Ability to modify one’s behaviour to meet demands of the situation. Knowledge-based thinking. Heredity and IQ, IQ Tests and Culture

2. WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE?
 A loaded question . . .
 Ability to modify one’s behavior to meet
demands of the situation
 Abstract reasoning (using symbols or mental
representations)
 Capacity to acquire knowledge
 Problem solving ability

3. DEFINITION OF INTELLIGENCE
 Common to many definitions of intelligence
 Knowledge-based thinking
 Apprehension
 Adaptive purposeful striving
 Fluid analytic reasoning
 Mental playfulness
 Idiosyncratic learning

4. THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
 Terman coined the term “Intelligence Quotient” (IQ)
in 1916
 Mental age/Chronological age
 Spearman’s 2 Factor Theory (1927)
 Intelligence =
 General factors (g) — “mental energy”
 E.g., abstract reasoning, problem solving
 Specific factors (s) — less complex tasks
 E.g., motor speed, attention, v-m coordination, memory
 Although originally a 2 factor theory, g is the only
factor that accounts for correlations among
intellectual abilities

5. THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
 Thurstone’s Multidimensional Theory (1938)
 Eight primary mental factors
 Verbal, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning,
number, rote memory, deductive reasoning, word
fluency, space or visualization)
 He eventually found that these factors correlated and
later postulated a second-order factor similar to “g”

6. A MODERN VIEW OF INTELLIGENCE
 Intelligence is an integrated construct including:
 Biological—dependent on genetics, brain structure,
physiological functioning of brain
 Cognitive—metacognition and ordinary cognition
 Motivational—magnitude, direction, and disposition of
individual
 Behavioral—behavior in academic, social, and adaptive
domains
 Genetically-determined intelligence is always
modified by experience

7. ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON IQ
 Factors that enhance IQ:
 Stimulating environment
 Good medical care/nutrition
 Parental involvement in learning
 Rich language environment
 Factors that negatively impact IQ:
 Persistent poverty
 Perinatal complications, inadequate stimulation in environment,
lead exposure
 Large family size
 Nutrition during gestation and early childhood

8. HEREDITY AND IQ
 “Heredity may limit a child’s potential, but
environment permits their potential to be
actualized” (Sattler, 2001, p. 180)
 We inherit genes, not an actual IQ
 Genetics is only 1 factor affecting IQ (familial,
educational, nonfamilial factors)
 IQ can change, but it is difficult
 Does seem to go up on average about 4 points between
childhood and adolescence (develop problem-solving
strategies over time)

9. IQ TESTS AND CULTURE
 Culturally Biased
 Proponents of this view feel IQ tests are biased
against ethnic minorities and don’t take their
sociocultural factors into account
 Culturally loaded
 Proponents of this view feel IQ tests are
reflective of the knowledge and skills of the
dominant society (those who created the test)

10. COMMON IQ MISPERCEPTIONS
 IQ is innate
 IQ never changes
 IQ tests provide perfectly reliable scores
 All IQ tests measure the same thing
 IQ test scores are interchangeable

11. IQ TESTS VS. ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
 IQ tests measure broader abilities
 IQ tests are more predictive of future performance
 Achievement tests (reading, math, etc.) are heavily
dependent on formal learning at home or school
 Achievement test scores change more readily
 Achievement tests assess mastery of factual
information; IQ tests assess ability to apply
information in new ways

12. COMMON INTELLIGENCE TESTS
 Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
 Originally developed in 1916
 Currently in the 4th edition
 Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WISC)
 For children 6-16 years
 Currently in the 4th edition (2003)
 Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of
Intelligence (WPPSI)
 For children 3 years to 7 years, 3 months
 Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID)
 For children aged 1 to 42 months
 Cognitive, Motor, and Behavioral scales

13. TYPES OF IQ
 Ratio IQ
 First type of IQ
 Stern (1938)
 IQ = MA/CA x 100
 Same IQ has different
meanings at different
ages
 Not used as often now
 Deviation IQ
 A type of standard
score
 Mean = 100, SD =
15/16
 Compares IQ to same
age peers
 Normal distribution
 WISC uses this

14. To Test Your Intelligence visit – www.go4iqtest.com