UNIT 11
Intelligence
Test: Tuesday March 10th
Unit Overview
1. What is Intelligence?
2. Assessing Intelligence
3. The Dynamics of Intelligence
4. Genetic & Environmental Influences on
Intelligence
Click on the any of the above hyperlinks to go to that section in the presentation.
Intelligence is socially constructed…
intelligence is defined according to the attributes that
enable success in a particular culture
Intelligence tests are used to assess individuals‘ mental
aptitudes and compare them with those of others.
When we refer to someone's IQ as if it were a fixed and
objectively real trait such as height, we commit a
reasoning error called…
reification
What is Intelligence?
Intelligence


mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from
experience, solve problems, & use knowledge to adapt to
new situations.
Would Savant
Savant syndrome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAfaM
_CBvP8
Stephen Wiltshire
Intelligence

Syndrome be more
supportive of
Sperman’s or
Gardner’s view of
intelligence? Why?
Kim
Peak
Brain
Scan
http://www.y
outube.com/
watch?v=Auu
fbu_ZdDI
test
Measure mental aptitude; compare to others; numerical
value
Is Intelligence One General Ability or
Several Specific Abilities?
Spearman
General
intelligence (g)
Factor analysis - how is this used in intelligence testing?

Supporters of g
support numerical
IQ score
To answer the question: Is intelligence a single trait or a collection of distinct
abilities?
a general intelligence that underlies successful
performance on a wide variety of tasks.
Thurstone’s

counter argument
g
identified seven clusters of primary mental abilities, including
word fluency, memory, and inductive reasoning.
Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?
Theories of Multiple Intelligences
Gardner’s Eight Intelligences
 Linguistic
Criticism of
 Logical-mathematical
Gardner’s
 Musical
Theory?
 Spatial
criticized for
 Bodily-kinesthetic
extending the
 Intrapersonal
definition of
 Interpersonal
intelligence to an
 Naturalist
overly broad range of
talents
Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific
Abilities?
Theories of Multiple Intelligences
Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?
Theories of Multiple Intelligences
Sternberg’s Three Intelligences
Analytical
(academic problem-solving
intelligence
Creating intelligence
Practical intelligence
The Sternberg-Wagner test measures writing
skills, skill in motivating others, and ability to
effectively delegate tasks. This test measures
which of the intelligences described by
Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence?
Comparing Theories of
page 528
Intelligence
Obj. 3: What makes up emotional intelligence?
Emotionalintelligence
Perceive
emotions
Understand emotions
Manage emotions
Use emotions for
adaptive or creative
thinking
Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?
Brain Size and Complexity
 Brain

.33
 Brain



size studies
complexity studies
Neural plasticity
More synapses
Gray matter
white matter
versus
Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?
Brain Function
Perceptual

speed
faster cognitive processing may allow for more
information to be acquired
Neurological
speed
Assessing Intelligence
Objectives
5-8 pages
532-544
Who attempted to assess
intellectual strengths by
measuring muscular power,
sensory acuity, and body
proportions?
Objective 5:
When & why were intelligence tests created?
Francis
Galton’s intelligence
testing
Reaction
time
Sensory acuity
Muscular power
Body proportions
Nature vs.
Nurture
Modern Intelligence Testing Movement
Alfred

Binet
Minimize bias of teacher in indentifying French school children in
need of assistance
Mental age
Level of performance typically associated w/
chronological age
General capacity that can manifest itself many
ways
Test
DOES NOT measure inborn
intelligence…single practical purpose
The Innate IQ
Stanford-Binet
Lewis
Test
Terman
adapted
test to American children (and adults)
Intelligence
quotient (IQ)
William Stern
IQ
= (mental age/chronological age) X 100
IQ of 100 is considered average
 Today’s
IQ tests compute performance on test relative to
average performance of others of same age
Eugenics
 Measuring
human traits and using the results
to encourage only smart & fit people to
reproduce.
 With
Terman’s help, the US evaluated new
immigrants & WWI recruits

Some felt test “proved” inferior intelligence of
people of non-Anglo-Saxon heritage
Simon
& Binet = concept of mental
age
William
Lewis
Stern = formula for IQ
Terman = used formula on his
Standford-Binet test
Modern Tests of Mental Abilities
Achievement
tests
Aptitude tests
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)
Wechler Adult Intelligence Scale
Principles of Test Construction
Standardization
Standardization

a person's test performance can be compared with
that of a representative pretested group
Normal
curve
Normal Curve
Principles of Test Construction
Standardization
Flynn
effect
Principles of Test Construction
Standardization
Flynn
effect
Principles of Test Construction
Researchers assess the
correlation between scores
Reliability
obtained on two halves of a
Scores
single
testcorrelate
in order to measure
Test-retest
the
________ reliability
of a test.
Split-half reliability
Principles of Test Construction
Validity
Validity
Content
validity
College Board AP
Exams
the extent to which a test samples the
behavior that is of interest.
Criterion

