Notes on "Intelligence"
- 1. Some notes on “Intelligence” James Atherton; February 2012
- 2. Some notes on “Intelligence” James Atherton; February 2012 In quotes because it is a contestable idea. The presentation does not purport to be a full account of the idea.
- 3. General Specific Aptitude Achievement Intelligence Subject-specific qualifications Tests for specific aptitudes (mechanical musical, etc.) Educational qualifications claiming general validity (GCSE etc.)
- 4. Testing is central to the idea of intelligence General Specific Aptitude Achievement Intelligence Subject-specific qualifications Tests for specific aptitudes (mechanical musical, etc.) Educational qualifications claiming general validity (GCSE etc.)
- 5. Tests can be either general or specific in their targets General Specific Aptitude Achievement Intelligence Subject-specific qualifications Tests for specific aptitudes (mechanical musical, etc.) Educational qualifications claiming general validity (GCSE etc.)
- 6. Tests can be either general or specific in their targets In the case of most assessments, the focus is on what the person tested has already done General Specific Aptitude Achievement Intelligence Subject-specific qualifications Tests for specific aptitudes (mechanical musical, etc.) Educational qualifications claiming general validity (GCSE etc.)
- 7. Tests can be either general or specific in their targets In the case of most assessments, the focus is on what the person tested has already done More difficult to test for is the issue of potential for the future General Specific Aptitude Achievement Intelligence Subject-specific qualifications Tests for specific aptitudes (mechanical musical, etc.) Educational qualifications claiming general validity (GCSE etc.)
- 8. Intelligence goes for the most difficult area of all—a measure of general potential General Specific Aptitude Achievement Intelligence Subject-specific qualifications Tests for specific aptitudes (mechanical musical, etc.) Educational qualifications claiming general validity (GCSE etc.)
- 9. “ The power of good responses from the point of view of truth or fact” (Thorndike) “ A biological mechanism by which the effects of a complexity of stimuli are brought together and given a somewhat unified effect in behavior” (Peterson) “ The ability to carry on abstract thinking” (Terman) “ The ability to adapt oneself adequately to relatively new situations in life” (Pintner) “ The capacity for knowledge, and knowledge possessed” (Henmon) “ The capacity to acquire capacity” (Woodrow)
- 10. “ The power of good responses from the point of view of truth or fact” (Thorndike) “ A biological mechanism by which the effects of a complexity of stimuli are brought together and given a somewhat unified effect in behavior” (Peterson) “ The ability to carry on abstract thinking” (Terman) “ The ability to adapt oneself adequately to relatively new situations in life” (Pintner) “ The capacity for knowledge, and knowledge possessed” (Henmon) “ The capacity to acquire capacity” (Woodrow) Here are a few definitions from the literature!
- 11. “ The power of good responses from the point of view of truth or fact” (Thorndike) “ A biological mechanism by which the effects of a complexity of stimuli are brought together and given a somewhat unified effect in behavior” (Peterson) “ The ability to carry on abstract thinking” (Terman) “ The ability to adapt oneself adequately to relatively new situations in life” (Pintner) “ The capacity for knowledge, and knowledge possessed” (Henmon) “ The capacity to acquire capacity” (Woodrow) “ Viewed narrowly, there seem to be almost as many definitions of intelligence as there were experts asked to define it” (Sternberg 1987)
- 13. But put the text through Wordle, and some themes do emerge
- 14. Potted history Francis Galton (1884) measures head size, reaction time etc., but finds no correlations Charles Spearman (1904) develops the idea of “general intelligence” or g Alfred Binet (1905 on) devised tests to determine ineducability formulated idea of “Mental Age” Lewis Terman adapted and standardised the Binet tests for American children (1916, latest revision 1986) David Wechsler developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale in 1939 (latest edition 1998) Various group tests devised subsequently
- 15. Current Stanford-Binet tests four broad areas verbal reasoning abstract/visual reasoning quantitative reasoning short-term memory
- 16. Abstract/visual reasoning Which of the figures to the right of the line are not the same as the one to the left? A B C D E
- 17. Abstract/visual reasoning Which of the figures to the right of the line are not the same as the one to the left? A B C D E
- 18. Abstract/visual reasoning Which of the figures to the right of the line are not the same as the one to the left? Note this assumes that you can only rotate the figures, not flip them as well. IQ test items need to be completely unambiguous! A B C D E
- 19. Quantitative Reasoning The parcel post rate in the local zone is 18 cents for the first pound and 1½ cents for each additional pound. How many pounds can be sent in the local zone for $1.50? A: 88 B: 89 C: 100 D: 225 (US Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)
- 20. Quantitative Reasoning The parcel post rate in the local zone is 18 cents for the first pound and 1½ cents for each additional pound. How many pounds can be sent in the local zone for $1.50? A: 88 B: 89 C: 100 D: 225 (US Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)
- 21. Quantitative Reasoning What is the missing number? 56 35 20 10 ? 1 (Alice Heim)
- 22. Quantitative Reasoning What is the missing number? 56 35 20 10 ? 1 21 15 10 6 (Alice Heim) Clue 1
- 23. Quantitative Reasoning What is the missing number? 56 35 20 10 ? 1 21 15 10 6 6 5 4 (Alice Heim) Clue 2
- 24. Quantitative Reasoning What is the missing number? 56 35 20 10 ? 1 21 15 10 6 3 6 5 4 3 (Alice Heim) Clue 3
- 25. Quantitative Reasoning What is the missing number? 56 35 20 10 4 1 21 15 10 6 3 6 5 4 3 (Alice Heim)
- 26. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing
- 27. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing This is a very traditional item at the simpler end of the scale
- 28. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing
- 29. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing A poor item which just does not have a correct answer
- 30. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing
- 31. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing This one is really tough—because...
