1. Thinking and Intelligence Chapter 8 & 9

2. The ability to learn, the ability to profit from experiences in life, the ability to think rationally, the ability to act purposefully, aptitude in grasping truths, manifestation of a high mental capacity, the faculty of understanding, the gathering or distribution of information, etc., etc., etc., etc. Wade/Tavris, (c) 2006, Prentice Hall Intelligence???

3.  One of the most controversial areas of psychology  Definition?  Difference between achievement and intelligence?  Achievement: what you know, can do  Intelligence: makes achievement possible  How to measure?  Do racial and ethnic groups have more or less of it?  What accounts for the differences?  Theory rich but data poor (  -this sentence bothers me, it just doesn’t sound right) Intelligence

4.  The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.  Is socially constructed thus… Can be culturally specific. According to this definition, are both Einstein and Ruth intelligent?

5. The Elements of Cognition  Concept  Mental category that groups objects, relations, activities, abstractions, or qualities having common properties.  Basic concepts have a moderate number of instances and are easier to acquire.  A prototype is an especially representative example of a concept.

6. Concepts  A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas or people.  Concepts are similar to Piaget’s idea of…. In order to think about the world, we form…….. Schemas These animals all look different, but they fall under our concept of “dogs”.

7.  Take out a scrap sheet of paper  What pops into your mind when you think of a bird?  Write down the characteristics that make a bird a bird. Prototypes

8.  A mental image or best example of a category. We base our concepts on …. If a new object is similar to our prototype, we are better able to recognize it. If this was my prototype of a bird; then what is this? Or this?

9. The Elements of Cognition  Cognitive Schema  An integrated mental network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations concerning a particular topic or aspect of the world.  Mental Image  A mental representation that mirrors or resembles the thing it represents. Concepts Propositions Cognitive Schemas Mental Images

10.  Subconscious Processes  Mental processes occurring outside of conscious awareness but accessible to consciousness when necessary.  Nonconscious Processes  Mental processes occurring outside of and not available to conscious awareness. How Conscious is Thought?

11.  Implicit learning occurs when you have:  acquired knowledge about something without being aware of how you did so, and  without being able to state exactly what you have learned.  Mindlessness  Mental inflexibility, inertia and obliviousness to the present context. Types of Nonconscious Processes

12.  The drawing of conclusions or inferences from observations, facts, or assumptions. Reasoning

13. In general people think in three ways: convergent, divergent, and metacognitive. Convergent thinking is thought limited to facts. We use convergent thinking to find one solution for a problem or task. Developing rules and following them is one example of convergent thinking. Convergent thinking is not particularly creative. Convergent Three Kinds of Thinking Divergent thinking allows the mind to associate more freely to various elements of a problem. Divergent thinking is at the base of creativity. Divergent thinking typically results in multiple solutions. Divergent

14. Metacognition Metacognition consists of planning, evaluating, and monitoring mental activities. It is thinking about thinking. It has two different aspects: metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive experiences.

16. Algorithms and Logic  Deductive Reasoning  A tool of formal logic in which a conclusion necessarily follows from a set of observations or propositions (premises).

17. Algorithms and Logic Inductive Reasoning A tool of formal logic in which a conclusion probably follows from a set of observations or propositions or premises, but could be false.

18. Algorithms, which are very time consuming, exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a solution. Computers use algorithms. Wade/Tavris, (c) 2006, Prentice Hall Algorithms S P L O Y O C H Y G If we were to unscramble these letters to form a word using an algorithmic approach, we would face 907,208 possibilities.

19.  Heuristic  A rule of thumb that suggests a course of action or guides problem solving but does not guarantee an optimal solution.  Dialectical Reasoning  A process in which opposing facts or ideas are weighed and compared, with a view to determining the best solution or resolving differences. Heuristics and Dialectical Thinking

20.  Skills  The ability to question assumptions.  Evaluate and integrate evidence.  Relate that evidence to a theory or opinion.  Consider alternative interpretations.  Reach defendable conclusions.  Be able to reassess those conclusions in face of new information. Reflective Judgment

21. Wade/Tavris, (c) 2006, Prentice Hall

26. Stages of Reflective Judgment

27.  Availability Heuristic Availability Heuristic  The tendency to judge the probability of an event by how easy it is to think of examples or instances.  For example, in the wake of September 11, most people overestimated their odds of dying in a plane crash even though they continued to take higher risks by driving in their cars. Exaggerating the Improbable

28. Avoiding Loss  People try to minimize risks and losses when making decisions.  Responses to the same choice will differ based on whether outcome is framed as gain or loss.

29.  The tendency to overestimate one’s ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known.  Also known as the “I knew it all along” phenomenon.  Common in political judgments, medical judgments, military decisions. The Hindsight Bias

30.  The tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms one’s own beliefs.  Creation vs. Evolution, Global warming, etc., etc. Wade/Tavris, (c) 2006, Prentice Hall The Confirmation Bias Test this rule: If a card has a vowel on one side, it has an even number on the other side. Which 2 cards to turn over?

31. Match Problem Can you arrange these six matches into four equilateral triangles?

32. Match Problem Fixation  The inability to see a problem from a new perspective.

33.  Mental Sets: a tendency to try to solve new problems by using the same heuristics, strategies, and rules that worked in the past  Can cause us to cling rigidly to the same old assumptions and approaches Wade/Tavris, (c) 2006, Prentice Hall Biases Due to Mental Sets

34. Need for Cognitive Consistency  Cognitive Dissonance:  A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, or  when a person’s belief is inconsistent with his or her behavior.

