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