Week 9 - Theories of intelligence Flashcards
Why test intelligence?
We test intelligence for prediction, to test academic merit, to identify people’s strengths and weaknesses, to help provide diagnostic information for developmental disorders and psychiatric conditions.
Where do the roots of intelligence testing come from?
3000 years ago in China
When did the first standardised and valid intelligence tests come about?
1908
Where do the roots of formal intelligence testing come from?
England and France
What two areas did early intelligence tests focus on?
- psychophysical abilities (stimulus & response)
- judgmental abilities
How and why did Galton test intelligence?
- Was a eugenicist and wanted to breed out ‘dumb’ people
- psychophysical approach, used sensorimotor tests but found no consistent links between tests
Why did Binet want to develop an intelligence test?
- In France, attitudes towards the insane and mentally retarded were changing
- Binet thought that mental processes interact with each other to solve complex problems. e.g. remembering numbers uses concentration and memory
In his “modern” approach, what three characteristics did Binet think intelligence involved?
- direction
- adaption
- criticism
What was Binet and Simon’s (1905) definition of intelligence?
the ability to judge well, to understand well, to reason well
What was Terman’s (1916) definition of intelligence?
the capacity to form concepts & to grasp their significance
What was 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 was Spearman’s (1923) definition of intelligence?
a general ability which involves mainly the education of relations and correlates.
What was Weschler’s (1939) definition of intelligence?
the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment
What was Eysenck’s (1986) definition of intelligence?
error-free transmission of information through the cortex
In the academic definitions, what are 3 common themes regarding the nature of intelligence?
- the capacity to learn
- the total knowledge a person has acquired
- successful adaptation to new situations/environments (intelligence tests don’t often capture this last point)
What 3 common themes do lay people think intelligence involves?
- verbal intelligence
- problem solving
- practical intelligence
Explain Spearman’s model of intelligence
- there is an underlying ‘general intelligence’ (g) used to perform any test
- there are also ‘specific factors’ (s) e.g. logical, spatial
- All IQ tests correlate to some degree, the commonality is called ‘g’. The more ‘g’, the better.
- all unrelated factors are called ‘s’
What is a negative about Spearman’s model?
It doesn’t adequately represent social skills
According to Spearman, what are 4 specific intelligence factors?
- mechanical
- logical
- arithmetical
- spatial
What are the multidimensional models of intelligence?
- Thurstone’s 7 primary mental abilities
- P.E. Vemon’s hierarchical group factor theory
- Guilford’s Structure of Intelligence (SOI) model
- Gf-Gc and Modern Variants
- The CHC model
- The McGrew-Flanagan CHC Model
Describe Thurstone’s model of intelligence
- Approx 7 primary mental abilities • Verbal comprehension • Spatial visualisation • Memory • Perceptual speed • Number • Inductive reasoning • Verbal fluency
Describe P.E. Vermon’s model of intelligence
- Hierarchical group factor theory with ‘g’ at the top of the hierarchy
- ‘g’ includes 2 factors of verbal-education, and spatial-mechanical
- minor group factors and specific factors are below
Describe Guilford’s model of intelligence
- Structure of Intellect model (SOI)
- Intelligence can be understood as a cube made up of operations, contents and products
- There are up to 150 factors of intelligence
Describe Cattel & Horn’s model(s) of intelligence
- Two major factors of fluid intelligence and crystal intelligence
- Horn proposed additional factors to make a stratum model with 69 abilities
- Cattel made it into a 3 stratum model with ‘g’ at the top. Influenced by Spearman & Thurstone
Describe the McGrew-Flanagan (1998) CHC model of intelligence
- Similar to Carroll’s model, with the addition of decision making speed.
- 10 broad stratum abilities followed by 70 or so narrow abilities
Describe the speed-of-processing approach to intelligence
- Information processing approach (influenced by cog psych)
- concerned with how information is transferred rather than what information
- assumption = faster processing correlates with higher intelligence
What are the limitations of IP and factor analytic approaches?
Only consider specific mental processes. Don’t measure interpersonal skills, socialisation etc.
Describe Gardner’s approach to intelligence
- Multiple types of intelligences (not just academic)
- 9 types of intelligence
Describe Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence
- Componential or analytic intelligence
- meta-components
- performance components
- knowledge-acquisition components - Experiential (or creative) intelligence
- Contextual (or practical) intelligence
- use of all 3 areas is called ‘successful intelligence’
