Intelligence Intro Who is the most intelligent person that you know (alive, dead, historical, etc)? Identify some characteristics of people that you consider to be “intelligent.” Identify some characteristics of people that you consider to be “unintelligent.”

Intelligence is . . . . 1. Finish the following statement: 2. How do we measure someone’s intelligence?

Tuesday, January 2 Finish the following statement: Intelligence is ____________. 2. Who is the most intelligent person that you know (alive, dead, historical, etc)? 3. identify some characteristics of people that you consider to be “intelligent.” Today’s Topic: Theories of Intelligence Upcoming Dates: Tonight’s HW Last set of Terms Read pages 532-538 Test construction Developmental and Intelligence Test: Friday, 1/5

Intelligence AP Psych Myers – Ch. 11

Who is the most intelligent? Gregg Cox (speaks 64 languages) Halle Barry (Academy Award winning actress) Bill Gates (I think you know this guy) Steve Lu (5 year old with 194 IQ test score) Midori (Violin prodigy) Rank these people based on your idea of intelligence

200 year old question: How can we define and measure intelligence? What is Intelligence? 200 year old question: How can we define and measure intelligence?

Intelligence Wars Do we have an inborn mental capacity? Can it be quantified with a number? Intelligence – mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. Socially constructed by a culture “school smarts”

Intelligence Theories There are several popular definitions/theories that we will discuss today: The Two-Factor Theory Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities The Multiple-Intelligence Theory The Triarchic Theory

Spearman’s General Intelligence or g A basic intelligence predicts our abilities in varied academic areas General intelligence (g) – a general intelligence factor that underlies all of our abilities Factor analysis - A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test Mental abilities tend to form clusters People tend to show about the same level of competence in all abilities in a certain cluster CRITICS - Human abilities are too diverse to be encapsulated by a single general factor

Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities A single g score is not as informative as scores for seven primary mental abilities 7 intelligence factors: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory CRITICS – 7 factors show tendency to cluster, suggesting an underlying g score.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Intelligence is more than just verbal and mathematical skills as other abilities are equally important. 8 intelligences CRITICS - Should all abilities be considered intelligences? Shouldn’t some of them just be talents instead?

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence 3 areas that can be tested reliably CRITICS - These three factors are related and can have an underlying g factor. Also, additional testing is needed to determine whether these facets can reliably predict success.

Other Intelligences Social intelligence - the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully Emotional intelligence - the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

Creativity The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas Exceptionally creative people do not score higher on intelligence tests than their noncreative peers. Convergent thinking vs. divergent thinking 5 components Expertise Imaginative thinking skills A venturesome personality Intrinsic motivation A creative environment

True of False? Frontal lobe is most active when answering questions found on most intelligence tests True – although some areas of the brain can be larger to demonstrate intelligence in other ways (Einstein’s Parietal lobe) A bigger brain = more intelligence Not necessarily Some studies have found a correlation between brain size and intelligence scores. More educated people have more connections between neurons (more synapses) than less educated people. The neurological approach (using perceptual speed and processing speed) to understanding intelligence has replaced the g factor of intelligence ???? – studies on processing and perceptual speed are on-going

True or False? Page 529-531 Frontal lobe is most active when answering questions found on most intelligence tests True – although some areas of the brain can be larger to demonstrate intelligence in other ways (Einstein’s Parietal lobe) Does A bigger brain = more intelligence The neurological approach to understanding intelligence has replaced the g factor of intelligence

Big Brains = Big Smarts? Some studies have found a correlation between brain size and intelligence scores. More educated, therefore defined intelligent, people have more connections between neurons (more synapses) than less educated people. Chicken or the egg?

Brain Function and Intelligence Frontal lobe is active for tasks such as typical intelligence test questions. Perceptual speed Positive correlation of intelligence score and speed at which perceptual information is taken in. Neurological speed EEG studies show that people who score higher on intelligence tests can register stimuli quicker and with more complexity than others.

Warm-up Bigger brains don’t always mean smarter brains. What have they found more of in educated people’s brains? Who was the pioneer of intelligence testing at the beginning of the 1900s? What was his original purpose of intelligence testing in the early 1900s?