General Psychology PSYC 200 Intelligence Discussion Questions Do

General Psychology PSYC 200 Intelligence

Discussion Questions • Do we place too much emphasis on intelligence in our society? Why or why not? • Is it ethical to use differences in intelligence to rank people? Is it ethical to use standardized tests to determine acceptance into elite colleges and universities? • How would our society be different if there was no way to assess intelligence and no IQ tests?

In class Questions • Compare and contrast Sternberg’s and Gardner’s views of intelligence • Describe some situational factors that influence how individuals perform on intelligence tests

Public Service Announcement On using technology in school

Technology and Distraction

Technology and Communication

Outline What is Intelligence? History of Intelligence Testing Single or Multiple Intelligences Genetic and Environmental Influences Understanding Group Differences

Solve these problems • What is 10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1? • What is missing in the figure to the right? • Solve these anagrams: – Reilbatiiyth – itbylia • In what way are a painting and a symphony alike?

Is she intelligent? • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=b. UGj. UCH SKLM&feature=player_embedded

Controversies Galore • • definition IQ tests heritability gender and race differences • Think Like a Psychologist!

What is Intelligence? Group talk: • How do we measure it? – Tests of intelligence • How do you know that someone is smart? – Other ways you might tell personally – Is there a way to measure this?

History of IQ Testing Le education pour tous!

First Intelligence Test • How to select students for classrooms? – Teachers? – Parents? • Binet and Simon (1904) develop an objective test • identify learners who might need extra help • predicted and feared misuse

Stanford-Binet Test • Lewis Terman revised Binet’s test for use in the U. S. • still widely used

Misuse and Abuse • administered in English to new immigrants • “feeble-minded” • laws restricting immigration • armed forces • assigned hazardous duties to lowest scorers • Eugenics Movement (1910 -1930 s)

American Eugenics Movement • Eu – Genics = “Good” Genes

• "Now that we know the laws of heredity, it is possible to a large extent to prevent unhealthy and severely handicapped beings from coming into the world. I have studied with interest the laws of several American states concerning prevention of reproduction by people whose progeny would, in all probability, be of no value or be injurious to the racial stock. “ • Who said it?

American Eugenics • involuntary sterilizations • 33 states • 66, 000 women • often tricked into the surgery • Guess which state was the last to repeal sterilization laws? • Virginia • 1974

Buck v. Bell (1927) • Charlottesville, VA • 18 year-old Carrie Buck • Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded • sterilized • “These people belong to the shiftless, ignorant, worthless class of antisocial whites of the South; ” "three generations of imbeciles is enough” • sterilize those deemed “eugenically undesirable”

One Intelligence or Multiple Intelligences? g

Spearman’s g • general intelligence • one common factor underlies all intelligence • called “two-factor theory” in your text

“You’re wise, but you lack tree smarts. ”

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences* * - abilities, not styles

Extremes of Intelligence

Mental Retardation • three criteria • IQ < 70 • difficulty adapting to normal demands of living independently • onset prior to adulthood • 1% of the population • more males than females

Scientific Terminology • changed over the years Now Then mildly retarded moron severely retarded idiot profoundly retarded imbecile

Gifted • IQ ≥ 135 = top 1% • usually not maladjusted misfits • healthy, well-adjusted, successful • IQ ≥ 180 = Profoundly gifted • Twice the social and emotional problems as average kids – How do you recognize the extroverted mathematician?

Savant Syndrome • low IQ score combined with spectacular abilities • narrow range of skills • many are autistic • deficits in communication, social skills, and other cognitive deficits • • • 6 X more common in males memory lightening-fast calculations calendar calculating musical ability artistic ability

Savants : Kim Peek, Stephen Wiltshire • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=j. Vq. RT_k. COLI • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=dhc. QG_KIt. ZM

III Genetic and Environmental Influences • complex questions • bitter disputes about how evidence should be interpreted

How do we know? • 3 ways to study genetic impact on IQ • family studies • twin studies • adoption studies • consistent results • nature AND nurture

Family Studies • family studies • IQ runs in families • Do these results necessarily indicate purely genetic influences?

Twin Studies • Review correlation • reared together • identical twins: r =. 85 • fraternal twins: r =. 55 • What does this difference suggest? • reared apart • similar pattern but lower correlations • What does this tell us?

Additional Studies • impact of schooling • years in school and IQ: r =. 5 • students who drop out of school end up with lower IQs than those who stay in school, even when they start out with the same IQ • IQ correlated with poverty • more exposure to lead paint, contaminated water, etc. • IQ correlated with inadequate diet • malnutrition can lower IQs; nutritional supplements can raise IQs under certain conditions

Flynn Effect • IQ scores have been rising • 3 points per decade • on average, our IQs are 15 points higher than those of our grandparents • due to environmental influences • complexity of modern world, better nutrition, better parenting, better schools and more access to intellectual resources and enriched environments • Or, modern world more suited to abstract test

IV Understanding Group Differences • Are there gender differences in intelligence? • Are there racial differences in intelligence? • If so, what do these differences mean and why do they exist? • emotionally and politically charged

Gender Differences? • similar overall IQ • men are more variable than women • wider distribution of scores • a few small differences in specific abilities • women tend to do better than men on » verbal tasks like spelling and writing » nonverbal memory • men tend to do better than women on » tasks requiring spatial ability » mathematical tasks involving reasoning

Racial Differences? • on average, black and hispanic americans score 10 -15 points lower than white americans on IQ tests • gap is narrowing • differences have been widely misunderstood and misinterpreted • used to justify racist beliefs and practices

Important Point • just because IQ is partly heritable within a group does not imply that the difference between racial groups has anything to do with their genes

Bitter Debate • The Bell Curve (1994) • suggested the racial gap is genetic • explosive • but evidence suggests that racial differences in IQ are environmental, not genetic • different resources and opportunities • black and white children raised in similarly economically enriched envirionments have similar IQ scores

• cultures differ in how they think about intelligence • a socially-constructed concept • whatever attributes enable success • African and Asian cultures are more likely than western cultures to emphasize social skills • Chewa adults in Zambia emphasize social responsibility, cooperation, and obedience • Kenyan parents emphasize responsible participation in family and social life • In Zimbabwe, the word for intelligence is “ngware” which means to be prudent and cautious, particularly in social relationships

Take Home Messages • Intelligence is hard to define • Education increases intelligence – But not as much as we would hope • Not nature or nurture, but both – Intelligence is highly heritable among wealthy children (0. 72) and not so heritable among poor children (0. 10) • Intelligence scores correlate with consequential behaviors and outcomes, like income, job performance, etc. – But practice still matters