Goals for today: Testing & Individual Differences: Theories

1. Goals for today: • Testing & Individual Differences: Theories • Complete reading “Just How Are you Intelligent? by Gardner.

2. Intelligence

3. Discuss • What is intelligence? Definition? • Why is this difficult to define? • What makes someone intelligent? • Unintelligent? • Are there different kinds of intelligences? • If yes, what do you think they might be?

4. Intelligence definition debated amongst psychologists. • How might culture play a role? • What is intelligent in the Amazon vs. NYC? • Should it be defined by one measurement? Multiple? • How should it be measured? • In research studies, intelligence is whatever the intelligence tests measure … which tends to be school smarts.

5. Intelligence = the ability to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems. • Intelligence test – assesses an individual’s mental aptitudes and compares those with others, using a numeric score.

6. Who is intelligent? Remembering the definition of intelligence… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xTz3QjcloI

7. Conceptual Difficulties Psychologists believe that intelligence is a concept and not a “thing.” When we think of intelligence as a trait (thing) we commit to an error called reification — viewing an abstract immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing.

8. Controversies about Intelligence Despite general agreement among psychologists about the nature of intelligence, there are two controversies that remain: Is intelligence a single overall ability or several specific abilities? With modern neuroscience techniques can we locate and measure intelligence within the brain?

9. Theories of Intelligence • Spearman’s “g” factor • Saw intelligence best defined as a single ability • We can have special skills (s factor), but those people typically score higher in other areas because.... • A general intelligence (g) underlies any special skills • *used factor analysis – • a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score • g= general intelligence • Think of this model like an athlete...just because you’re a weightlifter doesn’t mean you’ll be a good ice-skater, but some general athleticism (like being fast and having good hand-eye coordination) seems to be a “thing” • Believed that there was a single, general factor for all mental ability…didn’t deny that some people have outstanding talents, but felt these differences shouldn’t blind us to a single general intelligence

10. General Intelligence For example, people who do well on vocabulary do well on paragraph comprehension, a cluster that helps define verbal intelligence…other general factors include spatial ability & a reasoning ability. Spearman proposed that general intelligence (g), is linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis that create a single underlying aspect of intelligence.

11. General intelligence Critiques L. L. Thurstone, a critic of Spearman, analyzed his subjects NOT on a single scale of general intelligence, but on seven clusters of primary mental abilities including: • Word Fluency • Verbal Comprehension • Spatial Ability • Perceptual Speed • Numerical Ability • Inductive Reasoning • Memory

12. Contemporary intelligence theories • Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports Thurstone’s idea that intelligence comes in multiple forms. Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability but not others…so there must be many facets of intelligence People with savant syndrome excel in abilities not related to general intelligence.

13. Gardner believes in multiple intelligences – 9 different forms of intelligence, each relatively independent of the others It's not how smart you are,  it's how you are smart! - Howard Gardner Interview, "Common Miracles" ABC 1993

14. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

15. Theories of Intelligence • Sternberg’s 3 Intelligences (triarchic theory) • 1. Analytical – assessed by traditional IQ tests...predicts success in school fairly accurately • 2. Creative – reacting adaptively to novel situations and generating new ideas • 3. Practical – required for everyday tasks that may not have one solution • Sternberg developed a test to assess this, which many big companies use to score potential executives • “If IQ rules, it is only because we let it. And when we let it rule, we choose a bad master. We got ourselves into the test mess; we can get ourselves out of it.”

16. Gardner’s multiple intelligences • Evidence? • Brain damage can inhibit some skills but not all • Savants like Kim Peek (Rain Man) are extremely smart in some areas (like math calculations), but extremely limited in others (like dressing himself) • Kim’s IQ was 87 (100 is average)

17. Sternberg proposed seven types of people, based on combinations of his three intelligences… • The Analyzer fares well in academic environments, but isn't likely to make a creative contribution to the field. • The Creator generates ideas easily, but is unable to analyze these ideas or to put them into practice.  • The Practitioneris persuasive and maybe entertaining, but lacks substance in thinking. • The Analytical Creator is able to analyze created ideas, but doesn't easily communicate these ideas to others. • The Analytical Practitioner succeeds in conventional terms because high IQ is translated into practical work, but he is unlikely to make a lasting contribution. • The Creative Practitionerhas the ability to come up with new ideas and can persuade other people of the value of these ideas, regardless whether those ideas are worth it or not. • The Consummate Balancer is able to apply all of the three intelligences as needed, and is therefore in the best position to make a valuable contribution to society.

