My Brilliant Brain

Susan Polgar,
Chess Champion

Intelligence
Chapter 10

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Psy 12000.003

What is Intelligence?

Conceptual Difficulties

Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to learn

from experience, solve problems, and use our
knowledge to adapt to new situations.
This is the conceptual definition.

Psychologists believe that intelligence is a concept

and not a thing.
Unfortunately, it is treated like a thinga real thing.

In research studies, intelligence is whatever the

intelligence test measures. This tends to be school
smarts and it tends to be culture-specific.
This is the operational definition.

When we think of intelligence as a trait (thing) we

make an error called reification viewing an
abstract immaterial concept as if it were a concrete
thing.
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Controversies About Intelligence

Intelligence: Ability or Abilities?

Despite general agreement among psychologists

about the nature of intelligence, at least three
controversies remain:

Have you ever thought that because peoples mental

abilities are so diverse, it may not be justifiable to
label those abilities with only one word,
intelligence?

Is intelligence a single overall ability or is it several specific

abilities?
With modern neuroscience techniques, can we locate and measure
intelligence within the brain?
Do between group differences in IQ scores (and distributions around
the mean for each group) reflect real group differences in
intelligence or are they artifacts of the testing instrument and
procedure?

You may speculate that diverse abilities represent

different kinds of intelligences. How can you test this
idea?

General Intelligence

General Intelligence

The idea that general intelligence (g) exists comes

from the work of Charles Spearman (1863-1945)
who helped develop the factor analysis approach in
statistics.

Spearman proposed that general intelligence (g) is

linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by
factor analysis.
Spearman, using an earlier approach to factor
analysis, found that scores on all mental tests
(regardless of the domain or how it was tested) tend
to load on one major factor. Spearman suggested
that these disparate scores are fueled by a common
metaphorical pool of mental energy. He named this
pool the general factor, or g (Spearman, 1904).
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General Intelligence

General Intelligence

L. L. Thurstone, a critic of Spearman, analyzed his

subjects NOT on a single scale of general
intelligence, but on seven clusters of primary mental
abilities, including:

Later psychologists re-analyzed Thurstones data and

found a weak relationship between these clusters,
suggesting some evidence of a g factor.

Word Fluency
Verbal Comprehension
Spatial Ability
Perceptual Speed
Numerical Ability
Inductive Reasoning
Memory

Contemporary Intelligence Theories

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Savants

Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports Thurstones

idea that intelligence comes in multiple forms.
Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one
type of ability but not others.

Daniel Tammet,
Brainman

Brainman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKk96kOAnLg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vs6R5YZQ3c

People with savant syndrome excel in abilities

unrelated to general intelligence.

On Letterman:
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Howard Gardner

Robert Sternberg

Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences and

speculates about a ninth one existential
intelligence. Existential intelligence is the ability to
think about the question of life, death and existence.

Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003)

also agrees with Gardner,
but suggests three intelligences
rather than eight.

Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessed by

intelligence tests.
Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us adapt to
novel situations, generating novel ideas.
Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required for
everyday tasks (e.g. street smarts).

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Other Intelligences:
Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence: Components

Component

Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive,

understand, and use emotions (Salovey and colleagues,
2005). The test of emotional intelligence measures overall
emotional intelligence and its four components.

Perceive emotion
Understand emotion
Manage emotion
Use emotion

Peter Salovey

Description
Recognize emotions in faces, music
and stories
Predict emotions, how they change
and blend
Express emotions in different
situations
Utilize emotions to adapt or be
creative

http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/
bl_eq_quiz.htm

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Intelligence and Creativity

Emotional Intelligence: Criticisms

1. Gardner and others criticize the idea of
emotional intelligence and question whether
we stretch this idea of intelligence too far
when we apply it to our emotions.

Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both

novel and valuable. It correlates somewhat with
intelligence.

Factors associated with creativity:

2. Sex differences draw into question whether the

EQ test is sex biased.

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Expertise: A well-developed knowledge base.

Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things in novel ways.
Adventuresome Personality: A personality that seeks new
experiences rather than following the pack.
Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be creative from within.
A Creative Environment: A creative and supportive environment
allows creativity to bloom.
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Is Intelligence Neurologically
Measurable?

Get ready

Recent Studies indicate some correlation (about +.40)

between brain size and intelligence. As brain size
decreases with age, scores on verbal intelligence tests
also decrease.

Gray matter concentration in people with high intelligence.

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Brain Function
Studies of brain functions show that people who score
high on intelligence tests perceive stimuli faster, retrieve
information from memory quicker, and show faster brain
response times.

Long side on left or right?

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Assessing Intelligence

People with higher intelligence respond correctly and quickly to

the above question.

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Alfred Binet

Psychologists define intelligence testing as a method for

assessing an individuals mental aptitudes and comparing
them with others using numerical scores.

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Alfred Binet and his

colleague Thodore Simon
practiced a more modern
form of intelligence testing
by developing questions
that would predict
childrens future progress in
the Paris school system.

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Lewis Terman

Aptitude and Achievement Tests

In the US, Lewis Terman

adapted Binets test for
American school children
and named the test the
Stanford-Binet Test. The
following is the formula of
Intelligence Quotient (IQ),
introduced by William
Stern:

Aptitude tests (most IQ tests) are intended to predict your

ability to learn a new skill and achievement tests are
intended to reflect what you have already learned.

