Intro To Psych 15

Introduction
to
Psychology
2023
What is
intelligence?
Think about the most
intelligent person you know or
have met. What makes them
intelligent?
Albert Einstein Socrates
"The true sign of "I know that I am
intelligence is not intelligent, because I
knowledge but know that I know
imagination." nothing."
Few people agree on exactly what
“intelligence” is or how to measure
it. The nature and origin of
intelligence are elusive, and the
value and accuracy of intelligence
tests are often uncertain.
Researchers who study intelligence
often argue about what IQ tests
really measure.
What is
intelligence?
Learning
outcome 1
Distinguish between
“intelligence” and “IQ”
Defining
intelligence
A typical dictionary definition of intelligence is
“the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge.”
Intelligence includes the ability to benefit from
past experience, act purposefully, solve
problems, and adapt to new situations.
Intelligence can also be defined as “the ability
that intelligence tests measure.” There is a long
history of disagreement about what actually
constitutes intelligence.
Intelligence
refers to the
broader ability of
acquiring and
utilising complex
mental skills.
IQ
Intelligence quotient (IQ) refers to a
numerical representation of the level of
an individual’s intelligence.
Learning
outcome 2
Provide an overview of the
history of intelligence
testing (pp.351-356).
Assessing
intelligence
The assessment, or testing, of intelligence represents an
attempt to assign a number to an individual's abilities,
allowing that person to be compared to others.
French government wanted an objective assessment of
schoolchildren.
Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon assumed that
relatively bright children behaved cognitively like older
children, while less intelligent children behaved like
younger children.
Devised items they believed would indicate children's
mental age relative to their peers.
Gave rise to modern intelligence tests.
The Binet-
Simon scale
Alfred Binet and his colleague Theodore
Simon devised this general test of mental
ability in 1905, and it was revised in 1908
and 1911. The test yielded scores in
terms of mental age. Mental age is the
chronological age that typically
corresponds to a particular level of
performance.
Example: A ten-year-old child whose

score indicates a mental age of twelve
performed like a typical twelve-year-old.
Assessing
intelligence
In 1916, Lewis Terman and his colleagues at Stanford
University created the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
by expanding and revising the Binet-Simon scale. The
Stanford-Binet yielded scores in terms of intelligence
quotients.
The intelligence quotient (IQ) is the mental age divided
by the chronological age and multiplied by 100. IQ
scores allowed children of different ages to be
compared.
Example: A ten-year-old whose performance resembles
that of a typical twelve-year-old has an IQ of 120 (12
divided by 10 times 100).
Summary of the history
of intelligence testing
•Binet-Simon scale expressed IQ as mental age.
•Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale expanded Binet-Simon’s original scale.
•Updated scale included intelligence quotient (IQ): Mental age/chronological x 100.
•Wechsler expanded intelligence testing to adults.
•Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) used normal distribution and relied less on
verbal ability.
Learning
outcome 3
Differentiate between the
single factor view and the
view of multiple abilities
(pp.354-356).
The G-factor
n discussions of intelligence, some
psychologists focus on an individual's
overall abilities while others focus on
particular types of abilities.
Charles Spearman proposed a
general intelligence factor, g,
which underlies all intelligent
behavior.
general intelligence (g) - a
measure of an individual's overall
intelligence as opposed to
specific abilities
Theories of
intelligence
In the 1980s and 1990s, psychologist Howard
Gardner proposed the idea of not one kind of
intelligence but eight, which are relatively
independent of one another. Gardner believes
that each of these domains of intelligence has
inherent value but that culture and context may
cause some domains to be emphasized over
others. Critics of the idea of multiple intelligences
maintain that these abilities are talents rather
than kinds of intelligence.
Triarchic theory of
successful intelligence
Robert Sternberg’s cognitive approach emphasises the need to understand how people use their
intelligence.
Analytical intelligence involves abstract reasoning, evaluation and judgment.
Creative intelligence involves the ability to generate new ideas and to be inventive in dealing
with novel problems.
Practical intelligence involves the ability to deal effectively with the kinds of problems people
encounter in everyday life.
Emotional and
social intelligence
Traditional views of intelligence focus on education-
related skills, but emotional and social skills are
important to successful adaptation too. Some
researchers distinguish emotional intelligence as an
ability that helps people to perceive, express,
understand, and regulate emotions.
Other researchers maintain that this ability is a

collection of personality traits such as empathy and
extroversion, rather than a kind of intelligence.
Learning
outcome 4
Differentiate between fluid
and crystallised
intelligence (p.355).
Which
doctor would
you prefer to
go see?
Dr Thakgalo Thibela Dr Alla Levushkina

