AP Psychology
Guided Notes #8
Spring Semester 2015
Bacile
Unit VIII: Intelligence
Corresponding Modules: 60-64
Topic: Intelligence (5-7%)
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence: The Basics

Intelligence
o The ability to learn from ______________________________________________________, acquire knowledge and use _______________________________
effectively in adapting to ______________________________________________________ or solving problems
 Intelligence is a __________________________________________________________________
 Cultures deem “intelligent” whatever attributes enable success in THOSE cultures – what best allows for
survival?

Reification
o A reasoning error in which we view an ________________________________________________________________________________ as if it were a
concrete thing
 “She has an IQ of 120…”
 “She scored a 120 on the intelligence test…”
o Which is better given the definition of intelligence?

Despite general agreement about the nature of intelligence, two controversies remain…
o Is intelligence a ______________________________________________________________________________, or is it _________________________ specific
abilities?
o With modern neuroscience techniques, can we locate and measure intelligence within the brain?
Since mental abilities are incredibly diverse, is it justifiable to label these abilities with only one word – intelligence..?

Intelligence: Theories
Theory
Psychologist/Belief
Charles Spearman
(1863-1945)
G Factor
Viewed intelligence as two
different abilities
L.L. Thurstone
(1887-1955)
Primary Mental Abilities
Opponent of Spearman
and the g factor; believed
intelligence was composed
of seven primary mental
abilities
Basic Premise/Description
Theory
Psychologist
Basic Premise/Description
Howard Gardner
(1943-present)
Multiple Intelligences
Believes that intelligence is
multiple abilities that
come in a package
Robert Sternberg
(1949-present)
Triarchic Theory of
Intelligence
Generally agrees with
Gardner; however,
Sternberg believes that
intelligence has three
basic components
Know these!
Multiple
Intelligences
(Gardner)
Intelligence: Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence
o The ability to perceive, understand, manage and use emotions
 Emotionally intelligent people _____________________________________________________________________
 The test for emotional intelligence measures overall intelligence and its four components
o ______________________________________________
o ______________________________________________
o ______________________________________________
o ______________________________________________

Criticisms
o Howard Gardner & others criticize the idea of emotional intelligence and question whether we stretch the idea of intelligence
too far when we __________________________________________________________________________
o ______________________________________________ draw into question whether the EQ test is sex biased
Intelligence: Measuring Intelligence
THE ORIGINS OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING

Psychologists define intelligence testing as a method for assessing an individual’s __________________________________________________________ and
_______________________________________________________________________________ (using numerical scores)
o Marked by controversy and misuse
o Began in France during the 20th century
 Some students needed more help than others…
 How do we identify those students?

The Binet-Simon Scale
o Alfred Binet & Theodore Simon (French psychologists)
o Expressed a child’s score in terms of ___________________________________________
 Mental Age
 The ___________________________________________________________ that most typically corresponds to a given level of
performance
 Example
 A child who does as well as the average 8 year old, is said to have a mental age of 8

The Intelligence Quotient
o William Stern (German psychologist)
o Developed the notion of IQ
 __________________________________________________________________________
 Example
o A child whose mental & chronological ages ____________________________________________ has an IQ of 100
o An 8 year old who answers questions as a typical 10 year old has an __________________________________

The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
o Lewis Terman (Stanford University)
o Expanded & revised the Binet-Simon Scale
 Remained fairly loyal to Binet’s original conceptions; however, Terman incorporated a ____________________________________
scheme based on Stern’s “intelligence quotient”
 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MODERN TESTS OF MENTAL ABILITIES


Achievement Tests
o Tests designed to ________________________________________________________________________________
 Bleier’s AP Biology Exam, EOCTs (?)
Aptitude Tests
o Tests designed to ___________________________________________________________________________________________________; one’s capacity to learn
 SAT, ACT, GRE, MCAT, GMAT, LSAT


Is there a correlation between achievement and aptitude tests?
Is there a correlation between intelligence scores and aptitude tests?

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
o David Wechsler (American psychologist at Bellevue Hospital)
o Developed the WAIS in 1939
 TWO MAJOR INNOVATIONS
 _________________________________________________________________________________
 Discarded IQ in favor of a new scoring system based on _____________________________________________________________
 Eventually developed an _______________________________________________________________
 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
o Measures _______________________________________________________________ and _________________________________ related to intelligence
o Designed to assess clinical and educational problems
 Separate scores for:
 ______________________________________________
 ______________________________________________
 ______________________________________________
 ______________________________________________
 Difference in scores?
Intelligence: Test Construction

Reliability
o The extent to which a test _________________________________________________________________________ as assessed by the consistency of
scores
 Procedures for Determining Reliability
 Split-Half Reliability
o ________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Alternate Forms Reliability
 Test-Retest Reliability
o ________________________________________________________________________________________________
 The Stanford-Binet, WAIS and WISC have reliabilities of +0.9

