Lecture 1 Flashcards
Intelligence 1
What is intelligence?
No clear cut definition to it.
However, there are influential definitions to it…
Galton: Intelligence is linked to sensory capacity, where better sensory abilities correlate with greater intelligence.
Binet and Simon: Focused on abstract thinking and problem-solving as indicators of intelligence.
Spearman: Introduced the idea of general intelligence (g), with specific abilities (s) in particular areas.
Cattell and Horn: Distinguished between fluid intelligence (ability to solve novel problems) and crystallized intelligence (accumulated knowledge and experience).
Gardner & Sternberg: Proposed theories of multiple intelligences, highlighting different types (e.g., linguistic, logical-mathematical) and triarchic intelligence (analytic, creative, practical).
Notes on general vs. specific
Charles spearman (1927)
-g aka general intelligence –> “strength of our mental engine”
Charles Spearman believed that intelligence is like the strength of our mental engine—a single general ability that affects how well we do in different tasks. He called this general intelligence (g-factor). He noticed that people who are good at one mental skill (like math) are often good at others (like reading or problem-solving). This led him to think that one main “mental power” drives all our thinking skills.
- s or specific intelligence –> particular ability in a narrow domain
While g-factor is the overall mental ability that affects all tasks, s-factor refers to strengths in particular areas.
For example, someone might be really good at music but struggle with math. Their musical ability comes from a strong s-factor in that area, while their general intelligence (g-factor) still plays a role in overall thinking. Spearman believed that each task requires both g-factor and s-factor, but some people are better in specific skills than others.
notes on Cattel and horns theory
Fluid vs. crystallized
fluid intelligence
-the capacity to learn new ways of solving problems
-decreases with age
-flexible/adapative
-logical problem solving, abstract reasoning
Example: Solving a new kind of puzzle or figuring out a tricky math problem.
crystallized intelligence
-accumulated knowledge of the world with age
-related to personality trait “openness to experience”
-general knowledge, vocab
Example: Remembering historical facts or using good grammar in writing.
fluid vs. crystallized
fluid–> using ttc for the first time
-strategy to solve a statistics problem
crystallized
formula for mean, standard deviation
-names of world capitals
In short, fluid intelligence is raw thinking ability, while crystallized intelligence is learned knowledge!
Notes on multiple intelligences
-people vary in their strengths
–> you can be strong in different areas such as; linguistics, musical, spatial,mathematical, bodily,naturalistic
-Howard gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences (frames of mind)
analytical: reason, logic
creative: discover, invent, create
practical: apply, integrate
so what is intelligence?
-intelligence consists of the abilities to:
-reason abstractly
-learn to adapt to novel environmental circumstances
-acquire knowledge
-benefit from experience
Biological bases of intelligence (brain sizes)
Is having a larger brain related to higher intelligence?
no, because what matters is how someone processes information and that depends on speed and how well different areas of the brain respond
-correlations brain volume and IQ between +0.3 and +0.4
-is this a casual relationship? In other words, does having a large brain cause you to have higher intelligence?
-third variable problem (genetics, environment)
-exceptions to the rule-
there is though some exception to this theory, because some geniuses had either smaller or avg sized brains
(einstein had a brain smaller than avg but a unique shape)
overall brain shape does not have anything to do with one’s IQ, it is mostly just brain organization.
Intelligence may reflect efficiency of mental processing-
intelligence is based more on how quick and efficient communication between different regions of the brain are
-whether there is more surface area for processing information
-and lastly working memory and problem solving speed
intelligence and memory
-working memory tasks moderately correlated (+0.5) with IQ scores
because both involve holding and processing information.
(ackerman, beier and boyle, 2005; engle, 2002; kane, hamrick and conway,2005)
-start at 500 and count backwards by 7, while trying to figure out meaning of a saying
intelligence and reaction time
reaction time negatively correlated with intelligence (i.e. faster reaction times= higher intelligence; Deary et al.,2001)
Playing tetris
persons with higher intelligence show:
-quicker reaction times
-less overall brain activity
since a person has less overall brain activity, they react quicker to certain things and are able to perform overall quicker.
biological bases of intelligence (what is highly active)
Prefrontal cortex is highly active during g-loaded tasks (reasoning, problem-solving).
Other areas matter too:
Parietal cortex → Spatial reasoning.
Temporal/Occipital lobes → Language & vision.
Faster, more efficient processing = Higher intelligence.
history of intelligence testing
Intelligence testing
History of the intelligence test
-alfred binet and theodore simon
-government of france
Identification of kids who needed help
-series of test focus on attention, memory.math, reading
-binet-simon intelligence scale
-lewis terman
-stanford-binet IQ test
-eugenics
-soon after IQ tests were developed, their use began to be abused
-worry about “low IQ” in certain groups, and the eugenics movement
-forcible sterilization and immigration laws were most visible impacts on society
intelligence quotient (IQ)
Stanford-binet IQ test (1916)
IQ= mental age/chronological age * 100
IQ test score: scores like an 11yr old
Mental age= 11 yr old
Chronological age= 8 yr old
IQ= 11/8 * 100
IQ score= 137
WAIS
WAIS- Wechsler adult intelligence scale
Most commonly used IQ test for adults is the wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS)
Consists of 15 subtests that give five scores
-overall IQ
-Verbal comprehension
-perceptual reasoning
-working memory
-processing speed
Culture fair IQ tests
consist of abstract-reasoning items that don’t depend on language
-raven’s progressive matrices: which is the final pattern in this series?
realiability of IQ scores
Test-retest reliability:
Adulthood
-IQ scores remain reasonable stable over long periods of time
Infancy and childhood
-age 11-age 77– IQ correlated 0.73 (deary et a., 200)
-IQ tests are not stable before age 2-3 years– poor predictors of adult IQ and overall outcomes
-exception: very low early IQ scores can signal intellectual disability
-IQ tests for very young children mostly assess sensory abilities
stability of IQ
Infancy and childhood
-visual habituation
-how quickly does an infant become bored with a stimulus?
Infants who habituate faster have higher IQ scores in adolescence
-correlation of 0.3-0.5
-several reasons why habituation and IQ might be related:
-infants who are interested in new things habituate faster and learn more things→ higher intelligence
validity of IQ: Predicting life outcomes
-IQ predicts academic grades
-correlation is 0.5
-lower than 1.0 – what else contributes?
-IQ predicts occupational performance (correlations 0.5)
-depends on occupation
IQ predicts health outcomes
-IQ in childhood→ adult morbidity and mortality (gottfredson and dearu 2004)
-intelligence enhances learning, reasoning, problem-solving skills
-health literacy
Health literacy- a degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain,process, understand basic health-related information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions
IQ predicting life outcomes
This was a graph shown
Relationship between IQ
and health outcomes:
* Confound: Poverty
*however, relationships
hold up even when
social class accounted
For
