thinking language and iq
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EXPLORINGPSYCHOLOGY(8th Edition)
David Myers
PowerPoint Slides
Aneeq AhmadHenderson State University
Worth Publishers, 2011
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Thinking, Language,
and Intelligence
Chapter 9
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Thinking, Language, andIntelligence
Thinking Concepts
Solving Problems Making Decisions and Forming
Judgments
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: TheFear FactorDo We Fear the RightThings?
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Language Language Development
Thinking in Images
Animal Thinking and Language
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Intelligence What is Intelligence?
Assessing Intelligence
CLOSE-UP: Extremes of Intelligence
Genetic and Environmental
Influence on Intelligence Group Differences in Intelligence
Test Scores
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Thinking
Thinking, or cognition, refers to a process thatinvolves knowing, understanding,remembering, and communicating.
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Cognitive Psychologists
Thinking involves a number of mentalactivities, which are listed below. Cognitive
psychologists study these in great detail.
1. Concepts2. Problem solving
3. Decision making4. Judgment formation
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Concepts
The mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, orpeople. There are a variety of chairs but their common
features define the concept of a chair.
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Category Hierarchies
We organize concepts into category hierarchies.
CourtesyofChristineBrune
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Development of Concepts
We form some concepts with definitions. Forexample, a triangle has three sides. Mostly, weform concepts with mental images or typical
examples (prototypes). For example, a robin isa prototype of a bird, but a penguin is not.
Triangle (definition) Bird (mental image)
DanielJ.Cox/GettyImages
J.Messerschmidt/ThePictureCube
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Problem Solving
Problem solving strategies include:
1. Trial and Error
2. Algorithms3. Heuristics4. Insight
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Algorithms
Algorithms, which are very time consuming,exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a
solution. Computers use algorithms.
S P L O Y O C H Y G
If we were to unscramble these letters to form a wordusing an algorithmic approach, we would face
907,200 possibilities.
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Heuristics
Heuristics are simple,thinking strategies
that allow us to make
judgments and solveproblems efficiently.Heuristics are less
time consuming, butmore error-prone than
algorithms.
B2MProductions/DigitalVersion/GettyImages
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Heuristics
Heuristics make it easier for us to use simpleprinciples to arrive at solutions to problems.
S P L O Y O C H Y GS P L O Y O C H G YP S L O Y O C H G YP S Y C H O L O G Y
Put a Y at the end, and see if the wordbegins to make sense.
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Insight
Insight involves asudden novel
realization of asolution to a problem.Humans and animals
have insight.
Grande using boxes toobtain food
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Insight
Brain imaging and EEGstudies suggest that
when an insight strikes(the Aha experience), it
activates the righttemporal cortex (Jung-
Beeman & others, 2004).The time between notknowing the solution
and realizing it is about0.3 seconds.
FromMarkJung-Beekman,
Northwestern
UniversityandJohnKounio
s,DrexelUniversity
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Obstacles in Solving Problems
Confirmation Bias: A tendency to search forinformation that confirms a personal bias.
2 4 6
Rule: Any ascending series of numbers. 1 2 3 wouldcomply. Wasons students had difficulty figuring out the
rule due to a confirmation bias (Wason, 1960).
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Fixation
Fixation: An inability to see a problem from afresh perspective. This impedes problem
solving. An example of fixation isfunctional
fixedness.
The MatchstickProblem: How would
you arrange sixmatches to form fourequilateral triangles?
FromProblemSolvingby
M.Scheerer.Copyright1963by
ScientificAmerican,Inc.AllRightsReserved.
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Using these materials, how would you mount thecandle on a bulletin board?
Candle-Mounting Problem
FromProblemSolvingbyM.S
cheerer.Copyright1963by
ScientificAmerican,Inc.AllRightsReserved.
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The Matchstick Problem: Solution
FromPro
blemSolvingbyM.Scheerer.Copyright1963by
Scientific
American,Inc.AllRightsReserved.
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Candle-Mounting Problem: Solution
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Making Decision & FormingJudgments
Each day we make hundreds of judgments anddecisions based on our intuition, seldom using
systematic reasoning.
