Intelligence - Lecture notes PDF

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Lecture notes for intelligence in trinity college...

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Intelligence - What is intelligence? - Assessing intelligence - Theories of intelligence - Dynamics of intelligence - Genetic and environmental influences on intelligence -

Topic of debate

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Psychologists Only profession that can interpret intelligence tests Forms a large part of our workload

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What is intelligence? o Is the ability to:  learn from experience  solve problems, and  use knowledge to adapt to new situations o Psychologists believe that intelligence is a concept and not a real thing o Unfortunately, people treat it like a thing…a real thing o When we think of intelligence as a trait (thing) we make an error called reification— viewing an abstract concept as if it were a concrete thing. o Other examples of o reification are: Ideas and Motivation

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assessing intelligence o early tests of mental abilities 1. Galton (1822 -1911): Presuming Hereditary Genius – BIOLOGICAL

a. Fascinated with measuring human traits b. Wondered if you could measure “natural ability” and to encourage those of high ability to mate with one another then the race will be more intelligent c. Assessed intellectual strengths based on: i. Reaction time ii. Sensory acuity iii. Muscular power and body proportions d. Simple intelligence measure failed 2. predicting school achievement (Alfred Binet) in France – ENVIRONMENTAL  early 20th century – new law required all children to attend school  officials were aware that some:  children would struggle and new special classes or  teachers might assess children who had little prior education as slow learners or  divide children into classes based on their social backgrounds (rich and poor)  To minimise such bias, Binet was asked to design a fair test  Binet and Simon (his student) believed that all children follow the same course of intellectual development, but that some develop more rapidly than others  Goal was to:  predict how well French children would handle their schoolwork  measure each child’s mental age – the level of performance typically associated with a certain chronological age  Binet believed intelligence was mainly environmental, not hereditary  Introduced the term Mental age  Mental age is the chronological age that typically corresponds to a given level of performance  Example: o A child who does as well as the average 8-year-old = has a mental age of 8 o A 9-year-old child, who performs at the level of a 7-yearold = has a mental age of a 7-year-old and would struggle with schoolwork considered normal for their age o A 6-year-old child, who performs at the level of a 8-yearold = has a mental age of an 8-year-old and would find the schoolwork considered normal for their age too easy o To measure mental age, Binet and Simon theorized that mental aptitude (like athletic) is a general capacity that shows up in a variety of ways. o They tested a variety of reasoning and problem-solving questions on Binet’s two daughters, and then on “bright” and “backward” Parisian school children

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o Items answered correctly could then predict how well other school children would handle their schoolwork. Important things to note about Binet  Made no assumptions about WHY a particular child was slow, average or bright  Believed his intelligence test did NOT measure inborn intelligence  Binet believed environmental factors increase the capacities of low scoring children – e.g,. attention span and self-discipline  Single purpose of the test: to identify French school children needing special attention  Hoped the test would be used to improve children’s education BUT  Binet feared that the test results would be used to: o label children and limit their opportunities

3. Measuring Innate (hereditary) Intelligence (Lewis Terman) – BIOLOGICAL • Binet’s fears were realized soon after his death in 1911, when his test was adapted by others for a numerical measure of inherited intelligence • Terman (1877-1956), a Stanford University Professor used Binet’s test (Paris developed questions) to assess Californian school children • Found the test worked poorly with the Californian school children • Revised Binet’s test for wider use in U.S. (kept some questions, changed or deleted others, extended the test range – superior) • Named the revision the Stanford-Binet – which is still used today 4. Intelligence Quotient or IQ (William Stern) – BIOLOGICAL a. From such tests, William Stern derived the famous term intelligence quotient, or IQ. Believed intelligence tests reveal innate intelligence b. Formula

c. d. 10 years old (chronological age), with a mental age of 11 years of age = IQ score of 110 e. An average child, whose mental and chronological ages are the same, has an IQ of 100

f. But an 8-year-old who answers questions typical of a 10-year-old has an IQ of ________.