18. Theories of Intelligence • Goleman (and others) believes emotional intelligence (EQ) – a set ofskills that underlie the accurate assessment,evaluation, expression and regulation ofemotions – is also important • Emotional Intelligence • 2009 wrote “Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ” • 4 components to E.I.: • Perceiving (recognizing) • Understanding (predicting) • Managing (knowing when/how to express) • Using (to be creative) • Goleman states that you need both high IQ and EI (emotional intelligence) to be truly successful

19. Emotional Intelligence: Components Component Description Perceive emotion Recognize emotions in faces, music and stories Understand emotion Predict emotions, how they change and blend Manage emotion Express emotions in different situations Use emotion Utilize emotions to adapt or be creative

20. Emotional Intelligence: Criticism Gardner and others criticize the idea of emotional intelligence and question whether we stretch this idea of intelligence too far when we apply it to emotions – plus it has yet to be quantified in a rigorous manner (hard to test) Also…much controversy has surrounded the teaching of EQ as many believe that this should not be “taught” by anyone other than families

21. Independent • Independent time to work on your reading guide or family review time. • Did YOU get done w/reading guide 7C last night? • Due next class: reading Guide 7D

22. DO NOW • Explain how psychologists design tests • Standardization • interpret the meaning of scores in terms of the normal curve.  • reliability • Split half • Test – retest • Different tests • Validity • Content • Predictive • Convergent • Have out RG 7C/7D for a date stamp • Complete the 9 MC questions with your family group. • Goals for today: • Measuring Intelligence • Multiple Intelligences inventory

23. Assessing Intelligence Psychologists define intelligence testing as a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with others using numerical scores.

24. Alfred Binet Alfred Binet and his colleague Théodore Simon developed the first standardized intelligence test…they were commissioned by the French government to design a “test” to identify French children who would have problems in regular classes

25. Binet Set out to find a child’s mental age, or the average age of individuals who achieve a particular level of performance. Binet did not create the test to LABEL children…he actually warned that if the information were misused it would do just this…instead he wanted only to find a way to help improve the educational experience of French children

26. Lewis Terman Lewis Terman, in the US, adapted/revised Binet’s test for American school children and named the test the Stanford-Binet IQ Test.(he worked at Stanford) A form of the Stanford-Binet is still in use today…

27. Stanford-Binet • Today…the Stanford-Binet is given orally and varies in nature according to the person taking the test • Children – given figures to copy or everyday problems to solve • Adults – asked to solve analogies, explain proverbs and describe similarities that underlie sets of words • The examiner begins by finding a mental age at which person can answer all questions…move on to more difficult problems…when mental age is reached at which no items can be answered, test is over

28. William Stern The formula of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) introduced by William Sternis defined as: a # indicating your inherent ABILITY to learn instead of simply the knowledge you already have: IQ is no longer computed this way…

29. David Wechsler Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and later the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), an intelligence test for children – they are the most widely used IQ tests today.

30. WAIS WAIS measures overall intelligence – consists of 2 parts, verbal and performance Verbal – vocab definitions and comprehension Performance – timed assembly of small objects and arranged pictures in logical order Normally verbal and performance are within close range, yet separate scores can give a more precise picture of a person’s specific abilities • Consists of 15 subtests like... • Similarities (how are cotton and wool alike?) • Vocabulary (naming pictured objects) • Block design (using these blocks, make this...) • Letter-number sequencing (repeat numbers/letters back in certain orders) • Gives one overall score and scores for each section

31. WAIS example

32. Aptitude and Achievement Tests Achievement tests are intended to reflect what you have already learned – current level of knowledge Examples?? Aptitude tests are intended to predict your ability to learn a new skill – how well you could do Examples??? What is your opinion of aptitude tests? Do they prove what they say they are measuring?

33. Ethics and Standards in Testing • Because some groups (such as African Americans) have tended to score lower on average than other groups (such as European Americans) on intelligence tests and SATS, critics argue that tests are bias. • Not biases with respect to predictive validity but biased with respect to performance differences from cultural experience. • Culture relevant tests incorporate skills and knowledge related to the cultural experiences of the test takers. Ex. Questions about boll weevil (political term but also a bug)

34. Flynn Effect In the past 60 years intelligence scores have steadily risen by an average of 27 points — a phenomenon known as the Flynn effect. Why do you think this has happened????

