INTELLIGENCE ACROSS CULTURES

LECTURE OUTLINE I Background and objectives II Intelligence and its measurement Generalized mental ability (g) Intelligence tests IQ across cultures Lay notions of intelligence

LECTURE OUTLINE (cont) III Intelligence in cultural context Cultural variations in notions of intelligence Intelligence as adaptation to the environment Intelligence and schooling Successful intelligence IV Testing intelligence across cultures V Conclusions

I Objectives To consider the nature of intelligence and its meaning across cultures To explore the assessment of intelligence across cultures

II Intelligence and its measurement Generalized versus specific abilities G (generalized intelligence) Verbal, memory, reasoning, spatial (Thurstone) Fluid and crystallized intelligence

INTELLIGENCE TESTS Binet Stanford-Binet Weschler IQ = IA/CA X 100 Weschler WAIS WISC Raven’s Progressive Matrices

WESCHLER Verbal Nonverbal Information Digit span Vocabulary Arithmetic Comprehension Similarities Picture completion Picture arrangement Block design Object assembly Digit symbol

IQ TEST Picture arrangement

IQ TESTS

IQ TESTS

RAVEN’S PROGRESSIVE MATRICES

Cultural Differences in IQ Median IQ in : Chinese in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China 110 Japanese in Japan 103 East Asians in North America 103 Japanese (abstract) 104.5 (spatial) 114 American and British (abstract) 100 (spatial) 100

Cultural Differences in IQ Median IQ in Hong Kong (Chan) Chinese 110 white 100 Median IQ on Raven’s Progressive Matrices: Study of 9 year olds (Lynn) Hong Kong 113 Japan 110 British 100

Intelligent across cultures??

Lay notions of intelligence encompass practical problem solving, verbal and social competence abilities

CULTURAL CONCEPTIONS OF INTELLIGENCE Luo of Kenya (Grigorenko et al., 1999) rieko (knowledge and skills) luoro (respect) winjo (understanding social roles) paro (initiative)

CULTURAL CONCEPTIONS OF INTELLIGENCE Baganda (Wober) intelligence as socially oriented behaviour to benefit the collective Shona (Irvine) Ungwaru (dispositional intelligence) Uchenjeri (social intelligence)

CULTURAL CONCEPTIONS OF INTELLIGENCE Taiwanese (Yang & Sternberg) intelligence includes a cognitive factor, interpersonal and intrapersonal factors, intellectual self assertion and intellectual self enhancement

CULTURAL CONCEPTIONS OF INTELLIGENCE Comparative studies by Keats Australians place more emphasis on academic skills, reading, writing, speaking Malays place more emphasis on social and practical skills Chinese place more emphasis on rote memory

INTELLIGENCE AS ADAPTATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT Mathematics in Brazilian street children (Carraher et al.) Tacit knowledge and “intelligence” in Kenyan children (Sternberg) Nzelu and “intelligence” in Zimbabwe (Serpell)

Practical intelligence does not relate to “formal” intelligence or academic performance

What constitutes the components of intelligence is universal. The content that constitutes the application of these components is shaped by environmental and cultural factors.

SUCCESSFUL INTELLIGENCE Intelligence is defined in terms of the ability to achieve success in life Ability to achieve success depends on capitalizing on one’s strengths and compensating for weaknesses Success is attained through the balance of analytical, practical and creative abilities Balance of abilities is achieved in order to adapt to and shape the environment

MEASURING INTELLIGENCE Catalogue activities that should be mastered Sample important tasks Seek tasks that discriminate individuals Turn selected tasks into test items

Because intelligence is embedded in culture, there can never be a culture- fair intelligence test. Activities that are functional and adaptive, i.e., intelligent, vary across cultures. Cole

QUESTIONS Do we need a common definition of intelligence? Will modernization make the concept of intelligence more similar across cultures?