Intelligence & Creativity

Unit 1, Lesson 6

Understanding Intelligence

• Intelligence is the ability to understand and adapt to the environment by using a combination of inherited abilities and learning experiences

History:• Psychologists first tried to measure intelligence in a mechanical way. • In the 1800s, researchers assumed that since mind and body are so different

to separate, it might be possible measure intelligence by a series of physical tests.

• Some of these measures seem outlandish today. • For instance, there was one test item in which a pointed rubber plug was

pressed against the subject’s forehead with increasing pressure until it caused pain.

• The idea was to measure many supposedly “bright” and “dull” people, find out which group was better able to stand the pain, and these use these “test” results in order to measure other people with the plug and classify them as either dull or bright.

• As you might have guessed, this approach did not work very well for measuring intelligence.

The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test• The first workable intelligence test was constructed in the early 1900s. • In France, the minister of public instruction wanted to find some way of locating students who

were not bright enough to be in the regular school system. • His goal was to provide them with special instruction. He appointed a psychologist, Alfred Binet

to solve the problem. An updated version of Binet’s test is still used today, 90 years later. • It is called the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test because it was refined at Stanford University in

California.• Binet was not sure what an intelligence test should include. • He, like everyone else, had trouble defining the term, but eventually he came up with four

elements that he believed were important for intelligence: (1) Direction is the ability to set up a goal and work toward it. (2) Adaptability means that when faced with a problem, the person can make the adjustments needed to solve it. (3) Comprehension means having a basic understanding of exactly what the problem is. (4) Finally, the person working on the problem should have some idea of whether or not he or she has been able to solve it correctly.

• “Solving” the problem is worthless if the wrong solution is arrived at. Hence, Binet called the last item self-evaluation.

• Binet’s ideas seem obvious today but that is because we’re used to them. At the time, they were very innovative.

• He developed test items that measured each of these areas; then these items were put in order of increasing difficulty.

• As the items get progressively more difficult, they applied to higher age groups; in this way, he could test both older and younger students.

Test-Item Construction• At the simplest level, typical Binet test items included naming major parts of the

body (arms, legs, and so on) or selecting specific objects from a pile (pick up the toy train; pick up the ball) when asked to do so by the examiner.

• More difficult items appeared for older children: “Indicate which number is not in the correct position: 12, 9, 6, 3, 15.”

• At a higher level of abstraction, we have this one: “Bill Jones’s feet are so big that he has to pull his trousers on over his head. What is foolish about that?”

• Before the test was finished, each item was administered to a large group of children of varying ages. The items were then put in order of increasing difficulty.

• For example, if all five-year old children could solve a particular item, it was considered too easy for that group, so it would be tried with four-year olds. Or if it was too hard for five-year olds, it would be tried at the age-six level. The goal was to get items that most, but not all, of the children of a given age could answer.

• The final test was designed to measure mental ability from ages three to 15 years.

Mental Age• We expect the average five-year-old to pass most items at the five-year-old

level, since that is how the test was designed. • Thus, a child who is chronologically five-years-old (age based on birthdays), if

average, should also have a mental age of roughly five years. But what if a certain five-year-old is brighter than the average five-year-old?

• This would mean that his or her mental age must be higher than that of the average five-year-old.

• Now, suppose this particular child answers all the items for five-year-olds as well as most of those at the six-year-old level.

• When the test is scored, the child’s mental age has gone beyond age five into the six-year area.

• So, his or her mental age would be six and chronological age would be five, showing that the child is brighter than most other children of the same physical age.

IQ = Intelligence Quotient,• IQ is a measure of brightness obtained by comparing mental age with physical age. A

quotient is a number obtained by dividing one number by another. To make calculation easy, the number 100 was chosen as the center, or perfectly average, point of the test.

• An IQ of 100, then is a perfectly average IQ.• Notice how we get this IQ of 100: take the mental age, divide it by the chronological

age, and multiply by 100 (to get rid of any decimals). Thus, the following would occur for our perfectly average five-year old:

5/5 x 100 = 100 IQ

• The child we’ve described as having a mental age of six must have a higher IQ score.

And that is the case:

6/5 x 100 = 120 IQ

• We hope this formula helps you understand what an IQ means and where it comes from. However, you should be aware that the formula is no longer used today. For a number of reasons, it was replaced by statistical tables many years ago.

