Week 7 (Intelligence: Theories, measures, and debates) Flashcards
Galton (1865 onwards)
One of the first to pursue the idea that humans differed in intelligence (hereditary)
Binet (1905)
-Created first intelligence test
-Aim of identifying what children would need further support ages 3-10
-Tests child mental age
Terman (1916)
Adapted Binet’s test to be used with children in the U.S from age 4-14
-Led to standardised testing, comparing children to other children
Stern (1912)
Used Binet’s test in Germany
-Developed Intelligent quotient (IQ)
-Compares mental age and actual age
Yerkes (1917)
-Head of committee appointed by APA to see how psychology could aid he war efforts.
-Committee decided that testing the intelligence of recruits would help them assign soldiers to appropriate roles/tasks
-Alpha test and beta test
Charles Spearman
-Introduced “g”
-Used several different tasks to test intelligence in children
-Then compared relationships between the different tasks
-Concluded if someone did well on one task, they’d do well on the other ones.
-Proposed a 2 factor theory of intelligence, the first being “specific abilities” or “s”, the second was “general intelligence” or “g”.
How is deviation IQ measured
Actual test score divided by expected test score for that age
Raven’s progressive theories
Like spearman’s tests, but wanted to minimise the influence f language and culture, so used primarily non-verbal problems.
Thurstone
-Challenged Spearman’s theory
-Argued that “g” results from primary mental abilities.
-Associative memory
-Number
-Perceptual speed
-Reasoning
-Spatial visualisation
-Verbal comprehension
-Word fluency
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
-Introduced theory that relegates the position of psychometric g
-Distinct intelligences that reside in different places in the brain
-Linguistic-verbal
-Logical-mathematical
-Visual-spatial
-Bodily-kinesthetic
-Musical
-Interpersonal
-Intrapersonal
-Naturalist
-Existential
Flynn effect
-The discovery that year-on-year, the average IQ score steadily increases
Causes
-Environmental boost - better nutrition?
-Improvements in schooling?
-Modernisation (Skills required in modern life)
-Testing attitudes ? And familiarity with testing?
-Tests no longer measure IQ?
Flynn’s take on Flynn effect
IQ tests are no completely invalidated by the Flynn effect, but they may e measuring only a limited range f cognitive abilities
-We are not getting smarter, we are getting better at very specific skills.
Bell curve consistency (1994)
-East Asians score 5 points higher than white Americans
-The Black-white gap: On average, white Americans score 15 points higher on IQ tests than black Americans
-Jensen (1998) assumes that any racial disparity in IQ os due to a difference in basic intellectually ability between races, g factor.
Alternative explanation to Race IQ gap
Cultural bias
-IQ tests devised by white middle-class individuals
-Even if IQ tests culturally balanced- actual activity of taking tests unfamiliar in some cultures
Stereotype threat
-Labelled as less intelligent, reduced confidence in academic potential , detrimental to learning?
3 most common explanations to race IQ gap
Genetic
-Hard-wired differences. Some groups are “naturally” disadvantaged in competing for resources and doing well in life
Environmental
-Society is unfair towards certain groups (culture-only hypothesis)
Test bias
-IQ tests are designed to favour certain groups
