Chap 9 2012 Intell and Testing

Chapter 9
Intelligence and Psychological
Testing
Defining Intelligence
• Capacity to act purposefully, think rationally,
and deal effectively with the environment
– Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to learn
from experience, solve problems, and use
knowledge to adapt to new situations.
• Aptitude: Capacity for learning certain
abilities
• Multiple Aptitude Test: Test that measures
two or more abilities
• General Intelligence Test: Test that
measures a wide variety of mental abilities
Intelligence
What is Intelligence? Do we
have Multiple Intelligences?
▪ Is Intelligence One General Ability or
Several Specific Abilities?
▪ Emotional Intelligence
▪ Intelligence and Creativity
▪ Is Intelligence Neurologically
Measurable?
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Intelligence
Do we have an inborn general mental capacity
(intelligence) and can we quantify this capacity as a
meaningful number?
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General Intelligence
Spearman proposed that general intelligence (g), is
linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by factor
analysis.
For example, people who do well on vocabulary do
well on paragraph comprehension, a cluster that helps
define verbal intelligence. Other factors include
spatial ability factor a reasoning ability factor.
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Types of Tests
• Mental Ability Tests:
– Intelligence Tests
– Aptitude Tests
– Achievement Tests
• Personality Tests: measure various
aspects of the personality including
motives, interests, values and attitudes
(the MMPI, pg 519, indicates “Normal” and
“Abnormal” scales for disorders)
Special aptitude tests measure a person’s potential for achievement in a
limited area of ability, such as manual dexterity. Multiple aptitude tests
(e.g. LSATs or MCATs)measure potentials in broader areas, such as college
work, law or medicine. Intelligence tests measure a very wide array of
aptitudes and mental abilities
Testing Terms
• Standardization: uniform procedures in
administration and scoring
• Test Norms: provides information about where
a score ranks in relation to other scores
• Percentile Score: percentage of people who
scored above or below
• Reliability: A measure should give the same
score each time the same person takes it
– Test-Retest: Give test to a large group, then give
exactly the same test to same group later
– Split-Half: Making sure scores on one-half of a test
match the scores on the other half
Testing Terms (contd.)
•
Validity: Ability of a test to measure
what it is purported to measure
– Predictive Validity: Refers to the function
of a test in predicting a particular behavior
or trait.
– Content Validity: does it contain material
which is relevant to the content
– Criterion-Related Validity Comparing test
scores to actual performance
•
Comparing SAT to college grades
Evolution of Intelligence Testing
• Sir Francis Galton: wrote Hereditary Genius, in
which he argued that many qualities, such as
intelligence, were “inherited”.
• Alfred Binet: constructed tests to identify mentally
subnormal children
• Lewis Terman: expanded Binet’s tests to identify
IQs, or mental age compared to chronological
age.
• David Wechsler: developed IQ tests for children
and adults
– The Wechsler tests predominate IQ testing today
Alfred Binet
Alfred Binet and his
colleague Théodore Simon
started modern intelligence
testing by developing
questions that would predict
children’s future progress in
the Paris school system.
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Lewis Terman
Lewis Terman, in the US,
adapted Binet’s test for
American school children
and named the test the
Stanford-Binet Test. The
formula of Intelligence
Quotient (IQ) introduced
by William Stern is:
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Wechsler Tests
• EPISD uses these tests (along with the Leiter Test,
which is a nonverbal test) to determine IQ.
• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test-Third Edition
(WAIS-III): Adult intelligence test that rates verbal
and performance intelligence and abilities
– Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition
(WISC-III): Downscaled version of the WAIS-III; for
children aged 6 years to 16 years 11 months, 30 days
Wechsler Scales
• Performance Intelligence: Nonverbal
intelligence; measured by solving puzzles,
completing pictures, and assembling
objects
• Verbal Intelligence: Language intelligence;
measured by answering questions
involving vocabulary, information,
arithmetic, and other language-oriented
tasks
Testing Intelligence Terms
• Norm: Average score for a designated group of
people
• Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition
(SB5): Widely used individual intelligence test,
derived directly from Alfred Binet’s first
intelligence test; for ages 2-90!
• Chronological Age: Person’s age in years
• Mental Age: Average intellectual performance
• Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Intelligence index;
mental age divided by chronological age, then
multiplied by 100
– Average IQ in the USA is 100
IQ Testing
!
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What do IQ scores mean?
What do IQ Tests measure?
Are IQ Tests reliable?
Are IQ Tests valid?
Do IQ scores predict vocational success?
See Figure 9.7, pg 356 to see distribution
of IQs
Normal Curve
Standardized tests establish a normal distribution of
scores on a tested population — a bell-shaped pattern
called the normal curve.
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Flynn Effect
In the past 60 years intelligence scores have steadily
risen by an average of 27 points — a phenomenon
known as the Flynn effect. Many theories have been
proposed to explain this increase.
