INTELLIGENCE & TESTING
Chapter 10, week 1
Unit Overview
Essential questions:

How do psychologists define and study intelligence?

How did the use of intelligence tests evolve?

In intelligence test, how do testing scores differ between group
and individual administrations? Between genders? Races?
Socioeconomic groups?

How do psychologists know whether a test is reliable and/or
valid? Why are these qualities of tests important?
We shall learn...

Intelligence theories
- Gardner vs. Sternberg

Intelligence testing
- Alfred Binet's contribution to intelligence testing
- Lewis Terman's role
- David Weschler's role
- Group tests vs individual tests
- aptitude vs achievement test
- reliability vs. validty
- gender, race, ethnic groups
Are Gifted People Easily Identified?
You have been asked to select a student, based on the three biographies below, to enroll in a
new program for gifted students. Look over the three biographies and decide which student
you would choose.
Candidate 1
Candidate 2
Candidate 3
Name
Bill Brown
Alvin Lane
Allen Erickson
Appearance
Average
Plain
Homely
I.Q.
180+
112
82
School Behavior Aloof, Organizer
Well-liked
Unsociable, disturbed
Physical Health Excellent
Large for age
Sickly
Emotional Health Excellent
Easygoing, poor self-concept
Had emotional breakdown
Interests
Chess, Math
Sports, reading, telling jokes
Withdraws to fantasy world
Career Goals
None mentioned
Work in a retail store
None mentioned
Personal Goals None mentioned
Businessman
Independence from family
Talents
Good debater
Plays violin, likes to read alone
Photographic
memory, published
original math formula
at age 10
Which student did you select and why?
Intelligence
Is intelligence one general ability

(g factor) or several abilities?
Is it in the brain? Can it be certain

behaviors, set of knowledge and skills?
What is intelligence?
Can you...
√ Learn from experience?
√ Solve problems?
√ Use the knowledge to adapt to new situations?
Home work for the week

Schedule A Thursday 1/9
- Chpt 10 p.373-380 ½
- study for the vocab quiz

Friday 1/10
- Chpt 10 p.380-387 ½
Agenda: Thursday

Homework review

General intelligence, normal distribution

Factor analysis

Multiple intelligence
What is intelligence?
In research studies, though...
Intelligence = whatever the intelligence test measures.

Reading ability

Quantitative reasoning

Information processing

Short term memory

Spatial intelligence
.
Intelligence Test
→ a method of
assessing an
individual’s mental
aptitudes and comparing
them to others, using
numerical scores
Alfred Binet (1857-1911)
French psychologist who invented
the first practical intelligence test.
→ Binet-Simon Test(1905)
Francis Galton
Eugenics
Lewis Terman
Created the Stanford-Binet test.
Believed in innate intelligence.
From this, William Stern created
the IQ formula:
Intelligence testing: the Origins
Mental Age


= describes the level of intellectual functioning
= The age that most typically corresponds to a given
level of performance
Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.)
IQ is a measure that compares mental age with physical
age.

A seven-year-old child with a mental age of eight will
have an IQ of 114.
8 x 100 = 114.2857
7
What is the I.Q. of a 16-year-old girl with a mental age of 20?

Ms. Kwon (age 27) has a mental age of 42. What is her IQ?

Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.)
IQ is a measure that compares mental age with physical
age.
•
What is the I.Q. of a 16-year-old girl with a mental age of 20?
125
Ms. Kwon (age 27) has a mental age of 42. What is her IQ? 156

What do the scores mean?
Standardization: Normal Distribution
Standard Deviation
Homework Review
Quickwrite1

What is g and what evidences support its existence?

What are the similiarities and differences between
Gardner's and Sternberg's theory of intelligence?
You can use your notes!
What are we measuring in the intelligence tests?
Charles Spearman (1863-1945) says....g!
general intelligence (g) underlies specific mental abilities.
Thurstone on g factor
L.L Thurstone believed one factor cannot have a more general
application than others. He analyzed instead seven clusters of
independent mental abilities, including:
1)Word Fluency
2)Verbal Comprehension
3)Spatial Ability
4)Perceptual Speed
5)Numerical Ability
6)Inductive Reasoning
7)Memory
How can you prove g?
Q: Is there a general ability factor that runs throughout our
specific mental abilities?
A: study how various abilities relate to one another
Factor Analysis
Factor Analysis
Back to g...
Today's dominant model
Intelligence? Or Intelligences?
Howard Gardner
Gardner proposes eight
types of intelligences and
speculates about a ninth
one — existential
intelligence.
He points to savant syndrom as proof.
Savant Syndrom
Savant Syndrome
Video 1
Video 2
1/10 Friday Agenda

Vocab Quiz

Multiple intelligence, EQ

Creativity
Robert Sternberg
Robert Sternberg

Intelligence is broad and only partly
influenced by genes

Successful, intelligence behavior
needs a balance of 3

Gardner doesn’t define intelligence
and some are just talents
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)?
=the ability to perceive, understand, and
use emotions (Salovey et al., 2005).
The EQ test measures overall emotional
intelligence and its four components.
Daniel Goleman on EQ
Homework Review
Discuss with a partner:

