Why does intelligence not have a clear cut definition?
- not agreed upon by every researcher/professionals
- infighting of what “intelligence” in
Who came up with the “sensory capacity” intelligence concept?
Sir Francis Galton
Galton’s idea of intelligence
intelligence = byproduct of sensory capacity (information
we acquire from senses), therefore better
sensory understanding = more intelligent
Issues with Galton’s definition
- People who may have physical disabilities and may not be able to use a certain sensory capacities are not on average less smarter than those who have ability for all
sensory capacity
Galton’s sensory test conclusion
sensory tests did not correlate to one another i.e. intelligence should ideally dictate that people do well on all the tests
Who come up with the “abstract thinking” concept?
French researchers, Binet and Simon
Why? for the government for student
What is “abstract thinking”?
Intelligence = ability to think abstractly and have logical reasonings
Correlation across different questions were small to
moderate, found positive correlations
What is the “general vs specific” definition?
General: strength of mental engines i.e. overall and general intelligence
Specific: ability in a narrow domain i.e. Differences in how people perform in different areas
Who came up with the “general vs specific” definition?
Charles Spearman
What is crystallized intelligence?
- Accumulated knowledge of the world
- Increases with age
- Product of general knowledge, vocab, product of educational
and cultural experiences
Who came up with the concept of “Fluid and Crystallized intelligence??
Cattell & Horn
What is fluid intelligence?
- Capacity to problem solve when facing new
problems - Logical problem solving ability
- Tends to decline with age (highest at early
adulthood) - Flexible and adaptive
Who’s theory is “Multiple Intelligences”?
Howard Gardner
What is Sternberg’s Triarchic Model?
Consists of:
- Practical - ability to solve real-world problems
- Analytical - reason and logic
- Creative - create, invent, discover
(involving others)
Critiques of the Multiple Intelligences Theory
- Vague, hard to define and have no ways of measuring the
domains - Unclear why certain things are on the list but not others such as
humour, memory - Items on the list have been defined as other things such as
“empathy (interpersonal intelligence)” or “bodily-kinesthetic
(athletic ability)” - Garnder said that the intelligences are subserved by different
areas of the brain which is not supported
Key point of “multiple intelligences”
Performance in each domain = unrelated to one another
Possible intelligence definition
“Intelligence consists of the abilities to: reason abstractly, learn
to adapt to novel environmental circumstances, acquire
knowledge, benefit from experience”
Larger brain’s role in intelligence
More likely to have higher levels of intelligence if you have a larger brain volume
Exception = Einstein (some larger parts)
Intelligence and Tetris
Persons with higher intelligence = quicker reaction times, less overall brain activity, steeper learning curve
Intelligence and reaction time
Faster reaction time = higher intelligence (negative correlation)
Which part is active during “g-loaded tasks”?
Prefrontal cortex
What part of the brain is involved in spatial reasoning?
Parietal cortex
Consequences of IQ testing
- Synonymous with eugenics movement
- abused and used for nefarious purposes
- forcible sterilization and immigration laws to discriminate against BIPOC
Lead and IQ
- Previous belief: lead causes illness but toxic only in high
doses (60 mcg/deciliter) - Needleman’s finding: Every 10 mcg/decilitre increase in
lead > IQ score decreases by 4 points
