UNIT 10 - INTELLIGENCE PPT 12.12.12..ppt

(1)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Three Recent Controversies

• _{Memory War}

– Are traumatic experiences repressed and later recovered with benefit?

• Gender War

– To what extent do nature and nurture shape our behaviors as men and women?

• Intelligence War

– Do we have an inborn general mental capacity, and if so, how do we quantify it into a

meaningful number?

What Is Intelligence?

• _{Experts agree that}

intelligence is a concept and not a thing.

– _{Reification – reasoning error}

that views an abstract, immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing.

• _{Wrong to say “She has an IQ}

of 120”

• _{Right to say “She once}

(2)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

What Is Intelligence?

• _{Intelligence – mental quality}

consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

– It is a socially constructed concept: cultures deem

intelligence whatever enables success in those cultures.

– _{Historically it has meant “school}

smarts”

General or Specific Abilities?

• _{General Intelligence (g) – a}

general intelligence factor that , according to Charles Spearman (1863-1945) and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an

(3)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Factor Analysis – a}

statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify

different dimensions of

performance that underlie a person’s total score.

– _{Spearman helped develop}

• _{Factor Analysis (cont’d)}

– _{Spearman noted that those}

who score high in one area such as verbal intelligence, typically score higher than average in other areas, such as spatial or reasoning ability.

– Said a common skill set ( the “g” factor) underlies all

(4)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{L.L. Thurstone (1887-1955)}

– tested people using 55

different tests, and came up with 7 clusters of primary mental abilities: (listed)

• _{Conclusion – those who}

excelled in one of these areas generally excelled in other areas (evidence of a g

factor)

• _{1)word fluency}

• _{2) verbal comprehension} • _{3)spatial ability}

(5)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Like an athlete who may have}

a skill set to perform well at many athletic tasks, so too might we have a mental skill set to perform well at many mental tasks.

• _{Kanazawa – asserts that g}

scores do correlate with

academic situations, but not with evolutionary situations (page 406)

Theories of Multiple Intelligences

• _{Howard Gardner}_(1983,

2006) – views intelligence as multiple abilities that come in packages.

• _{Savant syndrome – a}

(6)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{4 in 5 savants are males} • _{Many savants also have}

autism, a developmental disorder

– Kim Peek – memory whiz who inspired movie Rain Man

• _{Has memorized over 9000}

books and can give detailed driving directions within any U.S. city

• Cannot button own clothes

• _{Savant example:}_Stephen

Wiltshire takes 30 minute helicopter ride and a visit to top of skyscraper, he

accurately drew the Tokyo skyline in 7 days.

• _{Gardner: we do not have}

an intelligence, but rather

(7)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Gardner’s Eight Intelligences

• _Linguistic

• _{Logical-Mathematical} • _Musical

• _Spatial

• _{Bodily-Kinesthetic} • _{Intrapersonal (self)} • _{Interpersonal (others)} • _Naturalist

Intelligence

• _{“g matters” – intelligence}

scores that predicted graduate school success also predicted later job success.

• _{Recipe for success}

combines talent with grit: highly successful people are conscientious,

(8)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

10-Year Rule

• _{Anders Ericsson reports a}

10-year rule: for expert performance in chess,

dancing, sports, computer programming, music, and medicine (virtually all

categories), it takes 10 years of intense, daily practice.

Sternberg’s 3 Intelligences

• _{Robert Sternberg (1985,}

1999, 2003) agrees with Gardner that there is more than traditional general intelligence, but he

(9)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Sternberg’s 3 Intelligences

• _{Analytical (academic}

problem-solving) Intelligence

– _{Well-defined problems having}

a single right answer

• _{Creative Intelligence}

– _{Reacting adaptively to novel}

situations and generating novel ideas

• _{Practical Intelligence}

– _{Required for everyday tasks}

Sternberg and Wagner

• _{Have “recently” developed}

new tests of creativity and practical thinking

– _{Prove to be a more accurate}

(10)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Bill Gates Quote:

• _{“You have to be careful, if you’re}

good at something, to make sure you don’t think you’re good at other things that you aren’t

necessarily so good at…Because I’ve been very successful at

(software development) people come in and expect that I have wisdom about topics that I don’t.”

