Lecture 3 - intelligence Flashcards
What did Galton study?
- studied twins, and how similar they were, especially in intellect
- Looked at their behavioural similarities/ differences
- found the closer the relative, the more similar you are
- therfore, he argued you can promote intelligence through selective breeding
What are the 3 types of studies into the heritability of intelligence?
- Family studies - similarity of intelligence compared to degree of relative, X - share environment so hard to distinguish
- Twin studies
- Adoption studies - compare similarities between a persons adopted family and their biological family - see which one they are more like
Outline Phomin et al (2004) methods
Compared the % similarities between: • same person tested twice • MZ twins raised together • MZ twins raised apart • DZ twins raised together • siblings raised together • siblings raised apart
Outline key findings of Phomin et al (2004)
- if it was down to genetics, MZ twins should be 100% similar
• MZ together was 86%
• MZ apart was 72% - clearly environment has some influence on intelligence
- DZ twins togther was 60%
- normal siblings raised together was 47%
- so this is also evidence to support genetics!
What do estimates in the literature estimate the % of characteristics caused by genetics are?
On average, it ranges from 50-80%
How can age of sample explain the variation?
- IQ changes over age
- and heritability of IQ changes with age
- least variation in early childhood as there is little variation in environment, everyone goes to school, gets taught the same stuff etc
What are the limitations of studies looking at heritability of intelligence?
- representativeness of studies
- tends to be people from high socio-economic status
- types of families are more likely to sign up than others - Understanding genetic influence
- havent pin pointed a specific intelligence gene yet, doubt they ever will - Impact and assortative mating
- need to be careful
Define assortative mating
- Tendency to mate with those who are similar to ourselves
- match on height, weight, age, SE status, education, ethnicity, geography
- mating on intellect stretches bell curve - increasing genetic variance within a population
- positive assortative mating = mating with people similar to the self
Outline the findings of Watson et al (2004) for assortative mating
- Looked at newlyweds
- intellect had a correlation of .4
- verbal intelligence was most similar intellect attribute
- personality = .2
- but is it similarities or just convergence over time?
What were Neisser et al (1996)’s 4 environmental factors that could influence intelligence?
- Biological environment
- nutrition
- pre/ peri-natal
- maternal factors - Family
- school/ education
- Culture
Outline Oddy et al (2004) - breast feeding
Perinatal nutrition
- compared those who breast fed for longer than 6 months to those shorter than 6 months
- Those who had breast fed longer developed higher IQ’s
Outline fetal alcohol syndrome
- exposure to alcohol/ substances/ nicotine whilst in womb can have damaging effects when you grow up
- child is born addicted to alcohol and cant function without it - e.g. has poor cognitive functions
Outline Mortensen et al (2005) - maternal smoking
Links between maternal smoking and IQ scores in 18 YEAR OLD MALES
What effects can prematurity and birthweight have?
- more premature and smaller weight can lead to risks about IQ
What did Mayer & Salovey (1990) define as emotional intelligence?
- 4 things
- understand own emotions and those of people around you
- distinguish different emotions
- use that info to guide thinking/ actions
- high IQ doesnt mean high emotional intelligence - some are better at processing information better than others
Define Alexithymia
Inability to label/ describe emotions - people who struggle with mental health may struggle in this
- cant describe how i feel!
Outline Mayer & Salovey’s theory of EI
- They argued that being able to identify, understand, label emotions are abilities
- it is advantageous for survival
- highest is most sophsticated, reducing downward
Strategic 2:
•Managing branch - regulate emotions and use them in constructive ways
• Understanding branch - observe relationship between event and likely emotional response
Experiential 2:
• Facilitating branch - problem solving, taking emotions into account during decision making
• Perceiving branch - recognising/ understanding
What are the potential problems if we cant identify people facial emotions?
- deficits in social interactions - especially if you cant interpret the emotional state of others!
- Depression, alcoholism, sz, autism, eating disorders
What are 6 basic emotions
- happiness
- sadness
- anger
- suprise
- fear
- disgust
- indicate via a complex interaction between eyes, mouth, eyebrows etc
What findings are there about how anxious/ bipolar people perceive emotions?
