Psych 125Human Development

Christopher GadeOffice: 1031-G

Office hours: Tu 12-1:30 and by apt.Email: gadecj@gmail.com

Class: T 1:30-4:20 Room 2210

Intelligence

The Intelligence Challenge• In today’s class, we’re going to discuss the topic of

intelligence.• However, when looking at intelligence, we run

into a problem that we haven’t run into during previous topics; Namely, what does it mean to be “intelligent”?

• Group activity:– In groups of 3 to 4, please list 5 different situations

where people can display actions that are “intelligent” AND “dull” and detail what an “intelligent” and “dull” action would be in these situations.

Defining Intelligence• As our examples

revealed, intelligence is multifaceted.

• When studying the topic, we often consider multiple aspects of intelligence and try to incorporate as many of them into the definition of the term as we can.

• Intelligence – the ability to solve problems and adapt and learn from the environment– There is debate about the

other theoretical aspects of intelligence that exist• Creativity?• Interpersonal skills?• Memory capacity?• Vocabulary?

So How Can We Test This?

• If we’re going to measure how intelligence grows and changes with development, we need to find a way to objectively measure intelligence.– Intelligence tests – established techniques that allows

researchers tocompare anindividual to theirage and cultureequivalent peers inorder to determinehow much more orless “intelligent”he/she is.

The First Intelligence Test – Alfred Binet• One of the first psychologists to

scientifically explore intelligence• In 1904, he was tasked by the French Ministry of

Education to find a way to detect children that would never “profit” from traditional schools

• To do this, he designed a series of tests– These tests began by looking at basic skills in children

(“point to your toes”) and moved on to more complex skills when comparing adolescents (“define justice”)• Mental age (MA)– the age that the child’s responses were most

indicative of• Chronological age (CA)– the actual age of the child• Intelligence Quotient (IQ) = MA/CA x 100

The New IQ Tests• Since Piaget, researchers have attempted to expand his tests and

measure both adults and “regular” individuals• Stanford-Binet IQ test – a new IQ tests that measure multiple facets of

intelligence across a large range of ages– Normally distributed with different calculations (average = 100)– Measures fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial

reasoning, and working memory– Note: This revised test was created by Lewis Terman at Stanford. Hence the

name. They were originally said to measure a person’s inborn ability to learn. Terman’s initial goal was to use the tests to promote his push for eugenics.

The Wechsler Scales• David Wechsler developed a series of

questions and tasks that allowedresearchers to look at intelligence in:– Different subscales (verbal skills and performance/ non-

verbal skills, working memory, and processing speed)– Different age groups (WAIS – Wechsler Adult Intelligence

Scale, and WISC – Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children(up to 16))

Processing Speed ExampleX X O X X O O X O X X O O O X X O O X X O O O O O X X X O X O X O X O O O X O X O O O X X X O X O X X O X O O X X X O X O X O X X O X O X O X O X O X O X O O X X X X X O X O O X O O X X X X O X X O O X O X X O O O X X O O X X O O O O O X X X O X O X O X O O O X O X O O O X X X O O O O X X X O X O X O X O O O X O X O O O X X O O X X X O O O O X X X O X O X O X O O O X O X O O X O X X O X O X O X O O O X X X O O O O X X X O X O X O X O O O X O X O O O X X O O X X X O O O O X X X

Other Ideas About Intelligence• Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (16:54)

– verbal, mathematical, spatial, movement, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, existential

• Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence– Analytical, creative, practical

• Salvoy & Mayer’s emotional intelligence (EQ)• Spearman’s general intelligence (g)– Could be the result of an outside factor (health)

• Fluid and crystallized intelligence– Fluid – intelligence based on the ability to learn across all areas of

interest (peaks at 20)– Crystallized – intelligence that is obtained through experience

over the lifespan (peaks near end of life)– Note: this doesn’t address multiple intelligences

Where does this lead us in a developmental class?

• Understanding that there are many different types of intelligence forces researchers looking at development study changes in multiple versions of intelligence

• Understanding the different goals and findings of intelligence researchers also lets us look closer at development related problems in intelligence that we find

• Understanding these theories also helps us better understand the concept of heritability when we examine its relationship with intelligence

Understanding the Extremes of Intelligence: Giftedness

• Individuals that measure having IQ’s above 130 are arbitrarily defined as “gifted”

• Gifted individuals usually excel only in one or two specific areas of intelligence

• Despite the stereotypes, gifted individuals do not generally appear to display social or personality deficits– Savant syndrome exception

• Giftedness has been liked to both genetics and environment

Understanding the Extremes of Intelligence: Mental Retardation

• Mental retardation is defined as a limited mental ability

• Mentally retarded individuals are identified before the age of 18

• There are many classifications of mental retardation, based on IQ scores

• To be defined as mentally retarded, individuals must:– Have an IQ below 70– Have difficulty adapting

to everyday life

More on Mental Retardation

• IQ’s below 50 are usually the product of genetic deficits (we discussed this in one of the first classes)

• Individuals with IQ’s between 50 and 70 are defined as having cultural-familial retardation (based on early experience and low stimulation environments)

• Treatment for mental retardation varies based on an individual’s IQ

Returning to

Heritability

• Heritability – the proportion of a characteristic that can be attributed to the genetic makeup of parents– Nature – the amount of a characteristic

(in this case, intelligence) that can be attributed to our genes

– Nurture – the amount of a characteristic that can be attributed to our environment

• Sibling studies have revealed a very high level of genetic heritability in the area of intelligence– This is particularly true when we look at

adult intelligence

Some New Outlooks on Heritability• Recent studies have led us to conclude that

environments, especially ones that are significantly different, can also play a big role in intelligence– Schooling lapses and decline in intelligence findings– The Flynn effect – worldwide increases in intelligence

over the past few decades– Intervention studies (low IQ, SES, & comm. styles)

Another look at these effects…• The context of culture on how we measure

intelligence– video

More Developmental Concerns: Predictability and Stability

• Considerable research has shown that intelligence levels of infants are constantly fluctuating

• Once reaching childhood, intelligence becomes more stable

• We have also found in numerous studies that our intelligence (IQ’s) at these ages is very predictive of our intelligence (IQ’s) throughout our lives– a note on individual differences

A Final Concern: Change• Just like physical change and other cognitive

changes that we’ve seen before, we see that intelligence follows a set path with respect to aging as well

Reexamining a past idea to understand a new one

• Remember the Flynn effect?• When taking this into account, researchers have

come up with some interesting new conclusions about old age and changes in intelligence

Late Increases in Crystallized Intelligence• Late crystallized intelligence has sometimes been

called “wisdom” or “pragmatic knowledge”– Wisdom – expert knowledge about the practical

aspects of life that permits excellent judgment about important matters

– Note: “wisdom” has been theoretically linked to age, but we the statistical links that we would expect• Wisdom is rare in the elderly, and everyone for that matter• Early adulthood and late adolescence is when “wisdom”

seems to emerge• Experience and personality factors (openness to experience

and creativity) seem to be better predictors of “wisdom”

Wrapping Up Intelligence• When looking at development and

intelligence, we see thatintelligence measures actuallycame from our early attempts tounderstand development

• We see in our research that our intelligence based abilities grow with age in our early years

• We also see that our intelligence levels are usually fairly consistent throughout life

• And finally, we see that some intelligence based responses decline in the later years, but others might even improve

Onto Language• In the next class we’ll be looking at how our

language skills change throughout our lifetime

• Read chapter 9 by the next class

• Also, papers are due at the beginning of class next week

• Email me if you have any questions about any of this