Ch 9 - Ch 9 Chapter Notes PDF

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Psych 105

Ch 9: Intelligence and IQ Testing

Definitions: 9.1 Intelligence test – a diagnostic tool designed to measure overall thinking ability Abstract thinking – capacity to understand hypothetical concepts, rather than concepts in the here and now G (general intelligence) – hypothetical factor that accounts for overall differences in intellect among people S (specific abilities) – particular ability level in a narrow domain Fluid intelligence – capacity to learn new ways of solving problems Crystallized intelligence – accumulated knowledge of the world acquired over time Multiple intelligences – idea that people vary in their ability levels across different domains of intellectual skill Triarchic model – model of intelligence proposed by Robert Sternberg positing three distinct types of intelligence: analytical, practical, & creative 9.2 Stanford-Binet IQ test – intelligence test based on the measure developed by Binet and Simon, adapted by Lewis Terman of Stanford University Intelligence quotient (IQ) – systematic means of quantifying differences among people in their intelligence Mental age – age corresponding to the average individual’s performance on an intelligence test Deviation IQ – expression of a person’s IQ relative to his or her same-aged peers Eugenics – movement in the early 20th century to improve a population’s genetic stock by encouraging those with good genes to reproduce, discouraging those with bad genes from reproducing, or both (meaning “good genes”) Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, or WAIS – most widely used intelligence test for adults today, consisting of 15 subtests to assess different types of mental abilities Bell curve – distribution of scores in which the bulk of the scores falls towards the middle, with progressively fewer scores toward the “tails” or extremes Intellectual disability – condition characterized by an onset prior to adulthood, an IQ below about 70, and an inability to engage in adequate daily functioning 9.3 Flynn effect – finding that average IQ scores have been rising at a rate of approximately 3 points per decade 9.4 Within-group heritability – extent to which the variability of a trait within a group is genetically influenced Between-group heritability – extent to which the difference in a trait between groups is genetically influenced Test bias – tendency of a test to predict outcomes better in one group than another Stereotype threat – fear that we may confirm a negative group stereotype 9.5 Divergent thinking – capacity to generate many different solutions to a problem Convergent thinking – capacity to generate the single best solution to a problem Emotional intelligence – ability to understand our own emotions and those of others, and to apply this information to our daily lives Wisdom – application of intelligence toward a common good Ideological immune system – our psychological defences against evidence that contradicts our views

Learning Objectives: 9.1 What Is Intelligence? Definitional Confusion 9.1a Identify different models and types of intelligence 9.1b Describe the connection between intelligence and brain size and efficient 9.2 Intelligence Testing: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 9.2a Determine how psychologists calculate IQ 9.2b Explain the history of misuse of intelligence tests in Canada and the United States 9.2c Describe tests of intelligence used today and evaluate the reliability and validity of IQ scores 9.2d Distinguish the unique characteristics of intellectual disability and genius 9.3 Genetic and Environmental Influences On IQ 9.3a Explain how genetic influences can be determined from family, twin, and adoption studies 9.3b Identify potential environmental influences on IQ 9.4 Group Differences in IQ: The Science and the Politics 9.4a Identify similarities and differences in mental ability between men and women 9.4b Evaluate the evidence concerning racial differences in IQ 9.5 The Rest of the Story: Other Dimensions of Intellect 9.5a Describe how creativity and emotional intelligence relate to intelligence 9.5b Explain why intelligence doesn’t protect us from errors in thinking 9.1 What Is Intelligence? Definitional Confusion  Even today, psychologist can’t agree on the precise definition of intelligence  Psychologist Edwin Boring says intelligence is whatever intelligence tests measure; this sidesteps the question of what makes some people smarter than others Intelligence as Sensory Capacity: Out of Sight, Out of Mind  Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), a prominent scientist/inventor; also, cousin to Charles Darwin  Galton was interested in the potential adaptive advantages of high intellect; he proposed a radical hypothesis: Intelligence is the by-product of sensory capacity  He said that most knowledge first comes through the senses (esp vision & hearing); assumed people with superior sensory capacities should acquire more knowledge than other people; administered tests at a museum in London, England  James McKeen Cattell brought this same idea to the US and tested college & university students  They found their results only weakly correlated sensory senses and intelligence; their claim was falsified; example of Helen Keller – deaf & blind but brilliant author Intelligence as Abstract Thinking  Binet & Simon (French) selected to develop a psychological test to identify students who may be falling behind their peers; objective to judgement of teachers  In 1905, they developed what most psychologists today regard as the first intelligence test, a diagnostic tool designed to measure overall thinking ability  Higher mental processes included reasoning, understanding, & judgement  Virtually all items on modern intelligence tests have followed Binet & Simon’s lead  1921 – panel of experts generated a list of definitions of intelligence; did not succeed in a single definition, but mostly agreed intelligence consists of the abilities to: o Reason abstractly o Learn to adapt to novel environmental circumstances o Acquire knowledge o Benefit from experience  Western cultures tend to agree with these definitions

