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Difficulties in defining intelligence
Evidence for genetic and environmental contributions to individual intelligence
Evidence for the role of environmental influences on intelligence is provided by studies that compare
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Introduction
Cognitive psychology refers to the scientific investigation of human mental faculties, i.e. perceiving, learning, remembering, reasoning, thinking, and understanding. From within this extensive subject appears the ongoing debate concerning human intelligence. One of the most elusive foci of cognitive psychology, due to difficulties with defining and measuring it, intelligence is nevertheless the most intriguing as psychologists the world round study and attempt to further our understanding of it. In recent years, discoveries have shed light on, with hindsight, a rather biased view on whether intelligence is determined solely by genetics or our environment. According to Eysenck, this is due mainly to larger and better selected samples, as well as technological advances within molecular genetics.
When determining the malleability of intelligence, one must first have a firm grasp of what, exactly, intelligence is. Most definitions reflect the psychometric approach (Gross), which deals with measuring differences in individuals through tests. These can be divided into those with a narrower view (Burt and Terman, in Gross), which is seen in the idea of general intelligence ‘g’ (Spearman, in Gross), and those with a somewhat broader definition, which generally attempt to include aspects beyond cognition (Binet and Wechsler, in Gross). Along with these are some who define intelligence not as a noun, but as an adjective, i.e. intelligent activity (Heim and Ryle, in Gross). This ongoing debate must be taken into account when investigating the malleability of intelligence, as IQ scores do not necessarily equate to actual intelligence, lending certain limitations to the references. In spite of these limitations, opponent...
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... Harmondsworth, Penguin. In Gross, 2001.
Rutter, M. (and the English and Romanian Adopteer (ERA) study team), 1998,
Developmental Catch-up, and Deficit Following Adoption After Severe Global Early Privation. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 39(4), 465-476. In Gross, 2001
Ryle, G., 1949, The Concept of Mind, London, Hutchinson. In Gross, 2001.
Spearman, C., 1904, General Intelligence, Objectively Determined and Measured, American Journal of Psychology, 15, 201-293. In Gross 2001.
Sternberg, R.J., 1998, How Intelligent is Intelligent Testing?, Scientific American Presents: Exploring Intelligence, 9(4), 12-17.
Terman, L., 1921, In Symposium: Intelligence and its Measurement, Journal of Educational Psychology, 12, 127-133. In Gross, 2001.
Wechsler, D., 1944, 3rd edition, The Measurement of Adult Intelligence, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins. In Gross, 2001.
The Bell Curve is a book originally published in 1994. It was written by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray to explain the variations of intelligence in American Society. They accomplished this by using statistical analysis, for the purpose of raising warnings regarding the consequences of the intelligence gap. This was also made to propose a national social policy with the goal of mitigating bad consequences that have been attributed to this intelligence gap. Much of the information is widely considered controversial. An example of this is the low African-American scores compared to whites and Asians, and genetic factors in intelligence abilities. The introduction of the book starts with a brief history of intelligence theory and recent developments in intelligence thought and testing. The author creates six assumptions that has to do with the validity of the “classical” cognitive testing techniques.
General intelligence tends to relate to various degrees with each other (Cohen 2012). An example of this is that if an individual is good in math, they may also be good in spelling. In this weeks reading we reviewed several different models of measurement of intelligence. In regard to these theories and general intelligence (g), the theories are various but have commonality and overlap. The Spearman's two-factor theory is if a test has high correlation with other test than the measurement of g is highly saturated (Cohen, 2012). The greater the importance of g on a test, the better the test is believed to predict intelligence
Intelligence tests have been developed by scientists as a tool to categorize army recruits or analyze school children. But still discussing what intelligence is, academics have a difficult time defining what intelligence tests should measure. According to the American researcher Thorndike, intelligence is only that what intelligence tests claim it is (Comer, Gould, & Furnham, 2013). Thus, depending on what is being researched in the test and depending on the scientist’s definition of intelligence the meaning of the word intelligence may vary a lot. This essay will discuss what intelligence is in order to be able to understand the intelligence theories and aims of intelligence tests.
Many psychology theories have been developed in order to determine how to measure intelligence. Volume 63 of the Annual Review of Psychology details a few studies citing popular theories from the 1970s to 2000 (Deary, 2012), including the measurement of, “sensory discrimination and reaction time,” (Deary, 2012). After 2000, however, “interest has focused, in the broadly psychometric-experimental levels, on processing speed and working memory as potential explanatory variables for intelligence,” (Deary, 2012). In measuring intelligence, scientists are focu...