What are the five components of creativity?
Can you think of an example how it works?
(e.g., describe someone or your own process of
creating)

Are some people naturally creative geniuses?
Have you had an experience where your
creativity was encouraged or discouraged?
Intelligence and Creativity
Intelligence & Creativity
• IQ and intelligence were somewhat
correlated.
• Creative= pull existing knowledge into a
new situation and quickly sort through
potential outcomes.
Are you the source of your own
creativity?
Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius (TED
talks) 11min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA
Intelligence & Creativity
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask
creative people how they did something, they feel a
little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just
saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.
That’s because they were able to connect experiences
they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason
they were able to do that was that they’ve had more
experiences or they have thought more about their
experiences than other people.”.
Matrix Reasoning Challenge
http://www.newmatrixreasoning.com/
Homework for the week 1/13-1/17
Monday 1/13

Ch 10 p.387-393
Tuesday 1/14

Ch 10 p.393-399
Wednesday 1/15

Study for test
Thursday 1/16

Study for test
Optional review session during lunch
Friday 1/17

Ch 11 p.402-410
Monday 1/13 Agenda

Neurology of intelligence

Homework review

Aptitude/Achievement tests

Reliability & Validity

Extremes of intelligence
Vid of the day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aykuFhQIob4
\
Structure & Function of the brain
Size of the brain
Size of the brain…?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz7ShiQqLQg
Brain Size and Complexity
There is a slight correlation (about 0.4+) between head
size (relative to body size) and intelligence score.
Brain Size and heredity
Note: Brain size doesn’t
necessarily cause intelligence
or vice versa!
Neurological speed
-> speed in which we execute cognitive tasks
-> includes information processing speed, efficiency,
perceptual speed, and working memory
Intelligence and neurological speed
There is a positive correlation between intelligence and the
brain’s neural processing speed.
e.g., perception and info processing speed correlated to
verbal intelligence (Earl Hunt)
Neurological speed
Studies have found that highly intelligent people’s brain
waves register a simple stimulus more quickly and with
greater complexity
In summary,
Brain function (speed of memory retrieval, speed of
perception, speed of neural processing) matters.
–able to accumulate more info?
-intelligence and speed share underlying
genetic influences?
Homework Review
Quickwrite 2:

What is the difference between achivement and aptitude test?

What is the difference between validity and reliability in a test?
(use a specific example, such as personality tests)

What are the three types of validity? (explain)
Aptitude vs. Achievement test
Aptitude tests : predict learning
Achievement tests: reflect learning
David Wechsler (WAIS, WISC)
• Limits of Stanford-Binet test
(single score, timed, invalid for
adults)
• Saw intelligence as performance,
not capacity
• Developed the widely-used
Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale (WAIS)
David Wechsler (WAIS, WISC)
•
The Verbal scales: general knowledge, language, reasoning, and
memory skills
•
The Performance scales measure spatial, sequencing, and
problem-solving skills.
Principles of Test Construction
An acceptable psychological test must fulfill the three criteria:
1. Standardization
2. Reliability
3. Validity
Standardization
1.Use scores from representation sample to determine how well
one did on the test relatively
2.Create similar test conditions to prevent confounding variables
Reliability
A test is reliable when it yields consistent results
• Test-Retest Reliability: Using the same test on two occasions to
measure consistency.
• Split-half Reliability: Dividing the test into two equal halves and
assessing how consistent the scores are.
• Reliability using different tests: Using different forms of the test to
measure consistency between them.
Validity
Q: How do you tell a good test from a bad one?
A: If it measures what it is suppose to measure.
http://www.icecream.com/funfacts/index.asp?b=105
Also compare: distorted tunes test vs. Rorschach [roar-shack] test
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/tunetest/Pages/dtt.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76UXSdUVuLk (0:00-1:25)
Validity

Content validity: does it include the total meaning of the
concept?

Criterion/predictive validity: how well are your evaluations
related to other (objective) measures? or how successfully does it
make predictions?

