Topic 1; intelligence - background Flashcards
what do psychologists mean by intelligence?
an individual who scores high on an IQ test is considered intelligent
how does cognition influence intelligence between the two sexes?
difference in cognitive abilities between the two sexes can affect intelligence; women are likely to perform better in tasks involving verbal fluency and foreign language whereas men perform better in tasks that involve scientific reasoning and mental rotation
how does MRI scans show evidence of genetic influences over intelligence between the two sexes?
MRI scans show that men have more grey matter in their frontal and parietal lobes that is associated with motor skills and higher level reasoning whereas women have more grey matter in different areas of their frontal lobe that is associated with speech and writing
how do hormones influence intelligence between the two sexes?
Van Goozen found that transsexuals who were given testosterone, increased their visual spatial abilities and declined in tasks involving verbal fluency
what did Scarr and Weinberg find in relation to how genetics influences intelligence?
there is a stronger correlation between parents and their biological offspring rather than their adopted children - highlighting that genetics have a stronger influence than shared environmental factors
what did Plomin and Defries find in relation to how genetics influences intelligence?
monzygotic twins share similar scores in tasks that involve spatial and verbal ability compared to dizygotic twins - this highlights how genetics have a stronger influence than shared environmental factors
how does the NPTN gene influence intelligence?
the genetic mutation meant that individuals performance on tests involving intellectual ability declined - this is because MRI scans showed a thinner layer of grey matter in the left cerebral hemisphere
what did psychologist Spearman believe about intelligence?
he used factor analysis to examine people’s scores on several tests of mental abilities; he noticed that people who performed well on one type of cognitive test tended to perform well on others too
what is fluid intelligence?
the ability to think abstractly, reason, identify patterns, solve problems and discern relationships
what is crystalized intelligence?
the ability to use learned knowledge and experience (tests)
what does variance mean?
a measure of dispersion in a data set
what does mental rotation mean?
the practice of turning an object in our imagination to view it from a different perspective
what are twin studies?
involve the comparison of pairs of twin participants to analyse for similarities and differences
what are the weaknesses of twin studies?
deterministic - ignores how genetic factors and environmental factors can correlate with each other to influence intelligence (holistic)
what are adoption studies?
involving comparing particular traits or abilities in children who have been adopted to those of their biological and adoptive parents