Loehlin, John C., Lindzey Gardner, and J.N. Spuhler. Race Differences in Intelligence. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1975.
interpreted as being caused by genetic or environmental differences among groups? A strong promoter of the belief that there is undoubtedly a racial difference in intelligence is Phillippe Rushton. As a professor of psychology, he argues that there is irrefutable scientific evidence of difference...
In this world, there are many different individuals who are not only different in demographics but also different neurologically. Due to an immense amount of people it is important to first understand each individual, in order, to better understand them and to help them when it comes to certain areas such as education, the work force, and etc…. For this reason psychologists have aimed to further understand individuals through the use of psychological assessments. This paper aims to examine a particular assessment tool, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (Fifth Edition), which measures both intelligence and cognitive abilities (Roid, 2003). This assessment is usually administered by psychologists and the scores are most often used to determine placement in academics and services allotted to children and adolescents (despite their compatibility for adults) (Wilson & Gilmore, 2012). Furthermore before the investigation dives into the particulars of the test, such as its strengths and weakness’, it is best to first learn more about the intelligence scales general characteristics.
Most researchers believe that we are born with a certain intelligence or potential intelligence. They also believe that the intelligence we are born with is difficult to change. Psychologists use short-answer tests to assess one’s intelligence (Gardner papers). It was believed that intelligence was a single inherited thing. Human beings start out initially as a blank slate and could be trained to learn anything, provided that it was presented in an appropriate way (Multiple Intelligences and Education). Currently an “increasing number of researchers believe the opposite. Gardner defined intelligence as: “the ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued in culture; a set ...
Boddy., J. (1978). Brain systems and Psychological Concepts. Sutton Surrey. By John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The true nature of intelligence has been debated more intensely then ever over the last century. As the science of psychology has developed one of the biggest questions it had to answer concerned the nature of Intelligence. Some of the definitions that have been given for intelligence have been the ability to adjust to one’s environment. Of course by such a definition even a person who is generally considered to be dull can be regarded as being intelligent if he can take care of himself. Other definition is such as having the tendency to analyze things around yourself. However it can be argued that such behavior can lead to over-analyzing things and not reacting to one’s environment and dealing with it in an intelligent manner.
The first mental tests designed to be used for mass, group testing were developed by psychologists for the U.S. Army in 1917-1918. The group tests were modeled after intelligence tests designed for individual use in one-on-one assessment. In developing the mental tests, the psychologists subscribed to the position that one could be quite intelligent, but illiterate or not proficient in the English language. Based on this reasoning, two major tests were developed, the Army Alpha for literate groups, and the Army Beta for illiterates, low literates or non-English speaking (Yerkes, 1921). Both tests were based on the theoretical position that intelligence was an inherited trait, and the assumption was made that native intelligence was being assessed. Each test was made- up of a number of subtests (Figure 4), the contents of which differed depending on whether the test was for literates or illiterates, low literates or non- English speakers.
Shieber, S., 2004. The Turing Test: Verbal Behavior as the Hallmark of Intelligence, The MIT Press. Available at: http://acl.ldc.upenn.edu/J/J05/J05-3006.pdf
On the ‘nature’ side of the debate is the psychometric approach, considered to be the most dominant in the study of intelligence, which “inspired the most research and attracted the most attention” (Neisser et al. 1996, p. 77). It argues that there is one general (‘g’) factor which accounts for intelligence. In the 1880s, Francis Galton conducted many tests (measuring reaction times to cognitive tasks), (Boundless 2013), in order to scientifically measure intelligence. These tests were linked to the eugenic breeding programme, which aimed to eliminate biologically inferior people from society. Galton believed that as intelligence was inherited, social class or position were significant indicators of intelligence. If an individual was of high social standing, they would be more intelligent than those of a lower position. However he failed to show any consistency across the tests for this hypothesis, weakening his theory that social class correlated with intelligence. Nevertheless, his creation of the intelligence test led many to continue to develop...
“Measureable environment does not shift the IQ by more than 3 to 5 points above or below the value it would have had under normal environmental conditions… The nature or hereditary component in intelligence causes greater variation than does environment. When nature an...
This is an essay about the different theories of intelligence; it will discuss which theory is best at determining intelligence in my opinion. The information provided will help describe the pros and cons of each of the theories being used to define intelligence, explain why is it important to assess children’s intelligence, and discuss the type of intelligence I possess. The different theories of intelligence are complex and understanding the elements of each can help an individual choose the one that they believe is the best for determining intelligence. Comparing the positive and the negative elements of each theory of intelligence will allow an individual to see both sides of the theory and the flaws that may be twisted