Basic concepts of Intelligence - PDF document

1 Basic concepts of Intelligence Module Details 1. Subject Name Adult Education 2. Paper Name Psycholog ical Foundation 3. Module number Module - 2.14 4. Module Name Basic concepts of Intelligence 5. Principal Investigator Prof. Vandana Chakrabarti, Director, Lifelong Learning and Extension, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai 6. Paper Coordinator Prof. Anuradha Sovani, Professor,Departmentof Psychology, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai 7. Content writer Prof. Mr i nalini Purandare, Associate Professor, Departmentof Psychology, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai 8. Content Reviewer Prof. Anuradha Sovani, Professor,Department of Psychology, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai Content Outline 1. Objectives 2. Definition of Intelligence 3. T heories of intelligence 4. M easurement of intelligence 5. Is Intelligence Nature or Nurture? 6. Summary 1. Objectives At the end of the module, the learner will be able to,  Define intelligence  Explain and evaluate theories of intelligence  Discuss measurement of intelligence  Discuss the role of nature or nurture in intelligence 2. Definition of Intelligence: The term intelligence refers to various abilities. Some of them are as follows:  Acquire and apply knowledge  Logical reasoning  Effective planning  Problem solving 2  And so on…….. View of general public about intelligence: If we ask lay persons to define intelligence the general views about intelligence are as follows:  Persons who are good with numbers  Persons who are good in science subjects  People who read widely  People who display good vocabulary  People who solve problems in daily life  People who are good in sports  People who display talent in Music  And so on……. Widely acceptable definition of Intelligence: The most widely acceptable definition of intelligence is the one given by David Wechsler . He defined intelligence as “aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his/her environment.” 3. Theoretical views of intelligence: Two Factor Theory : Charles Spearman (1863 – 1945) proposed that there is a single underlying construct that all items of intelligence tests measure. He called this factor the general intelligence factor (g). Almost all psychologists now believe that there is a generalized intelligence factor, g, that relates to abstra

ct thinking and that includes the abilities to acquire knowledge, to reason abstractly, to adapt to novel situations, and to benefit from instru ction and experience (Gottfredson, 1997; Sternberg, 2003). People with higher general intelligence learn faster. Although there is general agreement among psychologists that g exists, there is also evidence for specific intelligence (s), a measure of spec ific skills in narrow domains. One empirical result in support of the idea of s comes from intelligence tests themselves. Although the different types of questions do correlate with each other, some items correlate more highly with each other than do other items; they form clusters or clumps of intelligences. Structure of Intellect Model : Guilford (1967, 1988) proposed a box like model called structure of Intellect (SOI) model. He classified intellectual traits along three dimensions: Operations: What the respondent does Content: The nature of materials or information on which operations are performed Product: the form in which information is processed by the respondent 3 L. L. Thurstone (1938) proposed that there were seven clusters of primary mental abiliti es , made up of word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory. But even these dimensions tend to be at least somewhat correlated, showing again the importance of g. Another distinction is between fluid intelligence , which refers to the capacity to learn new ways of solving problems and performing activities, and crystallized intelligence , which refers to the accumulated knowledge of the world we have acquired througho ut our lives (Salthouse, 2004). These intelligences must be different because crystallized intelligence increases with age — older adults are as good as or better than young people in solving crossword puzzles — whereas fluid intelligence tends to decrease wi th age (Horn, Donaldson, &Engstrom, 1981; Salthouse, 2004). Robert Sternberg has proposed a triarchic (three - part) theory of intelligence that proposes that people may display more or less analytical intelligence , creative intelligence , and practical int elligence . Sternberg (1985, 2003) argued that traditional intelligence tests assess analytical intelligence, the ability to answer problems with a single right answer, but that they do not well assess creativity (the ability to adapt to new situations and create new ideas) or practicality (e.g., the ability to write good memos or to effectively delegate responsibility). The last aspect of the

