1. Intelligence
Module 24

2. Intelligence Includes: capacity to learn from experience
ability to solve problems
capacity to reason clearly
Robert Sternberg, 1997, “[intelligence is]...the mental abilities needed to select, adapt to, and shape environments.”

3. Alfred Binet
commissioned in 1904, by the French government to study the problem of determining children’s intelligence.
collaborated with Theodore Simon
set out to measure mental age, a chronological age typical of a child’s performance at a certain level
was successful in creating a series of questions to discern intellect

4. Lewis Terman of Stanford University
revised Binet’s intelligence test
adapted some of the original and added others
established new age norms
extended the upper range from teenagers to “superior adults”
called it the Stanford-Binet

5. What is an IQ? IQ = ___mental age_____ X 100
It’s an idea developed by German psychologist William Stern
IQ = ___mental age_____ X 100
chronological age
Average IQ score = 100
Thus, if a 8 year old child tests with a mental age of 10, her I Q would be 125.

6. Factor Analysis
This is a way of identifying clusters of test items that measure a common ability.
Examples: verbal, spatial, reasoning, social, leadership ability

7. Robert Sternberg -Three aspects of Intelligence
Analytical = academic problem-solving, a single right answer
Creative = novel ideas, reacting to novel situations
Practical = required for everyday tasks, need multiple solutions

8. Creativity - Sternberg
“The ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable.”
Five components of creativity:
Expertise –base of knowledge
Imaginative thinking skills – ability to see things in a new way.
Venturesome personality – tolerance for ambiguity and risk
Intrinsic motivation – internally motivated
Creative environment - support

9. Howard Gardner intelligence comes in different “packages”
accounts for the savant syndrome (low score on IQ tests, high ability, even brilliance, in one area).
we have multiple intelligences

10. Mental Retardation Level Typical Intelligence Scores
Percentage of Persons w/Retardation
Adaptation to Demands of Life
Mild
50-70
85%
up to 6th grade academic, some social and vocational
Moderate
35-49
10%
2nd grade, sheltered workshops
Severe
20-30
3-4%
talk, simple work tasks, but not self-supporting
Profound
Below 20
1-2%
Require constant aid and supervision

11. Test Construction Terminology:
Standardization – comparing scores to a pretested, representative group
Reliability – test-retest constancy
Validity – the test must measure what it says it will measure
Content validity – measuring the specific pertinent behavior

12. Emotional Intelligence - Gardner
“The ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions.”
Self awareness empathy
Delay gratification handle others
Self-control

13. Assessing Intelligence
WAIS – Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
WISC – Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
Created by David Wechsler
Gives a Verbal and Performance score, great differences between the two may indicate a learning disability or other problem/

14. Test Construction Criterion – what the test is designed to predict
Predictive validity - the test’s ability to predict future achievement (also called criterion-related validity)

15. How well do aptitude tests predict success?
They are highly predictive in the early grades, but not as we get older.
The best predictor of future grades is past grades!!
The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

16. Genetics and Environment

17. Genetic Influences on IQ
Identical twins have almost identical IQ scores - raised apart or together.
The gene on chromosome 6, is found in about 2/3 of children with very high IQ scores.
Smarter mice have been produced by injecting an extra gene into fertilized eggs.
Adopted children resemble their adopted parents less and less with age.

18. Environmental Influences on IQ
Fraternal twins score more alike than other siblings.
Genes and environment interact to shape the brain.
Severe disadvantage deeply harms children.
Programs like Head-Start have immediate positive effects that are reduced over time.

19. Education Education and intelligence enhance each other.
It pays off in increased earnings later in life.
IQ scores rise during the school year and fall during the summer.

20. Ethnic Similarities and Differences
In the U.S. there is a gap in average IQ scores between whites, blacks, and Hispanics.
Other countries also have IQ score differences among different ethnic populations.
Differences may be due to the environment.

21. Gender Similarities and Differences
No overall difference in gender IQ scores
Girls are better spellers.
Girls are more verbally fluent.
Boys are more often in special education.
Boys talk later, stutter more, have difficulty with reading more often.
In high school, boys underachieve more often then girls by a 2:1 ratio.

22. What about math?
In math grades the typical girl equals or surpasses the average boy.
Females have the edge in computation.
Males have the edge in problem solving.
Males can quickly rotate 3D objects in their minds.
More western males score at the top, but females score equally in the east.
Exposure to male hormones increases spatial ability.

23. What about emotion? Women are better “emotion detectors” than men
Myers speculates that because women need to read the emotions of their infants and would-be lovers, they have developed more empathy.

24. Bias
IQ tests are biased in the sense that they detect genetic differences and cultural, environmental factors.
Gender and racial bias are also factors in teaching and testing.
Sometimes IQ tests are wrongly used to discriminate.