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1
Q

Intelligence

A

Set of cognitive skills that includes abstract thinking, reasoning, problem solving, and the ability to acquire knowledge
May be our inherent potential for learning
How fast we are able to learn
The body of knowledge we possess
Different theorists add other components to this definition, but they are not uniformly accepted

2
Q

Less agreed-on qualities of intelligence

A

mathematical ability, general knowledge, and creativity

3
Q

There are two distinct theories of intelligence

A

1) Intelligence as One General Ability

2) Intelligence as Multiple Abilities

4
Q

Intelligence as One General Ability

A

First theory of intelligence developed by Charles Spearman
Human intelligence is a single general capacity or ability
If you’re smart, your smart at everything
Came to this conclusion after research showed that spatial, verbal, perceptual, and quantitative factors of intelligence strongly correlated with each other, suggesting that they were all measuring the same thing
In other words: people who achieve high scores on the verbal section of an intelligence test are also likely to have high scores on the spatial, perceptual, and quantitative sections
Is now known as a g-factor theory

5
Q

G-factor theory

A

Spearman’s theory that intelligence is a single general (g) factor made up of specific components
Strongly influenced intelligence test construction for most of the 20th century
Overall intelligence is determined by the person’s specific scores on subtests
Implies that a single number can accurately reflect a person’s intelligence
Illustrated by the question: “How intelligent are you?”

6
Q

Intelligence as Multiple Abilities

A

Critics of Spearman’s theory argue that it does not do justice to the complexity of intelligence
Noted that correlations are low enough to say that verbal, quantitative, and other abilities are distinct dimensions of intelligence

7
Q

Multiple-factor theory of intelligence

A

Theory that intelligence consists of distinct dimensions and is not just a single factor
Illustrated by the question: “How are you intelligent?”
A single test score cannot accurately reflect a person’s intelligence

8
Q

Raymond Cattell

A

developed fluid and crystallized intelligence

9
Q

Fluid intelligence

A

The ability to think through a problem one has never confronted before and recognize patterns that may lead to a solution
Raw mental ability, pattern recognition, and abstract reasoning
Examples of things that require fluid intelligence: finding relationships, understanding implications, and drawing conclusions. Speed of reasoning
Not influenced by culture or vocabulary
Less dependent on experience
Measured by Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test

10
Q

Matrix reasoning

A

Requires fluid intelligence
Is non-verbal and requires pattern recognition, NOT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Is “culture fair” because does not require culturally acquired experience

11
Q

Crystallized intelligence

A

Knowledge from experience and learning, education and practice
Influenced by how large one’s vocabulary is as well as knowledge of one’s culture
Dependent upon experience
Ex: Being asked, “Whether Dalmatian is to dog as oriole is to bird”
Language comprehension

12
Q

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Model of Intelligence

A

Hierarchical model that integrates the concept of a general intelligence with fluid and crystallized intelligence
States that there are 3 levels of intelligence: general intelligence, broad intelligence, narrow intelligence

13
Q

General Intelligence

A

Very similar to Spearman’s g factor: intelligence is one single ability. Is a single general (g) factor made up of specific components

14
Q

Broad Intelligence

A

includes abilities such as crystallized and fluid intelligence, as well as memory, learning, and processing speed

15
Q

Narrow Intelligence

A

Consists of nearly 70 distinct abilities
Includes specific cognitive, perceptual, and speed tasks used in studies of cognitive ability
Ex: Speed of reasoning and general sequential reasoning for fluid intelligence
Reading, spelling, and language comprehension for crystallized intelligence

16
Q

Successful intelligence

A

Radical theory of multiple intelligence proposed by Robert Sternberg and Howard Gardner
Broader view of intelligence than g-factor theory
Skills and cognitive abilities needed to attain success in life
Made up of three interrelated but distinct abilities: analytic, creative, and practical intelligence

17
Q

Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

A

Sternberg’s three-part model of intelligence, including analytic, creative, and practical intelligence

18
Q

Analytic Intelligence

A

Involves judging, evaluating, or comparing and contrasting information
Resembles academic intelligence that leads to high scores on tests of intelligence
Ex: An analytic problem might require a person to figure out an uncommon word from its content in a sentence, or ask the person to determine the next number in a series of numbers

19
Q

2) Creative Intelligence

A

Involves coming up with fresh and useful ideas for solving problems
Is not measured well by traditional measures of intelligence
Ex: A person might be given a number of cartoon images and then be asked to come up with a caption for each

