Intelligence Chapter 11

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IntelligenceChapter 11
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What is Intelligence?
Intelligence - ability to learn from experience,
solve problems, and use our knowledge to adapt to
new situations.

• also, whatever an intelligence test measures.
• Controversy ability or abilities?

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General Intelligence
Charles Spearman (1863-1945) - general
intelligence (g) exists that applies to many
areas
- general intelligence (g) is linked to many
clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis.
Ex people who do well on vocabulary examinations
do well on paragraph comprehension examinations,
a cluster that helps define verbal intelligence.
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General Intelligence Theories
L. L. Thurstone - analyzed his subjects NOT on
a single scale of general intelligence, but on
seven clusters of primary mental abilities,
including

1. Word Fluency
2. Verbal Comprehension
3. Spatial Ability
4. Perceptual Speed
5. Numerical Ability
6. Inductive Reasoning
7. Memory

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Contemporary Intelligence Theories
Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) - intelligence comes
in multiple forms Multiple Intelligences -
evidence brain damage may diminish one type of
ability but not others.
People with savant syndrome excel in
abilities unrelated to general intelligence.
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Gardners Multiple Intelligences
Contemporary Intelligence Theories
Gardner proposes 8 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.
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Sternbergs Triarchic Theory
Contemporary Intelligence Theories
Robert Sternberg suggests 3 intelligences rather
than 8.

1. Analytical Intelligence Intelligence that is
   assessed by intelligence tests.
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).

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Intelligence Theories
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Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to
perceive, understand, and use emotions. (EQ)
Component Description
Perceive emotion Recognize emotions in faces, music and stories
Understand emotion Predict emotions, how they change and blend
Manage emotion Express emotions in different situations
Use emotion Utilize emotions to adapt or be creative
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Intelligence and Creativity
Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that
are both novel and valuable. It correlates
somewhat with intelligence.

1. Expertise A well-developed knowledge base.
2. Imaginative Thinking The ability to see things
   in novel ways.
3. Adventuresome Personality A personality that
   seeks new experiences rather than following the
   pack.
4. Intrinsic Motivation A motivation to be creative
   from within.
5. A Creative Environment A creative and supportive
   environment allows creativity to bloom.

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Brain Function
Studies of brain functions show that people who
score high on intelligence tests perceive stimuli
faster, retrieve information from memory quicker,
and show faster brain response times.
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Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?
- Some correlation (about .40) between brain
size and intelligence. - As brain size decreases
with age, scores on verbal intelligence tests
also decrease.
Gray matter concentration in people with high
intelligence.
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Assessing IntelligenceOrigins of Intelligence
Testing
Intelligence Test a method for assessing an
individuals mental aptitudes and comparing them
with others using numerical scores.
Alfred Binet and his colleague Théodore Simon
practiced a more modern form of intelligence
testing to identify learning problems in Parisian
school children. Test produced a mental age.
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Origins of Intelligence Testing
Lewis Terman adapted Binets test for American
school children and named the test the
Stanford-Binet Test. Intelligence Quotient (IQ),
introduced by William Stern
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Modern Intelligence Tests
Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and later the Wechsler
Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), an
intelligence test for preschoolers.
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Modern Intelligence Tests
WAIS measures overall intelligence and 11 other
aspects related to intelligence that are designed
to assess clinical and educational problems.
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Aptitude and Achievement Tests
Aptitude tests predict your ability to learn a
new skill (SAT, ASVAB) Achievement tests
reflect what you have already learned.
(Final Exams)
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Principles of Test Construction
For a psychological test to be acceptable it must
fulfill the following three criteria

1. Standardization
2. Reliability
3. Validity

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Standardization Normal Curve
Standardized tests establish a normal
distribution of scores on a tested population in
a bell-shaped pattern called the normal curve.
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Flynn Effect
In the past 60 years, intelligence scores have
risen steadily by an average of 27 points. Why?
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Reliability
A test is reliable when it yields consistent
results.

1. Split-half Reliability Dividing the test into
   two equal halves and assessing how consistent the
   scores are.
2. Reliability using different tests Using
   different forms of the test to measure
   consistency between them.
3. Test-Retest Reliability Using the same test on
   two occasions to measure consistency.

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1st attempt
2nd attempt
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Validity
Reliability 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 the extent a test measures a
   particular behavior or trait.
2. Predictive Validity the function of a test in
   predicting a particular behavior or trait.

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Stanford-Binet Wechsler Freds
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Extremes of Intelligence
Mentally Retarded (IQ 70) vs. High Intelligence
(IQ 135). Stereotypes? Unfair
characterizations?
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Nature vs. NurtureGenetic and Environmental
Influences on Intelligence
Is intelligence due to genetics or environment?

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Nature vs. Nurture Genetic Influences
Studies of twins, family members, and adopted
children together gt significant genetic
contribution to intelligence. Heritability Studies
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Nature vs. Nurture Genetic Influences
Adopted children show a marginal correlation in
verbal ability to their adopted parents.
Big Idea As we age, genetic influence dominates
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Nature vs. Nurture Environmental Influences

1. Fraternal twins raised together gt similarity
   in intelligence scores.
2. Identical twins raised apart gt slightly less
   similarity in their intelligence scores.
3. Nutrition
4. Early Intervention Effects gt Head Start
5. Socioeconomics gt lower SES stronger
   environmental influence on intelligence
6. Schooling Effects

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Whos fault is it that you are not going to
Harvard?

• Yours
• Your parents
• Your teachers
• Bucks Countys
• The governments
• Harvards
• g. Other

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Which race is the most intelligent?

1. Black
2. Asian
3. White
4. Hispanic

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Group Differences in Intelligence Test
Scores Why? Nature or Nurture
The Bell Curve
- White Distribution
- Black Distribution
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Reasons Why Environment Affects Intelligence

1. Races are remarkably alike genetically.
2. Asian students outperform North American students
   on math achievement and aptitude tests.
3. Flynn Effect
4. White and black infants tend to score equally
   well on tests predicting future intelligence.
5. Different ethnic groups have experienced periods
   of remarkable achievement in different eras.

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Whos smarter?

1. Boys
2. Girls

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Gender Differences
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
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The Question of Bias

• Q Are intelligence measures (tests) biased?
• (culturally, racially, socioeconomically)
• A Yes gt measures of abilities based on culture
  experience
• Stereotype threat self-fulfilling prophecies
• A No gt accurate predictors of future success