Post on 13-Dec-2015
Overview of the Day
Intelligence Definition Function
Intelligence and cultureGeneral or specific abilityPhysiology or intelligence Intelligence testing
What is Intelligence?
Goal directed, Adaptive behaviorApplication of cognitive skills and
knowledge to learn, solve problems, and obtain ends that are valued in a given culture
The capacity for goal-directed, adaptive behavior*
Plan, solve problems, think, reason, apply knowledge in novel situations
What is Intelligence For?
Related to reproduction? Not much
Related to developing expertise? Not much (expertise is related more to time and
deliberate practice)
What is the Function of Intelligence?
The capacity to exploit continually changing environments.
Intelligence should most benefit animals that are generalists
Creatures adapted to unvarying environments are better off with reliable, inflexible, genetically coded strategies or channelled learning of a narrow range of information
Gain knowledgeUse knowledge of
effectively organize behavior
Deal with problems using: thinking, reasoning, and planning
Is Intelligence Culturally Defined of Culture-Free?
Culturally defined: not a universal trait, but whatever it takes to successfully adapt to a given situation
Culture free: a basic cognitive ability that helps people solve problems in any environment
Resolution: Universal mental processes, but influenced by cultural experiences*
One General or Several Specific Abilities?
Charles Spearman: general intelligence* L L Thurnstone: multiple abilities
eight primary mental abilities (e.g., reasoning, memory, word fluency)
Howard Gardner: Multiple intelligences savant syndrome* music, math, athletic
Sternberg: triarchiach theory academic problem solving: school smarts, practical intelligence: common sense, street smarts* creative intelligence: novel situations
Physiology of Intelligence
Positive (but weak) association with brain size (less so for head size)*
Glucose processing efficiency (associated with using less glucose)*
Rapid information intakeNeural processing speed
Origins of Intelligence Testing
Francis Galton why are some people more successful than
others? Alfred Binet (and Theodore Simon)*
identify children likely to have difficulty in school coined the term “mental age”
Lewis Terman revised Binet’s test for wider age group coined the term ”IQ” (intelligence quotient) IQ = (MA/age) x 100
Measuring IQ
Aptitude* predict future performance
Achievement* reflect what you have learned
Widely Used IQ Tests
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) (individual administration)* 11 subtests overall intelligence score verbal and nonverbal (performance) scores
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) (individiual administration) Wonderlic Personnel Test
40 item multiple choice test (group administration)
Constructing Tests*
Standardization defining meaningful scores by comparison
with the performance of a pretested "standardization group”
Reliability consistency, dependability
Validity accuracy, measuring what it’s supposed to