Unit XI Intelligence Powerpoint presentation by Jim Foley

Chapter Overview Overall question to consider: does each of us have an inborn level of talent, a general mental capacity or set of abilities, and can that level be measured and represented by a score on a test? § Definitions of intelligence § One ability or many? § The role of creativity and emotional intelligence § How to construct tests to try to assess intelligence § Intelligence stability, change, and extremes § Genetic vs. environmental influences § Group differences in ability § Racial difference or cultural test bias?

“Definition” of Intelligence § Intelligence tests are a series of questions and other exercises which attempt to assess people’s mental abilities in a way that generates a numerical score, so that one person can be compared to another. § Intelligence can be defined as “whatever intelligence tests measure. ” § Your college entrance test measures how good you are at scoring well on that test.

Definition of Intelligence: Beyond the Test? The text defines intelligence, whether it’s math ability or a rainforest dweller’s understanding of plants, as the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Intelligence: Single or Multiple? Is intelligence one general ability or several specific abilities? Charles Spearman general intelligence [g] Louis Thurstone 7 linked clusters of abilities Howard Gardner 8 intelligences Robert Sternberg 3 intelligences Creativity and intelligence 5 components Emotional intelligence 4 components

Charles Spearman (1945) • Believes in the idea of a “general intelligence. ” • There is a common skill set that underlies all intelligences. • People who score high in one area tend to score high in related areas. • This is controversial because… • Our intelligences may be too diverse to be guided by one skill factor.

General Intelligence, also known as g Charles Spearman (1863 -1945) performed a factor analysis* of different skills and found that people who did well in one area also did well in another. Spearman speculated that these people had a high “g” (general intelligence). *Factor analysis refers to a statistical technique that determines how different variables relate to each other; for example whether they form clusters that tend to vary together.

L. L. Thurstone (1955) • He did not rank people on a single scale. He identified seven different clusters of mental abilities • However, people who scored high in one area tended to score high in related areas which lends itself to the idea of a “g” factor. • Somewhat like athletic ability. Weight lifters and ice skaters do not share the same types of athleticism. • Speed and throwing a ball may coordinate. Several different abilities tend to cluster together.

Thurstone’s Seven Clusters of Abilities § Louis Thurstone (18871955) disagreed with the idea of one general measure and trait of overall intelligence. § Thurstone found that the results of 56 skill tests fell into 7 clusters. § However, further analysis showed that people who were strong in one cluster tended to be strong in other clusters. “g” factor? 1. Verbal comprehension 2. Inductive reasoning 3. Word fluency 4. Spatial ability 5. Memory 6. Perceptual speed 7. Numerical ability g

Satoshi Kanazawa (2005) • Believes that intelligence develops as we solve problems. • He believes there are two very different types of intelligence. • Evolutionary skills like dating and forming relationships, finding your way back to camp or finding food are different from academic intelligences.

Howard Gardner (1983, 2006) • He believes that intelligences come in different packages. He identified 8 separate intelligences. • Proven by Savant Syndrome • This goes beyond traditional school smarts.

Multiple Intelligences The “savant syndrome” refers to having isolated “islands” of high ability amidst a sea of below-average cognitive and social functioning. Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences § Howard Gardner (b. 1943) noted that different people have intelligence/ability in different areas. § Research and factor analysis suggests that there may be a correlation among these intelligences.

Howard Gardner’s Eight Intelligences

Intelligence and Success “Success in life” is impossible to define. However, wealth tends to be related to intelligence test scores, but it does not always make you successful. PLUS: § focused daily effort/practice, taking 10 years to achieve success-level expertise. § social support and connections. § hard work and energetic persistence (grit). Combination of talent and GRIT lead to success 14

Sternberg’s Intelligence Triarchy Robert Sternberg (b. 1949) proposed that “success” in life is related to three types of ability. Analytical intelligence: Practical intelligence: expertise and talent that help to complete the tasks and manage the complex challenges of everyday life solving a welldefined problem with a single answer Creative intelligence: generating new ideas to help adapt to novel situations

Creativity Test • You have two minutes to list of everything you can do with a paper clip? • Remote associations test

What one word is related to these three? • • • call pay line man hot sure stick hair ball man wheel high motion poke down stool powder ball wood liquor luck plan show walker key wall precious water pen soda steady cart slow up book charge • • spin tip shape tin writer my leg arm person weight pipe pencil out band night cool house fat bath up gum

Robert Sternberg’s Five Components of Creativity Creative environment: having support, feedback, encouragement, and time and space to think Venturesome personality: tending to seek out new experiences despite risk, ambiguity, and obstacles Expertise: possessing a welldeveloped base of knowledge Intrinsic motivation: enjoying the pursuit of interests and challenge, without needing external direction or rewards Imaginative thinking: having the ability to see new perspectives, combinations, and connections

To Boost Creativity: Four Strategies § Pursue an interest until you develop expertise. § Allow time for incubation (“sleeping on it”) with your attention away from projects, during which unconscious connections can form. § Allow time for mental wandering and aimless daydreaming with no distractions. § Improve mental flexibility by experiencing other cultures and ways of thinking.

