Exam 3 10.1 - Intelligence

Alfred Binet

best known for formally pioneering measurement of intellectual abilities - led him to carefully observe children in classroom setting. Created children’s intelligence test (name 60 words in 3 minutes - test depends on age); first IQ test

Carol Dweck

researcher who looked at differences between high IQ children who perform well and those who do not, “under achievers”. Not gender or social class that sets them apart, but mindset. Those who have fixed mindset don’t perform well while those with growth mindset perform well.

Emotional Intelligence

emphasizes expression of emotion. Some believe it is set of skills which individual can accurately understand emotions of others, can identify and label own emotions, and can use emotions. Others believe it is mixture of abilities, such as stress management and personality.

group differences - Construct Validity

use of data and measures in research; poor-quality data and questionable measures can lead to inaccurate conclusions

group differences - Cultural Context of IQ Tests

what is considered “intelligence” differs between cultures, hence test scores should reflect cultural knowledge rather than universal cognitive abilities.

group differences - Socioeconomic Disparities

environmental factors play larger role in IQ scores in lower-SES (socioeconomic status) families than higher-SES families. Parenting style and orderliness related to SES also contribute to children’s intelligence.

group differences - Stereotype Threat

examinee may perform worse if they believe that social group they belong to is stereotyped to “do poorly” on a tast.

Fixed Mindset / Entity Theory of Intelligence

those who believe that intelligence is a fixed trait tend to underperform in tasks

Flynn Effect:

when new waves of people take older IQ tests, they tend to outperform original sample from years ago which test was normed. Might be caused by better nutrition, greater familiarity with testing, and more exposure to visual stimuli

Francis Galton

pioneered psychological measurement by measuring various physical characteristics like grip strength or psychological attributes like judging distance. Believed in heritability of intelligence traits (eugenics).

g (general factor)

often used to be synonymous with intelligence itself.

Growth Mindset / Incremental Theory of Intelligence

those who believe that intelligence is changeable are better at using their intelligence for good.

Heritability of Intelligence

Galton was obsessed with studying intelligence and heritability. . Although he found specific families disproportionately produced top scholars, intellectual achievement could still be the product of economic status, family culture or other non-genetic factors. Galton was also, possibly, the first to popularize the idea that the heritability of psychological traits could be studied by looking at identical and fraternal twins.

Howard Gardner

noted that there are different types of intelligence. Theory of “multiple intelligences” based on idea that people process information through different “channels” and these are independent of one another. Intelligence: an individual’s cognitive capability. This includes the ability to acquire, process, recall and apply information

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

score, typically obtained from widely used measure of intelligence that is meant to rank a person’s intellectual ability against that of others.

Multiple Intelligences (recognize differences between the 8 intelligences)

Gardner has identified 8 common intelligences, including 1) logic-math, 2) visual-spatial, 3) music-rhythm, 4) verbal-linguistic, 5) bodily-kinesthetic, 6) interpersonal, 7) intrapersonal, and 8) naturalistic.

Normed

Assessments are given to a representative sample of a population to determine the range of scores for that population. These “norms” are then used to place an individual who takes that assessment on a range of scores in which he or she is compared to the population at large.

Standardized

Assessments that are given in the exact same manner to all people . With regards to intelligence tests standardized scores are individual scores that are computed to be referenced against normative scores for a population (see “norm”).

Stereotype Threat

The phenomenon in which people are concerned that they will conform to a stereotype or that their performance does conform to that stereotype, especially in instances in which the stereotype is brought to their conscious awareness.

How do psychologists measure intelligence?

1. Alfred Bidet pioneered measurement of intelligence; blindfolded chess players and saw that some could continue playing 

2. Created children’s intelligence test - first “IQ test” 

3. IQ test - intelligence quotient: score derived from child’s mental age by their actual age 

4. Stanford-Binet test standardized

5. WAIS scale provides clues of definition of intelligence; assesses people’s ability to remember, compute, understand language, reason well, and process info quickly

What are some different ways of categorizing intelligence?

1. Carol’s way of categorizing intelligence is best current source 

   1. Highest level (stratum II) the general intelligence factor “g” 

   2. Stratum II categorizes fluid intelligence and visual perception and processing speed 

   3. Each of these, can be sub-divided into specific components like spatial scanning, reaction time, and word fluency 

2. Fluid intelligence = ability to think on your feet (solve problems) 

3. crystallized intelligence = ability to use language, skills and experience to address problems

4. Gardner’s theory: 1) logic-math, 2) visual-spatial, 3) music-rhythm, 4) verbal-linguistic, 5) bodily-kinesthetic, 6) interpersonal, 7) intrapersonal, and 8) naturalistic

5. emotional intelligence: experience and expression of emotion; link between this and job performance

6. Thinking about one’s own intelligence is important: fixed vs. growth mindset

What are some explanations for group-level differences in intelligence?

1. Women make up 3-15% of all faculty in math-intensive fields; influences ranging from societal expectations to test taking strategies to individual interests account for many of sex differences found in math and similar intellectual abilities 

2. women better in fine motor skill, acquired knowledge, reading comprehension, decoding non-verbal expression, and generally have higher grades in school. Men superior to women on measures of fluid reasoning related to math and science, perceptual tasks that involve moving objects, and tasks that require transformations in working memory such as mental rotations of physical spaces

3. Stereotype threat also big factor - influence intelligence mentally

What are historical motivations for IQ test development?

1. Frances Galton - father of eugenics; wanted to measure intelligence and pair it to Mendelian inheritance 

2. Binet developed Binet-Simon test to assess intelligence; IQ test and later another test developed called WAIS 

3. These tests only can compare children with similar SES backgrounds; but, since many intelligence tests surrounded eugenics, it marginalized people with lower formal education levels, including women, BIPOC, and those in poverty