DO NOW… How would you define “intelligence?”

Intelligence Chapter 11

What is intelligence? A mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Origins of Intelligence Intelligence Test a method of assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them to those of others, using numerical scores

Do now… What is intelligence testing? How has it been used in the past?

History of Intelligence Tests Francis Galton (Darwin’s cousin) Eugenics

Origins of Intelligence Mental Age (Simon and Binet) a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8

Origins of Intelligence Lewis Terman (Stanford University) Stanford-Binet the widely used American revision of Binet’s original intelligence test cultural bias

Testing Founder’s Quotes The borderline feeble-minded … (are) very common among the Spanish-Indian and Mexican families of the Southwest and also among Negroes. Their dullness seems to be racial… Children of this group should be segregated in special classes… They cannot master abstractions, but they can often be made efficient workers… There is no possibility at the present of convincing society that they should not be allowed to reproduce, although from a eugenic point of view they constitute a grave problem because of their unusually prolific breeding. Lewis Terman, creator of the Stanford-Binet IQ Test

Origins of Intelligence Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Stern defined originally the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 IQ = ma/ca x 100 on contemporary tests it is the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100 Reification Regarding something abstract as a material thing

Assessing Intelligence Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Most widely used intelligence test

Assessing Intelligence Aptitude test A test designed to predict a person’s future performance Aptitude is the capacity to learn Example: SAT Achievement test A test designed to assess what a person has learned Example: AP Psychology Exam

Are There Multiple Intelligences? Factor Analysis statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one’s total score General Intelligence (g) factor that Spearman and others believed underlies specific mental abilities measured by every task on an intelligence test

Are There Multiple 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

Mental age can be defined as A method of estimating a child’s intellectual ability by comparing the child’s score in intelligence tests and his or her age A method of estimating a child’s intellectual ability based on raw scores on intelligence tests Comparing a child’s actual age with his or her computed age Basing a child’s age level on his or her scores on a standardized test Charting a child’s age based on the level of correct responses on an intelligence test

Aptitude and achievement tests are tests of mental abilities Aptitude and achievement tests are tests of mental abilities. Aptitude tests are designed to ___, whereas achievement tests are designed to ___. Predict ability to learn; reflect what has been learned Assess adaptive behavior; identify level of intelligence Uncover undeveloped skills; objectively evaluate adaptability Measure performance; differentiate slow learners from all others Check for Understanding

Factor analysis is a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test. Using this procedure, ____ identified ____. Thurstone; eight clusters of primary mental abilities Sternberg; independent clusters of social and emotional intelligence Gardner; three aspects of intelligence – analytical, creative and practical Spearman; one general intelligence factor Check for Understanding

Do now… Explain the controversial history of intelligence testing

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 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

DO NOW… Differentiate between identical twins and fraternal twins.

Getting Smarter? Intelligence test performance has been rising Flynn Effect – 3 pts. per decade

Criteria for 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 the same individual Validity the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is suppose to

The Dynamics of Intelligence Mental Retardation a condition of limited mental ability indicated by intelligence scores 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 genetic make-up Savant Syndrome Condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an amazing specific skill

Genetic Influences Heritability the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes variability depends on range of populations and environments studied Twin studies

Genetic Influences Similarity of intelligence scores (correlation) Identical twins reared together apart Fraternal Siblings Unrelated individuals The most genetically similar people have the most similar scores

Nurture Influences Hunt and the Head Start Program

Check for Understanding… Differentiate between validity and reliability.