20
Q

3) Practical Intelligence

A

The ability to efficiently solve problems of everyday life
Plays a role in knowing how to do one’s job well
Requires street knowledge and skills rather than classroom
“Street smart”, common sense intelligence
Ex: Coming up with three solutions to a real everyday problem they are experiencing in life

21
Q

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory

A

Argues that intelligence is composed of at least 8 distinct capacities
Different people can have different combinations of strengths

22
Q

1) Linguistic Intelligence

A

Ability to learn, understand, and use both spoken and written language
Ex: Poets, writers, lawyers, politicians

23
Q

2) Logical-mathematical intelligence

A

Ability to analyze information and problems logically and to perform mathematical operations
Ex: Scientists, engineers, accountants

24
Q

3) Musical intelligence

A

Ability in performing, composing, or appreciating musical patterns
Ex: Musicians, dancers, songwriters

25
Q

4) Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence

A

Ability to use one’s body or parts of it to solve problems or create products
Ex: Athletes, dancers, mechanics, craftspeople

26
Q

5) Spatial intelligence

A

Ability to think about and solve problems in three-dimensional space
Ex: Navigators, pilots, architects, sculptors

27
Q

6) Interpersonal intelligence

A

Ability to understand and be aware of other people’s intentions, motivations, thoughts, and desires
Also the ability to work well and get along with others
Ability to perceive and understand other people’s intentions, motives, and behaviours
Ex: Psychologists, social workers, teachers, politicians

28
Q

7) Intrapersonal intelligence

A

Ability to be aware of, understand, and regulate one’s own behaviour, thoughts, feelings, and motivations
Ex: Psychologists, monks, priests

29
Q

8) Naturalistic intelligence

A

Ability to recognize, classify, and understand the plants and animals in one’s environment
Ex: Naturalists, biologists, botanists, veterinarians, hunters, farmers

30
Q

Opposition against Gardner’s Theories

A

Psychologists are critical of it: see little value in calling skills like music, movement, and social skills “intelligence”
Gardner hasn’t provided tests of these intelligences
Few direct empirical tests on Gardner’s theory, his ideas are more theory than science

31
Q

Gardner’s ideas addresses two real problems:

A

Different students learn in different ways
Some students who have demonstrated ability in some areas fail academic subjects and door poorly on traditional intelligence tests

32
Q

Early Measures of Intelligence

First Period

A

1910-1980
People constructed tests around practical and clinical concerns rather than theories and other understandings of intelligence

33
Q

Second Period

A

Second Period
1980s
First theory-driven intelligence tests were developed

34
Q

Third Period

A

1990s
Major shift
Creators of intelligence tests acknowledged that intelligence may be many things rather than just one
Integrated theory and measurement
Developed intelligence tests that assess several aspects of intelligence

35
Q

Sir Francis Galton

A

First person to suggest measuring intelligence
Believed that intelligence was inherited
Wanted to prove that people who were more socially and occupationally successful would perform better on a series on intelligence tests
Set up a laboratory at the 1884 London International Health Exhibition
Measured reaction speed, muscular strength, and sensory acuity
Though big heads meant bigger brains
Performance on his measures wasn’t related to social and occupational success
Generated interest in testing mental abilities, but unsuccessful in developing a useful measure of intelligence

36
Q

Alfred Binet (early 1900s)

A

Developed the first practical measure of intelligence
Developed a measure for children who would benefit from extra assistance in schools
Developed a test containing 30 problems of increasing difficulty
Believed that ability to solve increasing difficult problems depends on age

37
Q

Mental age

A

The equivalent chronological age a child has reached based on his/her performance on an intelligence test
Not based on how old a person is in years
Based on the level or age group at which an individual can solve problems
The average of what most children at a particular age level can do
Compares a person to people their age

38
Q

William Stern

A
Introduced the intelligence ratio= mental age (MA)       x100%
                                                  chronological age (CA)
39
Q

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

A

The ratio of mental age over chronological age

Very useful in the early years of IQ testing with children, but no longer used

40
Q

Problem with IQ testing/Stern’s intelligence ratio

A

Doesn’t work very well for adults
By age 16, peoples mental age levels out while chronological age increases
Stern’s ratio yields increasingly lower IQ scores as people get older
Today, IQ scores are based on how well a child does on tests relative to norms established by testing children of the same age