SATs
(scholastic
aptitude test)

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(Achievement test)

David Wechsler

WAIS
WAIS measures overall intelligence and 11 other aspects related
to intelligence that are designed to assess clinical and
educational problems.

Wechsler developed the

Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale (WAIS) and later the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale
for Children (WISC), an
intelligence test for
preschoolers.

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Principles of Test Construction

Standardization

For a psychological test to be acceptable (as a

diagnostic tool) it must fulfill the following three
criteria:

Standardizing a test involves administering the test to a

representative sample of future test takers in order to
establish a basis for meaningful comparison.

Standardization
Reliability
Validity

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Normal Curve

Reliability

Standardized tests establish a normal distribution of

scores on a tested population in a bell-shaped pattern
called the normal curve.

A test is reliable when it yields consistent results. To

establish reliability researchers establish different
procedures:

Split-half Reliability: Dividing the test into two equal

halves and assessing how consistent the scores are.
Reliability using different forms of the test: Using
different forms of the test to measure consistency
between them.
Test-Retest Reliability: Using the same test on two
occasions to measure consistency.

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Validity

The Dynamics of Intelligence

Reliability of a test does not ensure validity. Validity of a

test refers to what the test is supposed to measure or
predict.

Does intelligence remain stable over a lifetime or does

it change? Are individuals on the two extremes of the
intelligence scale really that different?

Content Validity: Refers to the extent a test measures a

particular construct, behavior, or trait.

Predictive Validity: Refers to the function of a test in

predicting a particular outcome

Isomorphism

do test scores predict final grade?

does final grade predict GRE performance?
does GRE performance predict success in life?
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Stability or Change?

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Extremes of Intelligence

Intelligence scores become stable after about seven years

of age. In numerous studies, stability of intelligence
scores have been determined (Angoff, 1988; Deary et al.,
2004).

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A valid intelligence test divides two groups of people

into two extremes: the mentally retarded (IQ 70) and
individuals with high intelligence (IQ 135). These two
groups are significantly different.

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Mental Retardation

High Intelligence

Mentally retarded individuals required constant

supervision a few decades ago, but with a supportive
family environment and special education they can now
care for themselves.

Contrary to popular belief, people with high intelligence

test scores tend to be healthy, well adjusted, and
unusually successful academically.

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Genetic and Environmental Influences

on Intelligence

Genetic Influences

No other topic in psychology is so passionately followed

as the one that asks the question, Is intelligence due to
genetics or environment?

Studies of twins, family members, and adopted children

together support the idea that there is a significant
genetic contribution to intelligence.

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Adoption Studies

Environmental Influences

Adopted children show only a marginal correlation in

verbal ability to their adopted parents.

Studies of twins and adopted children also show the

following:

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Fraternal twins raised together tend to show

similarity in intelligence scores.
Identical twins raised apart show slightly less
similarity in their intelligence scores.

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Early Intervention Effects

Schooling Effects

Early neglect from caregivers leads children to develop a

lack of personal control over the environment, and it
impoverishes their intelligence.

Schooling is an experience that pays dividends, which is

reflected in intelligence scores. Increased schooling
correlates with higher intelligence scores.

Romanian orphans with minimal

human interaction are delayed in their development.

To increase readiness for schoolwork,

projects like Head Start facilitate learning.

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Group Differences in Intelligence Test

Scores

Ethnic Similarities and Differences

Why do groups differ in intelligence? How can we make

sense of these differences?

To discuss this issue we begin with two disturbing but

agreed upon facts:

Racial groups differ in their average intelligence

scores.
High-scoring people (and groups) are more
likely to attain high levels of education and
income.

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Environmental Effects

Racial (Group) Differences

If we look at racial differences, white Americans score
higher in average intelligence than black Americans
(Avery and others, 1994). European New Zealanders
score higher than native New Zealanders (Braden, 1994).

White-Americans

Black-Americans

Average IQ = 100

Average IQ = 85

Hispanic Americans

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Differences in intelligence among these groups are

largely environmental, as if one environment is more
fertile in developing these abilities than another.

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Reasons Why Environment Affects

Intelligence

Gender Similarities and Differences

There are seven ways in which males and females differ
in various abilities.

Races are remarkably alike genetically.

Race is a social category.
Asian students outperform North American students on
math achievement and aptitude tests.
Todays better prepared populations would outperform
populations of the 1930s on intelligence tests.
White and black infants tend to score equally well on
tests predicting future intelligence.
Different ethnic groups have experienced periods of
remarkable achievement in different eras.

1. Girls are better spellers

2. Girls are verbally fluent and have large vocabularies
3. Girls are better at locating objects
4. Girls are more sensitive to touch, taste, and color
5. Boys outnumber girls in counts of underachievement
6. Boys outperform girls at math problem solving, but under
perform at math computation
7. Women detect emotions more easily than men do
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The Question of Bias

Labeling and Stereotype Threat

Aptitude tests are necessarily biased in the sense that

they are sensitive to performance differences caused by
cultural differences.

Labeling refers to self-(and other-) fulfilling prophecy

that an individual becomes more stereotypical of their
label once it is attached to to them.

However, aptitude tests are not biased in the sense that

they accurately predict performance of one group over
the other.

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A stereotype threat is a self-confirming concern that

one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.
This phenomenon appears in some instances in
intelligence testing among African-Americans and
among women of all colors.
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