Intelligence Chapter 10 Unit 11 AP Psychology Ms

Intelligence Chapter 10 Unit 11 AP Psychology ~ Ms. Justice

BIG IDEAS üWhat is Intelligence? üAssessing Intelligence üThe Dynamics of Intelligence üGenetic & Environmental Influences on Intelligence

What is Intelligence? Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use our knowledge to adapt to new situations. In research studies, intelligence is whatever the intelligence test measures. This tends to be “school smarts. ”

1: What argues for and against considering intelligence as one general mental ability?

Intelligence: Ability or Abilities? Have you ever thought that since people’s mental abilities are so diverse, it may not be justifiable to label those abilities with only one word, intelligence?

General Intelligence The idea that general intelligence (g) exists comes from the work of Charles Spearman (1863 -1945) who helped develop the factor analysis approach in statistics. Athleticism, like intelligence, is many things

General Intelligence Spearman proposed that general intelligence (g) is linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis. For example, people who do well on vocabulary examinations do well on paragraph comprehension examinations, a cluster that helps define verbal intelligence. Other factors include a spatial ability factor, or a reasoning ability factor.

2: How do Gardner’s and Sternberg’s theories of multiple intelligences differ?

Contemporary Intelligence Theories Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports the idea that intelligence comes in multiple forms. Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability but not others. People with savant syndrome excel in abilities unrelated to general intelligence.

Gardner: Multiple Intelligences Table 10. 1, p. 408 Gardner speculates about a ninth intelligence— existential intelligence, or the ability to think about the question of life, death and existence.

Sternberg: Multiple Intelligences Robert Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003) also agrees with Gardner, but suggests three intelligences rather than eight. 1. 2. 3. Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessed by intelligence tests (academic problem-solving). Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us adapt to novel situations, generating novel ideas. Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required for everyday tasks (e. g. street smarts).

3: What is creativity and what fosters it?

Intelligence and Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. It correlates somewhat with intelligence.

Intelligence and Creativity Five Components of Creativity: (p. 411) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Expertise: A well-developed knowledge base. Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things in novel ways. A Venturesome Personality: A personality that seeks new experiences rather than following the pack. Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be creative from within. A Creative Environment: A creative and supportive environment allows creativity to bloom.

4: What makes up emotional intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, understand, manage and use emotions (Salovey and others, 2005).

Emotional Intelligence: Components Component Perceive emotion Understand emotion Manage emotion Use emotion Description Recognize emotions in faces, music and stories Predict emotions, how they change and blend Express emotions in different situations Utilize emotions to adapt or be creative Page 412

Emotional Intelligence: Criticism Gardner and others criticize the idea of emotional intelligence and question whether we stretch this idea of intelligence too far when we apply it to our emotions.

Emotional Intelligence # 1 – 33 1 = strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3 = neither disagree nor agree 4 = agree 5 = strongly agree

Emotional Intelligence Scale Scoring • Reverse the numbers that you put in response to items 5, 28, and 33 • Add the numbers in front of all 33 items • Mean score = 131 for females and 125 for males • Higher scores = greater optimism, less depression and less impulsivity

5: To what extent is intelligence related to brain anatomy and neural processing speed?

Recent Research • Einstein’s brain was average size, but his parietal lobe’s lower region (center for mathematical and spatial information) was 15% larger than average • Highly educated people die with 17% more synapses • Higher intelligence scores are linked with more gray matter (neural cell bodies) in areas involved in memory, attention, and language

6: When and why were intelligence tests created?

Assessing Intelligence Psychologists define intelligence testing as a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with others using numerical scores.

Alfred Binet developed questions that would predict children’s future progress in the Paris school system. Binet hoped the test would be used to improve children’s education, but also worried that the test would be used to label children & limit their opportunities.

