2.8: Intelligence and Achievement

Intelligence

Ability to learn from experience, solve problem, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

General intelligence (g)

Underlies all mental abilities and is measure by every task on an intelligence test, if we are good at one thing then we are good at many things

Factor analysis

Statistical procedure to identify clusters of related items on a test, used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score

Seven clusters of primary mental abilities

Word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, memory

Fluid intelligence (Gf)

Ability to reason speedily and abstractly, decreases with age

Crystallized intelligence (Gc)

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills, increases with age

Cattell-horn-Carroll (CHC) theory

Intelligence is based on g as well as specific abilities, bridged by Gf and Gc

9th intelligence

Existential intelligence (ability to ponder large questions about life, death, and existence)

Influence on educators of gardner’s multiple intelligence theory

Concept that children have different learning styles

Savant syndrome

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

Part of the triarchic theory of intelligence by sternberg

Analytical, creative, and practical

Analytical intelligence

Assessed by intelligence test, problems have a single right answer

Creative intelligence

Demonstrated in innovative smart, ability to adapt to new situations and generate novel ideas

Practical intelligence

Required for everyday tasks that may be poorly defined and have multiple solutions

Two points agreed on by Gardner and sternberg

Multiple abilities can contribute to life success, differing varieties of giftedness bring both spice to life and challenges for education

Criticism of multiple intelligences and triarchic theory

g matters, general intelligence does predict performance on various complex tasks

Combination for success

Talent and grit

Grit

Passion and perseverance in pursuit of long-term goals

10 year rule

It takes about 10 years of intense daily practice to be an expert at a task

Abilities of emotional intelligence

Perceiving emotion, understanding emotions, managing emotions, using emotions

Socially aware

Read emotional cues and know what to say in various situations

Self-aware

Can delay instant gratification in pursuit of long-range rewards

Intelligence test

Method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitude and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

Achievement test

Test designed to assess what a person has learned

Aptitude test

Test designed to predict a person’s future performance, capacity to learn

Theory of galton

intelligence was hereditary, led to eugenics

Original purpose of binet’s IQ test

Minimize bias in assigning students to classes

Concept of mental age

Level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age

Stanford-Binet test

American version of binet’s original intelligence test by Lewis Terman

How to calculate IQ

(Mental age/chronological age) x 100

Issue with original IQ formula

Didn’t work as well for adults

Percentage of people with an IQ between 85 and 115

68%

Main categories of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Similarities (reasoning commonality), vocabulary (naming pictures/objects), block design (visual abstract processing), letter-number sequencing

Psychometrics

Scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

Things needed for a “good” test

Standardized, reliability, validity

Standardized

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

Reliability

Extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by consistency on two halves, alternative forms, or retesting

Validity

Extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Bell curve

Describes distribution of many physical and psychological attributes, most scores near the average, fewer and fewer scores near the extremes

Content validity

Extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

Construct validity

How much a test measures a concept or trait

Predictive validity

Success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict

Cross sectional study

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

Longitudinal study

Research that follows and retests the same people over time

Cohort

Groups of people sharing a common characteristic

Links between intelligence and health

More education, better jobs, healthier environment; healthy living (less smoking, better diet, more exercise); prenatal events or early childhood events can influence intelligence and health; fast reaction speed for intelligence and longevity

Growth mindset

Focus on learning and growing rather than viewing abilities as fixed

Fixed mindset

View that intelligence, abilities, and talents are unchangeable even with efffort

Stereotype threat

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