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Using and Misusing Heuristics
Two kinds of heuristics, representativeheuristics and availability heuristics, have been
identified by cognitive psychologists.
Amos Tversky Daniel Kahneman
CourtesyofGreymeyerAward,University
ofLouisvilleandtheTverskyfamily
CourtesyofGreymeyerAward,University
ofLouisvilleandDanielKahneman
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Probability that that person is a truck driver is far
greater than an ivy league professor just becausethere are more truck drivers than such professors.
Representativeness Heuristic
Judging the likelihood of things or objects interms of how well they seem to represent, or
match, a particular prototype.
If you meet a slim, short, man who wears glassesand likes poetry, what do you think his profession
would be?
An Ivy league professor or a truck driver?
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Availability Heuristic
Why does our availability heuristic lead us astray?Whatever increases the ease of retrieving
information increases its perceived availability.
How is retrieval facilitated?
1. How recently we have heard about the event.2. How distinct it is.3. How correct it is.
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Overconfidence
Intuitive heuristics, confirmation of beliefs, andthe inclination to explain failures increase our
overconfidence. Overconfidence is a tendency tooverestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and
judgments.
In the stock market, both
the seller and the buyermay be confident abouttheir decisions on a
stock.
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Exaggerated Fear
The opposite of havingoverconfidenceis
having an exaggerated
fear about what mayhappen. Such fears maybe unfounded.
The 9/11 attacks led to adecline in air travel due
to fear.
AP/WideWorldPhotos
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The Effects of Framing
Decisions and judgments may besignificantly affected depending upon how
an issue is framed.
Example: What is the best way to marketground beef as 25% fat or 75% lean?
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The Belief PerseverancePhenomenon
Belief perseverance is the tendency to cling toour beliefs in the face of contrary evidence.
If you see that a country is hostile, you are likelyto interpret their ambiguous actions as a sign of
hostility (Jervis, 1985).
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Perils & Powers of Intuition
Intuition may be perilous if unchecked, butmay also be extremely efficient and adaptive.
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Language
Language, our spoken, written, or gestured work,is the way we communicate meaning to ourselves
and others.
Language transmits culture.
M.&E.Bernhe
im/WoodfinCamp&Associates
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Language Development
Children learn theirnative languages muchbefore learning to add
2+2.We learn, on average(after age 1), 3,500 wordsa year, amassing 60,000
words by the time wegraduate from high
school.
TimeLifePictures/GettyImages
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When do we learn language?
Babbling Stage:Beginning at 4 months,
the infantspontaneously utters
various sounds, like ah-goo. Babbling is not
imitation of adultspeech.
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When do we learn language?
One-Word Stage:Beginning at or around his firstbirthday, a child starts to speak one word at atime and is able to make family members
understand him. The word doggy may mean lookat the dog out there.
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When do we learn language?
Two-Word Stage:Before the 2nd year, a childstarts to speak in two-word sentences. Thisform of speech is called telegraphic speech
because the child speaks like a telegram: Gocar, means I would like to go for a ride in the car.
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When do we learn language?
Longer phrases: After telegraphic speech,children begin uttering longer phrases (Mommy
get ball) with syntactical sense, and by early
elementary school they are employing humor.
You never starve in the desert because of all thesand-which-is there.
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When do we learn language?
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Explaining Language Development
1. Operant Learning: Skinner (1957, 1985)believed that language development may beexplained on the basis of learning principles
such as association, imitation, andreinforcement.
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Explaining Language Development
2. Inborn Universal Grammar: Chomsky (1959,1987) opposed Skinners ideas and suggestedthat the rate of language acquisition is so fast
that it cannot be explained through learningprinciples, and thus most of it is inborn.
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Explaining Language Development
Childhood is a critical period for fullydeveloping certain aspects of language.Children never exposed to any language
(spoken or signed) by about age 7 graduallylose their ability to master any language.
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Genes, Brain, & Language
Genes design the mechanisms for alanguage, and experience modifies the brain.
MichaelNew
man/PhotoEdit,Inc.
EyeofScience/PhotoResearchers,Inc.
