Human Intelligence Flashcards
Problem of Intelligence
Is there one type of intelligence? Or multiple?
Can the same person be both a genius and an idiot?
Francis Galton (1822 - 1911)
Proposed that intelligence could be quantified and measured
Believed people are born with different talents, abilities, and intelligence
Alfred Binet (1857 - 1911)
Began developing tests to determine “mental retardation” - Wanted to distinguish between the unable to learn and unwilling to learn
The Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Developed at Standford were inspired by Binet’s Tests
- Stanford-Binet Intelligence scale
- By testing large numbers of children, it was possible to determine what was “normal” for each age
IQ TESTS
measured how children scores compared to children of the same age
- IQ = mental age/chronological age x 100
- Standardized so the average score is always 100
- IQs above 100 mean advanced for their age
- IQs below meant behind
- Early IQ tests
- Only measuring a limited version of “intelligence”
- Too much focus on tasks requiring verbal skills
- Cultural Bias
Single Component View
Belief that intelligence is a single trait
- A highly intelligent person could learn anything better than a less intelligent person
- Originators of intelligence testing (IQ) believed in a single component view
The Multicomponent View
Belief that there are multiple forms of intelligence
- A person could be highly intelligent in some ways, but low in intelligence other ways
- Each type of intelligence a unique trait
Multiple intelligences - Howard Gardner
- Proposed that each type was linked to different brain areas and development
- Each type if intelligence was independent
- Eight Types
Problem with Multiple Intelligences
- Problematic
- Theory is too broad, not well supported by research
- Redefines intelligence to indluce things that may be considered talents and personality traits
- The different types of intelligence are not independent
- Most are highly related to others
The G-Factor- The two-factor theory of intelligence
S-factor
- Specific forms of intelligence related to specific abilities
- For instance, excellent visual-spatial skills
G-factor
- General form of intelligence related to all abilities
- People with a high g-factor were more likely to do well on a wide variety of different types of tests
Types of G factor
FLuid intelligence, Crystallized intelligence
Fluid Intelligence
- Ability to solve novel and abstract problems
- Adaptable intelligence
- Does not heavily rely on prior knowledge
Crystallized Intelligence
– Ability to solve problems applying prior knowledge
– Crystallized intelligence can increase throughout life
But, IQ is not a complete measure of intelligence
- IQ does not predict happiness or success in life
- People with very high IQs may lack other skills (like “social skills”)
- People can have very low IQ’s but have extreme forms of specific intelligence
What does IQ measure?
- IQ is a popular measure of intelligence because…
- Good measure of fluid intelligence
- Related to cognitive abilities involving control of memory and attention
- Related to skills useful for leanring in schools (math, langauge)
A fine line between Genius and Madness?
- No
- People with high IQ are a little less likely to develop schizophrenia
- People with schizophrenia are a little more likely to show lower IQ (than those without
Creative Genius
- Genes related to schizophrenia are linked to creativity in art and literature
- People considered high in creativity are more likely to have family members with symptoms of schizophrenia
- Schizophrenia
- Form of psychosis
- Lost contact of reality
- Characteriized by
- Disorganized thoughts and speech
- Positive symptoms
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Paranoia
- Negative Symptoms
- Catatonia
- Apathy
- Avolition
- Positive symptoms
Postive Symptoms
- Visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations
- Delusions
- Consitent beliefs that have no basis in reality
- Delusions of persecution
- Delusions of grandeur
- Delusions of refrence
- Consitent beliefs that have no basis in reality
- Derailment
- Thoughts and speech is only loosely associated
- Topics shift rapidly and unpredictably
- Inappropriate affect
- Emotional responses don’t match situation
- Delusions
- Negative Symptoms
- Avolition
- May lose energy and be unmotivated to meet normal living goals- Flat affct
- Show very limited amount or range of emotion
- Poverty of speech
- May be largely uncommunicative
- Catatonia
- May stop responding to environment
- Remaining motionless or still for long periods of time
- Flat affct
Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
- Neurodevelopmental disorder
- Many variations
- Effects boys more than girls
- Estimated about 1 in 70 chidlren have a form of ASD
- Appears that rates of ASD are increasing
- Early indicators of ASD
- Delayed developmental “milestones”
- Like walking and talking
- Limited or delayed communication
- Lack of eye contact
- Behavoral and attentional fixations
- Infant may seem unusually obsessed with certain objects or behavior
- Delayed developmental “milestones”
Mentalistic thinking
- Ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others
- A “theory of mind”
- Useful for understanding the minds and behaviors of others
- “Empathizers”
Mechanistic thinking
- Ability to understand the workings of objects and machines
- A theory of objects
- Useful of math, logic, computers, mechanics
- “Systemizers”
Savant Syndrome
- Savants
- Often diagnosed with ASD
- Low IQ’s
- Exceptional ability in one area
- About 10% of people with ASDs may have savant ability
- Common Exceptional Abilities
- Music
- VIsual Art
- Calendar calculations
- Can tell you the day of the week for any date instantly
- Mathematics
- Spatial skills
- Like knowing the exact layout of a maze with one experience
Kim Peek
- Born autistic with very low IQ
- Impaired motor skills
- Can’t walk well or button his shirt
- But, several extraordinary abilities
- Calendar calculations
- Can read two things at the same time
- Right eye reads one page and his left eye reads the other page
- Born without a corpus callosum connecting his brain hemispheres
- Extreme memory ability
- Remembers everything about the over 12,000 books he’s read
- Remembers every piece of music he’s heard
- Knows all the zip codes of every city in America
- Likes being nicknamed “Kimputer”
Research by Andrew Snyder - Uses TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) to unlock savant-like abilities in normal people
- TMS can increase or decrease specific brain activity - decreasing frontal lobe, make other parts of the brain increase their savant like abilities for memory, math, and art
- Disrupting our conscious awareness
- TMS used to temporarily give “savant-like” abilities
- TMS used to decrease activity of frontal lobes
- Enhanced performance of artistic and mathematical tasks
- Decreased frontal lobe activity seems to allow the brain to use more “computing power”
- Ironic, because frontal lobes are typically the most associated with intelligence *
- Executive functions
- Non-conscious mind can do multiple things at a time, perhaps unleash more computing power
Maybe there is a trade off to our conscious awareness?
- Still a mystery
- Related analogy
- Chimpanzees not as smart as us, but they can do things no human being can do, image of numbers that are randomly assorted on a screen, press one random number, the chimpanzee remember in seconds - the human can never do it
- May be these powers of the brain that we lose as results of power of conscious awareness
Postive Symptoms
- Visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations
- Delusions
- Consitent beliefs that have no basis in reality
- Delusions of persecution
- Delusions of grandeur
- Delusions of refrence
- Consitent beliefs that have no basis in reality
- Derailment
- Thoughts and speech is only loosely associated
- Topics shift rapidly and unpredictably
- Inappropriate affect
- Emotional responses don’t match situation
- Delusions
