Week 5 Theories of Intelligence Flashcards
Identify some factors which can be used to measure intelligence.
- abstract reasoning
- general knowledge
- linguistic competence
- being quick-witted
- problem solving
- creativity and divergent thinking
- memory
- adaptability to environment
- capacity to acquire new knowledge
What is Spearman’s (1904) definition of intelligence?
A general ability to infer relations and correlates
What is Binet’s (1916) definition of intelligence
Tendency to take and maintain a definite direction; capacity to make adaptations for the purpose of attaining a desired end and power of auto criticism
What is Thurstone’s (1921) definition of intelligence?
The capacity to inhibit instinctive adjustments, flexibly, imagine different responses and realise modified instinctive adjustments into overt behaviour
What is Wechsler’s (1939) definition of intelligence
Aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with the environment
What is Sternberg’s (1985) definition of intelligence
Mental activities involved in purposive adaptation to, shaping of and selection of real-world environments relevant to one’s life
True or False: the concept of IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is exactly synonymous with intelligence?
False. it is ALMOST synonymous.
Who uses intelligence quotient and how is it graphically represented?
What is the mean and SD?
- Laypeople & academics
- Bell curve/ normal distribution.
- Mean of 100 and SD of 15
What does it mean for intelligence to be a “latent” construct?
A construct that comes about by making inferences. It cannot be directly measured and its conceptualisation is driven by underlying behaviour and measured by observation.
Since intelligence is a latent construct, how is it measured?
Behaviours are quantified/ measured in terms of individual differences on standardised performance tests.
Describe the psychometric approach of studying intelligence
- Intelligence can be measured by conducting tests.
- Intelligence theories are a result of data obtained from testing
Alfred Binet’s theory of intelligence defines intelligence as the combined capacity to: (3)
(find purpose + adaptability to maintain purpose)
1. find and maintain a definite direction/ purpose
- make necessary adjustments whilst trying to achieve purpose
- be willing to engage in self-criticism/ reflection to allow for adaptation
Which 4 components of intelligence are involved in Binet’s theory of intelligence?
(MARJ)
(MARJ)
- Memory
- Abstraction
- Reasoning
- Judgement
What is general mental ability (Binet)?
abilities cannot be separated because they interact to produce a solution
What is age differentiation (Binet)?
Certain cognitive abilities (intelligence) increase with age.
Testing intelligence by giving people tasks which a certain age level should be able to complete (e.g. Are you smarter than a 5th grader.)
Explain Charles Spearman’s - “Spearman’s g”
Spearman’s g is the general mental ability/mental ability and it is an underlying factor of all intelligence.
- performance on other factors of intelligence is influenced by the “g’
- based on performance on diverse tests - Spearman believed that performance on tests was largely contingent on general mental ability
According to Spearman’s theory of intelligence, what are the two factors which constitute intelligence ?
a general single factor (g) and numerous specific factors (s)
- the “g” is the one that “holds it down” for the others “S”. It is always underlying in the background.
What is the difference between Spearman’s theory of intelligence and Raymond Cattell’s theory?
What is a similarity?
Raymond Cattell proposed two “higher order” factors of intelligence (fluid & crystallised) whereas Spearman proposed one single factor (g).
Similarity: Cattell’s theory conceptualises the higher order factors as Gf and Gc and it contains lower-level specific factors. They are similar because they include specific factors and both confirm the “hierarchal” view of intelligence.
What are the two higher order factors of Raymond Cattell’s theory?
Fluid and crystallised
Explain fluid intelligence (Raymond Cattell)
A higher order factor of intelligence which is thought to have a biological basis (born with it). ** fixed mindset
It includes the capacity for problem solving and reasoning as well as an ability to learn new things.
Explain crystallised intelligence (Raymond Cattell)
A higher order factor of intelligence which goes beyond the capacity one has at birth. ** growth mindset
It is acquired through education, experience and practice. It includes accumulated knowledge and is based on fixed intelligence.
Which model did Cattell’s theory form the basis of?
C-H-C model
Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model
What is the way in which David Wechsler conceptualised intelligence?
“global” or “aggregate” intelligence.
Global ability can be measured by quantifying several aspects of differential abilities : verbal; performance; perceptual/ non-verbal reasoning; working memory; processing speed
- observing them individually then adding the score.
David Wechsler viewed intelligence as ___ rather than ___. He differed from earlier intelligence theorists because he considered the role of ___ such as __ and __ rather than the biological factors.
a) Effect, cause
David Wechsler viewed intelligence as effect rather than cause. He differed from earlier intelligence theorists because he considered the role of non-intellective factors such as affect and personality rather than the biological factors.
