Intelligence

What is intelligence?

Varies by culture Western cultures focus on cognitive tasks Test performance is influenced by cultural experiences

Is your “IQ” from nature or nurture?

IQ and genetic effects (Genetics effects IQ)

IQ partly based on heredity

Identical twins reared separately have more similar IQ than fraternal twins reared together.

Is your “IQ” nature or nurture?

IQ and birth parents (Childrearing effects IQ)

Is your IQ one general ability or several specific abilities? Factor analysis

Used to determine if intelligence is one or a cluster of traits

Clusters: verbal, mathematical, spatial, reasoning abilities

General intelligence Spearman’s “G” factor A general capacity that underlies all specific mental

abilities

What types of intelligence are there?

Emotional Cognitive Unique

What is emotional intelligence?

Ability to express, understand, and process emotions

Being very empathic

What is cognitive intelligence?

Math Reading comprehension

What is unique intelligence?

Savant Syndrome Incredible ability in one area

Numbers, drawing, music, memory

Stephen Wiltshire: The Human Camera – Drawn after one heliocopter ride over New York

Savants are often autistic or have other developmental disability with a very unusual talent in one area.

Do you remember?

How does culture effect IQ scores? How do we know IQ is partly based on heredity? What is emotional intelligence? What is cognitive intelligence? What is the savant syndrome?

How did intelligence testing begin?

Originally designed to measure cognitive aptitude Alfred Benet

Predicted school achievement with mental age Eg. A 9 year old child has a mental age of 9

Lewis Terman (From Stanford University) Created the American revision of Binet’s original

intelligence test Developed the “Stanford-Binet” IQ test

What is the intelligence Quotient (IQ)?

Mental age divided by chronological age X 100 E.g. 15 divided by 15 X 100 = 100 10 divided by 8 X 100 = 125 Worked well for children but not adults Today’s IQ tests compare the person’s

performance to others of his own age (100 is average)

What standard intelligence tests are there?

WAIS Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

WISC Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

Other tests

Achievement tests - Measure what has been learned Calculus test

Aptitude tests - Predicting ability A test of your capacity to learn College entrance exams ( SAT & GRE exams)

Do you remember?

How do you calculate IQ based on the older method?

What was the problem with this method? What is the difference between achievement tests

and aptitude tests?

What should you look for when creating tests? Validity Reliability Standardization

What is validity?

Measuring what it is supposed to measure Content validity

College exams Driver’s license exam

Criterion validity Test compared to criterion group

(e.g. depressed patients) Predictive Validity

SAT & GRE exams

What is reliability?

Consistent results Internal consistency

Odd v.s. even questions

What is standardization?

Scores relative to a pre-tested group

Based on a bell shaped normal curve

Ave. a score of intelligence test = 100

Do you remember?

If a test has validity, what does that mean? If a test has reliability, what does that mean? Discuss the three types of validity? What is standardization, and how did that change

the meaning of IQ? What is the concept of the normal bell curve that

IQ is based on?