- 32. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing This one is really tough—because... ...you have to change your frame of reference...
- 33. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing This one is really tough—because... ...you have to change your frame of reference.... ...it’s not about what the words represent. ..
- 34. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing This one is really tough—because... ...you have to change your frame of reference.... ...it’s not about what the words represent. ..
- 35. Verbal Reasoning seed is to plant , as egg is to: tree root pollen oats potato bird Victim is the opposite of: hunter happy imposter benefactor cad man Which is the odd one out ? captain frustrate house labour swing This one is really tough—because... ...you have to change your frame of reference.... ...it’s not about what the words represent. .. Why?
- 36. The (almost) normal distribution curve of IQ—the “Bell Curve”. based on the Terman-Merrill standardisation group(1937) Ages 2 to 18 n =2904 SD=16 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 165 % of population IQ score
- 37. based on the Terman-Merrill standardisation group(1937) Ages 2 to 18 n =2904 SD=16 This is the mean: about 100 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 165 % of population IQ score
- 38. based on the Terman-Merrill standardisation group(1937) Ages 2 to 18 n =2904 SD=16 The dashed lines are “standard deviations” from the mean. 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 165 % of population IQ score
- 39. based on the Terman-Merrill standardisation group(1937) Ages 2 to 18 n =2904 SD=16 The dashed lines are “standard deviations” from the mean. About two-thirds of the population are within ± 1 S.D. of the mean 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 165 % of population IQ score
- 40. based on the Terman-Merrill standardisation group(1937) Ages 2 to 18 n =2904 SD=16 The dashed lines are “standard deviations” from the mean. About two-thirds of the population are within ± 1 S.D. of the mean There are fewer people more than 2 S.Ds above the mean than there are below. 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 165 % of population IQ score
- 41. Profound learning disability <20 Severe learning disability 20-34 Moderate learning disability 35-49 Mild learning disability 50-70 Low normal 70-90 Normal 90-110 High normal 110-130 “ Genius” 130+ Mental Age Chronological Age IQ = x 100
- 42. Issues around Intelligence (not covered here) Flynn effect Fluid and Crystallised intelligence (Cattell, 1967) Convergent and Divergent thinking styles (Hudson, 1967) Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1983) Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 1995) Mindsets/Self-theories (Dweck, 1996)
- 43. Convergent thinking - science and technology(?) Divergent thinking - arts and humanities(?) --except that this is a graphic of the Hudson styles
- 44. Political issues Early abuses including sterilisation laws on basis of IQ; continued until 1975 in Sweden of all places. Sir Cyril Burt: basis of 1944 Education Act, and accused of fraudulent results Arthur Jensen (1969) accused of racism, for identifying ethnic group differences in measured intelligence. (Note; within group differences are more significant than those between groups, in broad terms.) Herrnstein R and Murray C, (1995) The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (Glencoe: Ill. The Free Press) Ever since eugenics, (Dalton) intelligence has been a political issue .
- 45. Correlations between IQ and educational achievement at various levels Primary school 0.6-0.7 Secondary school 0.5-0.6 College 0.4-0.5 Post-graduate 0.3-0.4 Figures from US. terminology revised for UK: from Atkinson et al (1993) (+1 would be a perfect positive correlation).
- 46. Factors in educational achievement Motivation Opportunity Organisation Background “ Intelligence” Teaching
- 47. Factors in educational achievement The chain is only as strong as its weakest link—which could be any of these factors and more Motivation Opportunity Organisation Background “ Intelligence” Teaching
- 48. Spearman’s g factor (1904) Arrived at by factor analysis of results from tests Claims a general (hence g ) component to intelligence, supplemented by specific components Critics suggest g is an artefact of method although “intelligence” may have a hierarchical structure and others maintain it may have 30+ components Spearman, C. (1904). "General intelligence," objectively determined and measured. American Journal of Psychology , 15 , 201-293
- 49. Spearman’s g factor (1904) Arrived at by factor analysis of results from tests Claims a general (hence g ) component to intelligence, supplemented by specific components Critics suggest g is an artefact of method although “intelligence” may have a hierarchical structure and others maintain it may have 30+ components Spearman, C. (1904). "General intelligence," objectively determined and measured. American Journal of Psychology , 15 , 201-293 The argument that there is a single general factor measured by IQ tests is at one end of the scale of the debate...
- 51. Multiple Intelligences (Gardner) Gardner’s multiple intelligences model is the other end of the scale from the g model, and is arrived at quite differently (This is a purely impressionistic representation. Gardner does not use anything like it
- 52. http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/intelligence.htm for more detail and some references.