human intelligence and creativity

Life-Span Human Development, Fifth Edition, Carol K. Sigelman and Elizabeth A. RiderChapter 9

Intelligence and Creativity


Chapter 9 – Intelligence and Creativity

• What is intelligence?

– Adaptive thinking or behavior (Piaget)

– Ability to think abstractly, solve problems? (Sternberg)

• Genetics x Environment

(interaction)

RAISED

TOGETHER

RAISED APART

IDENTICAL

TWINS

.86 .72

FRATERNAL

TWINS .60 .52


Theories and Tests of Intelligence

• IQ tests– Intelligence quotient (IQ) tests attempt to

measure an individual’s probable performance in school and similar settings.

Binet (1857-1911) and Simon created 1st IQ ← test in 1905



• The Stanford-Binet test– The Stanford-Binet test - V (2-85)– The mean or average IQ score for all age

groups is designated as 100 ± 15 (85-115).– Given individually


Normal DistributionNormal Distribution


Individual Intelligence TestsThe Wechsler Scales

Overall IQ and also verbal and performance IQs.

(WPPSI-III) Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised. Ages 2 ½ to 7 years, 3 months

(WISC-IV) Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Ages 6 to 16 years, 11 months

(WAIS-III) Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised

Ages 16-89


WPPSIWPPSI-III


WISC-IV

• Word Reasoning—measures reasoning with verbal material; child identifies underlying concept given successive clues.

• Matrix Reasoning—measures fluid reasoning a (highly reliable subtest on WAIS® –III and WPPSI™–III); child is presented with a partially filled grid and asked to select the item that properly completes the matrix.

• Picture Concepts—measures fluid reasoning, perceptual organization, and categorization (requires categorical reasoning without a verbal response); from each of two or three rows of objects, child selects objects that go together based on an underlying concept.

• Letter-Number Sequencing—measures working memory (adapted from WAIS–III); child is presented a mixed series of numbers and letters and repeats them numbers first (in numerical order), then letters (in alphabetical order).

• Cancellation—measures processing speed using random and structured animal target forms (foils are common non-animal objects).



• Raven’s Progressive Matrices– Psychologists created “culture-reduced” tests

without language. It tests abstract reasoning ability (non-verbal intelligence or performance IQ)


Figure 9.2 Items similar to those in Raven’s Progressive Matrices test. The instructions are: “Each pattern has a piece missing. From the eight choices provided, select the one that completes the pattern, both going across and going down.” (You can check your answers against answer A on page 339.)


The Psychometric Approach

Intelligence -

• A single attribute?

– Spearman (1863-1945)

2 – factor theory of intelligence

“g” = general ability

“s” = special abilities


Figure 9.3 According to Spearman (1904), all intelligent abilities have an area of overlap, which he called (for “general”). Each ability also depends partly on an s (for “specific”) factor.


Figure 9.4a Measurements of sprinting, high jumping, and long jumping correlate with one another because they all depend on the same leg muscles. Similarly, the g factor that emerges in IQ testing could reflect a single ability that all tests tap.


• Many attributes?

– Thurstone: 7 primary mental abilities

• Spatial ability, perceptual speed, numeric reasoning, verbal meaning, word fluency, memory, inductive reasoning


What is Intelligence?

• Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence– Cattell & Horn believed that the “g” factor has

two components:

- Fluid intelligence is the power of reasoning, solving unfamiliar problems, seeing relationships and gaining new knowledge

- Crystallized intelligence is acquired knowledge and the application of that knowledge to experience.


Concept Check:

A 16-year-old is learning to play chess and is becoming proficient enough to be accepted into the school’s chess club. Is this fluid or crystallized intelligence?


Concept Check:

• Ten years later, the chess player achieves grandmaster status. Is this a result of fluid or crystallized intelligence?


Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences


Savant Syndrome condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental

ability has an exceptional specific skill Calculation abilities Drawing Musical


Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory

• Contextual Component (“street smarts or practical”)

– Adapting to the environment

• Experiential Component: (creative)

– Response to novelty

– AutomatizationAutomatization

• Componential Component (“academic or analytical”)

– Information processing

– Efficiency of strategies


Figure 9.2


TABLE 9.2 Four theories of intelligence


The Infant

• Developmental Quotients (DQ)

– Bayley Scales: Ages 2-30 months

– Correlations with Child IQ – low to 0

– Useful for diagnostic purposes

• *Best predictors

– From measures of information processing

– E.g., attention, speed of habituation, preference for novelty


The Child

• DQ does not predict later IQ

• IQ gains

– Parents foster achievement

– Neither strict nor lax parenting

• IQ drops: Poverty

– Cumulative deficit hypothesis

AGE OF CHILD

CORREL-ATIONS WITH IQ AT AGE 9

CORREL-ATION WITH IQ AT AGE 12

4 .46 .42

7 .81 .69

9 ---- .80


The Adolescent

• Brain growth spurt at age 11/12 (puberty)

– Formal operational thinking

– Improved memory and processing skills

– Stability of IQ evident

• IQ score a good predictor of school achievement

• +.50 correlation between IQ score and grades

• Adolescents with high IQ less likely to drop out of high school and more likely to go to college


The Adult

• Strong relationships between

– IQ and occupational prestige

– IQ and job performance

– IQ and good health/longevity


Mental Retardation

• Below-average intellectual functioning: IQ 75

• Limited adaptive behavior: before age 18

– Self-care and social skills

• Below age-appropriate expectations

• Causes

– Organic: e.g., Down syndrome

– Cultural-familial: genes & environment


The Dynamics of Intelligence


Creativity

• Adams: “The combination of seemingly disparate parts into a functioning, useful whole.”

• Picasso: “Every act of creation is an act of destruction” and “art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”

• Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”


Three Creativity Elements

• Expertise: In-depth knowledge about a field

• Creative Skills: Problem-solving skills, creative process skills

• Intrinsic Task Motivation: Intrinsic rewards: Love of the work, the process involved, not extrinsic reward such as money, awards *


Creativity Blocks

• Accepting conventional wisdom

• Not taking time to investigate or elaborate

• Seeking only to satisfy the perceived needs of bosses

• Having tunnel vision, compartmentalizing problems

• Looking for quick, yes-no answers


Creativity Blocks

• Fearing rejection of ideas

• Being afraid of making mistakes

• Expecting others to be creative

• Being unwilling to question others

• Being unwilling to accept others’ input

• Being unwilling to collaborate– Darwin: “...those who learned to collaborate and

improvise...prevailed.”


Creativity Enhancers

• Assume every experience can stimulate personal growth.

– Look for positives, growth, opportunities: Chinese character, “crisis.”

• Clearly visualize a positive outcome.

• Don’t react too quickly. Give yourself time (incubation), have patience.


Methods For Killing Creativity

• Evaluation– Fear of evaluation kills the love of creative activity.

• Surveillance– Looking over creative people’s shoulder or policing them

de-motivates them.



• Reward– Extrinsic rewards lower motivation.– Reward creative people with autonomy, the opportunity to

learn.

• Competition– Win-lose competition kills creativity.– In a competitive environment, people think about how not

to lose instead of how to win.



• Restricted Choice– Making choices for creative people or severely limiting

their options lowers creative output.

• Extrinsic Orientation– External rewards such as prizes and money hurt

creativity.– Creative people love the intrinsic rewards of doing the

job.


Resources

• “How To Manage Creative People”– www.charleswarner.us/indexppr.html

• Creative Whack Pack cards:– http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Whack-Pack-Roger-Oe

ch/dp/0880793589/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202620854&sr=8-1

• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel H. Pink, Riverhead Books, New York, 2009.

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