PSYCH1000: CHAPTER 10: INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence in Historical Perspective
• Intelligence: ability to acquire knowledge, think & reason effectively, deal adaptively w env
• Cultural environments value different skills for adaptation —> concept of intelligence varies
• Host of abilities (memory, creativity… etc)
• Intelligence is what a test measures… but tests can be misleading
• Use of logical analysis does not necessarily = intelligence
• Galton: studied hereditary genius
• Are the relatives of intelligent people (successful businesspeople) also intelligent?
• Wanted to remove “unintelligent” students from school —> waste of resources
• Measured intelligence by reaction time (mental quickness), int as a sensory ability
• Believed intelligence was unitary, purely genetic/predetermined
• Developed correlation coefficient
• Results disappointing —> CC was not linked to genetics
• Binet: attempted to measure differences in children’s mental skills
• Was requested by French government to help classify children’s intelligence
• Intelligence = “collection of higher order abilities”
• Abilities not correlated
• Abilities results from learning (contrast to Galton)
• Develop test to tap several different abilities
• Uses CC with teacher ratings of students’ intelligence
• Correlation was actually quite strong (criterion validity)
• Tests revised and Mental Age introduced
• Standardized test — results have normal scores for each age group
• Mental age determined by which age group you score within
• Terman & Stern
• Adapt Binet’s French test for use in US at Stanford —> Stanford-Binet test (widely used)
• Different items/tasks that should be accomplished by certain ages
• IQ (intelligence quotient) = (Mental age) / (Chronological age) X 100
• S-B test is designed for children (not appropriate for adults)
• Scores might be way too high / not accurate for adults
• Wechler Adult Intelligence Scale
• WAIS - IV
• More research on this study, more accurate
• Measures 10 subscales (verbal, performance)
• Deviation IQ (z-score)
• IQ is a normal curve / distribution (mean=100, SD= 15)
The Nature of Intelligence
• Psychometric Approach
• Map intellect structure & establish how many classes of mental ability underlie test scores
• Factor analysis: identifies clusters of measures that are highly correlated
• These test scores are assumed to have a common underlying factor/skill
• Spearman: intelligence = specific cognitive abilities + general intelligence (g)
• Thurstone: intelligence = set of specific abilities (distinction between abilities)
• Cattell & Horn: g is broken up into crystallized & fluid intelligence
• Crystallized: applying previous knowledge/experience to current problems
• Fluid: dealing with new problems without personal experience
• Throughout life, we rely less on fluid intelligence as we gain wisdom
• Carroll’s three-statum model
• General intelligence (g) —> broad abilities —> narrow cognitive/perceptual skills
, • Most accurate psychometric representation of human cognitive abilities
• Cognitive Processes Approach
• Focus on specific thought processes that underlie mental competencies
• Sternberg: triarchic theory of intelligence
• 3 major info-processing components underlying intelligent behaviour
• metacomponents, performance components, knowledge acquisition
• 3 types of intelligence: analytical, practical, creative
• Gardiner: multiple intelligences (9 distinct forms)
• Theory of emotional intelligence
• Read & respond to others’ emotions, motivate oneself, awareness+control of emotions
The Measurement of Intelligence
• Most modern intelligence tests (ex Wechsler scales) measure many different abilities
• Provide sub-scores for specific strengths/weaknesses
• Some recent tests derived directly from intelligence theories
• Kaufman scale: separate fluid & crystallized intelligence scores
• Sternberg’s STAT: measures analytical, practical, creative intelligences separately
• Achievement vs aptitude tests: what has already been learned vs potential for future learning
• Most tests measure both (hard to separate tests from prior learning)
• Standards for psychological tests
• Reliability: consistency of measurement
• Over time, within tests, across scorers
• Test-Retest method: see if test results are similar later
• Reliability is greater the more questions there are
• Validity: does the test measure what it intends to?
• Acceptable relations with relevant criterion measures (ex. Job success)
• Relationship between IQ and achievement is not necessarily that high
• Standardization: development of norms (normal distribution), standard testing conditions
• IQ forms a normal distribution where 100 is the mean
• Dynamic test: standard test followed by feedback & assessment of coaching application
• Can provide info that static testing does not, may have stronger criterion correlation
• IQ scores successfully predict range of academic, occupational, life outcomes
• Indicates that IQ tests measure important adaptational skills
• The Flynn Effect: notable rise in intelligence test scores over past century
• May be result of better living conditions, more schooling, more complex environments
• Bias: is the knowledge “culture-fair” or does it require specific cultural knowledge?
• More than just an “academic” question —> can impact streaming and ppl’s futures
• Possible solution: devise tests applicable to necessary adaptational skills of an env
• Dove’s Chitterling Test
• A purposely unfair IQ test
• Raven’s Matrices
• A culture-fair intelligence test (not tied to any culture’s knowledge base)
• Starts simple and gets harder (your score from 100 tests = how far you get)
• Recent physiological evidence shows intelligent peoples’ brains may work more efficiently
• Brain size not relevant, but neural networks may be very important
• Theory that brain plasticity may underlie intelligence
Savant Syndrome
• Dr. J.L. Down —> “Idiot Savant”
• At the time, idiot was a term for intellectual impairment (IQ < 25)
• Excel in narrow range of abilities (can have multiple skills)
• Lighting fast math
• Music
• Calendar calculations
Intelligence in Historical Perspective
• Intelligence: ability to acquire knowledge, think & reason effectively, deal adaptively w env
• Cultural environments value different skills for adaptation —> concept of intelligence varies
• Host of abilities (memory, creativity… etc)
• Intelligence is what a test measures… but tests can be misleading
• Use of logical analysis does not necessarily = intelligence
• Galton: studied hereditary genius
• Are the relatives of intelligent people (successful businesspeople) also intelligent?