triarchic model, practical intelligence, refers primarily to intelligence that cannot be gained from books or formal learning. Practical intelligence represents a type of “street smarts ‖ or “common sense ‖ that is learned from life experiences. Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) argued that it would be evolutionarily functional for different people to have different talents an d skills, and proposed that there are eight intelligences that can be differentiated from each other. Gardner noted that some evidence for multiple intelligences comes from the abilities ofautistic savants; people who score low on intelligence tests overal l but who nevertheless may have exceptional skills in a given domain, such as math, music, art, or in being able to recite statistics in a given sport (Treffert& Wallace, 2004). Howard Gardner‘s Eight Specific Intelligences Intelligence : i. Linguistic: The a bility to speak and write well ii. Logico - mathematical: The ability to use logic and mathematical skills to solve problems iii. Spatial: The ability to think and reason about objects in three dimensions iv. Musica:l The ability to perform and enjoy music v. Kinestheti c (body): The ability to move the body in sports, dance, or other physical activities vi. Interpersonal: The ability to understand and interact effectively with others vii. Intrapersonal: The ability to have insight into the self 4 viii. Naturalistic: The ability to rec ognize, identify, and understand animals, plants, and other living things The idea of multiple intelligences has been influential in the field of education, and teachers have used these ideas to try to teach differently to different students. 4. Measuring Intelligence: The goal of most intelligence tests is to measure g, the general intelligence factor. Good intelligence tests are reliable , meaning that they are consistent over time, and also demonstrate construct validity , meaning that they actually measure intelligence rather than something else. Because intelligence is such an important individual difference dimension, psychologists have invested substantial effort in creating and improving measures of intelligence, and these tests are now the most accurate of all psychological tests. In fact, the ability to accurately assess intelligence is one of the most important contributions of psychology to everyday public life. Intelligence changes with age. Understanding intelli gence requires that we know the norms or standards in a given population of people at a given age. Thestandardization of a t

est involves giving it to a large number of people at different ages and computing the average score on the test at each age level. It is important that intelligence tests be standardized on a regular basis, because the overall level of intelligence in a population may change over time. Once the standardization has been accomplished, we have a picture of the average abilities of people at different ages. Calculation of Intelligence quotient: If we compare the mental age of a person to the person‘s chronological age, the result is the intelligence quotient (IQ), a measure of intelligence that is adjusted for age. A simple way to calcu late IQ is by using the following formula: IQ = mental age ÷ chronological age × 100. Thus a 10 - year - old child who does as well as the average 10 - year - old child has an IQ of 100 (10 ÷ 10 × 100), whereas an 8 - year - old child who does as well as the average 10 - year - old child would have an IQ of 125 (10 ÷ 8 × 100). Most modern intelligence tests are based the relative position of a person‘s score among people of the same age, rather than on the basis of this formula, but the idea of an intelligence “ ratio ‖ o r “ quotient ‖ provides a good description of the score‘s meaning. A number of scales are based on the IQ. Intelligence Tests: In the early 1900s, the French psychologist Alfred Binet (1857 – 1914) and his colleague Henri Simon (1872 – 1961) began working in Paris to develop a measure that would differentiate students who were expected to be better learners from students who were expected to be slower learners. The goal was to help teachers better educate these two groups of stude nts. Binet and Simon developed what most psychologists today regard as the first intelligence test, which consisted of a wide 5 variety of questions that included the ability to name objects, define words, draw pictures, complete sentences, compare items, an d construct sentences. Soon after Binet and Simon introduced their test, the American psychologist Lewis Terman (1877 – 1956) developed an American version of Binet‘s test that became known as the Stanford Binet Intelligence Test. The Stanford - Binet is a mea sure of general intelligence made up of a wide variety of tasks including vocabulary, memory for pictures, naming of familiar objects, repeating sentences, and following commands The Wechsler Adult lntelligence Scale (WAIS) is the most widely used intell igence test for adults (Watkins, Campbell, Nieberding, & Hallmark, 1995). The current version of the WAIS, the WAIS - IV, was stand

