Chapter 21

General Intelligence (g)

• Intelligence is one basic trait that involves all cognitive abilities, which people possess in varying amounts.

• Cannot be measured directly but inferred from various abilities

  • E.g. vocabulary, memory, and reasoning.

• Many scientists have tried to find one common factor (genes, early brain development, or some specific aspect of health) that underlies IQ.

Longitudinal Research

• Data found many intellectual gains through adulthood

  • Younger cohorts often better than older cohorts.

• Probably due to changes in the environment (more education, improved nutrition, smaller family size, fewer infections) and NOT changes in innate intelligence

• Better than cross-sectional research but also has problems

  • E.g. practice effects, high attrition rates.

Cross-Sequential Research

Combines both cross-sectional (people of different ages) and longitudinal designs (over time).

crystallized intelligence

• Those types of intellectual ability that reflect accumulated learning.

• Vocabulary and general information are examples

fluid intelligence

• Those types of basic intelligence that make learning of all sorts quick and thorough.

• Includes abilities such as working memory, abstract thought, and speed of thinking.

analytic intelligence

The ability to analyze and evaluate ideas, solve problems and make decisions.

creative intelligence

Involves going beyond what is given to generate novel and interesting ideas.

practical intelligence

The ability that individuals use to find the best fit between themselves and the demands of the environment.

selective expert

• Is someone who is notably more skilled and knowledgeable than the average person in a certain area.

• Are more skilled, proficient, and knowledgeable at a particular task than the average person, especially a novice who has not practiced that skill.

• Do not necessarily have extraordinary intellectual ability.

Intuitive experts

• Experts rely on their past experiences and on immediate contexts; their actions are more intuitive and less stereotypic.

• Novices follow formal procedures and rules

automatic processing

• Refers to thinking that occurs without deliberate, conscious thought.

• Experts process most tasks automatically, saving conscious thought for unfamiliar challenges

strategic expert

Experts have more and better strategies, especially when problems are unexpected.

flexible expert

Experts are creative and curious, deliberately experimenting and enjoying the challenge when things do not go according to plan.