Social and Emotional Intelligence Social intelligence refers to the ability to understand navigate social situations. Emotional intelligence involves processing and managing the emotional component of those social situations, including one’s own emotions.

social intelligence/emotional intelligence • This is the ability to successfully comprehend social situations. • Higher IQ do not always predict abilities in social situations. • Emotional IQ involves four main talents • These people are socially and self-aware. They are not overtaken by depression, anxiety, or anger. • It is mostly based on their ability to unconsciously process emotional information.

Components of Emotional Intelligence Perceiving emotions • Recognizing emotions in facial expressions, stories, and even in music Understanding emotions • Being able to see blended emotions, and to predict emotional states and changes in self and others Managing emotions • Modulating and expressing emotions in various situations Using emotions • Using emotions as fuel and motivation for creative, adaptive thinking Benefits of Emotional Intelligence People with high emotional intelligence often have other beneficial traits, such as the ability to delay gratification while pursuing long-term goals. The level of emotional intelligence, including the skill of reading the emotions of others, correlates with success in career and other social situations.

Intelligence and Brain Anatomy “Genius” seems to correlate with: § overall brain size. Avg size is 3 lbs § the size of some brain regions such as the parietal lobe. § high brain activity in the frontal and parietal lobes. § extra gray matter (brain cell bodies, seen as more brain surface area/convolutions). § extra white matter (axons) leading to high connectivity among different regions. § Einstein brain was larger in the parietal lobe (math and spatial information) Intelligence and Brain Functioning Intelligence in action seems to involve: • activity of the front part of the frontal lobes to organize and coordinate information • “being in shape”; using less energy (less glucose) to solve problems than the brains of “normal” people.

Intelligence and Processing Speed Verbal and general intelligence test scores correlate with the: § speed of retrieving information from memory. § speed of receiving and processing sensory and perceptual information seems to correlate with IQ Q: Did you process the tic tac toe game deeply enough to say whether it was an X or an O in each of the now -empty squares?

Assessing Intelligence Assessment refers to the activity and Why Try to Measure Intelligence? the instruments § to study how (and why) people used to measure differ in ability intelligence. The challenge is to § to match strengths and weaknesses make these to jobs and school programs instruments valid § to help the “survival of the fittest” (measure what they process; trying to select the people are supposed to who have the greatest abilities. measure) and This was the position of eugenicist reliable (yielding the same score if Francis Galton (1822 -1911). administered again, even if administered by someone else).

Predicting School Achievement: Alfred Binet § Problem: in the late 1800 s, a new law in France required universal education even for those without the ability to succeed with the current instruction. § Solution: Alfred Binet devised tests for children to determine which ones needed help. § Binet hoped to predict a child’s level of success in regular education.

Intelligence: Growing with Age? § Alfred Binet assumed that all children follow the same course of development, some going more quickly, and others more slowly. Children who were behind suffered from lack of education. He did not allow for lack of mental ability. § Binet’s tests attempted to measure mental age--how far the child had come along on the “normal” developmental pathway. § The implication was that children with lower ability were delayed (with a mental age below their chronological age), and not disabled; with help, they could improve.

Binet Stanford-Binet § Lewis Terman, of Stanford University, adapted Alfred Binet’s test, adding new test items and extending the age range into adulthood. § Terman also tested many California residents to develop new norms, that is, new information about how people typically performed on the test. § The result was the Stanford-Binet intelligence test. William Stern’s scoring (1914) of the Stanford-Binet test resulted in the concept of IQ, the Intelligence Quotient. Binet reported scores as simply one’s mental age; a 10 year old with below average intelligence might have a mental age of 8. William Stern preserved Binet’s comparison of mental to chronological age as: ratio/quotient. Q: What IQ score do we get for

