Intelligence

What makes us intelligentOr

Not so intelligent

AchievementAchievement• Knowledge and sills gained from

experience– The things you know and can do

• An achievement test is a test designed to assess what a person has learned.– Semester Exams

Intelligence

• The ability to learn from experience, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with others

Is intelligence one thing or several different abilities?

• To find out scientists use FACTOR ANALYSIS:A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test.

• Charles Spearman used FA to discovery his g or (general intelligence).

He saw using FA that doing well in one area of a test predicted that you will do well in another.

Spearman Two-Factor Theory

Spearman said we have a general intelligence (g)

For example, people who do well on vocabulary examinations also do well on paragraph comprehension examinations.

Other factors include a spatial ability factor or a reasoning ability factor.

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• Howard Gardner disagreed with Spearman’s G and instead came up with the concept of multiple intelligences.

• He came up with the idea by studying savants (a condition where a person has limited mental ability but is exceptional in one area).

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

• Visual/Spatial • Verbal/Linguistic • Logical/Mathematical• Bodily/Kinesthetic • Musical/Rhythmic • Interpersonal • Intrapersonal • Natural • Existential/philosophical

Robert Sternberg

Sternberg says intelligence breaks down into:

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).

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

• First called social intelligence.

• The ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions.

• Some studies show EQ to be a greater predictor for future success than IQ

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence consists of 5 factors:

•Self awareness•Mood management

•Self-motivation•Impulse control

•People skills

Measuring Intelligence

• Stanford- Binet Scale• Wechsler Scales

How do we Assess Intelligence?

• Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon set out to figure out a concept called a mental age (what a person of a particular age should know).

• They discovered that by discovering someone’s mental age they can predict future performance.

• Hoped they could use test to help children, not label them.

IQ

formula of Intelligence Quotient

(IQ),

IQ Test

• A 8 year old has a mental age of 10, what is her IQ?

• A 12 year old has the mental age of 9, what is his IQ?

• A boy has the mental age of 10 and an IQ of 200, how old is he?

David Wechsler

Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

(WAIS) and later the Wechsler Intelligence

Scale for Children (WISC), an

intelligence test for preschoolers.

WAIS

WAIS measures overall intelligence and 11 other aspects related to intelligence that

are designed to assess clinical and educational problems.

Reliability

• The extent which a test yields consistent results over time.

ValidityThe extent to which a test measures

what it is supposed to measure.• Does the test measure the behavior

of interest?

• Does the test predict future behavior?

Problems with Intelligence Tests

Bias:•Cultural Bias

•Educational bias•Economic bias

•Gender bias

Differences in 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.

Extremes of Intelligence

Mental Retardation

Gifted Intelligence

Contrary to popular belief, people with high intelligence test scores tend to be healthy,

well adjusted, and unusually successful academically.

Intelligence and Creativity

Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. It correlates

somewhat with intelligence.

Genetic Influences

Studies of twins, family members, and adopted children together support the idea

that there is a significant genetic contribution to intelligence.

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?

Recent Studies indicate some correlation (about +.40) between brain size and

intelligence. As brain size decreases with age, scores on verbal intelligence tests also

decrease.

Gray matter concentration in people with high intelligence.

Adoption Studies

Adopted children show a marginal correlation in verbal ability to their adopted

parents.

Environmental Influences

1. Home & Parenting2. Preschool Programs

Early Intervention Effects

Early 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.

Schooling Effects

Schooling 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.

Environmental Effects

Differences in intelligence among these groups are largely environmental, as if one environment is more fertile in developing

these abilities than another.

Reasons Why Environment Affects Intelligence

1. Races are remarkably alike genetically. 2. Race is a social category.3. Asian students outperform North American

students on math achievement and aptitude tests.

4. Today’s better prepared populations would outperform populations of the 1930s on intelligence tests.

5. White and black infants tend to score equally well on tests predicting future intelligence.

6. Different ethnic groups have experienced periods of remarkable achievement in different eras.

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 verbally fluent and have large vocabularies

3. Girls are better at locating objects

4. Girls are more sensitive to touch, taste, and color

5. Boys outnumber girls in counts of underachievement

6. Boys outperform girls at math problem solving, but under perform at math computation

7. Women detect emotions more easily than men do

Adults & Intelligence

Biological factors that affect intelligence:•Biological changes

– Health changes

•Personality

Environmental factors that affect intelligence:•Level of income•Level of education•Job history•Family life•Cultural education•Marriage