Intelligence

Intelligence

Is intelligence a thing or a concept?

When we think of intelligence as a fixed thing, we are making a reasoning error called reification (viewing an abstract concept as if it were a concrete thing)

Intelligence

When we say she has an IQ of 120 – we are reifying IQ…why?We are saying it is something she has,

rather than once obtained on a test

Intelligence

Socially constructed

Examples?

The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, & use knowledge to adapt to new situations

General intelligence

Factor analysis – statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (factors) on a test

-meaning clusters of test items that measure common ability

Example – people who score well on vocab do well on reading

General intelligence

The Hunt for Intell -- If you can test for it, it will appear. . .

THE PSYCHOMETRIC APPROACH describes the structure of intell. by emphasizing the products of Intell. Is it one trait or a variety of traits?

General Intelligence (continued)

Spearman found positive correlations for scores on most tests of mental ability.g factor = general traitss-factors – skills for

specific tasks.

General Intelligence (continued)

L. L. Thurstone rejected g factor. But stressed Factor analysis as a totally independent assessment of primary mental abilities.He opposed a singular general

intelligence

General Intelligence (cont…)

Raymond B. Cattell argued that g exists, but in two forms. Fluid intell involves reasoning skills

and relating ideas to each other. It stays stable in adulthood and declines later in life.

Crystallized intell is specific knowledge gained by applying fluid intell. It continues to grow with age.

Contemporary Intelligence Theories

Howard Gardner – intelligence comes in different packages Ancestors not considered intelligent by today’s

standards – but hey, they survived

Studied Savant Syndrome

People with limited mental abilities but excel in one area

Film clip

Contemporary Theories cont...

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences – each is relatively independent of the other Involve a set of problem solving

skills

Contemporary Theories cont...

Aptitude

1. Linguistic

2. Logical-mathematical

3. Musical

4. Spatial

5. Bodily-kinesthetic

6. Intrapersonal (self)

7. Interpersonal (others)

8. Naturalist

Contemporary Theories Cont…Aptitude Examples

1. Linguistic T.S. Elliot (poet)

2. Logical-mathematical Albert Einstein (scientist)

3. Musical Ludwig van Beethoven (composer)

4. Spatial Pablo Picasso (artist)

5. Bodily-kinesthetic Michael Jackson (dancer)

6. Intrapersonal (self) Sigmund Freud (psychiatrist)

7. Interpersonal (others) Gandhi (leader)

8. Naturalist Charles Darwin (naturalist)

So are these truly intelligences or are they skills?

Contemporary Theories Cont…

Sternberg’s triarchic theory: has 3 intelligences-

1. Analytical intelligence-assessed by intelligence tests with problems having a single right answer

2. Creative intell-reacting adaptively to new situations and generating creative ideas

3. Practical intell-required for everyday tasks which often have many solutions

Emotional intelligence

Ability to perceive, understand, manage & use emotions. Perceive=recognize them in faces, music,

stories

Understand=predict emotions & how they change

Manage=express them in different situations

Use= use creative thinking

Intelligence and creativity

Creativity is the ability to produce new and effective solutions to challenges.People who do well on intelligence tests

usually do well on creativity tests…

Intelligence & Creativity continued…

1. Expertise- well developed base of knowledge…more ideas, images, phrases we have more ways to creatively solve a problem

2. Imaginative thinking skills- the ability to see things in new ways; recognize patterns to make connections

3. Venturesome personality- looks for new experiences

4. Intrinsic motivation-motivated by interest-not external pressures

5. Creative environment-mentored, challenged, supported

Intelligence and Creativity cont…

Divergent thinking is the ability to think along many paths to generate many solutions to a problem. More than one solution to the problem

Convergent thinking is the ability to think logically to come up with one answer

Divergent thinking tests measure the number of different or unusual plausible responses that one can list for each item.

Creativity Test

Defying IQ testings = the Creative approach

1. Discover TEN nouns in the Dictionary = Stimulus words!!!! (5 minutes)

2. Define each stimulus word; Beee creative (silly is allowed) (7minutes)

3. Apply each stimulus word to the development of a Coffee maker; HD TV; Lap top Computer (10 minutes)

4. Design a Practical; three-dimensional device that was selected in #3 using at least 7 stimulus words created in #1.

Critique- Evaluationa.Was your design truly unique,

creative, unusual and practical?b.What inspired NEW ideasc. How do we accept NEW?d. How does one suspend

“DISBELIEF” . . .it won’t worke. Define deductive and inductive

reasoning.

Assessing Intelligence

Intelligence tests-method for assessing a person’s mental aptitudes & comparing them to others.

Intelligence review…

Mental ability is the capacity to reason, remember, understand, solve problems, and make decisions.

Western cultures indicate mental ability in terms of thought . . the pursuit of intelligence! (Intell)

History of intelligence testing

In 1904, the French gov’t hired Alfred Binet to ID school children needing special instruction.

Binet assumed that intell increased with age, so his test used age-graded tasks to ID mental age.

A dull child-tests below peers; bright tests above peers.

History of intelligence testing

Alfred Binet & Theodore SimonDeveloped child’s mental age: the

chronological age typical of a given level of performanceAverage 9 year old has mental age of a 9

year old (brilliant right?)

Did not try to find out WHY children were below average

History continued…

Lewis Terman wrote an English version of Binet’s test, the

Stanford-Binet. Terman devised the IQ, or intelligence quotient

IQ=Mental Age (MA) x100

chronological age Most no longer do this; use mental age relative

to average performance of others of same age

History cont…

In 1912 Henry Goddard created a test stressing English writing skills and American culture for immigration purposes.

• In 1949, Wechsler developed the modern test w/ 11 subtests. WAIS:Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Overall intelligence score + separate scores for verbal comp, perceptual organization, working memory & processing speed

History cont…

Most people score near the middle, so that has set the?norm

Normal curve: symmetrical bell-shaped curve clustered around the middle (average)