CHYS 2P10 Child Development: Lecture 6 – Intelligence

CHYS 2P10 Child Development: Lecture 6 – Intelligence

What is Intelligence?

Psychometric Views
  • Psychometric Approach:
      - Intelligence is viewed as a trait or set of traits on which individuals differ.
Early Binet-Simon Test
  • Purpose: Examined items that correlated with high teacher ratings to determine intelligence.
  • Developed the Binet-Simon test of intelligence which provided a score relative to the child’s mental level (referred to as mental age).
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
  • The original Binet-Simon test was modified in the United States to create the Stanford-Binet test.
  • IQ Calculation Formula:
      - IQ = rac{Mental ext{ }Age}{Chronological ext{ }Age} imes 100
  • This test evolved to report scores indicating intelligence coefficient, with adult versions being the WAIS-III and child versions the WISC-III.

How is Intelligence Measured?

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
  • Formulas used to compute IQ have generally transitioned to Deviation IQs instead of traditional IQ.
The Wechsler Scales
  • Versions: WPPSI-III, WISC-IV.
  • Both verbal and nonverbal (performance) measures included in testing frameworks.
  • IQ expressed as a relative percentile for comparative analysis.

General Intelligence

Sir Francis Galton
  • Asserted intelligence was based on biological variances in neural conduction speed.
  • Investigated the correlation between intelligence and speed of sensory processes but did not find significant relationships.
Spearman’s g
  • Charles Spearman’s Contribution:
      - Developed factor analysis to investigate the idea of general intelligence (g) underlying performance in various forms of Binet's tests.
      - Identified two influential factors:
        - General Intelligence (g)
        - Specific Intelligence (s)
Specific vs. General Intelligence
  • Specific Intelligence (s):
      - Pertains to abilities directly associated with specific problem-solving scenarios (e.g., knowing how to perform a certain calculation).
  • General Intelligence (g):
      - A common factor that correlates positively with outcomes across various tests.
Fluid & Crystallized Intelligence
  • Cattell's Distinction:
      - Divided general intelligence into:
        - gf (general fluid intelligence): Adaptable mental abilities for problem-solving in novel situations.
        - gc (general crystallized intelligence): Knowledge gained through past experiences and learning.
  • Peak Ages:
      - Fluid intelligence tends to peak in the early 20s.
      - Crystallized intelligence generally peaks around age 50.
Relation to g
  • Individuals demonstrating high IQ scores often respond more rapidly to sensory input.
  • Fast sensory perception correlates substantially with fluid intelligence (gf), though less so with crystallized intelligence (gc).
Working Memory and IQ
  • Individuals with elevated IQs frequently exhibit greater digit spans in working memory.
      - Suggests rapid processing capabilities correlate with overall intelligence, notably fluid intelligence.

What is Intelligence according to Gardner?

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
  • Proposes at least seven types of intelligence (possibly 8 or 9), which function independently of each other.
  • Criteria for Being an Intelligence: Specific characteristics and measures must be fulfilled for a trait to be classified as intelligence.

How is Intelligence Measured in Young Children?

Bayley Scales of Infant Development
  • Age range: 2-30 months
      - Components: Motor scale, Mental scale, Behavioral record.
      - Measures development through a Developmental Quotient but has poor predictive value for later IQ scores.

Infant Cognitive Capacities

  • Piagetian tasks can be used to assess cognitive capacities in infants, though direct measurement of 'intelligence' in infants remains undefined.
Stability of IQ Scores Across Childhood
  • Longitudinal Stability:
      - Scores at age 8 correlate significantly with those at age 18 with a correlation coefficient of .70.
  • Variability in Scores:
      - Fluctuations in scores occur, influenced by environmental factors.
      - Cumulative deficit hypothesis stated.

Predictive Value of IQ Scores

Scholastic Achievement
  • Correlation: IQ scores correlate at .50 with future academic grades.
Vocational Outcomes
  • Higher IQ scores are linked to:
      - Occupations, particularly white-collar jobs.
      - Levels of education attained.
Classification Based on IQ Scores
  • Gifted: IQ 130-150+
  • Mentally Delayed: IQ below 70.

