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IntelligenceIntelligence

Psychology 1107Psychology 1107

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IntelligenceIntelligence

Do we all have some in born intellectual Do we all have some in born intellectual capacity, or does our environment shape capacity, or does our environment shape our intelligence?our intelligence?

Huge issueHuge issue Perhaps a waste of timePerhaps a waste of time

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A Little HistoryA Little History GaltonGalton Darwin’s cousinDarwin’s cousin Started eugenicsStarted eugenics ‘‘Hereditary genius’Hereditary genius’ Found that genius ran in Found that genius ran in

familiesfamilies Never occurred to him Never occurred to him

that rich families had rich that rich families had rich environments!environments!

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More GaltonMore Galton

Tested and measured various qualitiesTested and measured various qualities Set up booths, got people to pay to be Set up booths, got people to pay to be

measured!measured! Found littleFound little But, RT does correlate with IQBut, RT does correlate with IQ

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BinetBinet Wanted to spot kids Wanted to spot kids

that needed special that needed special attention in schoolattention in school

Well, you have to Well, you have to measure intelligence measure intelligence thenthen

Along with Simon, he Along with Simon, he assumed we all follow assumed we all follow the same path, but the same path, but some kids were some kids were slower than othersslower than others

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Binet and SimonBinet and Simon Not that simon….Not that simon…. Anyway, they Anyway, they

measured mental agemeasured mental age Mental aptitude Mental aptitude

should show up in should show up in many waysmany ways

Found questions that Found questions that predicted predicted achievementachievement

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TermanTerman Stanford-BinetStanford-Binet IQ = (Mental age / IQ = (Mental age /

chronological age)chronological age) Doesn’t work for Doesn’t work for

adultsadults Believed IQ was Believed IQ was

inheritedinherited Racist?Racist? Terman’s TermitesTerman’s Termites

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What actually is intelligence?What actually is intelligence? To study something we must know how to To study something we must know how to

measure itmeasure it ‘‘I know what it means’ is not good enoughI know what it means’ is not good enough ‘‘Goal directed adaptive behaviour?’Goal directed adaptive behaviour?’ General agreement, but…..General agreement, but….. CultureCulture Many abilities or oneMany abilities or one Can you measure it neurologically?Can you measure it neurologically?

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CultureCulture

Is intelligence the same here as Is intelligence the same here as anywhere?anywhere?

Some say no and believe a culture free Some say no and believe a culture free intelligence test is impossibleintelligence test is impossible

Others believe that general problem Others believe that general problem solving ability is culture freesolving ability is culture free Abstract, novel questionsAbstract, novel questions Digit spam, stuff like thatDigit spam, stuff like that

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General or specific abilitiesGeneral or specific abilities

Me words together put bad paper on and Me words together put bad paper on and spel not goodspel not good

However, I am good at other stuffHowever, I am good at other stuff Maybe find out how different abilities are Maybe find out how different abilities are

related to each otherrelated to each other Best way to do this is by collecting a ton of Best way to do this is by collecting a ton of

data and analyzing it using fancy statistical data and analyzing it using fancy statistical techniquestechniques

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Factor analysisFactor analysis

Statistical techniqueStatistical technique Find out what goes with whatFind out what goes with what Spearman thought there was also a Spearman thought there was also a

general factor that underlies specific general factor that underlies specific abilitiesabilities

gg There may be something to thisThere may be something to this

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Abilities g and everythingAbilities g and everything So there is something to gSo there is something to g HmmmHmmm What about say brain injuriesWhat about say brain injuries Or savants?Or savants? Well, intelligence is mental abilityWell, intelligence is mental ability What does being able to count the number of What does being able to count the number of

toothpicks from a box have to do with it?toothpicks from a box have to do with it? Indeed, the mental and physical seem to go Indeed, the mental and physical seem to go

togethertogether Forrest Gump was just a storyForrest Gump was just a story

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More abilities, more factors, more More abilities, more factors, more namesnames

Sternberg et al talk about 3 types of Sternberg et al talk about 3 types of intelligenceintelligence

AcademicAcademic School, IQ tests etcSchool, IQ tests etc

PracticalPractical Everyday, ill defined tasksEveryday, ill defined tasks

CreativeCreative Novel situationsNovel situations

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Emotional or social intelligenceEmotional or social intelligence

You know, like getting along with othersYou know, like getting along with others UnderstandingUnderstanding Regulating emotionsRegulating emotions No mild mood swings, that sort of thingNo mild mood swings, that sort of thing Hmm, umm, well, errrHmm, umm, well, errr Jury is still outJury is still out

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Neurological measurement of brain Neurological measurement of brain sizesize

