What is intelligence?
- Ability to solve problems
- ability to understand and learn complex material
- ability to adapt to the environment
Discuss Alfred Binet’s and Theodore Simon’s intelligence test.
First intelligence test developed between 1904-1911
Large-scale study made specific levels that different age groups should be at.
Used to identify children who need extra help.
Tested multiple ‘normal’ children.
‘Normal’ children’s results used to compare others scores.
Mental age divided by chronological age =
100 normal
below 100 need help
above 100 higher intelligence.
- Noting the wide variety of types of task involved in his tests, Binet was averse to the notion of giving a single score for someone’s intelligence.
- Binet also opposed to the notion that intelligence was a fixed quantity that was not able to be increased by education
- In 1989, American Academy for Advancement of Science included IQ test in their list of the twenty most significant discoveries of the 20th Century
Name 2 other intelligence tests
Stanford-Binet test for ages 2 to adult created by Lewis Terman
David Wechsler created
WAIS Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
WISC Wechesler Scale for children
What is IQ?
Intelligence Quotient
Score on an intelligence test
Developed by early work with children, reflecting the relationship between the actual age of a child, and the age which the average child would be expected to perform at that level.
- Intelligence quotient (IQ) = [mental age/actual age (years)] x 100
- Definition of IQ in terms of relationship between “mental age” and “chronological age” become problematic when we consider performance of adults on tests.adults calculate their IQ based on a standardised scale.
Describe how Charles Spearman thinks about intelligence?
- there is a single underlying factor which accounts for people’s abilities on various types of test.
- This factor is called g for general intelligence.
- Thus how well a person does on a particular test will reflect not just their specific ability or aptitude on that test, but also how much general ability they have.
Describe how Cattell & horn think about intelligence?
- that g can be subdivided into fluid and crystallised intelligence.
- Fluid intelligence is concerned with the ability to solve novel problems, deal with novel situations.
- Crystallised intelligence is the ability to use previous learning experience to deal with future, similar situations.
How does age and drugs and alcohol effect fluid and crystallised intelligence?
Age: Fluid intelligence appears to peak in early adulthood, crystallised intelligence may continue to rise with age.
Drugs & Alcohol: effects fluid intelligence more than crystallised.
Describe Caroll’s three-stratum model
•a hierarchy with g on top, under g are 8 broad abilities including fluid and crystallised that draw on g. The third stratum is made up of 69 specific abilities.
Specific task ability requires citing factors in all three tiers.
What are Howard Gardner’s 9 forms of intelligence?
Gardner’s 9 forms of intelligence:
1. Linguistic: Use of language
- Spatial: Ability to reason about spatial (reading maps, packing suit case, judging weight)
- Musical: Musicality, compose, read music
- Logical-mathematical Manipulate symbols to analyse mathematical problems
- Bodily-kinesthetic: Dancing, gymnastics, sports, muscular intelligence
- Intrapersonal: Ability to understand one’s self
- Interpersonal: Ability to understand others and social situations (human behaviour)
- Naturalist: Observe the world around you and to be able to manipulate the environment
- Existential: Ability to explain the BIG QUESTIONS of why we are here, how we got here
Argument that these are all different types of intelligence:
Specific brains relate to types of intelligence – brain scan will provide evidence that these are different types of intelligence.
Develop at different speeds.
Some people have these at the extremes and be still operating averagely in other areas e.g. dance prodigee
What are Robert Sternberg’s 3 forms of intelligence?
Sternberg 3 forms of intelligence:
Analytic: math, language, read, write
Practical: implicit memories, learned responses draw on things we already know e.g. know how to change a light bulb, if lawn mower doesn’t start you know to check that you have petrol, prime it, check spark plug. When cooking a meal knowing when to put everything on that it finishes at the same time and is hot when serving.
Creative: dealing with a situation when you don’t have all the equipment. E.g. Michelle fixing her dryer with duck tape
Discuss intelligence and heredity
- No doubt that there is closer relationship between intelligence of people who are related than those who are not.
- Difficulty, as with personality, is determining to what extent this reflects similarities of environment or similarity of genetic makeup
- Many studies have looked at IQ of identical twins separated at birth, finding higher correlation between twins’ IQs than between non-identical twins
- Other studies compared IQs of adopted children with those of biological / birth and adoptive parents, a higher IQ correlation was found between children and biological / birth parents
- Probably fair to say that few individuals today would argue that IQ is entirely determined by genetic makeup.
