PSY1020 - CHAP 9 Intelligence

Question 1

Intelligence

Answer 1

the application of cognitive skills and knowledge to learn, solve problems and obtain ends that a revalued by an individual or culture.

Question 2

Psychometric Instruments

Answer 2

“ests that quantify psychological attributes such as personality traits or intellectual abilities — to see how people differ from and com- pare with each other on psychological ‘scales’. Although scientists usually design measures to fit the construct they are trying to quantify (e.g. scales to measure weight or mass), almost the opposite has occurred with the Western concept of intelligence, in which the measures came first and the construct largely evolved to fit the measures. “

Question 3

Intelligenct Tests

Answer 3

“are measures designed to assess an individual’s level of cognitive capabilities compared to other people in a population”

Question 4

Binet:

Mental Age
Chronological Age

Answer 4

Mental Age: The average age at which children achieve a particular score.

Chronological Age: Actual Age

Question 5

Intelligent Quotant (IQ)

Answer 5

“IQ = (MA/CA) × 100.”

Question 6

Wechsler-Bellevue tests

Page 347

Answer 6

Created to minimise bias towards native-born english speakers.
“Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition, or WAIS-IV (2008),”
“Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition, or WISC-IV (2003)”
IQ is derived from a number of subtests, which largely attempt to measure four index scales: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed. The subtests within a scale are used to derive the corresponding index score (see figure 9.2). Verbal IQ (VIQ) and Performance IQ (PIQ) from the WAIS-III have been replaced with a Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) and Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), respectively. In addition to a single, Full Scale IQ score, the WAIS-IV yields the General Ability Index (GAI) as an optional composite score. The GAI is derived from the sum of scaled scores for the three verbal comprehension and three perceptual reasoning subtests, providing a summary score that minimises the influence of working memory and processing speed.

Question 7

Intellectual Disability

Answer 7

“refers to significantly below average general intellectual functioning (IQ less than 70), with deficits in adaptive functioning that are first evident in childhood and appear in more than one realm, such as communicating with others, living autonomously, interacting socially, functioning in school or work, and maintaining safety and health. Although low IQ is a component of the definition, IQ is not enough to diagnose intellectual disability”

Question 8

Gifted (Exceptionally talented)

Answer 8

“Like definitions of intelligence, definitions of giftedness depend on whatever skills or talents a society labels as gifts”

Question 9

Creativity

Divergent Thinking

Answer 9

Creativity: “the ability to produce valued outcomes in a novel way”

Divergent Thinkning: the ability to generate multiple possibilities in a given situation, such as describing all the possible uses of a paper clip.

Question 10

Savant Syndrome

Answer 10

Savant Syndrome: “have low overall intelligence but an extraordinary talent in one particular realm of abil- ity”

Question 11

IQ Tests

Answer 11

Lack of Theoretical Basis: Critics argue that intelligence tests provide little insight into the kind of practical intelligence involved in achieving goals in everyday life

Culturally Biased:

Question 12

Approaches to Intelligence

Answer 12

Psychometric approach

Information-Processing approach

Centremporal theories of practical and multiple intelligences

Question 13

Psychometric Approach to Intelligence

Answer 13

“tries to identify groups of items in a test that correlate highly with one another in order to discover underlying skills or abilities”

Factor Analysis: a statistical procedure for identifying common elements, or factors, that underlie performance across a set of tasks.

Question 14

Psychometric Approach to Intelligence:

Spearman’s Two Factor Theory

Answer 14

Distinguishes two types of factors — general and specific.

G-Factor - General Intelligence

S- Factor : Specific Factor. Reveals specific abilities unique to certain tests or shared only by a subset of tests.

“Individuals vary in overall intellectual ability (the g-factor), but some people are better at mathematical tasks and others are better at verbal tasks (s-factors).”

Question 15

Psychometric Approach to Intelligence:

Gf-Gc Theory

Answer 15

Gf–Gc theory distinguishes two general intelligence factors — fluid intelligence and crystallised intelligence — and seven more specific factors.

At a lower hierarchical level are seven more specific factors: short-term memory, long-term memory, visual processing, auditory processing, processing speed on simple tasks, decision speed (processing speed on more difficult tasks, such as solving problems) and quantitative knowledge (mathematical reasoning).

Question 16

Fluid Intelligence

Crystallised Intelligence

Answer 16

Fluid Intelligence: refers to intellectual capacities that have no specific content but are used in processing information and approaching novel problems, such as the ability to draw inferences, find analogies or recognise patterns.

Crystallised Intelligence: referes to people’s store of knowledge, such as vocabulary and general world knowledge.

Question 17

The Information Processing Approach

Answer 17

The psychometric approach aims to quantify basic abilities and to compare individuals with respect to these abilities. In contrast, the information-processing or cognitive approach tries to understand the processes that underlie intelligent behaviour .

How not How Much.

Question 18

The Information Processing Approach:

Speed of Processing

Knowledge Base

Ability to aquire and apply congnitive strategies:

Answer 18

Speed of Processing: processing speed is an important aspect of intelligence and a strong correlate of IQ.

Knowledge Base: the information stored on LTM

Ability to aquire and apply congnitive strategies

Question 19

Current Mutilfactor Theories of Intelligence

Answer 19

Stenberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Question 20

Stenberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Answer 20

Identifies three types of intel- ligence: analytical intelligence, creative intelligence and practical intelligence.

Analytical intelligence reflects the ability to put together the mental processing ‘components’ needed when applying intelli- gence to a problem normally measured on an IQ test, and it is needed for success in an academic setting. This type of intelligence relates to the internal processing of information needed for the straightforward tasks and problems that we confront in everyday life.

Creative intelligence is the ability to come up with new ideas and novel solutions to problems.

Practical intelligence is the ability to deal with everyday problems and find practical, commonsense solutions.

Question 21

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Answer 21

musical, 
bodily/kinaesthetic, 
spatial , 
linguistic or verbal, 
logical/mathematical, 
intrapersonal (self-understanding) and interpersonal (social skills). 

Subsequent research by Gardner led to naturalistic intelligence (understanding patterns and processes in environments) being added as another basic type of intelligence.

Gardner has also sug- gested the possibility for a spiritual intelligence and an existential intelligence.

Question 22

Heredity and Intelligence

Answer 22

The heritability of IQ in children is about .45 but reaches about .75 in adulthood; thus, a substantial percentage of the difference in IQ between most individuals is genetic. Heritability does not imply immutability. Every genetic effect acts within an environmental circumstance, and changing the environment, such as placing a poor child in a middle-class home, can have a substantial impact on IQ.