– _{Bill Gates (1998)}

Intelligence Theories Review

• _{Check out Table 10.2 on page 410}

of text.

• _Spearman

– _{General intelligence}

• _Thurstone

– Primary mental abilities

• _Gardner

– 8 multiple intelligences

• _Sternberg

(11)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence & Creativity

• _{Creativity – the ability to}

produce novel and valuable ideas

– _{A certain level of aptitude}

(score of 120 on a standard intelligence test) is necessary but not sufficient for

creativity.

– _{Exceptionally creative people}

usually score no higher than peers on intelligence tests.

• _{Convergent thinking}

– Intelligence tests that require a single correct answer

• _{Divergent thinking}

– _{Creativity tests like “How many}

uses can you think of for a brick?” • _{Injuries to…}

– _{Left Parietal Lobe – damages}

convergent thinking

(12)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• Sternberg’s 5 Components to Creativity:

– Expertise

• A well-developed knowledge base

– _{Imaginative thinking skills}

• Ability to see things in novel ways, to recognize patterns, to make connections

– _{A venturesome personality}

• Seeks new experiences, tolerates ambiguity and risk, perseveres in overcoming obstacles

– _{Intrinsic motivation} • _{Being driven more by}

interest, satisfaction, and challenge than by external pressures

– _{A creative environment}

• _{Sparks, supports, and refines}

(13)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Emotional Intelligence

• _{Social Intelligence – the}

know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully.

• _{Emotional Intelligence – the}

ability to perceive,

understand, manage, and use emotions.

• Perceive

– _{Recognize in faces, music, stories} • _Understand

– _{Predict them and how they}

change and blend

• _Manage

– _{Know how to express them in}

varied situations

• _Use

– _{Enable adaptive or creative}

(14)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Those scoring high in}

emotional intelligence:

– _{Enjoy higher-quality}

interactions with friends

– Exhibit modestly better job performance

– Can delay gratification in

pursuit of long-range rewards

– _{Are emotionally in tune with}

others

Brain Size and Complexity

• _{There is a +.33 correlation}

between brain size and intelligence scores

– _{Does not always prove true}

• _{Einstein’s brain was 15%}

larger in the parietal lobe’s lower region – which is a center for processing

(15)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{“Experience alters the}

brain”

– _{Rats raised in stimulating}

environments developed thicker, heavier cortexes.

– Intelligence is due to the development of neural connections

– Highly educated people die with more synapses than less-educated people

– _{Highly intelligent people}

differ in their neural plasticity

• Cortex stays thin longer, allowing more plasticity until the age of 11 to 13

• Average intelligence kids’ cortex reaches peak

(16)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Brain Size & Complexity

• _{Gray Matter = neural cell}

bodies

• _{White Matter = axons and}

dendrites

• _{Higher intelligence scores}

were linked with more gray matter in brain areas

responsible for memory, attention, and language.

Brain Function

• _{As people contemplate}

questions on intelligence test, a frontal lobe area just above the outer edge of the eyebrows becomes

especially active:

– _{In the left brain for verbal}

questions

(17)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Brain Function

• _{This location in the frontal}

lobe may be a “global workspace for organizing and coordinating

information”

• _{Quick-wittedness}

– _{Speed of perception}

– Speed of neural processing of information

Brain Function

• _{Perceptual Speed}

– _{Example: a stimulus is briefly}

flashed, then masked. Those who perceive very quickly tend to score somewhat higher on intelligence tests

• _{Neurological Speed}

(18)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Brain Function

• _{Why do fast reactions on}

simple tasks predict intelligence?

– _{May reflect core information}

processing ability

– Faster cognitive processing may allow more information to be acquired

Assessing Intelligence

• _{Francis Galton (1822-1911)}

– cousin of Charles Darwin; did an assessment of

“intellectual strengths” at the 1884 London Exposition

– _{Tried to measure reaction}

time, sensory acuity, muscular power, body proportions

– _{An attempt at a simple}

(19)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Early 20}th_{century, France}

passed law requiring all children attend school.