- Just as with evidence for heredity, there is considerable evidence for environmental influences
Discuss intelligence and environment
- Correlation between IQ of non-identical twins higher than that between siblings (twins would have nearly exactly the same environment growing up)
- Evidence that enrichment of environment is associated with increase in IQ
- IQ scores worldwide appear to be increasing (“Flynn effect”), while genotype remains essentially the same (environment playing a part)
Discuss why it is hard to show a correlation between genetics and IQ
- Most striking flaw in genetic argument is the assumption that genetic contributions to within-group differences are same as contribution to between-group differences.
- This clearly cannot be taken for granted – if for example you took a group from a poor third-world rural country with little education, and another from an upmarket US community, then within each group the main determinant of variation might be hereditary, but the main determinant of variation between the groups would be the quality of education.
Discuss the interaction between race and environment
- In settings where the majority of these studies have been conducted, a variable like race has many covariates which may confound results:
- Poverty levels higher in black communities in USA than in white.
- Schools in black areas may have more difficulty recruiting the best teachers than those in white areas, partly because poverty means that resources at such schools may be poorer.
- So-called stereotype threat – notion of self-fulfilling prophecy – if you are part of a group that’s been identified as likely to do badly on tests, this may increase your anxiety when taking the test – and result in you doing badly.
Explain possible reasons for the Flynn Effect
Flynn Effect: average IQ increases 3 points every 10 years.
- Daily life is more challenging - technology
- Nutrition is better – can’t be the only thing because we are seeing the Flynn effect across lower levels of IQ also
- Reasoning ability stressed by IQ tests has gotten better, not IQ itself
- Hybrid vigor – weeding out of recessive genes. Having children with people who are very different genetically – A Maori Nzer having offspring with someone from Finland
What are 2 possible educational programs to boost IQ?
Head Start project 1960s
Help provide additional learning experiences before starting schooling system
Only short term
Abecedarian Project 1970s
Children from struggling families where parents may not be able to help the children
Provided paediatric care, nutrition, social support
Put into special kindergarten
Aim to increase IQ and performance
Time spent in small groups learning how to learn – new strategies
Long term 5 point boost in IQ
At what level is someone said to have an intellectual disability?
IQ of 70 or less and significant limitations in at least two aspects of everyday life since childhood
What are some causes of intellectual disability?
280 separate genes linked to metal impairment
Down syndrome – causes the neurons in the brain not to develop properly – impacts on ability to learn and engage socially
More likely to occur with older parents. It is caused by genetics but it is not inherited or passed on
Fragile X syndrome – compounded in heritability. Males are more likely to have as they only have one X chromosome
Movements can be affected.
Autism – research to support both genetic and non-genetic causes
Tend to have lower IQ <70%
Problems during pregnancy – blood testing
Foetal alcohol syndrome
Malnutrition during pregnancy – in utero difficulties with developing of brain
Issues can also arise during birth such as prematurity and low birth weight
Problems after birth such as physical trauma, childhood diseases
Discuss those who have a higher IQ
Unlike lower IQ, high IQ is not gene related.
‘Gifted children’ are intellectually advanced for their age but may not be in other areas such as emotional intelligence.
They are simply very good at absorbing existing knowledge.
High IQ is not related to creativeness.
Gifted children may not remain gifted into their adult years as everyone else catches them up
Describe creativity
The ability to produce something original of high quality or to devise effective new ways of solving a problem
What are the two stages of creativity?
Generate various possible solutions.
Select among them
Describe both convergent and divergent thinking
Convergent thinking: focuses on a particular approach and works through a series of steps to arrive at a solution.
Divergent thinking: approach the problem from a number of different angles, explore a variety of approaches to a solution before settling on one.
What are some characteristics of creative people?
- Make loose associations, engage in divergent thinking
- effective selection of possible solutions
- keep options open
- don’t make snap decisions
- Are good at seeing problems from a new vantage point
- Are flexible and able to reorganise information
- think in terms of analogies
- tend to have high intelligence
- wide interests
- hard working
- highly motivated and persistent
How does Sternberg propose to enhance creativity?
Redefine problems – engage with the problem in different ways
Analyse your ideas
Sell your ideas – be smart
Double edged sword – listen to experts but don’t think that’s the only way
Overcome obstacles
Take sensible risks
Be willing to grow
Believe in yourself
Tolerate ambiguity
Find what you love and do it
