Psychology Chapter Review

1. Psychology Chapter Review

2. According to psychologists, one thing intelligence is not is achievement.

3. Achievement refers to knowledge and skills gained from experience. • Achievement focuses on the things that you know and can do.

4. Intelligence can be defined as the ability to learn from experience, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment.

5. Intelligence makes achievement possible by giving people the ability to learn.

6. Spearman’s Two Factor Theory • Nearly 100 years ago, British psychologist Charles Spearman suggested that all the behavior we consider to be intelligent has a common underlying factor. • He labeled the factor “g,” which stands for “general intelligence.” • The g factors represents the abilities to reason and to solve problems. • he suggested that specific or “s” factors account for particular abilities. • The most capable people are relatively better at some things than others, such as writing and music rather than math.

7. Thurstone’s Theory of Primary Mental abilities • American psychologist Louis Thurstone believed separate factors make up intelligence. • He called them primary mental abilities.

8. Thurstone’s Theory of Primary Mental abilities • Visual and spatial ability (the ability to picture shapes and spatial relationships). • Perceptual speed (the ability to understand perceptual information rapidly and to see the similarities and differences between stimuli). • Numerical ability (the ability to calculate and recall numbers). • Verbal meaning (knowledge of the meanings of words). • Memory (the ability to recall information, such as words and sentences). • Word fluency (the ability to think of words quickly for such tasks as rhyming or doing crossword puzzles). • Deductive reasoning (the ability to derive examples from general rules). • Inductive reasoning (the ability to derive general rules from examples).

9. Gardener’s theory of Multiple Intelligences Howard Gardner believes that intelligence has a broader base and there are actually seven different kinds of intelligence within us: • Linguistic intelligence • Logical-mathematical intelligence • Visual-spatial intelligence • Body-kinesthetic intelligence • Musical-rhythmic intelligence • Interpersonal intelligence (insight into one’s own inner feelings) • Intrapersonal intelligence (sensitivity to other people’s feelings)

10. A major difference between Gardner’s and Thurstone’s theories is that Thurstone believed that the factors he identified, when taken together, make up intelligence. • Gardner on the other hand, proposes that the seven different intelligences are independent of each other.

11. Critics of Gardner’s views think that exceptional abilities in the musical or bodily-kinesthetic areas are not really part of intelligence at all. • They argue that those skills are talents and that being talented is not the same thing as being intelligent.

12. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory • Robert Sternberg believes that different kinds of intelligence all work together. • He has created a three-level, or triarchic, model of intelligence. • Sternberg’s intelligence includes... • analytic, • creative • practical abilities

13. Emotional intelligence • Psychologist Daniel Goleman • He proposes yet another kind of intelligence: emotional intelligence. • Emotional intelligence consists of five factors that are involved in success in school or on the job.

14. Emotional intelligence consists of five factors that are involved in success in school or on the job. • Self awareness (the ability the recognize our own feelings). • Mood management (the ability to distract oneself from an uncomfortable feeling). • Self motivation (the ability to move ahead with confidence and enthusiasm). • Impulse control (the ability to delay pleasure until a task has been accomplished). • People skills (the ability to emphasize, understand, communicate, and cooperate with others).

15. Musical training might help develop the connections between nerve cells in parts of the brain.

16. French Psychologist Alfred Binet devised the first modern intelligence test. • The original version of the test was first used in 1905. • Binet assumed that intelligence increased with age. • Binet’s test yielded a score called a mental age.

17. A child’s mental age is not the same thing as his or her chronological age. • Mental age (MA) shows the intellectual level at which a child is functioning.

18. In 1916, Binet’s test was brought to the United States and revised by Louis Terman of Stanford University. • For this reason, the test became known as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (SBIS). • The version of the test used today provides an intelligence quotient, not a MA.

19. An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a number that reflects the relationship between a child’s mental age and his or her actual, or chronological age (CA). • The IQ = (mental age divided by chronological age ) x 100.

20. The most widely used test is the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R).

21. The Wechsler scales differ from the Stanford Binet test in several important ways: • The Wechsler scales do not use mental age. • The Stanford-Binet measures verbal ability, whereas the Wechsler scales measure both verbal and nonverbal abilities. • Because the Wechsler tests yield three scores (verbal, nonverbal, and combined), they can be used to identify particular learning disabilities.

22. An IQ test must meet two criteria: • reliable • valid

23. The reliability of a test refers to its consistency. • A reliable intelligence test should obtain similar IQ scores on different testing occasions.

24. Education or economic background can make a difference in determining an outcome. • Motivation to do well also contributes to performance on intelligence tests.

25. Some intelligence tests have been criticized for being culturally biased. • A test that is culturally biased would give an advantage to a particular group.

26. The average IQ is 100, which about half the people in the United States obtain. • People who attain IQ scores of 70 or below are defined by psychologists are MR (Intellectual disability).

27. People who attain scores of 130 or above are defined by psychologists as gifted.

28. Mild MR • IQ ranging from 50-70. • Difficultly in learning to walk, feeding themselves, and in learning to talk. • As an adult, are able to hold down a regular job.

29. Profound MR • IQs below 20 • Barely communicate • May show basic emotional responses. • They cannot feed or dress themselves and are dependent on other people for their care throughout their lives.

30. Causes of MR • Accidents that result in brain damage. • Difficulties during childbirth. • Pregnant women who abuse alcohol and drugs, are malnourished, or who have other health problems. • Genetic disorders.

31. People who are gifted have IQ scores of 130 or above. • In general, to be gifted is to possess outstanding talent or to show the potential for performing at remarkable high levels of accomplishment when compared with other people of the same age, experience, or environment.

32. Some researches believe that motivation and creativity contribute to giftedness. • Creativity is the ability to invent new solutions to problems or to create original or ingenious materials.

33. English psychiatrist Lorna Selfe identified a girl named Nadia. • Nadia had diminished mental skills and could not speak. • However, she had a remarkable talent for drawing and her creative ability was indisputable.

34. Nadia was a savant, a person who has MR and yet exhibits extraordinary skills, even brilliance, in a particular field.

35. Many psychologists believe that both heredity and environment influence intelligence. Snyderman and Rothman surveyed a sample of 1,020 psychologists and educational specialists and found the following… • Forty-five percent believe that differences in IQ scores among people reflect both genetic and environmental factors. • Fifteen percent believe that these differences reflect environmental factors alone. • Twenty-four percent believe that there is not enough research information to support any particular opinion.

36. IQ scores of identical twins are more similar than those of any other group of people. • This finding holds even when the twins are reared apart and therefore in different environments.

37. Heritability is the extent to which variations in a trait from person to person can be explained by genetic factors. • Most studies of adopted children have found that their IQ scores are more like those of the biological parents than those of the adoptive parents.

38. Studies have shown that home environment and styles of parenting influence the development of intelligence. The following factors apparently contribute to high levels of intellectual functioning in children: • The parents are emotionally and verbally responsive to their children’s needs. • The parents provide enjoyable and educational toys. • The parents are involved in their children’s activities. • The parents provide varied daily experiences during the preschool years. • The home environment is well organized and safe. • The parents encourage the children the be independent- that is, to make their own decisions and solve their own problems whenever possible.

39. Head Start, beginning in the 1960s, was designed to give economically disadvantaged children a better start in school.

40. A Seattle Study found that intellectual functioning in older people is linked to several environmental factors: • Level of income • Level of education • A history of stimulating jobs • Intact family life • Attendance at cultural events, travel, and reading • Marriage to a spouse with a high level of intellectual functioning • A flexible personality

41. No matter what genes a person may have inherited, that person’s intelligence is not fixed or unchangeable.