Some non-Western countries view intelligence as reflecting people’s wisdom & judgement more than their intellectual brilliance; China – view high intelligence as those who are humble and perform actions for the greater good of the society Intelligence as General versus Specific Abilities  Binet & Simon’s findings all had positive correlations (most fairly low, 0.2 or 0.3, but none were 0 or negative)  Psychologist Charles Spearman hypothesized the existence of a single shared factor across all tested aspects – g, or general intelligence – that accounted for the overall differences in intellect among people  Even rodents appear to exhibit g  Spearman speculated the differences in g was due to “mental energy”  His thought – some people have more powerful or efficient and effective brains than others, equally more g  G implies that some people are just plain smarter than others  Spearman also believed in the existence of a factor called s, or specific intelligence that are unique to each item; how well we perform on a given mental task depends on not only our general smarts (g), but also on our particular skills (talents) in narrow domains (s) Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence  Later researchers found that Spearman’s g wasn’t as uniform as he’d believed  1930s Louis Thurstone discovered some intelligence test items relate more highly to each other than other items do  Raymond Cattell & John Horn distinguished fluid from crystallized intelligence, arguing that what we call “intelligence” is actually a mixture of two capabilities  Fluid intelligence refers to the capacity to learn new ways of solving problems (things we try for the 1st time)  Crystallized intelligence refers to the accumulated knowledge of the world we acquire over time (things we just know, long-term memory, lasting knowledge)  Fluid abilities are more likely to decline with age than crystallized abilities  Fluid abilities are more highly related to g than crystallized abilities; fluid may better relate to Spearman’s “mental engine”  Crystallized intelligence, but not fluid, is moderately and positively associated (0.3) with a personality trait referred to as openness to experience, people high in openness to experience are imaginative, intellectually curious, and excited about exploring new ideas, places, & things Multiple Intelligences: Different Ways of Being Smart  In recent decades, several prominent psychologists have argued for the existence of multiple intelligences: entirely different domains of intellectual skill; according to them, g is at least incomplete  They believe we need multiple intelligences to explain why some people are extremely successful in some intellectual domains yet unsuccessful in others; they believe there are many ways of being smart  Spearman’s concept of s is a partial acknowledgment if the existence of multiple intelligences because it recognizes that even people with equal levels of g can have different intellectual strengths & weaknesses Frames of Mind  Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has been enormously influential in educational practice and theory over the past 2 decades  According to Gardner, there are numerous “frames of mind”, or different ways of thinking about the world; each frame of mind is a different and fully independent intelligence in its own right  He outlined criteria for determining whether mental ability is a separate intelligence; he maintains that researchers must demonstrate that different intelligences can be isolated from one another in studies of people with brain damage 