What do scores mean? What to do if you score low on an IQ test? § IQ are not calculated this way because it does not work for adults. Your IQ number measures where you fall compared to others your age. § § Lewis Terman, of Stanford University, began with a different assumption than Binet; Terman felt that intelligence was unchanging and innate (genetic). Later, Terman saw how scores can be affected by people’s level of education and their familiarity with the language and culture used in the test. Study, and develop selfdiscipline and attention span. Binet Remove your genes from the population (eugenics). Terman

Eugenics Mvt • WWI caused many Americans to be afraid of immigrants. • With the research in genetics, the idea that IQ was hereditary gained strength. • A movement to rid the U. S. of poverty, crime and feeblemindedness began. Prisoners were offered reward for sterilization. Some mental institution patients were sterilized against their will. • Immigrants were tested to measure their education, language and familiarity with American culture. • They were also targeted by the eugenics movement to promote sterilization or institutionalization. • WWI test

Aptitude vs. Achievement § Achievement tests measure what you already have learned. Examples include a literacy test, a driver’s license exam, and a final exam in a psychology course. § Aptitude tests attempt to predict your ability to learn new skills. § The SAT, ACT, and GRE are supposed to predict your ability to do well in future academic work. SAT has a +. 82 correlation to general intelligence scores. (it is a type of IQ test) If the SAT is an aptitude test, should it correlate with IQ? IQ SAT scores (verbal + quantitative)

David Wechsler’s Tests: Intelligence PLUS The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) measure “g”/IQ and have subscores for: verbal comprehension. processing speed. perceptual organization. working memory. Striking differences in these sub scores can indicate a reading or language disability

Principles of Test Construction In order for intelligence or other psychological tests to generate results that are considered useful, the tests (and their scores) must be: standardized. reliable. valid.

Standardization Many intelligence tests generate a raw score based on the number of answers correct, but can we turn this into a number that tells us how smart/capable a person is compared to the general population? Standardization means defining the meaning of scores based on a comparison with the performance of others who have taken the test before. William Stern compared our intelligence test score to others by finding a “mental age” of people who scored on average the way we did. A newer method of generating an intelligence test score is to determine where your raw score falls on a distribution of scores by people of your chronological age.

Standardization: How “Normal” is Your Score? Number of people with this score If we stacked a bunch of Weschler Intelligence Tests (by people your age) in a pile placed by raw score (number of test items correct), there would be a few very high scores and a few low scores, and a big pile in the middle; this bell-shaped pile is called the normal curve. We will call the average raw score “IQ 100. ” Comparing your score to this standard set of scores: if you score higher than 50 percent of people, your IQ is 100. If your score is higher than 98 percent of the population, your IQ is around what number?

Re-Standardization and the Flynn Effect Re-Standardization: Re-testing a sample of the general population to make an updated, accurate comparison group, in case people are smarter than they used to be when the test was first made. The Flynn Effect: (calculation of the differences in scores) Performance on intelligence tests has improved over the years, worldwide. The average 1920 score would be a 76 today

The Flynn Effect • What is the reason that IQ scores have gone up? • Remember that IQ measures intelligence. • This is intellectual functioning. • The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.

Test your understanding You took an intelligence test last week and were assigned a number of 120. Then, after decades of the Flynn effect, the test was restandardized this week. Today, you took the same test and got exactly the same number of items correct. Your new intelligence test score is most likely to be: A. 105 B. 120 C. 128

Reliability and Validity A test or other measuring tool is reliable when it generates consistent results. § § Split-half reliability: do two halves of the test yield the same results? Test-retest reliability: will the test give the same result if used again? If your height was measured with a ruler made of stretchy material, what would be the problem? A test or measure has validity if it accurately measures what it is supposed to measure. Content validity: the test correlates well with the relevant criterion, trait, or behavior § Predictive validity: the test predicts future performance (e. g. an aptitude test relates to future grades) If your height was measured with a yardstick on which the units were too small, what would be the problem? §

Predictive Validity • Aptitude tests are stronger predictors in the early years. • Ages 6 to 12, IQ scores and school performance have a +. 6 correlation • IQ and achievement tests have a +. 81 correlation. IQ tests at age 11 and exams at age 16 • The SAT has a +. 5 correlation to college grades • The GRE has a +. 4 with graduate school performance

Predictive Validity: Only in Broad Ranges At the higher range of weights and success, weight is less of a valid predictor of success of football linemen.

Dynamics of Intelligence Are intelligence test scores stable or do they change with age?

