PSY 2012 General Psychology
Chapter 8: Thinking and Intelligence
Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
The Department of Psychology
The University of West Florida
Intelligence: Early work
• Galton
• Saw intelligence as genetically based;
• Viewed intelligence as a single construct that
encompassed all mental processes (memory,
perception, language production, etc.,)
• Suggested that culture would be greatly improved
if “…talented men were mated with talented
women…generation after generation we might
produce a highly bred human race, with no more
tendency to revert to our meaner ancestral types
than is shown by our long established breeds of
race horses and fox hounds.”
From: Galton (1865). Hereditary Talent and
Character, Macmillan's Magazine, 12, 157-166,
318-327.
Intelligence: Early work
• Binet
• Saw intelligence as driven by experience
• Viewed intelligence as being made up of discrete constructs;
he suggested that memory, perception, and other mental
constructs were relatively independent and could be
impacted by experience
• Constructed a test to assess intelligence
• Developed the early version of our own intelligence quotient
(“IQ”)
– The difference between Mental Age and Chronological age
• Both perceived intelligence as a “general intellectual
ability— the “g factor” (Spearman, 1927) reflects this
point of view
Intelligence: Contemporary Views
• Psychometric view is reflected in traditional IQ
tests
– Stanford-Binet IQ test:
• Yields an Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
IQ = (Mental Age/Chronological Age) X 100
• Includes verbal and performance (non-verbal) subtests
• Individually administered
– Wechsler Intelligence tests:
• Yields and Intelligence Quotient (same formula)
• Includes verbal, quantitative, and performance subtests
• Individually administered
Intelligence: Contemporary Views
• Crystallized Intelligence:
– One’s knowledge base (e.g. schema, scripts)
and the ability to access that knowledge
• Fluid Intelligence
– Mental processes (identify relationships; solve
problems, etc.,)
• Cattell (1963) suggests both are
necessary
Intelligence: Contemporary Views
• Problems with traditional measures:
– Cultural biases (Sternberg, 2004)
• Intelligence as defined by success within one’s
cultural milieu using resources, making decisions,
solving problems, with cultural tools at hand
• Alternative to traditional IQ tests:
– Dynamic testing:
» Initial assessment provides a baseline of
performance
» Intervention is provide in which skills and knowledge
are taught
» Second testing indicates what the individual has
learned;
» Gains are considered more accurate indication of
intellectual power.
Intelligence: Contemporary Views
• Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory:
– Contextual Intelligence (Practical Intelligence):
• “Street smarts”
• Adaptation to one’s environment
– Componential Intelligence (Analytical Intelligence):
• Executive Control
• Basic mental processes
• Elements of Componential Intelligence measured by
traditional IQ tests
– Experiential Intelligence (Creative Intelligence)
• Performance varies based on the novelty of a task
• One’s experiences within a culture lead to differential
performance
• Reflects the ability to cope flexibly and creatively with
problems
Intelligence: Contemporary Views
• Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences:
– The traditional models of intelligence lend little information on
many important areas of knowledge and performance that relate
to success in life
– Gardner suggested multiple areas of intelligence:
• Domains range from linguistic and logical-mathematical to
emotional intelligence (see pg. 332, Zimbardo, et al. for complete
list)
• Some domains can be linked to specific brain functions
• Assessment is based on a broad spectrum from paper and pencil
tests to observations in so-called real life situations.
Intelligence: Contemporary Views
• Intelligence, Race, Class, & Culture
– Galton, Jenson & Heritability of IQ & Racial
Differences:
• Initial claims that IQ is largely a product of genetics with
environmental factors minimized has been refuted with the
Scarr & Weinberg study (initial differences were minimized as
children reached adolescence)
– Social/Economic Class:
• Differences IQ attained by members of different socioeconomic classes most likely attributed to multiple factors:
– Health care
– Nutrition
– Access to equal educational opportunities (in and out of school)
– At the core is the definition of intelligence
• Differences are most obvious with traditional views and less
obvious with more contemporary views (e.g. Sternberg,
Gardner)