McClure et al (2003) - bipolar patients overestimated the presence of anger
- Surcellini et al (2006) - anxious more likely to perceive negative emotions as threatening. More attune to fear displays
What findings are there about neglected/ abused children and perceiving emotions
- Pollak et al (2000) - neglected children poor at distinguish facial emotions. Show two faces and asked if they were same and then to label them. They couldnt differentiate or label them
- physically abused show response bias to angry faces
Outline Golemans ORIGINAL theory of EI
- A mixed model
- Linked EI to brain function/ regions - why young children werent very good at regulating emotions, their limbic system and amygdala are under developed. Improves with age
- Limbic system - involved in experiencing emotion, Amygdala - fight or flight
- argued EI is the ability to control basic emotions, like fight or flight
- 5 components of EI
Outline Golemans (1995) original 5 components of EI
- Self-awareness - ID own emotions
- Self-regulation - manage and control own emotions. So bad ones dont cripple you and good ones are useful
- Motivation - drive for achievement related to emotinos
- Empathy - assess/ influence others emotions
- Social skills - sustain good IPR’s. Putting this all together and applying it to social situations
1-> 5 gets more advanced as you go along
Outline Golemans revised mixed model of EI
Personal competencies
- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation/ management
Social competencies
- Social awareness
- Social skills/ management
1 and 3 = recognition
2 and 4 = regulation
What were some gender differences for Golemans original model?
Men were better at managing distressing emotions and self-confidence
- no differences in those labelled as ‘leaders’
What was Mayer et al (2002)’s Ability measure of EI?
Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional intelligence test
What are the mixed methods to study EI?
- Bar-On emotional quotient inventory
- Emotional intelligence scale (Schutte)
- Golemens Emotional Compentence inventory
What did Schutte et al (2007) and Martins et al (2010) explore?
Links between EI and health
- higher EI linked with better physical and mental health
What are the areas is EI supposedly important in?
- workplace
- education
- sport
- predictive validity?
Outline Qualter et al (2012)
- EI ability in year 7 effected cognitive ability in year 11
- High EI did better at GCSE if their cog ability was high
- if cog ability was low, didnt really matter what EI was
- Combo of high cog and high EI was ideal
- THIS WAS ONLY TRUE FOR WOMEN
What are gender differences that have been found on EI tests?
- Mayers test - women do better
- Bar-On (EQ) test - no difference
- Score differently on certain elements
• men do better on self-esteem and independence
• women do better on interpersonal skills and problem solving abilities
What do mixed models combine?
- Personality and ability
What do Divergent thinking tests analyse?
- Quantity and quality of ideas produced in response to a problem
- Inventiveness and imaginativeness
What were the 4 P’s as identified by Runco (2000)
- Person - personality characteristics associated with creativity, imagination, curiosity etc
- process - e.g. divergent thinking
- press - situational factors beyond our control - autonomy, time, freedom
- product - outcome
Outline Guilford (1967)’s threshold hypothesis
- Argued you need a threshold of intelligence, above average intelligence is a necessary condition for creativity
X - what about savants?!
What did Nusbaurn & Silva (2011) find about fluid intleligence
Found links between fluid intelligence and task strategies with creative ability
- cretivity links to Gf
What did Kyaga et al (2013) explore?
Looked at the background/ professions of bipolar patients
- found that they were more likely to be creative professionals then any other job
Who said “no great genius was without a mixture of insanity”?
aristotle
What is Baltes & Smith (1990)’s definition of wisdom? And what did they find?
Common sense, good judgement, unique perspective and the insight of generations
- they found wise older people are more likely to age succesfully
What are key questions around wisdom?
- is it the same as intelligence?
- can you be wise and unitelligent?
What did Jeste et al (2010) define wisdom as?
Advanced cognitive and emotional development, driven by previous experience
- human trait, can be learnt, develops with age
What was Sternbergs theory about wisdom?
Balance theory
- high levels of wisdom - can make good decisions for common good, by balancing all the different influences:
- intra/ inter/ extrapersonal factors
- previous knowledge
- Environment
- consequences of decision
- those less wise are worse at this
What did Meeks & Jeste (2009) find about wisdom (brain areas)
Found brain areas overlap with intelligence
What did sternberg et al (2001) find about wisdom?
- practical intelligence scores were unrelated to academic achievement
- suggests wisdom and intelligence are seperate things
