+ Testing and Individual Differences Intelligence AP Psychology

+ What is Intelligence? Some Key Terms Intelligence is our ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations Intelligence test – a method for assessing a person’s mental abilities through the comparison of others. Psychometric approach is a method of studying intelligence that emphasizes the score of an IQ test.

+ Early Theories of Intelligence Spearman, Thurstone, Cattell

+ Charles Spearman—2 Factor Theory Charles Spearman postulated two types of intelligence that account for test scores: general intelligence or g special intelligences, or s, which are the specific skills and knowledge needed to answer the questions on a particular test.

+ Charles Spearman: G Factor Developed the g factor, which stood for general intelligence, He believed that this single g factor was responsible for each type of mental ability.

+ Charles Spearman Spearman did not believe in separate intelligences like musical or analytical, but just one overall general intelligence. If you received a score of 120 on an IQ test then this would be your indicative of your g factor. Since your g factor is high, then no matter what profession or career you chose you would be successful.

+ Discounting Spearman’s Theory Most people know a person who may be intelligent in math, but struggle with verbal abilities. In other words, even people that are intelligent in one area may struggle in another area, which proved Spearman’s theory wrong

+ Discounting Spearman’s Theory People who are diagnosed with Savant Syndrome, which are individuals who are mentally challenged, but have one unique ability like good memory, also disproved Spearman’s theory according to Spearman since their g factor (intelligence test score) was low they should struggle with everything they mentally perform).

+ L.L. Thurstone: Factor Analysis L.L. Thurstone used a factor analysis, A statistical procedure that identifies relationships or clusters of mental abilities he called factors. Through this process he found 7 primary independent mental abilities that are interrelated

+ L.L. Thurstone: Factor Analysis Spatial ability perceptual speed numerical ability verbal meaning Memory word fluency and reasoning Thurstone believed that the average taken from these 7 types of mental abilities would equal a number similar to Spearman’s g factor

+ R.B. Cattell— Fluid and Crystallized Identified two clusters of mental abilities Crystallized intelligence includes abilities such as reasoning and verbal skills Fluid intelligence includes skills such as spatial and visual imagery, rote memory, and the ability to notice visual details While education can increase crystallized intelligence, it was not thought to have any effect on fluid intelligence

+ Contemporary Intelligence Theories Gardner, Sternberg

+ Howard Gardner: Multiple Intelligences He believed that a person’s intelligence included separate abilities. A person may excel in math, but struggle in verbal/ reading Brain damage may diminish one type of ability but not others.

+ Howard Gardner: Multiple Intelligences Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences and speculates about a ninth one Existential intelligence: The ability to think about the question of life, death and existence.

+ Robert Sternberg—Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Robert Sternberg developed the Triarchic theory of intelligence- identifying 3 types of intelligence To remember that Sternberg identified 3 types of intelligence; creative, analytical, and practical- think of Sternberg wearing a thinking CAP- creative, analytical, practical

+ Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Creative intelligence- using previous information in new situations Ex: Application of material- what job employers are looking for employees to do when they get hired

+ Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Analytic intelligence- analyzing, comparing, evaluating Ex: School work, ACT and SAT score

+ Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Practical intelligence- applying, adapting to the environment Ex: Street smarts/ common sense

+ The Triarchic Model Robert Sternberg must have a fetish for triangles because he is also famous for his triangular theory of love (in social psychology chapter).

+ John Mayer: Emotional Intelligence (Not the singer…although that’s a great way to remember him!) Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. Salovey and Mayer proposed a model that identified four different factors of emotional intelligence

+ The Four Branches of Emotional Intelligence Perceiving Emotions: The first step in understanding emotions is to accurately perceive them. In many cases, this might involve understanding nonverbal signals such as body language and facial expressions.

+ The Four Branches of Emotional Intelligence Reasoning With Emotions: The next step involves using emotions to promote thinking and cognitive activity. Emotions help prioritize what we pay attention and react to; we respond emotionally to things that garner our attention.

+ The Four Branches of Emotional Intelligence Understanding Emotions: The emotions that we perceive can carry a wide variety of meanings. If someone is expressing angry emotions, the observer must interpret the cause of their anger and what it might mean. For example, if your boss is acting angry, it might mean that he is dissatisfied with your work; or it could be because he got a speeding ticket on his way to work that morning or that he's been fighting with his wife.

+ The Four Branches of Emotional Intelligence Managing Emotions: The ability to manage emotions effectively is a key part of emotional intelligence. Regulating emotions, responding appropriately and responding to the emotions of others are all important aspect of emotional management.

+ Theories: Comparison

+ Diversity in Cognitive Abilities

+ Creativity Creativity is often assessed by tests of divergent thinking, which measure the ability to generate many different but plausible responses to a problem. The correlation between IQ scores and creativity is not very high. IQ tests measure convergent thinking, whereas creativity is characterized by divergent thinking.

+ Unusual Cognitive Abilities: Mental Retardation This label is applied to people whose IQs are 70 or below and who fail at daily living skills. Mental retardation sometimes has very specific causes, such as Down syndrome. retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup

+ Unusual Cognitive Abilities: Mental Retardation Children with mild retardation differ from other children in three ways: they perform certain mental operations more slowly, they know fewer facts about the world, and they are not very good at using particular mental strategies in learning and problem solving. In general, children with mental retardation are deficient in metacognition.

+ Unusual Cognitive Abilities: Giftedness Those with extremely high IQs do not necessarily become creative geniuses. They do, however, usually become very successful in this society or culture.

+ Unusual Cognitive Abilities: Learning Disabilities People with learning disabilities have academic performance that doesn’t measure up to their measured intelligence. People with dyslexia see letters as distorted or jumbled. Dysphasia is difficulty in understanding spoken words. In dysgraphia a person has trouble writing, In dyscalculia a person has trouble with arithmetic.

+ Tracking From early age students are often tracked into “ gifted ” programs and “ remedia l” programs… what ’ s a potential problem with this? Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

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