TESTING & Individual Differences

Intelligence Aspects of intelligence: the use of

mental images and concepts, problem solving and decision making, and the use of language,

Formally: the global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment. David Wechsler

Intelligence:

Socially constructed: Attributes that enable success in a culture.

Mental ability… to learn from experiences Solve problems Use knowledge t adapt to

new situations

Intelligence There is considerable disagreement about

the nature of intelligence… How should intelligence be defined? a single, general ability, or a cluster of

different mental abilities? Should the definition be restricted to the

mental abilities measured by IQ and other intelligence tests, or should intelligence be defined more broadly?

Intelligence Theories Charles Spearman

there is a general mental capacity at the core of different mental abilities

g-factor: a common thread in all measures of intelligence. Underlies all intelligent behavior.

(G) is a specific ability or talent.

Satoshi Kanazawa (2004): ~solving novel problems *general intelligence:

correlates w/ solving novel problems

…But not with individuals’ skills in evolutionary familiar situations.

Louis (l l) Thurstone

there are seven different “primary mental abilities,” each a relatively independent element of intelligence.

associative memory verbal

comprehension numerical ability word fluency spatial visualization perceptual speed reasoning

Howard Gardner Expanded on Thurston's idea Looks at skills and cultural values

societies value diff types of intelligence (which provides motivation to become skilled in those areas)

Solve problems or create products valued in given culture

Believes that mental abilities are biologically distinct and controlled by different parts of the brain

Diverse set of 8 distinct abilities (independent intelligences)

Howard Gardner

Conscientious

Well-connected

Doggedly energetic(stubbornly tenacious)

ARGUMENT FOR GARDNER: SAVANT syndrome 25 yr old Alice is mentally

handicapped and can neither read nor write. However, after hearing lengthy, unfamiliar, and complex musical selections just once, she can reproduce tem precisely on the piano.

Savant Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVqRT_kCOLI

Sternberg

1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having armed guards at school.

2. Describe what your ideal school would be like.

3. Describe some problem that you have been facing in your life and then give a practical solution.

Robert Sternberg

Sternberg wants you to TRI very hard

Critiques Gardner’s theory: it is describing specialized talents, whereas

intelligence is a more general quality

Proposes Triarchic Theory-successful intelligence involves 3 distinct abilities

Analytic Intelligence solving problems

Creative Intelligence novel solutions

Practical Intelligence Street Smarts

Sternberg cont.

Name a course that rely heavily on… Analytical Creative Practical

Any course balanced? Choose any career and indicate a

task that one might have to perform at that job that would require each type of intelligence.

What should teachers do?

leave students alone? all 7 are needed to productively function

in society. therefore all intelligences are equally

important. contradiction to traditional education

(verbal & mathematical which require students to show knowledge in predetermined manner)

recognize and teach to a broader range of talents and skills!

reinforce same material in variety of ways

which will facilitate a deeper understanding.

Social Intelligence

Pre-frontal Cortex Make decisions about how to express

emotions Damage leads to immature decisions and

social difficulties Emotional Intelligence:

Perceive others emotions Understand their own and others emotions Manage their emotions Use their emotions

Demo: can you interpret and label others emotions?

Emotional Intelligence

Delay immediate pleasure Impulse control…those who could resist

Socially competent Personally effective Less likely to freeze under pressure More self-reliant Confident Pursued challenges even in the face of

difficulties Trustworthy Dependable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amsqeYOk--w

Brain and Intelligence correlation:

Frontal (more gray matter) Memory, attention, language Faster memory retrieval= inc. in verbal

intelligence Parietal

Process math & spatial Neurological & Perceptual speed

Process info quick to acquire more info

Brain and Intelligence Cont.

Genes Nutrition Environment

Deprived Enriched: Neural plasticity – changes in neural

pathways and synapses which are due to changes in behavior & environment.

ASSESSING INTELLIGENCEWhat makes a good test?

Army Beta

Army Alpha

Binet ~ Test to identify children

A few modern philosophers…assert that an individual’s intelligence is a fixed quantity, and quantity which cannot be increased. We must protest and react against this brutal pessimism… Binet, 1909

All children begin the same but some develop quicker than others. *Your mental age should match the actual age you are.

With practice, training, & above all, method, we manage to increase our attention, our memory, our judgment & literally to become more intelligent than we were before.

Mental abilities. Test measured reasoning skills ~not accumulated knowledge

Terman study:IQ mental/chronological x100

How does the ‘genius’ level intelligence affect the course of life?

What about profoundly gifted vs. moderately gifted?

cream of the crop in schools vs. eminent adults who make enduring contributions in their fields.

*** Motivation & other personality factors: emotional maturity, commitment to goals, creativity, willingness to work hard are just as important.

Eugenics movement

Selective breeding of…

Provide an argument for selective breeding:

Provide an argument against selective breeding:

Types of Tests

Achievement Assess learned knowledge, skill,

accomplishment in a particular area ex. AP test, Chapter Tests

Aptitude assess a person’s capacity to benefit from

education or training—predictive ex. SAT, ACT

What Makes a Good Test?• Standardizing:

Similar testing conditions

Norming: test given to a large representative sample graphing results individual scores interpreted and compared

Reliability Is it consistent?

Validity Does it measure what it is supposed to

measure?

Challenge…

Types of Validity Content validity:

Context representative of the domain (content) A personality test should measure aspects of personality

Criterion-Related (Predictive) Validity: correlating subjects’ scores with their scores on an another

measure High scores in extraversion should lead to low scores in introversion

Concurrent = same time; predictive = later time

Construct Validity test measures a particular hypothetical construct

Abstract concepts such as personality, measure introversion….more hypothetical

Measuring validity of a procedure: Internal: what happened in the study IV has an effect on DV External validity: can findings be generalized beyond the study.