Stability of Intelligence during Aging Evidence for change/decline Evidence for stability Cross-sectional studies examine people of different ages all at once. Longitudinal studies track the performance of one group of people, or cohort, over time. Older adults do not perform as well as younger adults on intelligence tests. This method yields evidence that intelligence remains stable, or even increases, over time. IQ declines with age § What could account for this result? § What factors could explain this? § Two separate groups of people with different experiences. § Survivors could be bright, healthy people

Stability of Intelligence during Aging Putting the evidence together Can we combine the information on this chart and form a general impression about whether intelligence declines with age?

Stability of Intelligence during Aging: Which type of intelligence? Based on this chart, at what age might you do best at completing a crossword puzzle quickly?

Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence Fluid intelligence refers to the ability to think quickly and abstractly. Decreases in 20 s and 30 s slowly up to age 75. Rapid decrease after age 85 Crystallized intelligence refers to accumulated wisdom, knowledge, expertise, and vocabulary. We gain vocabulary knowledge. We are less distorted by negative emotions.

Stability of Intelligence Test Scores Over the Lifespan Pushing toddlers to learn does not seem to help much. Only by age four is a child’s performance on intelligence tests a predictor of future performance on intelligence tests. Based on the results of a longitudinal study depicted in this chart, does intelligence test score at age 11 predict intelligence test score at age 80?

Intelligence and Longevity In a Scottish longitudinal study, 11 -year-olds with higher intelligence test scores lived longer and more independently and were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease. In a study of nuns , those with lower verbal ability were later more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease, which includes a shorter lifespan.

Extremes of Intelligence The Wechsler Intelligence Scale is set so that about 2 percent of the population is above 130 and about 2 percent of the population is below 70. Intellectual Disability Very High Intelligence, Gifted

Extremes of Intelligence “Intellectual disability” refers to people who § have an IQ around 70 or below. § have difficulty with adaptive skills, such as: § conceptual skills (literacy and calculation). § social skills, including making safe social choices. § practical daily living skills such as hygiene, occupational skills, and using transportation. § Although some people with high intelligence test scores can seem socially delayed or withdrawn, most are “successful. ” § “Gifted” children, like any children, learn best with an appropriate level of challenge.

• Segregated, “tracked” programs, however, often unfairly widen achievement gaps. • Do GT and AP programs work? • Critics say that separating these children and offering them enriched opportunities not given to all children only widens the gap. • Self-fulfilling prophecy • “ungifted” children may become so • Minority and low-income youth are more often placed in lower academic groups • Does not allow for learning to live in a multicultural world • However, all children have different gifts. Labelling them does not change this.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence (Nature and Nurture) § Even if we agree for argument’s sake that “success” in life is caused in part by some kind of intelligence, there is still a debate over the origin of that intelligence. – Are people “successful” because of inborn talents? – Or are they “successful” because of their unequal access to better nurture? § Information to tease out the answers can be found in some twin and adoption studies.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence Studies of Twins Raised Apart What explains this difference? Findings from these studies indicate that both nature and nurture affect intelligence test scores.

Clarifying Heritability § If three people had exactly the same education, § When you see variation nutrition, and experiences, in intelligence between some psychologists speculate two or more people, the that genes might be heritability of that trait responsible for perhaps 40 is the amount of percent of their intelligence; variation that is nurture certainly made a big apparently explained by impact. genetic factors. § However, such identical § This does NOT tell us the nurturing (which is actually proportion that genes impossible) could not create contribute to the trait for differences in intelligence. any one person. § With identical nurture, the heritability of intelligence would be virtually 100 percent.

Genetic Influences on Intelligence § Identical twins seem to show similarity in specific talents such as music, math and sports. § The brains of twins show similar structure and functioning. § There are specific genes which may have a small influence on ability.

Adoption Studies With age, the intelligence test scores of adoptees looks more and more like that of their ______ parents. (adoptive? birth/biological? ) Heritability of IQ scores increases with age. In another study, heritability of intelligence test scores continued to increase beyond age 16. Environment is most influential when we are young.

Environmental Influences on Intelligence § Environment has more influence on intelligence under extreme conditions such as abuse, neglect, or extreme poverty. § Tutored human enrichment has a larger impact on compensating for deprivation than on boosting intelligence under normal conditions.

• Impoverished environment conditions can depress cognitive development. • Many poverty ridden school have less qualified teachers. • Less-qualified teachers predicted lower achievement scores • Infant malnutrition affects cognitive development as well. • There is no recipe for fast-tracking a normal infant to a genius. • “baby Einstein videos are a waste of time”

Schooling and Intelligence § Preschool and elementary school clearly have at least a temporary impact on intelligence test scores. § Head Start programs § College can have a positive impact on intelligence test scores if students have: – motivation and incentives. – belief that people can improve. – ***study skills and the motivation to study are greater predictors of success than previous grades and aptitude – Growth Mindset-focus on learning and growing. The brain is a muscle.

