Lecture 3 Use of Intelligence Tests Flashcards
What is IQ associated with?
Benson (2003) The capacity of intelligence tests to predict intellectual performance is overplayed, over stated and over emphasised
Used for: selection, diagnosis, evaluation
Intelligence and education
General intelligence correlates with academic achievement
Jencks (1979): meta analysis of 6 longitudinal studies
correlation between 0.40 and 0.63
Kaufman (1990), Kaufman and Lichtenberger (2005): review of key papers
correlation around 0.50
But, does higher intelligence lead to better educational achievement…
… or does better education lead to higher intelligence?
Neisser et al. (1996)
Intelligence and education - Deary et al.
Deary et al. (2007): Prospective, longitudinal study of 70,000 + participants: IQ age 11 and achievement age 16
Why does IQ correlate with school performance?
IQ measures intelligence
Ability to take tests – work to time, read questions thoroughly, etc.
Inflated by motivation (Duckworth et al., 2011)
Why doesn’t it correlate perfectly?
Contribution of other factors – amount of effort, illness (hayfever), teaching quality, etc.
Specific abilities
Duckworth (2011) Role of test motivation in intelligence testing
Study 1: does motivation affect IQ test results? -Effect size: medium-large; greater for below-average pupils - therefore IQ score less reliable indicator of intelligence
Study 2: Does motivation confound the association between intelligence and later life-outcomes?
Job performance
Intelligence tests are also reliably associated with job performance
IQ can be a better measure than other recruitment measures
Hunter & Hunter (1984)
Meta-analysis including 32,000 workers (Hunter & Hunter, 1984)
correlation between IQ and job performance = 0.54
This was a better link to job performance than:
CV: 0.37
previous experience: 0.18
job interview: 0.14
education: 0.10
Bertua et al. (2005)
Bertua et al. (2005) UK meta analysis with over 13,000 participants: IQ scores correlated with job performance and training success, around 0.5 - 0.6
Specific cognitive abilities and job type & IQ
Specific cognitive abilities (subtests)
lowest: spatial ability and job performance: 0.35
highest: perceptual ability and job performance: 0.5
lowest: spatial ability and training success: 0.42
highest: numerical ability and training success: 0.54
Job type and IQ
job performance in clerical occupations: 0.32
job performance in professional occupations: 0.74
Advantages of IQ for recruitment
Advantages of IQ for recruitment:
good predictor of job performance
quick and easy to administer, cheap
good in situations where other measures aren’t possible (e.g., work-sample tests)
Good as one part of recruitment process (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998)
Tests of integrity add 27% to predictive power
Work sample / structured interview: add 24%
Health and mortality
What else can IQ predict?
In 1932, every school child in Scotland who was born in 1921 took the same IQ test (n = 89,498)
In 1947, the exercise was repeated for all children born in 1936 (n = 70,805)
Deary et al. (2004): 1947 cohort
People who had died had a lower average IQ (age 11) than people who had not
mean IQ of those who died: 97.7
mean IQ of those still alive: 104.6
Batty et al. (2009)
Up to 2010, Swedish men were conscripted into national service, and undertook an IQ test
Batty et al. (2009) found that IQ was associated with an increased risk of overall mortality, but not mediated by:
blood pressure
body mass index
cigarette smoking
Education level was a significant mediator
Batty et al. (2007)
Parental intelligence, socioeconomic environment, nutrition, somatic and psychiatric illness
IQ
Disease and injury prevention, Disease injury management, High socioeconomic position, psychiatric illness
Mortality
Calvin et al. (2011)
Calvin et al. (2011) conducted a meta analysis of 16 studies that looked at IQ and mortality
They found that an increase of one standard deviation in IQ scores (15 points) was associated with a 24% lower risk of death
Other things linked to IQ
General intelligence also predicts poverty, the likelihood of being in prison, being divorced and unemployed (Gottfredson, 1997)
