Theories of Intelligence Flashcards
Theories of intelligence
Spearman (1923)-Theory of General Intelligence
- Thurstone (1938)-The Seven Primary Mental Abilities
- Cattell (and Horn) (1963)-Crystallised and Fluid Intelligence
- Guilford (1967)-Structure of Intellect Model
- Gardner (1983)-Multiple Intelligences
- Sternberg (1985)-Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Whats a factor?
verbal factors of intelligence
represents a number of ‘things’ that go together to make a latent ability
- Vocabulary
- Reading comprehension
- Spelling
factor analysis
Data reduction
- If two tests/tasks are correlated, they must be measuring something similar
- If two tests/tasks are NOT correlated, they must be measuring different things
- Visual processing = Vi1 and Vi2-
Verbal processing = Ve1 and Ve2
very high correlations among variables measuring the same thing
•High correlation among variables measuring similar things-Spatial processing = Sp1 and Sp
Spearman (1904, 1927) – General Intelligence
positive correlations between many tests
- Positive manifold – the tendency to do well on a variety of tests
- Two factor theory of Intelligence
- ‘g’ - the general factor
- ‘s’ – other specific factors
Spearman (1904, 1927) – General Intelligence
types of general and specific intelligence
general Intelligence – ‘g’ -General ability -Intelligence required for all types of tests -Underlies the specific abilities •Specific Intelligences – ‘s’ -Mechanical Intelligence -Verbal Intelligence -Spatial Intelligence -Mathematical Intelligence
Spearman (1904, 1927) – General Intelligence
issues
many eminent psychologists still follow Spearman’s ideas on ‘g’
•Others think it too simplistic to capture the great breadth of human intellcegene
Thurstone (1938) – Seven Primary Mental Abilities
analysed data from 56 different tests of mental abilities
•Seven Primary Mental Abilities
- Verbal comprehension
- Verbal fluency
- Number facility
- Spatial visualization
- Perceptual speed
- Memory
- Inductive reasoning
- Abilities are relatively independent of one another
- A person with exceptional perceptual speed might lack word fluenncy
whats word fluency
abiliity to use words quickly and fluently in performing such tasks as rhyming, solving anagrams and doing crossword puzzles
verbal Comprehension
ability to understand the meaning of words, concepts and ideas
numerical ability
ability to use numbers to quickly compute answers to problems
spatial visualization
ability to visualize and manipulate patterns and forms in space
perceptual speed
ability to grasp perceptual details quickly and accurately and to determine similarities and differences between stimuli
memory
ability to recall information such as lists or words, mathematical formulas and definition
inductive reasoning
ability to derive general rules and principles from presented informatio
thurstone (1938) – Seven Primary Mental Abilities - issues
- Investigators noticed that those who excelled in one of the seven clusters generally scored well in the other clusters
- They concluded that some evidence of Spearman’s’g’ factor still existed
Cattell (1963) – Fluid and Crystallised Intelligence
Utilised Factor Analysis
•Identified only two “Clusters” of intelligence
•Fluid and Crystallised intelligence
whats Fluid intelligence (Gf)
•Ability to problem solve in novel situations without referencing prior knowledge, but rather using logic and abstract thinking
•Elements:
-Reasoning
-Abstract problem solving
-Free of cultural influences
-Fluid intelligence is thought to be present from birth, to develop with age and then to stabilize in adulthood
whats crystallised intelligence ( Gc)
the use of previously-acquired knowledge, such as specific facts
•Elements:
- Acquired knowledge-Influenced by culture
- Examples are vocabulary, general knowledge and comprehension
- Increases throughout life
cattell theory
intelligence is composed of a number of different abilities that interact and work together to produce overall individual intelligence (Cattell and Horn, 1966)
- Fluid intelligence can become crystallized intelligence
- Novel solutions from fluid intelligence can develop into crystallised intelligence after they are incorporated into long-term memory
- Different forms of intelligence overlap and interact with one another, revealing its dynamic nature
guildford 1967 - structure of intellect
Structure of Intellect Model •Three core components -Contents -Products -Operations •Known as dimensions •Originally 120 factors, then 150, then 18
- Five types of Operations (cognition, memory, divergent production, convergent production, evaluation)
- Six types of Products (units, classes, relations, systems, transformations, and implications)
- Five types of Contents (visual, auditory, symbolic, semantic, behavioural)
- Since each of these dimensions is independent, there are theoretically 150 different components of intelligence
- Later Memory was split into Memory Recording and Memory Retention to give 6 x 6 x 5 = 180 components
Guildford 1967 - takeaway
Guildford’s Structure of Intellect model has few supporters today
- Based on flawed analysis and computations
- “Guilford’s SOI model must, therefore, be marked down as a somewhat eccentric aberration in the history of intelligence models
.The fact that so much attention has been paid to it is disturbing … have given the impression that the model is valid and widely accepted, when clearly it is not” (Carroll, 1993
Gardener 1983 - Multiple Intelligences
No single intelligence, but rather distinct, independent multiple intelligences exist
- Each represents a unique set of skills and talents relevant to a certain category
- Gardner (1983, 1987) initially proposed seven Multiple Intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal
- Since added Naturalist Intelligence
- And then Existential Intelligence
Gardener - now
- Activities (such as dancing) will involve a combination of these multiple intelligences (such as spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences)
- Suggests that these multiple intelligences can help us understand concepts beyond intelligence - such as creativity and leadership
Linguistic - language skills
- Logical-mathematical - numerical skills
- Spatial - understanding relationships in space
- Musical - skills such as playing an instrument
- Bodily kinaesthetic - using the body
- Interpersonal - understanding and relating to others
- Intrapersonal - understanding oneself
- Naturalist - understanding and interacting with living things
- Existential - ability to pose existential questions such as: Who am I? and Why am I here?
Gardener part 2
Specific brain areas
- Interconnection between different intelligences
- No g factor-intelligences are relatively independent -No single score for IQ
•Intelligences should be measured during school activities
-IQ rejection