– _{Alfred Binet (1857-1911) was}

hired to study how to objectively identify

individuals with special needs

• _{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

(20)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Binet’s intelligence test had}

a single practical purpose: to identify French

schoolchildren needing

special attention; he feared his test would be used to label children and limit their opportunities.

• _{Lewis Terman (1877-1956) –}

a professor at Stanford

University, he modified

Binet’s test of French children to fit California school children; it came to be called the

(21)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{William Stern – German}

psychologist who developed the famous intelligence

quotient (IQ):

• _{IQ = mental age /}

chronological age x 100

• _{An average child whose}

mental and chronological ages are the same has an IQ of 100.

• _{IQ formula works well for}

(22)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Today intelligence tests no}

longer compute IQ, but compare the test taker’s performance relative to the average performance of

others the same age.

• _{2/3 of all test-takers fall}

between 85 and 115, with an average still being 100

• _{U.S. government used}

Terman’s test to screen incoming immigrants and WWI army recruits, the first mass administration of test

• _{As a result, 1924 immigration}

law reduced quotas for Southern and Eastern

Europeans to less than 1/5 that for Northern and

(23)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Intelligence tests not only}

predicted innate mental abilities, but also education and familiarity with the

culture assumed by the

test. (The tests were biased)

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities

• _{Achievement tests – a test}

designed to assess what a person has learned.

• _{Aptitude tests – a test}

designed to predict a person’s future

performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

– _{Most tests measure both}

(24)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities

• _{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) – a version for school-age children

Principles of Test Construction

• _{To be widely accepted,}

psychological tests must be:

– Standardized

– _Reliable – Valid

• _{Standardization – defining}

meaningful scores by comparison with the

(25)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Normal Curve – the}

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.

• _{To keep the average scores}

near 100, both the Stanford-Binet and Wechsler scales are

periodically restandardized.

• _{Flynn Effect – the general}

effect that overall

(26)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Reliability

• _{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

– _{When retested, people’s}

scores generally match their first score closely on both the WISC and WAIS, therefore they are reliable

Validity

• _{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

(27)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Validity

• _{The predictive power of}

aptitude scores diminishes as students move up the educational ladder.

– _{If a university takes only those}

applicants with very high aptitude scores, those scores cannot possibly predict much.

– _{When used with a restricted}

range of people, the test loses predictive validity.

Dynamics of Intelligence

• _{Stability or Change}

throughout life?

– _{Prior to age 3, characteristics}

of infants only modestly predict children’s future aptitudes

– _{By age 4, children’s}

performance on intelligence tests begins to predict their adolescent and adult scores

– _{High scoring adolescents tend}

(28)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Intelligence tests given to}

5-year olds do predict school achievement

• _{By age 7, intelligence test}

scores stabilize, and consistency of scores increases with age

• _{Consistency of scores by}

late adolescence on GRE and SAT tests are high

• _{Scotland tested all 10 ½ to}

11 ½ -year olds in 1932

• _{Scotland then tested 542}

survivors of that group near the year 2000, as 80-year olds

• _{Their findings were}

(29)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Scottish study continued:}

• _{High-scoring 11-year olds:}

– _{More likely to be living}

independently as 70-year olds

– _{Less likely to have suffered}

late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

• _{High/Low scores at 11-years:}

– Of girls scoring in top 25%, 70% were still living

– _{Of girls scoring in bottom 25%,}

only 45% were still living

• _{A study of Nuns showed}

(30)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Extremes of Intelligence

• _{Low Extreme}

• _{Mental Retardation –}

(intellectual disability) a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an

intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty

adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to

profound

Extremes of Intelligence

• _{Effects 1% of population} • _{Males outnumber females}

by 50%

• _{Down syndrome – a}

condition of retardation and associated physical

disorders caused by an

(31)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Treatment of Individuals:}

– _{Until mid-19}th_{century, cared} for at home (agricultural)

– During early-mid 20th_century, residential schools became warehouses for the low extreme, giving residents little attention, no privacy, and no hope

• Parents advised to separate from their children prior to developing an attachment

