Unit 11 - AP Psych

intelligence

intelligence

it is a description of your capacity to think and react

david wechsler

defines intelligence as the global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment

sir francis galton

defined intelligence as being related to two things: capacity for labor, sensitivity to physical stimuli

galton’s series of tests

measured hand squeeze test, reaction time, sensitivity to pin pricks on your skin; discredited by Clark Wissler

Clark Wissler

reviewed Galton’s series of tests; found no correlation between test results and academic success at columbia university and barnard students

alfred binet and theodore simon

assessment measured the mental age of children

mental age

the age that describes their thinking style regardless of their actual age

lewis terman

reviewed alfred binet and theodore simon’s assessment; renamed test the stanford-binet intelligence test (included measures for adults and children)

William Stern’s Ratio IQ

measured by taking the mental age divided by the chronological age (actual age), then multiplied by 100 (Average IQ score is 100)

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

based on a variety of different measures including verbal comprehension, pattern design, letter and number sequences, block image assembly; WAIS include a verbal score, performance score, and overall score

most commonly used measures of intelligence

wechsler test

aptitude tests

measure your potential

achievement test

how much you’ve learned or accomplished

quality control in test design

validity, reliability, standardization, norms

validity

a standard of whether the test measures what it is reported to measure

measures of validity

content validity ( test should measure how much you know on that specific topic); predictive validity (test should measure how well you will do in the future); concurrent validity (test should measure both content required and predictive abilities); face validity (how the test takers view the exam)

reliability

how dependable the measure is

types of reliability

test-retest reliability (ensuring you get close to the same result if you take the test again); alternate-forms reliability (ensures that different forms of the same test yields the same results); inter-rater reliability (score will be the same no matter who grades it)

standardization

all test takers are given the same test taking environment (ex. time, seats, room)

norms

normative scores help compare your raw score (number answered correctly) with the average scores for all the test takers; provides a better account for how you did overall

charles spearman

G-Factor “general intelligence; single factor that pervades all of your thinking abilities; more specific forms of knowledge were called S-factors(ex. music, math, history, etc)

LL Thurston

general intelligence was made of seven factors called Primary Mental Abilities: verbal comprehension, verbal fluency, inductive reasoning, spatial visualization, numbers, memory, perceptual speed

Raymond Cattell

fluid vs. crystallized intelligence

fluid intelligence

our ability to problem solve and learn new skills; may decline over our lifetime

crystallized intelligence

knowledge that we build up over our lifetime; may increase over our lifetime

Robert Sternberg

triarchic theory of intelligence: analytic intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence

analytic intelligence

most similar to traditional intelligence tests; measures your ability to compare, evaluate, and analyze

creative intelligence

how well you come up with new ideas and solutions, innovative solutions

practical intelligence

“street smart”, how well you apply your knowledge, how you cope with situations and people around you; less an academic based intelligence, more real-world knowledge

Howard Gardner

theory of multiple intelligences: multiple different intelligences that we can excel in; “its not how smart you are, its about how you’re smart”

the eight intelligences

theorized by Howard Gardner; linguistic(language), logical/mathematical(number sense), visual/spatial(design and shapes), music, kinesthetic(dancing or sports), intra-personal(understanding our own feelings), inter-personal(talking and working with others), naturalist (recognizing and understanding patterns in nature and ecology)

which is the best theory

they all have a lot of evidence, but all also raise a bunch of questions

how does nature vs. nurture relate to intelligence

intelligence is in part derived from our environment (ex. proper prenatal development and vitamins could give babies a better start in brain development); but is also in part derived from heritability (strong link between intelligence and genetics)

heratability

extent to which a trait is transmitted through genes

Flynn Effect

yearly rise of IQ rise that continues through the twentieth century; scores increase with each generation (could be due to better education, but also could be because we are becoming better test takers)

intellectual disabilities

when the individual has an IQ score below 70, as well as having low self-care and adaptive abilites

cause of intellectual disabilities

can come from biological and environmental sources (ex. lack of prenatal nutrition, lack of intellectual stimulation, being raised in deprivation, due to injury, genetic abnormalities

phenylketonuria (PKU) and congenital thyroid abnormalities

biological causes of mental disabilities

trisomy 21 (down’s syndrome)

genetic abnormality, presence of an extra 21st chromosome; shorter stature, stocky arms, legs, feet, and hands, intellectual disabilities

giftedness

term used for people with IQs over 130 genius is used for scores that go even higher

Lewis Terman

studied gifted children “termites” with IQs over 135, as they became adults they did better than average in regards to higher education and jobs; higher than average intelligence can set you up for success in life

grit

dedication and persistence in your efforts