AP PSYCHMYERS – CH. 11

Intelligence

Intelligence Wars

Intelligence – mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. Socially constructed by a culture Usually referred to as “school smarts”

Several intelligence theories Do we have an inborn mental capacity? Can it be quantified with a number?

Spearman’s General Intelligence or g

A basic intelligence predicts our abilities in varied academic areas

Factor analysis - A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test Mental abilities tend to form clusters People tend to show about the same level of competence in all abilities in

a certain cluster

General intelligence (g) – a general intelligence factor that underlies all of our abilities

CRITICS - Human abilities are too diverse to be encapsulated by a single general factor

Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities

A single g score is not as informative as scores for seven primary mental abilities

7 intelligence factors: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory

CRITICS – 7 factors show tendency to cluster, suggesting an underlying g score.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

Intelligence is more than just verbal and mathematical skills as other abilities are equally important.

8 intelligences Multiple intelligences theory has the

most effect on the educational system.

Some teachers agree while others do not.

CRITICS - Should all abilities be considered intelligences? Shouldn’t some of them just be talents instead?

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

3 areas that can be tested reliably

CRITCS - These three factors are related and can have an underlying g factor. Also, additional testing is needed to determine whether these facets can reliably predict success.

Other Intelligences

Social intelligence - the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully

Emotional intelligence - the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. Found to be higher in women

Creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas Exceptionally creative people do not score higher on

intelligence tests than their noncreative peers. Convergent thinking vs. divergent thinking

5 components Expertise Imaginative thinking skills A venturesome personality Intrinsic motivation A creative environment

Big Brains = Big Smarts?

Some studies have found a correlation between brain size and intelligence scores.

More educated, therefore defined intelligent, people have more connections between neurons (more synapses) than less educated people.

Chicken or the egg?

Savant Syndrome

A condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing. 4/5 savants are male Many savants have autism as well… However,

AUTISM ≠ SAVANTISM

Assessing Intelligence

Origins

Intelligence is whatever intelligence tests measure. Intelligence test – a method for assessing an

individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

Alfred Binet All children develop intellectually in the same way but

some develop quicker Mental age – a measure of intelligence; the

chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Origins

Lewis Terman (Stanford) revised Binet’s test Stanford-Binet (American version) adapted some questions, established new age norms, and

extended the upper end of the test’s range from teenagers to “superior” adults

William Stern (German) developed the intelligence quotient (IQ)

mental agechronological age

IQ no longer computed with intelligence tests; now used as a term to refer to a score on an intelligence test

x 100

Misuse of IQ and Intelligence Tests

Historically, IQ tests have been used to label certain groups of people (immigrants, etc) as inferior.

Again, intelligence tests assess intelligence which is culturally defined (Terman had to adapt the French test to fit the American culture), therefore it is no wonder immigrants did poorly on American intelligence tests and were classified unfairly.

Modern Tests

Aptitude tests – designed to predict a person’s future performance as aptitude is the capacity to learn. Ex: SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test, formerly

called the Scholastic Aptitude Test – seeks to predict your ability to do well in college)

Achievement tests – designed to assess what a person has learned. Ex: EOC (End of Course exam – seeks to assess

what you learned in the course)

Modern Tests

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) – developed by David Wechsler, the most widely used intelligence test; contains both verbal and nonverbal subtests 11 subtests Yields an overall intelligence score, and also scores for

verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and processing speed.

Results are important to identify learning disabilities or brain disorders (important for teachers, employers, and therapists) 

Also a version for children

Principles to Test Construction: Standardization

Standardization – defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group, while also using uniform instructions for administration of test. Tests need to be constantly restandardized to properly

assess different generations – Flynn effect = intelligence scores have been rising over time.

Principles to Test Construction: Standardization

When a test is standardized, the results when graphed typically form a normal curve – symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many psychical and psychological attributes; most scores fall near the average and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extreme.

On an intelligence test, the average score is 100.

Principles to Test Construction: Reliability

The extent to which a test yields consistent results Measured by 2 test halves, alternate forms, or retesting Internal consistency – similar questions about the same

learning goal to measure if similar constructs assess the appropriate goal. For example, if a respondent expressed agreement with the

statements "I like to ride bicycles" and "I've enjoyed riding bicycles in the past", and disagreement with the statement "I hate bicycles", this would be indicative of good internal consistency of the test.

People should generally score the same when the test is taken multiple times

Principles of Test Construction: Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to Content validity – the extent to which a test samples

the behavior that is of interest Ex: a driving test assess driving tasks

Predictive validity – the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict Criterion – the behavior a test is designed to predict Ex: the SAT is designed to predict future college

performance which is the criterion

Extremes of Intelligence – Below 70

Mental retardation – a condition of limited mental ability , indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficult in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound.

Mental retardation can sometimes have a physical cause – Down syndrome – a condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup.

Mental Retardation Severity

Many with intelligence scores just below 70 have been integrated into regular education classrooms and mainstream society more happiness and dignity.

Extremes of Intelligence – Above 130

Some extraordinarily intelligent children are more isolated and introverted, but most thrive and continue on to higher education. Chicken or the egg?

Controversy over gifted children programs: not as many children labeled as gifted are actually extraordinarily gifted

“Tracking” children of different abilities can cause them to live up or down to a perception of their intelligence/abilities (self-fulfilling prophecy)

Genetic Environmental

Twin studies show that identical twins reared together have almost identical intelligence scores

Adoptive children’s intelligence scores tend to resemble those of their birth parents rather than adoptive parents.

Intelligence score of identical twins raised apart is less similar than scores of pairs raised together.

Other studies have shown that children raised in impoverished or enriched environments or different cultures show that experiences influence test performance.

Nature and Nurture

Females Males

better spellersmore verbally fluent and

can remember more wordsbetter at nonverbal

memorymore sensitive to touch,

taste, and colorbetter at math computationhigher emotional

intelligence - empathy

better at math problem solving

more underachievers

Gender Differences

The Question of Bias

Scientific bias – however, intelligence tests, like the SAT, are not biased in the fact that they are less valid for some groups. The predictive validity of the SAT (as in whether it accurately predicts

future behaviors) is the same for men and women, blacks and whites, and the rich and poor.

Stereotype threat – the self-confirming belief that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

Are intelligence tests discriminatory? Yes – they are designed to distinguish individuals apart from their

peers. No – they are not designed to distinguish individuals based on

political, racial, or ethnic backgrounds