L16 Intelligence Measurement

These flashcards cover key concepts, historical figures, and methodologies related to the measurement of human intelligence, from early attempts to modern standardized tests, based on the PSYC1 12 Lecture 7 notes.

Intelligence

The ability to acquire knowledge, to think and reason effectively, and to deal adaptively with the environment, involving a set of mental abilities to acquire and use knowledge, plan and solve problems, and adapt effectively to the environment.

Samuel Morton (1820s-1850s)

An early researcher who believed head size was related to intelligence (larger heads indicating more intelligence) and used this belief to rank races, revealing social biases.

Paul Broca (1824-1880)

An early researcher who weighed the brains of cadavers, compared groups, and believed that a heavier brain indicated more intelligence, even after correcting for body size, but suffered from gender biases in his conclusions.

Brain Size and Intelligence Correlation

The correlation between brain size and intelligence is approximately .33, higher for females than males and for adults than children, serving only as a rough guide as demonstrated by Einstein having an average-sized brain.

Highly Able Children Cortex Development

The cortex of highly able children starts off thinner at age 7 and reaches peak thickness later, suggesting an extended window of opportunity for developing high-level cognitive circuits.

Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911)

A researcher who believed intelligence was hereditary, coined the term 'eugenics,' made the first systematic attempts to measure intelligence by focusing on simple perceptual sensory motor abilities, and developed statistical techniques like Pearson's r correlation coefficient.

Alfred Binet (1857-1911)

Considered the father of modern day intelligence testing, he pioneered the Stanford-Binet IQ test, viewing intelligence as a psychological construct measured by performance on complex tasks and as a general ability rather than just accumulated knowledge.

Mental Age (MA)

The average age at which children achieve a particular score on an intelligence test, used by Binet to compare with a child's chronological age.

Chronological Age (CA)

The real or actual age of a child.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) (Early Calculation)

Calculated as (Mental Age / Chronological Age) x 100, which allowed for comparisons among individuals, with an average IQ for any age being 100.

Lewis Terman

An American psychologist who adapted Binet's test to create the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test and promoted the concept of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ).

Henry Goddard

An American psychologist who translated the Binet test into English and promoted its use for mass testing, often leading to biased applications like assessing immigrants for 'mental defects'.

Contemporary IQ Tests

Modern intelligence tests that replaced mental age with a standardized score, typically using a normal curve distribution where 100 is the average for an age group, and which feature the development of subscales like Verbal IQ and Performance IQ.

Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ)

A comprehensive score from contemporary intelligence tests, derived from combining scores across various sub-indices like Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Organization, and Processing Speed.

Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)

A subscale of contemporary IQ tests that measures an individual's ability to access and apply acquired word knowledge, verbal reasoning, and comprehension, including tasks like Vocabulary and Comprehension.

Working Memory Index (WMI)

A subscale of contemporary IQ tests that assesses an individual's capacity to temporarily hold and manipulate information in mind to perform a task, involving tasks like Digit Span and Arithmetic.

Perceptual Organization Index (POI)

A subscale of contemporary IQ tests measuring non-verbal reasoning and visual-spatial processing, including tasks like Block Design, Matrix Reasoning, and Visual Puzzles.

Processing Speed Index (PSI)

A subscale of contemporary IQ tests that measures the ability to quickly and accurately scan, sequence, and discriminate visual information, involving timed tasks like Digit Symbol-Coding and Symbol Search.

The Flynn Effect

The observed phenomenon of a gradual, consistent increase in average IQ scores across generations globally, particularly on abstract reasoning tasks, first identified by Professor James Flynn.

'Intelligence is what intelligence tests measure'

A common definition of intelligence that pragmatically states intelligence is whatever qualities and abilities are assessed and quantified by standard intelligence tests.