But it can be challenging to separate effects of IQ and socioeconomic status
Emotional intelligence and wellbeing
Higher emotional intelligence is associated with good health and wellbeing
Meta-analysis of 44 studies (~8,000 participants) (Shutte et al., 2007)
Higher emotional intelligence associated with:
better physical health (0.22)
better mental health (0.29)
Other associations for emotional intelligence
Studies also show associations with:
Coping behaviours (Mikolajczak & Luminet, 2008)
Increased life satisfaction: (Externera & Fernandez-Berrocal, 2005)
Higher levels of happiness (Chamorro-Premuzic et al., 2007)
Teacher-rated positive behaviour (+ve correlation) and negative behaviour (-ve correlation) (Mavroveli et al., 2008)
Emotional intelligence and job performance
Mixed evidence for a link with education and job performance [reviews by Charbonneau and Nicol (2002) and van der Zee et al. (2002)]
‘Compensatory’ model (Petrides et al., 2005; Cote & Miners, 2006)
The relationship between emotional intelligence and achievement becomes positive as general intelligence decreases
Emotional intelligence predicts achievement better in people with lower general intelligence
Limitations of intelligence test using
So many positive correlations make it easy to have confidence in intelligence tests
But… two things to consider
- Predictive strength of IQ tests fluctuates
- IQ tests do not tell you everything
Incomplete data:
President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education (PCESE, 2002)
-Recommended that intelligence tests should not be used to diagnose intellectual disabilities
-IQ tests too limited: No info on what to do to support the child’s learning or develop an education programme
But: Kaufman and Kaufman (2001) IQ tests must be administered by specially-trained practitioners who would take a broad approach
Summary of IQ links
IQ is associated with education and job performance, mortality, poverty, being in prison, being divorced, and being unemployed
The mechanism that links IQ to all these other factors is likely to include
the effect of parenting, genes, and environment on IQ
the effect of IQ on lifestyle choices and environment
The Flynn Effect
Year on year, scores on intelligence tests are going up, all over the world
If a person with average intelligence from 1940 sat today’s test, they would be assigned an IQ of 70
How was the Flynn effect discovered?
Remember: IQ tests are ‘normed’ to have a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15
When an IQ test is updated, the same people sit the old test and the new test
Flynn noticed that people consistently got a higher IQ on the old tests
Flynn effect discovery 2
Participants who averaged an IQ of 100 on the new version of the WISC, averaged an IQ of 108 on the old version of the WISC
suggests that intelligence increased since the old test was developed & normed
People need to be 8 points more intelligent to get the average IQ of 100 on the new test
Flynn (1984) 3
Flynn (1984) looked at 73 studies (~7,500 participants) where Americans had taken two versions of the Wechsler or Stanford-Binet IQ test
Americans had gained 14 IQ points between 1932 and 1978 – 0.3 points per year
Flynn effect discovery 4
Jensen (personal communication with Flynn) suggested that the increase in IQ could be due to better schooling conditions
Would expect the biggest increases in verbal / crystallised intelligence
So Flynn expanded his studies to include matrix IQ tests (Gf)… and to look worldwide
Flynn effect discovery 5
Seminal paper: Flynn (1987)
Published data from 14 countries, variety of verbal and non-verbal tests of intelligence
Later updated to 20 countries (Flynn, 1994)
Confirmed that IQ tests were rising worldwide
Biggest rise in non-verbal (Gf) tests (Flynn, 1994)
Verbal IQ rise (Gc): 9 points per generation
Non-verbal IQ rise (Gf): 15 points per generation
Explanations of the Fynn effect
Maybe people are actually becoming more intelligent?
Flynn (1987, 1994) But there are not enough geniuses!
What had increased was an ‘abstract problem-solving ability’ (Flynn, 1994; 1999)
What caused the increase of IQ scores?
