Psych 111 Chapter 10 and Smart Kids Notes PDF

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Yaron Rubin Psychology 111

CHAPTER 10: Intelligence 

What is Intelligence? o Intelligence is a concept and not a ‘thing’ o When we refer to someone’s IQ as if it were fixed like height, we commit something called “reification”—viewing an abstract, immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing o Intelligence test- a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores o Intelligence- mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations o Is Intelligence A General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?  Charles Spearman-- Believed we have one general intelligence o General intelligence (g)- a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test  People often have certain abilities that stand out o Factor analysis- a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score  Believed that a common skill set, “the g factor”, underlies all of our intelligent behavior, be it navigating an ocean or excelling in school  L. L. Thurstone-- Rather than go about Spearman’s approach he identified 7 different clusters of primary mental abilities and didn’t rank people on a single scale of general aptitude o Pattern---those who excelled in 1 of the 7 skill sets also scored well on the others  STILL EVIDENCE OF A “G FACTOR”  Theories of Multiple Intelligences  Gardner’s Eight Intelligences o Howard Gardner-- Views intelligence as multiple abilities that come in packages  Finds evidence of this view in his studies of people with diminished or exceptional abilities

o Savant syndrome- a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing  “Gardner argues that we do not have an intelligence, but rather multiple intelligences”  Eight intelligences:  Linguistic  Logical-mathematical  Musical  Spatial  Bodily-kinesthetic  Intrapersonal (self)  Interpersonal (other people)  Naturalist  Sternberg’s Three Intelligences o Robert Sternberg-- Proposes a triarchic theory of three, not eight, intelligences:  Analytical (academic problemsolving) intelligence- assessed by intelligence tests, which present well-defined problems having a single right answer  Creative intelligence- demonstrated in reacting adaptively to novel situations and generating novel ideas  Practical intelligence- required for everyday tasks, which may be illdefined, with multiple solutions  Sternberg and Gardner BOTH agree that MULTIPLE ABILITIES CAN CONTRIBUTE TO LIFE SUCCESS  PAGE 410---Comparing theories of intelligence!!! o Intelligence and Creativity  Creativity- the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas  Sternberg and his colleagues determined there are 5 components of creativity:  Expertise- a well-developed base of knowledge  Imaginative thinking skills- provide the ability to see things in novel ways to recognize patterns, and to make connections

A venturesome personality- seeks new experiences, tolerates ambiguity and risk, and perseveres in overcoming obstacles  Intrinsic motivation- being driven more by interest, satisfaction, and challenge than by external pressures  A creative environment- sparks, supports, and refines creative ideas o Emotional Intelligence  Social intelligence---the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully  Emotional intelligence- the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions  Perceive emotions (recognize them in faces, music, stories)  Understand emotions (to predict them and how they change and blend)  Manage emotions (to know how to express them in varied situations)  Use emotions to enable adaptive and creative thinking o Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?  Brain Size and Complexity  There are tiny correlations between brain size and intelligence  Brain Function  A frontal lobe area becomes especially active in the left brain for verbal questions, and on both sides for spatial questioning  Perceptual Speed o Those who perceive very quickly tend to score higher on intelligence tests, particularly on tests based on perceptual rather than verbal problem solving  Neurological Speed o The evoked brain response seems to be slightly faster when people with high rather than low intelligence scores perform a simple task, such as pushing a button when an X appears on a screen Assessing Intelligence o The Origins of Intelligence Testing  Alfred Binet: Predicting School Achievement  Began by assuming that all children follow the same course of intellectual development but that some develop more rapidly  Their goal began measuring each child’s mental age o Mental age- a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level 

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of performance; thus, a child does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8  Binet and Simon made no assumptions as to WHY a particular child was slow, average, or precocious  To raise the capacities of low-scoring children, Binet recommended “mental orthopedics” o Would train them to develop their attention span and self-discipline  Believed his tests helped to identify French schoolchildren needing special attention, but hoped it wouldn’t label them or limit their opportunities Lewis Terman: The Innate IQ  Stanford-Binet- the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test  Intelligence quotient (IQ)- defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100; on contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a give n age is assigned a score of 100

o Modern Tests of Mental Abilities  Achievement tests- a test designed to assess what a person has learned  Aptitude tests- a test designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude = the capacity to learn  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)- most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests  Differences among these scores can provide clues to cognitive strengths or weaknesses that teachers or therapists can build upon o Principles of Test Construction  To be accepted, psychological tests have to be: standardized, reliable, and valid  Standardization o Standardization- defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group o Normal curve- the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes; most scores fall near the

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average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes o Intelligence test performance has been improving over the years---Flynn effect  Reliability o Reliability- the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting  If two scores agree, or correlate, the test is reliable  The higher the correlation, the higher the reliability  Validity o Validity- the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to  Content validity- the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest  Predictive validity- the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior (also called criterionrelated validity) The Dynamics of Intelligence o Stability or Change?  Casual observation and intelligence tests before age 3 only modestly predict children’s future aptitudes (or abilities to learn)  By age 4, children’s performance on intelligence tests begins to predict their adolescent and adult scores  Intelligence scores given to 5-year-olds do predict school achievement  By about age 7, intelligence scores, though not fixed, begin to stabilize o Extremes of Intelligence  The Low Extreme  Test scores the fall at 70 or below o Labeled as mental retardation  Mental retardation- (also called intellectual disability) a condition of limited mental ability, indicate by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adopting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound  Sometimes has a known physical cause  Down syndrome- a condition of retardation and associated physical

disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 The High Extreme  IQ scores over 135  By providing appropriate developmental placement suited to each kid’s talents, we can promote both equity and excellence for all Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence o Intelligence runs in families o Twin and Adoption Studies  The intelligence scores of identical twins reared together is virtually the same as a person taking the same test twice  The scores of identical twins reared separately were similar enough that about 70 percent of intelligence scores can be attributed to genetic variation  Brain scans reveal that identical twins have very similar gray matter volume, and that their brains are virtually the same in areas associated with verbal and spatial intelligence  Intelligence appears to be polygenetic, meaning many genes seem to be involved, with each gene accounting for much less than 1 percent of intelligence variations  SOME STUDIES POINTS TO THE ENVIRONMENT  Adoption enhances the intelligence scores of mistreated or neglected children  Fraternal twins tend to score more similarly than normal siblings o Heritability  Estimations of the heritability of intelligence—the variation in intelligence test scores attributable to genetic factors—put it at about 50 percent  HERITABILITY NEVER PERTAINS TO AN INDIVIDUAL, ONLY TO WHY PEOPLE DIFFER FROM ONE ANOTHER!!!  Our genes shape the experience that shapes us o Environmental Influences  Early Environmental Influences  Biology and experience intertwine—no instance more apparent than in impoverished human environments o Among the poor, environmental conditions can override genetic differences, depressing cognitive development  Malnutrition plays a role  Relieve infant malnutrition with supplements, and poverty’s effect on physical and cognitive development lessens 

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Schooling and Intelligence  Schooling is one intervention that pays dividends reflected in intelligence scores  Schooling and intelligence interact, and both enhance later income  Genes and intelligence together weave out intelligence fabric, but what we accomplish with our intelligence depends also on our own beliefs and motivation o Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores  Gender Similarities and Differences  Differences: o Spelling---females are better spellers o Verbal ability---females excel at verbal fluency and remembering words o Nonverbal memory---females have an edge in remembering and locating objects o Sensation---females are more sensitive to touch, taste, and odor o Emotion-detecting ability---females are better emotion detectors o Math and spatial aptitudes---males and females obtained nearly identical average scores  Females displayed an edge in mathematical computation, but males scored higher in math problem solving  the average man seems most reliable in spatial ability tests  from an evolutionary perspective, the same skills that both males and females excel at today were most likely what kept them alive hundreds of thousands of years ago o Greater male vulnerability---intelligence research consistently reports a peculiar tendency for males’ mental ability scores to vary more than females’  Boys outnumber girls in both the low extreme and the high extreme  Boys are therefore more often found in special-education classes  Ethnic Similarities and Differences  Racial groups differ in their average intelligence scores  High-scoring people (and groups) are more likely to attain high levels of education and income  Genetics research reveals that under the skin, the races are remarkably alike  Race is not a neatly defined biological category 

In different eras, different ethnic groups have experienced golden ages—periods of remarkable achievement o The Question of Bias  Two Meanings of Bias  A test can be biased if it detects not only innate differences in intelligence but also performance differences caused by cultural experiences  The second meaning of BIAS—its scientific meaning—is different o It hinges on a test’s validity—on whether it predicts future behavior only for some groups of test takers  Test-Takers’ Expectations  Our expectations and attitudes can influence our perceptions and behaviors  Stereotype threat- a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype 

READER: The Secret to Raising Smart Kids 

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Many people assume that superior intelligence or ability is a key to success o More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort—not on intelligence or ability—is key to success in school and in life  A focus on intellect or talent—and the implication that such traits are innate and fixed—leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unmotivated to learn o Teaching people to have a “growth mind-set” which encourages a focus on effort rather than on intelligence or talent, produces high achievers in school and in life  Parents and teacher can create a growth mind-sett in children by praising them for their effort or persistence (rather than for their intelligence), by telling success stories that emphasize hard work and love of learning, and by teaching them about the brain as a learning machine The Opportunity of Defeat o The most persistent students do not ruminate about their own failure but think of mistakes as problems to be solved o Attributing poor performance to a lack of ability depresses motivation more than does the belief that lack of effort is to blame  Some students reacted defensively to mistakes, denigrating their skills with comments such as “I never did have a good memory” and their problem-solving strategies deteriorated  Others meanwhile would focus on fixing errors and honing their skills more positively

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Two Views of Intelligence o These children think intelligence malleable and can be developed though education and hard work o Students with a “growth” mind-set felt that learning was a more important goal in school than getting good grades o Students who held a “fixed” mind-set were concerned about looking smart with little regard for learning Confronting Deficiencies o A belief in fixed intelligence also makes people less willing to admit to errors or to confront and remedy their deficiencies in school, at work, and in their social relationships  A fixed mind-set can similarly hamper communication and progress in the workplace by leading managers and employees to discourage or ignore constructive criticism and advice o Mind set can affect the quality and longevity of personal relationships as well, through people’s willingness—or unwillingness—to deal with difficulties Proper Praise o One way to transmit a “growth” mind-set to children is to tell stories of achievements that resulted from hard work o Intelligence praise encouraged fixed min-set more often than did pats on the back for effort Making Up Your Mind-Set o Parents and teachers can help children by providing explicit instructions regarding the mind as a learning machine o IF A GROWTH MIND-SET IS FOSTERED IN HOMES AND IN SCHOOLS, CHILDREN WILL BE GIVEN THE TOOLS TO SUCCEED IN THEIR PURSUITS AND BECOME RESPONSIBLE EMPLOYEES AND CITIZENS!!!...