Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY (7th Ed) Chapter 11 Intelligence James A. McCubbin, PhD Clemson University Worth Publishers

What is Intelligence?  Intelligence  ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

What is Intelligence?  Factor Analysis  statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test  used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one’s total score  General Intelligence (g)  factor that Spearman and others believed underlies specific mental abilities  measured by every task on an intelligence test  Analogous to physical abilities  General intelligence evolved as a form of intelligence that helps people solve novel problems…(Kanazawa)

Are There Multiple Intelligences?  Savant Syndrome  condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill  computation  drawing

Are There Multiple Intelligences? Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences: 1.LinguisticT.S. Eliot 2.Logical-mathematicalAlbert Einstein 3.MusicalIgor Stravinsky 4.SpatialPablo Picasso 5.Bodily-kinestheticMartha Graham 6.Intrapersonal (self)Sigmund Freud 7.Interpersonal (others)Mahatma Ghandi 8.NaturalistCharles Darwin 9.Existential (proposed in 1998)Dalai Lama

Are There Multiple Intelligences? Robert Sternberg’s triarchic theory: zAnalytical (academic problem-solving): assessed by intelligence tests, present well-defined problems with single right answers. zCreative: demonstrated by reacting adaptively to novel situations and generating novel ideas. zPractical: often required for everyday tasks, which are frequently ill-defined, with multiple solutions

Are There Multiple Intelligences?  Social Intelligence  the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully  Emotional Intelligence  ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions  Perceive – to recognize them in faces, music, stories  understand – to predict them and how they change / blend  Manage – how to express them in varied situations  Use – adaptive or creative thinking

Intelligence and Creativity  Creativity  the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas  expertise  imaginative thinking skills  venturesome personality  intrinsic motivation  creative environment

Brain Function and Intelligence  People who can perceive the stimulus very quickly tend to score somewhat higher on intelligence tests  Perceptual speed vs. Neurological speed Stimulus Mask Question: Long side on left or right?

Questions: zWhat does it mean to “reify intelligence”? zPresent arguments for and against considering intelligence as one mental ability. zDescribe the four aspects of emotional intelligence. zDescribe the relationship between intelligence and brain anatomy.

Assessing Intelligence  Aptitude Test  a test designed to predict a person’s future performance  aptitude is the capacity to learn  Achievement Test  a test designed to assess what a person has learned

Origins of Intelligence Testing  Intelligence Test  a method of assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them to those of others, using numerical scores Alfred Binet

Origins of Intelligence Testing  Mental Age  a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet  chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance  child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8

Origins of Intelligence Testing  Stanford-Binet  the widely used American revision of Binet’s original intelligence test  revised by Terman at Stanford University

Origins of Intelligence Testing  Intelligence Quotient (IQ)  defined originally the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100  IQ = ma/ca x 100)  on contemporary tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

Assessing Intelligence  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)  most widely used intelligence test  subtests  Verbal comprehension  Perceptual organization  Working memory  Processing speed  Overall performance (nonverbal)

WAIS

Which one of these goes here to balance the scale?

When I say go, draw a line through each red square and yellow triangle.

Assessing Intelligence: Sample Items from the WAIS From Thorndike and Hagen, 1977 VERBAL General Information Similarities Arithmetic Reasoning Vocabulary Comprehension Digit Span PERFORMANCE Picture Completion Picture Arrangement Block Design Object Assembly Digit-Symbol Substitution

Principles of test construction  Standardization  defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested “standardization group”  Normal Curve  the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes  most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes

The Normal Curve

Flynn Effect zFlynn Effect: The improvement (rising performance) on intelligence tests that has been observed over time. Resulting from improved nutrition, improvement in education, stimulating environments, more parental investment (who knows?).

Getting Smarter? “The Flynn Effect”

Assessing Intelligence  Reliability  the extent to which a test yields consistent results  assessed by consistency of scores on:  two halves of the test  alternate forms of the test  retesting  Validity  the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Assessing Intelligence  Content Validity  the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest  driving test that samples driving tasks  Criterion  behavior (such as college grades) that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to predict  the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity

Assessing Intelligence  Predictive Validity  success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict  assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior  also called criterion-related validity

Assessing Intelligence  As the range of data under consideration narrows, its predictive power diminishes Greater correlation over broad range of body weights Little corre- lation within restricted range Football linemen’s success Body weight in pounds

The Dynamics of Intelligence  Mental Retardation  a condition of limited mental ability  indicated by an intelligence score below 70  produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life  varies from mild to profound zIntellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) as a DSM-5 diagnostic term replaces “mental retardation” used in previous editions of the manuals.  Down Syndrome  retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup

The Dynamics of Intelligence

Genetic Influences  The most genetically similar people have the most similar scores

Genetic Influences  Heritability  the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes  variability depends on range of populations and environments studied

Genetic Influences

Environmental Influences  The Schooling Effect

Group Differences  Group differences and environmental impact Variation within group Difference within group Poor soilFertile soil Seeds

Group Differences  The Mental Rotation Test Which two of the other circles contain a configuration of blocks identical to the one in the circle at the left? StandardResponses

Group Differences  Stereotype Threat  A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype