ch. 8: intelligence and individual differences

psychometrics

theory and technique of measurement

- personality

- aptitude

- intelligence

spearman's g factor

intelligence is largely determined by a general cognitive ability (g)

- influences performance across various tasks

- people who do well in one cognitive area tend to do well in others

thrustones's primary mental abilities

7 independent mental abilities

Cattell's Gf and Gc

fluid intelligence (Gf)

- ability to solve new problems, reason abstractly, and adapt to unfamiliar situations

(Raven's Progressive Matrices)

crystallized intelligence (Gc)

- knowledge and skills acquired through experience and education

- long-term memory, increases with age

Carroll's Three-Stratum Theory of Intelligence

Distinguishes between three levels of strata of intelligence:

Stratum 3: general intelligence

Stratum 2: 8 broad abilities (fluid, crystallized, memory, learning)

Stratum 1: specific abilities linked to one of the second stratum abilities

psychometric theories bottom line - intelligence...

- measurable, hierarchical construct

- uses standardized tests

- includes higher-order g factor (cognitive abilities) and specific abilities (fluid and crystallized)

intelligence x culture ...

11 yo Brazilian boys and mathematical tasks

- sellers and non-sellers of candy

children can create new problem-solving strategies to meet the demands of their (culture/society-determined) everyday tasks

binet and development of intelligence testing

mental age = difficulty of the problems that children could solve correctly

intelligence quotient (IQ) = mental age/chronological age X 100

Distribution of IQ scores

85-115 (100): 68.26% majority at the mean

70-130: 95.44% middle range

55-145: 99.74% extremely low or high range

welcher's intelligence scale for children

6-16 yrs

- stanadardization

Bayley Scales of Infant Development

1-42 months

what do IQ scores predict?

- IQ and school achievement

- IQ and work performance

- dynamic testing

- response to intervention (RTI)

is it stable over time?

- infant scores are not the best predictor (rs ~ .3 - .4)

- IQ scores obtained after age 6 better predictor (rs ~ .7)

nature

- identical twins are more alike than fraternal twins

- adopted children are mor similar to their biological parents

nurture

- effects of environment shown in studies of home environments

- IQ increases over time and after intervention programs show the impact of environment on intelligence

is one ethnicity smarter than others?

NO

- linguistic differences

- socioeconomic status

- cultural differences

culture-fair intelligence tests

include test items based one experiences common to many cultures

stereotype threat

knowledge of stereotypes leads to anxiety and reduced performance

-> representation and self-affirmation of values

test-taking skills

being familiar with them and comfortable with the adult examiners

-> continued reflection on biases and commitment to culturally-grounded assessments focusing on community and strengths

gifted children

scores on intelligence tests of at least 130/98th percentile

- 130 and above, 2%

children with intellectual disability

- problems adapting everyday tasks and environment

- IQ less than 70

- before 18 yos

down syndrome, FAS

causes of intellectual disability

- biomedical

- social

- behavioural

- educational

children with specific learning disorders (SLD)

- difficulty mastering specific academic subject

- have normal intelligence*

- absence of other conditions that explain their difficulties

SLD with impairment

reading

written expression

mathematics

twice exceptional (2e)

gifted <-> ADHD, living w disorder/disability, SLD