41
Q

Lewis Terman

A

Translated Binet’s test for American students
Named the test the Stanford-Binet Test
Changes he made were to establish national norms and to adopt and apply the ratio score of MA/CA to a widely used IQ test

42
Q

David Wechsler (1930’s)

A

Measured adult intelligence
Developed a test known as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
Later developed a test for children: Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC)
These two tests are the most frequently used in Canada and the US
Include scores on four dimensions: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed

43
Q

Verbal comprehension

A

measures general verbal skills, such as verbal fluency

44
Q

Perceptual reasoning

A

assesses the ability to examine a problem, drawing upon motor and visual spatial skills

45
Q

Processing speed

A

assesses how quickly a person can focus attention and quickly scan, discriminate between, and sequentially order visual information

46
Q

Working memory

A

holds information in mind for a short period so that it can be used to solve a problem at hand, one of the dimensions that were missing before 1985

47
Q

Newest version of Stanford-Binet assesses:

A

Quantitative reasoning: Dealing with knowledge and the application of numbers
Visual-spatial processing: Involved timed tasks such as completing a puzzle
Working memory

48
Q

Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) (1983)

A

The first theory based IQ test and one of two major shifts in intelligence testing
Differed from the Stanford-Binet and Weschler tests in 4 ways:

It was the first IQ test to be guided by theories of intelligence
In particular: Cattell and Horn’s concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence and Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

2) Included different kinds of problems for children of different ages and problems at varied levels of difficulty
3) Measured several distinct aspects of intelligence
4) Assessed different types of learning styles

49
Q

Reliability

A

consistency of results

50
Q

Test-retest reliability

A

the extent to which scores on a test are similar over time
EX: good test-retest reliability= a person who takes the same test at two different times and receives similar scores on both occasions

51
Q

Internal consistency

A

the extent to which items within a test correlate with one another
EX: high test internal consistency= when questions on a given subtest correlate very highly with other items on a subtest

52
Q

IQ Tests Reliability

A

extremely reliable, with test-retest correlations of +.90 or higher
has high test internal consistency

53
Q

Validity

A

accuracy of test
The degree to which a test accurately measures what its supposed to measure
Must measure intelligence and not something else
An indicator is the ability of its test scores to predict real world outcomes
More difficult to establish than reliability

Evidence that the Weschler and Stanford-Binet tests are valid, but Sternberg and Gardner argue that they only measure verbal, spatial, and mathematical intelligence, not the other forms like social, emotional, musical, bodily, practical, and natural history

54
Q

There are two forms of validity:

A

construct and predict

55
Q

Construct Validity

A

he degree to which a test measures the concept it claims to measure, such as intelligence

56
Q

Predict Validity

A

the degree to which intelligence test scores are positively related to real-world outcomes, such as school achievement or job success

57
Q

IQ Tests Validity

A

Do predict certain real-world outcomes: academic performance
IQ scores predict student’s grades, school performance and class rank with coefficients between +0.50 and +0.60
Preschool scores on two IQ tests taken by American children accurately predicted the children’s academic achievement scores from kindergarten to Grade 6
Scores from WAIS predict one’s academic class rank in high school and one’s college GPA
IQ scores predict people’s occupations and job performance within their chosen occupations fairly well
People scoring higher in intelligence are more likely to end up in more prestigious occupations
People with higher intelligence perform better across a wide variety of occupations, with a correlation of +0.51

58
Q

Cultural Test Bias Hypothesis

A

The notion that group differences in IQ are caused by different cultural and educational backgrounds, not by real differences in intelligence
Used by the general public

59
Q

Test bias

A

Characteristic of a test that produces different outcomes for different groups
Refers to whether a test produces outcomes equally well for different groups
A test is bias if it is a more valid measure for one group than for another
Mathematical differences
Does a test produce different outcomes for different groups?
EXAMPLE: If an IQ test predicts academic achievement better for Hispanics than for Asians, it is biased
Very little evidence for this kind of bias existing in contemporary IQ tests

60
Q

Standardization

A

The process of giving a test to a large group of people to establish norms or standards by which all other people who take the test are compared
Norms that reflect the makeup of the general population
Intelligence tests are developed using this
Separate norms are established for the use and interpretation of intelligence tests within different countries

EXAMPLE: Canadian norms have been published for the WAIS-III.
Just because different groups score differently on a given test does not mean that it is biased
If a test is equally valid for different groups and they still score differently on it, the test is not biased. May be unfair, but not biased.