• Wanted to remove “unintelligent” students from school —> waste of resources
• Measured intelligence by reaction time (mental quickness), int as a sensory ability
• Believed intelligence was unitary, purely genetic/predetermined
• Developed correlation coefficient
• Results disappointing —> CC was not linked to genetics
• Binet: attempted to measure differences in children’s mental skills
• Was requested by French government to help classify children’s intelligence
• Intelligence = “collection of higher order abilities”
• Abilities not correlated
• Abilities results from learning (contrast to Galton)
• Develop test to tap several different abilities
• Uses CC with teacher ratings of students’ intelligence
• Correlation was actually quite strong (criterion validity)
• Tests revised and Mental Age introduced
• Standardized test — results have normal scores for each age group
• Mental age determined by which age group you score within
• Terman & Stern
• Adapt Binet’s French test for use in US at Stanford —> Stanford-Binet test (widely used)
• Different items/tasks that should be accomplished by certain ages
• IQ (intelligence quotient) = (Mental age) / (Chronological age) X 100
• S-B test is designed for children (not appropriate for adults)
• Scores might be way too high / not accurate for adults
• Wechler Adult Intelligence Scale
• WAIS - IV
• More research on this study, more accurate
• Measures 10 subscales (verbal, performance)
• Deviation IQ (z-score)
• IQ is a normal curve / distribution (mean=100, SD= 15)
The Nature of Intelligence
• Psychometric Approach
• Map intellect structure & establish how many classes of mental ability underlie test scores
• Factor analysis: identifies clusters of measures that are highly correlated
• These test scores are assumed to have a common underlying factor/skill
• Spearman: intelligence = specific cognitive abilities + general intelligence (g)
• Thurstone: intelligence = set of specific abilities (distinction between abilities)
• Cattell & Horn: g is broken up into crystallized & fluid intelligence
• Crystallized: applying previous knowledge/experience to current problems
• Fluid: dealing with new problems without personal experience
• Throughout life, we rely less on fluid intelligence as we gain wisdom
• Carroll’s three-statum model
• General intelligence (g) —> broad abilities —> narrow cognitive/perceptual skills
, • Most accurate psychometric representation of human cognitive abilities
• Cognitive Processes Approach
• Focus on specific thought processes that underlie mental competencies
• Sternberg: triarchic theory of intelligence
• 3 major info-processing components underlying intelligent behaviour
• metacomponents, performance components, knowledge acquisition
• 3 types of intelligence: analytical, practical, creative
• Gardiner: multiple intelligences (9 distinct forms)
• Theory of emotional intelligence
• Read & respond to others’ emotions, motivate oneself, awareness+control of emotions
The Measurement of Intelligence
• Most modern intelligence tests (ex Wechsler scales) measure many different abilities
• Provide sub-scores for specific strengths/weaknesses
• Some recent tests derived directly from intelligence theories
• Kaufman scale: separate fluid & crystallized intelligence scores
• Sternberg’s STAT: measures analytical, practical, creative intelligences separately
• Achievement vs aptitude tests: what has already been learned vs potential for future learning
• Most tests measure both (hard to separate tests from prior learning)
• Standards for psychological tests
• Reliability: consistency of measurement
• Over time, within tests, across scorers
• Test-Retest method: see if test results are similar later
• Reliability is greater the more questions there are
• Validity: does the test measure what it intends to?
• Acceptable relations with relevant criterion measures (ex. Job success)
• Relationship between IQ and achievement is not necessarily that high
• Standardization: development of norms (normal distribution), standard testing conditions
• IQ forms a normal distribution where 100 is the mean
• Dynamic test: standard test followed by feedback & assessment of coaching application
• Can provide info that static testing does not, may have stronger criterion correlation
• IQ scores successfully predict range of academic, occupational, life outcomes
• Indicates that IQ tests measure important adaptational skills
• The Flynn Effect: notable rise in intelligence test scores over past century
• May be result of better living conditions, more schooling, more complex environments
• Bias: is the knowledge “culture-fair” or does it require specific cultural knowledge?
• More than just an “academic” question —> can impact streaming and ppl’s futures
• Possible solution: devise tests applicable to necessary adaptational skills of an env
• Dove’s Chitterling Test
• A purposely unfair IQ test
• Raven’s Matrices
• A culture-fair intelligence test (not tied to any culture’s knowledge base)
• Starts simple and gets harder (your score from 100 tests = how far you get)
• Recent physiological evidence shows intelligent peoples’ brains may work more efficiently
• Brain size not relevant, but neural networks may be very important
• Theory that brain plasticity may underlie intelligence
Savant Syndrome
• Dr. J.L. Down —> “Idiot Savant”
• At the time, idiot was a term for intellectual impairment (IQ < 25)
• Excel in narrow range of abilities (can have multiple skills)
• Lighting fast math
• Music
• Calendar calculations
