AP Psychology - Unit 2.8 Intelligence and Achievement

Intelligence

the ability to;

• learn from experiences

• solve problems

• use knowledge to adapt to new situations

• apply learning in various amounts of different contexts

General Intelligence Theory

• constructed by Charles Spearman

• a “g factor” underlies all mental abilities

• proposed that if an individual performs well in one area, they will perform similarly in other areas

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory

• affirms the belief that there is a general intelligence factor

• additionally, it identifies specific abilities like reading and writing, memory capacity, and processing speed

• states that a person’s general ability is based on fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence

Multiple Intelligences Theory

created by Howard Gardner

influenced the idea of learning styles

identified eight to nine independent intelligences

• exhibited through different kinds of people and careers

Savant Syndrome

•  a condition in which a person, otherwise limited in mental ability, has an exceptional specific skill

Linguistic Intelligence

•  the ability to understand, use, and manipulate language and words.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

• an individual’s capacity to logically analyze problems, solve mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically

Musical intelligence

• an individual’s capacity to discern and recognize pitch, timbre (quality), rhythm, and tone

Kinesthetic Intelligence

• the capacity to manipulate objects and coordinates one’s body to carry out a variety of physical skills

Spatial Intelligence

• the ability to visualize and manipulate objects in one’s mind and remember spatial relationships between objects

Interpersonal Intelligence

•  the ability to understand and interact effectively with others through communication and cooperativeness

Intrapersonal Intelligence

• the ability to understand oneself; one’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations. 

Naturalistic Intelligence

• the ability to recognize patterns in nature and understand natural phenomena

Existential Intelligence

•  the ability to ponder large questions about life, death, and existence

Triarchic Intelligence Theory

created by Robert Sternberg

builds off of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

• Sternberg condenses the various intelligences into three main categories

Analytical Intelligence

• the ability to accurately answer well-defined problems

Creative Intelligence

•  the ability to adapt to new situations and develop novel ideas

Practical Intelligence

• required for everyday tasks

• poorly defined

General Intelligence, Grit, and Deliberate Practice

the idea that advanced general intelligence is not the only factor that contributes to future success

• a person’s grit and deliberate practice also impacts performance

Grit

• a person’s passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

Deliberate Practice

• a structured approach to develop a skill

• involves repeating specific, challenging tasks

• helps improve performance and achieve expertise

Emotional Intelligence

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

• a critical part of social intelligence

Fluid Intelligence (Gf)

• the ability to quickly reason and break down abstract problems

• decreases as an individual ages

Crystallized Intelligence (Gc)

• the accumulated knowledge and verbal skills an individual has

• increases as an individual ages

Fixed Mindset

• the belief that intelligence is an innate quality that cannot be changed

• influences people to give up easily when challenges approach them

• “I’m not smart enough”

Growth Mindset

• the belief that intelligence can be developed through experiences, effort, and learning

• allows individuals to believe they are capable of improving their intelligence

• see challenges as growth opportunities

Mental Age

• the level of intellectual development relative to others

• flawed due to lack of standardization

IQ Calculation

IQ = mental age/actual age * 100

Charles Darwin and Francis Galton

• both of them believed that people are born with a certain level of intelligence

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon

• used IQ tests to identify children who needed special help and support in order to succeed

• did not use scores to label kids as bright or dull

• believed that training and opportunity can affect intelligence

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test

• became the “gold standard” of intelligence tests

• flaws existed when calculating adults’ IQ scores

William Stern

• German psychologist

• coined the term intelligence quotient (aka IQ)

David Wechsler

created individual intelligence tests

• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WIAS)

• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

Socio-Culturally Responsive

• created to minimize bias and reduce negative impacts

Stereotype Threat

the fear an individual may endure when they are at risk of confirming negative stereotypes that are directed towards their social group

• can lead to inaccurate results

• could potentially perpetuate different stereotypes

Stereotype Lift

occurs when an individual benefits from positive stereotypes about their social group

• ex: a male performing well on a math test after being reminded of the stereotype that men have better analytical thinking skills than women

Psychometric

•  a branch of psychology that focuses on the measurement and quantification of attitudes and mental attributes

• utilizes standardized tests and statistical techniques

Psychometric Principles

need to be followed in order for a test to be relevant and beneficial

1. Standardization

2. Reliability

3. Validity

Standardization

• the process of developing uniform procedures for administering and scoring tests

• allows for fair comparison

• ensures that each test-taker is given equal opportunities

Reliability

• the consistency or stability of test scores over time or across different items

Test Retest Reliability

• measures to see if there is consistency or similarity between an individual’s original test score when the assessment was first administered and the individual’s test score after taking it again

Split Half Reliability

• checks the reliability of an intelligence test by comparing individuals’ scores from the two halves of an assessment

• allows test makers to see if people do better on one part of the test compared to the other part

Validity

• refers to how well a test measures what it intends to measure

Content Validity

• analyzes each item of a test to determine the extent to which an assessment is representative of a larger body of knowledge

• measures the extent to which a test inquires about information or behaviors that are of interest

Construct Validity

•  refers to how well a test can measure a trait or concept

Criterion Validity

checks to see if the test correlates with any outside variables

• ex: a professor predicting the test scores of students due to the high correlation between the assessment’s outcomes and the students’ grade point averages

Predictive Validity

• predicts an individual’s future performance, trends, and patterns

• can only be used if there is a large data set

Face Validity

• analyzes if the test does what it’s supposed to test

Inter-Rater Reliability

• a measure of how the similarity between two different test scorers would score the test

Objective Tests

• can be scored easily by a machine

• multiple-choice tests

Subjective Tests

• individuals are given an ambiguous figure or open ended situation and are asked to respond freely

Flynn Effect

the rise in intelligence test performance over time and across cultures due to society having;

• better access to education

• economic stability

• health care

• nutrition

• learning resources

• stimulating environments

Achievement Tests

• designed to assess what a person already knows

Aptitude Tests

• aim to predict a person’s future performance