Individual Differences Flashcards
What are the two studies in the individual differences area
Gould (1982)/ Yerks
Hancock (2011)
In the Gould study how did Sternberg define intelligence
1- the possession of knowledge
2- ability to efficiently use that knowledge to reason about the world
3- ability to employ that reasoning adaptively in different environments
What was the aims of the Gould study and the Yerks study
Gould = to highlight the issues of intelligence testing carried out by Yerks
Yerks = to devise a way to scientifically test intelligence on a mass scale
What method was used in the Gould study
Review article of problems with IQ testing
What was the sample in the Yerks study
1.75 million army recruits during world war 1 and therefore all men
What were the three stages of the procedure in the Yerks study and briefly describe them
1) The army alpha = a written test taken by literate recruits (could read and write) It consisted of 8 parts Participants for this test included: 86% native american born white recruits 44% foreign born recruits 67% northern blacks 35% southern blacks
E.g. Cristo is a) medicine b) disinfectant c) food product
2) The army beta = a pictorial test for the illiterate (cant read or write) or those who failed the alpha test
This test involved pictures and had 7 parts
Participants for this test included:
14% native american born recruits
56% foreign born recruits
33% northern blacks
65% southern blacks
E.g. Fill in something thats missing in the picture
3) a spoken test - supposed to be administered to large groups and took less than an hour to complete
What were some of the problems in the Yerks IQ test
- Very reductionist approach only tests one aspect of someones intelligence which id the army and general knowledge
- Illiterate people taking the beta test were still expected to draw with a pencil and paper, and many had not been educated
- ethnocentric= relied on knowledge in america at that time
What were some of the findings in the Yerks study
1-the average mental age of white, american adults stood at 13, this is just above the level of moronity
2-it was possible to grade European immigrants by their country of origin. They were all deemed ‘morons’. Apart from those from northern and western Europe
3-black people scored lowest of all, with an average of 10.41. When studied further, if they lighter the skin colour the higher the IQ
What were Yerks’ conclusions
- IQ is genetic and inherited
- The average man of most nations could be considered a ‘moron’
- Mental testing is valid and scientific
- The lighter the skin colour the higher the IQ
What were some of Goulds conclusions
- Systematic bias = protocols not followed, inconsistent measuring
- Cultural bias = IQ test was not measuring “native intelligence”
Internal validity - Yerks
-Administration of tests caused numerous problems:
Not all illiterate recruits took the beta test, they took the alpha test, when they weren’t supposed to and therefore invalidated results because they couldn’t read the test
- To ease congestion many were told to move ques and took the wrong test
- Many black men who failed the alpha test were not allowed to re-sit the beta test
Internal reliability - Yerks
+ same test for everyone
-not everyone took the test they were supposed to, some recruits stood in the wrong line
Define psychopath
Psychopath = people who exhibit a wholly selfish orientation and profound emotional deficit, appear to have little or no conscience, but no deficits in intelligence
What are the symptoms of psychopathy
No sense of guilt, lack of empathy, egocentric, pathological lying, disregard for the law, shallow emotions
What were the three aims of the Hancock study
1) psychopaths use more rational ‘cause and effect’ statements
2) psychopaths use more semantic references to food, drink, clothing, sex and resources than to family, religion etc
3) psychopaths may produce fewer and less intense emotional words. A high rate of past tense and produce more disfluencies (um,ah)