• There is a wide range of possible IQs. • Categories of IQs are shown in the table below along with the

percentage of people falling into a given category as well as the label attached to each category. Note that most people do not have very high or very low intelligence quotients.

• The largest group (49%) falls within the average range.

Meaning of Intelligence QuotientsIQ Category Percent of People130 or above Very superior 2120 - 129 Superior 7110 - 119 High average 1790 – 109 Average 4980 – 89 Low average 1670 – 79 Borderline 669 or below Extremely Low 2

The Wechsler Intelligence Test• The Binet test certainly served its purpose of locating children who would have

trouble in school, since the Binet test deals almost exclusively with words, and they are the core of schoolwork.

• Almost all the items require some kind of searching for a word answers, as to the question, “Brother is a boy; sister is a ___.”

• There were problems with the Binet test, though. • One psychologist, David Wechsler worked at New York’s Bellevue Hospital where

he handled derelicts from skid row who were brought there by the police. • Most of these people had had little formal education, and school-related material

was not usually part of their life. • Since Wechsler wanted to develop a program to help these people find jobs and

get out of the mess they were in, he needed some measure of how bright they were in real-world intelligence rather than in schoolwork. The highly verbal Binet test just didn’t do the job.

• Wechsler hit on the idea of a two-part intelligence test. The first part contained verbal items like the Binet (verbal scale), but a second part was a nonverbal IQ test, called a performance scale.

• Wechsler’s performance scale relies minimally on the use of words, but it still requires the ability to reason. Here are a couple of the type of items he used when his test came out in the 1930s:

• In picture completion, the test taker was shown a series of pictures from which some important part had been removed.

• For example, at the simplest level, a picture of a pig with no tail was shown, and the taker was to indicate what was missing.

• In another type of item, the object assembly, a picture of a familiar figure or object (for instance a picture of an elephant) was cut up like a jigsaw puzzle.

• The test taker had to recognize what the parts made when they were fitted together; then the test taker was supposed to assemble them.

• Wechsler eventually constructed different forms of his intelligence test for use with different age groups.

• They all provide three IQs. • One is verbal, another is performance, and the third

combines these two to give a total IQ. • The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) is

used with adults, people ages 16 and older. • The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-

R) is for children ages six to 16. • There is also a test for preschoolers, ages four to six years

old.

• Wechsler’s idea worked well. Interestingly, studies over the years have shown that the Wechsler performance scale measures roughly the same abilities as are measured by the verbal scale.

• This probably results from the fact that to solve the performance items, a person must call on symbolic skills (“This is an elephant; an elephant has a trunk over here”).

• Symbolic skills are very much involved with verbal problems, since words are symbols.

• So, all of our IQ tests are measuring the same general thing. • This “same thing” may or may not be identical with a person’s

real intelligence, as you’ll see in the next section.

What is Intelligence?• We have these tests that can tell the difference between

people’s school abilities in a general sort of way. We use the tests all the time to try to estimate how bright a person is.

• Hence, we are constantly using the test results themselves as the equivalent of intelligence.

• There are some serious flaws in this system. • For instance, all of us know people who score very high on

these tests but who are blatantly stupid in most areas of life; we also know people who score low average but who are great problem solvers and really handle everyday life effectively.

• Clearly the IQ test measures something important, but it certainly is not the final word on intelligence.

Influence of Society on Definition of Intelligence

• Wechsler cautioned that definitions (and tests) always reflect the culture within which we live

• In other words, they reflect whatever society at the moment views as worthwhile, meaningful, and valuable

Australians vs. Malaysians definition of intelligence

Malaysians Australians

- defines intelligence as the ability to get along well with other people and to do so in a socially efficient way.

- quite industrialized and emphasize academic skills, just as we do.

Tests aren’t great, but no other alternative

• The tests can’t be thrown out just because they do reflect our culture. After all, we have to succeed somehow within the limits of our society.

• Some kind of test is better than none, and so far there’s no alternative to the tests.

• Still, if you judge people’s abilities just by the results of their IQ tests, you’re going to miss some potentially very capable people who don’t do all that well on the tests.

Is Intelligence Inherited?

• Most evidence indicates that heredity plays an important part in basic intellectual potential.

• Concluded that roughly 50% of what we call intelligence is the result of some kind of hereditary influence,

• Other 50% comes from all kinds of things – education, social class, environment, nutrition, amount of stimulation, etc.

