intelligence

what did Kurzweil (1999) say intelligence was?

intelligence is the ability to use optimally limited resources - including time - to achieve goals

what did Gardner (1993) say intelligence was?

an intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings

what did Boring (1923) say intelligence was

intelligence is what is measured by intelligence tests

broad definition (general consensus) for intelligence

Intelligence is a very general mental capability that, among other
things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think
abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from
experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or
test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for
comprehending our surroundings – ‘catching on’, ‘making sense’ of
things, or ‘figuring out’ what to do

how did Aristotle describe intelligence

• passive intellect - ability to gather information via senses

• active intellect - ability to make sense of the information

• (e.g. in the modern sense the unconscious mind vs conscious mind)

what did Galton believe about intelligence and how did he measure it

dull mind = dull senses

he measured reaction time

stern’s formula of IQ

(mental age / chronological age) * 100 = IQ

how did Yerkes “stream” army recruits

Alpha battery - linguistic and mathematical

beta battery - performance and practical (less culturally biased)

• assigned letter grade

what did spearman realise about intelligence

• scores on all sub tests are mildly positively correlated - positive manifold

• two-factor theory - a common factor g, causally underlies performance on various specific intelligence sub-tasks, S_n

Weschsler intelligence score (WAIS AND WISC) distribution

normally distributed with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15

what is the aim Raven’s Progressive Matrices

to isolate the abstract core of intelligence

issue with Raven’s Progressive Matrices

the way to answer these types of questions can be learnt

what does thurstone say about g

no evidence for g if it is anything it is a product of 7 primary mental abilities

what are the 7 primary mental abilities (according to thurstone)

• memory

• number

• perception

• reasoning

• space

• fluency

• comprehension

what is fluid intelligence

• ability to understand abstract relations

• private capacity

crystallized intelligence

• acquired knowledge

• culture based

Guilfords factorial view

• 5 operations - types of processing

• 5 contents - what is processed

• 6 products - form of content

what are Vernons major and minor group factors

major group factors

• verbal / educational

  • spelling

  • grammar

• spatial / mechanical

  • dancing

  • tool-use

Carols three-stratum model

stratum I - 69 narrow abilities

stratum II - 8 broad abilities

Stratum III - g

What are the components of Cattel-Horn-carroll theory of cognitive abilities

• motor

• perception

• controlled attention

• knowledge

sterbergs triarchic theory of intelligence

• analytic

• practical

• creative

is brain size correlated with intelligence

yes in all species. as people get older and their brains get bigger they get smarter. the correlation between the amount of neurons in a human brain and intelligence is r = .24 so a small correlation

what are the 3 types of elementary cognitive task

• inspection time

• reaction time

• evoked potentials

how is inspection time tested

a stimulus is shown for a very brief time

participants asked afterwards to indicated which of the two are show

how is reaction time measured

simple reaction time - press key as quickly as you can when the stimulus comes up

choice reaction time - press key depending on which stimulus appears

does inspection time correlate with iq

yes it correlates modestly r=.4

What did Luria say about the lateralization of intelligence

He suggested that, in addition to the left hemisphere processing only language, and the right hemisphere only spatial relations, the left hemisphere did more conscious processing, and the right hemisphere more unconscious processing.

what are the two distinct processing types that Luria found

• simultaneous processing - to compare and integrat

• sequential processing - to order and plan

which tests take into account Luria’s distinction between simultaneous and sequential processing

• Das & Naglieri’s Cognitive Assessment System (CAS)

• Kaufman’s various ability tests

what key features make a good intelligence test (other than validity/reliability)

• a variety of task

  • the result will be a more accurate representation of g

• standardized administration

  • reduces unwanted variation

• feasible

• norm referencing

what can we learn from Terman’s “Termites”

very high IQ does not guarantee success

What is the FLynn Effect

IQ seems to be increasing by about 15 IQ points per generation

Why does Flynn believe that IQ seems to be increasing

• it cannot be genetic changes due to evolution because the change is happening very fast

• he thinks it is due to the complexification of Western culture

• nutrition is related to IQ however steady gains in IQ scores among Dutch army recruits were strangely unaffected by the Famine there during the Second World War

are we getting better at all aspect of intelligence

no if focused on reaction time alone people have been getting slower since the Victorian period

toxins and intelligence

there is a negative correlation between environmental exposure
to lead and mercury and children’s intelligence

what 4 types of abilities make up emotional intelligence according to Salovey and Mayner (1990)

• perceiving emotion

• using emotions to facilitate thiniking

• understanding emotions

• managing emotions

what the 5 aspects of emotional intelligence in Bar-On’s model

• intrapersonal skills

• interpersonal skills

• adaptability

• stress-management

• general mood

are there gender differences in emotional intelligence

• women score significantly higher then men in all four abilities in Mayer and Salovey’s model

• Bar-On’s model shows smaller differences

what aspects of intelligence do men show signs of being better at

spacial ability: spatial visualisation and mental rotation

what aspects of intelligence do women show signs of being better at

• verbal abilities

• perceptual abilities

are there sex difference in general intelligence

• Spearman and Cattell believed there were no differences

• narrative analysis in the 80s/90s showed no difference

• meta analysis in 00s showed men score 5 IQ points higher than women on average but some recent studies have not replicated these findings

what 6 assumptions about IQ do Herrnstein and Murray(1994) make in “The Bell Curve”

1. that g (a general intelligence factor) really exists

2. IQ tests really measure intelligence

3. IQ tests measure what people regard as intelligence

4. IQ sis relatively stable

5. IQ tests are not biased towards specific groups

6. IQ is at least 40% heritable

what claims are made in The Bell Curve (Herrnstein and Murray, 1994)

• IQ is the best predictor of college attendance (better then socio-economic status)

• IQ predicts job performance better than CVs, experience, interviews, and education

• Low IQ predicts poverty, ending up in prison, and unemployment better than social class

• A cognitive elite is emerging in the US

What (horrific) recommendations do Herrnstein and Murray (1994) make in the bell curve

• Stop immigration and welfare, which creates conditions that
  reduce IQ

• Understand IQ cannot easily be raised (only deficits
  reduced)

• End affirmative action for failing students, and invest in
  gifted students instead