Deck 9: B: Intelligence and Iq Testing

Question 1

Discuss the biological bases of intelligence,including its relation to brain size,brain action and reaction,memory,and the location of intelligence.

Answer 1

Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit.
--Brain size and intelligence in humans.For years,almost all psychology textbooks informed students that although brain size correlates with intelligence across species,it's uncorrelated with intelligence within species,including humans.But several studies demonstrate that brain volume,as measured by structural MRI scans (see Chapter 3),correlates positively-between 0.3 and 0.4-with measured intelligence.Moreover,a correlation of less than 0.4 tells us that the association between brain size and intelligence is far less than perfect.Recent studies on brain development suggest that there may be more to the story.A study using structural MRI revealed that highly intelligent seven-year-olds (IQs in the top 10 percent)have a thinner cerebral cortex than other children.The cortexes of these children then thicken rapidly,peaking at about age 12.But they may indicate that,like fine wines,intelligent brains take longer to mature than others.
--Intelligence and the brain in action.Surprisingly,subjects with higher levels of intelligence exhibited less brain activity in many areas than subjects with lower levels of intelligence (Haier et al. ,1992).Haier's explanation? The brains of the more intelligent students were especially efficient.Much like well-conditioned athletes who barely break a sweat while running a five-kilometre race,they could afford to slack off a bit while learning the task.Admittedly,not all researchers have replicated Haier's findings (Fidelman,1993),but they raise the possibility that intelligence,in part,reflects efficiency of mental processing.
--Intelligence and the brain in reaction.When speaking loosely,we sometimes refer to people who don't seem as intelligent as other people as "slow." Psychologists have brought this folk belief to the laboratory by studying the relation of intelligence to reaction time,or the speed of responding to a stimulus.People with higher intelligence react more quickly than other people when the light turns off.
--Intelligence and memory.Intelligence also bears an intimate connection to memory capacity.Many researchers have examined the relation of tasks that assess "working memory" to intelligence.Scores on working memory tasks are moderately correlated (about 0.5)with scores on intelligence tests.

Question 2

Describe Sternberg's triarchic model of intelligence,including each distinct type of intelligence and research regarding his approach.

Answer 2

Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit.
--Like Gardner,Robert Sternberg has argued that there's more to intelligence than g.Sternberg's (1983,1988)triarchic model posits the existence of three largely distinct intelligences.
(1)Analytical intelligence is the ability to reason logically.In essence,analytical intelligence is "book smarts." It's the kind of intelligence we need to do well on traditional intelligence tests and standardized exams.According to Sternberg,this form of intelligence is closely related to g.But it's only one component of intelligence,and not necessarily the most crucial.Indeed,Sternberg has long complained about a "g-ocentric" view of intelligence,one in which school-related smarts is the only kind of intelligence that psychologists value (Sternberg & Wagner,1993).

Question 3

What is the Flynn effect? Discuss and describe the four environmental influences on why this effect may have occurred.

Answer 3

Answers will vary but should contain the following information for full credit.
--Mysteriously, IQ scores were rising at a rate of about three points per decade, a phenomenon later dubbed the Flynn effect. The magnitude of the Flynn effect is mind-boggling. It suggests that, on average, our IQs are a full 15 points higher than those of our grandparents who lived 50 years ago (see Figure 9.12). With a few exceptions, most researchers agree that the Flynn effect is a result of unidentified environmental influences on IQ, because it’s unlikely that genetic changes could account for such rapid rises in IQ over brief time periods.

(1) Increased test sophistication. According to this explanation, the rise in IQ scores results from people becoming more experienced at taking tests. This hypothesis implies that the Flynn effect reflects an increase in IQ scores but not in underlying intelligence (Flynn, 1998). There may be some truth to the test sophistication hypothesis, but there’s a fly in the ointment. The Flynn effect is most pronounced on “culture-fair” tests, such as Raven’s Progressive Matrices, to which people have had the least exposure.

(2) Increased complexity of the modern world. With television, email, the Internet, fax machines, cell phones, and the like, we’re forced to process far more information far more quickly than our parents and grandparents ever did. So the modern information explosion may be putting pressure on us to become more intelligent (Greenfield, 1998; Schooler, 1998).

(3) Better nutrition. Most evidence suggests that the Flynn effect is affecting primarily the lower, but not the upper, tail of the bell curve. One potential explanation for this finding is diet. People are better fed than ever before, and the rates of severe malnutrition in many (although not all) parts of the world are declining (Lynn, 1998; Sigman & Whaley, 1998). As we’ve already learned, there’s good evidence that nutrition can affect IQ.

(4) Changes at home and school. Over the past several decades, families in Canada, the United States, and many parts of Europe have become smaller, allowing parents to devote more time to their children. Parents also have more access to intellectual resources than ever. In addition, children and adolescents spend more years in school than in previous generations.

Question 4

Based on your understanding of family,twin,and adoption studies,provide examples of findings that would support the claim that intelligence is chiefly genetically determined.

Question 5

Describe three ways in which IQ tests have been misused historically.

Question 6

Describe and provide an example for the following statement: "A test can be reliable and not valid."

Question 7

What is emotional intelligence? What does it assess,and how useful is EQ relative to IQ?

Question 8

Compare and contrast Spearman's general intelligence (g)and specific abilities (s)with Gardner's view of multiple intelligences.

Question 9

Describe how stereotype threat may be seen to account for the differences found between men and women on standardized math tests.

Question 10

What are the causes of racial differences in IQ? Discuss both faulty conclusions and what is most likely the source of any differences.