Construct validity: is it really evaluating (an ideal)?
Tuesday 1/14 Agenda
•
Dynamic and extremes of intelligence
•
Nature & nurture effects on intelligence
•
Crystalized vs. fluid intelligence
•
Group & gender differences
Flynn Effect
.
Dynamics of Intelligence
Does intelligence remain stable over a lifetime
or does it change?
Evidence for IQ stability: Ian Deary et al. (A Lifetime of
Intelligence: Follow-Up Studies of the Scottish Mental
Surveys of 1932 and 1947)
IQ =stability or change?
Evidence for change: Sue Ramsden (2004)
retested teenagers 3~4 years later and 33%
showed large change.
Conclusion?
IQ stays “relatively” the same;
peoples’ absolute score will likely increase.
Extremes of Intelligence
A valid intelligence test divides two groups of
people into two extremes:
the intellectually disabled (IQ 70) and individuals
with high intelligence (IQ 135).
.
Extremes of Intelligence
.
Treatment of the mentally disabled
.
Treatment of the mentally disabled
.
Extremes of Intelligence
Contrary to popular belief, people with high intelligence test
scores tend to be healthy, well adjusted, as well as academically
successful.
.
Virtue of persistence and grit
Fritz Grobe on “I don’t believe in Genius”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3JEZMiK74
.
Genetics or Environment?
The graph provides evidence for which influence-Genes or Environment? Explain why.
Genetics or Environment?
The graph provides evidence for which influence-Genes or Environment? Explain why.
Genetics or Environment?
The image provides an argument
for which influence—
Genes or Environment?
Explain why.
Genetics or Environment?
Twins studies rarely involve vastly different homes
(stress, neglect, abuse).
• In higher SES (socioeconomic status), difference in
intelligence was explained by genetic influence.
• In low SES, the “poor” twin’s score was less
determined by heredity (gene) and more by the
environment.
Early Intervention Effects
Romanian orphans with minimal human interaction are delayed
in their development.
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qBTduNwupk (3:15-6)
Schooling Effects
Increased schooling correlates with higher intelligence scores.
Research indicates that Head Start programs are most beneficial to
participants from disadvantaged home environments.
.
Catell-Horn Theory of
Crystallized & Fluid intelligence
Raymond Cattell on
fluid intelligence:
"…the ability to perceive relationships
independent of previous specific practice or
instruction."
Fluid intelligence
Group Differences in test scores
Why do groups differ in intelligence?
How can we make sense of these differences?
.
Group Differences in test scores
.
Controversy: The Bell Curve (1994)
The issue:
1. Determinants of success: IQ > SES
2. Low measured intelligence → anti-social behavior?
3. Poor genes → low IQ scores.
4. Their national policy recommendations.
.
Agenda Block day 1/15-1/16

Bell Curve

Aptitude test bias (Cross-cultural intelligence tests)

Gender difference

Test review and/or BBC documentary
.
Controversy: The Bell Curve (1994)
Young adults who identify as “liberal” and “atheists”
have higher IQs than those who are “conservative” and
“religious.”
Is there a gene for intelligence only/more among atheists
and liberals? I doubt it.
.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sex-murder-and-the-meaninglife/201004/atheistic-liberals-are-smarter-funny-reason
Controversy: The Bell Curve (1994)
The issue:
1. Determinants of success: IQ > SES
2. Low measured intelligence → anti-social behavior?
3. Poor genes → low IQ scores.
4. Their national policy recommendations.
.
Controversy: The Bell Curve (1994)
I encourage you to go read the excellent
webpage that summarizes the contents and lists
judicious criticisms:
http://www.intelltheory.com/bellcurve.shtml
.
Controversy: The Bell Curve (1994)
• Cross cultural studies show that socially discriminated
groups perform worse in IQ test than the socially dominant
group even if there is no racial difference
Buraku-min (Japan)
.
Bias of Aptitude Tests
Bias of Aptitude Tests
An intelligence test devoid of cultural bias?
Attempt 1. Eliminate language and design tests with
demonstrations and pictures
Attempt 2. Realize that culture-free tests are not
possible and design culture-fair tests instead. These
tests draw on experiences found in many cultures.
Bias of Aptitude Tests
Many college students will have a middle-class
background and may have difficulty appreciating the
biases that are part of standardized intelligence tests.
Let’s try taking intelligence tests which make nonmainstream cultural assumptions…
On a sheet of paper…
Write the question # and answer!
The Australian/American Intelligence Test
The 10-item Australian/American Intelligence Test is
drawn from typical items on standard WesternEuropean intelligence tests.
http://wilderdom.com/personality/intelligenceAustralian
AmericanTest.html
On a sheet of paper…
Test #2 The Original Australian Intelligence Test
The 10-item Original Australian Intelligence Test is
based on the culture of the Edward River Australian
Aboriginal community in North Queensland.
http://wilderdom.com/personality/intelligenceOriginalA
ustralian.html
On a sheet of paper…
Test #3 Chitling Test of Intelligence
:Utilizes distinctively black-ghetto experiences.
The Chitling Test was designed by Adrian Dove, a Black
sociologist. Aware of the dialect differences, he
developed this exam as a half-serious attempt to show
that American children are just not all speaking the
same language. Those students who are not "culturally
deprived" will score well.
http://wilderdom.com/personality/intelligenceChitlingTe
stShort.html
Discussion
• How would you feel if these tests were replaced for
the SAT?
• In what way were these intelligence tests fair or
unfair?
• How would you evaluate someone’s intelligence if
he/she scored IQ of 90 on a standardized
intelligence test but did very well on another test?
Stereotype Threat
How does the graph demonstrate stereotype threat? What
does it tell you about the math performance gap between
men and women?
Gender Differences
•
math and spatial aptitudes
•
emotion-detecting ability
*map reading vs remember a past conversation
Different brains
Hormonal difference
*Exposure to testosterone during prenatal development is likely to
facilitate development of spatial ability.
Vid of the day
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/size-matters-how-malefemale-brains-compare/
BBC documentary:
Battle of the Brains
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-yldqNkGfo
Or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYexLjWY5KE