Post on 13-Jan-2016
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Thinking, Language, & Intelligence Overview
Intelligence What Is Intelligence?
Theories of Intelligence
Assessing Intelligence
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores
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• Intelligence is what you use when you don't know what to do.
Jean Piaget
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What is Intelligence?
Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and
use our knowledge to adapt to new situations.
In research studies, intelligence is whatever the intelligence test measures.
This tends to be “school smarts.”
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General Intelligence
Spearman proposed that general intelligence (g) is a general intelligence that underlies
successful performance on a wide variety of tasks.
For example, people who do well on vocabulary examinations do well on paragraph
comprehension examinations, a cluster that helps define verbal intelligence. Other factors include a spatial ability factor, and a reasoning
ability factor.
Link Battle of the Brains 49:23
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Contemporary Intelligence Theories
Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports the idea that intelligence comes in multiple independent
forms.
Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability but not others.
People with savant syndrome excel in abilitiesunrelated to general intelligence.
Sacks Defines Savant
Derek Paravicini 14:21
Kim Peak vid
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Howard Gardner
Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences
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Triarchic Theory
Sternberg agrees with Gardner, but suggests three intelligences rather than eight.
1. Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessed by intelligence tests.
2. Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us adapt to novel situations, generating novel ideas.
3. Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required for everyday tasks (e.g. street smarts).
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Intelligence and Creativity
Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. It correlates
somewhat with intelligence.1. Expertise: A well-developed knowledge base.2. Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things in
novel ways, recognize patterns and make connections.
3. A Venturesome Personality: A personality that seeks new experiences rather than following the pack.
4. Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be creative from within, must enjoy challenges.
5. A Creative Environment: A creative and supportive environment allows creativity to bloom.Creativity on TED
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Emotional Intelligence: Components
Component Description
Perceive emotionRecognize emotions in faces,
music and stories
Understand emotionPredict emotions, how they
change and blend
Manage emotionExpress emotions in different
situations
Use emotionUtilize emotions to adapt or be
creative
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Emotional Intelligence: Criticism
Gardner and others criticize the idea of emotional intelligence and question whether
we stretch this idea of intelligence too far when we apply it to our emotions.
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Assessing Intelligence
Intelligence test: a method for
assessing an individual’s mental
aptitudes and comparing them with others using numerical scores.
Link Testing and Intel AM 27:08
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Alfred Binet
Alfred Binet practiced a modern form of
intelligence testing by developing questions
that would predict children’s future
progress in the Paris school system.
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Lewis Terman
In the US, Lewis Terman adapted Binet’s
test for American school children and named the test the
Stanford-Binet Test.
The following is the formula of Intelligence
Quotient (IQ)
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Aptitude and Achievement Tests
Aptitude tests are intended to predict your ability to learn a new skill and
achievement tests are intended to reflect what you have already learned.
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David Wechsler
Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
(WAIS) and later the Wechsler Intelligence
Scale for Children (WISC), an
intelligence test for school-aged children.
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WAISWAIS measures overall intelligence and other
aspects related to intelligence that are designed to assess clinical and educational problems.
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Principles of Test Construction
For a psychological test to be acceptable it must fulfill the following three criteria:
1. Standardization2. Reliability3. Validity
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Standardization
Standardizing a test involves administering the test to a representative sample of future test takers in order to establish a basis for
meaningful comparison.
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Normal Curve
Standardized tests establish a normal distribution of scores on a tested population in a bell-shaped pattern called the normal curve.
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Approximate Distribution of IQ Scores in the Population
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Reliability
A test is reliable when it yields consistent results.
To establish reliability researchers establish different procedures:
1. Split-half Reliability: Dividing the test into two equal halves and assessing how consistent the scores are.
2. Test-Retest Reliability: Using the same test on two occasions to measure consistency.
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Validity
Does the test measure what it is supposed to measure.
1. Content Validity: Refers to the extent a test measures a particular behavior or trait.
2. Predictive Validity: Refers to the function of a test in predicting a particular behavior or trait.
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Stability or Change?Intelligence scores become stable after about seven
years of age. In numerous studies the stability of intelligence scores has been determined (Angoff,
1988; Deary et al., 2004).
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Extremes of Intelligence
A valid intelligence test divides two groups of people into two extremes: the mentally retarded (IQ 70) and individuals with high
intelligence (IQ 135). These two groups are significantly different.
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High Intelligence
Contrary to popular belief, people with high intelligence test scores tend to be healthy, well
adjusted, and unusually successful academically.
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Mental RetardationMentally retarded individuals required constant
supervision a few decades ago, but with a supportive family environment and special education they can now
care for themselves.Many are mainstreamed into regular classes.
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Flynn EffectFlynn effect: In the past 60 years,
intelligence scores have risen steadily by an average of 27 points.
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Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence
No other topic in psychology is so passionately followed as the one that asks the question, “Is
intelligence due to genetics or environment?”
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Genetic InfluencesStudies of twins, family members, and adopted
children together support the idea that there is a significant genetic contribution to intelligence.