ardized on 2,200 people ranging from 16 to 90 years of age. It consists of 15 different tasks, each designed to assess intellig ence, including working memory, arithmetic ability, spatial ability, and general knowledge about the world. The WAIS - IV yields scores on four domains: verbal, perceptual, working memory, and processing speed. The reliability of the test is high (more than 0.95), and it shows substantial construct validity . The Wechsler scale has also been adapted for preschool children in the form of the Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI - III) and for older children and adolescents in the form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC - IV). Multicultural testing : Traditionally cross - cultural tests have tried to develop tests that will remove the effect of language by developing tests that required no language on the part of the respond ent. Another factor that was taken care was that of speed because cultures differ in motivation or value attached to rapid performance. These tests are called culture free tests. One example of widely used culture free test that has controlled the factor o f language and speed is Raven’s Progressive Matrices (J. Raven 1983, Raven and Raven Court, 1995) it is primarily a measure of Spearman’s g factor or general intelligence. It is available in three forms, differing in level of difficulty. 1. The Standard P rogressive Matrices, 2. TheColoured Progressive Matrices and 3. The Advanced Progressive Matrices. Non - Verbal Test of Intelligence (NVTI) : Dr. Nafde developed this test in the Institute of Vocational Guidance and Counselling , Mumbai (India). It has five sub - tests, each having 20 items. Time limit of 5 minutes is allotted for each of the sub - test. This test take care of the factor of language but not of speed. 6 5. Is Intelligence Nature or Nurture? Intelligence has both genet ic and environmental causes, and these have been systematically studied through a large number of twin and adoption studies (Neisser et al., 1996; Plomin, DeFries, Craig, & McGuffin, 2003). These studies have found that between 40% and 80% of the variabili ty in IQ is due to genetics , meaning that overall genetics plays a bigger role than does environment in creating IQ differences among individuals (Plomin&Spinath, 2004). The IQs of identical twins correlate very highly (r = .86), much higher than do the s cores of fraternal twins who are less genetically similar (r = .60). And the correlations between the IQs of parents and their biological chi

ldren (r = .42) is significantly greater than the correlation between parents and adopted children (r = .19). The r ole of genetics gets stronger as children get older. The intelligence of very young children (less than 3 years old) does not predict adult intelligence, but by age 7 it does and IQ scores remain very stable in adulthood (Deary, Whiteman, Starr, Whalley, & Fox, 2004). But there is also evidence for the role of nurture , indicating that individuals are not born with fixed, unchangeable levels of intelligence. Twins raised together in the same home have more similar IQs than do twins who are raised in different homes, and fraternal twins have more similar IQs than do non twin siblings, which is likely due to the fact that they are treated more similarly than are siblings. The fact that intelligence becomes more stable as we get older provides evidence that early environmental experiences matter more than later ones. Enviro nmental factors also explain a greater proportion of the variance in intelligence for children from lower - class households than they do for children from upper - class households (Turkheimer, Haley, Waldron, D‘Onofrio, & Gottesman, 2003). This is because mos t upper - class households tend to provide a safe, nutritious, and supporting environment for children, whereas these factors are more variable in lower - class households. Social and economic deprivation can adversely affect IQ. Children from households in po verty have lower IQs than do children from households with more resources even when other factors such as education, race, and parenting are controlled (Brooks - Gunn & Duncan, 1997). Poverty may lead to diets that are under nourishing or lacking in appropr iate vitamins, and poor children may also be more likely to be exposed to toxins such as lead in drinking water, dust, or paint chips (Bellinger& Needleman, 2003). Both of these factors can slow brain development and reduce intelligence. If impoverished environments can harm intelligence, we might wonder whether enriched environments can improve it. Government - funded after - school programs such as Head Start are designed to help children learn. Research has found that attending such programs may increase i ntelligence for a short time, but these increases rarely last after the programs end (McLoyd, 1998; Perkins &Grotzer, 1997). But other studies suggest that Head Start and similar programs may improve emotional intelligence and reduce the likelihood that ch ildren will drop out of school or be held back a grade (Reynolds, Temple, Robertson, & Mann 2001). Intelligen

