1. EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY EIGHTH EDITION IN MODULES David Myers PowerPoint Slides Aneeq Ahmad Henderson State University Worth Publishers, © 2011

2. 2 Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

3. Intelligence Module 24 3

4. 4 What is Intelligence?  Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?  Intelligence and Creativity  Emotional Intelligence Assessing Intelligence  The Origins of Intelligence Testing  Principles of Test Construction  CLOSE-UP: Extremes of Intelligence

5. Genetic and Environmental Influence on Intelligence  Genetic Influences  Environmental Influences  Heritability Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores  Gender Similarities and Differences  Ethnic Similarities and Differences  The Question of Bias 5

6. 6 Intelligence Do we have an inborn general mental capacity (intelligence)? If so, can we quantify this capacity as a meaningful number?

7. 7 What is Intelligence? Intelligence is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use our knowledge to adapt to new situations. In research studies, intelligence is whatever the intelligence test measures. This tends to be “school smarts.”

8. 8 Intelligence: Ability or Abilities? Have you ever thought that since people’s mental abilities are so diverse, it may not be justifiable to label those abilities with only one word, intelligence? Charles Spearman believed that we have one general intelligence (g).

9. 9 General Intelligence Spearman did grant that people often have abilities that stand out. He helped to develop factor analysis - a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items. He noted that those who score high in one area, often score above average in other areas as well, leading him to believe that the g factor underlies intelligent behavior.

10. 10 Theories of Multiple Intelligence Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports the idea that intelligence comes in multiple forms. Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability but not others. Such as those with savant syndrome, who often score low on intelligence tests but have an island of brilliance.

11. 11 Theories of Multiple Intelligence Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences and speculates about a ninth one — existential intelligence. Existential intelligence is the ability to think about the question of life, death and existence.

12. 12 Theories of Multiple Intelligence Even so, general intelligence does matter. G predicts performance on various complex tasks, in various jobs, in various contries. Intelligence alone does not bring success, though. In addition to being talented, successful people are also conscientious, well-connected, and energetic.

13. 13 Theories of Multiple Intelligence Robert Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003) agrees with Gardner, but suggests three intelligences rather than eight. 1.Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessed by intelligence tests. 2.Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us adapt to novel situations, generating novel ideas. 3.Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required for everyday tasks (e.g. street smarts).

14. 14 Intelligence and Creativity Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. It correlates somewhat with intelligence. 1.Expertise: A well-developed knowledge base. 2.Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things in novel ways. 3.A Venturesome Personality: A personality that seeks new experiences rather than following the pack. 4.Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be creative from within. 5.A Creative Environment: A creative and supportive environment allows creativity to bloom.

15. 15 Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions (Salovey and others, 2005). The test of emotional intelligence measures overall emotional intelligence and its four components.

16. 16 Emotional Intelligence: Components ComponentDescription Perceive emotion Recognize emotions in faces, music and stories Understand emotion Predict emotions, how they change and blend Manage emotion Express emotions in different situations Use emotion Utilize emotions to adapt or be creative

17. 17 Assessing Intelligence Psychologists define intelligence testing as a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with others using numerical scores.

18. 18 The Origins of Intelligence Testing Alfred Binet and his colleague Théodore Simon had the goal of measuring mental age, the level of performance generally associated with a certain chronological age. To do this they tested children on a variety of reasoning and problem- solving questions.

19. 19 In the US, Lewis Terman, a Stanford University professor, adapted Binet’s test for American school children and named it the Stanford-Binet Test. From this test, the German psychologist William Stern derived the Intelligence Quotient (IQ): The Origins of Intelligence Testing This formula worked well for children, but not for adults. Today most intelligence tests do not compute an IQ, but rather represent performance relative to the average.

20. 20 The Origins of Intelligence Testing David Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and later the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), an intelligence test for school-aged children.

21. 21 The Origins of Intelligence Testing WAIS measures overall intelligence and 11 other aspects related to intelligence that are designed to assess clinical and educational problems.

22. 22 Principles of Test Construction For a psychological test to be acceptable it must fulfill the following three criteria: 1.Standardization 2.Reliability 3.Validity

23. 23 Standardization Standardization is defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group. Standardized tests establish a normal distribution of scores in a bell-shaped pattern called the normal curve.

24. 24 Reliability A test is reliable when it yields consistent results. To establish reliability researchers establish different procedures: Split-half Reliability: Dividing the test into two equal halves and assessing how consistent the scores are. Test-Retest Reliability: Using the same test on two occasions to measure consistency.

25. 25 Validity Reliability of a test does not ensure validity- the extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure. Some tests only need content validity, meaning it tests the pertinent behavior. Intelligence tests should have predictive validity meaning they test the criterion of future performance.

