28 Models of intelligence: the psychometric approach

Question 1

What is Spearman’s positive manifold?

Answer 1

The positive manifold refers to the fact that all intelligence tests correlates with each other.

Question 2

What is Spearman’s two-factor theory?

Answer 2

Each test is made up of two factors:

1. Specific factor “s” (different for each test)
2. General factor “g”

Question 3

Did Spearman regard g as being innate or trained?

Answer 3

Innate - he said “a person can no more be trained to have it in a higher degree than he can be trained to be taller”

Question 4

What is factor analysis?

Answer 4

Analysis of how many factors parsimoniously explain the observed pattern of correlations.

Question 5

What is the principle of indifference of the indicator?

Answer 5

The idea it is unimportant which particular tests are used to assess general intelligence – they all intercorrelate highly anyway.

Question 6

Is g the same for all intelligence tests?

Answer 6

No, g is what’s common to a group of tests. So the g factor from vocab, reading etc. tests is different from maze-learning, pattern recognition etc. tests.

Question 7

How can g be defined empirically?

Answer 7

Empirically, g is the first principal component in a factor analysis of intelligence test scores.

Question 8

What is the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning?

Answer 8

Deductive –given a set of premises, find the conclusion;

Inductive – given a number of examples, find the general rule.

Question 9

What are Thurstone’s 7 Primary Mental Abilities (1938)?

Answer 9

1. Verbal Meaning
2. Word Fluency
3. Reasoning
4. Number
5. Spatial Relations
6. Associate Memory
7. Perceptual Speed

Question 10

What was Thurstone’s correction to Spearman’s theory of intelligence?

Answer 10

That there are multiple abilities that comprise intelligence.

Question 11

What element of factor analysis was added by Thurstone?

Answer 11

Simple structure –the idea that each variable should load only on one factor

Question 12

What structure of intelligence did Vernon (1950) postulate?

Answer 12

2 main factors:
v:ed (verbal/educational)
k:m (spatial/mechanical)
No “reasoning” factor - it permeates everything

Question 13

What is Cattell’s model?

Answer 13

Two factors: 
Fluid intelligence (Gf) –processing power
Crystallised intelligence (Gc) –acquired knowledge

Question 14

How might Gf and Gc interact with each other over a lifetime?

Answer 14

More Gf makes you more likely to acquire more Gc.

Question 15

How do Gf and Gc levels change over lifetime?

Answer 15

Fluid rises to young adulthood, then drops away gradually

Crystallised rises and then plateaus

Question 16

What are the three levels of Carroll’s Three Stratum Model?

Answer 16

Stratum 1. The lowest, least general level containing a large number of narrow first-order factors;

Stratum 2. A relatively small number – somewhere between five and ten – of broad (i.e., more general) second-order factors (or group factors);

Stratum 3. A single third-order factor, g, the general factor common to all tests.

Question 17

Who is John Horn and what is his contribution to the measurement of intelligence?

Answer 17

John Horn was Cattell’s PhD student. He expanded number of mental abilities to include such as “short-term acquisition and retrieval” and “correct decision speed” (RT to tasks of trivial difficulty).

Question 18

Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory is an amalgam of what two theories?

Answer 18

Gf-Gc theory (Cattell, 1941; Horn 1965), and Carroll’s (1993) Three-Stratum theory.

Question 19

What are the ten second-order abilities in CHC theory?

Answer 19

1. Crystallized Intelligence (Gc): includes the breadth and depth of a person’s acquired knowledge, the ability to communicate one’s knowledge, and the ability to reason using previously learned experiences or procedures.
2. Fluid Intelligence (Gf): includes the broad ability to reason, form concepts, and solve problems using unfamiliar information or novel procedures.
3. Quantitative Reasoning (Gq): is the ability to comprehend quantitative concepts and relationships and to manipulate numerical symbols.
4. Reading & Writing Ability (Grw): includes basic reading and writing skills.
5. Short-Term Memory (Gsm): is the ability to apprehend and hold information in immediate awareness and then use it within a few seconds.
6. Long-Term Storage and Retrieval (Glr): is the ability to store information and fluently retrieve it later in the process of thinking.
7. Visual Processing (Gv): is the ability to perceive, analyze, synthesize, and think with visual patterns, including the ability to store and recall visual representations.
8. Auditory Processing (Ga): is the ability to analyze, synthesize, and discriminate auditory stimuli, including the ability to process and discriminate speech sounds that may be presented under distorted conditions.[7]
9. Processing Speed (Gs): is the ability to perform automatic cognitive tasks, particularly when measured under pressure to maintain focused attention.
10. Decision/Reaction Time/Speed (Gt): reflect the immediacy with which an individual can react to stimuli or a task (typically measured in seconds or fractions of seconds; not to be confused with Gs, which typically is measured in intervals of 2–3 minutes). (Considered part of the theory, but is not currently assessed by any major intellectual ability test. For this reason, it does not appear in cross-battery reference materials.)

Question 20

CHC theory is the basis of what measure of intelligence?

Answer 20

The Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery