Implicit theories of intelligence

Question 1

What are implicit theories?

Answer 1

People’s everyday ideas surrounding a particular topic area

Question 2

What did Sternberg (2001) identify as 4 reasons why implicit theories of intelligence are important?

Answer 2

1) Drive ways in which people perceive and evaluate their own intelligence and that of others, highly influential for everyday decisions, love and job opportunities
2) Can give rise to more formal theories of intelligence
3) Provide useful avenues to research when a researcher thinks explicit theories are wrong
4) Can elucidate and inform theories around psychological constructs such as development of intelligence, and cross-cultural aspects of intelligence

Question 3

How did Sternberg (1981) study layperson implicit theories of intelligence?

Answer 3

Asked different people to list behaviours characteristic of “intelligence”, and also asked them to rate themselves on each. Then asked 122 laypeople to rate various properties of the listed behaviours and how they reflect intelligence.

Question 4

What were the key findings of study 1 by Sternberg (1981)?

Answer 4

3 dimensions of intelligence were revealed:

1) Practical problem solving
2) Social competence
3) Verbal ability

See notes for details of each of these

Question 5

What is a key consideration about Sternberg’s early work?

Answer 5

Only used Western samples

Question 6

What did Sternberg (1985) do for study 2?

Answer 6

Asked 47 adults to think of behaviours typical of an ideal intelligent person –> this produced 40 descriptors of intelligent behaviours
Then 40 Yale students sorted these into clusters of which ones were likely to be found together in a person –> yielded similar findings to study 1 but this time 6 key aspects rather than 3

Question 7

What were the 6 key aspects of intelligence highlighted in Sternberg (1985) study 2?

Answer 7

1) Practical problem solving
2) Verbal ability
3) Intellectual balance and integration
4) Goal orientation and attainment
5) Contextual intelligence
6) Fluid thought

Question 8

What conclusion can we take away from Sternberg’s studies?

Answer 8

While there are similarities between results, there is no strong cohesion between them - language and ideas used around intelligence constructs in intelligence theory research are very variable

Question 9

What is a predominant emphasis regarding intelligence in Western cultures?

Answer 9

Sternberg (1981) - emphasis on speed of mental processing and ability to assimilate and sort information quickly and efficiently. Someone who can come up with a solution first, and is able to articulate it verbally fluently and clearly will be considered more intelligent than someone, for example, who takes time to ponder answers to a question

Question 10

What is the main emphasis of the cultural differences found between Western and non-Western cultures?

Answer 10

How intelligence is related to the self and the social world - Western views of intelligence relate to the individual while Eastern cultures extend these ideas to social, historical and spiritual aspects of everyday interactions, knowledge and problem solving

Question 11

What might problem solving in non-Western cultures look like?

Answer 11

Includes not only the individual’s own ability to solve the problem, but also consideration of family and friends (e.g. seeking their advice), knowledge of history (how have wise people approached similar problems in the past), and own spiritual needs (what consequences do actions around the problem have for the soul)

Question 12

How did Yang & Sternberg (1997b) study implicit theories of intelligence in China?

Answer 12

Studied the 2 main chinese traditions of confucian and taoist philosophies
Used a similar methodology to Sternberg’s earlier work and asked for descriptors of intelligence from 68 Taiwanese Chinese people (of a variety of occupations). Asked 434 individuals (1/2 uni students, 1/2 non-uni adults) to rate each descriptor for importance relating to intelligence

Question 13

What key factors emerged from the work of Yang and Sternberg (1997)?

Answer 13

1) General cognitive factors of intelligence - much effort in learning, strong intellectual abilities and abstract thinking
2) Interpersonal intelligence - empathy, understanding appropriate behaviour, benevolence (inclination to perform kind and charitable acts), wanting to do what it right not what is advantageous
3) Intrapersonal intelligence - knowledge about self and ability to view self objectively, high achiever but humble
4) Intellectual self-assertion - confident and aware of own intellect, deriving self worth from it, freedom from conventional standards of judgement
5) Intellectual self-effacement - modesty/humility

(See notes)

Question 14

What were the key findings in the India study by Baral & Das (2004)?

Answer 14

Emotion, Thinking, judging, self-awareness and modesty are key dimensions of intelligence

Most crucially it is how the high levels of thinking, judgement and decision making COMBINE via the harmony of thought which results from self-awareness and consciousness, which defines intelligence (contrasts with Western findings in which these dimensions were all considered separate)

Question 15

What did Lim et al (2002) find in their Korean study?

Answer 15

Interestingly, at face value their findings suggested considerable overlap with Western values:

1) Social competence
2) Problem solving
3) Coping with novelty
4) Self-management - thinks before acting, controls feelings well
5) Practical competence - records things systematically, carries out a plan confidently

Question 16

Rather than simply being evidence of similarities in conceptions of intelligence in Western and Korean cultures, what are other potential reasons for the similarities recorded by Lim et al (2002)?

Answer 16

Respondents were asked which aspects of intelligence they VALUED the most, and Koreans were found to value social competence and responsibility the most, with other aspects less so

Western intelligence tests used in Korea and other Asian countries –> unintentionally reshaping existing cultural definitions, introducing different (western) aspects of intelligence that have subsequently influenced implicit theories of intelligence in these countries?