DavidHumeKennerly/GettyImages
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Critical Period
Learning new languages gets harder with age.
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Thinking & Language
Language and thinking intricately intertwine.
RubberBall/Almay
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Language Influences Thinking
Linguistic Determinism:Whorf (1956) suggestedthat language determines the way we think. Forexample, he noted that the Hopi people do not
have the past tense for verbs. Therefore, the Hopicannot think readily about the past.
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Language Influences Thinking
When a language provides words for objects or events,we can think about these objects more clearly and
remember them. It is easier to think about two colorswith two different names (A) than colors with the same
name (B) (zgen, 2004).
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Word Power
Increasing word power pays its dividends. Ithelps explain the bilingual advantage of bilingual
children to inhibit one language while usinganother.
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Thinking in Images
To a large extent thinking is language-based.When alone, we may talk to ourselves. However,
we also think in images.
2. When we are riding our bicycle.
1. When we open the hot water tap.
We dont think in words, when:
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Images and Brain
Imagining a physical activity activates the samebrain regions as when actually performing the
activity.
JeanDu
ffyDecety,September2003
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Language and Thinking
Traffic runs both ways between language andthinking.
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Do animals have a language?
Animal Thinking & Language
Honey bees communicate by dancing. The dance
moves clearly indicate the direction of the nectar.
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Do Animals Think?
Common cognitive skillsin humans and apes
include the following:
1. Concept Formation2. Insight3. Problem Solving
4. Culture African grey parrot assorts redblocks from green balls.
WilliamMunoz
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Insight
Chimpanzees show insightful behavior whensolving problems.
Sultan uses sticks to get food.
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Problem Solving
Apes are, much likeus, shaped by
reinforcement whensolving problems.
Chimpanzee fishing for ants.
CourtesyofJenniferByrne,c/oRichard
Byrne,
Depa
rtmentofPsychology,Universityo
fSt.Andrews,Scotland
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Animal Culture
Animals display customs and culture that arelearned and transmitted over generations.
Dolphins using sponges asforging tools.
Chimpanzee mother using andteaching a young how to use
a stone hammer.
CopyrightAman
daKCoakes
MichaelNichols/NationalGeographicSociety
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Do Animals Exhibit Language?
There is no doubt thatanimals communicate.
Vervet monkeys,whales and even honey
bees communicatewith members of their
species and otherspecies.
Rico (collie) has a200-word vocabulary
CopyrightBaus/Kreslowski
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The Case of Apes
Gardner and Gardner (1969) usedAmerican Sign Language (ASL) to trainWashoe, a chimp, who learned 181 signs
by the age of 32.
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Gestured Communication
Animals, like humans, exhibit communicationthrough gestures. It is possible that vocal speechdeveloped from gestures during the course of
evolution.
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But Can Apes Really Talk?1. Apes acquire their limited vocabularies with a
great deal of difficulty, unlike children whodevelop vocabularies at amazing rates.
2. Chimpanzees can make signs to receive areward, just as a pigeon who pecks at the key
receives a reward. However, pigeons have notlearned a language.
3. Chimpanzees use signs meaningfully but lackhuman syntax.
4. Presented with ambiguous information, peopletend to see what they want to see (perceptualset).
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Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) isinstrumental in teaching chimpanzees a
form of communication.
When asked, this chimpanzee usesa sign to say it is a baby.
PaulFusco/MagnumPhotos
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Syntax Comprehension
Others have shown that pygmy chimpanzeescan developeven greater vocabularies and perhaps semantic nuancesin learning a language (Savage-Rumbaugh, 1993). Kanzi(shown below)developed vocabulary for hundreds of
words and phrases.
Copyrig
htofGreatApeTrustofIowa
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Conclusions
If we say that animals can use meaningfulsequences of signs to communicate a capability
for language, our understanding would be
naive Steven Pinker (1995) concludes, chimpsdo not develop language.
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Intelligence
Do we have an inborn general mental capacity(intelligence)? If so, can we quantify this
capacity as a meaningful number?
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What is Intelligence?
Intelligence (in all cultures) is the ability to learnfrom experience, solve problems, and use our
knowledge to adapt to new situations.
