Intelligence What makes us intelligent Or Not so

Intelligence What makes us intelligent Or Not so intelligent

Intelligence • The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. • Is socially constructed thus… Can be culturally specific. According to this definition, are both Einstein and Ruth intelligent?

Charles Spearman and his G factor Jack Bauer is good at torturing, bomb defusing, shooting, figuring out evil plots and saving the country Is there anything he cannot do? • Used factor analysis (A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test) and discovered that we see as many different skills is actually one General Intelligence. • If you are good at one subject you are usually good at many others.

Multiple Intelligences • Howard Gardner disagreed with Spearman’s g and instead came up with the concept of multiple intelligences. • He came up with the idea by studying savants (a condition where a person has limited mental ability but is exceptional in one area).

Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligences • Gardner believed that there exists at least 7 different types of intelligences. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Linguistic Logical-mathematical Spatial Musical Body-kinesthetic Intrapersonal Interpersonal Naturalist

Sternberg’s Three Aspects of Intelligence Gardner Simplified • Analytical (academic problem solving). • Creative (generating novel ideas) • Practical (required for everyday tasks where multiple solutions exist).

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) • First called social intelligence. • The ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions. • Some studies show EQ to be a greater predictor future success than IQ

Brain Size and Intelligence Is there a link? • Small +. 15 correlation between head size and intelligence scores (relative to body size). • Using an MRI we found +. 40 correlation with brain size and IQ score.

Brain Function and Intelligence • Higher performing brains are more active in frontal lobes than lower performing brains. • Neurological speed is also a bit quicker. • Possible that people who quickly process information, accumulate more information.

How do we Assess Intelligence? • Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon set out to figure out a concept called a mental age (what a person of a particular age should know). • They discovered that by discovering someone’s mental age they can predict future performance. • Hoped they could use test to help children, not label them.

Terman and his IQ Test • An 8 year old has a • Used Binet’s research mental age of 10, what is to construct the her IQ? – 125 • A 12 year old has the mental age of 9, what is his IQ? modern day IQ test called the Stanford. Binet Test. – 75 • A boy has the mental age of 10 and an IQ of 200, how old is he? – 5 yrs • IQ=Mental age/Chronological age X 100.

Problems with the IQ Formula • It does not really work well on adults, why? If a 60 year old man does as well as an average 30 year old then his IQ would be 50!!!!!! That makes no sense!!!!!

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) consists of 11 subtests and cues us in to strengths by using…. . Factor Analysis

Aptitude v. Achievement Tests Aptitude • A test designed to predict a person’s future performance. • The ability for that person to learn. Achievement • A test designed to assess what a person has learned.

How do we construct Intelligence tests? Tests must be: • Standardized • Reliable • Valid

Standardization • The test must be pre-tested to a representative sample of people and • Form a normal distribution or bell curve

Flynn Effect

Reliability • The extent which a test yields consistent results over time. • Spilt halves or test–retest method.

Validity The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure. • Content Validity: does the test sample a behavior of interest • Predictive Validity: the success with which the test predicts the behavior it is meant to predict. (criterion-related validity) • Criterion. The behavior that a test is designed to predict.

Does Intelligence Change Over Time? • By age 4, a child’s IQ can predict adolescent & adult IQ scores. • By age 7, intelligence test scores stabilize. • Depends on the type of intelligence, crystallized or fluid.

• Fluid Intelligence – Fluid intelligence or fluid reasoning is the capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge. • Crystallized Intelligence – Crystallized intelligence is the ability to use skills, knowledge, and experience. It does not equate to memory or knowledge, but it does rely on accessing information from long-term memory.

Extremes of Intelligence • People with scores • High scoring people below 70, diagnosis of (over 135) tend to be mental retardation, healthy, well-adjusted, vary in their abilities. and unusually successful – From near-normal academically. – To requiring constant aid and supervision

Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores • The Bell curve is different for Whites v. Black. • Math scores are different across genders and the highest scores are for Asian males. Why? Nature or Nurture

Test Bias? Tests do discriminate. But some argue that there sole purpose is to discriminate. We have to look at the type of discrimination.