COGNITION

Definition

“process of organizing informationto solve a problem”

– thinking, decision making– reasoning, judging, imagining

All depend on learning & memory

History of Intelligence:Plato, Galton, Binet

“No two persons are born exactlyalike, but each differs from the other by

natural endowments, one being more suitedfor one occasion and the other for another”

Alfred Binet and theIntelligence Quotient (IQ)

• First calculate the child’s mental age– corresponds to the age of ability– 9 yr old with a mental age of 7 would struggle

• Divide mental age by chronological age

IQ = 100 * MA / CA

125 = 100*10/8

Intelligence:What is it?

Not a thing, but a concept:“a person’s capacity forgoal-directed behaviour”

• Standardization, Reliability, & Validity• Culture-Free Intelligence Tests• Genetic and Environmental Influence• General vs. Specific Abilities

Intelligence Testing:Standardization, Reliability, Validity

• Standardization– Uniform administration and performance norms

• Reliability– Consistent results; 102 – 53 – 146 in 3 months– Current test reliabilites are >.90 (high reliab.)

• Validity– Test measures what it is supposed to measure– Compare IQ score to other measures of IQ– Stanford-Binet vs. Wechsler (correls of .40-.75)

Consistent Group Differencesin Intelligence Testing

• Male vs. Female

– Males: +45 math, +8 verbal SAT

• Black vs. White (Americans)

– Blacks: -15 Full IQ, -100 verbal/math SAT

• Japanese vs. American

– Japanese: <3% popln, >25% science awards

Bias in Intelligence Testing:What is a ‘regatta’?

• Are current tests of mental ability unfair to minority groups?– African Americans score 10-15 points lower– Review of evidence produced no clear explanation

• Tests typically assume the same educational and cultural experiences– Do the scores reflect a socially disadvantaged

environment; they still have predictive validity

Intelligence:Culture Free Testing

• Intelligent behaviour varies by situation– South Pacific Islands, Manager, Inner City

Can we ever have a test of intelligenceuninfluenced by one’s culture?

(basic cognitive abilities)

• Initial results have been disappointing– Largely perceptual/spacial tasks– High SES and Europeans still score higher

Source of Intelligence:Genetics vs. Environment

Sparks a fierce political debate

• Genetics“Do people with similar geneshave similar mental abilities?”

• Environment“Do life experiences matter,

and if so, how early?”

Six Explanations Why Group Differences are Environmental

Cultural differences in education

Barriers to disadvantaged groups

Adoption studies

Infant Picture Test

African ancestry

Rise & fall of all cultures

Intelligence: GeneralVersus Specific Abilities

Should we represent intelligenceby one number or several numbers?

Specific– talents: math, music, dance, art, writing, sports– single number would be useless

General– general intelligence (g) underlies all abilities– appears to be true with physical ability