5. The innate IQ (Lewis Terman) a. Stanford Binet Test is still used today but IQ is NOT computed in this manner b. WHY? i. Works well for children, but not adults (the formula does not work well for adults) Lewis Terman c. Promoted the widespread use of intelligence testing d. Similar to Galton’s eugenics (proposed measuring human traits and using the results to encourage only smart and fit people to reproduce). Terman envisioned that the use of intelligence tests would “ultimately result in the curtailing the reproduction of feeble –mindedness and in the elimination of an enormous amount of crime, pauperism (poverty) and industrial inefficiency”. e. With Terman’s help, the US Government developed new tests to evaluate both: i. Arriving immigrants ii. World War 1 army recruits – the world’s first mass administration of an intelligence test (find suitable man to fight during war) -

Intelligence tests Modern tests of mental abilities o TODAY – most intelligence tests do NOT compute IQ in this manner – including Stanford Binet o Today, intelligence tests assign a score that represents a test takers performance relative to the average performance of others of the same age (that is what we’re being compared to) o IQ of 100 = average intelligence o About two-thirds of the population score between 85 and 115 on an IQ test - David Weschler – Weschler scale o Created the most widely used individual intelligence test  Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) (16 –adulthood)  Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) (6-16 years)  Weschler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) (2.5 – 7 years, 7 months)  Separate Scores for Separate Strengths The WAIS is revised every few year - Gold Standard of Intelligence testing - Very comprehensive

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Provides clues to strengths or weaknesses Consists of 15 subtests (separate tests) – o 10 CORE subtests and 5 SUPPLEMENTARY subtests (10 CORE = Full Scale IQ score) Only use SUPP tests if, for any reason, you CANNOT use a CORE test Which are divided into 4 index scales o Verbal Comprehension Index – measures ability to understand, learn and retain information and use language to solve problems o Perceptual Reasoning Index –measures ability to understand visual information and to solve abstract novel problems o Working Memory Index – measures ability to hold verbal information in shortterm memory and to manipulate that information o Processing Speed Index- measures mental speed (answering right very fast) WAIS-IV – Verbal scale (3 Core tests + 1 Supp tests) – Academic Tests o Vocabulary  What is a guitar? o Information  What is the capital of Australia? o Similarities  How is an apple and an orange alike? o Comprehension  Why do we have free speech? WAIS-IV – Perceptual Reasoning (3 Core + 2 supp tests) – Non-Academic o Block Design – copy a pattern using colored blocks

 o Visual Puzzles – shown a pattern and have to choose 3 possible parts to make up that pattern o Matrix Reasoning – presented with abstract pictures in which there is one picture missing. Have to choose which of a number of possible options is the missing picture o Picture Completion – required to state what is missing from a picture

o Figure Weights – Picture of a pair of scales in which there are missing weights and they have to choose the correct weights to keep the scale balanced -

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WAIS IV – working memory index (2 Core + 1 supp tests) o Digit Span – read a series of numbers and say them back to the examiner (digits forward), say them back in reverse order (digits reversed) and (digits sequential) where the individual has to say the digits in magnitude  1-6-9-3-5-1-0-6 o Arithmetic: If Jo has 12 buns, he eats 2 and gives away 4, how many does he have left? o Letter-number sequencing – read a series of letters and numbers and repeat back with the letters in alphabetical order and numbers in numerical order  d-k-s-n-q-a-x WAIS IV – Precessing Speed Index (2 Core + 1 supp tests) o Coding – presented with a key in which the number 1-9 are each paired with a different symbol. Task is to use the key to put the appropriate symbol for a list of numbers between 1-9 o Symbol Search - have to look at 2 target symbols and then examine a group of symbols to see if the target symbols are repeated o Cancellation – look at a random sequence of pictures and required to cross out target pictures The WAIS o The WAIS yields the following scores: o Overall Intelligence score (like the Stanford Binet) and individual scores for:  Verbal comprehension  Perceptual organization  Working memory  Processing speed o Differences among the individual scores can indicate cognitive strengths and weaknesses o e.g., a low verbal comprehension score combined with high scores on other subtests could indicate a reading or language disability o Such a test helps realize Binet’s aim – o To identify opportunities for improvement and strengths that teachers and others can build upon. Not to discount people or rule them out.

