Chapter 11 pt. 1: Measuring “Intelligence”

Measuring Intelligence Intelligence Tests: tests for assessing a person’s mental abilities and comparing them with the abilities of other people, by means of numerical scores.

Origins of Intelligence Tests Alfred Binet, a french psychologist, is most often considered to be the pioneer of the intelligence testing movement. What was Binet’s purpose for developing his tests? Assumed children follow the same course of intellectual development, but some development faster and slower then others

Alfred Binet and Intelligence Tests Binet’s looked to identify a child’s: Mental Age: chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. A child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8. Binet did not believe his test measured inborn intelligence. Tests predicted how well the children handle schoolwork Purpose was to ID children who need help

Lewis Terman and Intelligence Tests Lewis Terman, an American psychologist at Stanford, adapted Binet’s test in an attempt to measure what he thought was inherited intelligence. Stanford-Binet: refers to the widely used revision of Binet’s original intelligence test.

IQ Tests In an attempt to measure inherited intelligence, tests developed the “IQ.” IQ: (intelligence quotient): defined originally the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 IQ = ma/ca x 100) Not used today; not accurate for adults on contemporary tests it is the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

The Normal Curve Number of scores 55 70 85 100 115 130 145 Ninety-five percent of all people fall within 30 points of 100 Number of scores 55 70 85 100 115 130 145 Wechsler intelligence score Sixty-eight percent of people score within 15 points above or below 100

Eugenics – measure human traits & determine who can reproduce

“Intelligence” is Hard to Define Intelligence is often defined as the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. Intelligence is not a “thing” it is an abstract concept…an IQ is simply a score on an intelligence test. What types of things are usually NOT measured on an IQ test that might illustrate “intelligence?”

Is Intelligence a Singular Ability? To measure general ability within specific mental abilities a statistical method is used called: Factor Analysis: used to identify clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one’s total. Ex: People who do well on vocabulary items also usually do well on paragraph comprehension…which are both related to the verbal intelligence factor.

Charles Spearman and The G-Factor General intelligence (g): Spearman’s belief that there was a factor that underlied specific mental abilities and was therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test. Specific intelligences tended to be positively correlated.

Broadening Theory of Intelligence Savant Syndrome: a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill. Many are autistic 4/5 are male How does this relate to the g-factor?

Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligences From a biological point of view, Gardner has noted that brain damage often may diminish some abilities but not others. Gardner argues humans do not have an intelligence but instead multiple intelligences which are relatively independent of the others.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Gardner argues there are 8 intelligences: Verbal Linguistic 5. Auditory-musical 2. Logical-mathematical 6. Interpersonal Visual Spatial 7. Intrapersonal Body-kinesthetic 8. Naturalistic What do traditional IQ tests measure?

Robert Sternberg and “Successful Intelligence” Sternberg looked to overcome the fact that although IQ tests predicted school tests relatively well, they did less well predicting vocational success. Sternberg’s 3 Aspects of Intelligence: 1. Analytical Intelligence: (academic problem solving) 2. Creative Intelligence: (reacting to new situations and creating new ideas) 3. Practical Intelligence: (often required for everyday tasks, “common sense”)

More “Intelligences?” Social Intelligence the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully Emotional Intelligence -ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions -critical part of social intelligence

Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS) Measures how people: 1. Perceive emotions 2. Understand emotions 3. Regulate emotions

Intelligence and Creativity Creative Intelligence- ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable 5 Parts Expertise Imaginative Thinking Skills Venturesome Personality Intrinsic Motivation A Creative Environment

Remote Associates Test Call Pay Line ____________ End Burning Blue ____________ Man Hot Sure ____________ Man Wheel High ____________ Blue Cake Cottage ____________ Motion Poke Down __________ Stool Powder Ball ____________

Phone Book Fire Chair Cheese Slow Foot

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable? .15 correlation between head size and intelligence score. .44 correlation between brain size and intelligence score. What all effects the size of your brain?

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable? Einstein’s brain was 15% larger in the parietal lobe’s lower region…center for mathematical processing and spatial information. But smaller in some other regions.

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable? Brain Glucose Consumption: high performers on tasks consume LESS glucose when performing cognitive tasks.

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable? Perceptual Speed: People who can perceive the stimulus very quickly tend to score somewhat higher on intelligence tests Stimulus Mask Question: Long side on left or right?