INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence Intelligence involves the application of cognitive skills and knowledge to: –Learn –Solve problems –Obtain ends valued by the individual or culture

Intelligence Multifaceted Functional Directed at problems of adaptation Culturally defined

Intelligence Tests –Measure designed to assess the level of cognitive capabilities of an individual compared to other people in a given population

Psychometric Instruments Psycho –Psychology Metric –Measure Psychometric Instruments –Tools used to determine how people differ from each other on psychological scales

Intelligence Tests Sir Francis Galton –First to systematically measure intelligence –Linked intelligence to evolution –Proposed intelligence building blocks of Perceptual skills Sensory skills Motor skills

Alfred Binet Binet suggested intelligence is a measure of performance on complex tasks of –memory –Judgment –comprehension Chronological Age –An individuals actual age in years Mental Age –The average age at which children achieve a given score

Terman’s Quotient (IQ) Lewis Terman ( Stanford Univ.) took Binet’s work one step further Stanford-Binet (IQ) Scale –IQ= (MA/CA) X 100

IQ Quotients Bob: –MA= 14 –CA= 10 –IQ= 14/10 X 100= 140 Brad: –MA= 7 –CA= 10 –IA= 7/10X 100= 70

Wechsler Intelligence Scales Uses frequency distributions to describe an individual’s IQ relative to their peers rather than the concept of a mental age

Extremes of Intelligence Mental Retardation –IQ less than 70 –2% of our population –10% of those diagnosed as retarded are classified as severely retarded (IQ below 50) Gifted –Linked to what a society considers intelligence –Often equated with IQ above 130 –The gifted are often viewed as maladjusted

Creativity and Intelligence Creativity –Involves new combinations of existing things Correlates with high intelligence levels Divergent Thinking –Ability to generate multiple possibilities in a given situation

Criticisms of Intelligence Tests IQ tests fail to capture other dimensions such as practical intelligence Cultural bias –Unavoidable Reliability –High degree of reliability Validity –They do not predict on the job performance

Factor Analysis Factor –Common elements that underlie performance on a set of tasks Factor analysis –Statistical procedure for identifying common elements

Spearman’s Two-Factor Theory Proposes two levels of intelligence including general and specific General (g-factor) –Combines scores on basic math, general knowledge, verbal tests Specific (s-factors) –Specific scores on one of the factors such as math

Gf & Ge Theory of Intelligence Fluid (Gf) –Intellectual capacities that have no specific content and are used in processing information and approaching novel problem– (Active process) Crystallized (Ge) –Our store of knowledge (Passive) Short term memory Long term memory Visual processing Auditory processing Processing speed on simple tasks Decision speed Quantitative knowledge (math reasoning)

Information Processing Model Focuses on the “how” of intelligence rather than attempting to measure “how much” Speed of Processing –Mental quickness-response time –Decreases with age Knowledge Base –Total amount of information stored in the brain –Increases with time

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Musical Bodily/Kinesthetic (dancers/athletics) Spatial Linguistic or verbal Logical/mathematical Naturalist Intrapersonal (self- understanding) Interpersonal (social skills)

Heredity and Intelligence Addresses the relative influence of nature and nurture on intelligence Research to date, especially between genetic and adopted children within families, suggests that genetics is a greater determinant of IQ than environmental factors

Race and Intelligence Politically charged issue Nurture seems to be the key difference between white and black IQ scores –More black children raised in poverty