– _{Late 20}th_{century, encouraged} to live as normal as possible within mainstream society

• _{Group homes helped}

provide a protective living arrangement

– With restandardization of tests due to Flynn effect, those who border a score of 70 may qualify or not

(32)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Those qualifying as being}

mentally retarded:

– _{Become eligible for special}

education

– Receive Social Security payments for those with a mental disability

• _{Degrees of Mental}

Retardation (and IQ scores):

– _{Mild (50-70)}

– Moderate (35-50)

– _{Severe (20-35)}

– Profound (Below 20)

(33)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{In 2002 the U.S. Supreme}

Court ruled that the

execution of people with mental retardation is “cruel and unusual punishment”

– U.S. is one of only a few

countries still having a “death penalty”

• _{High Extreme:} • _{“Children with}

extraordinary academic gifts are sometimes more isolated, introverted, and in their own worlds, but most thrive.”

• _{Most are healthy,}

(34)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{“Gifted Child” programs}

– _{Tracking aptitude sometimes}

creates a self-fulfilling prophecy

– May serve to widen the achievement gap between ability groups, and increase social isolation between them

– Minority and low-income youth are more often placed in lower academic groups

• _{Children have different}

gifts:

– _{Math, verbal, art, social}

leadership, etc.

• _{By providing appropriate}

developmental placement suited to each child’s

(35)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Genetic & Environmental Influences on Intelligence

• _{People who share the same}

genes (family members) also share comparable mental abilities

• _{Intelligence test scores of}

identical twins appear as though same individual was tested twice

• _{Identical twins have very}

similar gray matter (neural cell body) volume,

especially in areas linked to verbal and spatial

intelligence

• _{Intelligence is}

(36)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Adopted children}

– _{Mental similarities between}

adopted children and their adoptive parents wane with age, until correlation hits zero

– Adopted children’s scores over time become more like those of their biological

parents

• _{The most}

genetically similar

people have the

most similar

(37)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Heritability

• _{Heritability: the proportion}

of variation among

individuals that we can attribute to genes (Unit 4)

– Never pertains to an individual – only to why people differ from one another

– _{For intelligence it is about}

50%

Heritability

• _{“In a world of clones,}

heritability would be zero.”

• _{“Heritability of boys raised}

(38)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Heritability

• _{Environment enhances}

performance:

– _{If you have a natural aptitude}

for academics, you will be more likely to stay in school, read books, and ask questions – all of which will amplify

your cognitive brain power.

Environmental Influences

• _{Severe deprivation does}

leave footprints on the brain

– _{Romanian and Iranian}

orphanages observe children who cannot sit up unassisted at age 2 or walk at age 4

– _{Extreme deprivation was}

(39)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

– _{Language-fostering games}

significantly helped orphans

– Among the poor,

environmental conditions can override genetic differences, depressing cognitive

development

• _{Less-qualified teachers} • _Malnutrition

• _{Sensory Deprivation} • _{Social Isolation}

• _{Can parents “fast-forward”}

a normal infant into genius?

– _{All babies should have normal}

exposure to sights, sounds, and speech

– Evidence shows there is little to be gained by extreme

efforts to enhance early intelligence

(40)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Schooling and Intelligence

• _{Schooling and intelligence}

both enhance later income

• _{Project Head Start (1965)}

– _{U.S. Government-funded}

preschool program

– Mostly for families below poverty level

• _{Quality programs help:}

– _{Offer individual attention} – Increase children’s school

readiness

– _{Decreases likelihood of}

repeating a grade

(41)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{What we accomplish also}

depends on our beliefs and motivation:

– _{Those with a “growth}

mindset” see intelligence as something that can be

modified, and are usually more successful

– _{Those with a “fixed mindset”}

tend to be less successful

Group Differences in Intelligence Scores

• _{Our gender similarities far}

outnumber our gender differences

– _{In terms of intelligence, the}

(42)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Gender Comparisons

• _{Females are somewhat}

better than males at:

– _Spelling

– Verbal fluency and remembering words

– _{Remembering and locating}

objects

– Sensations of touch, taste, and odor

– Emotion detecting

• _{Males and females are}

nearly the same at:

