1- Thinking and Intelligence Flashcards
implications of intelligence
- captures many other concepts
- may or may not require an agent with consciousness, perception, metacogntiion, self-recognition, understanding, language, etc.
- most definitions have an aspect of solving problems, especially relevant problems to the organism
- some definitions care about abstraction from reality
- explains how we get things like book smarts versus street smarts
- intelligence is not a singular thing in objective reality, but rather a human definition of some aspects of our cognition
how do we operationalize intelligence
through intelligence tests!!
intelligence tests
IQ: Intelligence quotient, score earned on a test. tried to capture Spearman’s g factor
Galton dabbled in tests
Binet made it more reliable (and very verbal)
Terman standardized and found the bell curve
Wechsler captured more aspects of intelligence in his test, which is still used today (WAIS-IV, etc.)
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
- kinesthetic
- interpersonal
- logical-mathematical
- linguistic
- intrapersonal
- spatial
- musical
KILL-ISM
led to “learning styles in education! but…
lack of empirical support and not easily falsifiable
learning styles discredited by evidence
sternberg’s theory of triarchic intelligence
analytic, creative, practical
argues that g only captures analytic intelligence
many argue against that idea!!
not based on empirical evidence – ability to analyze is just as important in practical as in the books!!
Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory
carved up intelligence by its component cognitive capacities, especially those that are thought to be measured in the IQ tests: working memory, executive function, etc.
FLUID (Gf) vs CRYSTALLIZED (Gc) intelligence (vs many more)
○ General level – general intelligence
○ Broad abilities – geneal abilities
§ Fluid reasoning
§ Short-term memory
§ Processing speed
○ Narrow level – specific forms of cognitive abilities
- used FACTOR ANALYSIS to create categories!!
- has predictive validity
- lines up with other info in the world
- crystalized intelligence continues
- fluid peaks around the 20s
fluid intelligence
- problem solving
- reasonign
- walking through something with many steps
- working through something in your head
- Ability to see complex relaitonships
crystalized intelligence
- long-term memory
- accumulating knowledge about the world in general
- Acquired knowledge
- Abiility to retrieve knowlegde
connection of intelligence and the brain?
*intelligence correlates positively with:
- total brain volume
- gray matter volume, especially in the frontal/parietal lobes
- cortical (outer part of the brain) thickness
- cortical growth (through childhood)
- white matter volume
- LESS brain activity during tasks (neural efficiency hypothesis)
- activity/connections between frontal and parietal lobes (parieto-frontal integration theory)
neural efficiency hypothesis
the more efficient the brain is at intercommunication, the less it needs to work
parieto-frontal integration theory
the ability of communication is important!!
proposes that large scale brain networks connect brain regions, including regions within frontal, parietal, temporal, and cingulate cortices, underlie the biological basis of human intelligence
why is intelligence testing important?
- Identify kids who need extra help and attention
- to satisfy Government and private institutions (for insurance purpose, for example)
- to predict Success in academic settings
- but GPA is actually better of university score than a standardized test
- to predict “Future life success”
- don’t forget the predictive validity of self-control!
- intelligence tests correlate with salary and occupational level
- to predict job performance
- to understand differences between age, gender, ethnicity?
- these are fraught and often fail to recognize that nature and nurture can’t be studied independently
what predicts IQ scores?
EDUCATION!
- ~1-5 IQ points per year of education
- probably big contributor to the flynn effect
- adds to crystalized intelligence
AGE!
- increases to age 20, but some aspects diminish after that
GENETICS
- yes, but not so much on a single gene level…
- requires the right environment for optimal expression
MOTIVATION
MYOPIA?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
- nearsightedness
My
Moms
Gonna
Answer
Elephant
flynn effect
with every generation, performance on IQ tests go up
like 15 points per generation
possible explanations for the flynn effect
- Better nutrition
- Getting better at taking tests
○ We have been tested and assessed more than any other generation lmao - More access to abstract education and stuff
- Different parenting styles
○ Flynn effect is especially big in North America
- Getting better at taking tests
How did Newell and Simon frame Problem solving?
portrayed problem solving as searching
you are moving through this problem space to get to a goal
- initial state – where you are rn
- goal state – where you wanna get to
- sets of operators – types of actions that you can perform
- path constrictions – other things we need to think about
algorithm
methodical logical rule/procedure that guarantees a solution
issue: more taxing in a way that a human wouldn’t do
the amount of time it’ll take is forever
the trouble with Newell and Simon problem as search
so much of what we do is work with INCOMPLETE INFORMATION
obstacles to algorithms?
