Unit 11:Testing and Individual

Differences

Unit Overview

• What is Intelligence?

• Assessing Intelligence

• The Dynamics of Intelligence

• Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Click on the any of the above hyperlinks to go to that section in the presentation.

What is Intelligence?

What is Intelligence?

• Intelligence–Savant syndrome

• Intelligence test

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

• Spearman’s General intelligence (g)– Factor analysis

– Comparison to athleticism

• Thurstone’s counter argument– 7 clusters of primary mental abilities (word

fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory)

g

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

• Gardner’s Eight Intelligences– Linguistic– Logical-mathematical– Musical– Spatial– Bodily-kinesthetic– Intrapersonal– Interpersonal– Naturalist

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

• Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence–Analytical (academic problem-

solving) intelligence

–Creating intelligence

–Practical intelligence

Comparing Theories of Intelligence

Comparing Theories of Intelligence

Comparing Theories of Intelligence

Comparing Theories of Intelligence

Comparing Theories of Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence

• Emotional intelligence–Perceive emotions

–Understand emotions

–Manage emotions• M&M Study (2:35)

–Use emotions for adaptive or creative thinking

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?Brain Size and Complexity

• Brain size studies

• Brain complexity studies–Neural plasticity

–Gray matter versus white matter

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?Brain Function

• Perceptual speed

• Neurological speed

Assessing Intelligence

The Origins of Intelligence Testing

• Francis Galton’s intelligence testing–Reaction time

–Sensory acuity

–Muscular power

–Body proportions

The Origins of Intelligence TestingAlfred Binet: Predicting School Achievement

• Alfred Binet–Identifying French school children in

need of assistance

–Mental age

–Chronological age

The Origins of Intelligence TestingLewis Terman: The Innate IQ

• Stanford-Binet Test–Lewis Terman

–Intelligence quotient (IQ)• IQ = (mental age/chronological age) X 100

• IQ of 100 is considered average

• World War I testing

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities

• Achievement tests

• Aptitude tests

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities

• Achievement tests

• Aptitude tests

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)–Wechsler Intelligence

Scale for Children (WISC)

Wechler Adult Intelligence Scale

Principles of Test ConstructionStandardization

• Standardization–Normal curve (bell curve)

Normal Curve

Normal Curve

Normal Curve

Normal Curve

Normal Curve

Normal Curve

Normal Curve

Principles of Test ConstructionStandardization

• Flynn effect

Principles of Test ConstructionStandardization

• Flynn effect

Principles of Test ConstructionReliability

• Reliability–Scores correlate between tests

–Test-retest reliability

–Split-half reliability

Principles of Test ConstructionValidity

• Validity–Content validity

–Predictive validity

The Dynamics of Intelligence

Stability or Change?

• Intelligence testing through life

Stability or Change?

• Intelligence testing through life

Extremes of IntelligenceThe Low Extreme

• Intellectual disability–Mental retardation

–Down syndrome• 21st chromosome

–Mainstreamed

Extremes of IntelligenceClassifications of Intellectual Disability

Level Approximate

Intelligence Scores

Adaptation to Demands of Life

Mild 50-70 May learn academic skills up to sixth-grade level. Adults may with assistance, achieve self-supporting social and vocational skills

Moderate 35-50 May progress to second-grade level academically. Adults may contribute to their own support by laboring in sheltered workshops

Severe 20-35 May learn to talk and to perform simple tasks under close supervision but are generally unable to profit from vocational training

Extremes of IntelligenceClassifications of Intellectual Disability

Level Approximate

Intelligence Scores

Adaptation to Demands of Life

Mild 50-70 May learn academic skills up to sixth-grade level. Adults may with assistance, achieve self-supporting social and vocational skills

Moderate 35-50 May progress to second-grade level academically. Adults may contribute to their own support by laboring in sheltered workshops

Severe 20-35 May learn to talk and to perform simple tasks under close supervision but are generally unable to profit from vocational training

Extremes of IntelligenceClassifications of Intellectual Disability

Level Approximate

Intelligence Scores

Adaptation to Demands of Life

Mild 50-70 May learn academic skills up to sixth-grade level. Adults may with assistance, achieve self-supporting social and vocational skills

Moderate 35-50 May progress to second-grade level academically. Adults may contribute to their own support by laboring in sheltered workshops

Severe 20-35 May learn to talk and to perform simple tasks under close supervision but are generally unable to profit from vocational training

Extremes of IntelligenceClassifications of Intellectual Disability

Level Approximate

Intelligence Scores

Adaptation to Demands of Life

Mild 50-70 May learn academic skills up to sixth-grade level. Adults may with assistance, achieve self-supporting social and vocational skills

Moderate 35-50 May progress to second-grade level academically. Adults may contribute to their own support by laboring in sheltered workshops

Severe 20-35 May learn to talk and to perform simple tasks under close supervision but are generally unable to profit from vocational training

Extremes of IntelligenceClassifications of Intellectual Disability

Level Approximate

Intelligence Scores

Adaptation to Demands of Life

Mild 50-70 May learn academic skills up to sixth-grade level. Adults may with assistance, achieve self-supporting social and vocational skills

Moderate 35-50 May progress to second-grade level academically. Adults may contribute to their own support by laboring in sheltered workshops

Severe 20-35 May learn to talk and to perform simple tasks under close supervision but are generally unable to profit from vocational training

Profound Below 25 Require constant aid and supervision

Extremes of IntelligenceThe High Extreme

• Terman’s study of gifted

• Self-fulfilling prophecy

• Appropriate developmental placement–Tracking students

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Twin and Adoption Studies

• Identical twin studies–Polygenetic

• Adoptive children studies

Heritability

• Heritability

Heritability

Heritability

Heritability

Heritability

Heritability

Heritability

Environmental Influences

• Early environmental influences–J. McVicker Hunt

–Tutored human enrichment

–Targeted training

• Schooling and intelligence–Project Head Start

(1965)

Group Differences in Intelligence Test ScoresGender Similarities and Differences

• Spelling• Verbal ability• Nonverbal memory• Sensation• Emotion-detecting ability• Math computation• Math problem solving• Spatial ability

Group Differences in Intelligence Test ScoresEthnic Similarities and Differences

• Ethnic similarities

• Ethnic differences

The Question of Bias

• Two meanings of bias:– Popular sense

• Tests developed abilities, reflect in part your education and experiences

– Scientific sense• Predicts future behavior for only some groups

of test takers

• Test-taker’s expectations– Stereotype threat

Definition Slides

Intelligence Test

= a method of assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

Intelligence

= mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

General Intelligence (g)

= a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Factor Analysis

= a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score.

Savant Syndrome

= a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

Savant Syndrome (0:48)

Emotional Intelligence

= the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

Mental Age

= a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

Stanford-Binet

= the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

= defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca X 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Achievement Tests

= tests designed to assess what a person has learned.

Aptitude Tests

= tests designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

= the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

Standardization

= defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

Normal Curve

= a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

Reliability

= the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting.

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.

Predictive Validity

= the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior (also called criterion-related validity).

Predictive Validity

• The predictive power of aptitude tests diminishes as students move up the educational ladder– Children ages 6-12:

+.6– SAT: +.5– GRE: +.4

Intellectual Disability

= (formerly referred to as mental retardation) a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound.

Down Syndrome

= a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

The Mental Rotation Test

Stereotype Threat

= a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.