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Assesing Intelligence o Are we getting smarter? o FLYNN EFFECT o

o The Flynn Effect – A psychological mystery  Is it due to  Greater test sophistication?  Better nutrition?  Greater educational opportunities?  Smaller families?  Rising living standards?  FLYNN – attributes the performance increase to our need to develop new mental skills to cope with the modern environment  People becomes smarter due to the improvement in our environment, because we need to keep up with the modern era  e.g., new technology - computers, Internet - forces people to think more abstractly. All this leads to an increase in the IQ score  Other types of test:  Aptitude – predict a person’s future performance

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Achievement – reflect what we’ve learn

Other Types of Tests Achievement and aptitude tests 1. Achievement a. Designed to assess what you have learned i. E.g. trinity exams b. These tests predict current performance 2. Aptitude a. Designed to predict a person’s ability to learn a new skill b. These tests predict future performance

THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE Is intelligence once general ability or does intelligence consist of multiple intelligences? First theory: Intelligence is one general ability - Two theorists 1. Charles Spearman (1863 – 1945) a. Spearman’s general intelligence (g) i. Believed in a general intelligence, or g, factor that underlies all specific mental abilities ii. He acknowledged that while people often have special, outstanding abilities in a certain area, it wasn’t impossible for them to also excel in other related areas iii. For example: people who score high in one area, such as verbal intelligence, typically score higher than average in other areas, such as reasoning ability iv. E.g., spearman’s general intelligence – 1. If you’re good at Basketball you might also be good at AFL football 2. Unlike Basketball and body building

v. Example: Arts or Science 1. Arts – writing essays, critical thinking, creating an argument, classroom a. English b. History c. Geography d. Media 2. Science – writing reports, factual, evidence based, lab a. Biology b. Chemistry c. Physiology d. Maths 2. Louis Thurstone (1887 – 1955) - Identified seven clusters of primary mental abilities (word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory) - Found – those that excelled in one of the seven clusters, generally scored well on the others - Evidence of a g factor Second theory: Intelligence is consist of multiple intelligences a. Howard Gardner’s Multiples Intelligences (1999) i. Identified eight relatively independent intelligences (linguistic, naturalist, logical-math, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial) ii. Belief: intelligence consists of multiple abilities that come in different packages iii. Brain damage can destroy one ability and leave others intact iv.

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v. He proposed a ninth intelligence = the ability to ponder deep questions about life vi. Gardner provided evidence for multiple intelligences (eight/nine intelligences) by describing: Savant Syndrome – A condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability (may have limited or no language ability) has an exceptional specific skill Approx 50% of autistic children have savant characteristics Example of savant syndrome i. The late Kim Peek (Rain Man movie) 1. 8 - 10 seconds to read and memorize a page 2. Memorized 9000 books (including Shakespeare's works and the Bible) 3. Provide GPS like travel directions within any major US city 4. But he could not button his clothes 5. Little capacity for abstract thinking ii. Tokyo Panorama 1. Intellectually disabled but can draw the landscape of TOKYO just by looking it for a few minutes Sternberg’ triarchic theory (three intelligences) i. Agrees with Gardner – believes we have multiple intelligences – but he proposes 3 different types of intelligence (not 8 or 9) 1. Analytical intelligence (School smarts: Traditional academic problem solving) 2. Creative intelligence (Trailblazing smarts: Ability to come up with new and novel ideas; ability to adapt to new situations and generate novel ideas) 3. Practical intelligence (Street smarts: Skill at handling everyday tasks that may be poorly defined and have multiple solutions) ii. Creative intelligence – think up a caption for this untitled cartoon iii. E.g., practical intelligence – respond to solve everyday tasks How to move a grand piano up a winding staircase Emotional intelligence (Mayer, 2000-2012) i. Ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions ii. Consists of 4 abilities 1. Perceiving emotions (recognizing emotions in faces, music, and stories) 2. Understanding emotions (predicting them and understanding how they may change and blend together) 3. Managing emotions (knowing how to express them in varied situations) 4. Using emotions to enable adaptive or creative thinking iii. Benefits of Emotional Intelligence 1. Emotionally intelligent people are both socially aware and selfaware

