Intelligence Review
What is intelligence? Let me guess: you know what it is but can’t
define it. Many have tried to define it and measure it with
miserable success. Intelligence is the ability to learn from
experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to
new situations.
The most famous attempt to define intelligence is the StanfordBinet Intelligence Quotient test. Alfred Binet (French guy)
devised a test to test if a child knows what they should at a
certain age. He designed the test to help children get the help
they need, not label them. This test, combined with efforts from
Stanford University, became the IQ test. The IQ test measures the percentage of
one’s mental age of one’s actual age. If you have a mental age of 12 but you
are only 8 years old then you have an IQ of 150. 12/8 *100 = 150. A score of 100
is average intelligence. The Stanford–Binet test is not designed for adults and
was never intended to measure general adult intelligence. Today, the Wechsler
Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is the more respected intelligence test
today for ages 6-16.
Before we talk about the different types of intelligence, is there
a general, all encompassing “intelligence”? We’ll a British
psychologist named Spearman thought we had a general
overall intelligence called g factor. G is for general intelligence.
He used factor analysis, a statistical technique for establishing a
correlation between many, many variables. Basically, he found
that people who scored well on one intelligence test did well
on other intelligence tests, thus they had high general
intelligence.
However, a guy named Gardner came along and said there is no g factor; we
have multiple intelligences. His theory of multiple intelligences says we have 8
different intelligences that are valued in all cultures. Visual-spatial intelligence
enables you to parallel park or play 3D video games. Verbal-linguistic
intelligence is your ability to use words like “cognitive” or “explicate” with ease.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence helps you to play sports or build a wooden deck.
Logical-mathematical intelligence will help you pass your math tests or law
school admissions exams. Interpersonal intelligence is your ability to read other
people and effectively interact with them, including reading faces or knowing
when to shut your mouth. Intrapersonal intelligence is your ability to know
yourself. What would you do in certain situations? What do you want in life?
Musical intelligence is your ability to recognize or replicate a song. Naturalistic
intelligence refers to your ability to understand nature
like weather or predict the behavior of an animal.
Howard Gardner came up with his idea when
studying savants, people who are extremely talented
in one area but dysfunctional in almost every aspect
of their lives. You might remember Steven Wiltshire
who can draw an entire cityscape from memory, but his autism screws him up in
every other way.
Robert Sternberg came along recently and tried to simplify Gardner. His triarchic
theory of intelligence says we only have 3 types: practical,
analytical and creative. Robert Sternberg must have a
fetish for triangles because he is also famous for his triangular
theory of love (in social psychology chapter).
So, if you buy that we have many different types of
intelligence, then what good is the IQ test? Well, since it measures only
mathematical and logical intelligence of children then it’s not much good to us.
Some say the EQ is more important, that is emotional intelligence. Daniel
Goleman published his best seller Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more
than IQ in 1995.
Are intelligence tests reliable and/or valid? A reliable test or experiment is one
that can be replicated with the same results over and over again. The 8th grade
TAKS is reliable because if I give a similar test to the same group again, the results
will be about the same. If you take an IQ test and you get the same IQ again,
then that test is reliable. However, is the test valid? Validity is when the test
measures what it is supposed to measure. Does the 8th grade math TAKS
measure 8th grade math or 10th grade reading ability? If the latter, then the 8th
grade math TAKS is invalid. If the Stanford-Benet measures only linguistic or
mathematical intelligence then its attempt to measure general intelligence is
invalid because it certainly doesn’t measure musical intelligence or emotional
intelligence.
What are standardized tests? If a
test is standardized, it has to be
given to a random sample of the
population (like students) and the
results have to form a standard
bell curve. A standard bell curve
is when 95% of test takers fall
within 2 standard deviations of the
mean, while 68% fall within one
standard deviation of the mean.
What is the Flynn effect? The Flynn effect of testing is the tendency for test scores
to rise over the years. IQ scores are up and so are TAKS. It’s a mystery why, but
many suspect that flaws in the test in earlier version have been eliminated.
Others suspect that IQs are up because of improved education and nutrition.
Does our intelligence grow? Maybe, but studies show that our
fluid intelligence, that is, our ability to learn new things, declines
as we age. However, our crystallized intelligence grows.
Crystallized intelligence is our ability to relate new information to
past experience. So old people know what they are talking
about when they say politics as usual. However, they still won’t
text us what they think.