61
Q

Test fairness

A

Reflects values, philosophical differences, and the ways in which the test results are applied
Judgment about how test results are applied to different groups based on values and philosophical inclinations
Does a test apply equally to people with different backgrounds, based on various value differences?

62
Q

EXAMPLE OF EXTREME TEST UNFAIRNESS:

A

Alberta woman, Leilani Muir in 1995
Muir was awarded almost a million dollars in damages for her involuntary standardization
When she was 14, she was labelled as mentally deficient based on her low IQ score and was sterilized
When her IQ was tested several years later, Muir scored almost 20 points higher, suggesting that her initial performance on the IQ test was not a valid indicator of her cognitive ability

63
Q

Intellectual disability

A

Formerly known as mental retardation
Significant limitations in intellectual functioning as well as in everyday adaptive behaviour before the age of 18
Used to be defined based on an IQ score of 70

64
Q

There are four levels of intellectual disability, depending on how adaptive the behaviour or thinking is:

A

Mild: IQ of 50-70
Moderate: IQ of 35-50
Severe: IQ of 20-35
Profound: IQ below 20

65
Q

Adaptive Behaviour

A

Adjustment to and coping with everyday life
How well a person adjusts to and copes with daily life
Example:
How well can the person feed or dress himself/herself?
Does the person have the ability to understand the time, make change, or read simple words?
One might ask whether the person can take a bus or subway or follow the news on TV
If the criteria of adaptive behaviour had been applied to Muir , it is unlikely that she would have been labelled as mentally deficient

66
Q

Origins of Intellectual Disability

A

in 50% of cases, the cause of intellectual disability is organic, meaning that it is genetic or the result of brain damage

67
Q

Down syndrome

A

Trisomy 21
A person has three number 21 chromosomes
Chromosomal disorder characterized by mild to profound intellectual disability
An example of organic intellectual disability
Genetic cause is unknown, but related to maternal age: children born to older women are more likely to develop downs syndrome
In the case where its not caused by genetics, it may result from environmental factors

68
Q

Familial-cultural Intellectual Disability

A

Down syndrome caused by environmental factors, like neglect and poor nutrition
More prevalent among people of low socioeconomic status
Tends to occur in more than one family member
Is mild

69
Q

Extreme giftedness usually takes various forms, two of which are

A

Extreme giftedness usually takes various forms, two of which are prodigies and savants

70
Q

Prodigy

A

(like math, music, art, or chess) and at least average in intelligence
Under the age of 20
Sometimes they possess extreme talent in more than one domain

71
Q

Savant syndrome

A

A very rare condition in which people with serious mental handicaps also show isolated areas of ability or brilliance/giftedness
Have low overall intelligence, IQ below 70
Incredible ability for calculating numbers, recalling events, playing music, or drawing
Cannot speak at all or speak poorly
100 in the world today, 50% suffer from autism, 50% suffer from some other kind of psychological disorder
Occurs most often in five major areas of talent: music (usually piano), art, math, calendar calculations, and spatial/mechanical skills

Ex:
People who can immediately calculate the day of the week on which a particular date in history fell. If asked what day of the week June 15, 1899 was, they would correctly answer “Thursday”
Others can take apart clocks, toys, bicycles and other machines and rebuild them with expert precision
People with Savant Syndrome

72
Q

The region most involved with IQ tasks

A

prefrontal cortex.

73
Q

Different parts of the brain activate while working on IQ problems:

Verbal Tasks

A

the left prefrontal region of the brain is activated

74
Q

Spatial Tasks

A

the prefrontal lobes of both the left and right hemispheres, and the occipital cortex are activated

The frontal lobe is more involved when an individual is performing fluid intelligence tasks, like pattern recognition, than when the person is performing tasks that involve crystallized intelligence and learned experiences

75
Q

Brains of Highly Intelligent People

A
Positive relationship (correlation between 0.30-0.40) between brain size and intelligence
Highly intelligent people have more brain volume than less intelligent people
Strongest in areas of the brain associated with working memory, executive functioning, and attention
76
Q

Nature and Nurture in Intelligence

A

Used twin adoption and family studies

77
Q

Nature (Genetics)

A

The more genetically related people are, the more similar they are in IQ even if separated
Identical twins separated are more similar in intelligence than fraternal twins together
Studies show that adopted children’s overall intelligence is more similar to that of their biological parents than to that of their adoptive parents
Accounts for 50% of the variability in intelligence

