Chapter 9 - Intelligence Definition • Classic = verbal reasoning & visual-spatial problem- solving • Neglects other aspects
Dec 27, 2015
Chapter 9 - Intelligence
Definition
• Classic = verbal reasoning& visual-spatial problem-solving
• Neglects other aspects
• 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
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
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’sperformance
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
- Validity
Does test measure what it is supposedto 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
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
4 Main Tests
Stanford-Binet (2-90+)• 2 hours• Norms are representative (4,800 people)
(SES, race, age, sex)• 15 subtests• IQ + other scores
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
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
Wechsler IQ Classifications
130+ Very Superior
129-129 Superior
110-119 High Average
90-109 Average
80-89 Low Average
70-79 Borderline
<69 Mentally Retarded
K-ABC (2.5-12.5) 45-75 minutes
• No IQ score
• Composite
• Sequential/Simultaneous Processing
- Sequential = in a series
- Simultaneous = together
Pros:
• Differences in Seq/Sim can suggest interventions
• Flexible administration (hints, prompts)
• Short/quick
Cons:
• Unclear distinction between Sequential & Simultaneous
• Shorter age range
• Norms under-represent disadvantaged blacks & Hispanics**
Pros:
• Gives profile of abilities
- for kids with learning problems
• Includes motor coordination
• Census-based norms
• Very short
Use of IQ tests
Historically
• 1905 - to identify kids needing remediation
• 1940s & 50s - widely given to categorize
• 1960s - aware of abuses, testing declined
Current uses
• To diagnose problems
• To rule out IQ problems
• To identify ways to help
NOT simply to place children in classrooms
To diagnose a learning disability
• Normal intelligence (IQ)
• Performing below level in 1+ subject(on achievement test)
Factors that Influence IQ Scores
Heredity – Family, Twin, & Adoption StudiesIQ correlations are higher:• For more closely related people• For MZ than for DZ twins• For MZ than for non-twin siblings• For biological relatives
- grows with age (3 vs. 7)
Strong influence of heredity on IQ
Environment/Socioeconomic Status (SES)
• Twin & Family studies
- imperfect correlation for MZ twins
- correlations higher if raised together
• Adoption Studies
- some correlation with adoptive parents & siblings
• Impoverished Environments- lower than average IQs for kids in poor communities
• Enriched Environments- when community is enriched, average IQ rises- impoverished kids placed in advantaged adoptive families show IQ increases
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 Theories1. 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
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
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****
Mental Retardation
Definition
• Subaverage intellectual functioning
- IQ < 70
• AND poor adaptive behavior skills
- pattern of low functioning
MR Levels
1.Mild (55-69) - “Educable” - majority
• Often self-sufficient
• May reach 3rd - 6th grade level
Severe (20-35)
• Large developmental delays
• Understand some speech
• Routines & supervision
• Some daily living skills
Life Outcomes
All retarded people (mild/moderate)• Worse than non-retarded peers• But better than stereotypes suggest
- majority (80%) of males work
skilled labor & retail
- most are self-supporting
- most married
- life satisfaction
Mentally Gifted
Terman’s “Termites” (1921)
- 1500 kids with 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
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
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