What are 4 ways of defining Intelligence
- ) Single Trait
- ) Few Basic Abilities
- ) Multiple Processes
- ) A Resolution? (Integrated Model of Intelligence)
Intelligence as a single trait. What has this been correlated with?
individuals possesses an amount of g (general intelligence), common to all intellectual tasks.
Performance on IQ tasks are positively correlated with
- School achievement
- Info-processing speed
- Speed of neural trasmission
- Knowledge of subjects not studied in school
Defining: Intelligence as few basic abilities
Two types of Intelligence:
Crystallized intelligence
- Factual knowledge about the world
Fluid intelligence
- Ability to think on the spot to solve problems
Defining: Intelligence as Multiple Processes. Contrast this with few basic abilities
Thurstone: Seven primary mental abilities
- Verbal comprehension, word fluency, number facility, spatial visualization, associative memory, perceptual speed, and reasoning..
While the crystallized/fluid distinction offers simplicity, the seven primary mental abilities model offers greater precision.
Defining: Resolution of defining intelligence
Carroll: Three-stratum theory of intelligence
- General Intelligence
- Broad Abilites
- Narrow Specific
- ) General intelligence (g)
- ) Fluid, Crystallized, General memory and learning, Broad visual perception, Broad auditory perception, Broad retrieval ability, Broad cognitive speediness, Processing speed (8)
- ) Further processes
Measuring Intelligence
2 Contents/Properties of Intelligence Tests
- Measures based on observable behavior
- Intelligene tests observe problem solving on tasks that require a variety of types of abilities
- Intelligence tests measure somewhat different aspects in different ages
- With greatest success with preschoolers and older children
- “Good test” for 4, 8, 12 yo for the same construct may change
Measuring Intelligence: Most widely used for children. What are the sections?
Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children (WISC)
For Children 6yo and up
2 Main Sections
- Verbal
- General knowledge and skill using language
- Performance
- Spatial and perceptual abilities
Measuring Intelligence: What is IQ
A quantitative measure of intelligence relative to others.
Measuring Intelligence: Can we measure infant’s intelligence
Lots of test of cognitive development for babies but NONE test intelligence for babies
Measures of infant intelligence help identify babies with problems (e.g. status measures)
Measuring Intelligence: Gifted Children. Who are they but what is the sad reality
- Specific areas (numbers, music); or
- Exceptional in wide range of intellectual areas.
Exceptional early ability does not always foreshadows later achievement (e.g., Autistic child nadia and horse)
Measuring Intelligence: Longitudinal. What is the stability of IQ. What might change IQ.
Longitudinal studies 5-years and upwards
- Measurements conducted closer in time are more closely correlated than measures conducted further in time
- Scores are more stable at older ages
Changes in IQ may be reflective of parental practices.
Measuring Intelligence: IQ as predictors of outcome. Is IQ the only predictor of outcomes?
- Predictor of academic, economic, and occupational success (Stronger than SES)
- Nonetheless, motivation, creativity, health, social skills, are implicated in later success (IQ is not the only predictor)
Genes, Environment, and IQ: Genes
How does “Nature” contribute to thier own development
Children contribute to their own intellectual development through:
- Genetic endowment
- Likely many genes with small effects
- Reactions they elicit from other people
- Evocative effects of the genotype
- Choice of environments
- Active effects of the genotype
Genes, Environment, and IQ: Environment
How does “Nuture” affect IQ. What is HOME and what has it been correlated/causal with?
HOME (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment)
- Measure of quality of family environment
- Children’s IQ scores positively correlates with HOME
- no CAUSAL relationship between home and IQ
Genes, Environment, and IQ: Environment.
What has a study on schooling found and what is the relationship with IQ
Study
- In an IQ test, children who were slightly older but who had a year more schooling do much better than slightly younger children in the grade below them
- Average IQ and achievement test scores rise during the academic year and drop during the summer
- Jumping Grades Lines
Genes, Environment, and IQ: Society
Flynn Effect
- Average IQ rise in last 70 years, especially in lower 10% (Not top 10%)
- Probably reflecting better nutrition, healthcare, access to education
Genes, Environment, and IQ: Risk Factors. What is the correlation with risk factor and what are the risk factors
Negative correlation between risk factors and IQ
- Risk factors in 4-year-old’s environment not only correlates highly with child’s IQ score at age 4
- Predicts likely changes in the child’s score between
ages 4 and 13
10 risks but the main ones:
- Low occupational parents
- At least 4 children
- Maternal anxiety, mental health, interaction
- African American Family
- Stressful events
- Rigidity of parental beliefs
Alternative Perspective to Intelligence
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence:
(At least) 8 Types of Intelligence
Alternative Perspective to Intelligence: What are the types
- Linguistic: Words
- Logical-Mathematical: Objects and Symbols
- Spatial: Visual World perception
- Musical: Music
- Naturalistic: Plants, animals
- Bodily-Kinesthetic: Body
- Intrapersonal: Introspection
- Interpersonal: EQ
Alternative Perspective to Intelligence: What is proposed about the three types of abilities
Gardner proposed individual children learn best through instruction that allows them to build on their strengths (Is it really possible?)
- Creative
- Intellectual flexbility and innovation for adaption to novel circumstances
- Practical
- Reasoning about everyday problems, conflict resolution
- Analytic
- Linguistic, Mathematical, Spatial
Acquisition of Academic Skills: Reading and Maths. What is the stability of these skills?
- Individual differences in reading and math tend to be stable over time
- Reflect both shared genes and shared environments.
Acquisition of Academic Skills: Reading and Maths - Dyslexia. What is it? What is the distribution? What are they bad at? And What we should do?
- Inability to read well despite normal intelligence
- Non-Overlapping
- 5-10% in US
- Weakness at phonological processing: Ability to discriminate and remember sounds within words, with support from brain imaging
- Taught to use strategies that enhance their phonological recoding skills.
Importantly they have normal IQ
Dyslexia. 13-14 yo vs 7-8yo
13 -14 yo = 7-8 yo
Acquisition of Academic Skills: Reading and Maths - Dyscalculia What is it? What is the distribution? What do they do in math?
- Mathematical disabilities despite normal intelligence
- Little overlap between dyslexia and dyscalculia
- 8% Worldwide
- Use of immature strategies in mathand arithematic (while typical developing children use better strategy)
Remember they have normal IQ
