100 likes | 206 Views
Intelligence Dynamics. Aging and Intelligence. Do our intellectual abilities decline over time? Do they remain constant? Research has developed over time. Aging and Intelligence. Phase 1: Cross Section for Decline Test & compare varying age groups
E N D
Aging and Intelligence • Do our intellectual abilities decline over time? • Do they remain constant? • Research has developed over time
Aging and Intelligence • Phase 1: Cross Section for Decline • Test & compare varying age groups • Older adults consistently gave fewer correct answers than younger • “the decline of mental ability with age is part of the general [aging] process” • Corporations started mandatory retirement programs
Aging and Intelligence • Phase 2: Longitudinal for Stability • Test the same cohort (group of people from a given time period) • Started college student in the 1920’s • Found intelligence remained stable or increased until late in life
Aging and Intelligence • Why the difference between Cross-Section and Longitudinal? • Cross-section didn’t just test different ages, but also different eras • Born in early 1900’s vs born after 1950 • Large family vs small family • Less affluent (depression) vs more affluent • Belief that intelligence declines with age was dispelled as a myth • But wait…there’s more
Aging and Intelligence • Phase 3: It all depends • If there is “proof” and argument over 2 opposing sets of facts – something’s wrong! • Maybe those that lived long enough to do the longitudinal were just the bright & healthy ones • Crystalized intelligence: our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills tend to increase with age (Seniors are better at crossword puzzles) • Fluid intelligence: our ability to reason speedily an abstractly; tend to decrease during late adulthood
Stability Over Lifespan • By age 4 – performance on IQ test start to be predictive of later life • Deary Study • Study in Scotland tested all 11 year olds and later the 542 surviving 80 year olds • High scoring 11 year • more likely to live on their own as 77 year olds • less likely to have suffered from Alzheimer’s • More intelligent children & adults live longer
Extremes of Intelligence Low Extreme • Intellectual disability (mental retardation) – limited mental ability, IQ score less than 70 and difficulty adapting to life • Adaptive behaviors • Conceptual skills: language, literacy, money, time • Social skills: Interpersonal, social responsibility, follow rules • Practical skills: Personal care, occupational skill, travel, health care
Extremes of Intelligence Low Extreme • Recognized before age 18 • Sometimes with a physical cause • Down Syndrome • Caused by extra chromosome 21 • Mild to severe intellectual disability • Those with IQ near 70 cannot be executed, courts ruled it “cruel and unusual punishment”
High Extreme • Terman studied 1500 California kids with IQ’s over 135 • Healthy, well-adjusted, unusually academically successful • Not maladjusted or socially awkward • Critics of Talented and Gifted programs say they widen the gap by not giving “ungifted” students the same opportunity • Can promote segregation & prejudice because minority and low-income more often placed in lower academic groups.