What does intelligence involve?
Intelligence involves the ability to think and learn from experience, solve problems and adapt to new situations.
Why are intelligence tests controversial?
Intelligence tests are controversial because they have been used for good as well as evil. Coates’ example of the intelligence tests being used for good was to prove that a person’s intelligence had been negatively impacted by an injury. This allowed them to get the help they needed. Negative uses of intelligence tests occur when intelligence tests are used to define a person and their ability. There is no intelligence test that is completely able to measure intelligence and our limited understanding of it. (Too much emphasis is placed on the score)
How is intelligence defined?
Psychologists have disagreed on a single definition of intelligence. Charles Spearman, one of the first contributors to the creation of intelligence tests, defined intelligence as having two factors: general cognitive ability (g) and specific abilities that are unique to the test. (s)
How did Charles Spearman define intelligence? (Based on the tests that he did)
He developed the two factor theory of intelligence. This suggests that a person’s performance on a test is due to a combination of general cognitive ability and specific abilities that are unique to the test.
How was Louis Thurstone’s definition of intelligence different from Spearman’s?
He felt that there wasn’t one single ability called intelligence but rather a few broad categories - primary mental abilities. His theory actually works with Spearman’s.
What is wrong with our definitions of intelligence?
The way that we define intelligence is highly influenced by our culture and values - what people in the west think is intelligent may not align with what people in the east think. (Intelligence is subjective?) Our tests end up reflecting these cultural norms and values instead of innate ability.
How do conceptual disagreements impact intelligence tests?
Some tests and psychologists may emphasize cognitive abilities while others may emphasize emotional, practical, or social skills. But, if psychologists can’t agree on a base definition, then the way we measure and interpret isn’t consistent.
Give an example of how intelligence test questions are biased and inaccurate.
Question example: Where do you find eggs? (In nests or trees) But, if you had more cultural knowledge about this topic, you would likely provide a different answer. But, knowing more would cause you to have a lower score in this case.
How has observer bias historically impacted the use of intelligence tests?
Psychologists created and designed tests in a way that would get them the results they wanted. If they didn’t get these results, they would abandon the test. An early example of this was how they thought that white people were smarter than black people due to the size of their brains. They measured this by putting beans in a skull. (Ridiculous!)
Why were intelligence tests developed and used in world war 2?
Psychological testing was used to better assign soldiers. They used these tests to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of people and then assigned them accordingly. This accelerated the development of intelligence tests.
Spearman’s g factor
Intelligence is a single factor underlying all cognitive abilities. This was criticised for being too narrow.
Thurstone’s primary mental abilities
Intelligence consists of multiple distinct abilities. (Verbal, numerical, and spatial)
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence’s
He expands intelligence to include linguistics, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal (how good are you at dealing with other people?), intrapersonal (how good are you at understanding yourself…can you be critical of yourself?), naturalistic, and existential abilities (the lens with which we look at intelligence was broadened). It is hard to test this many abilities.