Too rapid to be genetic, so more likely to be an environmental cause
Five possible mechanisms (Neisser, 1998):
Schooling
Test-taking sophistication
Child rearing practices
Visual and technical environment
Nutrition
- Schooling (Flynn effect)
People attend school for longer than previous generations
Years in school is a good predictor of IQ
-for verbal IQ, it is a better predictor
than age (Cahan & Cohen, 1989)
-for non-verbal IQ it is not such a
strong predictor
Contrary to the Flynn effect: IQ gains are higher for non-verbal tests than verbal ones
- Test-taking sophistication
We are aware IQ tests compared to those of past generations (Flynn, 1998)
But even taking the same test twice only leads to gains of 5 or 6 IQ points, so this cannot fully explain the Flynn effect (Williams, 1998)
- Child rearing practices & Head Start
Adult interest in their children’s intellectual development (Flynn, 1998; Williams, 1998)
But long-term effects on IQ are debatable
‘Head Start’ – 1960s programme in the US to support disadvantaged children
Immediate gains of 7 – 8 IQ points…
But IQ gains not sustained in the longer term (3 – 4 years) (McKey et al., 1985 meta-analysis)
- The cultural and technological age
The cultural, visual and technological age that surrounds us may influence IQ (Flynn, 1998; Greenfield, 1998; Schooler, 1998)
Visual media (films, documentaries, TV series, adverts) require processing of complex visual information
Might lead to improvements in visual analysis skills, such as those required for matrix tests (Gf)
However, there is little direct evidence for this visual analysis hypothesis
- Nutrition and IQ
Good nutrition has led to people getting taller - around 1.2 cm per decade
Lynn (1990; 1998) suggested that nutrition and healthcare improvements could also be responsible for increases in IQ
Good nutrition is linked to greater brain size and malnutrition has been linked to poor brain development
A controversial area – can what you eat make you more intelligent?
Linked to other factors such as socioeconomic status, health, and parenting style
Main focus on breastfeeding and vitamin supplements
- Nutrition and IQ breastfeeding
Studies tend to find that breastfeeding is associated with higher IQ (e.g., Oddy et al., 2004; Smith et al., 2003)
But may be mediated by maternal IQ (Der et al., 2006) or socioeconomic status
Qian et al. (2005) found that deficiencies in iodine (an important mineral) predicted lower IQ scores
Children in iodine-deficient areas who were given a supplement gained 8.7 IQ points (Qian et al., 2005)
Multivitamin supplements (Benton & Roberts, 1988)
-No increase in verbal IQ
-Increase of 9 points for non-verbal (fluid) IQ
-But methodological issues and no replication
Nutrition vs cognitive stimulation
Debate in the literature about what predominantly causes the Flynn effect:
Nutrition (as part of a package with improved health and a nurturing environment)
Cognitive stimulation (including schooling, child rearing practices and ‘visual analysis’)
Evidence on both sides – no clear winner
An end to the Flynn effect?
Studies have begun to show that the Flynn effect may be levelling off
Norwegian study: No increase in non-verbal IQ after the mid to late 1990s (Sundet et al., 2004)
Danish study: IQs peaked in the late 1990s, followed by a decline to pre-1991 levels (Teasdale & Owen, 2005)
Children in the UK: gains have been declining since 1979, small losses for 12 – 15 year olds (Flynn, 2009)
Evaluation of Flynn effect and Raven’s Matrices
The Flynn effect is seen most strongly with tests of fluid intelligence (Gf) – tasks such as Raven’s Matrices
The Flynn effect is thought to represent adaptation to modern life, and is influenced by factors such as nutrition and cognitive stimulation
So can we really describe Raven’s Matrices as culture-free?
‘Successful’ intelligence
Sternberg (2003) “ Successful intelligence is ones ability to choose, reevaluate, and to the extent possible, attain ones goals in life within ones sociocultural context”
Creativity
Wisdom
Giftedness
Creativity
Studies on creativity fall into 4 categories – the 4 Ps (Rhodes; 1961, 1987; Runco; 2004)
Person: personal characteristics
Process: thought, actions, behaviours
Press: pressures on the creative process
Product: outcomes of the creative process
Person
Personality traits associated with creativity
Composite Creative Personality Scale (Harrington, 1972, 1975):
-Active, artistic, assertive, clever, curious, imaginative, insightful, inventive
International Personality Item Pool, Goldberg et al. (2006):
-vivid imagination, full of ideas, think up new ways of doing things, excellent ideas
Process
Thoughts, actions and behaviours that underpin the creative process
First formal theory of creativity (Wallas, 1926):
-Preparation: focus on the problem
-Incubation: internalise the problem
-Intimation: begin to ‘feel’ a solution
-Illumination / insight: creativity emerges from unconscious to conscious
-Verification: idea is present in consciousness and can be applied
Process 2
The most influential theory that describes the process of creativity is that by Guildford (1967)
-Convergent thinking is trying to find one correct solution
-Guildford suggested that creativity relates to divergent thinking – the ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem
Glazer (2009): divergent thinking is the best example of creativity
Press
Runco (2004) listed situations that would both promote and inhibit creativity
+Promote: freedom, autonomy, good role models, encouragement, no criticism, creativity is rewarded
-Inhibit: lack of respect, red tape, lack of freedom, negative feedback, time pressures, competition, unrealistic expectations
Product
What makes a creative person?
