1. Introduction to Intelligence

What are implicit theories of intelligence?

• the layperson’s definition

• drive the way in which people perceive and evaluate their own intelligence and that of others

What was the procedure of Steinberg et al. (1981)? first and second experiment. What were the conclusions

1. asked 3 groups of people (those in college library, waiting in supermarket, waiting for a train) to list behaviour characteristics of intelligence, academic intelligence, everyday intelligence, unintelligence

2. second group rated behaviour lists from experiment 1 on how well they reflected aspects of intelligence

from both experiments: 3 dimensions of intelligence

What are the three dimensions of intelligence identified through sternbergs 2 experiments

• practical problem solving

• verbal ability

• social competence

What the aspects of practical problem solving identified in sternbergs initial 2 studies?

• analyse

• reasoned decision making

• flexible thinking

• effective solutions

What the aspects of verbal ability identified in sternbergs initial 2 studies?

• good vocabulary

• confident use

• communicates effectively

• good reading comprehension

What the aspects of social competence identified in sternbergs initial 2 studies?

• good knowledge of themselves and others

• can use this knowledge to successfully navigate relationships

• good interpersonal skills

• good balance of independence and interdependence

What are the 6 dimensions of intelligence identified in sternbergs later research (1985)?

• practical problem solving

• verbal ability

• intellectual balance and integration (making connections between topics and concepts, identify differences)

• goal orientation and attainment

• contextual intelligence (able to learn from experiences, understand and interpret current environment)

• fluid thought

What are the main differences in the values associated with intelligence between western and non-western cultures

• western cultures - value speed of processing and verbalising solutions (skills relating to individual cognition)

• non-western - value consideration of family/friends, culture/spiritual needs and how wise people have succeeded previously (more focus on social, cultural, historical aspects)

What might cultural variations be linked with/ a result of?

• linked with which aspects of intelligence are most values within a culture

• often a result of deeply rooted philosophies

• individual differences, sub-cultural difference

How are cultural variation in implicit theories of intelligence seen in chinese culture?

• chinese value responsiveness to change, honouring parents, doing the right thing, understanding of self and surrounding world

• reasoning, social skills, numeracy and memory are important, but less important than other elements

What did Yang and Sternberg find were the 5 aspects of intelligence that emerged in a Taiwanese population?

• first group gave descriptors and second group rated

• what emerged:

• general cognitive factor intelligence

• interpersonal intelligence (relating to others)

• intrapersonal intelligence 

(last 4 much more focussed on social interactions than western studies)

What is the cultural variation in implicit theories of intelligence seen in india?

• thinking, judgement, decision making; gelled by harmony of thought resulting from self-awareness and consciousness

• also appreciation of others, interest in others, politeness, modesty

What are the key aspects of theories of intelligence associated with western cultures?

• individualistic: focus on the primacy of the individual

• speed/ depth of mental processing

• verbal abilities

• emphasis on learning

• good memory

• good cognitive skills

What are the key aspects of theories of intelligence associated with eastern cultures?

• collectivist; focus on collective nature of social obligation

• similar ideas to western cultures but they apply not just to the individual, extending to social, historical and spiritual aspects of everyday life

How might intelligence be described in a 6 month old?

• recognise people and object

• signs of motor coordination

How might intelligence be described in a 2 year old?

• verbal ability

• ability to learn

• awareness of people and environment

How might intelligence be described in a 10 year old?

• verbal ability

• problem solving

• reasoning

• learning

how might intelligence be described as an adult?

• problem solving

• verbal ability

• reasoning

• creativity

Why might intelligence be viewed differently at different ages?

• more cognitive development

• more socialisation

What are the issues with the explicit theory of intelligence?

• no single definition

• different experts = different opinions

• some agreement

What did sternberg find differences in the explicit theory of intelligence was dependent upon?

