Topic 1: Intelligence Background Flashcards
What is intelligence?
The ability to acquire and use knowledge and skills.
How did early theorists define intelligence?
By using intelligence tests.
What did Spearman suggest about intelligence?
Intelligence is based on a general factor (‘g’) that affects performance across many subjects.
What is the ‘g’ factor?
A general mental ability that explains about 50% of the differences in intellectual performance.
What is the Three-Stratum Model?
A model of intelligence with general ability at the top and more specific abilities below it.
How do modern theories differ from Spearman’s theory?
Modern theories focus on a range of specific abilities, not just one general factor.
What did Halpern find about sex differences in intelligence?
Men are better at tasks like mental rotation, while women excel in verbal tasks.
What did Hair’s study show about brain differences in men and women?
Men have more grey matter for reasoning and motor skills, while women have more in areas related to language.
Do men and women have the same IQ scores?
Yes, despite different abilities, men and women generally have similar IQ scores.
What did Van Goozen find about hormone changes in transsexuals?
Female-to-male transsexuals showed decreased verbal skills and increased spatial skills, and the opposite happened for male-to-female transsexuals.
What do genetic studies suggest about intelligence?
Both genes and environment influence intelligence.
What did Scarr and Weinberg (1978) find about adopted children?
Children’s IQs were more similar to their biological parents than to their adoptive parents.
What did Plomin and Defries (1998) find about twins?
MZ twins had more similar IQs than DZ twins, suggesting genetics play a role.
What did Scarr (1997) find about MZ twins raised apart?
MZ twins raised apart were more similar in intelligence than DZ twins raised together.
What did Desrivières et al. (2014) discover about the NPTN gene?
That it is a gene variant linked to thinner grey matter in the brain, affecting IQ test performance in teens.
What problem can arise from comparing MZ and DZ twins?
Parents may have similar traits (Assortive Mating), and therefore similar IQ scores which means that there would be limited differences between DZ twins.
What is Gene-Environment Interaction?
Some environments can activate certain genes, affecting intelligence.
What is a limitation of twin studies?
Twin studies may not consider how parents influence both genes and the environment.
What is estimation bias in genetic studies?
Estimation bias can lead to overestimating or underestimating the role of genetics in intelligence.
