Who is Alfred Binet (1905)?
Dilemma in French: teachers may be biased to determine children’s ability
- Binet worked with Theodore Simon to develop IQ test
- Developed test focusing on higher mental processes , e.g., memory, problem solving, language, and judgments.
What is the idea of mental age (Binet & Simon)?
What questions on avg a child of certain age can get right
“Hambergurs are cold, ice creams are –?” is an IQ test for how many year-olds?
4 years old
What is the first widespread intelligence test?
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test: mean score of 100
- Originally used IQ = (mental age/chronological age) x 100
- Now based on deviation – where a child scores relative to the average at their age (normed test)
Originally provided 1 general score, now also provides subscores
Who brought Binet IQ test to North America?
Louis Terman. He focused on inherited intelligence, the biological intelligence children get from their parents.
“In an old cemetery, scientists unearthed a skull which they think was that of George Washington when he was only 5 years of age. What is silly about that?” an IQ test for how many year-olds?
9-year-olds
What are some other intelligence tests?
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
- Provides general score plus 5 composite scores - Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI)
for younger kids age 2.5-7
IQ score measures how far you deviate from the typical performance of an average age
A normal curve, standard deviation
68%
95%
99%
How do you measure if an intelligence test is good?
- Reliability
- split-half reliability (.8-.9 correlation is good)
- test-retest reliability
(are the scores consistent?)
IQ scores generally are reliable within a year, changes afterwards. Also less reliable in early developmental ages. Older, more consistent. - Validity
- predictive validity
does IQ predict grades at school? Life performance?
- construct validity
is an IQ test really measuring what it is supposed to measure?
How do we define intelligence?
- General intelligence (g)
- One intelligence covers multiple abilities/processes
e.g., crystallized intelligence (facts you learn at school and throughout life) + fluid intelligence (how do you solve new problems)
- May include more: 8 aspects under general intelligence
What is a psychometric approach?
Measurement of mental abilities, devising tests to measure a person’s intelligence relative to others
How do researchers who don’t agree with g define intelligence?
They believe in multiple types of intelligence
1. Sternberg’s Theory of Successful intelligence (intelligence as success in life, which cannot be measured through classical IQ test): Triarchic theory: analytical intelligence (IQ test) + practical intelligence (ability to read people in the moment or to adapt to new skills) + creative intelligence (able to come up with solutions, use experience in new ways)
2. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
8 domains of intelligence
How are genes contributing to individual differences in IQ?
Genetics
- look at fraternal twins/dizygotic twins vs. monozygotic twins
Identical twins have more similar intelligence than fraternal twins
a. passive effects: the effects of our genes emerge by being raised by biological parents who create environment that reinforces the child’s genes
b. evocative effects: the child’s genetic tendencies evoke certain reactions in others, e.g., a child who asks a lot of questions and therefore creates an environment for themselves
c. active effects: the child choosing their own environments, they may choose more difficult classes or go to summer camps to reinforce their genetic tendency
The effect of genes are stronger as we get older. Increase in similarity in IQ for identical twins (they may be actively choosing environments that reinforce their genetic tendencies). Becomes different overtime for fraternal twins (they choose different environments as their genes are different).
How does environment contribute to individual differences in IQ?
- Schooling
More time spent at school, higher IQ, even for children who are of the same age, extra year of school can contribute a whole lot to their test scores - Family/home environment
Parents provide enriching environments - Socioeconomic status
- Families with more money can send their children to better resourced schools and give children better home environments and nutritious food.
What are some group differences in IQ?
- Sex/Gender
- Average scores are the same between girls and boys
Female more likely to score clustered around the mean whereas male are more towards both ends
- female better at verbal advantage
male better at spatial or math intelligence - Race
Difference between Black and White people. Black individuals may score 20% less on average than white people.
What does IQ testing look like today?
- Administered and scored by trained professionals
- Very strict guidelines
- Test continuously being re-normed to make sure the tests are not biased, the average is normal
When do people take IQ tests? For what purposes?
- Learning disability diagnosis and access to supports
- Access to special education classes
- Access to giftedness programs and supports
- Sometimes used in courts, e.g., IQ less than 70, not eligible for death penalty in US
Should IQ testing be done? Are they helpful or dangerous?
Helpful:
- Can be predictive of future performances, health, or success
- Can be used for a tool for research and policy decisions, e.g., IQ & lead–even small amounts of lead is associated with a drop in IQ; IQ can be used to study the impacts of poverty, exposure to violence, pollution, and breaks from school
- Can support individuals who are lacking certain skills in some parts of the IQ test
Dangerous:
- History of IQ tests being used for eugenics (the idea that heritable human characteristics should be controlled, through breeding, to improve the human species)
- IQ tests used for policies on forced sterilization on women who have an IQ lower than 70, restrictions on marriage
- The tests may be biased and unable to capture all cultural variations: we tend to interpret IQ scores as evidence of a person’s underlying mental ability, not evidence of their cultural knowledge, motivation, coaching, stress that day, hunger, etc…
- Some IQ test may only capture one aspect of intelligence, not other domains
Why are there group differences in IQ?
- Social differences, different experiences, different family backgrounds, e.g., systemic racism raise barrier for certain marginalized racial groups
- Culturally biased tests
- Stereotype threat: we belong to social groups associated with stereotypes related to intelligence, e.g., women are less good at math/science, professors have high IQ
How does stereotype threat contribute to group IQ differences?
Definition: a psychological burden caused by the concern that one’s performance or behavior might confirm a negative stereotype about one’s group
Awareness of negative beliefs about own group may cause:
1. Stress response
2. Negative thoughts/emotions and therefore need to self regulate
3. Monitoring of performance
The mental burden impact our working memory and our test performance. example: Asian girl doing math
What does the Picho & Schmader (2018) study tell us about when gender stereotypes impair math performance? “A study of Stereotype Threat among Ugandan Adolescence”
- Extending research on stereotype threat beyond WEIRD populations, in Uganda in Africa
- Examined how expectations of gender stereotypes and endorsement of gender stereotypes (whether you believe it is true) contribute to the stereotype threat
Study results: stereotype threat present only when participants expected that the test-giver held gendered expectations
Suggestion: for stereotype threats to have an impact, we have to be aware of those stereotypes, Begin at 4-6
What are two intelligence mindsets?
- Entity theory: fixed mindset (intelligence and talent are fixed at birth)
- Incremental theory: growth mindset (intelligence and talent can go up or down)
Study result: kids who are praised for their intelligence (fixed mindset) want to keep solving the easier puzzles
- Predicts response to challenges, failure
- Associated with academic outcomes
- Growth mindset taught through intervention – linked with better academic performance (but there is controversy: not all studies find growth mindset is linked with better performance)
Sun et al. (2021), Are there cultural differences in mindsets, and in the association between mindsets and better academic performance?
- In China, the belief of intelligence and academic success as due to “innate” ability? (fixed mindset)
- Compared to US, Chinese youth more likely to link learning/achievement to “purposes of life” vs to intelligence?
Kids in the US more likely to have growth mindset. Chinese children more likely to have fixed mindset.
In China, there is no connection between mindset style and math academic achievement.
Are there differences in who growth mindsets might be beneficial for?
- Differences across cultures
- More impact for low-achieving students
- When teachers and peers are also supportive of growth mindset beliefs
- When contexts allow for growth, e.g., school allow for harder classes
