what is intelligence? intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to: 1.learn from experience 2....
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What is Intelligence?
Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to:
1.learn from experience2. solve problems
3. use our knowledge to adapt to new situations.
In research studies, intelligence is whatever the intelligence test measures.
This tends to be “school smarts.”
Intelligence: Ability or Abilities?Is intelligence a single ability that manifests itself in multiple ways? Some people have more of it and those people are better at what they decide to do.
- If so all tests of ability for a single person should correlate positively with each other.
- Some people seem to be good at everything, others struggle with every thing.
- In School: Many students seem to stay close to their average regardless of the subject (Are you usually a B student? a C student?)
OR
Intelligence: Ability or Abilities?
Are there multiple intelligences that are independent of one another, such that people who are artistically gifted may not be verbally gifted?
- A person may have a gift for music or art but struggle with math or history.
- Savant Syndrome (We’ll come back to this momentarily)
- If so, does everyone necessarily have to have a strength?
Intelligence Theories: General Intelligence
Charles Spearman proposed that general intelligence (g) is linked to many
clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis (empirically assessed).
•Supported by Specific abilities (s)•Math, reading, writing, etc.
For example, people who do well on vocabulary examinations do
well on paragraph comprehension examinations, a cluster that helps define verbal intelligence. Other factors include a spatial ability factor, or a reasoning ability
factor.Athleticism, like intelligence, is many
things!
Savants
• People with savant syndrome excel in abilities unrelated to general intelligence or have limited mental capacity.– 4 or 5 are males
• Rainman
Contemporary Intelligence Theories:
Multiple IntelligencesHoward Gardner (1983, 1999) supports
the idea that intelligence comes in multiple forms. Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability
but not others.
Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences and speculates about a ninth one — existential intelligence.
Existential intelligence is the ability to think about the question of life, death and
existence.
Robert Sternberg
Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003) also agrees with Gardner, but suggests three intelligences rather than eight.
Triarchic Theory:1. Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessed by intelligence tests; success in school
2. Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us adapt to novel situations, generating novel ideas.
3. Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required for everyday tasks (e.g. street smarts).
Raymond Cattell• Crystallized Intelligence - ability to
absorb, retain, and access information– Playing School
• Fluid Intelligence - ability to solve problems one has not seen before and encode short term memories quickly– Speed and flexibility in problem solving
Intelligence and CreativityCreativity: is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable.
Creative people tend to be divergent thinkers.Convergent thinking - thinking that involves following a series of logical steps with the goal of arriving at the “correct” answer.
Divergent thinking – thinking used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions; spontaneous, unorganized thought.
Creative people generate new, unexpected ideas first through divergent thought. Ideas are then organized using convergent thought.
Intelligence and Creativity
It correlates somewhat with intelligence. a high IQ alone does not guarantee
creativity. personality traits that promote divergent thinking are more important. Sternberg identified five components of divergent thinkers and creativity…
Expertise: A well-developed knowledge base.
Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things in novel ways.
Venturesome Personality: A personality that seeks new experiences with perseverance.
Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be creative from within.
Creative Environment: A creative and supportive environment allows creativity to bloom.
creativity
Emotional Intelligence
Social intelligence is the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself
successfullyEmotional intelligence is the ability to
perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions (Salovey and others, 2005). The test of emotional intelligence measures
overall emotional intelligence and its four components.
Emotional Intelligence: Components
Component Description
Perceive emotionRecognize emotions in faces,
music and stories
Understand emotionPredict emotions, how they
change and blend
Manage emotionExpress emotions in different
situations
Use emotionUtilize emotions to adapt or be
creative
Emotional Intelligence: Criticism
Gardner and others criticize the idea of emotional intelligence and question whether
we stretch this idea of intelligence too far when we apply it to our emotions.
Assessing Intelligence
Psychologists define intelligence testing as a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with others
using numerical scores.
Alfred Binet
Alfred Binet and his colleague Théodore Simon practiced a
more modern form of intelligence testing by developing questions
that would predict children’s future
progress in the Paris school system.
Why he did it: To identify students who needed special help in coping with the school
curriculum.
Lewis TermanIn the US, Lewis Terman adapted Binet’s test for
American school children and named the test the
Stanford-Binet Test. The following is the formula
of Intelligence Quotient (IQ),
introduced by William Stern:
Self fulfilling prophecy- teachers expectations for a student influences that student’s self image and performance
Problem with different mental ages as people got older: Standard Average Score
Lewis Terman
Why he did it:Terman believed in eugenics
Eugenics: a social movement aimed at improving the human species through selective breeding…promoted higher reproduction rates of people with ‘superior’ traits, and aimed to reduce reproduction rates of people with ‘inferior’ traits.
Self fulfilling prophecy- teachers expectations for a student influences that student’s self image and performance
David Wechsler
Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and later the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
(WISC), and the Weschsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI)
*Addressed language and age* Most widely used IQ tests
today
WAISWAIS measures overall intelligence and 11 other aspects related to intelligence that
are designed to assess clinical and educational problems.
Separates scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and
processing speed
Myers-Briggs Inventory
• Personality Inventory• “Forced Choice” Test• Asked to choose which of three statements
is most representative of your thoughts, feelings or behaviors in many given situations– 4 letter results
• Unreliable results
Modern Tests• Achievement Tests - assess what a
person has learned; reflects– AP Test
• Aptitude Tests - designed to predict a person’s future performance– Aptitude- capacity to learn; SAT
Achievement tests assess current performance and aptitude tests predict future performance and can be “paper and pencil” or “performance based”
Modern Tests
• Group Tests - given to many people at once• Individual Tests - given in a one-on-one
setting
• Speed Tests - timed consisting of more item than a typical person can answer– Relies on Fluid Intelligence
• Power Tests - items become increasing difficult as the test goes on– Upper limit
Principles of Test Construction
For a psychological test to be acceptable it must fulfill the following three criteria:
1. Standardization
2. Reliability3. Validity
Standardization
Given in the same manner, at the same time, with the same instructions, etc.
Norms - Standardizing a test involves administering the test to a representative
sample of future test takers in order to establish a basis for meaningful comparison.
Normal Curve
Standardized tests establish a normal distribution of scores on a tested
population in a bell-shaped pattern called the normal curve.
(James )Flynn Effect
In the past 60 years, intelligence scores have risen steadily by an average of 27
points while the SAT score has dropped. This phenomenon is known as the Flynn
effect.
ReliabilityA test is reliable when it yields consistent results.
To establish reliability researchers establish different procedures:
1. Split-half Reliability: Dividing the test into two equal halves and assessing how consistent the scores are.
2. Test-Retest Reliability: Using the same test on two occasions to measure consistency.
3. Equivalent Form Reliability: does the score correlate with the score you received on another test of the same material
4. Inter-rater Reliability: one graders score correlates with another graders score;
5. Intra-rater Reliability: same grader gives the same score twice
ValidityReliability of a test does not ensure validity. Validity of a test refers to what the test is
supposed to measure or predict.1. Content Validity: Refers to the extent a test
measures the material; a particular behavior or trait2. Face Validity: does the test seem to evaluate what it
claims to evaluate3. Construct Validity: does the assessment evaluate
the operational definition4. Criterion Validity: do results from the assessment
correlate with other similar assessments5. Predictive Validity: Refers to the function of a test
in predicting a particular behavior or trait. Predictive power diminishes as students get older;
narrower the range SAT less than +.5
Extremes of IntelligenceA valid intelligence test divides two groups of people into two extremes: the mentally retarded (IQ 70) and individuals with high
intelligence (IQ 135). These two groups are significantly different.
High Intelligence
Contrary to popular belief, people with high intelligence test scores tend to be healthy,
well adjusted, and unusually successful academically.
May appear to be more isolated, introverted, or appear in their own worlds
Mental RetardationMentally retarded (intellectual disability)
individuals required constant supervision a few decades ago, but with a supportive
family environment and special or mainstreamed education they can now care
for themselves.
Down Syndrome
Genetic InfluencesIdentical Twin Studies- similar test scores
Similar gray matter- neural cell bodiesPolygenetic – many genes appear to be
involved
Environmental Influences
Studies of twins and adopted children also show the following:
1. Fraternal twins raised together tend to show similarity in intelligence scores.
2. Identical twins raised apart show slightly less similarity in their intelligence scores.
Adoption StudiesAdopted children show a marginal
correlation in verbal ability to their adopted parents.
Genetic influences- not environmental ones- become more apparent as we accumulate life
experiences
Heritability
The variation in intelligence test scores attributable to genetics. We credit heredity with 50% of the variation
(difference between individuals) in intelligence.
It pertains only to why people differ from one another, not to the individual.
Our genes shape the experiences that shape us.
Early Intervention EffectsEarly neglect from caregivers leads children to develop a lack of personal control over the
environment, and it impoverishes their intelligence.
J. McVicker Hunt found Romanian orphans with minimalhuman interaction were delayed in their development.
He implemented tutored human enrichment.
Schooling Effects
Schooling is an experience that pays dividends, which is reflected in intelligence scores. Increased schooling correlates with
higher intelligence scores.
To increase readiness for schoolwork,projects like Head Start facilitate leaning.
Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores
Why do groups differ in intelligence? How can we make sense of these differences?
Gender Similarities and Differences
There are several ways in which males and females differ in various abilities.
1. Girls are better spellers
2. Girls are verbally fluent and have large vocabularies
3. Girls are better at locating objects
4. Girls are more sensitive to touch, taste, and color
5. Boys outnumber girls in counts of underachievement
6. Boys outperform girls at math problem solving, but under perform at math computation
7. Women detect emotions more easily than men do
8. Boys earn more science and math degrees
9. Boys have better spatial abilities (video games)
Ethnic Similarities and Differences
1. Racial groups differ in their average intelligence scores.
2. High-scoring people (and groups) are more likely to attain high levels of education and income.
To discuss this issue we begin with two disturbing but agreed upon facts:
Racial (Group) Differences
If we look at racial differences, white Americans score higher in average
intelligence than black Americans (Avery and others, 1994). European New
Zealanders score higher than native New Zealanders (Braden, 1994).
White-Americans Black-Americans
Average IQ = 100 Average IQ = 85
Hispanic Americans
Environmental EffectsDifferences in intelligence among these groups
are largely environmental, as if one environment is more fertile in developing these
abilities than the other.We are the same under our skin!
Reasons Why Environment Affects Intelligence
1. Races are remarkably alike genetically. 2. Race is a social category; stereotypical? 3. Asian students outperform North American
students on math achievement and aptitude tests.
4. Today’s better prepared populations would outperform populations of the 1930s on intelligence tests.
5. White and black infants tend to score equally well on tests predicting future intelligence.
6. Different ethnic groups have experienced periods of remarkable achievement in different eras.
The Question of Bias
Aptitude tests are necessarily biased in the sense that they are sensitive to performance differences caused by cultural differences. A
valid aptitude test will detect inequalities.
However, aptitude tests are not biased in the sense that they accurately predict
performance of one group over the other.
Test-Takers’ Expectations
A stereotype threat is a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based
on a negative stereotype; which will cause them to perform poorly on the test
This phenomenon appears in some instances in intelligence testing among
African-Americans and among women of all colors.