The youngest doctor on the African With a remarkable 67 years of service
continent, she graduated from high behind her, she’s carried out more than
school with seven distinctions at the 10,000 surgeries.
age of 15.
Fluid intelligence Crystallised intelligence
The ability to think logically without The ability to think logically using
the need to use learned knowledge. specific learned knowledge.
Learning
outcome 5
Discuss how psychological
tests are used (pp.352-
354).
IQ scores
Normal distribution: Represents the pattern in which many characteristics are dispersed in
the population.
Deviation IQ: Locates respondents precisely within the normal distribution.
Percentile score: Percentage of people who score at or below the score one has obtained.
IQ scores
When a trait is normally distributed, most cases fall near the centre of the distribution.
•Creates a precise way to compare one person to another.
•Dispersed in a fixed pattern, with the standard deviation serving as the unit of measure.
•Modern IQ scores indicate where one would fall in the normal distribution of intelligence,
not the number of questions answered correctly.
•Deviation IQ scores are converted into percentile scores.

Learning
outcome 6
Provide a definition for
psychometrics (p.358).
Measuring
intelligence
The psychometric approach to intelligence emphasizes
people’s performance on standardized aptitude tests.
Aptitude tests predict people’s future ability to
acquire skills or knowledge.
Achievement tests, on the other hand, measure
skills and knowledge that people have already
learned.
Psychometry - the science of measuring mental

capacities and processes.
Learning
outcome 7
Describe what the
reliability and validity of
tests refer to (p. 354)
Are
intelligence
tests
accurate?
Reliability Validity
This refers to the measurement This refers to the ability of a test to
consistency of a test. measure what it was designed to
measure.
Do intelligence tests have
adequate
reliability and validity?
Reliability - The measurement consistency of a
psychological test. IQ tests are exceptionally
reliable.
Validity - The ability of a test to measure what it
was designed to measure. IQ tests are valid
measures of the kind of intelligence necessary to
do well in academic work. If the purpose is to
assess intelligence in a broader sense, the validity
of IQ tests is questionable.
Do intelligence tests
predict vocational success?
•Intelligence is associated with vocational success.
•People who score high on IQ tests are more likely to end up in high-status jobs.
•IQ test measure academic ability fairly well, and school performance is important in
attaining certain occupations.
•Within an occupation, the correlation depends on the complexity of the job requirements.
•The association might not be strong enough to justify reliance on IQ testing in hiring
employees.
Learning
outcome 8
Provide an overview of
intelligence tests used in
South Africa (pp.361-363).
IQ testing in
South Africa
During the 1930s and 1940s, the apartheid
government established separate education
systems based on the idea that white children had
IQ scores superior to other groups tested.
Bieshevel contested this idea as early as 1943,
recognising the significant impact that
environmental factors such as economics and
nutrition would have on intelligence.
Cultural differences in IQ scores and
South Africa
Heritability Socioeconomic disadvantage
• Jensen incorrectly argued • Many social scientists argue that
differences in average IQ are poorer students’ IQ scores are
largely due to heredity. depressed because their
• Kamin’s analogy shows that environment is deprived.
group differences in average IQ • Many researchers argue that
could be caused by environmental ethnic differences in intelligence
factors. are really social class differences in
disguise.
Discussion
Read p366 “Cultural differences in IQ
scores and South Africa” and discuss the
following questions:
a.Why do you think there are differences in

the IQ scores in various racial and ethnic
groups and cultures, even within the same
country?
b.Do you think intelligence is more strongly
influenced by heritability factors or
environmental factors? Why? What
examples can you provide to support your
thoughts?
c.How does the use of IQ tests add to this
debate?
Learning
outcome 9
Explain intellectual
disability and giftedness
(pp.366-367)
Intellectual disability
Extremes of A condition diagnosed in
intelligence individuals with IQ scores

below 70 and poor
adaptive behaviours.
Giftedness and genius
Assuming that IQ scores are normally

An extreme of intelligence
distributed, with an average of 100 and a defined as having an IQ score
standard deviation of 15, about 68% of the of 130 or above.
population should fall within two standard
deviations (70-130). The remaining 5% are
either above 130 or below 70.
WHO IS MORE
men women ?
INTELLIGENT
or
Battle of the
sexes?
Male brains Female brains

Men have high IQ correlations with Women on the other hand, have an
the frontal lobe as well as the left IQ that correlates strongly with grey
parietal lobe, that part of the brain matter in the right frontal lobe and
responsible for sensory input and Broca’s area.
interpretation, somatosensory
response and visual understanding of
shapes and space.

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Introduction

Example: A ten-year-old child whose

Other researchers maintain that this ability is a

Dr Thakgalo Thibela Dr Alla Levushkina

Deviation IQ: Locates respondents precisely within the normal distribution.

•Creates a precise way to compare one person to another.

•Deviation IQ scores are converted into percentile scores.

Psychometry - the science of measuring mental

a.Why do you think there are differences in

intelligence individuals with IQ scores

Giftedness and genius

Assuming that IQ scores are normally

Male brains Female brains

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