UNIT 11 Intelligence Test: Tuesday March 10th

Unit Overview 1. What is Intelligence? 2. Assessing Intelligence 3. The Dynamics of Intelligence 4. Genetic & Environmental Influences on Intelligence Click on the any of the above hyperlinks to go to that section in the presentation.

Intelligence is socially constructed… intelligence is defined according to the attributes that enable success in a particular culture Intelligence tests are used to assess individuals‘ mental aptitudes and compare them with those of others. When we refer to someone's IQ as if it were a fixed and objectively real trait such as height, we commit a reasoning error called… reification

What is Intelligence?  Intelligence Intelligence  mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, & use knowledge to adapt to new situations.  Savant syndrome Savant syndrome  Intelligence test Intelligence test  Measure mental aptitude; compare to others; numerical value Would Savant Syndrome be more supportive of Sperman’s or Gardner’s view of intelligence? Why? Kim Peak Brain Scan outube.com/ watch?v=Auu fbu_ZdDI _CBvP8 Stephen Wiltshire

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?  Spearman  General intelligence (g) General intelligence  Factor analysis - Factor analysis - how is this used in intelligence testing?  To answer the question: Is intelligence a single trait or a collection of distinct abilities?  Thurstone’s counter argument  identified seven clusters of primary mental abilities, including word fluency, memory, and inductive reasoning. g a general intelligence that underlies successful performance on a wide variety of tasks. Supporters of g support numerical IQ score

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities? Theories of Multiple Intelligences  Gardner’s Eight Intelligences  Linguistic  Logical-mathematical  Musical  Spatial  Bodily-kinesthetic  Intrapersonal  Interpersonal  Naturalist Criticism of Gardner’s Theory? criticized for extending the definition of intelligence to an overly broad range of talents

Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities? Theories of Multiple Intelligences

 Sternberg’s Three Intelligences  Analytical (academic problem-solving intelligence  Creating intelligence  Practical intelligence The Sternberg-Wagner test measures writing skills, skill in motivating others, and ability to effectively delegate tasks. This test measures which of the intelligences described by Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence?

Comparing Theories of Intelligence page 528

Obj. 3: What makes up emotional intelligence?  Emotionalintelligence Emotionalintelligence  Perceive emotions  Understand emotions  Manage emotions  Use emotions for adaptive or creative thinking

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable? Brain Size and Complexity  Brain size studies .33  Brain complexity studies  Neural plasticity  More synapses  Gray matter versus white matter

Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable? Brain Function  Perceptual speed  faster cognitive processing may allow for more information to be acquired  Neurological speed

Assessing Intelligence Objectives 5-8 pages

Who attempted to assess intellectual strengths by measuring muscular power, sensory acuity, and body proportions?

Objective 5: When & why were intelligence tests created?  Francis Galton’s intelligence testing  Reaction time  Sensory acuity  Muscular power  Body proportions Nature vs. Nurture

Modern Intelligence Testing Movement  Alfred Binet  Minimize bias of teacher in indentifying French school children in need of assistance  Mental age Mental age  Level of performance typically associated w/ chronological age  General capacity that can manifest itself many ways  Test DOES NOT measure inborn intelligence…single practical purpose

The Innate IQ  Stanford-Binet Test Stanford-Binet  Lewis Terman  adapted test to American children (and adults)  Intelligence quotient (IQ) Intelligence quotient (IQ)  IQ = (mental age/chronological age) X 100  IQ of 100 is considered average  Today’s IQ tests compute performance on test relative to average performance of others of same age William Stern

Eugenics  Measuring human traits and using the results to encourage only smart & fit people to reproduce.  With Terman’s help, the US evaluated new immigrants & WWI recruits  Some felt test “proved” inferior intelligence of people of non-Anglo-Saxon heritage this belief led to what laws in the 1920’s?