26. 26 Extremes of Intelligence A valid intelligence test divides two groups of people into two extremes: Those who have an intellectual disability (IQ 70) and those with high intelligence (IQ 135). These two groups are significantly different. Contrary to popular belief, people with high intelligence test scores tend to be healthy, well adjusted, and unusually successful academically.

27. 27 Extremes of Intelligence To be labeled as having an intellectual disability, a child must have both a low test score and a difficulty with the demands of independent living. Intellectual disabilities sometimes have a known physical cause, as in Down syndrome, a disorder of varying severity caused by an extra chromosome 21 in the person’s genetic makeup.

28. 28 Extremes of Intelligence: Intellectual Disability Individuals with an intellectual disability (formerly referred to as mental retardation) required constant supervision a few decades ago, but with a supportive family environment and special education they can now care for themselves.

29. 29 Extremes of Intelligence: The Flynn Effect In the past 60 years, intelligence scores have risen steadily by an average of 27 points. This phenomenon is known as the Flynn effect. Because of this, test are periodically restandardized and those who tested at 80 years ago, would now score a 76. More adults are becoming eligible for special education and Social Security payments for intellectual disability.

30. 30 Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence No other topic in psychology is so passionately followed as the one that asks the question, “Is intelligence due to genetics or environment?”

31. 31 Genetic Influences Studies of twins, family members, and adopted children together support the idea that there is a significant genetic contribution to intelligence.

32. 32 Environmental Influences Studies of twins and adopted children show that: Fraternal twins raised together tend to show similarity in intelligence scores. Identical twins raised apart show slightly less similarity in their intelligence scores.

33. 33 Adoption Studies Adopted children show a marginal correlation in verbal ability to their adopted parents.

34. 34 Early Environmental Influences Early neglect from caregivers leads children to develop a lack of personal control over the environment, and it impoverishes their intelligence. Romanian orphans with minimal human interaction are delayed in their development.

35. 35 Schooling and Intelligence Schooling is an experience that pays dividends, which is reflected in intelligence scores. Increased schooling correlates with higher intelligence scores. To increase readiness for schoolwork, projects like Head Start facilitate leaning.

36. 36 Heritability Heretibility is the variation in intelligence test scores attributable to genetics. We credit heredity with 50% of the variation in intelligence. It pertains only to why people differ from one another, not to the individual.

37. 37 Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores Why do groups differ in intelligence? How can we make sense of these differences?

38. 38 Gender Similarities and Differences There are seven ways in which males and females differ in various abilities. 1. Girls are better spellers 2. Girls are verbally fluent and have large vocabularies 3. Girls are better at locating objects 4. Girls are more sensitive to touch, taste, and color 5. Boys outnumber girls in counts of underachievement 6. Boys outperform girls at math problem solving, but under perform at math computation 7. Women detect emotions more easily than men do

39. Gender and Variability Intelligence research consistently reports a tendency for males’ mental ability scores to vary more than females’. 39

40. 40 Ethnic Similarities and Differences 1.Racial groups differ in their average intelligence scores. 2.High-scoring people (and groups) are more likely to attain high levels of education and income. To discuss this issue we begin with two disturbing but agreed upon facts:

41. 41 Racial (Group) Differences If we look at racial differences, white Americans score higher in average intelligence than black Americans (Avery and others, 1994). European New Zealanders score higher than native New Zealanders (Braden, 1994). White-Americans Black-Americans Average IQ = 100 Average IQ = 85 Hispanic Americans

42. 42 Environmental Effects Differences in intelligence among these groups are largely environmental, as if one environment is more fertile in developing these abilities than the other.

43. 43 Reasons Why Environment Affects Intelligence 1.Races are remarkably alike genetically. 2.Race is not a neatly defined biological category. 3.The intelligence test performance of today’s better - fed, better-educated, and more test-prepared population exceeds that of the 1930s population, by the same margin that the intelligence test score of the average White today exceeds that of the average Black. 4.White and black infants tend to score equally well on tests predicting future intelligence. 5.When Blacks and Whites have or receive the same pertinent knowledge, they exhibit similar information- processing skill. 6.Different ethnic groups have experienced periods of remarkable achievement in different eras.

44. 44 The Question of Bias Aptitude tests are necessarily biased in the sense that they are sensitive to performance differences caused by cultural differences. However, aptitude tests are not biased in the sense that they accurately predict performance of one group over the other.

45. 45 Test-Takers’ Expectations A stereotype threat is a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. This phenomenon appears in some instances in intelligence testing among African-Americans and among women of all colors.