V. Quick Review
Theories of Intelligence
Theories of Intelligence
- Intelligence is the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge.
- Intelligence includes the ability to benefit from experience, act purposefully, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.
- Charles Spearman proposed a general intelligence factor, g, that underlies all intelligent behavior.
- Howard Gardner proposed that there are eight domains of intelligence.
- Robert Sternberg distinguished among three aspects of intelligence.
- Emotional intelligence helps people to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions.
- The most commonly used individual tests of intelligence are the Binet-Simon scale, the Stanford-Binet Scale, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.
- The Binet-Simon scale yielded scores in terms of mental age.
- The original Stanford-Binet test yielded scores in terms of intelligence quotient,or IQ.
- The Wechsler test yields scores based on a normal distribution.
- Although the term IQ is still used, current intelligence tests present scores based on a normal distribution.
- Group intelligence tests are often used in educational settings.
- Some researchers have suggested that there are biological indices of intelligence, such as reaction time and perceptual speed.
- Many psychologists believe that cultural bias affects intelligence tests.
- Intelligence tests are standardized.
- Norms provide information about how a score compares with other people’s scores.
- Intelligence tests are very reliable.
- Intelligence tests are reasonably valid measures of academic ability.
- Intelligence tests have both critics and advocates.
- There is dispute about how and how much heredity and environment affect intelligence.
- Evidence for hereditary influences come from family studies, twin studies, andadoption studies.
- Heritability estimates for intelligence vary depending on the method used for estimation.
- Evidence for environmental influences comes from adoption studies, studies of environmental deprivation, and the Flynn effect.
- There is probably a reaction range for IQ. Reaction range refers to limits set on IQ by heredity. Environment determines where IQ will lie within these limits.
- There is a discrepancy in IQ scores between whites and some minority groups.
- There are both hereditary and environmental explanations for this discrepancy.
- The higher IQ test scores and better school performance of Asian Americans may be due to cultural factors.