Predictive
 the
validity
success with which a test predicts the behavior it is
designed to predict
 assessed by computing the correlation between test scores
and the criterion behavior (also called criterion-related validity
The Dynamics of Intelligence
Stability or Change?
How stable are intelligence scores over the lifespan?
Intelligence
testing through
life
Consistency of
scores increases
w/ age
+.66
Extremes of Intelligence
The Low Extreme
Intellectual
disability
Mental
retardation
70 or below – 1%
Down syndrome
21st
chromosome
Mainstreamed
Classifications of Intellectual Disability
Level
Approximate
Intelligence
Scores
Adaptation to Demands of Life
Mild
50-70
May learn academic skills up to sixth-grade level.
Adults may with assistance, achieve self-supporting
social and vocational skills
Moderate
35-50
May progress to second-grade level academically.
Adults may contribute to their own support by laboring in
sheltered workshops
Severe
20-35
May learn to talk and to perform simple tasks under
close supervision but are generally unable to profit from
vocational training
Profound
Below 25
Require constant aid and supervision
Extremes of Intelligence
The High Extreme
Terman’s
study of gifted
 1921
 most
thrive
Gifted?
tracking
by aptitude = self-fulfilling prophecy
Genetic and Environmental
Influences on Intelligence
genotype vs.
phenotype
inherited instructions within
one’s genetic code
composite of an organism’s
observable characteristics or
traits
Twin & Adoption Studies
Identical
1.
2.
3.
twin studies
50% intelligence test score variations can be attributed to
genetic variation
compare adopted children with
biological parents as well as
similar brain scans
adoptive parents
Polygenetic
environment
Adoptive
1.
2.
children studies
fraternal twins score more alike than other siblings
genetic influences become more apparent as we age
Heritability
Heritability
Heritability
Heritability
Correlated Scores
Correlated Scores
Heritability
 NEVER
pertains to an individual
only to the VARIATION – why
people differ
 when
environments varies
widely, environmental
differences become more
predictive trait differences (g
score)
 if
the environment is exactly the
same, heritability would be
100% - variation would have to
be due to genetics.
Environmental Influences
Early
environmental influences
Tutored
human enrichment
among
the poor, environmental conditions can
override genetic differences
Targeted
specific
training
abilities…music
Schooling
Project
 growth
& intelligence
Head Start
mindset vs. fixed mindset
performance orientation – give up
when do poorly on tests
Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores
Gender Similarities and Differences
Spelling
Verbal
W
W
ability
Nonverbal memory W
Sensation W
Emotion-detecting ability W
Math and spatial aptitudes M
M= problem solving
W = computation
Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores
Ethnic Similarities and Differences
 group
 group
differences help little w/ judging individuals
differences could be entirely environmental
 individual
genetic differences w/in a race
are much greater than differences
between races
*page 553*
The Question of Bias
Two
meanings of bias
Popular
sense
Scientific sense
validity
Test-taker’s
Stereotype
expectations
threat (Spencer)
In Closing…
1.
2.
3.
Who might profit from early intervention
Be alert to misuse of results
Result on tests are important, but only one
aspect of personal competence
“Almost all the joyful things of
life are outside the measure
of IQ tests.”
--Madeleine L’Engle
The
End
Intelligence Test
= a method of assessing an individual's mental
aptitudes and comparing them with those of
others, using numerical scores.
Intelligence
= mental quality consisting of the ability to learn
from experience, solve problems, and use
knowledge to adapt to new situations.
General Intelligence (g)
= a general intelligence factor that, according to
Spearman and others, underlies specific
mental abilities and is therefore measured by
every task on an intelligence test.
Factor Analysis
= a statistical procedure that identifies clusters
of related items (called factors) on a test;
used to identify difference dimensions of
performance that underlie a person’s total
score.
Savant Syndrome
= a condition in which a person otherwise
limited in mental ability has an exceptional
specific skill, such as in computation or
drawing.
Emotional Intelligence
= the ability to perceive, understand, manage,
and use emotions.
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 child who does as well
as the average 8-year-old is said to have a
mental age of 8.
Stanford-Binet
= the widely used American revision (by Terman
at Stanford University) of Binet’s original
intelligence test.
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
= defined originally as the ratio of mental age
(ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by
100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca X 100). On
contemporary intelligence tests, the average
performance for a given age is assigned a
score of 100.
Achievement Tests
= tests designed to assess what a person has
learned.
Aptitude Tests
= tests designed to predict a person’s future
performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
(WAIS)
= the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence
test; contains verbal and performance
(nonverbal) subtests.
Standardization
= defining meaningful scores by comparison
with the performance of a pretested group.
Normal Curve
= a 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.
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.
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 predict; it is
assessed by computing the correlation
between test scores and the criterion behavior
(also called criterion-related validity).
Intellectual Disability
= (formerly referred to as mental retardation) a
condition of limited mental ability, indicated by
an intelligence score of 70 or below and
difficulty in adapting to the demands of life;
varies from mild to profound.
Down Syndrome
= a condition of intellectual disability and
associated physical disorders caused by an
extra copy of chromosome 21.
Stereotype Threat
= a self-confirming concern that one will be
evaluated based on a negative stereotype.