Validity
o The extent to which a test _________________________________________________________________________ what it is supposed to
 Content Validity
 The extent to which a test samples the ________________________________________________________________________________
 Predictive Validity (Criterion-Related Validity)
 The success with which a test _______________________________________________________________________ that it is
designed to predict

Standardization of Tests
o The process of defining __________________________________________
scores by giving the test to a large group of people that
represents the kind of people for whom the test is
designed
 __________________________________________________________
 Same instructions, questions, time limits,
scoring, etc.
 Like all samples, standardization groups are chosen
______________________________________ and must be
representative
o Standardization allows for the development of ________________________ &
____________________________________
 Test Norms
 The standards against which all others
who take the test will be _____________________________;
where one individual ranks in relation to others
o Typically follow a normal curve
(in intelligence testing)
 Percentile Scores
 Indicate the _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________
o Deviation IQ Scores

Cultural Implications?
o It is _________________________________________ to design an IQ test that is completely free from _____________________________________________
 They tend to reflect, in language, dialect and content, the culture of the person or persons who designed the test

Adrian Dove (1971)
o American sociologist
 Created an intelligence test to ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Known as the ____________________________________________________
Intelligence: The Dynamics of Intelligence

By age 4, children’s performance on intelligence tests ________________________________________________________________________________________________
o High scoring adolescents tend to have been early readers


Intelligence scores become stable ______________________________________________________________________________________________
In numerous studies, __________________________________________________________________________________ has been determined to increase with age
Intelligence: The Extremes of Intelligence
THE EXTREME LOWS

Intellectual Disability/Developmentally Delayed (Mental Retardation)
o A condition characterized by ______________________________________________________________________________
 Indicated by a _____________________________________________ (<70) and difficulty adapting to the normal demands of
______________________________________________________________; before the age of 18
 ________________________________________________________________


An estimated 6.2 to 7.5 million Americans
Male to female ratio?

The three most common biological causes…
o Down Syndrome
 A condition of intellectual disability & associated physical disorders
 __________________________________________________________________________________
o Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
o Fragile X Syndrome
 A condition in which a male has a defect in a gene on the X chromosome of the twenty-third pair
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Other Causes?
o Environmental Factors
 ________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________

Familial Retardation
o A developmental delay related to _________________________________________________________; generally produces relatively mild
retardation
Degrees of
Mental
Retardation
THE EXTREME HIGHS

Definitions of giftedness (>130) vary considerably
o ______________________________________________________________________________________
o ______________________________________________________________________________________

Misconceptions about the high extreme
o “Early ripe, early rot…”
o Socially awkward, physically weak, more likely to suffer mental illness, etc.
o The “mad scientists” or “evil geniuses”

Lewis Terman (1921)
o Terman’s “Termites”
 Longitudinal study of 1,528 children
 ______________________________________________
 Findings
 Gifted individuals tend to be above average in…
o _________________________________________
o _________________________________________
o _________________________________________
o _________________________________________
Intelligence: Heredity & Environment as Determinants of Intelligence

Early pioneers of intelligence…
o Maintained the nature view of intelligence

Today’s nature theorists…
o Assert that a child’s intelligence ___________________________ be changed; _______________________________________
 Many argue that this downplays the value of special education programs for underprivileged groups

Today’s nurture theorists
o Assert that traits with a strong genetic component are __________________________________________________________________________
 Argue that even MORE funds be allocated for remedial programs, especially in lower-income areas
EVIDENCE FOR HERIDITARY INFLUENCE



Family Studies
o Can determine only whether _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twin Studies
o The average correlation for identical twins is _____________
o The average correlation for fraternal twins is _____________
Adoption Studies
o Studies indicate that there is more than chance similarity between adopted children and their biological parents

Heritability Ratio
o An estimate ________________________________________________________________________________________________ in a population that is
determined by variations in genetic inheritance
 Can be estimated for any trait
 90% for height
 85% for weight
 Intelligence?

Heritability estimates for intelligence ____________________________________________________
o High Estimate: ____________
 20% of the variation in intelligence is attributable to environmental factors
o Low Estimate: ____________
 60% of the variation in intelligence is attributable to environmental factors

Limitations of heritability estimates
o ___________________________________________________________________________________________: CANNOT be meaningfully applied to
individuals
o A trait’s heritability may vary from one group to another
o “There really is no single fixed value that represents any true, constant value for the heritability of IQ or anything else…”
EVIDENCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE

Twin Studies
o The average correlation for identical twins ___________________________________________________________________
o The average correlation for identical twins ___________________________________________________________________

Adoption Studies
o There is some resemblance between adoptive parents and their children
o Siblings _________________________________________________ are more similar in IQ than siblings reared apart (0.48, as opposed to 0.23)
INTERACTIONIST MODEL

Sandra Scarr (1991)
o Reaction-Range Model
 Heredity sets _____________________________________ on intelligence and _______________________________________________________
determine where individuals fall within these limits
 Genetic makeup places _______________________________________________ on a person’s IQ
o _______________________________________________________________; even when environment is ideal
 Genetic makeup places _______________________________________________ on a person’s IQ except in extreme cases