, even though achievement scores like SAT dropped …WHY?

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Why Flynn Effect (James Flynn, 1987, 1999) occurs… It’s a mystery…but could be lots of things…

Test sophistication: assessments are better now…more accurately assess

Nutrition: taller, smarter, longer life expectancies

More formal educations for more pplMore stimulating environment b/c of t___?Less kid-diseases that might cause handicapsSmaller families = more parental resources

(time, money, effort) on each kid-------------So....Why are SAT scores down? Probably b/c

more ppl and more diverse ppl taking SAT now instead of just the middle & upper middle class.

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Assessments of Intelligence (aka Testing) Reliability & Validity Reliability: extent to which a test yields

consistent results assessed by consistency of scores in 3 ways:

two halves of the test alternate forms of the test retesting

Validity: How well a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

EX: Does SAT predict success in the 1st year of college? 3 aspects to validity…

Content validity Predictive validity Criterion validity

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Assessing Intelligence: 3 major considerations:

1. Content Validity: extent to which a test samples a behavior that is of interest

EX: Driving test that samples driving tasks… DOES it evaluate the content you want to look at? 2. Criterion validity

the measure (part of the operational definition) used in defining whether the test does have predictive validity (next slide )

Some behavior that a test is designed to predict EX: Are college grades being predicted by SAT

performance? …or... In driving, do 3 pt. turns, parking, handling the car in

tight spaces, etc., represent things you will need to do while driving?

Criterion is what they are shooting for, trying to do

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3. Predictive Validity (aka criterion-related validity)

How good a test is at predicting compute the correlation between test scores

& the “target” behavior (behavior you’re interested in)

Can give good predictions RE: the behavior looked at… or not?

EX: DOES the SAT predict success in college? Generally, yes.

BUT…GRE (graduate record exam)…not as much b/c all are higher performing…

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Assessing Intelligence: (436) Relating body wt. & success to predict…The larger the sample the better it can predict

As the range of data under consideration narrows (goes from larger to smaller range), its predictive power diminishes

BTW: What is this type of graph called?

Greater correlationover broad range

of body wts. (Lg. #)

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2

1

0

Little correlation

w/inrestricted

range (sm. #)

Football linemen’s

success

Body weight in pounds180 250 290

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The Dynamics of Intelligence: The Low extreme of Intelligence:

Mentally Challenged

(previously called “mental retardation” or mentally handicapped but M-C is the preferred reference) a condition of limited

mental ability indicated by an

intelligence score at or below 70

produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life

varies from mild to profound

Down Syndrome A type of

retardation & associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup…

Usually related to mom’s age (older moms)…

(extra #21 chromosome for a total of 47 chromosomes)

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The Dynamics of Intelligence: Know chart! (p. 439) Supreme Court Hearing on executing mentally challenged:http://www.newsy.com/videos/supreme-court-hears-debate-on-executing-mentally-disabled/

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Heritability: proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genesVariability depends on range of populations & environments studied

Intelligence heritability = about 50%

The most genetically similar people have the most similar scores

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Genetic Influences: psychologists look at both twin studies & biological parents vs. adoptive parents

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Environmental Influences: The Schooling Effect: IQ’s tend to rise during the school year…& drop

during summer…& drop after schooling stops…So…a good argument for year-round school?...Asian students vs. N. American students?

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What’s wrong with this picture???

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Group differences & impact of environment: The Seed Analogy:

Same seeds (genetics) …but different soil…levels of fertilizer…water….sun

these = so a differing environ. Would they grow the same?

HEAD START: Data from research on Head Start programs (public “pre-school” to helped kids from lo-socio-econ. environments) show H-S kids are less likely to repeat grades than those in similar environments NOT in Head Start

Variation within group

Variation within group

Difference within group

Poor soil Fertile soil

Seeds

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Group Differences: GenderKNOW the general male & female tendencies toward certain abilities… (from info p.448-9) Do these stronger abilities apply to ALL males or females? The Mental Rotation Test : spatial understanding

Which of the other circles contain a configuration of blocks identical to the “standard” fig. (left)?

Standard Responses

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Group Differences Stereotype Threat

Self-confirming concern/belief: negative stereotypes give us “true” evaluation

Relates to “self-fulfilling prophecy” & placebo effect: believing something IS true increase chance it happens:

“I will probably score low” = scoring lowerStudents told they are at a disadvantage on a

test tend to do worse than those who are told the test should be one they do well on…

“You are not likely to do as well on this as usual…”

…OR “You should do very well on this b/c it is written in a way that will show your strengths…”

Also African-Amer. or females taking test w/ only that group perform better than in mixed groups

Summary: What you think & believe about YOU

affects how you perform!

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High vs. low extremes of intelligence:

Myth: High IQ kids are mal-adjusted, weird, socially inept….this is NOT TRUE

-There is a high correlation for high IQ & healthy, well-adjusted, academically successful adults…

Most thrive, though some are isolated more as kids b/c they don’t fit in w/ immature other kids

Remember: “giftedness” is a socially defined trait & not a “naturally occurring trait” like eye color (what is this called?)

Brain size (relative to body size) IS slightly positively correlated to intelligence

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Big debate: tracking: This is “gifted” kids separated into

other classes/schools (segregating by ability level):

Often this means low income & minority put into low levels, which encourages the stereotype threat…which...

Tends to widen, not shrink, the gap betwn. lo & hi especially in elementary school

Best idea may be, like China & Japan: Avoid tracking thru elementary

Pitfalls in Diagnostic Labeling of High OR Low Intelligence:

To what do you think the term “diagnostic labeling” refers?

If we determine someone is of HIGH IQ…Or…LO IQ, what might make that a problem? How might the following be involved in that consideration?

Motivation? (either hi or lo?) Stereotype threat? Flynn Effect? Reification?

*****GO BACK to slide # 29 to H-S notes!!!s34

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Theories of Multiple Intelligences (pp. 424-426) Is there 1 kind? …or 2? …or 3? ..or 8? Remember: Spearman: 1 basic general intel. (g

factor)

Sternberg’s Big 3:Analytical intelligence: academic problem solving—

there’s 1 right answer

Creative intelligence: react to novel situations

& use novel ideas

Practical intelligence: deal w/ everyday

problems & come up w/ multiple solutions

Howard Gardner: Theory of 8 Multiple

Intelligences Verbal Movement

(kinesthetic) Math Understanding

ourselves (our emotions/feelings)

Music Understanding others

(emotion—reading others) Spatial analysis/visual

(art) Understanding our

physical environment (naturalistic world)

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Some review ?’s

How does head size correlate with intelligence? (p. 429)

Can you assess an infant’s possible intelligence?

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PPL to know RE: Intelligence & intelligence assessments:

BinetFlynnGardnerSpearmanSternSternbergTermanWechsler

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“Hey, I don’t have time to exercise!!”

ANSWERS to PRACTICE Test from class…

1.A2.D3.D4.A5.D6.C7.D8.B9.E10.D11.C12.C13.B14.D15.D16.D17.E

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18.C19.D20.E21.D22.B23.D24.C25.C26.C27.D28.D29.B30.D31.D32.E33.B34.C