Gardner believes that autistic savants provide support for the existence of multiple intelligences  Gardner has proposed 8 different intelligences: 1. Linguistic – speak & write well 2. Logico-mathematical – use logic & math skills to solve problems such as scientific questions 3. Spatial – think & reason about objects in 3D space 4. Musical – perform, understand, & enjoy music 5. Bodily-kinesthetic – manipulate the body in sports, dance, or other physical endeavors 6. Interpersonal – understand & interact effectively with others 7. Intrapersonal – understand & possess insight into self 8. Naturalistic – recognize, identify, & understand animals, plants, & other living things 9. Tentatively proposed a 9th called existential intelligence – the ability to grasp deep philosophical ideas, like the meaning of life  Some teachers use these concepts to tailor their teaching style to certain students. This approach may not be a good idea. It may make more sense to teach “to” the weaker domain than “away” from it; we don’t want to further decay a weakness  Intelligent people aren’t all smart in the same way  Some intelligence categories may be missing such as humor, memory & romantic intelligences; some question if Gardner’s list are all actually intelligences (ex bodily-kinesthetic seems closer to a talent and nonmental abilities like athletic skills)  Gardner’s model is impossible to falsify The Triarchic Model  Robert Sternberg also argued that intelligence is more than g  Sternberg’s triarchic model posits the existence of 3 largely distinct intelligences: 1. Analytical – book smarts; the ability to reason logically 2. Practical – (aka tacit intelligence) street smarts; the ability to solve real-world problems, especially those involving other people; social intelligence, the capacity to understand others 3. Creative – creativity; our ability to come up with novel & effective answers to questions  Sternberg has not demonstrated convincingly that practical intelligence is independent of g  The concept of multiple intelligences remains controversial Biological Bases of Intelligence Intelligence and Brain Structure and Function  Several studies demonstrate that brain volume, as measured by MRI scans, correlates positively (0.3 to 0.4) with measured intelligence; the correlation is complicated and may hold more for verbal abilities than spatial abilities; for ex Einstein’s brain weighed slightly less than the average brain, higher than average density of neurons and glial cells  Brain conditioning & efficient mental processing Intelligence and Reaction Time  Using a reaction time apparatus (lights that go on and off with buttons), the results of numerous studies indicate that measured intelligence correlates negatively (about -0.3 to -0.4) with reaction time on this task; people with higher intelligence react more quickly than other people when the lights turn off; maybe speed of processing is related to intelligence Intelligence and Memory  Intelligence bears an intimate connection to memory capacity  Scores in working memory tasks are moderately correlated (about 0.5) with scores on intelligence tests The Location of Intelligence  No one exact spot 

Intelligence is more localized to certain areas of the cortex than others; g loaded in the prefrontal cortex (planning, impulse control, short-term memory); parietal lobe for spatial abilities Putting It All Together  Central theme is that intelligence is related to efficiency or speed of information processing  Common sense, people who are quick thinkers tend to be especially intelligent, but it is also more 

Which of the following terms refers to the capacity to learn new ways to solve problems, a capacity that tends to decline with age? a. Crystalized intelligence b. General intelligence c. Specific intelligence d. Fluid intelligence Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences can also be thought of as comprising different ___. a. Frames of mind b. Levels of emotional awareness c. Existential crises d. Developmental stages Charles Spearman did not believe that g or “general intelligence” explained everything. He posited the existence of another factor that he called “s” for ___, which would govern how well we perform in a particular domain. a. Skills acquisition b. Sensitivity to context c. Special intelligence d. Specific intelligence What part of the brain did investigators not was “highly g-loaded” for reasoning tasks? a. Left parietal lobe b. Hypothalamus c. Right parietal lobe d. Prefrontal cortex Studies of intelligence and memory, reaction time, brain structure, and other related concepts converge in a core finding: Intelligence is related (although imperfectly) to ___. a. Attention to detail b. Number of siblings c. Speed of information processing d. Complexity of myelination 9.2 Intelligence Testing: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly  Self-estimates of IQ correlate only 0.2 to 0.3 with objective measures of intelligence  Double curse of incompetence – a phenomenon where people with poor cognitive skills are especially likely to overestimate their intellectual abilities  Metacognitive skills and metacognition refers to knowledge of our own knowledge; people with poor metacognitive skills in a given domain may overestimate their performance because they don’t know what they don’t know How We Calculate IQ  Shortly after Binet & Simon introduced their test to France, Lewis Terman of Stanford University developed a modified & translated version called the Stanford-Binet IQ test, first

