Intelligence

1. Intelligence Module 24

2. Intelligence Includes: • capacity to learn from experience • ability to solve problems • capacity to reason clearly Robert Sternberg, 1997, “[intelligence is]...the mental abilities needed to select, adapt to, and shape environments.”

3. Alfred Binet • commissioned in 1904, by the French government to study the problem of determining children’s intelligence. • collaborated with Theodore Simon • set out to measure mental age, a chronological age typical of a child’s performance at a certain level • was successful in creating a series of questions to discern intellect

4. Lewis Terman of Stanford University • revised Binet’s intelligence test • adapted some of the original and added others • established new age norms • extended the upper range from teenagers to “superior adults” • called it the Stanford-Binet

5. What is an IQ? It’s an idea developed by German psychologist William Stern IQ = ___mental age_____ X 100 chronological age Average IQ score = 100 Thus, if a 8 year old child tests with a mental age of 10, her I Q would be 125.

6. Factor Analysis This is a way of identifying clusters of test items that measure a common ability. Examples: verbal, spatial, reasoning, social, leadership ability

7. Robert Sternberg -Three aspects of Intelligence • Analytical = academic problem-solving, a single right answer • Creative = novel ideas, reacting to novel situations • Practical = required for everyday tasks, need multiple solutions

8. Creativity - Sternberg “The ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable.” Five components of creativity: • Expertise –base of knowledge • Imaginative thinking skills – ability to see things in a new way. • Venturesome personality – tolerance for ambiguity and risk • Intrinsic motivation – internally motivated • Creative environment - support

9. Howard Gardner • intelligence comes in different “packages” • accounts for the savant syndrome (low score on IQ tests, high ability, even brilliance, in one area). • we have multiple intelligences

10. Mental Retardation

11. Test Construction Terminology: Standardization – comparing scores to a pretested, representative group Reliability – test-retest constancy Validity – the test must measure what it says it will measure Content validity – measuring the specific pertinent behavior

12. Emotional Intelligence - Gardner “The ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions.” Self awareness empathy Delay gratification handle others Self-control

13. Assessing Intelligence • WAIS – Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale • WISC – Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children • Created by David Wechsler • Gives a Verbal and Performance score, great differences between the two may indicate a learning disability or other problem/

14. Test Construction • Criterion – what the test is designed to predict • Predictive validity - the test’s ability to predict future achievement (also called criterion-related validity)

15. How well do aptitude tests predict success? • They are highly predictive in the early grades, but not as we get older. • The best predictor of future grades is past grades!! • The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

16. Genetics and Environment

17. Genetic Influences on IQ • Identical twins have almost identical IQ scores - raised apart or together. • The gene on chromosome 6, is found in about 2/3 of children with very high IQ scores. • Smarter mice have been produced by injecting an extra gene into fertilized eggs. • Adopted children resemble their adopted parents less and less with age.

18. Environmental Influences on IQ • Fraternal twins score more alike than other siblings. • Genes and environment interact to shape the brain. • Severe disadvantage deeply harms children. • Programs like Head-Start have immediate positive effects that are reduced over time.

19. Education • Education and intelligence enhance each other. • It pays off in increased earnings later in life. • IQ scores rise during the school year and fall during the summer.

20. Ethnic Similarities and Differences • In the U.S. there is a gap in average IQ scores between whites, blacks, and Hispanics. • Other countries also have IQ score differences among different ethnic populations. • Differences may be due to the environment.

21. Gender Similarities and Differences • No overall difference in gender IQ scores • Girls are better spellers. • Girls are more verbally fluent. • Boys are more often in special education. • Boys talk later, stutter more, have difficulty with reading more often. • In high school, boys underachieve more often then girls by a 2:1 ratio.

22. What about math? • In math grades the typical girl equals or surpasses the average boy. • Females have the edge in computation. • Males have the edge in problem solving. • Males can quickly rotate 3D objects in their minds. • More western males score at the top, but females score equally in the east. • Exposure to male hormones increases spatial ability.

23. What about emotion? • Women are better “emotion detectors” than men • Myers speculates that because women need to read the emotions of their infants and would-be lovers, they have developed more empathy.

24. Bias • IQ tests are biased in the sense that they detect genetic differences and cultural, environmental factors. • Gender and racial bias are also factors in teaching and testing. • Sometimes IQ tests are wrongly used to discriminate.