In research studies, intelligence is whatever the
intelligence test measures. This tends to beschool smarts.
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Intelligence: Ability or Abilities?
Have you ever thought that since peoplesmental abilities are so diverse, it may not be
justifiable to label those abilities with only one
word, intelligence?
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General Intelligence
The idea that general intelligence (g) existscomes from the work of Charles Spearman(1863-1945) who helped develop the factor
analysis approach in statistics.
Athleticism, like intelligence, is many things
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General Intelligence
Spearman proposed thatgeneral intelligence (g)is linked to many clusters that can be analyzed
by factor analysis.
For example, people who do well on vocabularyexaminations do well on paragraph
comprehension examinations, a cluster that
helps define verbal intelligence. Other factorsinclude a spatial ability factor, or a reasoningability factor.
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Contemporary Intelligence Theories
Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports the ideathat 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
unrelated to general intelligence.
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Howard Gardner
Gardner proposes eight types of intelligences andspeculates about a ninth one existentialintelligence. Existential intelligence isthe ability to
think about the question of life, death and existence.
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Robert Sternberg
Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003) also agrees withGardner, but suggests three intelligences rather
than eight.
1. Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessedby intelligence tests.
2. Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us
adapt to novel situations, generating novel ideas.3. Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required
for everyday tasks (e.g. street smarts).
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Intelligence and Creativity
Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that areboth novel and valuable. It correlates somewhat
with intelligence.
1. Expertise: A well-developed knowledge base.2. Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things in novelways.
3. A Venturesome Personality: A personality that seeks
new experiences rather than following the pack.4. Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be creative fromwithin.
5. A Creative Environment: A creative and supportive
environment allows creativity to bloom.
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Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive,understand, and use emotions (Salovey and
others, 2005). The test of emotional intelligence
measures overall emotional intelligence and itsfour components.
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Emotional Intelligence: Components
Component Description
Perceive emotionRecognize emotions in faces,
music and stories
Understand emotion Predict emotions, how theychange and blend
Manage emotionExpress emotions in different
situations
Use emotionUtilize emotions to adapt or be
creative
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Emotional Intelligence: Criticism
Gardner and others criticize the idea of emotionalintelligence and question whether we stretch this
idea of intelligence too far when we apply it to our
emotions.
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Assessing Intelligence
Psychologists define intelligence testing as amethod for assessing an individuals mental
aptitudes and comparing them with others using
numerical scores.
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Alfred Binet
Alfred Binet and hiscolleague Thodore
Simon practiced a moremodern form of
intelligence testing bydeveloping questions
that would predict
childrens futureprogress in the Parisschool system.
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Lewis TermanIn the US, Lewis Termanadapted Binets test for
American schoolchildren and named thetest the Stanford-Binet
Test. The following is theformula of Intelligence
Quotient (IQ),
introduced by WilliamStern:
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David Wechsler
Wechsler developed theWechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale (WAIS)and later the WechslerIntelligence Scale forChildren (WISC), anintelligence test for
school-aged children.
AI
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WAIS
WAIS measures overall intelligence and 11 otheraspects related to intelligence that are designed toassess clinical and educational problems.
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Principles of Test Construction
For a psychological test to be acceptable it mustfulfill the following three criteria:
1. Standardization2. Reliability3. Validity
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Standardization
Standardizing a test involves administering the testto a representative sample of future test takers in
order to establish a basis for meaningfulcomparison.
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Normal Curve
Standardized tests establish a normal distributionof scores on a tested population in a bell-shaped
pattern called the normal curve.
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Reliability
A test is reliable when it yields consistent results. Toestablish reliability researchers establish different
procedures:
1. Split-half Reliability: Dividing the test into twoequal halves and assessing how consistent thescores are.
2. Test-Retest Reliability: Using the same test on twooccasions to measure consistency.
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Validity
Reliability of a test does not ensure validity. Validityof a test refers to what the test is supposed to
measure or predict.
1. Content Validity: Refers to the extent a testmeasures a particular behavior or trait.
2. Predictive Validity: Refers to the function of a test
in predicting a particular behavior or trait.
