Development of intelligence and cognition

1
Development of intelligence and cognition

• Suma Surendranath
• April 2005

2
What is intelligence?

• Defining intelligence easy or hard?
• What is valued or identified as intelligence?
• Ability to adapt flexibly and effectively to the
  environment (Sternberg and Detterman, 1986)

3
How does intelligence develop?

• Piaget Shakespeare?
• Sequence of stages
• Sensory-motor (0-2 years)
• Pre-operational (2-6 years)
• Concrete-operational (7-11 years)
• Formal-operational (12 years plus)

4
What stimulates development?

• Functional invariants organisation and
  adaptation
• Assimilation vs accommodation
• Quest for equilbration leads to greater
  understanding and knowledge

5
Criticisms of Piagets theory

• ?political legitimisation of imposed ideology
  (Broughton, 1981)
• Weaknesses of Piagets work
• No further development post formal-operational
  stage
• ?effect of wider community

6
Does intelligence change?

• Nature of intelligence
• g and s factors (Spearman, 1927)
• Fluid vs crystallised intelligence (Horn and
  Cattell, 1967)
• Decremental with compensation (Labouvie-Vief,
  1977)
• ?initial stages sow the seeds but experience and
  active utilisation allow full bloom!

7
Role of society and context

• Subjective in terms of the group by which it is
  being viewed (Warwick, 2000)
• Individual cognitive structures lead to social
  conventions
• Knowledge gained by participation in the
  community (Lave and Wenger, 1991)
• Moral development by staged progression
  (Kohlberg, 1969)

8
Conclusion

• Definition of intelligence dependent on many
  variables
• Likelihood of progressive changes in thinking
  which is refined via experience and active
  application
• The society plays a vital role in the development
  and active application of intelligence

9
References

• Beilin, H. (1992) Piagets enduring contribution
  to developmental psychology. Developmental
  Psychology, 28, 191-204. In Lourenqo, O. and
  Machado, A. (1996) In defense of Piagets theory
  a reply to 10 common criticisms. Psychological
  Review, 103 (1) 143-164
• Bidell, T. R. and Fischer, K.W. (1992) Beyond the
  stage debate action, structure and variability
  in Piagetian theory and research. In R.J.
  Sternberg and C.A. Berg (Eds) Intellectual
  Development. Cambridge Cambridge University
  Press
• Boring, F.G. (1923) Intelligence as the tests
  test it. New Republic, 35, 35-37. In R.J.
  Sternberg (Ed) (2000) Handbook of Intelligence.
  Cambridge Cambridge University Press
• Broughton, J.M. (1981) Piagets structural
  developmental psychology ideology, critique and
  the possibility of a critical developmental
  theory. Human Development, 24, 382-411.
• Dasen, P. (1984) The cross-cultural study of
  intelligence Piaget and the Baoule.
  International Journal of Psychology, 19, 407-434.
  In R.J Sternberg, G.B. Forsythe, J. Hedlund, J.A.
  Horvath, R.K. Wagner, W.M. Williams, S.A. Snook
  and E.L. Grigorenko (Eds) (2000) Practical
  Intelligence in Everyday Life. Cambridge
  Cambridge University Press

10
References (contd)

• Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of mind the theory of
  multiple intelligences. New York Basic. In R.J
  Sternberg, G.B. Forsythe, J. Hedlund, J.A.
  Horvath, R.K. Wagner, W.M. Williams, S.A. Snook
  and E.L. Grigorenko (Eds) (2000) Practical
  Intelligence in Everyday Life. Cambridge
  Cambridge University Press
• Horn, J. and Cattell, R. (1967) Age differences
  in fluid and crystallised intelligence. Acta
  Psychologica, 26, 107-129
• Kohlberg, L.. (1971) From is to ought how to
  commit the naturalistic fallacy and get away with
  it. In T. Mischel (Ed) Cognitive Development and
  Epistemology. New York Academic Press
• Labouvie_Vief, G. (1977) Adult cognitive
  development in search of alternative
  interpretations. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 24 (4)
• Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991) Situated learning
  legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge
  Cambridge University Press
• Piaget, J. (1973) The childs conception of the
  world. London Paladin

11
References (contd)

• Spearman, C (1923) The nature of intelligence and
  the principles of cognition (2nd ed.) London
  Macmillan. In R.J Sternberg, G.B. Forsythe, J.
  Hedlund, J.A. Horvath, R.K. Wagner, W.M.
  Williams, S.A. Snook and E.L. Grigorenko (Eds)
  (2000) Practical Intelligence in Everyday Life.
  Cambridge Cambridge University Press
• Sternberg, R.J. and Dettermen, D.K. (Eds) What is
  intelligence? contemporary viewpoints on its
  nature and definition. Norwood NJ Ablex. In In
  R.J Sternberg, G.B. Forsythe, J. Hedlund, J.A.
  Horvath, R.K. Wagner, W.M. Williams, S.A. Snook
  and E.L. Grigorenko (Eds) (2000) Practical
  Intelligence in Everyday Life. Cambridge
  Cambridge University Press
• Warwick, K. (2000) QI the quest for
  intelligence. London Piatkus