 Simon & Binet = concept of mental age  William Stern = formula for IQ  Lewis Terman = used formula on his Standford-Binet test

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities  Achievement tests Achievement tests  Aptitude tests Aptitude tests

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)  the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

Wechler Adult Intelligence Scale

Principles of Test Construction Standardization  Standardization Standardization  a person's test performance can be compared with that of a representative pretested group  Normal curve Normal curve restandardize

Normal Curve

Principles of Test Construction Standardization  Flynn effect

Principles of Test Construction Standardization  Flynn effect

Principles of Test Construction  Reliability Reliability  Scores correlate  Test-retest reliability  Split-half reliability Researchers assess the correlation between scores obtained on two halves of a single test in order to measure the ________ of a test.

Principles of Test Construction Validity  Validity Validity  Content validity Content validity  the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.  Criterion  Predictive validity Predictive validity  the 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 College Board AP Exams

The Dynamics of Intelligence

Stability or Change? How stable are intelligence scores over the lifespan?  Intelligence testing through life Infants who habituate sooner to a picture… +.66 Consistency of scores increases w/ age

Extremes of Intelligence The Low Extreme  Intellectual disability Intellectual disability  Mental retardation  70 or below – 1%  Down syndrome Down syndrome  21 st chromosome  Mainstreamed

Classifications of Intellectual Disability LevelApproximate Intelligence Scores Adaptation to Demands of Life Mild50-70May learn academic skills up to sixth-grade level. Adults may with assistance, achieve self-supporting social and vocational skills Moderate35-50May progress to second-grade level academically. Adults may contribute to their own support by laboring in sheltered workshops Severe20-35May learn to talk and to perform simple tasks under close supervision but are generally unable to profit from vocational training ProfoundBelow 25Require constant aid and supervision

Extremes of Intelligence The High Extreme  Terman’s study of gifted  1921  most thrive  Gifted?  tracking by aptitude = self-fulfilling prophecy

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence

genotype vs. phenotype inherited instructions within one’s genetic code composite of an organism’s observable characteristics or traits

Twin & Adoption Studies  Identical twin studies 1. 50% intelligence test score variations can be attributed to genetic variation 2. similar brain scans 3. Polygenetic  Adoptive children studies 1. fraternal twins score more alike than other siblings 2. genetic influences become more apparent as we age environment compare adopted children with biological parents as well as adoptive parents

Heritability

Correlated Scores

Heritability  NEVER pertains to an individual only to the VARIATION – why people differ  when environments varies widely, environmental differences become more predictive trait differences (g score)  if the environment is exactly the same, heritability would be 100% - variation would have to be due to genetics.

Environmental Influences  Early environmental influences  Tutored human enrichment  among the poor, environmental conditions can override genetic differences  Targeted training  specific abilities…music  Schooling & intelligence  Project Head Start  growth mindset vs. fixed mindset Hunt performance orientation – give up when do poorly on tests

Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores Gender Similarities and Differences  Spelling  Verbal ability  Nonverbal memory  Sensation  Emotion-detecting ability  Math and spatial aptitudes W W W W W W = computation M= problem solving M evolutionary

Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores Ethnic Similarities and Differences  group differences help little w/ judging individuals  group differences could be entirely environmental  individual genetic differences w/in a race are much greater than differences between races *page 553*

The Question of Bias  Two meanings of bias  Popular sense  Scientific sense  validity  Test-taker’s expectations  Stereotype threat (Spencer) Stereotype threat

In Closing… 1. Who might profit from early intervention 2. Be alert to misuse of results 3. Result on tests are important, but only one aspect of personal competence “Almost all the joyful things of life are outside the measure of IQ tests.” -- Madeleine L’Engle

The End

Intelligence Test = a method of assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

Intelligence = mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

General Intelligence (g) = a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Factor Analysis = a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify difference dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score.

Savant Syndrome = a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

Emotional Intelligence = the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

Mental Age = a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

Stanford-Binet = the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) = defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca X 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Achievement Tests = tests designed to assess what a person has learned.

Aptitude Tests = tests designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) = the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

Standardization = defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

Normal Curve = a 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.

Reliability = the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting.

Validity = the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

Content Validity = the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.

Predictive Validity = the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior (also called criterion-related validity).

Intellectual Disability = (formerly referred to as mental retardation) a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound.

Down Syndrome = a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Stereotype Threat = a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.