How did we figure this out?• TWINS!

Identical Twins

• Some twins come from the same fertilized egg. These identical twins, therefore, have exactly the same heredity.

• If they have the same heredity, and IQs are to some extent inherited, their IQs should be very close to one another, even if they are reared apart.

• And indeed that turns out to be the case.

Fraternal Twins

• Other twins are called fraternal. These twins will have the same environment inside the mother and will share many of the same characteristics, but they come from two separate eggs; hence, the heredity is not identical.

• Their IQs should be close, but not as close as those of the identical twins. Again, this turns out to be the case.

Fraternal Twins

Brothers and sisters (born separately; non-twins)

• They are as close in heredity as fraternal twins, but experience greater environmental differences because they are not the same age.

• Hence, their IQs should be closer to one another than to the IQs of other children down the block, but not as close as the twins’.

• That also turns out to be true. • Environment is important: a brother and sister who

live together are much closer in IQ than those who are reared apart.

Issues in Intelligence Testing

• Individual intelligence tests take an hour or so to administer, plus additional time for scoring.

• A psychologist sits at a table with a student, asking the test questions and demonstrating the problems contained in the test

• Gets to see the person in action and to understand some of his or her reasoning behind the answers.

• But = very expensive!

Issues in Intelligence Testing

Group intelligence tests • given to large numbers of people at the same

time and scored by computer. • are done entirely on paper by marking the

correct answer.• can be reasonably

accurate in predicting school potential

Debate

• Do you think that a computer can accurately gage how intelligent you are without ever having “met you”?

Cultural Bias

• IQ tests are constructed by and contain material from the white middle-class group.

• As a result, these tests label six times more nonwhite than whites as “mentally challenged.”

• When a test unfairly measures the abilities of different cultural groups, it is said to suffer from cultural bias.

• The problem is that certain concepts, words, thoughts, phrases, and ideas vary from one subgroup to another in our mixed society.

• can influence test results in an often subtle but unfair fashion.

• What seems to be an identical question for all groups can turn out not to be.

• For example, some African American children have trouble with the instruction: “Mark the apple that is whole.” But they have no trouble with “Mark the apple that is still all there”.

Larger cultural issues are also involved

• For instance, in Brazil and other Latin American countries, most people pay little attention to time.

• One study showed that almost all the clocks in Brazil (even the official ones) and the watches are set incorrectly.

• If you arrive late for an appointment, nobody pays any attention.

• On the hand, in Canada people pay a great deal of attention to what time it is.

• A cultural difference of this sort can have a major impact on IQ test results since the tests are timed and if you run out of time, you lose IQ points.

The Effects of Mental Challenge• Inheritance clearly plays a role in what a person can

become. But it only sets up certain limits. Within these limits, the environment plays its role.

• For instance a person inherits a basic body structure, a certain lung capacity, and a specific leg structure. What the person does with these inherited traits is the result of effort and environment if, say, he or she wants to become a runner.

• His or her parents may or may not have provided, through heredity, the physical equipment for this person to become an Olympic candidate.

• But what they have given are the physical limits for a maximum and minimum running ability; this is what their child has to work with.

Environment is important• In the intelligence area, studies show that brain changes can

occur in animals depending on the environment in which they are raised.

• Rats who live in a stimulating, enriched environment with plenty of activity to perform literally grow a thicker, heavier brain than other rats.

• The brain’s nerve cells actually branch out and weight more if the rats have developed in a stimulating environment. Other studies show that if an animal’s visual system is given very high levels of stimulation – rather than, say, its hearing or smell – the visual portion of the brain becomes much heavier than these other parts.

Parents often will do anything to increase their baby’s intelligence

• http://www.parents.com/baby/development/intellectual/boost-your-babys-iq/

Superior Intelligence Study• In the early 1920s, most people believed that high intelligence was linked to

insanity and a number of other problems. But no one had every carefully studied the issue.

Lewis Terman decided to find out what bright children were really like. • He selected 1,528 children to participate in his study. The average IQ of this

group was 150, a higher score than 99.9% of the population. He found them to be extremely successful in school, which was no surprise. However, he also found that they were psychologically well adjusted, physically quite healthy, and they interacted well with other people.

• These children were restudied several times over an extraordinarily long time – 60 years!

