Assessing Intelligence

IntelligenceCreativityPsychometrics: tests &

measurementsCognitive approach

Defining intelligence

Binet (1916) defined it as the capacity to judge well, to reason well, and to comprehend well

Terman (1916) defined it as the capacity to form concepts and grasp their significance

Pintner (1921) defined it as the ability of an individual to adapt well to new situations in life

Thorndike (1921) defined it as the power of good responses from the point of view of truth or fact

Thurstone (1921) defined it as the capacity to inhibit instinctive response, imagine a different response, and realize the response modification into behavior

Piaget (1972) defined it as referring to the superior forms of organization or equilibrium of cognitive structuring used for adaptation to the to the physical and social environment

Sternberg (1985) defined it as the mental capacity to automatize information processing and to emit contextually appropriate behavior in response to novelty

.

You can take your pick of definitions but most agree that intelligence has to do with the related capacities of:i.) Learning from experienceii.) Adapting to ones environment

Think of a person lacking either of these, and you pick out people who seem to lack intelligence

Note however that very few formal tests of intelligence really demand subjects to do either of these!

Theories of Intelligence

Psychometric theoriesDevelopmental theoriesInformation processing theories

Psychometric theories

Focuses on individual differences in cognitive abilities and causes

Based on Spearman two factor theory and Turnstone's multifactor theory

The most supported current theory of intelligence is Cattell-Horn-Carrol(1993)

It starts with narrow aspects like reaction time, spatial(non-verbal) scanning ,speech and hearing discrimination.

The second aspect is combination of first stratums like fluid, crystallized and visual thinking.

Third is combination of second stratums in a form of general intelligence

How do you define “Intelligence”?Theorists use narrow, operational

definitionsPsychometricians do not claim that what

is measured by an intelligence test is a good representation of “real-world” intelligence which is a broader concept

Is it useful?

Does “g” exist?

One of the longest-running debates in psychology: global intelligence, a general ability specific abilities …..More a matter of emphasis

“Intelligence is what intelligence tests measure”

Edward Boring

Psychometric approach focuses on how well people perform on standardized mental tests and with what the scores correlate Achievement tests - based on learning Aptitude tests--measure the ability to acquire

skills in the future ---the difference is really one of degree

and intended use since all are based to some extent on experience with words, objects, etc.

Development theories

Focuses on uniformities and interindividual similarities in cognitive growth

Actions of assimilation and accommodation on the external world.

Assimilation consists of fitting new experiences into preexisting cognitive structure(schemata)

Information-processing theories

Focuses on attention and processing speed

Sternberg(1982) hypothesized five classes of component process by which brain operates on information and solve problems: metacomponents ,performance components, acquisition components, retention components and transfer components

Recent approach of Stemberg(1994)

Proposed a triarchic theoryComponential sub theory – performance

component and knowledge-acquisitionExperiential sub theory – ability to

formulate new ideas by combining unrelated factors or information

Contextual sub theory - ability to adapt changing envirnment and to shape the environment

Research psychologists are interested in finding better ways to describe and understand the construct "intelligence".

Traditional tests tended to emphasize analytical

reasoning and memory.

Sternberg argues that practical intelligence and creativity need to be included in the construct.

The historical concept is too narrow. It needs to be expanded.

8. Cognitive psychologists want to know "how" people solve problems in addition to whether or not they get the right answer (the psychometric approach).

Application of intelligence testing

Diagnosis of the presence and nature of brain damage

Selection, placement and classification of students in higher education, employees in business and industrial organizations, and personnel in military and government dept.

Vocational and educational counseling and rehabilitation

Psycho diagnosis of children and adults in clinical and psychiatric contexts

Evaluation of the effectiveness of psychological treatments and environmental interventions

Research on cognitive abilities and personality

Individual intelligence test

Editions of Standford-Binet testWechsler intelligence test focused on

verbal comprehension, processing speed, working memory and perceptual reasoning

Assessing Intelligence

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) most widely used intelligence

test subtests

verbal

performance (nonverbal)

Assessing Intelligence: Sample Items from the WAIS

VERBAL

General Information Similarities Arithmetic ReasoningVocabularyComprehensionDigit Span

PERFORMANCE

Picture Completion Picture ArrangementBlock DesignObject AssemblyDigit-Symbol Substitution

Group intelligence test

Cognitive ability test – verbal, quantitative and spatial tests

Academic ability test – SATThe ACT Assessment – 215 multiple

choice questions based on English, mathematics, reading and science

Assessing Intelligence

Standardization defining meaningful scores by comparison

with the performance of a pretested “standardization group”

Normal Curve the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that

describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes

most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes

The Normal Curve

Assessing Intelligence

Reliability the extent to which a test yields

consistent results assessed by consistency of scores on:

two halves of the test alternate forms of the test retesting

Validity the extent to which a test measures or

predicts what it is supposed to

Assessing Intelligence

Content Validity the extent to which a test samples

the behavior that is of interest driving test that samples driving tasks

Criterion behavior (such as college grades)

that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to predict

the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity

Assessing Intelligence

Predictive Validity success with which a test predicts

the behavior it is designed to predict

assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior

also called criterion-related validity

The Dynamics of Intelligence

Mental Retardation a condition of limited mental ability indicated by an intelligence score below

70 produces difficulty in adapting to the

demands of life varies from mild to profound

Down Syndrome retardation and associated physical

disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup