Ch 10 - Intelligence Flashcards
bioecological model of intelligence
Ceci’s theory that intelligence is a function of the interactions among innate potential abilities, environmental context, and internal motivation.
content validity
the degree to which the content of a test accurately represents what the test is intended to measure.
creativity
the ability to produce ideas that are both original and valuable.
Down syndrome
an inherited disorder, usually caused by the presence of extra chromosomal material on the twenty-first chromosome, that results in intellectual disability.
emotional intelligence
an individual’s ability to perceive, express, assimilate, and regulate emotion.
factor analysis
a statistical method for determining whether certain items on a test correlate highly, thus forming a unified set, or cluster, of items.
Flynn effect
an observed rise in average IQ scores throughout the world over time.
g factor
a theoretical general factor of intelligence underlying all distinct clusters of mental ability; part of Spearman’s two-factor theory of intelligence.
heritability
the overall extent to which differences among people are attributable to genes.
intellectual disability
term describing individuals who display general intellectual functioning that is well below average and, at the same time, poor adaptive behaviour.
intelligence
the ability to learn, to meet the demands of the environment effectively, and to understand and control one’s mental activities.
intelligence quotient (IQ)
Terman’s measure of intelligence; the ratio of a child’s mental age to her chronological age, multiplied by 100.
mean
the average score in a distribution.
median
the score exactly in the middle of a distribution.
median age
the intellectual age at which a person is functioning, as opposed to chronological age.
metacognition
the ability to understand and control one’s mental activities.
mode
the score that occurs most frequently in a distribution.
nerve conduction velocity (NCV)
the speed with which electrical impulses are transmitted along nerve fibres and across synapses.
Normal distribution
a symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution in which most scores are in the middle, with smaller groups of equal size at either end.
predictive validity
the extent to which scores on a particular test successfully predict the things it is supposed to predict.
primary mental abilities
seven distinct mental abilities identified by Thurstone as the basic components of intelligence.
psychometric approach
an approach to defining intelligence that attempts to measure intelligence with carefully constructed psychological tests.
reaction range
the upper and lower level of intelligence or other outcomes made possible by a child’s genetic nature.
reliability
the degree to which a test produces the same scores over time.
s factor
a theoretical specific factor uniquely tied to a distinct mental ability or area of functioning; part of Spearman’s two-factor theory of intelligence.
standardization
the use of uniform procedures in administering and scoring a test.
stereotype vulnerability or threat
a phenomenon in which people in a particular group perform poorly because they fear that their performance will conform to a negative stereotype associated with that group.
theory of multiple intelligences
theory that there is no single, unified intelligence, but instead several independent intelligences arising from different portions of the brain.
triarchic theory of intelligence
Sternberg’s theory that intelligence is made up of three interacting components: internal, external, and experiential components.
validity
the extent to which a test accurately measures or predicts what it is supposed to measure or predict.
validity coefficient
a correlation coefficient that measures validity by correlating a test score with some external criterion.
“Mozart effect”
showed that it wasn’t necessarily the music that was responsible for enhancing the performance on the spatial task, but short-term increases in alertness.
Fluid intelligence
involves reasoning, memory and information processing skills and crystallized intelligence comprises the ability to apply knowledge and problem-solving.
Thurstone’s “primary mental abilities”
(word fluency, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, math, reasoning and memory)
Gardner’s 8 intelligences
music, spatial, body, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligence.
Emotional intelligence
(the ability to perceive, express and process emotion) has gained popularity, especially in businesses.
Sternberg’s model: three facets
- Analytic
- creative
- practical
analytic
abstract reasoning, evaluation and judgement.
creative
ability to generate new ideas (Think Steve Jobs!)
practical
ability to deal with the hassles of life.
Binet-Simon’s mental age
- the ability of a child associated with a particular age
- Binet’s goal was to help children who needed more help at school and as such, needed to measure whether children were performing at the level that was commensurate with their chronological age.
Terman’s intelligence quotient (IQ)
- incorporated the concept of mental age, but expanded on it, creating a new IQ measure with this formula: MA/CA x 100.
- refers to mental age divided by chronological age times 100
- allowed us to compare children of different ages
- flawed when measuring adult IQ, because adult IQ tends to be stable, but their chronological age keeps increasing
Terman’s IQ, an aging adult appears to get less intelligent as they age
Wechsler
- improved upon this by developing a scoring system whereby IQ is converted into standard deviation scores within a normal distribution
- This means that the average intelligence score is considered to be 100, with a standard deviation of 15.In other words, most IQ scores fall between 85 and 115.
Cultural bias in IQ
- most IQ tests are framed from a Western, middle class perspective
- the process of taking timed IQ tests has been considered culturally biased against cultures who don’t practise linear time.
heritability coefficient
provides a numeric estimate of how much of a particular trait is due to genetics.
Environmental deprivation
(food, safety, love, school opportunities) decreases IQ, but reinstating those needs increases IQ, suggesting environment can impact IQ
