Chapter 8: Intelligence and Creativity

Psychometric approach (to intelligence)

intelligence is a trait or set of traits that characterizes some people to a greater extent than others

Piaget’s Intelligence and others

• piaget’s — thinking or behavior that is adaptive to the demands of your situation or environment

• others’ — to think abstractly or to solve problems effectively

General Mental Ability (g) Spearman 1927

Ability to reason, plan, solve probems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, learn from experience.

Fluid Intelligence vs Crystallized Intelligence

• fluid — ability to use your mind to actively solve new problems WITHOUT any prior knowledge (new creative flexible)

• crystallized — use of knowledge acquired from schooling and other life experiences

Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of Intelligence

3 layers

• 1 - general intelligence, kind of like spearman’s g

• 2 - 8 abilities that are correlated with each other to some extent (fluid int., crystallized int., general memory and learning, broad visual perception, broad auditory perception, broad retrieval ability, broad cognitive speediness, processing speed/decision making)

• 3 - 69 narrow specialized abilities

Alfred Binet's IQ Test

• Age-graded test to compare children, to identify kids needing extra attention.

• first “IQ” test aimed at children

• MA (mental age) — the level of age-graded problems that the child is able to solve

classroom skills: attention, perception, memory, reasoning, verbal comprehension

WW1 IQ tests

army alpha — literate recruit test

army beta — illiterate recruit test

they were testing IQs to see who was capable of leading during war time

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (TERMAN)

• comparing MA with chronological age (CA)

• MA/CA x 100 = IQ (int. quotient)

• test norms — standards of normal performance expressed as average scores and the range of scores

Wechsler Scales

• set of intelligence scales

• established a normal distribution of IQ

Mean and Standard deviation of IQ Scores

Mean: 100, Standard dev: 15

Intellectual disability

IQ < 70 (2 SD below mean). Deficits in 2 or more adaptive behaviors which affect daily, general living. 2~3% of the general population, of which 25% due to genetic disorder.

Gifted

IQ of 130 or higher; there are fitness indicator such as physical symmetry and sexual selective, but also usually comes with a sense of burden. Other individuals treat gifted as robots

Savant Syndrome

A syndrome in a developmentally disabled person who has some remarkable talent that contrasts with his low level of general intelligence. Sometimes happens after incidents.

Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences

Focus on “how are you smart” rather than “how smart are you”

• spatial

• naturalist

• musical

• logical mathematics

• existential

• interpersonal

• bodily kinesthetic

• linguistic

• intrapersonal

Sternberg’s Theory of successful intelligence

• argument: IQ tests ignore how people produce intelligent answers

• theory of successful intelligence: 3 components that jointly contribute

  • practical intelligence: using your abilities to solve the problems encountered in everyday life

  • creative intelligence: response to new experiences, requires active information processing

  • analytical intelligence: focuses on information processing skills, traditional IQ test things

IQ in infancy — Bayley Scales

« IQ » tests can't be administered until 3 years old, but before that there is Bayley scales of infant development: it does not accurately predict IQ (it does not assess the same abilities)

• motor scale — infant ability to grasp and throw stuff

• language scale — budding vocabulary skills and communication

• cognitive — how does the kid think, look for objects, follow directions

Intelligence of time and contexts

Intelligence is relatively stable but CAN vary across the lifespan, and it is malleable; You can train for intelligence tests, and IQ is influenced by environmental influences such as education, home environment, socioeconomic status; IQ is also affected by momentary aspects such as tiredness, concentration, and strategy to approach task.

Criticism on IQ measures

-> Arbitary construct; is measures concepts that are important in western education system?
-> Does not fully describe intelligence?
-> Other conceptualization of intelligence possible?

Flynn Effect

The rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations; it is slower nations still developing.

IQ test difference: males vs females

Men's IQ tend to score higher than females, albeit that trend is decreasing, but that is probably due to a lot of factors including traditional gender roles.

Prodigies

A child with extraordinary talent, displaying ability levels comparable to adult professional; may be related to exceptional working memory and elevated attention to details.

Convergent Thinking vs Divergent Thinking

Convergent Thinking- A pattern of thinking in which individuals produce one correct answer; characteristic of the items on conventional intelligence tests

Divergent Thinking- A pattern of thinking in which individuals produce many answers to the same question; more characteristic of creativity than convergent thinking

Cumulative-Deficit Hypotheses

Describes how impoverished environments inhibit intellectual growth and these negative effects accumulate over time.

Stereotype Threat

The apprehension experienced by members of a group that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype (E.g.: Asian American women perform better in math tests when their identity as Asian American is made evident, as opposed to performing worse when identity as women was made evident.

IQ and its effects on Health, success

• both health and occupational success positively correlated

• fluid int. decreases while crystallized int. increases with age

• only a few older adults experience wisdom — exceptional insight into complex life problems