The Elusive Concept of Intelligence
How should it be defined?
What are its influences?
How is it developed?
How can it be measured?
Francis Galton
the most intelligent persons were those equipped with the best sensory abilities
Alfred Binet
intelligence is based on multiple components—i.e., reasoning judgment, memory and abstraction
components cannot be separated
David Wechsler
“Intelligence, operationally defined, is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment.”
Howard Gardner
Defined intelligence in terms of the ability “to resolve genuine problems or difficulties as they are encountered.”
Robert Sternberg
Defined intelligence in terms of “mental activities involved in purposive adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of real-world environments relevant to one’s life.”
Jean Piaget
Defined as an evolving biological adaptation to the outside world. As cognitive skills are gained, adaptation increases, and mental trial and error replaces physical and trial and error.
Charles Spearman
“In truth, intelligence has become… a word with so many meanings that finally it has none.”
In general, intelligence includes the abilities to:
acquire and apply knowledge
reason logically
plan effectively
infer perceptively
make sound judgments and solve problems
grasp and visualize concepts
pay attention
be intuitive
find the right words and thoughts with facility
cope with, adjust to, and make the most of new situations
Interactionism
refers to the complex concept by which heredity and environment are presumed to interact and influence the development of one’s intelligence
The factor-analytic approach
the focus is on identifying the ability or groups of abilities deemed to constitute intelligence (example: vocabulary, reading comprehension, word fluency, algebra, geometry)
Information Processing Approach
the processes that underlie how we learn and solve problems, adapt to real-world demands
Two-Factor Theory of Intelligence
Charles Spearman
g all the variance that intelligence tests have in common
the remaining portions of the variance are accounted for by specific components (s) and error (e)
Spearman conceived of the basis of the g factor as some type of general electrochemical mental energy available to the brain for problem solving
the greater the magnitude of g in a test of intelligence, the better the test was thought to predict overall intelligence
Acknowledged the existence of an intermediate class of factors common to a group of activities but not to all (group factors). Neither as general as g nor as specific s. (Linguistic, mechanical)
Louis Leon Thurstone
initially conceived of intelligence as being composed of seven “primary abilities”
gave 56 different test to individuals and have identified seven clusters or primary mental abilities (verbal comprehension, numerical abilities, spatial relations, perceptual speed, word fluency, memory, reasoning)
tests were designed to measure these abilities and noted a moderate correlation between the tests
Thurstone became convinced it was difficult, if not impossible, to develop an intelligence test that did not top g
Verbal Comprehension
founds in tests involving verbal comprehension
Numerical Abilities
ability to do numerical calculations rapidly and accurately
Spatial Relations
involved in any task in which the subject manipulates the imaginary object in space
Perceptual Speed
how fast you process visual information
Word Fluency
involved whenever the subject is asked to think of isolated words at a rapid rate
Memory
involving ability to memorize quickly
Reasoning
found in tasks that require a subject to discover a rule or principle involved in a series or groups of letters
Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner
9 Independent Intelligences
not just book smarts (linguistic, interpersonal, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, intrapersonal, naturalistic, spatial, existential)
Criticisms of Multiple Intelligences
definition is too broad
“intelligences” simply represent talents, abilities, or personalities
lacks supporting empirical research
Fluid and Crystalized Intelligence
Raymond Cattell
intelligence composed of two major type of cognitive abilities (crystalized intelligence, fluid intelligence)
Fluid Intelligence
ability to perceive relationships independent of previous specific practice or instruction concerning those relationships
being able to think and reason abstractly and solve problems
independent of culture education
Crystallized Intelligence
involves knowledge that comes from prior learning and past experiences
stored in long-term memory
knowledge of information
based upon facts and rooted in experiences
Raymond Cattell and John Horn Theory of Intelligence
Additional Abilities
visual processing (Gv)
auditory processing (Ga)
Quantitative Reasoning (Gq)
Speed Processing (Gs)
Facility with reading and writing (Grw)
Short term memory (Gsm)
Long term memory storage and retrieval (Glmr)
Three Stratum Theory of Cognitive Abilities
John Carroll
based on the study of correlation of individual differences variables from psychological tests, school rating, and competence scores etc.
it specifies what kinds of individual differences in cognitive abilities exist and how those kinds of individual differences are related to one another
It proposes a hierarchical model of intelligence. All the abilities listed in a stratum are subsumed by or incorporated in the strata above
Cattell-Horn and Carroll
For Carroll, g is the third-stratum factor, subsuming Gf, Gc. By contrast, g has no place in the Cattell-Horn model
the specific definitions of abilities
the grouping of narrow and broad abilities (example: quantitative knowledge and reading/writing ability)
Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC Model)
proposed by Ken S. McGrew (1993)
on the basis of additional factor-analytic work, McGrew and Flanagan (1998) subsequently modified McGrew’s initial CHC model
in its current form, the McGrew-Flanagan CHC model features ten “broad-stratum” abilities and over seventy “narrow stratum” abilities
no provision for the general intellectual ability factor (g)
Information Processing Theory
psychometric approach studied the structure or forms of intelligence
information processing approach on the mechanisms by which information is processed—how formation is processed, rather than what is processed—cognitive approach
PASS Model
divides intelligence into 4 interrelated cognitive processes
CAS—Cognitive Assessment System: A cognitive ability test that measures PASS
Planning
strategy development for problem
Attention/Arousal
receptivity to information
Simultaneous
ability to integrate separate stimuli or information into an interrelated whole
Successive
ability to integrate stimuli or information into a sequential order
CAS—Cognitive Assessment System
provide a nuanced assessment of an individual’s intellectual functioning providing information about strengths and weaknesses in each of the four processes
aids in the diagnosis of learning disabilities
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Robert Sternberg
the essence of intelligence is that is provides a means to govern ourselves so that our thoughts and actions are organized, coherent, and responsive to both out internally driven needs and the needs of the environment
argued that Practical Intelligence and Creativity are as important in measuring overall intelligence
Analytical Intelligence
academic problem solving and computation
Creative Intelligence
imaginative and innovative problem solving
Practical Intelligence
street smarts and common sense
Componential (Analytical)
How individuals are approaching the task. How they process information
Ability to focus on urgent and critical issues. Selection of appropriate strategies. Evaluation of these information: metacomponents, performance components, knowledge acquisition components
Metacomponents
planning what one is going to do, monitoring what one is doing, and evaluating what one has done upon completion
Performance Components
administer the instructions of the metal components (example: analogies, classification, compare and contrast)
Knowledge Acquisition Components
Learning how to do something for the first time that will help us carry out the tasks and plans. Selective encoding, selective combination, selective comparison
Experiential/Creative
the ability to be intellectually flexible and innovative
this aspect of intelligence involves the ability to deal with new situations using past experiences and current skills
novelty
automation
it is a continuum and intelligence is best demonstrated as its extreme ends
Novelty
ability to deal with the problem for the first time
Automation
ability to automatically perform repeated tasks
Contextual/Practical
this element refers to debility to adapt to a changing environment (contextually bound)
adaptation
shaping
selection
Adaptation
adjusting oneself in order to adapt to one’s surrounding
Shaping
when one changes the environment to suit one’s needs
Selection
a new environment is found to replace the previous unsatisfying environment to meet the individual goals
Successful Intelligence
gauged by the extent to which one affectively adapts shares, shapes, and selects environment in a way that conforms to both personal and societal standards of success
functional balance between the analytical, creative, and practical intelligence
The Binet Intelligence Scales
the latest edition of the Binet Scales is the Stanford Binet 2003, 5th Edition (SB5)
Is an individually administered test of cognitive abilities. The SB5 is appropriate for individuals ages 2 years through 85 years or older with an estimated administration time of 45-75 min.
Its uses include: diagnosis of various conditions, including developmental or cognitive delays in young children, mental retardation, learning disabilities, and intellectual giftedness. It is also useful for interventions such as developing individual family plans, individual educational plans, and career assessment for adolescent and adult career change
Fluid Reasoning
presents problem solving tasks that require inductive or deductive reasoning
Knowledge
allows testing of the breadth and depth of the examinee’s acquired information, gleaned from home, school, or work and stored in long term memory
Quantitative
tests the examinees ability to work with numbers and numerical problems with an emphasis on applied problem solving rather than specific knowledge acquired through formal learning
Visual Spatial
measures ability related to identifying patterns and visual relationships, gestalt-type recognition of pieces, in a visual display, and spatial orientation
Working Memory
ability to attain and hold diverse information in immediate awareness, inspect, sort, or transform it, and then use it within a few seconds
The Wechsler Intelligence Scales
David Wechsler: defined intelligence as “the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment”. He believed that intelligence is comprised of specific elements; however, these elements were interrelated—that is, not entirely independent
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - IV (WAIS-IV)
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - IV (WAIS-IV)
An individually administered measure of cognitive ability for individuals aged 16 years, 0 months to 90 years, 11 months. It is utilized in specific instances such as the assessment of intellectual giftedness or disability. It also allows for an examination of individual strengths and weaknesses in a variety of cognitive domains.
