Chapter 8 Thinking &“Intelligence” This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. ISBN: 0-205-37181-7 Judging and Making Decisions Confirmation Bias Hindsight Bias Representativeness Bias Availability Bias Ignoring or finding fault with information that does not fit our opinions, and seeking information with which we agree Judging and Making Decisions Confirmation Bias Hindsight Bias Representativeness Bias Availability Bias Tendency, after learning about an event, to believe that one could have predicted the event in advance “I knew it all along” phenomenon (politics, medicine, sports) Judging and Making Decisions Confirmation Bias Hindsight Bias Representativeness Bias Availability Bias Strategy based on presumption that, once a person or event is categorized, it shares all features of other members in that category Exaggerating the Improbable Availability Heuristic The tendency to judge the probability of an event by how easy it is to think of examples or instances. (Personal Experiences*) September 11 & flying Intelligence Define: Intelligence is ____________. (or) Intelligence is not ____________. “ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, and adapt to changes in the environment” :ability to master information or skills needed to succeed in your culture (hypothetical construct) Danger in Definitions: Intelligence “The tendency has always been strong to believe that whatever received a name must be an entity or being, having an independent existence of its own. And if no real entity answering to the name could be found, men did not for that reason suppose that none existed, but imagined that it was something peculiarly abstruse and mysterious” ~John Stuart Mill Intelligence Very controversial Steven Jay Gould’s The Mismeasure Of Man Hernstein & Murray's The Bell Curve Dangers of reification regarding something abstract as a material or concrete thing is dangerous!!! IQ Testing: A Brief History Binet-Simon Test • Why was test created? • Trial and Error Method • Binet’s Philosophy • Intelligence Testing in America • Terman: IQ Goddard and Eugenics Eugenic Philosophy Ellis Island: Goddard’s Intelligence Classification of Immigrants of Different Nationalities (1917) 83% of all Jews tested were feeble-minded, as were 80% of the Hungarians, 79% of the Italians, and 87% of the Russians. Many immigrants were turned away and sent back to Europe. The Immigration Restriction Act, passed in 1924 (which remained in effect until 1965) World War I Mass Testing (Alpha vs. Beta) Army Beta designed for illiterates or people whose first language was not English Consisted of mazes, mentally counting blocks, number-symbol completions Very bizarre, unfair testing conditions Calculating IQs “on the Curve” Normal distribution – Bell-shaped curve describing the spread of a characteristic throughout a population (height, intelligence, aggression, etc.) Normal range – the middle two-thirds of a normal distribution (Mean and SD) Calculating IQs “on the Curve” What Are the Components of Intelligence? Some psychologists believe that the essence of intelligence is a single, general factor, while others believe intelligence is best described as a collection of distinct abilities Psychometric Theories of Intelligence Spearman’s G Factor Factor Analysis Cognitive Theories of Intelligence Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory Gardner’s Seven (8?) Intelligences Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory Contextual Intelligence Logical Reasoning Experiential Intelligence Ability to cope with the environment, “street smarts” also called tacit knowledge Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory Practical Intelligence Componential Intelligence Experiential Intelligence Ability to analyze problems and find correct answers, ability measured by most IQ tests Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory Practical Intelligence Logical Reasoning Experiential Intelligence Form of intelligence that helps people see new relationships among concepts, involves insight and creativity Gardner’s Seven Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Other Intelligences? Emotional intelligence (EQ) The ability to: identify your own and other people’s emotions accurately, express your emotions clearly, and regulate emotions in yourself and others Bias and IQ Testing Cultural-Racial Expectations “selling out” (S.E.S.) Runner::Marathon as Envoy::Embasy Martyr::Massacre Oarsman::Regatta Referee::Tournament Horse::Stable An Illustration of Stereotype Threat -Scores are affected by an individual’s expectations (e.g., negative*) for performance. (African-Americans, Latinos, low-income people, women, and elderly people) Bias and IQ Tests Culture Free Tests? Gender Bias? Should we continue to use IQ tests? -Why/Why not? Motivation and intelligence Comparing the 100 most successful men with 100 least successful, researchers found that motivation, not IQ made the difference. Motivation to work hard at intellectual tasks differs as a function of culture. Americans are “worlds” apart from Asians Attitudes, expectations, and effort (e.g., math skills) “Complacency, fatalism, and low standards can prevent people from recognizing what they don’t know and can reduce the efforts to learn.”