AP PSYCH 5.9 Introduction to Intelligence

Theories of Intelligence

We may not be able to perfectly describe of intelligence, but we can describe and point out examples of it
However, we cannot measure intelligence without defining it first
- There are disputed definitions and the AP curriculum requires that you know a couple of them
An abstract way of defining intelligence is that it is the ability to think creatively and apply knowledge to new situations
- This is not measured very easily
A concrete, or operationalized definition might be intelligence as verbal skill
- Verbal meaning school smarts like history, math, science, etc.
- The first tests of intelligence only measured these kinds of skills, because they were easy to measure, grade, and compare
- This, however, reducing the large concept of intelligence to the number of a grade

Psychometrics is measuring the mind
Speed of processing is easily measured and does seem to be positively correlated with intelligence
Fluid intelligence is related to speed of processing
- A quick, abstract way of thinking
- Like a supercomputer that is incredibly fast, but doesn’t have a lot of software installed
Crystallized intelligence is related to heuristics
- As we age, we process new information slower, but have more expectations and can fit new information into categories with things we’ve seen before

Savant Syndrome is a genius-like ability in a very narrow area
- Related to autism spectrum disorder but actually only with a small overlap
A stereotype threat is when members of a group who are thought be lesser in certain areas will often perform worse in that area than members of a different group
- Rhetoric concerning low intelligence has historically been weaponized against certain races
- We can see that those races performed poorly in intelligence tests during that time period
- This would also have to do with systemic oppression and marginalized communities not having access to quality education
- This is a confounding variable

Thought to be the first person to think intelligence could be quantified
His method, similar to Wundt’s introspection, wasn’t able to support his ideas
- He was trying to correlate reaction times to intelligence
Keep in mind, he was a proponent of eugenics
- He believed that success was due to inherited mental traits
- He had a very simplistic idea of heredity
- Encouraged “better” people to have more children and for “lesser” people to be restricted from doing so

Came up with the first test to classify mental abilities
Originally, it was used to help the French school system identify children who were struggling compared to their peers, so they could be assisted
He gathering information about the abilities of children at each age, and figured out what was “normal”
He came up with a couple different concepts like mental age, which is the age at which a person operates cognitively
Mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100, equals IQ
- MA/CA X 100 = IQ

Lewis Terman worked at Stanford University
He took Binet’s test and reconfigured it for the American population
- Becoming known as the Stanford-Binet Test
Rather than use a limited test like Binet came up with, his new version allowed use within a larger population
Terman was also a proponent of eugenics and used the results of the test to justify bigoted and racist ideas
- These tests were even used for restrictive immigration policies

Weschler’s intelligence scales were very different than many traditional ones
He developed the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
He didn’t base his scales on age
He realized that intelligence was more than verbal skills
- He incorporated non-verbal performance, like spatial awareness and pattern recognition
This helped reduce bias against those were not verbally skilled

Believed that intelligence was made up of 8 different individual factors
- Also proposed that you could be intelligent in one, but not the others
Gardener received criticism for his eight intelligences being more like skills or too vague to measure
- He essentially intended only to identify the intelligences, and had no care how if they could be measured
Linguistic intelligence was aptitude for written or verbal communication
Logical-mathematical is an aptitude for abstract concepts such as if-then relationships and mathematics beyond basic counting
Musical is obvious, but is more than just understanding and being able to play music
- Remember that Gardener is proposing these not as skills, but as methods of thinking
- Can a person think in music?
Spatial is a propensity for where things are in relation to one another
Bodily-kinesthetic is an aptitude for knowing how your body is moving and where it is in space
Intrapersonal is knowing you own thoughts and feelings and being able to response in the most healthy way
Interpersonal is reading others, interacting with them in the most socially appropriate way
Naturalist is understanding the connectedness of nature
- More than just plants and animals but also things like philosophy and speculation on the meaning of life

Believed everyone has a single general intelligence level
Used something called factor analysis that is still used today
- Factors that are similar occur together and are grouped into one category
- For example, a test with four sections
- The totals of the sections are then added up to get a full score
Spearmen also allowed that we might have specific mental abilities that fall outside of general mental ability

The Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
This theory differs from traditional psychometric tests because it realizes that intelligence doesn’t exist in a test
- It is applied in the environment the person lives in
- These intelligences try to reflect how a person interacts with their environment
Practical intelligence is how well someone can function in their environment
Experimental is how well someone can handle new situations
Analytical is how well someone can problem-solve