Lewis Terman In the US, Lewis Terman adapted Binet’s test for American school children and named the test the Stanford-Binet Test. William Stern introduced the following formula to derive a person’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Today, “IQ” is still used as shorthand to represent an intelligence test score – or a test taker’s performance relative to the average performance of others the same age.

7: What’s the difference between aptitude and achievement tests, and how can we develop and evaluate them?

Achievement vs. Aptitude • Achievement tests – measure what a person has learned • Aptitude tests – predict a person’s future performance (aptitude = the capacity to learn)

David Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and later the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), an intelligence test for school-aged children. It is now the most widely used intelligence test.

WAIS measures overall intelligence and 11 other aspects related to intelligence that are designed to assess clinical and educational problems.

WAIS: Verbal from Figure 10. 5, page 419

WAIS: Performance from Figure 10. 5, page 419

WAIS: Spatial from Figure 10. 5, page 419

WAIS: Object Assembly from Figure 10. 5, page 419

WAIS: Digit-Symbol Substitution from Figure 10. 5, page 419

Principles of Test Construction For a psychological test to be acceptable it must fulfill the following three criteria: 1. Standardization – defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group 2. Reliability – the extent to which a test yields consistent results 3. Validity – the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

8: How stable are intelligence scores over the life span?

Stability of Intelligence Scores • The stability of intelligence test scores increases with age • By age 4 scores fluctuate somewhat but begin to predict adolescent and adult scores • By age 7 scores become fairly stable and consistent

9: What are the traits of those at the low and high intelligence extremes?

Extremes of Intelligence A valid intelligence test divides two groups of people into two extremes: the mentally retarded (IQ 70) and individuals with high intelligence (IQ 135). These two groups are significantly different.

High Intelligence Contrary to popular belief, people with high intelligence test scores tend to be healthy, well adjusted, and unusually successful academically.

MENSA “Membership of Mensa is open to persons who have attained a score within the upper two percent of the general population on an approved intelligence test that has been properly administered and supervised. ” www. mensa. org

Mental Retardation Mentally retarded individuals required constant supervision a few decades ago, but with a supportive family environment and special education they can now care for themselves. Table 10. 3, p. 425

Rosa’s Law Passed in 2010, the law removed the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" from federal health, education and labor policy and replaced them with “individual with an intellectual disability” and “intellectual disability. ”

10: What does evidence reveal about heredity and environmental influences on intelligence?

Genetic Influences Studies of twins, family members, and adopted children support the idea that there is a significant genetic contribution to intelligence. Page 428

Environmental Influences Studies of twins and adopted children show the following: 1. Fraternal twins raised together tend to show similarity in intelligence scores. 2. Identical twins raised apart show slightly less similarity in their intelligence scores.

Environmental Influences • Early neglect from caregivers leads children to develop a lack of personal control over the environment, and it impoverishes their intelligence. • Schooling is an experience that pays dividends, which is reflected in intelligence scores. Increased schooling correlates with higher intelligence scores.

11: How and why do gender and racial groups differ in mental ability scores?

Ethnic Similarities and Differences To discuss this issue we begin with two disturbing but agreed upon facts: 1. Racial groups differ in their average intelligence scores. 2. High-scoring people (and groups) are more likely to attain high levels of education and income.

Reasons Why Environment Affects Intelligence 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Races are remarkably alike genetically. Race is a social category. Asian students outperform North American students on math achievement and aptitude tests. Today’s better prepared populations would outperform populations of the 1930 s on intelligence tests. White and black infants tend to score equally well on tests predicting future intelligence. Different ethnic groups have experienced periods of remarkable achievement in different eras.

12: Are intelligence tests inappropriately biased?

The Question of Bias • Aptitude tests are necessarily biased in the sense that they are sensitive to performance differences caused by cultural differences. • However, aptitude tests are not biased in the sense that they accurately predict performance of one group over the other. • A stereotype threat is a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. • This phenomenon appears in some instances in intelligence testing among African-Americans and among women of all colors.