Intelligence

1. Intelligence Huh?

2. Module 13 • What is “intelligence”? • Who do you think are intelligent people? • Why? • Is intelligence the same thing as smart?

3. Definitions • People define “intelligence” in different ways. • Your text explores three different ways of defining intelligence

4. Two-factor Theory • A psychometric approach which measures cognitive ability thought to be involved in intellectual performance • Developed by Spearman in 1904 • Intelligence has 2 factors: • General mental ability factor (g) measuring what tasks have in common • Specific factors (s) including specific abilities such as mathematical or verbal skills

5. More two-factor theory • Today, “g” is defined and measured by a person’s performance on standard tests. This is what we call an IQ score. • IQ was developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon (1905) as a way of identifying children in need of extra academic support • IQ is a persons “mental age” divided by their “chronological age” and then multiplied by 100. • ie. A 12 year old who can only perform tasks at a 6-year old level would have an IQ defined as 6/12x100 = 50

6. Yet more 2-factor stuff • IQ scores are largely used to compare students academically or to rate them in terms of mental disability. It does not take into account musical, motor or inter-personal skills. • It is a reliable predictor of academic performance • It is not a good predictor of ability outside traditional white western culture.

7. Multiple-intelligence theory • Gardner (1999) defined at least 9 different types of intelligence: verbal, musical, logical-mathematical, inter-personal, intra-personal, spatial, kinesthetic, naturalistic and existential • He based this on abilities which remain after brain-damage occurs • Advantage: different skills are recognized as intelligence • Disadvantage: difficult to find a standard measure

8. Triarchic Theory • Sternberg (2003) also felt that g was too narrow a theory. • Triarchic theory recognizes 3 components of reasoning process: • Analytical skills such as those measured by IQ • Creative problem-solving skills and learning from experience • Practical thinking skills for coping with the socio-cultural environment

9. More Triarchic Theory • Advantages: does not limit intelligence to cognitive abilities • Disadvantage: a new theory with little scientific support so far

10. Current Ideas • While IQ is predictive of academic success, it is not a good measure of career success. • Multiple intelligences are beginning to be the recognized measure of a person’s abilities by employers.

11. What does a score mean? • Tests which measure ability, and are widely used, must be both valid and reliable (as all good scientific systems should be). • Valid – the tests measures what it is supposed to measure • Reliable – the test is consistent: what a person scores today will be the same as a similar test taken at another time.

12. IQ tests on-line • http://www.psychtests.com/tests/iq/index.htmll

13. More about IQ • 100 is the middle point for IQ scores (the “average”). Points fall to either side in a bell curve. • 95% of IQ scores fall between 70 and 130 • Below 70 is considered “mild retardation” which is a medical term only • Over 130 is considered gifted.

14. Concerns: • IQ tests may be biased in the following ways: • Racially • Culturally • Socially • Individuals with test or social anxiety

15. Influences • The “heritability” of IQ is about 50%. So genetic factors contribute to about half of what we consider intelligence • “Reaction range” is the amount of IQ affected by environmental factors. These may cause IQ to increase or decrease by as much as 10-15 points. Environmental factors are very early influences: IQ cannot be significantly changed after early childhood, although ability can be enhanced.

16. Thinking …