PSYCH1X03 - Problem Solving & Intelligence (PS&I)

Unit/Week 4

PS&I
Intelligence (Sternberg/Operational)

Cognitive ability to learn from experience, reason well, remember important information, cope with the demands of daily living

• Analytic 

• Creative

• Practical

No single operational definition

PS&I
Intelligence (Boring)

Intelligence is anything measured by an intelligence test

PS&I
Problem Solving

Reliable indicator of intelligence: Arc of Knowledge model

PS&I/Problem Solving

Arc of Knowledge

Model that guides scientific method

• Deductive Reasoning

• Inductive Reasoning

PS&I/Arc of Knowledge

Deductive Reasoning

Theory down to fact

i.e. person is tidy → conclude desk is tidy too

PS&I/Arc of Knowledge

Inductive Reasoning

Fact up to theory

i.e. desk is messy → conclude person is messy too

PS&I

Insight Problems

Difficult problems that require restructuring/creative thinking of problem to solve

PS&I/Insight Problem

Functional Fixedness

Difficulty seeing alternative uses of common objects

PS&I

Well-defined Problem

Defined start position, rules, and end goal

• Structured and theoretical

PS&I

Ill-defined Problem

Undefined start position, rules, and end goal

• Real life

PS&I

Reliability

Reliable tests produce the same results over many trials. Important because intelligence is a static quality

PS&I

Validity

Valid tests accurately measures targeted trait. Important because want to measure intelligence, not ability to answer questions after training

PS&I

Intelligence Testing

Heavily controversial. Not all in history have been reliable or valid

PS&I/Intelligence Testing

Galton

Reaction speed

PS&I/Intelligence Testing

Binet

Children given multiple short tasks related to daily life. First valid intelligence test

PS&I/Intelligence Testing

Stanford-Binet

Ratio between child’s mental age & true age = “IQ”

PS&I/Intelligence Testing

Spearman

Single measure of generalized intelligence, called “g”

PS&I/Intelligence Testing

Gardner

Multiple independent intelligence types, but no evidence

PS&I/Intelligence Testing

Weschler (WAIS & WISC)

Standardized: mean = 100 & standard deviation = 15. Modern

PS&I/Intelligence Testing

Hierarchical Intelligence

Independent intelligence types contribute to a general intelligence

PS&I/Intelligence Testing

Flynn Effect

Observation that raw IQ has been increasing. Due to increased quality of schooling, life, access to information, media, etc

PS&I

Twin Studies

Genes & environment are both important to intelligence 

PS&I/Twin Studies

Identical Twins vs Fraternal Twins

Identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins

PS&I/Twin Studies

Fraternal Twins Same Home vs Fraternal Twins Different Homes

Fraternal twins in the same home are more similar than fraternal twins in different homes

PS&I/Textbook

Adoption Studies

Children are more positively correlated with biological parents (genetics) than adoptive parents (environment)

PS&I

Schema

Mental framework for interpreting information and the world

PS&I/Schema

Assimilation

New information becomes incorporated as part of schema

PS&I/Schema

Accommodation

Schema is modified to accommodate disagreeing new information

PS&I

Piaget’s Intellectual Development Theory

Children’s stages of schema development and change as they grow

• Sensorimotor

• Preoperational

• Concrete operational

• Formal operational

Super Preppy Cheetos From 7/11

PS&I/Piaget

Sensorimotor Stage

Child can intentionally engage with environment

• Object permanence

0-2 years old

PS&I/Piaget/Sensorimotor

Object Permanence

Objects continue to exist when not visible

PS&I/Piaget

Preoperational Stage

Mastered object permanence, but is limited in skills

• Egocentric 

• Seriation

• Reversible relationships

• Conservation

2-7 years old

PS&I/Piaget/Preoperational

Egocentric

Cannot understand another’s perspective

• Piaget’s 3 mountain experiment

PS&I/Piaget/Preoperational
Seriation 

Cannot logically order objects

PS&I/Piaget/Preoperational

Reversible Relationships

Cannot understand something is reversible

• i.e. boy knows he has sister, doesn’t know she has brother

PS&I/Piaget/Preoperational

Conservation

Cannot reason with amounts of substances

• i.e. liquid conservation; think taller glass instead of wider

PS&I/Piaget

Concrete Operational

Limited by lack of abstract thinking & reasoning

7-12 years old

PS&I/Piaget

Formal Operational

Defined abstract thinking & reasoning

12+ years old

PS&I/Piaget

Criticisms

• Decalage

• Relies on language ability

PS&I/Piaget/Criticisms

Decalage

Children tend to develop skills out of order

PS&I
Bias

Tendency to favour something over another

PS&I/Bias

Confirmation Bias

Seeking information that directly supports our hypothesis

PS&I

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts for fast and usually accurate decisions. Prioritizes saving mental resources

PS&I/Heuristics

Availability Heuristic

Decisions based on most available information

• Judge frequency

• Relies on ease of memory

• Errors occur factors influence example availability

PS&I/Heuristics

Representative Heuristic

Make assumptions on example based on prototype

• Judge probability

• Relies on resemblance

• Errors occur because not all are the same

PS&I

Neural Encoding

Process that makes learning more endurant

PS&I

Bounded Rationality

Cognitive limitations that prevent humans from being completely rational

PS&I/Bounded Rationality

Anchoring

Bias caused by arbitrary initial information 

i.e. first seeing expensive wine, and then seeing cheaper wine as reasonable option

PS&I/Bounded Rationality

Framing

Bias caused by way information is presented; frame something as positive vs negative

i.e. Opt-in vs opt-out for organ donation