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The stability or reliability of IQ scores increases rapidly in early childhood. Scores are
very consistent from early adulthood to later middle age. (Source: Schuerger & Witt, 1989.)
IQ Research
• Men and women do not appear to differ in
overall intelligence
• A strong correlation (about .50) exists
between IQ and school grades
Mental Retardation (or Developmental
Disabilities): Some Definitions
• Presence of a developmental disability and an IQ
score below 70; a significant impairment of
adaptive behavior also figures into the definition
– Adaptive Behavior: Basic skills such as dressing,
eating, working, hygiene; necessary for self-care
• Familial Retardation: Mild mental retardation that
occurs in homes that have inadequate nutrition,
intellectual stimulation, medical care, and
emotional support
Giftedness
• Having a high IQ (usually above 130) or
special talents or abilities (playing Mozart
at age 5). Texas does NOT use IQ to
identify giftedness.
– Level of giftedness may define social and
emotional qualities
– Giftedness does NOT necessarily lead to
significant achievement in adult life
Heredity vs. Environment
(nature vs. nurture)
• Eugenics: Selective Breeding for desirable
characteristics
• Fraternal Twins: Twins conceived from two separate
eggs (.60 correlation when reared together)
• Identical twins: Twins who develop from a single egg
and have identical genes (as high as .80 correlation
reared together; .70 when reared apart)
• Many researchers believe that intelligence is a
combination of heredity (genes) and environment
(upbringing); contributing percentage of each is not
known yet.
• The “politically correct” answer to the Nurture-Nature
argument is 50% nurture; 50% nature.
Cultural Bias in IQ Testing
• Cultural/ethnic differences in IQ scores
may be attributed to cultural differences.
– Socioeconomic disadvantages
– Stereotype vulnerability
• The Chitlin Test
– A culturally biased test
New Ways of Viewing Intelligence
• Measure specific/different abilities
• Measure different intelligences
• G Factor or “general” intelligence may
involve two factors: fluid intelligence
involves reasoning, memory and recall;
and crystallized intelligence involves
application of knowledge and problem
solving.
Contemporary Intelligence Theories
Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports Thurstone’s
idea that intelligence comes in multiple forms.
Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one
type of ability but not others.
People with savant syndrome excel in abilities
not related to general intelligence.
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Gardner’s Theory of Intelligence: Some
Concepts
• Multiple Intelligences: Theory posed by
Howard Gardner that states we have
several specialized types of intellectual
ability
• G-Factor: General ability factor; assumed
to explain the high correlations among
various intellectual measures
Gardner’s Theory of Eight Multiple
Intelligences
• Language: Used for thinking by lawyers,
writers, comedians
• Logic and Math: Used by scientists,
accountants, programmers
• Visual and Spatial Thinking: Used by
engineers, inventors, aviators
• Music: Used by composers, musicians,
music critics
Gardner’s Theory of Eight Multiple
Intelligences (cont.)
• Bodily-Kinesthetic Skills: Used by dancers,
athletes, surgeons
• Intrapersonal Skills (Self-Knowledge): Used by
poets, actors, ministers
• Interpersonal Skills (Social Abilities): Used by
psychologists, teachers, politicians
• Naturalistic Skills (Ability to Understand Natural
Environment): Used by biologists, organic
farmers
Howard Gardner
Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences and
speculates about a ninth one — existential intelligence —
the ability to ponder about question of life, death and
existence.
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Robert Sternberg
Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003) also agrees with Gardner,
but suggests three intelligences rather than eight.
1.
2.
3.
Analytical Intelligence: Assessed by intelligence tests.
Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us adapt to
novel situations, generating novel ideas.
Practical Intelligence: Intelligence required for everyday
tasks (e.g. street smart).
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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:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Word Fluency
Verbal Comprehension
Spatial Ability
Perceptual Speed
Numerical Ability
Inductive Reasoning
Memory
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Theories: Comparison
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Controversies about Intelligence
Despite general agreement among psychologists
about the nature of intelligence, there are two
controversies that remain:
1. Is intelligence a single overall ability or several
specific abilities?
2. With modern neuroscience techniques can we
locate and measure intelligence within the brain?
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Intelligence and Creativity
Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both
novel and valuable. It correlates somewhat with
intelligence.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Expertise: A well developed knowledge base.
Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things in novel
ways.
Adventuresome Personality: Seeks new experiences
rather than following the pack.
Intrinsic Motivation: Motivated to be creative from
within.
A Creative Environment: Creativity blooms in creative
and supportive environment.
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Creative Thinking Pg 378
• Inductive Thought: Going from specific facts or
observations to general principles
• Deductive Thought: Going from general
principles to specific situations
• Logical Thought: Going from given information to
new conclusions based on explicit rules
• Illogical Thought: Thought that is intuitive,
associative, or personal