Question 17

Briefly discuss the 2 studies which compared implicit theories of different cultures in samples at the same time to examine extent of crossover between Western and Eastern perception of intelligence

Answer 17

1) Fang and Keats (1987) - compared China and Australia and found similarities but also found that Australians said problem solving and logical reasoning, while Chinese said ability to learn, analytical abilities, sharp thinking and displays of confidence
2) Chen and Chen (1988) - compared students from chinese-language schools and english-language schools. Both said non-verbal reasoning, verbal reasoning, social skills, numeracy and memory, however Chinese-language students rated verbal skills as less important

Question 18

What is important to remember about cultural differences in implicit theories of intelligence?

Answer 18

Differences between implicit theories don’t suggest distinct differences but rather EMPHASES in different cultures - Western cultures emphasise individuals while Eastern cultures emphasise the individual and how that is extended to others, history and spiritual needs

Question 19

How did Siegler and Richards (1982) study implicit theories for different stages of development?

Answer 19

Compared theories of adults for 4 different stages of the lifespan i.e. asked them what they would consider signs of intelligence at each age - 6 months, 2 years, 10 years and adult

Question 20

What did Siegler and Richards (1982) find in their study?

Answer 20

6 months - recognising people and objects, showing signs of motor coordination, showing levels of awareness and making some verbalisation
2 years - verbal ability, ability to learn, awareness of their surroundings and others, motor coordination and curiosity
10 years - verbal ability, learning, problem solving, reasoning and creativity
Adults - Problem solving, verbal ability, reasoning, learning and creativity

The key here is that the conceptions of intelligence change during early childhood, becoming the more familiar conceptions in later childhood and adulthood

Question 21

What were the findings of Fry (1984)?

Answer 21

Asked teachers to rate the ideal intelligent person at different school levels:
Primary - social variables e.g. popularity, friendliness, respect of rules, interest in environment
Secondary - energy and verbal fluency seen as most important
Tertiary (uni) - logical thinking, broad knowledge, reasoning and mature problem solving

Question 22

How did Yussen and Kane (1985) study theories of intelligence AT different ages?

Answer 22

Interviewed 71 11-16yr olds:
Older students categorised intelligence into academic, social and physical, and believed that both nature and nurture have an influence on intelligence
Younger students didn’t differentiate i.e. to them, someone was either intelligent or not. Believed intelligence to be innate/result of nature
All students considered knowledge to be central to intelligence, but older students reported academic skills more important than social skills

Question 23

What did Cheng & Hau (2003) suggest as 2 possible reasons why we see a change in young people’s perceptions of intelligence at different ages?

Answer 23

1) Older students more cognitively mature - cumulative experiences regarding their own intelligence (succeeding/failing at various things), and their experience/understanding of intelligence becomes more complex
2) Older students undergone socialisation - teachers, friends and family all influence ideas of what intelligence is, in different ways

Question 24

When did research into expert-person implicit theories of intelligence begin?

Answer 24

1921 - editors of the Journal of Educational Psychology convened a special issue in which prominent theorists were asked to describe what they believed intelligence to be - 14 different responses were produced, some referring to perceived intelligence behaviours and some referring to intelligence measurement

Question 25

What were the implicit theories of Thorndike, Terman and Thurstone?

Answer 25

Thorndike - power of good responses from point of view of truth/facts
Terman - ability to carry out abstract thinking
Thurstone - capacity to inhibit instinctive adjustments, redefining these inhibited adjustments in the light of trial and error and realise a modified instinctive adjustment in overt behaviour

Question 26

What did Sternberg and Detterman do in 1988?

Answer 26

Repeated the same exercise as the Journal of Educational psychology in 1921 - asked 24 experts for their definitions of intelligence and received 24 different definitions including adaptability to new problems, abstract thinking, adjustment to environment, capacity for new knowledge, independence and originality

Question 27

What did the 2 key early studies into expert implicit theories suggest?

Answer 27

No consensus as to the meaning of intelligence, its definition or its measurement - 38 different experts emphasising 38 different types of intelligence

Question 28

What did an analysis by Sternberg (2000) of the 2 expert implicit theory studies suggest?

Answer 28

Certain themes and consensus did emerge between experts - intelligence qualities such as adaptation to the environment, basic mental processes, and aspects of higher order thinking such as reasoning, problem solving and decision making are evident in both listings

Question 29

What did Sternberg’s (2000) analysis suggest which then prompted future research?

Answer 29

Differences between experts emphasise an argument about whether intelligence represents just one thing or a multitude of different abilities and behaviours

Question 30

How did Sternberg examine the multi-faceted suggestion of intelligence?

Answer 30

Using the same methodology as he used previously, he looked across different academic disciplines and found that professors across these disciplines differed in their perceptions of the ideal intelligent person - suggested diversity among experts on what actually constitutes intelligence, with some agreement on some constructs

Question 31

What 4 key aspects of intelligence were emphasised by arts professors?

Answer 31

Knowledge
Ability to use knowledge
Ability to weigh up possible alternatives
To see analogies

Question 32

What 3 key aspects of intelligence were emphasised by business professors?

Answer 32

Ability to think logically
To focus on essential aspects of a problem
To follow arguments of others and see where they lead

Question 33

What 3 key aspects of intelligence were emphasised by philosophy professors?

Answer 33

Critical and logical abilities
Ability to follow complex arguments
To find errors in arguments and generate new arguments

Question 34

What 3 key aspects of intelligence were emphasised by physics professors?

Answer 34

Precise mathematical thinking
Ability to relate physical phenomena to concepts of physics
To grasp laws of nature quickly