Unit Overview
1. What is Intelligence?
2. Assessing Intelligence
3. The Dynamics of Intelligence
4. Genetic & Environmental Influences on
Intelligence
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What is Intelligence?
• Intelligence
– mental quality consisting of the ability to learn
from experience, solve problems, & use
knowledge to adapt to new situations.
– Savant syndrome
• Intelligence test
Would Savant
Syndrome be more
supportive of
Sperman’s or
Gardner’s view of
intelligence? Why?
– Measure mental aptitude; compare to others;
numerical value
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
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
g
– 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
– 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 Theory?
– Musical
– Spatial
criticized for extending
– Bodily-kinesthetic
the definition of
– Intrapersonal
intelligence to an overly
broad range of talents
– Interpersonal
– Naturalist
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 Intelligence
page 528
Emotional Intelligence
• Emotional
intelligence
–Perceive emotions
–Understand
emotions
–Manage emotions
–Use emotions for
adaptive or creative
thinking
Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?
Brain Size and Complexity
• Brain size studies
– .33
• Brain 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
Who attempted to assess
intellectual strengths by measuring
muscular power, sensory acuity,
and body proportions?
The Origins of Intelligence Testing
• 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 Test
–Lewis Terman
• adapted test to American children (and adults)
–Intelligence quotient (IQ)
• 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
Germans are smarter
than the French”
“The German is bigger
due to copious amounts
of beer & sausage,
therefore the brain is
larger, however, when
adjusted, not of
superior intelligence.”
“We must not forget that
women are, on the average, a
little less intelligent than men,
a difference which we should
not exaggerate but which is,
nonetheless, real. “
“We are permitted to suppose
that the relatively small size of
the female brain depends in
part upon her physical
inferiority and in part upon her
intellectual inferiority.”
A survey of the history of intelligence
testing reinforces what important
lesson about the scientists whose
work we study?
Science can be value-laden. Behind a
screen of scientific objectivity,
ideology sometimes lurks.
• Simon & Binet = concept of mental age
• William Stern = formula for IQ
• Lewis 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 (bell curve)
Normal Curve
Principles of Test Construction
Standardization
• Flynn effect
Principles of Test Construction
Standardization
• Flynn effect
T/t TEST
Principles of Test Construction
Researchers
assess
the
correlation
• Reliability
between scores obtained on two
–Scores
correlate
halves of a single test in order to
–Test-retest
reliability
measure
the ________
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 validity
• the 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
Extremes of Intelligence
Classifications of Intellectual Disability
Level
Mild
Approximate
Adaptation to Demands of Life
Intelligence
Scores
May learn academic skills up to sixth-grade
50-70
level. Adults may with assistance, achieve selfsupporting 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
110-119 = bright normal
120-129 = superior
above 130 = very superior
above 150 = gifted
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 twin studies
1. 50% intelligence test score variations can be
attributed to genetic variation
2. similar brain scans
compare adopted
children with
3. polygenetic
environment
• Adoptive children studies
biological parents
as well as adoptive
parents
1. fraternal twins score more alike than other siblings
2. 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.
low heritability
Environmental Influences
• Early environmental influences
–Tutored human enrichment
• among the poor, environmental conditions can
override genetic differences
–Targeted training
• specific abilities…music
• Schooling & intelligence
–Project Head Start
• growth mindset vs. fixed mindset
performance orientation – give up
when do poorly on tests
Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores
Gender Similarities and Differences
•
•
•
•
•
•
W
Spelling
W
Verbal 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 differences help little w/ judging individuals
– group 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 expectations
–Stereotype threat (Spencer)
In Closing…
1. Who might profit from early intervention
2. Be alert to misuse of results
3. 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
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Definition
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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.