Understanding Intelligence: Factors, Types, and Assessment

1. Intelligence What makes us intelligent Or Not so intelligent

2. Intelligence • The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. • Is socially constructed thus… Can be culturally specific. According to this definition, are both Einstein and Ruth intelligent?

3. Reification • Viewing an abstract immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing. (IQ)- Most people say “her IQ is 120” You should say “she scored 120 on an intelligence test”

4. Is intelligence one thing or several different abilities? • To find out scientists use FACTOR ANALYSIS: A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test. • Charles Spearman used FA to discovery his g or (general intelligence). He saw using FA that doing well in one area of a test predicted that you will do well in another.

5. Thurstone’s 7 primary mental abilities 1) Word fluency 2) Verbal comprehension 3) Spatial ability 4) Perceptual speed 5) Numerical ability 6) Inductive reasoning 7) Memory * Showed a tendency to cluster, suggesting an underlying “g” factor

6. Multiple Intelligences • Howard Gardner disagreed with Spearman’s g and instead came up with the concept of multiple intelligences. • He came up with the idea by studying savants (a condition where a person has limited mental ability but is exceptional in one area).

8. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences • Visual/Spatial • Verbal/Linguistic • Logical/Mathematical • Bodily/Kinesthetic • Musical/Rhythmic • Interpersonal • Intrapersonal • Natural Learn More about Gardner

9. Sternberg’s Three Aspects of Intelligence Gardner Simplified • Creative (generating novel ideas) • Analytical (academic problem solving). • Practical (required for everyday tasks where multiple solutions exist). • CAP

10. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) • First called social intelligence. • The ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions. • Some studies show EQ to be a greater predictor for future success than IQ

11. John Mayer, Peter Salovey, David Caruso • Emotional Intelligence: • Perceive emotions (recognize them in faces, music, stores • Understand emotions (predict them and how they change and blend) • Manage emotions (how to express them in varied situations) • Use emotions to enable adaptive or creative thinking

12. 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 +.40 correlation with brain size and IQ score.

13. Brain Function and Intelligence • Higher performing brains use less active than lower performing brains (use less glucose). • Glucose fuels the brain-more in bloodstream, less to fuel brain. • Glucose affects hippocampus=memories • Neurological speed is also a bit quicker.

14. How do we Assess Intelligence? • Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon set out to figure out a concept called a mental age(what a person of a particular age should know). • They discovered that by discovering someone’s mental age they can predict future performance. • Hoped they could use test to help children, not label them.

15. A 8 year old has a mental age of 10, what is her IQ? A 12 year old has the mental age of 9, what is his IQ? A boy has the mental age of 10 and an IQ of 200, how old is he? Used Binet’s research to construct the modern day IQ test called the Stanford-Binet Test. IQ=Mental age/Chronological age X 100. (William Stern) Terman and his IQ Test

16. Review • Binet and Simon=Mental Age • Terman=Standford Binet • William Stern=IQ formula

17. Problems with the IQ Formula • It does not really work well on adults, why? If a 60 year old man does as well as an average 30 year old then his IQ would be 50!!!!!! That makes no sense!!!!!

18. Modern Tests of Mental Abilities • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)consists of 11 subtests and cues us in to strengths by using….. Factor Analysis

19. Aptitude A test designed to predict a person’s future performance. The ability for that person to learn. Achievement A test designed to assess what a person has learned. Aptitude v. Achievement Tests

20. How do we construct Intelligence tests? Tests must be: • Standardized • Reliable • Valid

21. Standardization • The test must be pre-tested to a representative sample of people and • Form a normal distribution or bell curve

22. 1) In a normal distribution, approximately what percent of the scores occur within one standard deviation above and below the mean? • 5% • 16% • 33% • 68% • 97%

23. jj • 500 550 600 • -1 0 1 • 2) The mean is 550 and the standard deviation is 50. What percent of the SAT scores fall between 500 and 600? • 50% • 68% • 14% • 34% • 98%

24. For a language test with normally distributed scores, the mean was 70 and the standard deviation was 10. Approximately what percentage of test takers scored 60 and above? • 16 • 34 • 68 • 84 • 95

25. Variance=(SD)2 • If the variance of a set of scores is 100, the standard deviation will be? • 5 • 10 • 50 • 25 • 125

26. Flynn Effect

27. Reliability • The extent which a test yields consistent results over time. • Spilt halves or test–retest method. • SAT’s are reliable but may not have validity…

28. Validity The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure. • Content Validity: does the test sample a behavior of interest (taps pertinent behavior) • Predictive Validity: does the test predict future behavior and performance

29. Does Intelligence Change Over Time? • By age 3, a child’s IQ can predict adolescent IQ scores. • Depends on the type of intelligence, crystallized or fluid.

30. Extremes of Intelligence

31. Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores • The Bell curve is different for Whites v. Black. • Math scores are different across genders and the highest scores are for Asian males. Why? Nature or Nurture

32. Test Bias? Tests do discriminate. But some argue that their sole purpose is to discriminate. We have to look at the type of discrimination.

33. Stereotype Threat • A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype (e.g. women underperforming on a math test when men are present) Very similar to self-fulfilling prophecy