78
Q

Nurture (Environment)

A

Adoption/environment can also enhance a child’s IQ
Adopted children have higher IQs than orphans not adopted
Accounts for 40% of the variability in intelligence
Prenatal environment- drugs, alcohol or infections in pregnant women can influence a child’s intelligence

The other 10% is unexplained

79
Q

Reaction range

A

For a given trait, such as IQ, the genetically determined range of response by an individual to his or her environment
Genes do not determine behaviour, but rather establish the range of possible behaviours
Reaction range for IQ is 25 points- meaning that a given person may end up scoring anywhere in a 25 point range on an IQ test, depending on the kind of environment they were raised in
Raised in an enriched environment = likely to obtain an IQ near the upper limit of that persons reaction range
Raised in an impoverished environment = likely to obtain a score near the lower limit
Raised in a normal environment = likely to obtain a score in the middle of the reaction range

80
Q

Another environmental effect on intelligence: Birth Order

A

First-born children have a slight advantage over second born children
Second born children have a smaller advantage over third born children
These advantages are caused by differences in family interactions due to birth order, not prenatal environment
The effect held only in situations when no older sibling died in infancy
If a biological second born has an older sibling who died at infancy, the second born child becomes the first born and displays a slight increase in IQ

81
Q

The Flynn Effect

A

The trend of increasing IQ scores over the past century
IQ scores have increased by almost three IQ points per decade
These gains are far too rapid to result from genetics
More likely the result of environmental influence

Potentially Caused by:

Increased test-taking exposure and motivation
today’s generations score higher because they have learned how to write tests and care enough about the outcome to try hard. We haven’t actually gotten smarter
Improvements in health and nutrition
Exposure to the technology
More years of schooling
School attendance can raise IQ scores

Standardization ensures average IQ is 100

82
Q

Arthur Jensen

A

Reported differences in IQ among racial-ethnic groups

Argued that because IQ is under genetic influence, racial-ethnic differences must at least be partly genetic in origin

83
Q

Phillipe Rushton

A

Reported racial ethnic differences on a number of measures, including intelligence, social behaviour, and physical attributes such as brain size.

84
Q

Rushton’s Research

A

Asians scored highest on measures of intelligence and Black people scored lowest
White people of European descent scored in the middle
Argued that racial-ethnic differences in IQ are largely due to heredity

85
Q

Race-ethnicity in the book, “The Bell Curve”

A

Controversial hinting subtitle, “Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life”
Summarized the results of a study on racial-ethnic group differences, social class and intelligence among 12,000 individuals
1) Racial-ethnic groups vary on IQ scores
2) Differences in IQ largely due to differences in education and income
Due to genetics

86
Q

Stereotype Threat

A

The process where anxiety about culturally held group stereotypes impacts negatively on individual test performance
Occurs when people become worried that they will confirm the stereotype about their group in their test performance
their self-doubt and anxiety may worsen test-performance

Psychologists point out that heritability findings apply only within the group of people studied, not between groups. So its a misinterpretation of heritability to argue that group differences are due to genetics even if IQ is heritable

Even if variation within a group on a trait is largely due to heredity, the differences between groups may be due to environmental factors
Ex: Suppose you plant corn seeds from the same seed bag in two different soils, fertile and infertile.
While differences in plant height within each soil environment may be largely due to genetic factors (seed differences), it says nothing about differences in average plant height between the groups, which is largely environmental (due to soil differences)

87
Q

Conclusion

A

The conclusion that genetics influence intelligence implies that IQ levels are determined at birth
Faulty because:
1) Genes interact with environmental forces and therefore environment can shape gene expression… epigenetics
2) Reaction range illustrates the connection between genes and environment
3) Interventions have succeeded in changing IQ levels, children who were neglected and then adopted into good families increased in IQ
Both genetic and environmental forces play important roles in determining IQ scores

88
Q

Non-Western Views of Intelligence

A

People’s concepts of intelligence vary according to their culture

Western cultures emphasize verbal and cognitive skills first

African cultures see social skills, like being socially responsible, cooperative and active in family life, to be crucial parts of intelligence

Asian cultures emphasize humility, awareness, doing the right thing, and mindfulness as important qualities of intelligence

Children in Kenya don’t do well at solving book analytic problems, but do very well at solving everyday practical problems