Lecture 3 - Intelligence 1 Flashcards
1
Q
definitions of intelligence
A
- Definition 1: “Intelligence is a very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience. It is not merely book-learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings, ‘catching on’, ‘making sense of things, or ‘figuring out’ what to do.” (Gottfredson, 1997)
- Definition 2: “Intelligence is what is measured in an intelligence test”
- Implicit theories of intelligence: large cross-cultural differences (cf. Figure
10.1 in Maltby et al., (2017), p. 257)
2
Q
what did Francis Galton say about intelligence?
A
- Higher intelligence is caused by superior qualities passed down by heredity (1869)
- Central hypothesis: there are individual differences in intelligence, and it is possible to measure intelligence directly
- Galton measured intelligence
○ reaction time
○ keenness of sight and hearing
○ the ability to distinguish between colours
3
Q
what did Alfred Binet say about intelligence?
A
- Binet-Simon scale (1905): first intelligence test aiming to identify children who might require special education
- 30 tasks related to everyday life, e.g.,
○ following light with eyes, naming parts of the
body, counting coins, recalling a number of digits, filling in missing words in a sentence - Test results determined the child’s “mental age”
- 30 tasks related to everyday life, e.g.,
4
Q
what did William Stern say about intelligence?
A
- In 1912, Stern developed the idea of an Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
- Mental age varied among children proportionally to their real age
- The ratio mental age : chronological age was fairly constant, e.g., 5:6= 0.83, 8:10= 0.8
- He calculated the IQ as (mental age/chronological age)x100
5
Q
what did Lewis Terman say about intelligence?
A
- Revision of the Binet-Simon scale:
- Tested>1,000children(Binethadonly tested 50): far more accurate information on how children typically scored on intelligence tasks
○ Representative samples, standardized testing, age norms
- Tested>1,000children(Binethadonly tested 50): far more accurate information on how children typically scored on intelligence tasks
6
Q
what did Spearman say about intelligence?
A
- First to use factor analysis techniques in differential psychology
- 1904 – 1921: He found positive correlations between intelligence tests
○ a person who does well on one intelligence test will perform well on a variety of cognitive ability tests - He called this positive correlation between tests the ‘positive manifold’
Based on his idea of positive manifold, he proposed general intelligence, or ‘g’, which he thought was underlying all the positive correlations
- 1904 – 1921: He found positive correlations between intelligence tests
7
Q
Spearman’s two-factor theory
A
- General intelligence factor ‘g’: mental energy that is required to perform well on intelligence tests of all types; deeper fundamental mechanism
- Specific abilities factor‘s’: specific types of intelligence needed to perform well on each different task
○ Vocabulary intelligence, mathematical intelligence, and spatial intelligence are all specific abilities
- Specific abilities factor‘s’: specific types of intelligence needed to perform well on each different task
8
Q
what is ‘g’?
A
- General intelligence factor ‘g’: mental energy that is required to perform well on intelligence tests of all types; deeper fundamental mechanism
9
Q
what is ‘s’?
A
- Specific abilities factor‘s’: specific types of intelligence needed to perform well on each different task
○ Vocabulary intelligence, mathematical intelligence, and spatial intelligence are all specific abilities
10
Q
relationship between ‘g’ and ‘s’
A
‘g’ leads to ‘s’
‘g’ leads to performance on an intelligence test
‘s’ leads to performance on an intelligence test
11
Q
development of standardised tests
A
- Spearman’s theory of Intelligence led to the development of more rigorous intelligence tests that could be used across the population
- E.g., Wechsler Tests by David Wechsler:
○ Wechsler-Bellevue Scale (1939) – standardised
among a sample of 1,500 adults
○ Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS; 1955)
standardised among 2,000 adults aged 16-75
○ Wechsler Scale for Children (WISC; 1955) for children aged 5-16
- E.g., Wechsler Tests by David Wechsler:
12
Q
deviation IQ
A
- Wechsler tested large groups of people to identify norms across different age groups
- The focus was on comparing scores with others of a similar age
- In1939: Deviation IQ = (actual test score/expected score for that age)x100
- The IQ scores were then transformed and standardised such that the mean is 100 and the standard deviation is 15
13
Q
Wechsler tests today
A
- The Wechsler tests are still widely used in clinical settings today
- In addition to deviation IQ, they departed from previous intelligence tests in that all people of all ages could take them
14
Q
culture-fair tests
A
- Measurements developed in a certain culture may not be applicable to a different culture
* Is it possible to achieve an intelligence test that is truly culture-free?
* Can IQ tests be universally valid?
* Does intelligence mean different things in different contexts and cultures?
15
Q
Raven’s progressive matrices
A
- Measure the abstract ability to see relationships between objects, events and information and draw inferences from those relationships
- As in the Wechsler tests, the overall IQ score is based on an individual’s deviation from standardised norms
- It is (supposed to be) free of cultural influences and language and is often favoured as a good measure of ‘g’; culture-fair test