published in 1916 & still used today in its revised 5 th edition; consists of vocabulary, memory for pictures, naming of familiar objects, repeating sentences, and following commands  Terman established a set of norms, baseline scores I the general population from which we can compare each individual’s score; all modern intelligence tests contain norms for different age groups  Wilhelm Stern invented the formula for the intelligence quotient, which will forever be known as IQ; formula is to divide mental age by chronological age and multiply the resulting number by 100  Mental age, a concept introduced by Binet, is the age corresponding to the average person’s performance on an intelligence test; mental age scores increase in childhood but level out around age 16; this would result in everyone’s IQ getting lower and lower as they age and we know this is not accurate  This is why almost all modern intelligence researchers rely on statistic called deviation IQ when computing IQ for adults  An IQ of 100 is average, 80 is a standard amount below average, and 120 is a standard amount above The Eugenics Movement: Misuses and Abuses of IQ Testing  1908 Henry Goddard translated Binet & Simon’s test in English and it soon became a means of identifying adults deemed intellectually inferior; the IQ testing movement quickly spiraled out of control  These tests where administered on new North American immigrants who barely knew the language, thus classifying about 40% as intellectually disabled; Goddard and others adapted childhood test to use for adults without understanding how the IQ scores applied to adults, scoring individuals as intellectually disabled (prison inmates & delinquents)  Concerns about low IQ (mainly immigrants) led to a social movement called eugenics  Popular in Canada in 1910-1930  Eugenics became associated with at least two disturbing practices o In 1920s, US and Canada passed laws restricting immigration from other countries supposedly marked by low intelligence (Eastern & Southern Europe); hierarchy of immigration status was constructed to encourage those of higher status to move in o Many provinces in Canada passed laws requiring the sterilization of low IQ individuals, even tricking them to think they were having appendectomies instead (66 000 North Americans, many minorities); this practice slowed in the 1940s and almost completely subsided by the early 19602; Alberta became the last to repeal the law in 1972 IQ Testing Today Commonly Used Adult IQ Tests  WAIS is most widely used IQ test for adults (4 th edition) Commonly Used Childhood IQ Tests  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)  Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) Culture-Fair IQ Tests  Consists of abstract reasoning items that don’t rely in language  Raven’s Progressive Matrices – nonverbal measure of intelligence; geometrical sequences; excellent measure of g College and University Admissions Test: What Do They Measure?  SAT or ACT  Low correlations after the first year of study College and University Admissions Test and IQ  Designed to test overall competence in a specific domain or to predict academic success  SAT correlates highly (0.7 and 0.8) with two standard measure of intelligences, so the SAT is clearly linked to measure intelligence

Reliability of IQ Scores: Is IQ Forever?  IQ scores aren’t fixed, they changed over time (as much as 10 points or more over a matter of months)  Test-retest reliability Stability of IQ in Adulthood  IQ scores usually remain reasonably stable in adulthood (0.95 over several week interval) Stability of IQ in Infancy and Childhood  Prior to age 2 or 3, IQ tests are not stable over time, not really valid unless they are extremely low (under 50 can predict disability)  Assess sensory abilities which bears little association with intelligence  Speed of habituation – tendency to stop responding to repeated presentations of the same stimulus; infants who habituate to a visual stimulus more quickly turn out to have a higher IQ later in childhood  Correlation vs causation Validity of IQ Scores: Predicting Life Outcomes  Modern IQ test have strong concurrent validity  Predictive validity  Mental energy – the ability to focus on difficult problems for long periods of time – plays a crucial role (as does motivation, intellectual curiosity, and effort)  It is often difficult to predict how any one individual will perform on a task based simply on an intelligence score  IQ is associated with health-related outcomes  Identical twins, raised apart, have similar IQs the same as those raised together; small sample size  Health literacy has an impact (low health literacy – trouble maintaining healthy behaviours)  Poverty and lower IQ – association and relation to criminal activity  The correlation between IQ and life achievements remains essentially identical even at extremely high levels of IQ A Tale of Two Tails: From Intellectual Disability to Genius  Within a population, IQs are distributed in a bell curve  Assortative mati...