2.8 intelligence--stereotype threat

intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

general intelligence

according to Spearman and others, underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

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.

fluid inteligence (GF)

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age, especially during late adulthood.

crystalized intelligence (GC)

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory

the theory that our intelligence is based on g as well as specific abilities, bridged by Gf and Gc.

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

grit

in psychology, passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age. Thus, a child who does as well as an average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

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 (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca × 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the WAIS and its companion versions for children are the most widely used intelligence tests; they contain verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

psychometric

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

standardization 

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

normal curve

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes. (Also called a normal distribution.)

flynn effect

the rise in intelligence test performance over time and across cultures.

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting.

validity

the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to. (See also predictive validity.)

content validity 

the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to. (See also predictive validity.)

construct validity

how much a test measures a concept or trait.

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 criterion-related validity.)

cohort

a group of people sharing a common characteristic, such as from a given time period.

growth mindset

a focus on learning and growing rather than viewing abilities as fixed.

fixed mindset

the view that intelligence, abilities, and talents are unchangeable, even with effort.

stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

Charles Spearman

Spearman's theory of intelligence proposes that intelligence is composed of two main factors: a general mental ability called the "g" factor, and specific abilities, or "s" factors, that are unique to each task. The "g" factor is a single, underlying ability that influences performance across all cognitive tasks, while "s" factors are specialized skills learned through experience and practice, like math or musical talent. A person's overall performance on a task is a combination of both their general intelligence and their specific skills for that task. 

L.L. Thurstone

One of Spearman’s early critics was L. L. Thurstone (1887–1955). Thurstone gave 56 different tests to people and mathematically identified seven clusters of primary mental abilities (word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory). Thurstone did not rank people on a single scale of general aptitude. But when other investigators studied these profiles, they detected a persistent tendency: Those who excelled in one of the seven clusters generally scored well on the others. So, the investigators concluded, there was still some evidence of a g factor.

Howard Gardner

Howard Gardner has identified eight relatively independent intelligences, including the verbal and mathematical aptitudes assessed by standardized tests (Figure 2.8-1). Thus, the app developer, the poet, the street-smart adolescent, and the basketball team’s play-making point guard exhibit different kinds of intelligence (Gardner, 1998). Gardner (1999) has also proposed a ninth possible intelligence — existential intelligence — defined as the ability “to ponder large questions about life, death, existence.” Gardner’s notion of multiple intelligences continues to influence many educators’ belief that children have different “learning styles,” such as visual and auditory (Newton & Miah, 2017).

Francis Galton

Galton’s contributions include some statistical techniques that we still use, as well as the phrase nature and nurture. Yet his story illustrates an important lesson from both the history of intelligence research and the history of science: Although science itself strives for objectivity, individual scientists are affected by their own assumptions and attitudes.

Alfred Binet

modern intelligence testing traces its birth to early twentieth-century France, where a new law required all children to attend school. French officials knew that some children, including many newcomers to Paris, would need special classes. But how could the schools make fair judgments about children’s learning potential? Teachers might assess children who had little prior education as slow learners. Or they might sort children into classes by their social backgrounds. To minimize such bias, France’s minister of public education gave psychologist Alfred Binet the task of designing fair tests.

Lewis Terman

Stanford University professor Lewis Terman (1877–1956) tried the Paris-developed questions and age norms with California kids. Adapting some of Binet’s original items, adding others, and establishing new age norms, Terman extended the upper end of the test’s range from age 12 to “superior adults.” He also gave his revision the name today’s version retains — the Stanford-Binet.

David Wechsler

creator of wais test, Similarities — reasoning the commonality of two objects or concepts (“In what way are wool and cotton alike?”)

Vocabulary — naming pictured objects, or defining words (“What is a guitar?”)

Block design — visual abstract processing (“Using the four blocks, make one just like this.”)

Letter-number sequencing — on hearing a series of numbers and letters (“R-2-C-1-M-3”), repeating the numbers in ascending order, and then the letters in alphabetical order.

carol Dweck

These observations would not surprise psychologist Carol Dweck (2018; Dweck & Yeager, 2019). She reports that believing intelligence is changeable fosters a growth mindset, a focus on learning and growing. Conversely, believing that intelligence is innately fixed fosters a fixed mindset, which involves less optimism about people’s capacity for change and growth (Tao et al., 2021).

steven pinker

Psychologist Steven Pinker (2005) has argued for the evolutionary perspective — that biology affects gender-related differences in life priorities (women’s somewhat greater interest in people versus men’s emphasis on money and things), in risk taking (with men being more reckless), and in math reasoning and spatial abilities. Such differences are, he noted, observed across cultures, stable over time, influenced by prenatal hormones, and observed in genetic boys raised as girls.

cross sectional study

A cross-sectional study is an observational research method that collects data from a population at a single point in time. It is used to describe the characteristics of a population, measure the prevalence of a health outcome, or identify associations between variables. These studies are often quick and inexpensive because they do not follow subjects over a long period. 

Longitudinal study

A longitudinal study is a research method that involves repeatedly observing or tracking the same subjects over an extended period to identify trends and changes. By monitoring the same group, researchers can observe how behaviors, traits, or conditions evolve over time and establish potential cause-and-effect relationships. These studies can take months, years, or even decades and are used in many fields, such as medicine, psychology, and social sciences.