Intelligence (Chapter 10) Flashcards
What is Intelligence?
Social construct. Currently defined as the ability to acquire knowledge, think and reason effectively, and adapt to the environment
Who is Sir Francis Galton, and what did he do?
Darwin’s cousin, Galton studied intelligence in the 1800s, and believed that there as a familial basis for strong mental abilities. He studied family trees and reaction speed to determine this.
Biases: He only researched privileged people, gave no consideration for socio-economic factors, and his methods weren’t valid
Who is Alfred Binet, and what did he do?
A researcher around the turn of the 20th century, he focused more on solving practical issues, namely identifying children who struggled in school
He assumed that mental abilities develop with age, and that the rate of mental development stays the same over time
What was Binet’s intelligence test?
He surveyed teachers to identify problems that children would be able to solve at varying ages, and developed survey around them. Their scores on the test would reveal their MENTAL AGE
Biases: scores based off of what he and the teachers considered to be normative responses, no consideration given to alternate circumstances
Who invented, and what is, IQ?
William Stern created the INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT to compare Binet’s test score comparable with different ages
Mental age/Chronological age x 100=IQ
Nowadays, IQ scores are based on performance relative to people of the same age.
What were some of the problems with Stern’s IQ Test?
The skills being measured would typically achieved around age 16, so for an adult to continue to answer the questions would result in staggeringly high IQ scores, which are neither reasonable nor possible, as some mental abilities decline with age
What did Lewis Terman accomplish?
He developed the Stanford-Binet test, which allowed for multiple tests to be run simultaneously, making it popular for military and school use. Primarily made use of verbal reasoning
What tests did David Weschler develop?
1) The WAIS (Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale)
2) The WISC (Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children
3) The WPPSI (Weschler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence)
Utilized both verbal and nonverbal reasoning.
Psychometrics
The statistical study of psychological tests, to identify and measure abilities that underlie differences in performance.
Helps to understand the structure of intelligence.
Multiple tests of mental abilities are administered. Statistics are used to determine which tests correlate/cluster. Correlation may indicate that they are measuring the same ability.
G, GF, GC, and Three Stratum all Psychometric.
Factor Analysis
Statistical technique that reduces large numbers of variable to smaller number of clusters and factors, which represent measures that correlate highly to one another
However, this only indicates that a relationship exists, and not actually what it is.
What is the g factor?
The concept of general mental capacity underlying all tasks, developed by Charles Spearman
He believed intellectual performance to be strongly related to g, and partly related to specific requirements of the task
G considered to be core to intelligence, and has been shown to predict academic performance and employment preference.
What Mental Abilities did L.L. Thurston propose instead of the g factor?
1) Spacial Reasoning (S): Reasoning about visual scenes
2) Verbal Comprehension (V): Understanding verbal statements
3) Word Fluency (W): Producing verbal statements
4) Number Facility (N): Dealing with numbers
5) Perceptual Speed (P): Recognizing visual patterns
6) Rote Memory (M): Memorization
7) Reasoning (R): Dealing with novel problems
What concept did Raymond Cattell and John Horn come up with?
Crystallized Intelligence (gc): Ability to retrieve previously learned information and problem solving techniques from long term memory to apply to current situations. Expertise and wisdom. Remains strong throughout life
Fluid Intelligence (gf): Ability to solve novel problems based on abstract reasoning, creative and critical thinking and working memory. Personal experiences are not helpful. Tends to wane over time
What is Carroll’s Three Stratum Model?
It is an integrated model of intelligence, combining aspects of g, gc and gf into three categories: General (g factor), Broad (basic cognitive functions), and Narrow (70 specific abilities)
G Factor
Fluid | Crystallized | General Memory/Learning | Broad Visual perception | Broad Auditory Perception | Broad Retrieval Ability | Broad Cognitive Speediness | Precessing Speed
Specific Cognitive, Perceptual, and Speed tasks
What is Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory?
Three main underlying components all lead to three areas of Intelligence
- Metacomponents: Fluid intelligence, problem solving, evaluating performance/strategies
- Performance Components: Actual processes required to do the task, put the plan into motion
- Knowledge-Acquisition Components: Crystallized Intelligence, how we learn from experience
- Analytical Intelligence: Academic oriented, tested through standard IQ tests
- Creative Intelligence: Skills needed to solve novel problems
- Practical Intelligence: Everyday coping skills, managing self and others
What are Gardner’s Intelligences?
1) Linguistic
2) Visuosppatial
3) Logical-Mathematical
* First three mirror traditional concepts of IQ
4) Body-Kinesthetic
5) Musical
6) Interpersonal
7) Intrapersonal
8) Naturalistic
9) Existential
Critics argue that these are talents, not intelligences
What contribution did John Mayer and Peter Salovey come up with?
Emotional Intelligence (EI): The ability to read others’ emotions, respond accordingly, motivate oneself, be aware of, regulate, and manage one’s own emotions
Measured with MSCEIT
What does the WAIS-IV measure?
1) Verbal Comprehension
2) Working Memory
3) Perceptual Reasoning
4) Processing Speed
What factors can lead to underestimated IQ scores?
Medication, lack of education, distractibility, fatigue, mental health.
What are Aptitude and Achievement in relation to IQ tests?
Aptitude: Capacity/Potential for learning
Difficult to design, may or may not be useful in predictions
Achievement: One’s existing or prior knowledge
Assumes everyone has similar learning experiences, but is useful in making predictions
What is Test Reliability?
Consistency and accuracy of a measurement or test
Can be determined by:
- Test-Retest: Does it hold up over time?
- Internal Consistency: Test items that measure same ability ought to correlate highly
- Inter-rater Consistency: Are the results consistent between different examiners?
What is Validity?
- Construct Validity: Does the test measure the intended construct?
- Content Validity: Measures ALL skills/knowledge encompassed by the construct
- Criterion-Related Validity: Does the test predict relevant/related outcomes?
What is the Flynn Effect?
James Flynn’s research indicates that IQ scores are increasing worldwide, and are far higher than ever before
Explain Norms and Normal Distribution
Norms: Scores derived from large representative samples. IQ scores now compared to normative sample rather than quotient
Normal Distribution: Bell-curve; majority of people fall in the median, or average level of intelligence, with it tapering off at either end
Explain Static and Dynamic testing
Static: Tests are administered in the exact same manner to all participants, thereby reducing influence of external variables
Dynamic: Feedback given to participants to gauge their responses. Generally results in higher scores, is better related to educational outcomes, and can reveal more about the participant’s abilities than static, but hard to develop.
What is Sternberg’s Theory of Successful Intelligence
This theory refers to the abilities needed to adapt successfully in a given culture or environment. As problems differ between cultures, different techniques are required to deal with them.
How could one improve cross-cultural IQ assessment?
Use tests that do not rely upon knowledge base specific to a single culture (non-verbal)
Develop tests specific to particular cultures. Scores may not relate well to standard IQ tests, but may be useful in predicting functioning in a given culture
Neural Efficiency and Intelligence
Studies show relationship between IQ scores and speed of processing.
Neuroplasticity: Processing speed and efficiency tied to ability to form new neural connections
Where do men and women differ in their IQ scores?
Men: Score higher in spatial tasks, mathematical reasoning, and target-related accuracy
Women: Score higher in perceptual reasoning, verbal fluency, mathematic calculation, precise manual/fine motor skills
These differences are small, but consistent
What are the four levels of Intellectual Disability, according to the DSM-IV
Mild, Moderate, Severe, Profound