ce is improved by education ; the number of years a person has spent in school correlates at about r = 0.60 with IQ (Ceci, 1991). It is important to remember that the relative roles of nature and nurture can never be completely separated. A 7 child who has higher than average intelligence will be treated differently than a child who has lower than average intelligence, and these differences in behavi ors will likely amplify initial differences. This means that modest genetic differences can be multiplied into big differences over time. 6. Summary: Intelligence is defined by Wechsler as “aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his/her environment.” Some Influential theoretical views about intelligence are as follows: Two Factor theory : Charles Spearman has proposed the two factor theory of intelligence. The general factor i.e. the g factor, which is asingle underlying construct that all items of intelligence tests measure. The second factor is Specific intelligence (s), a measure of specific skills in narrow domains. Guilford (1967, 1988) proposed a box like model called structure of Intellect (SOI) model. He classified intellectual traits along three dimensions:Operations, Content and Product. Thurstone (1938) proposed that there were seven clusters of primary mental abilities Another distinction is between fluid intelligence , whic h refers to the capacity to learn new ways of solving problems and performing activities, and crystallized intelligence , which refers to the accumulated knowledge of the world we have acquired throughout our lives Robert Sternberg has proposed a triarchic (three - part) theory of intelligence that proposes that people may display more or less analytical intelligence , creative intelligence , and practical intelligence Howard Gardner (1983, 1999)proposed that there are eight intelligences that can be differentiated from each other. They are:Linguistic, Logico - mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Kinesthetic (body), Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalistic. Measuring Intelligence : The objectives of all good intelligence test is to have go od, reliability, construct validity, norms and proper standardization. Concept of Intelligence quotient : If we compare the mental age of a person to the person‘s chronological age, the result is the intelligence quotient (IQ), a measure of intelligence th at is adjusted for age. A simple way to calculate IQ is by using the following formula: IQ = mental age ÷ chronological

age × 100. 8 Intelligence Tests: Alfred Binet (1857 – 1914) and his colleague Henri Simon (1872 – 1961) developed the first intelligence test, which consisted of a wide variety of questions that included the ability to name objects, define words, draw pictures, complete sentences, compare items, and construct sentences. Lewis Terman (1877 – 1956 ) developed an American version of Binet‘s test that became known as the Stanford Binet Intelligence Test. The Wechsler Adult lntelligence Scale (WAIS) is the most widely used intelligence test for adults. The current version of the WAIS, the WAIS - IV, yie lds scores on four domains: verbal, perceptual, working memory, and processing speed. The Wechsler scale has also been adapted for preschool children in the form of the Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI - III) and for older childre n and adolescents in the form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC - IV). Multicultural testing : Traditionally cross - cultural tests have tried to develop tests that will remove the effect of language by developing tests that required no l anguage on the part of the respondent. Another factor that was taken care was that of speed because cultures differ in motivation or value attached to rapid performance. These tests are called culture free tests. One example of widely used culture free tes t that has controlled the factor of language and speed is Raven’s Progressive Matrices (J. Raven 1983, Raven and Raven Court, 1995) It is available in three forms, differing in level of difficulty. 1. The Standard Progressive Matrices, 2. The Coloured Progressive Matrices and 3. The Advanced Progressive Matrices. Non - Verbal Test of Intelligence was developed by Dr. Nafde in India.This test takes care of the factor of language but not of speed. Is Intelligence Nature or Nurture? Intelligence has both genetic and environmental causes, and these have been systematically studied through a large number of twin and adoption studies. These studies have found that overall genetics plays a bigger role than does environment in creating IQ differences amongindiv iduals. But there is also evidence for the role of nurture , indicating that individuals are not born with fixed, unchangeable levels of intelligence. Social class and economic deprivation can adversely affect IQ. Enriched environment and education can impr ove intelligence.It is important to remember that the relative roles of nature and nurture can never be completely separa