It is known that a main difference between Cattell and Spearman is that Cattell proposed that there were two main factors of intelligence as opposed to one (Spearman).
Which theorist diverged even further away from these two theorists and proposed that intelligence is comprised of multiple broad group factors?
Who is this theorist most similar to and why?
Louis Thurstone.
Similar to Wechsler as they both believed that intelligence involves multiple non-intellective factors.
Eventually, Thurstone came to recognise that the underlying g factor did make sense because he found correlations between the multiple broad groups of intelligence.
Explain Thurstone’s theory of intelligence
A multi-faceted construct which is an adaptational process. He believed intelligence involves the achievement of goals through planning, the imagination of goals/outcomes, inhibition of instinctual responses to prioritise rationality and being very goal-oriented.
What are the 7 primary levels of intelligence proposed by Thurstone?
- Verbal comprehension - vocab, comprehension and analogies
- Word fluency - express ideas and concepts e.g. anagrams, rhymes and metaphors
- Number facility - mental calculations w/ speed & accuracy
- Spatial visualisation - mentally rotate figures & visualise one’s self in space
- Associative memory - rote learning
- Perceptual speed - rapidly spot visual stimuli e.g. similarities, differences & patterns.
- Reasoning - inductive, deductive, inferential, logical thought processing
Describe Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic theory of intelligence
Intelligence is comprised of analytic, creative and practical elements.
(1) identify & capitalize on their strengths
(2) identify and correct or compensate for their weaknesses
(3) adapt to, shape, & select environments.
it’s about forming competencies which develop into mastery and looking at intelligence as modifiable rather than fixed (similar to Cattell).
Describe the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model
A 3 strata-theory which begins with “g” as the general mental ability and branches onto broad factors such as fluid reasoning, visual processing, memory, decision/processing speed. The last strata involves more specific factors/ narrow abilities.
What sparked controversy in the early stages of intelligence research?
The shift from believing intelligence was predominately innate/ inherited to a factor which is influenced by the environment.
Particularly Francis Galton (founder of eugenics) who believed “nature prevails enormously over nurture”.
What are the three types of studies used to determine if it is genetics or environment contributing to intelligence?
Family studies - child shares both the genes and environment with biological parents, thus effects of genes and environment are confounded.
Adoption studies - child shares genes w/ biological parents, environment w adoptive. Genetic conclusions made if child behaves like biological parents & vice versa.
Twin studies - Fraternal teins share 50% of genes, identical share 100% of genes. Comparing the twins provides evidence for genetics as an influential factor. (matched design).
Heritability of intelligence increases from about __% in infancy to perhaps __% in later adulthood (Plomin & Deary,
2015)
Heritability of intelligence increases from about 20% in infancy to perhaps 80% in later adulthood (Plomin & Deary,
2015)
Shared environments can significantly/non-significantly moderate the effects of non-shared environments on academic achievement and verbal intelligence (Daw, Guo & Harris, 2015)
Shared environments can significantly moderate the effects of non-shared environments on academic achievement and verbal intelligence (Daw, Guo & Harris, 2015)
Intelligence is closely associated with education and ___ ___(Plomin & Deary, 2015)
Intelligence is closely associated with education and social class (Plomin & Deary, 2015)
List some environmental factors of intelligence
- diet
- poverty and resources
- education
- motivation and expectation
(your expectations and those of others) - environmental stimulation (e.g. what you do in ur spare time, friends, growing up around books)
- toxins
Level of genetic relatedness negatively/positively associated with the size of IQ correlation between family members
Level of genetic relatedness positively associated with the size of IQ correlation between family members
Shared environment is also a positive/negative/strong/weak predictor of IQ scores (though weaker than genes)
Shared environment is also a positive predictor of IQ scores (though weaker than genes)
true or false,
Twin studies provide indirect evidence for the effect of environmental factors on intelligence, “about a third of the total variance can be explained by shared environmental influences” (Plomin & Spinath, 2004, p.114)
true
The importance of upbringing as opposed to genes –declines/increases after adolescence and the effect of genes tends to increase/decrease over time
The importance of upbringing as opposed to genes –declines after adolescence and the effect of genes tends to increase over time
List the main features of the 1905 Binet Intelligence scale
developed to identify children with limited intellectual capacity –> offered help
- 30 items which increased in difficulty
- used terms which we would consider outdated today e.g. idiot, imbecile, moron
- first measure of human intelligence
- problems: measuring unit, normative data, validity documentation
What amendments were made in the 1908 Binet scale?
