Chapter 10 Flashcards
What is ratio IQ?
a statistic obtained by dividing a person’s mental age by the person’s physical age and then multiplying the quotient by 100; i.e. a 10 yr old w/same test score as the average 10 yr old has ratio IQ of 100 b/c (10/10) x 100 = 100. But a 10 yr old w/test score as avg 8 yr old has ratio of 80 bc (8/10) x 100 = 80
What is deviation IQ?
a statistic obtained by dividing an adult’s test score by the average adult’s test score and then multiplying the quotient by 100; an adult who scores the same as the average has an IQ of 100
How did early psychologists estimate a student’s mental level?
computing average test score of many students in different age groups and finding the age group whose average test score best matched the test score of that particular student
Why is ratio IQ problematic?
b/c differences in intelligence over the childhood years are much more pronounced than differences between adults
What important life outcomes do intelligence test scores predict?
happiness, income, education, job performance, health, length of life
What is the two-factor theory of intelligence?
a person’s performance on a test is due to a combination of 1) general ability, and 2) skills that are specific to the test
What did Spearman find out about intelligence?
ppl who did well on one test tended to do well on other tests, though this correlation was strong but not perfect (didn’t perform well on every test)
How did ppl disagree with the two factor theory?
though performances among different tests were positively correlated, they were much stronger when the tests had something in common i.e. focused on verbal skills; primary mental abilities were neither g nor s
Describe the 3-level hierarchy of intelligence
- general intelligence at the top
- mid-level abilities like memory and verbal skills
- specific abilities at the bottom
Use Michael Jordan to describe intelligence hierarchy
his specific abilities made him better at bball than baseball, but his general abilities allowed him to outperform 99% of worlds population in both sports; hard to drill down mid-level abilities i.e. speed vs. power
Describe data-based approach to mid-level abilities
compute correlations between a large # of ppl’s performances and see how they cluster
What is crystallized intelligence?
the ability to apply knowledge that was acquired through experience
What is fluid intelligence?
the ability to solve and reason about novel problems
(T/F) Impairment of crystallized intelligence ALWAYS leads to impairment of fluid intelligence and vice versa
FALSE– i.e. autism and Alzheimers impair crystallized more than fluid
What are the limits of the correlation approach to finding mid-level intelligence?
it is incapable of discovering any middle-level ability that the hard evidence doesn’t happen to prove
What is emotional intelligence?
the ability to reason about emotions and use emotions to enhance reasoning
How have researchers measured genes vs. environment w/regards to intelligence? What has this research shown?
study identical twins (100% shared genes) and siblings (~50% shared genes) raised together and apart; research showed identical twins raised apart had stronger correlated intelligence than fraternal twins raised together; genes have large impact
How does environment affect intelligence? What research shows this?
intelligence scores of unrelated ppl in same household are only modestly correlated, showing genes play a more vital role
What is the heritability coefficient?
a statistic that describes the proportion of the difference between ppls IQ scores that can be explained by differences in their genes; ranges from 50-70%, meaning 50-70% of difference in ppls intelligence is due to genetic differences
Why is heritability of intelligence higher among wealthy ppl than poor ppl?
b/c wealthy ppl tend to have similar environments, so the difference in their intelligence have to come from the factor that they dont have in common–> their genes
What is the shared environment?
features of the environment that are experienced by all relevant members of a household i.e. siblings w/nutrition, book access, etc.
What is the nonshared environment?
features of the environment that are not experienced by all relevant members of a household i.e. siblings w/diff friends
What is the trend of intelligence tests over a person’s age?
intelligence increases upward between adolescence and middle age and downward thereafter
What is the Flynn effect?
the average IQ score today is much higher than a century ago
Genes may establish the ____ in which a person’s intelligence MAY fall, but environment determines the ______ ____ ___ _____ at which the person’s intelligence WILL fall.
range; point in that range
What environmental factors affect intelligence?
socioeconomic status (affects nutrition, medical care, stress, toxins, amount of intellectual stimulation)
What is stereotype threat? What did it reveal about intelligence?
the fear of confirming the negative beliefs that others may hold; revealed that situations in which tests are administered can affect members of different groups in ways that dont reflect actual intelligence
What accounts for difference in black and white intelligence scores ?
SES in their respective communities
What are cognitive enhancers?
drugs that improve the psychological processes that underlie intelligent performane
