Chapter 10 - Intelligence

Question 1

intelligence

Answer 1

• ability to learn from experience, solve problems, use knowledge to adapt to new situations
• in research situations, intelligence is whatever the test measures
• a concept, not a thing

Question 2

error of reification

Answer 2

treating intelligence as a real entity that exists in a concrete fashion (rather than as a concept)

Question 3

Henry H. Goddard

Answer 3

• formal classifications of intelligence (“moron, imbicile, idiot”)
• purponent of eugenics due to book about Kallikak family, who started out intelligent but then went downhill after the offspring of one “feeble-minded” member
• none of his work was really accurate

Question 4

Charles Spearman

Answer 4

concept of “G” = general intelligence

Question 5

Robert Sternberg’s concepts of intelligence

Answer 5

• analytical intelligence
• creative intelligence
• practical intelligence

Question 6

Howard Gardner’s 8 aspects of intelligence

Answer 6

show is that intelligence can be measured in multiple different ways and can measure pretty much any ability we find useful

Question 7

emotional intelligence (Peter Salovey)

Answer 7

• ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

- is it really intelligence?

Question 8

creativity

Answer 8

• ability to produce valuable and novel ideas

- correlates somewhat with intelligence, but not enough to say that it’s part of intelligence

Question 9

brain size and intelligence

Answer 9

moderate correlation between larger brain size and higher intelligence

Question 10

processing speed and intelligence

Answer 10

small correlation between people who can process/complete tasks quickly and people with higher intelligence

Question 11

intelligence tests

Answer 11

assesses an individual’s mental aptitudes and compares them with others using numerical scores

Question 12

Alfred Binet

Answer 12

developed questions to predict children’s progress in school

Question 13

Stanford-Binet test (developed by Thurman)

Answer 13

• first IQ test
• IQ = mental age/chronological age x100
• 100 is average score

Question 14

aptitude vs. achievement

Answer 14

• aptitude: ability

- achievement: what you’ve learned

Question 15

Weschsler Intelligence Scales

Answer 15

• most commonly used

- assesses overall intelligence and gives score AND assesses several sub-domains and gives scores for those as well

Question 16

principles of test construction

Answer 16

• standardization
• reliability
• validity

Question 17

standardization

Answer 17

establishing a normal distribution of scores on a tested population

Question 18

reliability

Answer 18

• 4 types:
• split-half reliability (both halves should be consistent in measuring intelligence)
• alternate forms (if you give an alternate version of the test, scores should still be consistent)
• test-retest reliability (scores should be consistent if you retake the test another time - intelligence scores stabilize after age 7)
• inter-rater (no matter who gives the test, results should be consistent)

Question 19

validity

Answer 19

• 2 types:
• content validity: is the test covering everything it’s supposed to cover without measuring irrelevant things?
• predictive validity: does the test predict things about other areas of your life

Question 20

validity evidence

Answer 20

school grades, years of education, high-prestige occupations, and income all have a moderate correlation with intelligence

Question 21

Flynn effect

Answer 21

• in the past 60 years, intelligence scores have risen by an average of 27 points
• challenges whether we’re correctly measuring intelligence - doesn’t make sense that intelligence would jump that much as it’s a stable trait
• psych is unsure why this happened

Question 22

group differences

Answer 22

• men and women have similar intelligences
• males better at visual-spatial tasks
• women better at verbal tasks

Question 23

extremes of intelligence

Answer 23

contrary to popular belief, people with high intelligence scores have shown to be well-adjusted, healthy, and unusually successful academically

Question 24

twin data

Answer 24

• identical twins who share genetics and environment have very similar intelligence scores
• identical twins who share genetics but not environment (raised apart) still share very similar intelligence scores
• unrelated individuals raised together don’t show very similar intelligence scores
• therefore, intelligence is more strongly influenced by genetics than environment… about 60% genetics and 40% environment

Question 25

schooling effects

Answer 25

increased schooling correlates with higher intelligence scores

Question 26

expectation effects

Answer 26

• increased expectation correlates with higher intelligence scores
• kids who people believe are smart usually end up becoming a bit more smart because of the encouragement they get (even if they really weren’t smarter to begin with)

Question 27

genetic contribution depends on environment

Answer 27

• when socio-economic environments are low, genetic contribution is near 0
• if your environment is really bad, this may prevent your intelligence from developping because you’re forced to spend more time just trying to survive and take care of yourself rather than spending time on educational pursuits
• when socio-economic environment high, genetic contribution near perfect

Question 28

savant syndrome

Answer 28

condition in which a person with otherwise limited mental ability has an exceptional specific skill

Question 29

crystallized intelligence vs. fluid intelligence

Answer 29

• crystallized: accumulated knowledge and verbal skills (increase as we age)
• fluid: ability to reason quickly (declines as we age)

Question 30

stereotype threat

Answer 30

• bias from test-takers themselves
• a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
• ex. women who are told that men are better at math right before they take a math test are likely to do worse than women who are led to believe that men and women perform equally well on this test