1. Unit 6: Testing & Individual Differences
Module 31:
Introduction to Intelligence

2. What is Intelligence? IQ: Intelligence quotient
Intelligence: mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.
Intelligence is a concept, not a thing
Intelligence is whatever attributes enables success within a culture.

3. What is Intelligence?
Reification: viewing an abstract concept as if it was a concrete thing
To reify is to invent a concept, give it a name, and convince us that it exists.
We treat IQ as a thing that someone has rather than a score someone attains on a test.

4. What is Intelligence?
In the end, intelligence is whatever intelligence tests measure!
Two controversies:
1. Is intelligence a single overall ability or several abilities?
2. Can we locate and measure intelligence within the brain?

5. What is Intelligence?
Clusters: Groups of skills that comprise an intelligence factor.
Ex. Verbal, mathematical, spatial…
General Intelligence (g): a general intelligence factor that is in every specific mental ability. (Spearman)
Spearman’s “g” was a single intelligence score!

6. What is Intelligence? Multiple abilities!
Thurstone identified 7 clusters of primary mental abilities:
Word fluency
Verbal comprehension
Spatial ability
Perceptual speed
Numerical ability
Inductive reasoning
Memory
Multiple abilities!

7. What is Intelligence?
Savant Syndrome: a person with one exceptional ability, but limited mental ability in the others.
Found in some people living with autism.
This led Howard Gardner to conclude that we do not have a single intelligence, but that we have multiple intelligences.

8. What is Intelligence? Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences:
1. Linguistic
2. Logical-mathematical
3. Musical
4. Spatial
5. Bodily-kinesthetic
6. Intrapersonal
7. Interpersonal
8. Naturalist

10. What is Intelligence?
Robert Sternberg’s Three Aspects of Intelligence:
Analytical: academic problem solving. Measured on IQ tests.
Creative: generating new ideas
Practical: “street smarts”, required for everyday tasks where multiple solutions exist.
Agreed with Gardner, but a simplified version.

11. Theories on Intelligence
Summary:
Spearman – g (general intelligence).
Thurstone – Primary mental abilities (7 factors/clusters).
Gardner – 8 independent intelligences.
Sternberg – 3 areas that predict success.

12. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence: the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.
Perceive: recognize emotions in faces, music, and stories.
Understand: to predict them & how they change and blend.
Manage: to express them in situations.
Use: to enable them.

13. Emotional Intelligence
Emotionally intelligent people enjoy better relationships with people of both sexes and avoid depression, anxiety, or anger.
Often succeed in career, marriage, and parenting.

14. Intelligence Research says:
Intelligence tests do predict both occupational status and job performance.
Intelligence gets you the job, other things (emotional intelligence) helps you keep the job and be successful.

15. Creativity
Creativity: The ability to produce novel (new) and valuable ideas.
Ex. How many ways can you use a brick?
People who do well on intelligence tests do well on creativity tests.
Creativity led to technology: iPods, Post-it notes, etc.

16. Creativity Five Components of Creativity:
Expertise: well-developed base of knowledge.
Imaginative thinking skills: to see things in new ways.
Venturesome personality: tolerates ambiguity and risk. Seeks new experiences rather than follow old.
Intrinsic motivation: internally driven.
Creative environment

17. Intelligence & the Brain
Does brain size and intelligence correlate?
Some geniuses had small brains, while some dumb criminals had large brains.
There is, however, a +.4 correlation between brain size and intelligence.
Learning produces bigger brains (mice in enriched environment).

18. Intelligence & the Brain
Highly intelligent people differ in neural plasticity.
Neural plasticity: ability during childhood to adapt and grow neural connections.
Higher intelligence linked to more gray matter (neural bodies) in brains.
Otherwise, slight correlation between size and intelligence.

19. Intelligence & the Brain
Highly intelligent people perceive information more quickly. (Quick witted)
They also have faster neurological speed. (Process it quicker.)
So highly intelligent people see and process information quicker than others.