-Mozart’s early development, Byron’s enthusiasm, Shakespeare’s literary brilliance (Steptoe, 1998)
-Einstein’s brain – smaller ratio of neurons to glial cells (Diamond et al., 1995)
-Murphy (2009) suggested that the Dali would have met the diagnostic criteria for several personality disorders – link between creativity and psychopathology?
Sternberg’s WICS model
Sternberg’s (2005) model of positive leadership – Wisdom, Intelligence and Creativity, Synthesised (WICS)
Suggests that creativity is an ability anyone can have, develop and use
Defines many different aspects to ‘creative leadership’
Wisdom
The ability to judge what is true and right and have some unique insight
Sternberg (2005) suggested numerous ways to encourage and train wisdom in decision making, ideas and communication
Balance theory of wisdom
Balancing intrapersonal, interpersonal and extrapersonal needs
Balancing adaptation, shaping and selection of the environment
Considering the short term and the long term
Common good
The Council for Exceptional Children - factors that indicate giftedness
Superior reasoning powers, intellectual curiosity, wide range of interests, good written and spoken vocabulary, reads avidly, learns quickly, mathematical insight, creative ability, sustained concentration, high standards for self, shows initiative, observes keenly, shows social poise, gets excitement from intellectual challenges
Giftedness
Giftedness - extreme natural intelligence from a young age (top 1 – 5%)
Terman (1925): gifted children should be identified, accelerated through school and treated as a national resource
More likely to be superior in physical, moral and behavioral dimensions (Terman, 1925)
Giftedness 2
“High learning potential” replaced term giftedness
Giftedness is often seen as inborn, but can be influenced by other factors:
-uneventful pregnancies, self reliance, spending more time on homework and leisure reading, parental aspiration and socioeconomic status (Konstantopoulos et al., 2001)
Three theories of giftedness:
Renzulli’s three-ring definition
Tannenbaum’s psychosocial definition
Feldman’s developmentalist position
Renzulli’s three-ring definition
Renzulli (1978), Renzulli and Reis (1997)
Wanted a broader definition than simply high IQ
Giftedness = gifted behaviours, not gifted individuals
Above average ability - task commitment - creativity (centre of these is most gifted)
Psychosocial definition (Tannenbaum)
Tannenbaum (1986): giftedness is the ability to produce, rather than consume information
Giftedness = the ability to perform or produce work “that enhances the moral, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, or aesthetic life of humanity”
‘sea star’ model for identifying children with high potential
Domain specific ability e.g. history, science
->
Environmental factors e.g. learning experiences, expectations
->
Other dispositional factors e.g. persistence, self-esteem
->
Chance/opportunity e.g. access, experience
->
General cognitive ability
Feldman’s developmentalist view
Developmentalist view of giftedness (Feldman, 1986)
Giftedness in adulthood is a ‘coincidence of forces’
Gifted children may not emerge as gifted adults – barriers for women, in particular
Biological and physiological (cognitive)
->
Social and environmental (teachers)
->
Evolutionary (cultural/biological)
->
Historical (opportunities)
Summary (successful intelligence)
Being successful depends on more than just high intelligence
Sternberg – creativity and wisdom also contribute to good leadership
Models of giftedness propose that gifted behaviour results from a combination of factors, not just high intelligence
Key messages for use of intelligence tests
Intelligence is correlated with academic achievement and job performance
Other factors can influence success
IQs are rising over time – people today have higher IQs than people 70 years ago
It is not clear why this is happening, but it is likely to reflect environmental influences on abstract problem-solving ability
