TOPIC 3

Question 1

What is intelligence?

Answer 1

Intelligence is a hypothetical construct that is difficult to define and measure.

Question 2

What was Edwin Boring’s definition of intelligence?

Answer 2

“Intelligence is what the tests test.”

Question 3

What is intelligence as sensory capacity?

Answer 3

Proposed by Sir Francis Galton, this theory suggests that intelligence is a byproduct of strong sensory capabilities. Research did not find a correlation between sensory abilities and academic performance.

Question 4

Who developed one of the first intelligence tests?

Answer 4

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon.

Question 5

What did Binet and Simon’s intelligence test consist of?

Answer 5

30 cognitive tests assessing language skills, memory, reasoning, digit span, and psychophysical judgments.

Question 6

What is abstract thinking?

Answer 6

The capacity to understand hypothetical concepts.

Question 7

What is “g”?

Answer 7

Hypothesized by Charles Spearman, “g” stands for general intelligence, a factor that accounts for differences in intellect among people.

Question 8

What is “s”?

Answer 8

”s” refers to specific abilities, a particular ability in a narrow domain.

Question 9

What is fluid intelligence?

Answer 9

The capacity to learn new ways of solving problems.

Question 10

What is crystallized intelligence?

Answer 10

Accumulated knowledge of the world over time.

Question 11

What is the theory of multiple intelligences?

Answer 11

This theory posits that people vary in their ability levels across different domains of intellectual skill.

Question 12

Who proposed the theory of multiple intelligences?

Answer 12

Howard Gardner.

Question 13

What is Sternberg’s Triarchic Model of Intelligence?

Answer 13

A model of intelligence that proposes three distinct types of intelligence: analytical, practical, and creative.

Question 14

What is the relationship between brain size and intelligence?

Answer 14

Brain size correlates with intelligence across species when corrected for body size. Within the human species, brain size is weakly associated with intelligence.

Question 15

What is the relationship between processing efficiency and intelligence?

Answer 15

Intelligent brains process information more quickly and efficiently.

Question 16

How is working memory related to intelligence?

Answer 16

Working memory, the ability to hold information in mind while performing mental operations, correlates with overall intelligence.

Question 17

What are some reasons we need to test intelligence?

Answer 17

Educational placement, diagnosis and support for cognitive disorders, prediction of academic and occupational success, and research on the nature of intelligence.

Question 18

What is the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test?

Answer 18

Published in 1916, it is based on the Binet-Simon test and was used to develop norms for the general population.

Question 19

What is the intelligence quotient (IQ)?

Answer 19

A systematic means of quantifying differences in intelligence among people.

Question 20

What is deviation IQ?

Answer 20

An expression of a person’s IQ relative to their same-aged peers.

Question 21

What is eugenics?

Answer 21

A movement in the early 20th century that aimed to improve the population’s genetic stock by encouraging those with “good genes” to reproduce and discouraging those with “bad genes” from reproducing.

Question 21

What is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)?

Answer 21

The most widely used intelligence test for adults, consisting of 15 subtests that assess different mental abilities.

Question 22

What are some examples of childhood IQ tests?

Answer 22

The Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC).

Question 23

What is reliability?

Answer 23

The consistency of a measurement.

Question 24

What is validity?

Answer 24

The extent to which a measure assesses what it claims to measure.

Question 25

What is concurrent validity?

Answer 25

The relationship between scores on a measure and an outcome assessed at the same time.

Question 26

What is predictive validity?

Answer 26

The ability of a measure taken at one time to predict a criterion that occurs in the future.

Question 27

What is convergent validity?

Answer 27

Scores on a measure should correlate highly with scores on other measures of the same construct.

Question 28

What is the bell curve?

Answer 28

The distribution of scores where the majority of scores fall towards the middle, with fewer scores towards the extreme ends.

Question 29

What is a standard deviation?

Answer 29

A measure of variability that considers how far each data point is from the mean.

Question 30

What is the standard deviation for intelligence scores?

Answer 30

15

Question 31

What is intellectual disability?

Answer 31

A condition characterized by an onset before adulthood, an IQ below approximately 70, and an inability to engage in adequate daily functioning.

Question 32

What IQ is typically classified as superior or high intelligence?

Answer 32

An IQ of approximately 130.

Question 33

What do family studies on intelligence suggest?

Answer 33

Intelligence runs in families, with higher correlations for siblings than cousins. However, it's difficult to separate the influence of environment and genes.

Question 34

What do twin studies suggest about the heritability of intelligence?

Answer 34

Monozygotic twins show higher correlations in IQ than dizygotic twins, suggesting a genetic influence. Heritability estimates are typically 40-70%.

Question 35

What are some possible environmental influences on intelligence?

Answer 35

Education, early intervention, and poverty/socioeconomic status (including nutrition and access to education). However, evidence for the impact of these factors is mixed.

Question 36

What is the Flynn Effect?

Answer 36

The observed increase in IQ scores over time, at a rate of approximately three points per decade.

Question 37

What are some possible causes of the Flynn effect?

Answer 37

Increased familiarity with testing, the increasing complexity of the modern world, better nutrition and overall health, and changes in home and school environments.

Question 38

What are some observed sex differences in intelligence?

Answer 38

While overall intelligence is similar, females may perform better on some verbal tasks, facial emotion recognition, and arithmetic. Men may perform better on spatial ability tasks and abstract mathematical tasks.

Question 39

What is the standard explanation for ethnic differences in IQ performance?

Answer 39

Environmental differences, not genetic differences.

Question 40

What is a stereotype threat?

Answer 40

The fear of confirming a negative group stereotype, which can negatively impact performance.