• depends on the discipline

• sternberg used procedure for professors of art, business, philosophy, physics - asked them to describe an intelligent person and then another group rate those traits

What was Galton’s contribution to formalised theories and tests? (1865)

• first to systematically propose that people differ in intelligence

• firm believe intelligence was biological and can be measured by physical means e.g. measures of senses and reaction time

• Intelligence reflects peoples ability to respond to their senses

Eugenics definition

A reproductive selection process within humans that aims to create children with desirable traits

Positive eugenics definition

Encouraging reproduction in those who are perceived to have superior traits

negative eugenics

discouraging or eliminating reproduction in those perceived to have poor hereditary traits

Binet’s contribution to formalised theories and tests? (1904)

• difference stance to galton: intelligence is malleable and can be developed. not necessarily a biological trait

• Binet criticised intelligence testing prior to him

• identified children in france who needed special eduction

• developed a test scale to see how education could be tailored to children

• seen as a positive influence in history of intelligence testing

What was involved in Simon-Binet’s test to determine child’s mental age?

• 30 short tasks that relate to everday life

• shaking hands, counting coins, digit recall, word definitions. tasks got harder as you go through

What was Goddard and Terman’s contribution to formalised theories and tests? 1910s

• adjusted the binet scale to be used in america but it didnt apply very well

• recognised that standardisation was needed to be able to apply widely

• so tried to capture a single entity of intelligence, despite no strong theory of intelligence to base it on, and no expert consensus on what intelligence is

• wanted to use the scale to categorise US society, and use as part of the immigration process; all things that binet said shouldn’t be done

What was Yerkes’ contribution to formalised theories and tests? 1917

• used standardised binet test to make decisions in terms of education

• employed it in ww1 effort in America

• Adapted this testing to give to recruits to define which role they took

• offices and planning if performed well, more front line roles if performed less well

What was Spearman’s contribution to standardised theories and tests? 1920

• focussed more on formalising theory, systematically looking at data

• in the UK, tested local school children, gave them several different tests

• the positive manifold: if child did well at one test, tend to do well on another

Why is intelligence important?

• impact on and is influenced by every aspect of life

• education, work, family, friends all of these things work bidirectionally

What is involved in Dweck’s theory of fixed and growth mindset and intelligence?

• what we believe about our own intelligence has an influence too

• fixed mindset: entity theory

• growth mindset: incremental theory

What are the characteristics of entity theory/ fixed mindset?

• belief we’re born with our level of intelligence and not much we can do to change it

• less likely to push themselves, less resilient, avoid challenges or give up easily

• believe however much put in isn’t going to affect their achievement

What are the characteristics of incremental theory/ growth mindset?

• more likely to embrace challenges and see them as a learning process

• believe that their intelligence can develop and grow

• tend to be more persistent and keep trying

• those with incremental beliefs generally do better academically

What did Costa and Faria find conducting a meta-analysis on the role of personal implicit theories of intelligence on academic performance?

• correlated with academic grades in different subjects

• low but significant association between implicit theories and academic performance

• particularly for subjects focused on verbal/ quantitative skills

• those who viewed intelligence as fixed still showed a positive association with grades - just less strong

• implicit beliefs about our intelligence are important but clearly not the only factor

How was intelligence used within the eugenics movement?

• used to classify people, justify social hierarchies, support eugenics policies

• aimed to “improve” human population: encourage reproduction among “fit” people and restricting reproduction among “unfit”

• 60,000 - 70,000 people forcibly sterilised in the USA in 20th century (until 1970s) included low intelligence

• research and policies, influenced some of the atrocities enacted by the Nazi regime

How was intelligence used in immigration policies?

• goddard influenced the use of intelligence measures in the US immigration process

• immigrants from southern and eastern europe had lower intelligence

• immigrants from northern and western europe were more intelligent

• but testes were conducted in english or relied on culturally specific knowledge

• many immigrants had little/ no english, limited schooling and exhausted after travelling

More history of US immigration act

• US immigration act of 1924 lasted until 1965 restricted immigration from southern and eastern europe, nearly banned immigration from Asia, created immigration quotas favouring northern europeans

• supporters explicitly cited intelligence test results as proof that certain ethnic groups would “lower the national intelligence”

How was ideas about intelligence implicated in soldier role allocation?

• WW1 - soldiers allocated to roles based on test scores 

• those who scored higher were more likely to be placed in officer training or technical positions

• those with lower scores were often assigned to manual labour or front line roles

• immigrants and black soldiers often score lower, due to language barriers, cultural bias, and educational inequality

• lead to stigma humiliation and front line deaths