Chapter 5: Cognition Flashcards
What is intelligence?
Intelligence is a construct or group of related variables.
Most people think intelligence is a set of abilities composed of stable characteristics like traits
Most think it is observable
Some think it is the behavior not the person
Intelligence tests are a measure of achievement of what an individual has learned over their lifetime (different from a typical test because it is not assess just what has been learned in a specific time frame)
Is intelligence a global attribute (g) or are their different types (multiple intelligences)?
The early intelligence tests, especially the Binet-Simon, were designed to yield a single, global measure representing the person’s general cognitive developmental level.
Subsequent tests, such as the Wechsler series, while providing such a global measure, also began to separate cognitive development into verbal and performance areas, and each of these areas was further subdivided.
What was Charles Spearman’s theory?
The General Factor Theory “g”
Conceptualized that intelligence has a single underlying factor called “g” that explains individual differences between people
Since not everyone with a high “g” can do everything well, Spearman thought that there must be other factors specific in nature called “s”
g = general underlying ability
s = specific/independent abilities (accounts for variation)
What was Louis Thurstone’s theory?
Primary Mental Abilities
There are different types of “basic” or “primary” intelligence and they are independent of one another
verbal ability
spatial ability
perceptual speed
Is it really possible to find a set of human
behaviors that are truly separate from each
other?
Development of factor analysis
What was Robert Sternberg’s theory?
Triarchic Theory
Intelligence can be explained through the way individuals think and solve problems.
Information Processing Approach
Must examine the interaction between…
Componential intelligence
Experiential intelligence
Contextual intelligence
What was Howard Gardner’s theory?
Multiple Intelligence (MI)
Not one general factor but eight different types
of intelligence
Musical
Bodily-Kinesthetic
Logical-Mathematical
Linguistic
Interpersonal (understanding others)
Intrapersonal (understanding self)
Naturalist
What was Daniel Goleman’s theory?
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Goleman argued that self-awareness and persistence are just as important if not more important than IQ as we traditionally define it.
Five components of emotional intelligence
Emotional self-awareness
Self-regulation
Motivation
Empathy
Social skills
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Who were the original founders and why did they make it?
Originally called the Binet-Simon Test
Simon and Binet work to develop a test to identify children who might not succeed in school
The basics of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Use of mental age and chronological age
ratio
This scale was a very preliminary instrument, more like a structured interview, for which no total score was obtained.
The aim of the scale was essentially to identify children who were retarded and to classify these children at one of three levels of retardation, which were called “moron, imbecile, and idiot.”
Raw score converted to standard score
Standard score compared to norms for same
age group
Vocabulary
Define the terms (in order of difficulty):
Ball, Coin, Debate, Prevaricate
Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
Why do houses have doors?
Why are there police?
Why do people pay taxes?
Why do people belong to political parties?
Copying
Redraw: circle, “L”, triangle, square
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Why did the name change?
Psychologists Lewis Terman at Stanford University, was the first to publish a revision of the Binet-Simon in 1912 (Terman and Childs, 1912) but he revised it so extensively that essentially it was a new test, and so the Stanford revision of the Binet-Simon became the Stanford-Binet.
IQ ratio first used
IQ = (MA/CA) x 100
Administering IQ Tests
What is the basal age?
Lowest point on test where test taker can pass
two consecutive items of equal difficulty
Administering IQ Tests
What is the ceiling age?
Point where at least three out of four items in
succession are missed by the test taker
Horn and Cattell developed a theory of intelligence
postulating the existence of what two general factors of intelligence?
Crystallized intelligence (Gc): Includes acquired skills and knowledge that are dependent on exposure to a particular culture as well as on formal and informal education.
* Acquired or learned knowledge
Fluid intelligence (Gf): Includes abilities that are nonverbal, relatively culture-free, and independent of specific instruction.
* General ability
