WEEK 8 - Intelligence 1 Flashcards
Sternberg et. al (1981) asked non-psychologists an psychologists to define what is important for intelligence. What results were found?
Non-Psychologists:
- Practical problem solving ability
- Verbal ability
- Social competence
Psychologists:
- Verbal intelligence
- Problem solving ability
- Practical intelligence
What is the importance of cross-cultural applicability?
- If intelligence helps people adapt and manage tasks, it should be cross-culturally acceptable - Different cultures = different circumstances that people need to adapt to
With culture in consideration, intelligence is defined as:
The application of cognitive skills and knowledge to learn, solve problems and obtain ends that are valued by an individual or culture
Thus being:
- Multifaced
- Functional
- Defined and shaped by culture
What is the evolutionary perspective of intelligence?
- Consider context of evolution of intelligence
- Problems are solved to allow adaptation and thus survival. and reproduction
- The social nature of humans may have influenced the development of intelligence
- Ability to experience own feelings and behaviours = better. position to imagine others’ feelings and behaviour
Who is Frances Galton?
- First to plot intelligence against the normal distribution
- Classified intelligence into what he called classes (14)
- First to theorise about and apply the concept of intelligence
- Considered intelligence to be related to ability to process sensory information
Which scientist used the words ‘ambience’, ‘imbecile’, ‘idiot’ and ‘moron’ in their theory of intelligence?
Frances Galton
Who coined the formula off slow reaction time + poor hearing/eyesight + inability to distinguish between colour = low intelligence
Frances Galton
What is Spearman’s two-factor theory of intelligence?
- Arose from correlation and factor analysis of different intellectual tasks
- Found correlations between individuals’ scores on different ability tests
- Some groups of tasks intercorrelate more strongly than others
Describe general and specific abilities in relation to Spearman’s two-factor theory.
General: A single l latent factor that underlies all other abilities and is predictive of test scores
Specific ability: A range of specific abilities such as mathematical or verbal ability
What did Spearman’s 2-factor theory say about General intelligence an specific abilities?
An individual’s performance on an intelligence test was determined by the two factors
- General intelligence: General ability for complex mental work
- Specific ability: Unique to a test/sub test eg. maths or verbal skills
Spearman less concerned about studying, as it varied for each test of intellectual ability
What is the purpose behind Thurstones 7 primary mental abilities?
- Years of debate on the relative importance of g and s factors
- Thurstone stated:
- Too much emphasis on Spearman’s G
- Too little diagnostic info on tasks contributing to overall score
- Instead formulated a model of primary mental abilities
What are the 7 primary mental abilities Thurstone coined?
- Word fluency
- Verbal comprehension
- Spatial ability
- Perceptual speed
- Numerical ability
- Inductive reasoning
- Memory
At the end of his career, ________ acknowledged that his proposed ______ ______ _______ ______ were correlated.
- Thurstone
2. Seven primary mental abilities
What did Cattell and Horn propose about the structure of intelligence?
- Argued a differing structure to the other intelligence theoriees
- Fluid vs crystallised
What is Cattell and Horn’s theory of fluid intelligence (Gf)?
- Inherent, non-verbal capacity to learn and to solve problems
- Used to adapt to new situations
- Relatively free of cultural elements such as schooling, training, life experience
What is Cattell and Horn’s theory of Crystallised intelligence (Gc)?
- Accumulation of abilities learned through schooling or life experience
- Learned, habitual responses, heavily dependent on schooling or life experience
__________ intelligence decreases with age.
Crystallised
What is Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities?
Three stratum model
- Hierarchical model
- 10 broad fluid + crystallised components at the top
- > 70 sub-components below (eg. Visual & auditory organisation, perceptual speed, specific memory capacities
- Very complex model
- Reflects notion of multiple intelligences
What is the information-processing approach to intelligence?
Examine the processes that underlie intelligent behaviour:
- Speed of processing
- Knowledge base: Info in LTM
- Ability to acquire and apply mental processes: Can a person acquire and use new mental strategies?
What theory of intelligence assumes that performance is normally distributed across a variety of intelligence relevant capacities and that performance on one capacity is weakly correlated to performance on other capacities?
The information-processing approach
What are contemporary approaches to intelligence?
- More recently: expanded view of how intelligence is seen
- Intelligence tests measure intellectual, scholastic abilities
- But what about more practical, social and emotional skills?
What is Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence?
- Componential/analytical intelligence: Ability to think abstractly, process information effectively
- Experimental/ creative intelligence: Ability to formulate new ideas, and to combine seemingly unrelated facts or information
- Contexual/ practical intelligence: Ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions
Shape the enviornmeny to maximise strengths and compensate for weaknesses
What are the mental mechanisms for componential (analytical) intelligence in Sternberg’s Triarchic theory of intelligence?
- Meta components/executive processes
- Performance components
- Knowledge acquisition
What are the mental mechanisms for experiential (creative) intelligence in Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence?
- Novelty
- Automation
