Understanding the meaning and limitations of intelligence- testing

Question 1

What is intelligence?

Answer 1

IQ
Intelligence is a capacity to learn or adapt and has many domains.

We tend to focus on the ones which are easier to objectively operationalise

We do not have the means of measuring intelligence.

Identifying intelligent behaviour involves social and cultural competence.

Question 2

Theoretical construct?

Answer 2

• Number which represents ones performance on an IQ test
• IQ tests measure only those aspects of intelligent behaviour which are easily recorded in an individuals context
• Measured by IQ test scores
• These are designed to produce normal distributions

Question 3

What factors affect intelligence scores?

Answer 3

Being a complex phenomena, a focus on the interaction between genetic and environmental

Components is where we begin to address the question

The addressable ‘action’ turns out mostly to take place across environmental variability

Question 4

Genetic contributions

Answer 4

Likely to be a complex genetic component so many genes are interacting which then is moderated by regression to the mean efforts.

Genetic variations within populations are greater than those between populations

Genetic contributions are not particular interesting for explaining general differences between populations.

Genetic contributions are not particularly interesting for explaining general differences between populations.

Question 5

What factors affect intelligence scores?

Answer 5

Genes and environments

Takes place across environmental variability.

Question 6

Environmental features which affect test scores

Answer 6

Developmental environment
Nutrition, sleep, and general health.
Prior learning
Family history of education

Educational environment
Opportunities to learn and practice skills being tested

Testing environment
Culturally- appropriate testing materials

Question 7

Why measure proxies for intelligence?

Answer 7

• To understand development
• To assess difficulties
• But not to compare to populations

Question 8

Important methodological

Answer 8

on what we can do and cannot do with test scores.

The variations of these test scores largely reflect consequence of people opportunities in life.

Question 9

Psychometric testing

Answer 9

Pivotal moment for psychology’s exponential expansion as a discipline
Multi million dollar industry and a seat at the political table

Question 10

Abuses of testing

Answer 10

Misunderstanding of what we are measuring
- Pearson, Spearman, Fischer
- Terman, Yerkes, Goddard
- Stanford Binet IQ test

Using measurement to meet socially responsible commitments.
- Individual testing can support generative insights which allows us to compare within group or make post insult assessments