First set of notes & video

– Nadirah Valentine & Peter Storms

Unit 11 - Overview  Introduction to Intelligence  Assessing Intelligence  The Dynamics of Intelligence  Studying Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence  Group Differences and the Question of Bias

Module 60: Introduction to Intelligence

World's Smartest Kids?  Adrian Romoff Adrian Romoff World's Smartest Kid

How is intelligence defined? Intelligence is the mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. An intelligence test assesses people’s mental abilities and compares them with others, using numerical scores.

Spearman’s General intelligence (g): underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test –Factor analysis: used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score –Several distinct abilities tend to cluster together and to correlate enough to define a general intelligence factor Thurstone’s counter argument- Seven clusters of primary mental abilities: Word fluency, Verbal comprehension, Spatial ability, Perceptual speed, Numerical ability, Inductive reasoning, and Memory Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?

Gardner’s Eight Intelligences Savant syndrome- people who score low on intelligence tests but have a specific skill set in other areas. Gardner’s Eight Intelligences –Linguistic –Logical-mathematical –Musical –Spatial –Bodily-kinesthetic –Intrapersonal –Interpersonal –Naturalist Grit- people who become highly successful tend also to be conscientious, well-connected, & energetic

Sternberg’s Three Intelligences –Analytical (academic problem-solving) intelligence: present well-defined problems with only one right answer –Creating intelligence: reacting adaptively to inventive situations and generating innovative ideas –Practical intelligence- required for everyday tasks, which may be ill-defined with multiple solutions

Emotional intelligence –Perceive emotions: recognize them in faces, music, and stories –Understand emotions: to predict them and how they change and blend –Manage emotions: to know how to express them in varied situations –Use emotions: for adaptive or creative thinking Brain damage has been shown to diminish emotional intelligence in people with high general intelligence

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable? Brain Size and Complexity Brain size studies: Einstein’s brain was 15% larger in the parietal lobe’s lower region Brain complexity studies –Neural plasticity –Gray matter versus white matter

Take IQ test in computer lab

Notes

Module 61: Assessing Intelligence

Origins of Intelligence Testing Francis Galton’s intelligence testing –Reaction time –Sensory acuity –Muscular power –Body proportions “Although science itself strives for objectivity, individual scientists are affected by their own assumptions and attitudes.”

Origins of Intelligence Testing Alfred Binet: Predicting School Achievement Alfred Binet –Identifying French school children in need of assistance –Mental age: the level of performance typically associated with a certain chronological age. –Chronological age

Origins of Intelligence Testing Lewis Terman: The Innate IQ Stanford-Binet Test: American revision of the original test –Lewis Terman: revised the test for California schoolchildren –Adding superior end for higher scores Intelligence quotient (IQ) IQ = (mental age/chronological age) X 100 IQ of 100 is considered average

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities Achievement tests: measure what you learned Aptitude tests: predict your ability to learn a new skill

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): tests similarities, vocabulary, block design, letter- number sequencing, and more. –Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

Principles of Test Construction Standardization Normal curve (bell curve)Normal curve

Principles of Test Construction Standardization Flynn effect: where test scores improve on average over time

Principles of Test Construction Reliability Reliability: tests have to yield dependably consistent scores The higher the correlation between the scores, the higher the test’s reliability Scores correlate –Test-retest reliability –Split-half reliability

Principles of Test Construction Validity Validity: the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to –Content validity: the test samples the behavior that is of interest Criterion –Predictive validity: the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict

Module 62: The Dynamics of Intelligence

Stability or Change? Aging and Intelligence Studies have shown that older adults score lower on intelligence tests than younger adults The cross-sectional method shows declining scores with age The longitudinal method shows a slight rise in scores

Stability or Change? Aging and Intelligence It all depends on what we assess and how we assess it Crystallized intelligence- our accumulated knowledge as reflected in vocabulary and analogies test (INCREASES in old age) Fluid intelligence- our ability to reason speedily and abstractly (DECREASES in old age)

Stability or Change? Stability Over The Life Span In 1932, Ian Deary and his colleagues set a record for long-term follow-up. They essentially were able to test every child born in Scotland of 1921 on their intelligence. 65 years later, Patricia Whalley, found the studies and re-administered the tests to the survivors of the study their results correlated +.66.

Extremes of Intelligence The Low Extreme Intellectual disability- they have unusually low intelligence scores –A person must have both a low test score and difficulty adapting to the normal demands of independent living to be labeled as having mental retardation –Down syndrome 21 st chromosome –Mainstreamed

Extremes of Intelligence The High Extreme Terman’s study of gifted Self-fulfilling prophecy Appropriate developmental placement

Module 63: Studying Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

Twin and Adoption Studies Identical twin studies –Polygenetic –HeritabilityHeritability Adoptive children studies

Heritability

Environmental Influences Early environmental influences –Tutored human enrichment –Targeted training Schooling and intelligence –Project Head Start

Module 64: Group Differences on the Question of Bias

Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores Gender Similarities and Differences Spelling Verbal ability Nonverbal ability Sensation Emotion-detecting ability Math and spatial aptitudes

Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores Racial and Ethnic Similarities and Differences Ethnic similarities Ethnic differences

The Question of Bias Two meanings of bias –Popular sense –Scientific sense Test-taker’s expectations –Stereotype threatStereotype threat