35. D. Flynn While Thurstone, Gardner, Sternberg, and Goleman all tried to define intelligence, Flynn is know for his observation that intelligence, as measured by IQ tests, is increasing. https://www.ted.com/talks/james_flynn_why_our_iq_levels_are_higher_than_our_grandparents?language=en

36. Principles of Test Construction For a psychological test to be acceptable it must fulfill three criteria: • Standardization • Reliability • Validity

37. Standardization and Norms • Standardization: is a two part test development procedure that first establishes test norms from the test results of the large sample. • Norms are scores established from the test. For example the means core for the SAT is 500. • When administering a standardized test, all proctors must give same directions and conditions and scores sheets.

38. Standardization and Norms • Psychometrics: measurement of mental traits, abilities, and processes. • Psychometriciansare involved in test development in order to measure some construct or behavior that distinguishes people. • Constructs are ideas that help summarize a group of related objects. • For example, we can’t measure happiness, honesty or intelligence in feet or meters. Even though we cannot observe happiness they are a useful concept for understating, describing, predicting and influencing behavior. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZTcniw5NKc

39. Normal Curve Standardized tests establish a normal distribution of scores on a tested population — a bell-shaped pattern called the normal curve.

40. Reliability A test is reliable when it yields consistent results. To establish reliability researchers establish different procedures:***The closer the correlation coefficient is to 1.0 the more reliable the test. • Split-half Reliability: Dividing the test into two equal halves and assessing how consistent the scores are. • Reliability using different tests: Using different forms of the test to measure consistency between them. • Test-Retest Reliability: Using the same test on two occasions to measure consistency.

41. Reliability of a test does not insure validity. Validity of a test refers to what the test is supposed to measure or predict. • Content Validity: Refers to the extent a test measures a particular behavior or trait. • Predictive Validity: Refers to the function of a test in predicting a particular behavior or trait. • Construct Validity: measures behavior. For example the MMPI. • Face Validity: Looks like it tests what it’s supposed to or claims to test • Criterion related validity: The test is measured against an overall goal or proficiency (meeting the criteria). (HSPE) Reliability of a test does not insure validity...in other words, a test can be consistent without testing what it is supposed to test!

42. Is intelligence fixed or does it change over time? It depends on the type of intelligence… • Fluid intelligence –reflects information-processing capabilities, reasoning and memory • tends to decline as we age • Crystallized intelligence -- accumulated knowledge, skills and strategies that have been learned through experience • tends to increase throughout life So… a 70-year-old may have more crystallized intelligence thana 30-year-old, but his processing will definitely be slower, which could make it look like he has less intelligence.

43. Multiple intelligences practice • On blog go to UNIT 7 TAB and clock on “Multiple Intelligences” and choose USA • Complete it and then complete the google form codes. • NOTE: add a COMMA AT the END. We can compare our class’ intelligences strengths and deficits. • Done early? Need more time? • Be sure to complete the ME test and submit your code w/a comma before next class. • HW: NONE

44. Intelligence Testing

45. Creativity • Creativity: ability to generate ideas and solutions that are original, novel, and useful. Not usually measured by intelligence tests. • Threshold Theory: a certain level of intelligence is necessary but not sufficient for creative work.

46. Heredity/Environment and Intelligence • Nature/Nurture controversy: what extent is intelligence hereditary and what is learned. • Nature: • Down’s Syndrome Nurture: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (environmental)

47. Heredity/Environment and Intelligence • Studies of Twins: • Identical twins have similar scores on intelligence tests. Intelligence scores of adoptees are more like those of their biological parents than their adopted parents. Brain scans of twins reveal similar brain volume and anatomy.

48. Heredity/Environment and Intelligence • Environmental Influences on Intelligence:: • Siblings raised together are more similar in IQ than siblings raised apart. • Children from deprived homes then moved into middle/upper class foster homes tend to increase iq. School attendance results in increased IQ scores. In fact, scores tend to steadily increase. James Flynn observed that we start doing better on tests called the FLYNN EFFECT

49. Heredity/Environment and Intelligence • Heritability: • Results from genetic causes. Hereditability for intelligence estimates range 50 to 75% • Reaction Range Model: genetic makeup determines the upper limit for an individual’s IQ.

50. Brain Size and IntelligenceIs there a link? • Small +.15 correlation between head size and intelligence scores (relative to body size). • Using an MRI we found +.44 correlation with brain size and IQ score.