chapter 9 Flashcards
sir francis Galton
earliest attempts to measure intelligence
British mathematician
he had the idea the high intelligence emerged from possessing unusually keen sensory abilities since we must acquire all of our knowledge through sensory experience.
anthropometrics
the measurement of people.
methods of measuring physical and mental variation in humans
James mckeen Cattell
proved with university students that sir Francis Galton theory was false
intelligence
an ability to think, understand, reason, and adapt to or overcome obstacles
Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon
they figured that intelligence was not really a matter of sensory ability
instead they proposed the differences in intelligence should be thought of as reflecting differences in more complexed mental abilities such as memory, attention, and language comprehension
mental age
the average intellectual ability score for children of a specific age
Lewis Terman
modified Binet’s and Simon’s test, he called it the Standford-Binet’s test succeeded in selling his intelligence test to the US military during WW1 and afterwards to the US public school system to prepare the kids for university.
Standford-binet’s intelligence test
a test intended to measure innate levels of intelligence
intelligence quotient (IQ) William Stern
a person’s intelligence might be well captured by a single number
equals: mental age/chronological age *100
deviation IQ
calculated by comparing the persons test score with the average score for people of the same age. it stops the theory that IQ declines as a person gets older.
social Darwinism
the idea of eugenics which means good genes
eugenics was a movement that promoted __
preventing people from reproducing if they were deemed to be genetically inferior so as to improve the human gene pool
Terman’s words
high grade or borderline deficiency is very common among Spanish-indian and Mexican families of the southwest and also among negroes
their dullness seems to be racial, or at least inherent in the family stocks from which they come
meritocracy
people who had the most ability an worked the hardest who relieve the most wealth and power status
the testing situation is inherently culturally-biased because…..
members of different ethnic groups vary in how comfortable they are in formal testing situation, with test administrators and in their motivation to perform well
stereotype threat
occurs when negative stereotypes about a group cause group members to underperform on ability tests.
incremental theory
the belief that a person’s intelligence can be shaped by experiences practise and effort
entity theory
the belief that intelligence is a fixed characteristic and relatively difficult or impossible to change
what is the problem with the Standford-Binet and WAIS intelligence tests
the have questions related to culture (culturally biased)
what does the full scale IQ consist of
- the general ability index (GAI)
- a measure of performance on verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning tasks
2) the cognitive proficiency index (CPI)
- a measure of working memory capacity and processing speed
Charles spearman
spent a lot of time working with correlations and In the process he developed a technique called factor analysis. believed that some peoples brains are more powerful than others making them have more mental energy
factor analysis
the value of this technique is that it allows psychologists to figure out whether groups of variables cluster together
usually foot size can be correlated to body size
general intelligence factor (g)
represented as a persons mental energy reflecting his belief that some peoples brains are simply more powerful than others
is g real or can predict anything
can predict important phenomena ie) how long you are likely to live.
louis Thurstone
investigated the concept of g more carefully and identified that it was actually made up of 7 independent clusters of primary mental abilities
what are the 7 independent clusters
- memory
- numeric abilities
- spatial visualization
- perceptual speed
- word fluency
- verbal comprehension
- reasoning
fluid intelligence (gf)
the ease by which we can learn new information and find solutions to unfamiliar problems
crystalized intelligence
our ability to use our past experience knowledge we have already acquired to complete tasks
Robert sternberg
tried to capture forms of intelligence that were different from the ones that promote success in academic settings
- Sternberg’s trrchic theory of intelligence
what are the 3 components of Sternberg’s trairachic theory
- analytic (book smarts)
- academic type of intelligence that most intelligence tests measure - creative (creativity)
- flexible problem-solving in the real world beyond the classroom. ex: how to pay bills - practical (street smarts)
- the ability to solve completely new problems and to generate unique ideas.
- scientists need to have a high level of practical intelligence
Howard Gardner
proposed that there are 8 different forms of intelligence each independent from the others.
what are 8 unique independent of intelligence
- verbal
- musical/rhythmic
- bodily/kinesthetic
- intrapersonal - researcher novelist
- interpersonal- politician
- existentialist
- visual/patial
- logical/mathematical
Gender differences in intelligence
overall scores on IQ tests are statistically equal for males and females..
- females score higher on average on verbal measure of intelligence and males score higher on tests of visuospatial abilities.
twin and adoption studies
IQ scores of identical twins that are raised apart from one another is higher than fraternal twins who are raised together.
- genetic siblings raised together is higher than for adoptive siblings raised together.
environmental influences on IQ scores
tend to be dominate influence on any trait whenever there is variation in the environments that host our development.
behavioral genomics
examines how specific genes interact with the environment to influence behaviors including those related to intelligence to genes related to learning and problem solving.
gene knockout studies
have identified a number of genes related to cognitive abilities in mice.
transgenic studies
when scientists insert genetic material into an animals genome.
how does birth order affect IQ scores
the 1st born usually has a higher IQ scores than the kids born after.
socioeconomics status and IQ scores
children with wealthier families tend to have a higher IQ than those from a poorer families.
what is a family’s wealth is positively correlated with
the number of books, magazines, and newspapers they own which provide them to explore the outside world of home.
how does stress impair mental development and functioning
- stress elevates cortisol levels, which impairs cognitive functioning
- stress also impairs memory functions at the neurological level
- stress robs mental resources that are essential for acquiring knowledge and skills in school
nootropic substances
substances that are believed to beneficially affect intelligence. can increase arousal and alertness. Ritalin and Provigil are used
the Flynn effect
refers to the steady population level increases in intelligence test scores over time. rise about 1 point every 3 years
who has influenced the view of intelligence to this day
Alfred binet
what is the Wechsler Adult intelligence sale (WAIS)
a developed IQ test that was specialized for adults and is still the most common test for adults
Ravens progressive matrics
an intelligence test that is based on pictures not words thus making it relatively unaffected by language or cultural background.
what is idiosyncratic knowledge
helps you answer that particular question or the amount of attention available to focus on the question In the moment