– _{Math and spatial aptitudes} • _{males are slightly better at}

math problem solving

• females are slightly better at math computation

• _{In western cultures, more}

(43)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Males are more likely than}

females to overestimate their own test scores

• _{Both males and females}

rate scores of their:

– Father higher than mother

– Brother higher than sister

– _{Son higher than daughter}

• _{Gender score differences are}

sharpest at the extremes

– _{Among 12- to 14-year olds}

scoring extremely high on SAT math, boys outnumber girls 13:1

– _{Boys have an edge in AP}

physics and computer science exams

– _{99% of chess grandmasters are}

(44)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Steven Pinker (2005) sees}

both biological and social influences

– _{Life priorities} – Risk-taking

– Math reasoning

– _{Spatial abilities}

• _{Elizabeth Spelke (2005)}

cautions that male/female comparisons are

oversimplified

– In gender-equal cultures of Iceland and Sweden, there is little gender gap in math

– _{Males are usually not tested}

(45)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Greater Male Variability}

– _{Males mental ability scores}

vary more than females

– Boys outnumber girls at both the low and high extremes

– _{More boys than girls are}

found in special education programs

– Boys talk later

– Boys stutter more

Ethnic Similarities/Differences

• _{Racial groups differ in their}

average intelligence scores

• _{High-scoring people (and}

groups) are more likely to attain high levels of

(46)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Bell curve of intelligence}

scores is centered for:

– _{Whites (IQ 100)}

– American Blacks (IQ 85)

– _{Hispanics (IQ roughly 93)}

*There are many exceptions to these numbers. They only represent a generalization of statistics.

• _{Ethnic differences are}

evident in many other groups around the world, not simply in the U.S.

• _{Individual differences within}

a race are much greater

(47)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Asian students outperform}

North American students on math achievement and

aptitude tests

– Asian students also spend 30% more days per year attending school, and more time out of school studying math

• White and Black:

– _{Infants have scored equally well}

on an infant intelligence measure

– _{Exhibit similar}

information-processing skill

• _{Various ethnic groups have}

experienced “golden ages”:

– _{Greeks, Egyptians, Romans,}

Arabs, Aztecs, Asians, etc.

– _{Difficult to attribute natural}

(48)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Black and Whites:}

– _{High school environments}

differ greatly in quality, and therefore the gap grows wider here

– College environments of comparable quality see the gap narrow greatly

The Question of Bias

• _{Two meanings of bias:}

– _{A test that measures}

performance differences caused by cultural

experiences and education

– A test that predicts future behavior only for some groups of test-takers (Ex. males or females )

(49)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

The Question of Bias

• _{Near consensus among}

psychologists is that major U.S. aptitude tests (ACT, SAT) are NOT biased.

Test-Taker’s Expectations

• _{Stereotype Threat – a}

self-confirming concern that

one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype

– Blacks scored higher when tested by Blacks rather than Whites

– _{Women have scored higher}

when no male test-takers were in the group

(50)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

– _{Women’s chess play drops}

sharply when they think they are playing a male rather than a female

– Telling students they

probably won’t succeed at something serves to erode test and school performance

– Exercise in self-affirmation can serve to boost test and school performance

• _{Are aptitude tests biased:}

– _{Yes – in terms of sensitivity to}

performance differences caused by cultural

experiences

– No – in the scientific sense of making valid statistical

predictions for different

(51)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

• _{Are aptitude tests}

discriminatory?

– _{Yes – their purpose IS to}

discriminate – to distinguish among individuals

– No – they serve to reduce discrimination based on simply hiring the “right kind of person” or “who you

know”

Keep in Mind

• 1) Aptitude tests help

determine who might profit from intervention

• _{2) Remain alert to not}

misinterpret a test score as a literal meaning of personal worth or potential

• _{3) The competence that general} intelligence tests sample is

(52)

UNIT 10: INTELLIGENCE

Keep in Mind

• _{4) Intelligence tests don’t}

account for abilities, talent, commitment, creativity, or character – all of which are important in determining who we are as individuals!