- group items according to age –> mental age
- mental ages vs chronological age. age scale formed the basis of contemporary tests
Describe the 1916 Stanford-Binet scale (SB-1)
- Developed by L. M Terman of Standford University
- intelligence quotient — main amendement
- IQ = (mental age / chronological age) x 100
- age differentiation, mental age and general ability retained
- not just for young children, used for
Describe the 1960 Stanford-Binet scale (SB-3)
- not mental age. DEVIATION IQ:
- Deviation IQ: standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16 (now 15)
Describe the current Stanford-Binet scale (SB-5, 2003)
- utilises the C-H-C model (3 levels: general intelligence, 5 categories and then verbal and non-verbal)
- non-verbal and verbal scores - accounts for disparities in learning/language
- hybrid point (deviation IQ) and age IQ (mental age)
- routing tests - determines where a person should start instead of starting at the beginning
- basal and ceiling
- high ceiling - can detect greater intelligence by giving harder scores
- psychometrically robust - good validity and reliability
- standard deviation of 15 for IQ and factor scores
Describe the meaning of “basal” in the current Stanford-Binet scale (SB-5, 2003)
minimum correct responses of criterion from “starting point”
Describe the meaning of “ceiling” in the current Stanford-Binet scale (SB-5, 2003)
number of incorrect responses before testing is discontinued
What is a weakness of the 2003 Stanford-Binet scale?
- slightly outdated thus norms are not as relevant
- items not relevant to now e.g. question about stamps on envelope
which test is more commonly used? Stanford-Binet or Wechsler Scale?
Wechsler scale
Describe features of the Wechsler Scale of intelligence?
- developed for adults, seperate scales made for children
- large representative sample
- point scale not age
- mean of 100 and SD of 15
- Early version of test was separated into verbal and performance based tests.
- current version has 10 core subtypes and 5 supplement subtests
- general ability measure
Contrast the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler Scale
- Wechsler Scale was originally developed for adults whereas SB was initially for children
- point scale vs age scale (BS)
Name the Wechsler scales for children
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
- Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) for preschool children
What is a key difference between the 2003 and 2014 WISC?
the updated 2014 version has 5 instead of 4 index scores to be in line with the CHC model.
This is problematic when comparing tests over time if different versions of tests are administered.
On the WISC, what is considered to be a score in the extremely low range?
<69
bottom 2%, potential intellectual disability
On the WISC, what is considered to be a score in the borderline range?
70-79
On the WISC, what is considered to be a score in the low average range?
80-89
On the WISC, what is considered to be a score in the average range?
90-109
On the WISC, what is considered to be a score in the high average range?
110-119
On the WISC, what is considered to be a score in the superior range?
120-129
On the WISC, what is considered to be a score in the very superior/ gifted range?
> 130
top 2%, very intelligent
List the 5 indicies of the WISC
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Visual Spatial Index (VSI), Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI), Working Memory Index (WMI), and Processing Speed Index (PSI).
Describe the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) of the WISC
- most culturally related index
- connected to crystallised intelligence/ Gc
- stored knowledge
- language comprehension, articulation, defining words, understanding of similarities between words
- oral expression
Describe the visual Spatial Index (VSI) of the WISC
- combines fluid reasoning (comfort in new environments) and visual-spatial abilities.
- visual-motor coordination
- non-verbal reasoning
e.g. visual puzzles, maps and block design test
Describe the Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI) of the WISC
e.g. Matrix Reasoning subtest , Figure weights subtest
Describe the Working Memory Index (WMI) of the WISC
- retaining information in memory and manipulating it
- Arithmetic skills
- Attention, concentration, mental control, reasoning
Describe the Processing Speed Index (PSI) of the WISC
- weakest correlating factors and does represent the general ability
- visual processing and organisation
- fine motor coordination
- attention and sustained effort
IQ is represented by a normal distribution or bell curve, with a mean of [__] and SD of [__].
IQ is represented by a normal distribution or bell curve, with a mean of [100] and SD of [15].
Piaget suggested that intellect develops during 4 major periods. From 0-2 years old, infants are within the [_____] stage. The concrete operational stage occurs from [__] years old. The preoperational stage occurs from [___] years old. The [____l ] stage occurs from 12 years old until adulthood.
Piaget suggested that intellect develops during 4 major periods. From 0-2 years old, infants are within the [sensorimotor] stage. The concrete operational stage occurs from [7‑12] years old. The preoperational stage occurs from [2‑6] years old. The [formal operational ] stage occurs from 12 years old until adulthood.
