Chapter 10 Flashcards
Structure of Intelligence
General Factor (g): A common factor representing abstract reasoning power that underlies a wide variety of test items
Specific Factor (s): A mental ability factor that is unique to task
Emotional Intelligence: Ability to predict, express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason with emotionand regular emotion
Sirenberg’s Triachic Theory
Intelligence is of three interacting components:
1) Analytical (internal)
o Most related to traditional IQ tests
2) Creative (external)
3) Practical (experiential)
o Helps us to adapt to our environment
Measuring Intelligence
Binet believed weshould measure a childs mental age
Binet and Simons developed a test which measured memory, vocabulary and perceptual discimination
Mental age was divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100 to get a IQ or Intelligence quotient score
IQ Scores
Bell-shaped curve
Very high and low scores are rare
68% of people have IQ between 85-115
99.7% between 55-145
l Reliability
¡ Consistency of scores derived from a test from one time and place to another
¡ Test-retest reliability: give the same test twice to the same people and compare the two sets of scores
¡ Alternate-forms reliability: give different versions of the same test to the same group on separate occasions
Intelligence And Achievements
l IQ as a Predictor of Academic Achievement
¡ Intelligence tests do predict academic achievement. Children with higher IQs get better grades and stay in school longer
l IQ as a Predictor of Occupational Attainment
¡ Childhood IQ predicts adult occupational attainment
l IQ as a Predictor of Psychological Adjustment
¡ A high IQ does not offer a guarantee of happiness and life satisfaction
l IQ as a Predictor of Health and Longevity
¡ People with higher IQ scores have fewer health problems and live longer than those with lower IQ scores
Determinants of Intelligence
l Environmental deprivation and enrichment ¡ Orphans adopted into middle-class and upper-class homes score higher on IQ tests than their siblings who stayed in institutional care
Facts about Heritability:
1) An estimate of heritability applies only to a particular group living in a particular environment
2) Heritability estimates do not apply to individuals, only to variations within a group
3) Even highly heritable traits can be modified by the environment
Culture Differences in IQ
l Although intellectual differences within groups are at least partly due to genetics, that does NOT mean that differences between groups are genetic
l Socioeconomic Disadvantage
¡ Differences are actually due to social class
Expectations, Stereotypes and IQ Scores:
l Scores are affected by expectations for performance
l These expectations are shaped by cultural stereotypes
l Stereotype threat
¡ A burden of doubt one feels about his or her performance due to negative stereotypes about his or her group’s abilities
Stereotype Threat Study:
l Male and female students completed a difficult math test
§ Group 1: told test showed no gender differences
§ Group 2: told test showed gender differences favouring males
l Female Asians completed difficult math test
§ Group 1: reminded of their female identity
§ Group 2: reminded of their Asian identity
§ Group 3: control group
Beyond the IQ Test:
l Many argue for the continued use of IQ tests because of their ability to predict school success and identify gifted and non-gifted students
l Critics contend that IQ tests are only a limited assessment of intelligence
What Happens in The Brain
l General intelligence is associated with the number or neurons in the frontal lobes
l Brain speed - how fast the brain responds to stimuli l Electroencephalogram (EEG) a test of neural activity l Individuals who perceive and respond to information quicker tend to score higher on intelligence tests
Extreme of Intelligence
l Intellectual Disability
¡ Subaverage general mental ability accompanied by deficiencies in adaptive skills, originating before age 18
l Intellectual Disability
¡ Caused by organic conditions such as Down syndrome
l Giftedness
¡ A very bright, creative and talented person
l Terman’s Study of gifted children
¡ 1500 children with IQ’s over 150
¡ Above average in height, weight, strength, physical health, emotional adjustment, mental health and social maturity
l Common characteristics of gifted people:
¡ Environment can contribute to giftedness
¡ Gifted people are often intrinsically motivated
¡ Some gifted people are socially isolated and introverted
Creativity
l Creativity: Imaginative, original thinking or problem solving
l Restructuring: Conceiving of a problem in a new or different way
l Divergent Thinking: Coming up with many possible solutions
l Convergent Thinking: Narrowing possibilities to a single answer
