Chapter_10_Intelligence

Chapter 10: Intelligence

Crucial Questions

• What is intelligence?

• How to assess intelligence effectively?

• What role do heredity and experience play in intelligence?

• What do differences in test scores among individuals and groups signify?

  • Should these differences dictate rankings, admissions, or hiring?

What is Intelligence?

• Definition: Ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.

Factor Analysis and General Intelligence

• Factor Analysis: Statistical procedure identifying clusters of related items on a test.

• General Intelligence (g):

  • Foundational factor believed to underlie specific mental abilities.

  • Measured by tasks on an intelligence test.

  • Helps solve novel problems (Kanazawa).

Multiple Intelligences

• Savant Syndrome: Exceptional specific skill despite limited general mental ability (e.g., calculation, drawing).

Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• Types of Intelligence:

  • Linguistic (T.S. Eliot)

  • Logical-mathematical (Albert Einstein)

  • Musical (Mozart)

  • Spatial (Pablo Picasso)

  • Bodily-kinesthetic (Michael Jordan)

  • Intrapersonal (self) (Sigmund Freud)

  • Interpersonal (others) (Mahatma Gandhi)

  • Naturalist (Charles Darwin)

  • Existential (proposed) (Dalai Lama)

Robert Sternberg's Triarchic Theory

• Categories:

  • Analytical (problem-solving in academic contexts)

  • Creative (adaptation to novel situations)

  • Practical (everyday tasks, multiple solutions).

Intelligence and Income

• Scatterplot shows correlation (+.30) between intelligence scores and later income, tracked over 25 years.

Emotional and Social Intelligence

• Social Intelligence: Understanding and managing social interactions.

• Emotional Intelligence Components:

  • Perceiving emotions

  • Understanding emotions

  • Managing emotions

  • Using emotions for adaptive thinking.

Intelligence and Creativity

• Creativity: Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

  • Involves expertise, imaginative thinking, venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, and a conducive environment.

Brain Function and Intelligence

• Faster stimulus perception relates to higher intelligence test scores.

Comparing Theories of Intelligence

Assessing Intelligence

• Aptitude Tests: Predict future performance.

• Achievement Tests: Assess learned information.

• Intelligence Tests: Compare individual aptitudes with others.

Origin of Intelligence Testing

• Mental Age: A measure correlating performance level with age (e.g., Binet).

• Stanford-Binet: American revision of Binet's test.

• IQ Calculation: IQ = (mental age / chronological age) x 100.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

• Most widely used intelligence test

• Subtests Include:

  • Verbal comprehension

  • Perceptual organization

  • Working memory

  • Processing speed.

Principles of Test Construction

• Standardization: Defining scores by comparison to pretested groups.

• Normal Curve: Describes distribution of psychological attributes.

  • Indicates most scores are near average.

The Flynn Effect

• Improvement in intelligence test performance over time due to various factors (e.g., education, environment).

Reliability and Validity

• Reliability: Consistency of test results.

• Validity Types:

  • Content Validity: Does the test sample relevant behavior?

  • Predictive Validity: Does the test forecast intended outcomes?

The Dynamics of Intelligence

• Intellectual Disability: Score below 70 with adaptation difficulties.

• Degrees of Mental Retardation:

  • Mild: IQ 50-70 (85% of cases)

  • Moderate: IQ 35-49

  • Severe: IQ 20-34

  • Profound: Below 20.

Genetic Influences on Intelligence

• Heritability: Degree of variation among individuals attributed to genetics.

Environmental Influences and Group Differences

• Impact of environments on intellectual performance.

• Stereotype Threat: Self-confirming concern regarding negative stereotype evaluations.