2. Great at managing conflicts 3. Happier and healthier 4. More successful in career, relationship and parenting than academically smarter but less emotionally intelligent people iv. Some scholars are concerned that emotional intelligence stretches the intelligence concept too far DYNAMICS OF INTELLIGENCE 1. Aging and Intelligence Crystallised intelligence Accumulated knowledge over your life As reflected in vocabulary and word tests Increases up to old age

Fluid Intelligence Ability to reason speedily and abstractly As when solving unfamiliar logic problems Decreases with age; decreases beginning in our 20’s and 30’s, slowing up to age 75 or so, and then more rapidly especially after age 85

a. With age, we lose and win i. We lose memory and processing speed – but we gain vocabulary and knowledge ii. Age-related cognitive differences help explain why: 1. older adults -less likely to embrace new technologies (memory and speed) 2. mathematicians and scientists produce much of their most creative work during the late 20’s or early 30’s (fluid intelligence is at its peak) 3. In contrast, authors, historians and philosophers tend to produce their best work in the 40’s, 50’s and beyond (after accumulating more knowledge (crystallized intelligence) 2. Intelligence: Stability over the Life Span Age Power of IQ scores Before age 3 Casual observation and intelligence test only modestly predict future aptitudes By age 4 Intelligence test performance begins to predict adolescent and adult scores Late adolescence Remarkable stability of aptitude scores: +86 correlation a. Intelligent people live healthier and longer i. Deary (2008) 3 possible explanations

1. Intelligence facilitates more education, better jobs and a healthier environment 2. Intelligence encourages healthy living: less smoking, better diet more exercise 3. A “well-wired body” as evidenced by fast reaction speeds, may foster both intelligence and a longer life 3. Extremes of Intelligence a. The majority of people have an IQ of 100–average intelligence b. But what about those who score at the extremes? i. The low extreme ii. The high extreme c. Low Extreme i. Only about 1% of the population meets both criteria ii. Males out number females by 50% iii. Intellectual disability is a developmental condition that is apparent before age 18, sometimes with a known physical cause e.g., Downs syndrome - mild to severe intellectual disability caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 iv. however, most people with Down syndrome are not severely intellectually disabled v. Most individuals with an intellectual disability can, with support, live in mainstream society How To be diagnosed with an intellectual disability: 1. Low intelligence test score (70 or below) 2. Difficulty adapting to normal demands of independent living (in all 3 areas) a. Conceptual skills: such as language, literacy, and concepts of money, time, and number b. Social skills: such as interpersonal skills, social responsibility, and the ability to follow basic rules and laws and avoid being victimised c. Practical skills: such as daily personal care, occupational skill, travel, and health care d. The high extreme i. IQ score over 135 ii. Only 3 to 5% of children are gifted iii. Contrary to popular opinion that gifted children are maladjusted, they are 1. Healthy 2. Well-adjusted and 3. Very successful academically iv. Some people believe gifted children should be identified and segregated academically to enrich their knowledge

v. They may be bored and losses their passion, may drop out of school because its too easy vi. Academic tracking is the process of placing students in separate classes with others who share a similar aptitude score vii. FOR 1. Children have differing gifts which are well served with appropriate developmental placement 2. This can promote both equity and excellence for all viii. AGAINST 1. Those children implicitly labelled “ungifted” may be influenced to become so 2. Denying lower-ability student opportunities for enriched education can widen the achievement gap between ability groups and increase their social isolation from one another GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON INTELLIGENCE 1. Genetics a. Do people who share the same genes also share mental abilities? YES i. E.g. identical twins – have more similar IQ scores than unrelated individuals ii. More genetically similar people are more similar intelligence score 2. Environmental influences a. Know that genes matter, but life experiences also matter i. Severe deprivation will leave footprints on the human brain – and negatively impact intelligence b. Early environmental influences i. Factors that slow normal development 1. Poverty: can impede cognitive performance and deplete cognition capacity 2. Malnutrition 3. Sensory deprivation 4. Social isolation can also slow normal brain development ii. Extreme environmental conditions can slow normal brain development iii. But will an “enriched” environment give children a superior intellect? Not really. There is no environmental ...