COMBINATORIAL EXPLOSION!!
rapid growth of the complexity of a problem
think of all the possible moves in chess and all the possible outcomes
heuristics
rule of thumb
simple convenient
more flexibility, usually lead to a correct solution
tradeoff: sometimes you get the wrong answer
often criticized for being prone to biases… but in reality, truly algorithmic decision making rarely happens
affect heuristic
gut check, emotion
anchoring heuristic
start with an initial value, modify other values from there
authority heuristic
____ said it, so it true
availability heuristic
how much of it can you call to your mind? what comes to mind quickly is deemed significant
effort heuristic
not judging on the item itself, but the time and effort
familiarity heuristic
we like familiar stuff
fluency heuristic
the more gracefully we can do something, the more we’ll like it
less effort we need the more we’ll like it
representativeness heuristic
we have an idea of how the world is
prototype! concepts! the closer they are to this idea, the better
scarcity heuristic
if there aren’t very many of them, they are more valuable
insight
the AHA moment!!
occurs from a bunch of different brain moments/movements, so there is no singular “aha” part of the brain
obstacles to problem solving
fixation
belief perseverance
framing
sunk cost-fallacy
….then ones from the other unit:
confirmation bias
dunning-kruger effect
illusory correlation
correlation =/= causation
hindsight
fixation
mental set! – previously successful procedure that you employ over and over
stuck in patterns of seeing the world and solving problems
think of the matchbook and candle!
intuition
strategy for problem solving!
analysis “frozen into habit” (so happens effortlessly)
kinda like insight
often adaptive
often critical/necessary
but also carries many of the same bad issues as insight
belief perseverance
maintaining belief even though you know you’re wrong
framing
the way information is organized and presented affects the decision making
sunk-cost fallacy
more likely to choose something because of what you’re already previously invested
weight things according to how much we’ve invested
bounded rationality
the idea that rationality is limited when individuals make decisions, and under these limitations, rational individuals will select a decision that is satisfactory rather than optimal
how does subjective value decline?
declides with incrasing:
- delay
- risk
-efffort
prospect theory
taversky and kahneman
assumes that losses and gains are valued differently, and thus individuals make decisions based on perceived gains instead of perceived losses
value gains and losses differently, placing more weight on perceived gains versus perceived losses.
Loss aversion
Risk aversion
the certainty effect
loss aversion
prospect theory!!
risk seeking to avoid losses
we will chase back the loss, even if it’s really risky
risk aversion
prospect theory!!
risk avoiding to keep gains
we’re more likely to put money at small gains
feel the gain of $100 less than the loss of $100
the certainty effect
prospect theory!!
if something is certain… then it becomes more valuable, even if the expectation value is lower
barry schwartz
theory of maximizing vs satisficing
two strategies for making choices that endures across lifespan
satisficing
select first option that meets criteria, end search
tend to be happier with choices
maximizing
consider and compare all options
tends to make better large decisions but experience more decision regret!!
creativity
the ability to produce new and valuable ideas
but… valuable to whom? who decides?
divergent thinking
creative thinking
new novel and interesting solutions
convergent thinking
academic
large problem -> correct solution
narrowing a problem to find one of the best solutions
Sternberg et al.’s five ingredients for creativity
- expertise
- imaginative thinking skills
- venturesome personality (growth mindset)
- intrinsic motivation (internal drive!!)
- creative environement
I EVICt
Issue with the creativity theory?
very hard to falsify!
not based on data
based on Sternberg’s observations
cognitive skills of animals
they can conceptualize! subcategories!
but can’t do complex syntax and stuff
do other species share our cognitive skills?
but in terms of law of effect… it was believed that animals learned in a slow way
- no consciousness, no rich intellectual capacity
- believed that behaviour was slowly being shaped
they do display insight! through using tools and stuff
they display a wide range of comprehension and communication, but not LANGUAGE exactly… syntax is a bitch
mirror self-recognition test
sign of intelligence = sense of self?
put a mirror in front of monke, monkey has spot on head
if they investigate the mark, they know that that it’s them in the mirror!!
whorf’s linguistic determinism hypothesis
the way we structure language shapes AND constrains our thinking
Cognition
thinking, including the processes associated with perception, knowledge, problem solving, judgment, language, and memory
Cognitive psychology
field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think
functional fixedness
type of mental set where you cannot perceive an object being used for something other than what it was designed for
charles spearman
believed intelligence consisted of one general factor called g
○ Could be measured and compared among individuals
○ Focused on commonalities among various intellectual abilities
De-emphasized what made each unique
Raymond Cattell
divided general intelligence into two components:
1. crystalized intelligence
2. fluid intelligence
cultural intelligence
how well you relate to the values of that culture
Sir Francis Galton
developed the first broad set of intelligence tests
standardization
manner of administration, scoring, and interpretation of results is consistent
Norming
giving a test to a large popualtion so data can be collected comparing groups, such as age groups
Range of reaction
theory that each person responds to the environment in a unique way based on their genetic makeup
○ Genetic potential is a fixed quantity
○ Whether you reach your full intellectual potential is dependent upon the environmental stimulation you experience, especially in childhood
Arthur jensen
IQ is determined by genetics!!
○ Intelligence is made up of two levels of abilities:
§ Level I
□ Rote memorization
□ Consistent among the human race
§ level II
□ Conceptual and analytical abilities
□ Differences among ethnic groups
Robert Williams was among those who called out racial bias in jensen’s results
Dysgraphia
Results in a struggle to write legibly, extreme difficulty putting their thoughts down on paper
Dyslexia
inability to correctly process letters
○ Most common learning disability in children
Sound processing does not work properly
Dyscalculia
difficulty in learning/comprehending arthimetic