Individual Subsets
each of which is related to a basic underlying skill or ability
Information Subset
measures one’s range of knowledge
each of the various subsets is also part of a broader “index” and there are 4
Index
created where two or more subsets are related to a basic underlying skill
Verbal Comprehension Index
might best be thought of as a measure of crystallized intelligence
Perceptual Reasoning Index
is believed to be a measure of fluid intelligence
Working Memory Index
refers to the information that we actively hold in our minds, in contrast to our stored knowledge, or long-term memory
Processing Speed Index
attempts to measure how quickly your mind works
General Intelligence
at the top of the hierarchy
factor that is derived from the combination of all subtests for all 4 indexes
many basic ideas of the WAIS-IV also apply to the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V)
Raven Progressive Matrices
Raven found the full-length “intelligence” tests cumbersome to administer and difficult to interpret because scores on many different abilities were composited into total scores, and the individual subscale scores were too unreliable without the need to perform complex calculations to arrive at scores on latent, or underlying, “factors” or variables
Spearman’s formulation influenced Raven in which separate abilities tended to correlate relatively highly and to suggest that the resulting pattern of intercorrelations could be largely explained by positing a single underlying factor of general cognitive ability or g. It is less well known that Spearman postulated that g is made up of two very different abilities which normally work closely together.
Eductive Ability
meaning making ability, the ability to make sense of complexities
Reproductive Ability
the ability to store and reproduce information
Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) measures what:
Are a visual task of abstract reasoning which measure eductive ability or meaning making ability. It is a multiple choice paper-and-pencil task that uses simple, nonrepresentational two-dimensional designs and can be administered individually or by group.
In each test item, the subject is asked to identify the missing item that completes a pattern. Items become progressively more difficult, building upon knowledge accumulated from the test. It measures analogical reasoning, capacity for abstraction, and perception that minimizes the impacts of language and skills and cultural differences.
The Raven’s 2 edition measures observational skills and ability in a variety of settings in ages 4 to 90 years and takes around 30 to 45 minutes to administer.
Mill Hill Vocabulary measures:
measures their reproductive ability
Group Intelligence Tests
Are extensively used in schools and related educational settings. Group intelligence test results provide school personnel with valuable information for instruction related activities and increased understanding of the individual pupil.
One primary function of data from a group intelligence test is:
to alert educators to students who might profit from more extensive assessment with individually administered ability tests
Culture
is a way of life
Refers to the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people which can vary between different cultures and subcultural groups. Thus, different cultures have different conceptualizations and views about intelligence. As a result, test takers from different cultural groups can be expected to bring to a test situation differential levels of ability, achievement, and motivation.
Items on a test intelligence tend to:
Reflect the culture of the society where the test is employed. To the extent that a score on such a test reflects the degree to which testtakers have been integrated into the society and the culture, it would be expected that members of subcultures (as well as others who, for whatever reason, choose not to identify themselves with the mainstream society) would score lower.
Culture Loading
the extent to which a test incorporates the vocabulary, concepts, traditions, knowledge, and feelings associated with a particular culture
Culture-fair intelligence Test
Test for assessment process designed to minimize the influence of culture with regard to various aspects of the evaluation procedures, such as administration instructions, item content, responses required of testtakers, and interpretations made from the resulting data. The rationale for culture-fair test items was to include only those tasks that seemed to reflect experiences, knowledge, and skills common to all different cultures.
Panukat ng Katalinuhang Filipino
an indigenous measure of intelligence that is suited and adapted to Filipino cultural background
developed to validate the mental ability of Filipinos whose ages range from 16 and above
used in schools, business, industry, therapy, vocational and counseling purposes
written in Filipino
items are based on the Filipino way of life
measures 4 generally accepted factors of intelligence
it is reliable and valid
easy to administer and score
70 mins total working time
Panukat ng Katalinuhang Filipino subtests
talasalitaan (vocabulary)
ugnayan (analogy)
kakayahan sa bilang (numerical ability)
isinasalarawang problema (nonverbal ability)
Talasalitaan (vocabulary)
ability to comprehend meanings, define words—language proficiency
Ugnayan (analogy)
ability to perceive relationships
Kakayahan sa Bilang (numerical ability
ability to understand mathematical concepts and perform problem solving
Isinasalarawang Problema (nonverbal ability)
ability to deal with abstract concept and ideas
Flynn Effect
shorthand reference to the progressive rise in intelligence test scores that is expected to occur on a normed test intelligence from the date when the test was first normed