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Extremes of Intelligence
A valid intelligence test divides two groups ofpeople into two extremes: the mentally retarded (IQ70) and individuals with high intelligence (IQ 135).
These two groups are significantly different.
Hi h I t lli
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High Intelligence
Contrary to popular belief, people with highintelligence test scores tend to be healthy, well
adjusted, and unusually successful academically.
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Mental Retardation
Mentally retarded individuals required constantsupervision a few decades ago, but with a
supportive family environment and specialeducation they can now care for themselves.
Fl Eff t
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Flynn Effect
In the past 60 years, intelligence scores have risensteadily by an average of 27 points. This
phenomenon is known as the Flynn effect.
Genetic and Environmental
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Influences on Intelligence
No other topic in psychology is so passionatelyfollowed as the one that asks the question, Is
intelligence due to genetics or environment?
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Genetic Influences
Studies of twins, family members, and adoptedchildren together support the idea that there is asignificant genetic contribution to intelligence.
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Adoption Studies
Adopted children show a marginal correlation inverbal ability to their adopted parents.
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Heritability
The variation in intelligence test scoresattributable to genetics. We credit heredity
with 50% of the variation in intelligence.It pertains only to why people differ from one
another, not to the individual.
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Environmental Influences
Studies of twins and adopted children also showthe following:
1. Fraternal twins raised together tend to show
similarity in intelligence scores.2. Identical twins raised apart show slightly lesssimilarity in their intelligence scores.
Early Inter ention Effects
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Early Intervention Effects
Early neglect from caregivers leads children todevelop a lack of personal control over the
environment, and it impoverishes their intelligence.
Romanian orphans with minimal
human interaction are delayed in their development.
Schooling Effects
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Schooling Effects
Schooling is an experience that pays dividends,which is reflected in intelligence scores. Increased
schooling correlates with higher intelligence scores.
To increase readiness for schoolwork,
projects like Head Start facilitate leaning.
Group Differences in Intelligence
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p gTest Scores
Why do groups differ in intelligence? How can we
make sense of these differences?
Ethnic Similarities and Differences
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Ethnic Similarities and Differences
1. Racial groups differ in their averageintelligence scores.2. High-scoring people (and groups) are more
likely to attain high levels of education and
income.
To discuss this issue we begin with two disturbingbut agreed upon facts:
Racial (Group) Differences
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Racial (Group) Differences
If we look at racial differences, white Americansscore higher in average intelligence than black
Americans (Avery and others, 1994). European NewZealanders score higher than native New
Zealanders (Braden, 1994).
White-Americans Black-Americans
Average IQ = 100 Average IQ = 85
Hispanic Americans
Environmental Effects
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Environmental Effects
Differences in intelligence among these groups arelargely environmental, as if one environment ismore fertile in developing these abilities than the
other.
Reasons Why Environment Affects
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yIntelligence
1. Races are remarkably alike genetically.2. Race is a social category.3. Asian students outperform North American
students on math achievement and aptitude tests.
4. Todays better prepared populations wouldoutperform populations of the 1930s on intelligencetests.
5. White and black infants tend to score equally well
on tests predicting future intelligence.6. Different ethnic groups have experienced periods
of remarkable achievement in different eras.
Gender Similarities and Differences
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Gender Similarities and Differences
There are seven ways in which males and femalesdiffer in various abilities.
1. Girls are better spellers
2. Girls are verbally fluent and have large vocabularies3. Girls are better at locating objects
4. Girls are more sensitive to touch, taste, and color
5. Boys outnumber girls in counts of underachievement6. Boys outperform girls at math problem solving, butunder perform at math computation
7. Women detect emotions more easily than men do
The Question of Bias
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The Question of Bias
Aptitude tests are necessarily biased in the sensethat they are sensitive to performance differences
caused by cultural differences.
However, aptitude tests are not biased in the sensethat they accurately predict performance of one
group over the other.
Test Takers Expectations
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Test-Takers Expectations
A stereotype threat is a self-confirming concernthat one will be evaluated based on a negative
stereotype.
This phenomenon appears in some instances inintelligence testing among African-Americans
and among women of all colors.