General Psychology
Intelligence
History
With the introduction of Evolutionary Theory, the idea that intelligence was the key to human survival and that individuals varied in this quality was very popular at the turn of the century.
Binet developed the first accepted measure of intelligence which identified behaviors related to school success.
Lewis Terman adapted Binet's test for Americans and called it the Stanford-Binet (1916). Tested verbal skills and introduced the notion of IQ (intelligence quotient) defined as mental age/chronological age.
Wechsler IQ test became most popular because it successfully measure verbal and non verbal skills.
Wechsler
WPPSI, WISC, and WAIS
Measures verbal, performance, and freedom from distractibility
Deviation IQ: normal distribution
Psychometric properties:
Standardization- sampling, administration, and scoring
Reliability- consistency, test-retest
Validity- measure what it claims to measure, predictive
Uses:
Mental retardation: low IQ, poor adaptive behavior
Learning disorders: normal IQ (although gap between verbal/performance) and poor achievement
ADHD: poor freedom from distractibility
Correlations and causes of IQ
Correlates: family size, SES, ethnicity
Causes
Genetic- heritability of .4-.7 and reaction range of 25 points
Environmental- influential in lowering IQ (nutrition, stimulation)
Redefining intelligence
Lumpers vs splitters (general versus specific)
Sternberg (moderate splitter)
componential (verbal and convergent)
experiential (creative and divergent)
contextual (practical and street smart)