Chapter 9 - Intelligence
Definition
• Classic = verbal reasoning
& visual-spatial problem-solving
• Neglects other aspects
Theories of Intelligence
A. Psychometric Theory
• Traits on which individuals differ
• Findings:
- General mental ability (Spearman’s g)
- S (special abilities)
- Verbal vs. problem-solving
- Fluid vs. crystallized
IQ & Aging
• Crystallized increases through life
• Fluid increases to young adulthood, then
declines
• Slower processing speed
• IQ tests based on psychometric theory
• But only measure part of intelligence
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
• Information-processing
• How person processes information
3 Aspects of intelligent behavior:
• Context
- “intelligent” depends on context
• Experience
- doing well on familiar tasks is NOT intelligence
- task must pose a challenge
- BUT automatizing common tasks = intelligence
• Components/skills
- must examine person’s cognitive
processes in addition to answers
Incorporating into assessment
• Test behavior
- how person approaches tasks
(components/skills)
• Background
- parents’ occupations & home environment
(experience)
• Other observations (context)
Measuring Intelligence
• Test Construction
- Select items
- Norms
Administer to standardization sample
Scoring standards are based on group’s
performance
Group should be representative
- Standardized Testing
Give test in same way to everyone
- Reliability
Assess the test’s consistency
(over time, over examiners, etc.)
IQ is stable
Reliability & Error
X=T+E
• X = person’s score
• T = person’s actual ability
• E = error in measuring person’s ability
Sources of Error
1. Person taking the test
2. Situation
3. Examiner
4. Test content
5. Time
- Validity
Does test measure what it is supposed
to measure?
Compare test performance with related
behavior
Infant & Toddler Tests
• Measure development
- not IQ (& may not be correlated)
- how close development is to average for
age (DQ)
- to identify children at risk
Gesell Developmental Scales
• 4 scales (adaptive, motor, language,
personal-social)
• Normed on small group of middle-class
kids
Bayley Scales (2-30 months)
- ability to manipulate toys
• Mental Scale - learning
• Motor Scale - controlling body
• Behavior Record - emotional adjustment
• Most commonly used
• Normed on 1,700 normal kids
race/sex/geographic area/urban-rural/parent
education
Child & Adult Tests
History
Binet-Simon Scale - First intelligence test (1905)
• To identify “dull” kids for remedial work
• Test was reliable
• Test distinguished dull, average, bright by teacher
ratings
• Reliable & valid
Binet: mental age
• Age at which child performs
Stanford-Binet (for ages 3-13)
• 1916 – Terman
• Normed on 1000 American kids
Terman: intelligence quotient (IQ)
= MA x 100
CA
100 is average (MA=CA)
- To compare kids at different ages
- Problem: Still gives age at which child
performs, not comparison to own agemates
Deviation IQ
• Compare kids to same-age peers
4 Main Tests
Stanford-Binet (2-90+)
• 2 hours
• Norms are representative (4,800 people)
(SES, race, age, sex)
• 15 subtests
• IQ + other scores
Pros:
• Best test for very high/low IQs****
• Wide age span
• 2 equivalent forms
• Excellent norms
Cons:
• Lengthy
• Difficult to administer
• Lower examiner reliability
3 Wechsler Tests .5-1.5 hours
• WPPSI-III (2.6-7.3) WISC-IV (6-16.11)
WAIS-III (16-89)
• Also WASI (brief, ages 2-89)
• 11-13 subtests
• IQ + other scores
Subtests
Verbal
• Information
• Digit Span
• Vocabulary
• Arithmetic
• Comprehension
• Similarities
Visual-Spatial
• Picture Completion
• Picture Arrangement
• Block Design
• Object Assembly
• Digit Symbol
Pros:
• Shorter
• Easier to administer
• Most commonly used
• Census-based norms
• Can compare performance across ages/tests
• For ages 6, 7 & 16, can pick best test
Con:
• Not as useful for IQ extremes
- important for MR
Wechsler IQ Classifications
130+ Very Superior
129-129 Superior
110-119 High Average
90-109 Average
80-89 Low Average
70-79 Borderline
Caucasian > Hispanic > African-
American/Native American
Much overlap among the groups
• More variability within than between
groups
• Group differences don’t explain why
• Group differences don’t address any
individual’s performance
• Differences often accounted for by SES
4 Theories
1. Genetic - Jensen/Rushton
• Racial differences are genetic because they
are stable
• Because IQ is equally due to genetics within
any race, differences between races must
also be due to genetics
Criticism:
• Individual differences may be genetic and
group differences may be environmental
Rushton: More “white” genes = smarter person
Findings:
• IQs of mixed-race kids are not lower than IQs of
Caucasians
• IQs of blacks don’t differ by number of white
ancestors
-> NO support for genetic theory
2. Test Bias
• Tests measure cognitive skills & knowledge
of middle-class Caucasians
• Testing culture-based experience
• Tests are in standard English
Revisions
• “Culture-fair” tests
• Revision of standard tests
Findings
• Caucasians still perform better
Conclusion
• Test bias may not be the reason
• Or tests are still culture-laden
3. Motivation
• Lower class and ethnic minority kids may
be less motivated on these tests
• Discrimination
-> lower self-esteem & motivation
Findings:
• Friendly examiners & flexible
administration raise IQ by 7-10 points
• K-ABC halves race difference
• But: Caucasian kids also score higher in
these situations
Conclusion
• Test procedures & motivation may bias
results
• But don’t fully explain race differences
4. Environment/SES
• Low SES environments are less conducive
to intellectual development
• Parents may have fewer resources
Evidence
• African-American kids who move to better
environments show IQ jumps
• Lower-class African-American kids adopted
into middle-class homes have average+ IQs
• SES statistically accounts for most racial
differences****
• SES is strongest explanation
• Test bias & motivation may play more
subtle roles
Mental Retardation
Definition
• Subaverage intellectual functioning
- IQ 140
As kids
• Weighed more at birth
• Walked & talked sooner
• Puberty earlier/health better
• Mature & well adjusted
• Classroom leaders
As adults
• Fewer psychological & health problems
• Higher marital/sex satisfaction
• Many college graduates
• Many notable careers
Why better in all domains?
• IQ
• Home
- parent education
- fewer divorced parents
Creativity
Definition
• No standard
• Imagination, originality
• Different from intelligence
• Reach goal in novel way
(useful & unusual)
Ways to measure:
• Divergent thought - originality
• Ideational fluency - many ideas
• Consensual assessment
- others agree that something is creative
• Remote associations
- see relationships among ideas that are remote
from one another
For each set of words, think of 4th word
related to all 3
• Rough Cold Beer
• Food Catcher Hot
• Hearted Feet Bitter
• Dark Shot Sun
• Canadian Golf Sandwich
• Tug Gravy Show
• Attorney Self Spending
• Magic Pitch Power
• Arm Coal Peach
• Type Ghost Story
To increase creativity:
3 methods
Brainstorming
• People alone are often more creative
Synectics
• Use of analogies in creative thinking
• Look to other areas for a solution
• Used in industry but no research
Incubation
• More likely to solve difficult problem if
delay between periods of work
• Plausible but seldom demonstrated
Why not more effective?
Social Factors
• Evaluation decreases creativity
Other conditions
• When someone is watching you work
• When you are offered a reward
• When you must compete for prizes
• When someone restricts your choices about how
you can express creativity
Creativity seems to be more personal/private