problem solving and intelligence

INTRODUCTION

intelligence is the cognitive ability of an indiv to learn from experience, reason well, remember important info, and cope w the demands of daily living

PROBLEM SOLVING

deductive reasoning is when a person starts w general ideas + info to arrive at a specific conclusion; generating hypotheses; down the arc of knowledge

inductive reasoning is when a person starts w specific facts + observations to arrive a broader generalization; interpreting data

think of it like increasing a fact

arc of knowledge - at the base there are facts about the world to then create a theory

functional fixedness - difficulty seeing alternative uses for common objects

A HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING

reliability - ability of a test to produce the same result if one person takes it multiple times. can be measured using the test-retest method + through interrater reliability

validity - ability of a test to actually measure the traits it is supposed to be measuring. can be measured using predictive validity

IQ scoring is based on the results of large samples of indivs who have taken the standardized test. your specific IQ is based on the performance of the gen pop

Gardner’s theory of diff types of intelligence - he believed there were 8 diff types of intelligence: verbal, mathematical, musical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic

FACTORS INFLUENCING HUMAN INTELLIGENCE

researchers have found that identical twins hv +0.8 correlation b/w IQs whereas fraternal twins hv +0.6

identical twins’ IQ scores correlate strongly

both genetics and environment play a role in intelligence development, and the relative influence of each is yet to be fully determined

Flynn effect - the raw scores of IQ have been on the rise at a rate of 9 to 15 points every 30 years

PIAGET AND INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPMENT

schema - a mental framework for interpreting the world around us; define how we interpret the world

assimilation - incorporating new info into existing schemas

accommodation - modifying existing schemas to fit incompatible info

stages of cognitive development - sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

sensorimotor - 0-2 y.o.; must master object permanence

preoperational - 2-7 y.o.; must master egocentrism, seriation (ability to order a series), reversible relationships, conservation

concrete operational stage - 7-12 y.o.; must master abstract thinking & reasoning

formal operational stage - 12+; can understand theoretical abstract things and such

decalage - development of skills out of order

flaw of this theory is that it relies on language skills

BIASES AND HEURISTICS

confirmation bias - tendency to seek out info that confirms existing theory

heuristic - a mental shortcut

availability heuristic - tendency to make rapid decisions based on the info that is most quickly available to us

representativeness heuristic - tendency to assume that what we are seeing is representative of the larger category we have in our mind; allows you to come to a conclusion quickly but does not consider the baseline probability rates of the probability of events

CHAPTER 5: PROBLEM SOLVING AND INTELLIGENCE

sternbergs types of intelligence - be believed there were 3 diff types of intelligence: analytic, creative, and practical

analytic intelligence - consists of analyzing, evaluating, and judgement aka book smarts

creative intelligence - consists of new ways to approach problems

practical intelligence - consists of analyzing, evaluating and judgement aka street smarts

WISC & WAIS - modern ways of testing IQ

test-retest method - a measures of reliability that examines the consistency of scores on the same test taken at multiple different points in time; if consistent = considered reliable

interrater reliability - the degreee of agreement bw multiple observers witnessing the same event; if high = considered reliable

predictive validity - the extent to which a score on a etst can used to predic future behaivour