35. Justification of Effort  The tendency of individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard for or suffered to attain.  A common form of dissonance reduction.  After listening to a boring group discussion, those who went through sever initiation to join, rated it most highly. (Aronson & Mills, 1959)

36.  Intelligence  An inferred characteristic of an individual, usually defined as the ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, act purposefully, or adapt to changes in the environment.  G factor  A general intellectual ability assumed by many theorists to underlie specific mental abilities and talents. Defining Intelligence

37.  The measurement of mental abilities, traits and processes (typically through Standardized tests). Psychometrics

38.  Binet believed we should measure a child’s mental age.  Binet and Simon developed a test which measured memory, vocabulary, and perceptual discrimination.  Mental age was divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100 to get a IQ or intelligent quotient score.  Now IQ scores are derived from norms provided for standardized intelligence tests. The Invention of IQ tests

39. Lewis Terman and his IQ Test  Take out a scrap piece of paper.  A 8 year old has a mental age of 10, what is her IQ?  Answer: 125  A 12 year old has the mental age of 9, what is his IQ?  Answer: 75  A boy has the mental age of 10 and an IQ of 200, how old is he?  Answer: 5  Used Binet’s research to construct the modern day IQ test called the Stanford-Binet Test.

40.  IQ is just a number Repeat after me…

41. The Psychometric Approach  IQ scores are distributed “normally”  Bell-shaped curve  Very high and low scores are rare  68% of people have IQ between 85-115  99.7% between 55-145

43. Wechsler Tests Performance Tasks

47.  Attempts to make IQ tests culture fair and culture free have backfired because different cultures have different problem- solving strategies.  Cultural values and experiences affect a person’s :  Attitude toward exams,  Comfort in the settings required for testing,  Motivation  Rapport with test provider,  Competitiveness, and  Ease of independent problem solving. Can IQ Tests be Culture Free?

48.  Scores are affected by expectations for performance.  These expectations are shaped by cultural stereotypes.  Stereotype threat  A burden of doubt one feels about his or her performance due to negative stereotypes about his or her group’s abilities.  Research has shown effects of stereotype threat on African- Americans, Latinos, low-income people, women, and elderly people. Expectations, Stereotypes and IQ Scores

49. Problems Education, economic background, and motivation can affect the results of intelligence tests. Stereotype threat is another problem associated with intelligence tests. Controversies In the early 1900s, intelligence tests were used to limit the number of immigrants entering the United States and many states sterilized “mentally defective” people. Another controversy focused on cultural bias that charges that some tests give an advantage to a particular group of people. Controversies and Problems

51. An Illustration of Stereotype Threat

52. Modern Tests of Mental Abilities Aptitude  A test designed to predict a person’s future performance.  The ability for that person to learn. Achievement  A test designed to assess what a person has learned.

53.  The test must be pre-tested to a representative sample of people and  Form a normal distribution or bell curve Standardization

54. Thurstone’s Theory of Primary Mental Abilities There are seven “primary mental abilities.” They are: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial visualization, facility with numbers, memory, reasoning, and perceptual speed. Spearman’s Two-factor Theory The g factor, or general intelligence, represents the abilities to reason and to solve problems. Specific, or s, factors account for people’s specific abilities. Theories of Intelligence

55.  Howard Gardner Howard Gardner  Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences  People can be intelligent, learn and think in different ways  Linguistic  Musical  Logical-Mathematical  Spatial  Body-Kinesthetic  Interpersonal  Intrapersonal  Naturalist  Existential Wade/Tavris, (c) 2006, Prentice Hall Can people be intelligent in different ways?

56. Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (1995) Gardner Simplified  Analytical (academic problem solving …analyze, compare, evaluate).  Creative (generating novel ideas)  Practical (required for everyday tasks where multiple solutions exist…applying, using, doing).

58.  Componential - a.k.a. “Analytic”  Comparing, analyzing, and evaluating.  This type of processes correlates best with IQ.  Experiential - a.k.a. “Creative”  Inventing or designing solutions to new problems.  Transfer skills to new situations.  Contextual - a.k.a. “Practical”  Using (i.e., applying) the things you know in everyday contexts. Sternberg's Triarchic Theory

59.  Emotional intelligence  The ability to:  identify your own and other people’s emotions accurately,  express your emotions clearly, and  regulate emotions in yourself and others.  Appears to be biologically based (Damasio, 1994). Domains of Intelligence

60. Emotional Intelligence Influences Success If you are really smart, are you guaranteed to achieve success? Or does it take more than just book smarts to succeed? Despite the emphasis still placed on traditional measures of intelligence, researchers have found that other types of intelligence are just as important to success at school and work. In particular, emotional intelligence turns out to play a significant role in success. Current Research in Psychology The smartest people are not necessarily the most successful. Studies have found that IQ can account for as little as 10 percent of a person’s success at work. One study showed that executives with low emotional intelligence were the most likely to fail. Another study showed that executives with high emotional intelligence were the most likely to succeed. Another study showed that optimism and pessimism can affect success. Some studies show that IQ and emotional intelligence are related.

61.  Comparing the 100 most successful men with 100 least successful, researchers found that motivation, not IQ made the difference.  Motivation to work hard at intellectual tasks differs as a function of culture.  American children are as knowledgeable as Asian children on general skills. Motivation and Intelligence

62. Brain Size and Intelligence Is there a link?  Small +.15 correlation between head size and intelligence scores (relative to body size).  Using an MRI we found +.44 correlation with brain size and IQ score.

65.  Asian parents, teachers, and students are more likely to believe math ability comes from studying.  Americans more likely to view ability as innate.  American parents had lower academic standards for kids.  American children less value for education. >_> Beliefs About Intelligence