12. Concepts and Intelligence

Concepts

Mental representations or general ideas that can be used to group together thing that have things in common - level of similarity between them.

• 2 groups of fundamental concepts

  • Who/what?

  • Where? When? why? how?

    • Doll sharing example - Childs perception of the doll different than the adults concept of how they view it

Categories in infancy

→ Early concept categories

• Perceptual categorization

  • Things that appear to be the same

    • → Infants are able to categorize dogs and cats

      • Are able to distinguish them based off of appearance (8-9 months)

      • Starts at 6 months

• Categories beyond infancy

• Breaking them beyond into other categories

• Superordinate

  • Top level

  • Animals

• Subordinate level

  • Low level

• Basic level

  • Mid level

• Children get these categories mixed up

  • Dogs → associated to other things that look the same

Causal Understanding

• Causal understanding and concepts are related

“Wug” , “Gillie”

• Both very visually different from one another with characteristics

• What are things that would help people categorize these things?

  • Stories → Children setting up narratives

    • Wugs → have spikes and are ready to fight

    • Gillies → Can fly away

Theory of mind

→ Innate thinking that other people think like we do

• False-belief problems

Ages 3-6 → Always changing

• Theory of mind module (ToMM)

  • Theoretical brain mechanisms devoted to understanding other human beings

  • Sally-Anne task

    • Both have different objects

    • Sally puts ball in basket and walks away

    • Anne takes the ball and puts it in her box

    • Question is:

      • Where is sally going to look for the ball?

  • In order to pass the test they have to understand the different perspectives of the 2

• 3 yr olds

• Children dont have an understanding of what they used to think

  • Candy vs pencils in a candy box example

ASD → Disorder of understanding how other people behave

Intelligence

What is it?

• Lots of definitions of intelligence

→ Piaget

• How do we learn and understand the world around us?

  • Adaptive thinking/behaviours/actions

• ALSO…

• Problem solving

• High social competence

• verbal ability

Psychometric approach to Intelligence

• Theoretical perspective that sees intelligence as trait based behaviours

  • Set of traits that convert to one set of behaviours and has variance across individuals

One specific assumption in this approach:

• Assumes that some people perform better than others, even as a set of traits

Singular intelligence vs distinct abilities?

• Different theorists have different povs on this issue

• Notion of intelligence was tied to white supremacy during victorian times

  • Whites superior to everyone else in intelligence

Binet and Simons Intelligence test

• To determine whether or not children that are in regular schools need more attention than others

  • Government request: Which kids belong in this classroom, and which ones dont

They also came up with:

→ Mental age (MA)

• Age graded questions that you can complete successfully

• Chronological age vs actual age

  • Advanced or behind - The norm of intelligence and comprehension by age

how we test intelligence?

• IQ score

  • Batteries of test

• Why bother?

  • Can predict other factors

    • Academic performance

    • Job success - wealth

    • assess our general adjustment and health

→ test taking is a Eurocentric approach to performance

• Testing can be more fatiguing and that can make you do worse on them

  • Is it fair- other cultures use different sets of practice

Assessing infant intelligence

• Bayley scales of intelligence (1-42 months, 3 ½ years pf age)

  • Motor scale

    • Motor milestones

      • Throw a ball, hold utensils, crawling

  • Mental scale

    • Categorizing objects, hidden toys/objects

  • Infant behavioural record

    • Caregiver report

    • rating scale on general behaviour

      • Outgoing/not outgoing, goal directed behaviour

  • DQ (Developmental Quotient) - summary of these 3 sub scales

    • → relationship to IQ?

    • Early predictor of IQ?

How stable is IQ?

• If DQ and IQ are related we should see a perfect correlation

  • More of a negative correlation - so no correlation

• Child IQ 7-8 more predictive

Is IQ from nature based factors?

• Intelligent parents = you’re probably going to inherit it as well

  • IQ scores are going to be similar when genetically similar

• Environment matters

  • Contribution to IQ scores

  • Attentional processes, Memory

Experience changes IQ scores

• Enrichment programs

  • Became federally funded by government to enhance academic performance

  • Delayed children regained skills

    • Found responsive caregiving and opportunities increased IQ assessments

• Intervention in normal vs deprived environments

Schooling

• Better opportunities - adds to higher iQ

• More schooling = IQ gain

  • Experience based facilitation effect

    • taught to the test

• IQ is supposed to be trait based that stays stable- its foundational

Flynn effect

• rising trend to increasing IQ scores across generations of people

  • Reason to reforming IQ test

Practice test

Practice Test: Cognitive Development and Intelligence

Section 1: Categorization and Causal Understanding

1. What are the three basic levels of categorization?

   a) Basic level, Mid level, High level
   b) Basic level, Mid level, Advanced level
   c) Basic level, Mid level, Superordinate level
   d) Basic level, Abstract level, Concrete level

2. How do children often categorize dogs?

   a) Based on their behavior
   b) Based on their association with other similar-looking things
   c) Based on their intelligence
   d) Based on their size