Understanding Group Differences in Test Scores Now, let’s look at: § gender differences. § “racial” differences. § understanding the impact of environment. § within-group differences and between-group differences. § the impact of test bias and stereotype threat on performance.

Supposed Male-Female Ability Differences Male/female difference related to overall intelligence test score. Boys are more likely than girls to be at the high or low end of the intelligence test score spectrum.

Male-Female Ability Differences § Girls tend to be better at spelling, locating objects, and detecting emotions. § Girls tend to be more verbally fluent, and more sensitive to touch, taste, and color. § Boys tend to be better at handling spatial reasoning and complex math problems. § It is a myth that boys generally do better in math than girls. Girls do at least as well as boys in overall math performance and especially in math computation.

Ethnic/Racial Differences in Intelligence Test Scores The bell curve for African American intelligence test scores is centered at 85. For non-African Americans, the average is 100. Whatever the cause of this score difference, it is incorrect to use this information to predict the score of an individual. The green triangle shows African-Americans scoring higher than the average non. African-Americans. How can we interpret this group difference in average intelligence test scores? We will look at the issue of test bias and other factors affecting scores for perceived minorities. But first…

Understanding Group Differences: Within-group vs. Between-group Group differences, including intelligence test score differences between so-called “racial groups, ” can be caused by environmental factors. Below: the difference between groups is caused by poor soil (environment).

The “Racial” Intelligence Test Score Gap § Racial categories are not distinct genetically and are unscientific. § Both “whites” and “blacks” have higher intelligence test scores than “whites” of the 1930 s. § “Whites” may have more access to “fertile soil” for developing their potential, such as: § schools and educational opportunities. § wealth, nutrition, support, and educated mentors. § relative freedom from discrimination.

Two Problems Called “Bias” Test makers must prevent “bias” in the popular sense of the word: making it easier for one group than another to score high on a test. Test makers also strive to prevent the scientific form of bias: making it easier for one group than for another to have their abilities accurately assessed, and their future performance predicted. Are Tests Biased? Bias 1: In the popular sense of the word, intelligence tests are often biased. Often, tests have questions which rely on knowledge of mainstream culture. For example, the 2011 SAT writing prompt demanded students discuss the authenticity of reality television shows. Bias 2: Aptitude tests seem to predict future achievement equally well for various ethnic groups, and for men and women.

The Effect of Stereotype Threat Study result: Blacks/African-Americans scored higher when tested by Blacks rather than being tested by Whites. Why? Study result: Blacks/African-Americans did worse on intelligence tests when reminded of their racial/ethnic identification right before the test. Why? Study result: Women did worse on math tests than men, except when they are told first that women usually do as well as men on the test. Why?

The Power of Expectations § Stereotype threat refers to a feeling that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. § Stereotype threat may interfere with performance by making people use their working memory for worrying instead of thinking. § This worry is selfconfirming/fulfilling: the effect of minority status on performance is worsened by worry about that effect.

Issues Related to Intelligence Tests Is discriminating among college or job applicants based on test scores better than discriminating based on appearance? Can test scores be used as Alfred Binet suggested: to identify those who would benefit from educational interventions? Can a person’s worth and potential be summed up in one intelligence test score?

Definition Slides

Intelligence = mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Intelligence Test = a method of assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

General Intelligence (g) = a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Factor Analysis = a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify difference dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score.

Savant Syndrome = a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

Grit = the in psychology, grit is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

Emotional Intelligence = the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

Mental Age = a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8 -year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

Stanford-Binet = the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) = defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca X 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100, with scores assigned to relative performance above or below average.

Achievement Tests = tests designed to assess what a person has learned.

Aptitude Tests = tests designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) = the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

Standardization = defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

Normal Curve = a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

Reliability = the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test or on retesting.

Validity = the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is suppose to.

Content Validity = the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.

Predictive Validity = the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior (also called criterion-related validity).

Cohort = a group of people from a given time period.

Crystallized Intelligence = our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

Fluid Intelligence = our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.

Intellectual Disability = a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life. • Formerly referred to as mental retardation

Down Syndrome = a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Hereditability = the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The hereditability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.

Stereotype Threat = a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.