• In fact, the study went on so long that Terman died before it could be completed. The person who took over for him was one of the original subjects who, along the way, become a prominent psychologist. As adults and into old age, the subjects remained healthier and more successful than average. They also had lower rates of divorce, alcoholism and suicide.

Other factors though contributed:Does intelligence alone account for these differences? Probably not, although it plays a major role. • Early success in school may build confidence which has a positive

effect on self-esteem. • We like what we are good at, so those who do well are more

likely to stay in school and get professional training. • A good job means fewer worries, better access to medical care,

less stress on a marriage, and so on.

• None of this guarantees that everyone with a high IQ will succeed in life. It does mean that as a group, these people have a somewhat better shot at making it.

Extremely Low Intelligence• Mental retardation is usually present at birth,

discovered at a young age, and affects quite a large number of people.

• Mental retardation is defined as sub-average intellectual functioning in which an individual is unable to handle tasks appropriate to his or her physical age.

• Learning ability and social adjustment are impaired. The basic classifications for this problem follow, listing some of the things the people can and cannot do.

IQ 70-79: Borderline Mental Retardation –

• Those labeled borderline, score just below the “low average” group in IQ. They are slow learners, and most fail to complete high school. Generally, these people are employed in “nonintellectual” occupations and are not legally retarded in the sense that they would be entitled to disability benefits.

IQ 52-69: Mild Retardation –

• Most people legally termed “retarded” fall into this category, and most attend special schools. The behavior of people in this group varies considerably depending on whether an individual’s IQ is toward the higher or lower end of the range.

• Someone with a 69 IQ can function pretty well on his or her own, can usually marry, and can maintain a family.

• At the lower end of the range, some supervision is required, since these people have trouble with abstract reasoning and problem solving.

IQ 36-51: Moderate Mental Retardation –

• People in this group have physical problems, often stemming from a serious disease. They are trained in how to take care of themselves and can live at home, but with supervision.

• When fully grown, most have the skills of a four- to seven-year old and can read, write and speak at that age level.

IQ 20-35: Severe Mental Retardation

• People in this group usually require constant supervision.

• About 75% have had a major disease or physical defect and cannot benefit from school.

IQ 19 or Below: Profound Mental Retardation

• The smallest group of people, about 1% of the mentally challenged population, fall into this category.

• Rarely do they mature mentally beyond age two, and even as adults, they can engage in only limited communication.

• They are unable to dress or care for themselves without considerable training.

Down Syndrome

• Down syndrome (DS), also called Trisomy 21, is a condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in the way a child develops, both mentally and physically.

• It affects about 1 in every 800 babies born in the United States.

• The physical features and medical problems associated with Down syndrome can vary widely from child to child. While some kids with DS need a lot of medical attention, others lead healthy lives.

• Though Down syndrome can't be prevented, it can be detected before a child is born.

What would you do?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR5ZevS16zc

Physical Defects• Only about 20% of those labeled retarded suffer from a known physical

defect. Most of this 20% fall into the categories of severe or profound retardation, although a few are in the moderate group.

• The physical problems usually come from an injury or disease that has affected brain growth and development.

• The most common causes are lack of oxygen at birth, very poor nutrition, or exposure to toxic chemicals. Defects can also be inherited from the parents.

• Most of the mentally challenged do not have any obvious brain problem. • You might expect that when comparing a normal brain, the brain of a very

bright person and the brain of a mentally challenged person that there would be clear differences, but this is not the case.

• The brains will look approximately the same.

Environmental Factors• We know that proper nutrition is absolutely critical

to brain development. • If nutrients are absent during critical periods of

brain growth, development is permanently slowed.

• Poor health and infection can have similar effects. • Alcohol or drug abuse by pregnant women can

also damage the unborn child. • A lack of stimulation won’t damage the brain, but

can slow the growth of vital nerve cells.

Fetal Alcohol SyndromeIn the picture at the above is a normal brain on the left, and the brain of a child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Note the smaller brain size and decrease of in-folding of brain tissue which gives the brain more surface area for storage of information.

Creativity

• While intelligence tests have been the focus of much interest for generations, many psychologists have pointed out that these tests do not detect the “spark” that motivates a person to do an exceptional job in finding new and better ways of handling problems or in inventing something new – in other words, being creative.

• As a result there is not a great deal of interest in trying to find a way to measurethis dimension of the person. The IQ test doesn’t tap whatever it takes to produce original, workable ideas.