3. How do stories help children with categorization?

   a) They allow children to memorize concepts better
   b) They help children set up narratives that aid in organizing concepts
   c) They make learning fun
   d) They simplify learning by reducing complexity

4. What are the main characteristics of Wugs and Gillies?
   a) Wugs can fly, and Gillies are ready to fight
   b) Wugs have spikes and are ready to fight, while Gillies can fly away
   c) Wugs are fast, and Gillies are strong
   d) Wugs are social, and Gillies are independent

Section 2: Theory of Mind

5. What is Theory of Mind?

a) The understanding that all people think exactly the same way
b) The innate ability to understand that others have different thoughts and perspectives
c) The belief that thinking is universal
d) The idea that thoughts are only shaped by experience

6. At what age do children typically struggle with false-belief problems?

   a) 1-3 years old
   b) 3-6 years old
   c) 6-9 years old
   d) 9-12 years old

7. In the Sally-Anne task, where will Sally look for the ball?

   a) In Anne’s box
   b) In the basket where she originally placed it
   c) On the floor
   d) In Anne’s hands

8. How does ASD relate to Theory of Mind? a) ASD is a disorder that affects understanding of other people’s behaviors
   b) ASD has no connection to Theory of Mind
   c) ASD improves the ability to predict others' thoughts
   d) ASD only affects problem-solving skills

Section 3: Intelligence and Testing

9. Which psychologist is associated with theories of intelligence and how we understand the world?

a) Binet
b) Piaget
c) Simon
d) Vygotsky

10. What are key factors in intelligence according to the psychometric approach?

    a) Problem-solving, high social competence, and verbal ability
    b) Memorization, motor skills, and strength
    c) Physical speed, size, and verbal ability
    d) Abstract reasoning, creativity, and humor

11. What was the original purpose of Binet and Simon’s intelligence test?

    a) To rank students based on intelligence
    b) To determine if children needed additional academic attention
    c) To measure intelligence across different cultures
    d) To evaluate job performance

12. What does the term ‘Mental Age (MA)’ refer to?

    a) The actual age of a child
    b) The age at which a child successfully completes age-graded tasks
    c) The cognitive age of an adult
    d) The physical age of a child

13. What is the Flynn Effect?

    a) A decline in intelligence over time
    b) A trend showing increasing IQ scores across generations
    c) The genetic basis of intelligence
    d) A method for identifying intelligence through behavior

Section 4: IQ and Environmental Factors 14. How does environment contribute to IQ scores?

a) It does not contribute at all
b) It only affects IQ during early childhood
c) It plays a role in attentional processes, memory, and experience
d) It is entirely genetic

15. What is a key finding about the relationship between Developmental Quotient (DQ) and IQ?

    a) They are perfectly correlated
    b) There is no strong correlation between the two
    c) A high DQ guarantees a high IQ
    d) IQ is entirely based on DQ

16. What are Bayley Scales of Intelligence used for?

    a) To measure adult intelligence
    b) To assess intelligence in infants and toddlers
    c) To evaluate intelligence in teenagers
    d) To predict job success

17. How does schooling impact IQ scores?

    a) More schooling is associated with an increase in IQ
    b) Schooling has no effect on IQ
    c) Schooling lowers IQ
    d) IQ is entirely genetic and unaffected by schooling

Short Answer Questions:

18. Describe how intelligence is tested and why it is measured.

19. Explain the impact of enrichment programs on IQ development.

20. What is the criticism of IQ testing from a cultural perspective?

End of Test

Answer Key:

Section 1: Categorization and Causal Understanding

1. c) Basic level, Mid level, Superordinate level

2. b) Based on their association with other similar-looking things

3. b) They help children set up narratives that aid in organizing concepts

4. a) Wugs can fly, and Gillies are ready to fight

Section 2: Theory of Mind
5. b) The innate ability to understand that others have different thoughts and perspectives
6. b) 3-6 years old
7. b) In the basket where she originally placed it
8. a) ASD is a disorder that affects understanding of other people’s behaviors

Section 3: Intelligence and Testing
9. b) Piaget
10. a) Problem-solving, high social competence, and verbal ability
11. b) To determine if children needed additional academic attention
12. b) The age at which a child successfully completes age-graded tasks
13. b) A trend showing increasing IQ scores across generations

Section 4: IQ and Environmental Factors
14. c) It plays a role in attentional processes, memory, and experience
15. b) There is no strong correlation between the two
16. b) To assess intelligence in infants and toddlers
17. a) More schooling is associated with an increase in IQ

Short Answer Questions (Sample Responses):
18. Intelligence is tested using standardized measures such as IQ tests, which assess cognitive abilities, problem-solving, and verbal skills. It is measured to evaluate cognitive development, identify learning needs, and predict academic and job performance.

19. Enrichment programs provide stimulating environments that enhance cognitive development. They have been shown to improve IQ scores by exposing children to complex problem-solving, language development, and social interactions.

20. IQ testing has been criticized for cultural bias, as many tests favor individuals from specific linguistic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Some argue that IQ tests do not accurately measure intelligence across diverse populations due to differences in education, upbringing, and test familiarity.

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