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Adoption StudiesAdopted children show a marginal correlation
in verbal ability to their adopted parents.
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Heritability
The variation in intelligence test scores attributable to
genetics. We credit heredity with 50% of the
variation in intelligence.
It pertains only to why people differ from one another, not to the individual.
Link What makes a Genius 58:55
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Early Intervention EffectsEarly neglect from caregivers leads children to
develop a lack of personal control over the environment, and it impoverishes their intelligence.
Romanian orphans with minimalhuman interaction are delayed in their development.
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Schooling EffectsSchooling is an experience that pays dividends,
which is reflected in intelligence scores. Increased schooling correlates with higher intelligence scores.
To increase readiness for schoolwork,projects like Head Start facilitate leaning.
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Ethnic Similarities and Differences
1. Racial groups differ in their average intelligence scores.
2. High-scoring people (and groups) are more likely to attain high levels of education and income.
To discuss this issue we begin with two disturbing but agreed upon facts:
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IQ and Expectations
• Teachers expectations affect student performance.
• Teachers given IQ scores rated not gifted students as less curious and less interested, this was reflected in grades too.
• Second test, kids labeled as gifted had an increase of at least 10 pts.
• 20% of gifted group gained 30 pts.
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Ready to be offended…
Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence
© POSbase 2008
Birth Order: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Average IQNumber of Siblings:__________________________________________________________________1 104 1042 102 102 1023 100 100 100 1004 98 98 98 98 985 96 96 96 96 96 96__________________________________________________________________Average IQ: 100 99 98 97 96__________________________________________________________________
The more siblings, the lower is the intelligence of each child
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Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence
© POSbase 2008
The authors concluded that this means that large
families do not result in less intelligent children, as
some studies suggest, but less intelligent parents
make larger families. Ouch...
Most importantly, they found a correlation between the
IQ of the mothers and family size.
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Environmental Effects
Differences in intelligence among these groups are largely environmental, as if one environment is more fertile in developing
these abilities than the other. Link 2:54, Link 6:02
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Gender Similarities and Differences
There are seven ways in which males and females differ in various abilities.
1. Girls are better spellers
2. Girls are more verbally fluent and are better at remembering words
3. Girls are better at nonverbal memory
4. Girls are more sensitive to touch, taste, and odor
5. Boys outnumber girls in counts of underachievement
6. Boys outperform girls at math problem solving & spatial ability tests
7. Women detect emotions more easily than men do
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The Question of Bias
Aptitude tests are necessarily biased in the sense that they are sensitive to performance differences caused by cultural differences.
However, aptitude tests are not biased in the sense that they accurately predict performance of one group over the other.
Tests have reduced discrimination because they have limited the reliance on subjectivity.
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Test-Takers’ Expectations
A stereotype threat is a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based
on a negative stereotype.
Your own worst enemy
is you!
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According to the Experts
• Intelligence is what you use when you don't know what to do.
• Jean Piaget
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End
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Tacit Intelligence• Everyday intelligence not taught in school• General intelligence tests are limited
– Predicts success in school, complex occupations– Cannot predict tacit intelligence– Persons with low or limited general intelligence
rarely have high tacit intelligence– Persons with high general intelligence – more likely
to have good practical knowledge across many areas
Cognition, Language, and Intelligence
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Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence
The study of Rodgers et al. (2000):
Contributor © POSbase 2008
In popular culture, birth order was believed to influence
intelligence. Indeed, many studies found that birth order
influenced intelligence: The older the child, the more
intelligent.
However, most of those studies had a vital flaw (see also
Ernst & Angst, 1983): Data were cross-sectional. They
often assessed soldiers‘ birth order and intelligence.
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Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence
© POSbase 2008
Therefore, birth order was not analysed within-family, but
between different families.
This could lead to apparent birth-order effects that are not
real if increasing sibship size decreases intelligence. This
has to do with the fact that the youngest in a two-child
family can not be a single child; the youngest of three
children family can not be from a two-child family, etc.
Look at the example in the next slide:
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Birth Order: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Average IQNumber of Siblings:__________________________________________________________________1 104 1042 102 102 1023 100 100 100 1004 98 98 98 98 985 96 96 96 96 96 96__________________________________________________________________Average IQ: 100 99 98 97 96__________________________________________________________________
Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence
© POSbase 2008
Although there is no difference between siblings within the family, average IQ for increasing birth order
decreases because older children weigh more in calculating the average.
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Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence
© POSbase 2008
Therefore, it is necessary to have longitudinal data.
That is why the authors analyzed data from a large,
national longitudinal sample where they could compare
intelligence of siblings within family.
Indeed, the found the pattern presented in the last slides:
There were significant effects of family size, but no
effects of birth order.
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Birth Order, Family Size, and Intelligence
© POSbase 2008
These results have to be taken with some caution:
The Parental IQ – Family Size correlation is not
necessarily a biological phenomenon. It could just
be fashionable in certain circles to have fewer
children. If fashion in those same circles
prescribed more children, the effect could turn; but
this is an open question.