Factors Influencing IQ

Heredity Evidence
  • Twin Studies: Identical twins show a higher correlation in IQ scores than fraternal twins.
  • Adoption Studies: Children adopted into families tend to have IQ scores resembling their biological parents more than their adoptive ones.
Environment Evidence
  • The Flynn Effect: A secular trend indicating rising IQ scores over time across various populations.
Environmental Influences on IQ
  • Higher IQs observed in children adopted into more advantaged families.
Group Differences in IQ Scores
  • Discusses the presence of racial, ethnic, and social class differences in recorded IQ scores.
  • Cultural Test Bias Hypothesis: Examines language use and differential measures among cultures.
Motivational Factors
  • Assessed in relation to formal testing contexts and cultural differences between examiners and examinees.
  • Negative Stereotypes: Explored as a factor influencing performance in testing situations.
Genetic vs. Environmental Hypotheses
  • Genetic hypothesis posits hereditary origins of IQ differences.
  • Environmental hypothesis argues that differences emerge from varying conducive environments for intellectual growth. Low-income families are particularly at risk.
      - Risk factors include malnourishment, stress on caregivers, and limited access to stimulating educational resources.

Social and Cultural Correlates

At-home Risk Factors for Low IQ Scores
  • Characteristics linked to lower IQ include:
      - Mother did not finish high school.
      - Families with four or more children.
      - Absence of father from the home.
      - Exposure to multiple family stresses.
      - Rigid parenting styles from caregivers.
      - Mother's poor mental health.

How Do Children Learn?

  • Emphasizes the innate capacity for learning present in children, driven by the evolution of human brains and extended childhoods.
  • Historical learning processes involved observation and imitation rather than formal education.

Formal Schooling

  • Established as a societal invention approximately 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, initially available primarily to wealthy boys.
  • Modern concepts of universal education are a recent development and faced initial resistance from many parents.

Primary and Secondary Abilities

Identification of Types

  • Primary Abilities:
      - Evolved through natural selection.
      - Available to children from diverse environments.
      - Intrinsically motivated and can reach expert proficiency.

  • Secondary Abilities:
      - Culturally bound with explicit need for instruction.
      - Lack of intrinsic motivation and expert proficiency remains rare.

Infants’ Knowledge and Learning
  • Example of primary abilities illustrated through infants’ knowledge leading to rapid learning without formal instruction.

The Three Rs: Acquiring Society’s Core Academic Skills

Reading Skills
  • Reading necessitates extensive effort compared to intuitive language acquisition.
  • Emergent Literacy: Refers to skills, knowledge, and attitudes that precede conventional reading and writing.
  • Phonemic Awareness: Understanding of spoken language sounds.
  • Importance of parental involvement recognized.
  • Reading involves phonological recoding, processing visual signals into auditory counterparts.
      - The challenge varies with the orthography depth of a language (English has deeper orthography).
Dyslexia
  • Defined as significant difficulty in learning to read despite average intelligence.
  • Key Predictor of Reading Disabilities: Poor phonological processing and recoding abilities.
Gender Differences in Reading Disabilities
  • Notably, boys are identified with reading disabilities more frequently than girls.
  • Possible Explanations: Factors include perceived gender roles associated with reading and potential physiological differences.
Teaching Approaches to Reading
  • Two main approaches:
      - Phonic Method
      - Whole-Language/Visual-Based Retrieval Approach.
  • A combined strategy tailored to children's learning abilities is most effective for developing reading skills.
Writing Skills
  • Involves not only the physical act but also the process to communicate effectively.
  • Early writing by preschoolers shows inability to differentiate written symbols from represented objects.
  • Strong readers typically evolve into proficient writers, depicted by the Matthew Effect.

Learning Arithmetic

Key Skills in Arithmetic Learning
  • Focus on learning to add involves various strategies:
      - Sum Strategy
      - Min Strategy
      - Fact Retrieval
      - Decomposition
  • Use of gestures shown to aid problem-solving in mathematical contexts.
Prevalence of Math Disabilities
  • Approximately 10% of schoolchildren display difficulties in mathematics.
Cultural Comparisons in Mathematics Education
  • Differences noted between Asian and American educational systems concerning mathematical abilities, influenced by cultural language characteristics, practice time, and performance motivations.
  • In general education settings, girls receive better grades than boys, while standardized tests may show boys scoring higher.
  • Differences contribute to discussions surrounding cultural values and neurological variances affecting learning.
  • SAT Mathematics Score trends discussed comparing performance between groups.