Chapter 11 Intelligence

Quiz An operational definition is the operations (actions or procedures) used to measure a concept Reliability is the ability of a test to measure what it purports to measure Validity is the ability of a test to yield to the same score, or very nearly the same score, each time it’s given to the same person. An average IQ score in the U.S., is 100, with below 70 being mentally retarded and above 130 being highly intelligent. Culture fair test is a test designed to maximize the importance of culturally specific knowledge.

Defining Intelligence What is the best definition of intelligence? How can we define it outside of IQ scores? How are people in here intelligent? Global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment Operational Definition: Operations used to measure a concept For example: How do you and your friends define “good looking?” Or “alcoholic”?

Intelligence Recognition Who is the smartest person you’ve ever known? How would they score on an IQ test? How smart is your PSY 202 teacher? As a class, write an intelligence test I would fail. Each group can contribute two questions

More Definitions Aptitude: Capacity for learning certain abilities Special Aptitudes Test: Predicts whether you will succeed in a certain area Multiple Aptitude Test: Test that measures two or more abilities General Intelligence Test: Test that measures a wide variety of mental abilities S.A.T.’s, Career Assessment

Figure 11.1: Special aptitude tests measure a person’s potential for achievement in a limited area of ability, such as manual dexterity. Multiple aptitude tests measure potentials in broader areas, such as college work, law, or medicine. Intelligence tests measure a very wide array of aptitudes and mental abilities. Fig. 11-1, p. 364

Sample questions like those found on tests of mechanical aptitude Sample questions like those found on tests of mechanical aptitude. (The answers are A and the Driver.) Figure 11.2: Sample questions like those found on tests of mechanical aptitude. (The answers are A and the Driver.) Fig. 11-2, p. 364

Reliability Reliability: A reliable test should give the same score (or close to it) each time the same person takes it Test-Retest: Give test to a large group, then give exactly the same test to same group later Split-Half: Making sure scores on one-half of a test match the scores on the other half

Validity Validity: Ability of a test to measure what it is purported to measure Criterion Validity: Comparing test scores to actual performance Comparing SAT to college grades

More Information Ages: Chronological Age: Person’s age in years Mental Age: Average intellectual performance Norms: Average score for a designated group of people Intelligence Quotient: Intelligence index; mental age divided by chronological age, then multiplied by 100 Average IQ in the USA is 100

More IQ Terms Deviation IQ: Scores based on a person’s relative standing in his or her age group; how far above or below average a person’s score is, relative to other scores IQ scores are not very dependable until a child reaches age 6 Terminal Decline: Abrupt decline in measured IQ about 5 years before death

Normal (Bell-Shaped) Curve Most scores fall close to the average, and very few are found at the extremes

IQ Research Men and women do not appear to differ in overall intelligence A strong correlation (about .50) exists between IQ and school grades Having a high IQ (usually above 130) or special talents or abilities (playing Mozart at age 5) Research shows it’s not important to have a super high IQ to do something amazing, just high enough. IT’S MORE IMPORTANT TO WORK HARD THAN TO BE “SMART”

Person Centered Language Referring to someone as a diagnosis: “retarded” or “schizophrenic” is not respectful and does not imply value to who they are as a person Example: referring to people by hair color, body type or interest “Who was that intelligent, charismatic person you were talking to in the last psychology class?” “Oh, you mean The blonde?”

Mental Retardation (or Developmental Disabilities): Some Definitions Presence of a developmental disability and an IQ score below 70; a significant impairment of adaptive behavior also figures into the definition Adaptive Behavior: Basic skills such as dressing, eating, working, hygiene; necessary for self-care

Mental Retardation Categories Mild: IQ of 55-70 Moderate: IQ of 40-55 Severe: IQ of 25-40 Profound: IQ less than 25

Familial Retardation Mild mental retardation that occurs in homes that have inadequate nutrition, intellectual stimulation, medical care, and emotional support Due to environmental causes

Organic Causes of Mental Retardation Related to physical disorders Birth Injuries: Lack of oxygen during delivery Fetal Damage: Prenatal damage from disease, infection, or drug use Metabolic Disorders: Disorder in metabolism; affects energy use and production in the body Genetic Abnormalities: Abnormality in the genes, such as missing genes, extra genes, or defective genes

More Organic Causes of Mental Retardation Microcephaly: Head and brain are abnormally small; brain is forced to develop in a limited space Hydrocephaly: Buildup of cerebrospinal fluid within the ventricles (brain cavities); pressure can enlarge the head and damage the brain

Down Syndrome Data Down Syndrome: Genetic disorder caused by presence of extra chromosome (usually on the 21st pair; trisomy 21); results in mental retardation and shorter life span Does not run in the family Older a woman is, greater the risk to produce a Down’s child Older fathers may also contribute (about 25% of the time) No cure, but is detectable before birth

Heredity and Environment Eugenics: Selective Breeding for desirable characteristics Fraternal Twins: Twins conceived from two separate eggs Identical twins: Twins who develop from a single egg and have identical genes

New Ways of Viewing Intelligence Speed of Processing: Brain’s speed and efficiency; how fast you and your brain can process information Inspection Time: Amount of time a person must look at a stimulus to make a correct judgment about it Neural Intelligence: Speed and efficiency of the brain or nervous system; innate Experiential Intelligence: Specialized knowledge and skills acquired over time

Stimuli like those used in inspection time tasks. Figure 11.9: Fig. 11-9, p. 379

Gardner’s Theory of Eight Multiple Intelligences Language: Used for thinking by lawyers, writers, comedians Logic and Math: Used by scientists, accountants, programmers Visual and Spatial Thinking: Used by engineers, inventors, aviators Music: Used by composers, musicians, music critics

Gardner’s Theory of Eight Multiple Intelligences Continued Bodily-Kinesthetic Skills: Used by dancers, athletes, surgeons Intrapersonal Skills (Self-Knowledge): Used by poets, actors, ministers Interpersonal Skills (Social Abilities): Used by psychologists, teachers, politicians Naturalistic Skills (Ability to Understand Natural Environment): Used by biologists, organic farmers

A Different Type of Intelligence Test Is it possible to develop a culture free test? What would it look like? What is the next best thing? Culture-Fair Test: Test designed to minimize importance of skills and knowledge that may be more common in some cultures than in others

Conclusion Many researchers believe that intelligence is a combination of heredity (genes) and environment (upbringing); contributing percentage of each is not known yet And that there is no fair way to measure general intelligence in different subject areas in a culturally sensitive manner

Answers to Miller Analogy Test Kitten Herd Show Light Door Quart fruit Floor Trees Dust Deaf Sap finished 81 Author Cuff Seed Sparrow 19. Chairperson 20. 48 21. Betray 22. Rim 23. Client 24. Vice 25. L 26. Wednesday 27. Laziness 28. Create 29. Surface 30. run