Population validity: generalized to other populations of people Ecological validity: generalized beyond present situation

Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence

Fluid- basic information processing skills Crystallized- knowledge accumulated

over time.

Lying to Parents Grandparents love crosswords

EXTREMES OF INTELLIGENCE

Gifted vs. Intellectual disability

The Gifted: Minimum IQ usually

around 130

Is it only about IQ?

Renzulli’s 3-ring conception: General vs. specific Flexibility, originality,

openness, risks motivation.,

perseverance, fascination

Mainstreaming vs. Tracking:

The Gifted: Gifted child program is criticized for

widening the achievement gap (of higher / lower ability)

Self-fulfilling prophecies (un-gifted)

FLYNN Effect:

Getting smarter… Increasingly improved infant and childhood

health & nutrition. Increasing educational opportunities Reductions in family size Greater access to technology Developed new habits of mind- analytical &

hypothetical reasoning*Intelligence testing requires up-to-date standardization.

Flynn Effect Cont...

Where do we see the rise and why? Problem solving skills are on the rise Verbal skills have fallen flat Fluid Intelligence NOT Crystallized Intelligence

Why? Students are better “test takers” these days Video games could help with problem-solving

and logic skills

Extremes of Intelligence:

“Mental Retardation: Limited Mental Ability (I.Q. < 70)”

“Mental Retardation is accompanied by difficulty adapting: Males outnumber females by 50%.”

“mental retardation” replaced with “intellectual

disability” It amends the language in

all federal health, education and labor laws to remove that same phrase and instead refer to Americans living with an “intellectual disability.”

Normal Curve and IQStandard Deviation +/- 15 points

Measuring Intelligence

Intelligence tests attempt to measure general mental abilities, rather than accumulated knowledge or aptitude for a specific subject or area.

Early tests: Binet-Simon—focused on elementary mental abilities

Predictor

e.g. memory, attention, similarities and differences

Measured Mental Age

Binet’s test becomes the basis for IQ testing, yet he believed Intelligence is too complex to measure wanted to identify slow kids who needed special help. Believed that intelligence varied from time to time due to

individual factors

Measuring Intelligence

Stanford-Binet (1877-1956)

Lewis Terman revises Binet-Simon

developed and promoted intelligent Quotient ‘IQ’

Calculate mental Age/Chronological Age X

100

Used for Children

Measuring Intelligence

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Specifically designed for adults 11 subtests measuring different abilities Intelligence reflected in effective, rational, and goal-

directed behavior Provides overall verbal and performance scores as

well as a global IQ score comparing an individual’s score to those in his/her age group-

scores are statistically fixed at 100 Today—WAIS-III; For kids—WISC; For Preschoolers—

WPPSI ‘Re-normed’

Weschler

Intelligence reflected Effective Rational Goal-directed

behaviors

Nature/Nurture and Intelligence

Early beliefs: intelligence is inherited More common now to believe it is both

environment and heredity Environmental factors influence which genes are

switched on, or activated. Individuals inherit a potential range for a trait, and

environmental factors determine how close they come to realizing that genetic potential.

The genetic range of intellectual potential is influenced by many genes, not by a single gene.

Twin Studies The currently accepted heritability estimate for

intelligence is about 50 percent for the general population; that is, about 50 percent of the difference in IQ scores within a given population is due to genetic factors.

heritability estimates estimate of proportion

of a trait…due to variations in genetics

limitations group statistic based on studies of trait

variability within a specific group it cannot be applied meaningfully to

individuals if heritability of int is 80%...does NOT mean

individuals intelligence is 80% inherited

may vary from group to group increase if environmental differences reduced

(all raised same in one particular group)

Twin Studies

Identical twins same home = identical IQ Identical apart = still pretty close Fraternal = less similar, closer than

regular siblings Similarity of identical raised apart greater

than ordinary siblings reared together.

Challenge:

A scenario… One day, you go to a class that is really

important to you and that you like a lot. The teacher returns the midterm papers to the class. You got a C+. You’re very disappointed. That evening on the way back to your home, you find that you’ve gotten a parking ticket. Being really frustrated, you call your best friend to share your experience but are sort of brushed off.

Answer honestly…

What would you think? What would you feel? What would you do? How would you cope?

Biases in Intelligence Tests:

Culture Free (fair) Tests: Who is constructing them? What language are they using? What vocabulary are they using? What lifestyles are they representing?

unfamiliarity w/white middle class culture cultural differences

motivation -attitude -previous exp.

Raven’s Progressive Matrices

Within groups vs. Btwn groups

IQ and environment (Scarr & Weinberg) socioeconomic conditions environmental conditions cultural values

Gender Differences in Intelligence:

Math: males achieve higher Spatial Ability: males achieve higher Verbal: females achieve higher

What if I constantly belittled ‘boys’ in class and said they were not smart or capable in anything?

stereotype threat…

Stereotype Threat "being at risk of confirming, as a self-

characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's group"

Anxiety and concern builds up and can negatively impact the performance of individuals who belongs to a negatively stereotyped group.

Knowing your disadvantage can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy

How can you use it to psych out an opponent?http://reducingstereotypethreat.org/definition.html

Answers to multiple choice

1. B2. A3. E4. D5. C6. B7. C8. E9. D10. C11. E12. D13. A14. A15. B

Pages 558-559