Brain size?Brain size? Crazy as it sounds, Crazy as it sounds,

there may be there may be something to thissomething to this

Brain is altered due to Brain is altered due to experienceexperience

Pretty crude measure Pretty crude measure thoughthough

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Brain functionBrain function May be more tellingMay be more telling PET scans show that good scores on cognitive PET scans show that good scores on cognitive

tasks relate to LESS glucose uptaketasks relate to LESS glucose uptake Higher IQ, faster perceptual processingHigher IQ, faster perceptual processing

Related to brain functionRelated to brain function Why should this have anything at all to do with Why should this have anything at all to do with

complex tasks?complex tasks? Get more stuff in?Get more stuff in? We are still pretty far awy (?) best bet is still paper We are still pretty far awy (?) best bet is still paper

and pencil testsand pencil tests

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Assessing IntelligenceAssessing Intelligence

Have to operationally define intelligenceHave to operationally define intelligence So,So, Intelligence is your score on an IQ testIntelligence is your score on an IQ test Aptitude tests predict ability to learn new Aptitude tests predict ability to learn new

skillskill Achievement tests reflect stuff already Achievement tests reflect stuff already

learnedlearned Most good IQ tests do bothMost good IQ tests do both

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Modern IQ testsModern IQ tests Wechsler adult Intelligence Scale is pretty Wechsler adult Intelligence Scale is pretty

commoncommon WAISWAIS WISC tooWISC too 2 scores, verbal and performance, should be 2 scores, verbal and performance, should be

closeclose Modern tests are standardizedModern tests are standardized

If you answer the same number of questions correct If you answer the same number of questions correct as the average person, you are given a score of 100as the average person, you are given a score of 100

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A little bit of statisticsA little bit of statistics

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Just a bit of scary math type stuffJust a bit of scary math type stuff So, IQ is normally distributed with a mean of 100 So, IQ is normally distributed with a mean of 100

and a standard deviation of 15and a standard deviation of 15 They (the tests) are constructed that wayThey (the tests) are constructed that way Test must be reliable and validTest must be reliable and valid Reliability -> stable measurementReliability -> stable measurement

Test retestTest retest Split halfSplit half

Validity -> measure what it is supposed toValidity -> measure what it is supposed to PredictivePredictive FaceFace Criterion relatedCriterion related

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More testing stuffMore testing stuff Aptitude tests lose some Aptitude tests lose some

predictive ability as time predictive ability as time goes bygoes by

Truncated sampleTruncated sample Reliability and validity are Reliability and validity are

measure using a measure using a correlation coefficientcorrelation coefficient

-1.00 <= r <= +1.00-1.00 <= r <= +1.00 Sign indicates directionSign indicates direction Size indicated by Size indicated by

absolute valueabsolute value

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The extremes of intelligenceThe extremes of intelligence The ‘challenged’The ‘challenged’ IQ < 70 and cannot live independentlyIQ < 70 and cannot live independently Most of these folks can, with some Most of these folks can, with some

training, hold down jobs etctraining, hold down jobs etc Down’s syndrome is a big causeDown’s syndrome is a big cause

Extra chromosomeExtra chromosome Various levels of retardationVarious levels of retardation Not violentNot violent Not communicable!Not communicable!

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The extremesThe extremes

The ‘gifted’The ‘gifted’ Terman’s Termites againTerman’s Termites again IQ > 150IQ > 150 Better at everythingBetter at everything Still, really extreme may MAY have Still, really extreme may MAY have

problemsproblems Should the gifted be tracked?Should the gifted be tracked?

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CreativityCreativity

What is it?What is it? DunnoDunno

How do you measure itHow do you measure it Ummm not sureUmmm not sure

Does it correlate with IQ?Does it correlate with IQ? Maybe….Maybe….

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Genetics and environmentGenetics and environment

Just because something is genetic does Just because something is genetic does not make it unchangeablenot make it unchangeable

If something is genetic it is niether right If something is genetic it is niether right nor wrongnor wrong

Genetics do play a role in IQGenetics do play a role in IQ Identical twins have the same IQ, indeed, Identical twins have the same IQ, indeed,

they look like the same person has taken they look like the same person has taken the test!the test!

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GeneticsGenetics Even twins raised apart have the same IQEven twins raised apart have the same IQ Adopted kids’ IQs do not correlate with their Adopted kids’ IQs do not correlate with their

parents’!parents’! Heritability of IQ is about .50Heritability of IQ is about .50 Environmental effects are there tooEnvironmental effects are there too However, you cannot teach someone However, you cannot teach someone

something that is beyond themsomething that is beyond them

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Group differencesGroup differences No doubt they existNo doubt they exist Remember, GROUPS not individualsRemember, GROUPS not individuals Remember, individual variation greater than Remember, individual variation greater than

groupgroup Looks aren’t everythingLooks aren’t everything Sex differences tooSex differences too spatial/mathspatial/math Verbal abilityVerbal ability Emotion detectionEmotion detection biasbias