Intelligence: Theories

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Intelligence Theories

• EDU 330 Educational Psychology
• Daniel Moos

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Intelligence Introduction (I)
What comes to mind when you hear diversity?
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Intelligence Introduction (II)

• How is intelligence studied?
• Factor Analysis
• Statistical analysis used to measure a latent
  variable (i.e. cant directly measure the
  variable)
• Results identify underlying manifest variables
  (i.e. variables that can be directly measured)

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Intelligence Introduction (III)

• Example of Factor Analysis How is athletic
  ability measured at NHL tryouts?

Athletic Ability
Strength
Speed
Agility
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Intelligence Factor Models (I)

• Charles Spearman (1927)
• Two factors
• g factor ? domain-general and homogeneous (i.e.
  intellectual functioning relatively homogenous
  across a number of different tasks)
• Specific factor ? Specific factors that are
  pertinent to specific task (butg factor is what
  most interested Spearman)

g factor
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GARDNERS THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE
Dimension Description
Example








Linguistic
Ability to use language
Logical
Reasoning, numbers, symbols
Musical
Sensitivity to pitch, tone
perceive the visual-spatial world accurately
Spatial
Kinesthetic
Ability to use body coordinated movements
Interpersonal
Understanding of social interactions
Intrapersonal
Understanding of self
Naturalistic
Recognize similarities/diff in physical world
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GARDNERS THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish
by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its
whole life believing that it is stupid. (Albert
Einstein)
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GARDNERS THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE, APPLICATION TO
REAL-LIFE CONTEXT








Linguistic
Ability to use language
Identify THREE specific examples of how you might
address different intelligences within your
class? In other words, how might you design
activities/lessons, etc to meet the needs of
students with diverse set of intelligences?
Logical
Reasoning, numbers, symbols
Musical
Sensitivity to pitch, tone
Spatial
Perceive words accurately
Kinesthetic
Ability to use body coordinated movements
Interpersonal
Understanding of social interactions
Intrapersonal
Understanding of self
Naturalistic
Recognize similarities/diff in physical world
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STERNBERGS TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence
Analytical (componential)
Creative (experiential)
Practical (contextual)
Prior knowledge For solving problems, learn new
information, making judgments, evaluating,
problem solving
Novelty problems Unique situations Automation Ap
ply learned material to novel situation
Adaptation Adapt to environment Shaping Change
environment Selection Select new environment
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Intelligence Thought Question

• Parents at an elementary school back-to-school
  night want to know why their child is not ability
  grouped in every content area. They feel that
  their child is being held back. How would you
  answer their question?
• On separate (but possibly related to note), to
  what extent do you believe intelligence is
  nature or nurture?
• (1 Nature 10 Nurture)

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Intelligence Nature or Nurture?

• Foster parent-child .20
• ? The relationship between intelligence scores
  for a child and foster parent is mildly positive
• Parent-child .50
• Siblings reared together .49
• Fraternal twins (two eggs) .53
• Identical twins (one egg splitting) reared apart
  .75
• Identical twins reared together .87
• Note Data from 1963

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Intelligence IQ Tests (I)

• Mental Age Represents number passed by average
  child of same age
• Example If a child passed a number of items
  equal to the number passed by the average 15-year
  old, that child would have a mental age of 15
  (regardless of the childs chronological age)
• Intelligence Quotient
• (mental age chronological age) x 100
• Example A 10 year-old with a mental age of 10
• (10/10) x 100 100
• Example A 21 year-old with a mental age of 21
• (21/21) x 100 100
• Example A 10 year-old with a mental age of 9
• (9/10) x 100 90
• Example A 10 year-old with a mental age of 11
• (11/10) x 100 110

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Intelligence IQ Tests (II)

• Issues with IQ Tests
• Does mental age intelligence?
• Example 7-year old and 10-year old have same
  mental age comparable intelligence?
• Example Two children with IQ of 120
• 5 year-old (mental age of 6)
• 10 year-old (mental age of 12)
• IQ tests are standardized
• May not accurately measure intelligence among
  minority children, ELL (test administration may
  bias results)

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Intelligence Ability grouping (I)

• Ability grouping Placing students of similar
  abilities into groups, and attempting to match
  instruction to needs of the groups (Lou, Abrami,
  Spence, 2000)
• Elementary
• Between-class grouping Divides students at a
  certain grade into levels (e.g., high, average,
  low)
• Within-class grouping Divides students in a
  class into subgroups based on reading or math
  scores
• Joplin plan Regroups across grade levels
• MS, HS
• Tracking Places students in different classes or
  curricula on basis of achievement

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Intelligence Ability grouping (II)

• What are some pros and cons of ability
  grouping/tracking?
• Pros Teachers can adjust methods, instructional
  pace and materials to better meet needs of
  learner
• Cons Logistical problems, improper placement,
  stigmatization, negative effects of homogeneous
  groups (as opposed to heterogeneous groups)

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Intelligence Socioeconomic status (I)

• Socioeconomic status (SES) Combination of
  parents income, occupation, and level of
  education that describes relative standing in
  society
• Powerful predictor in student achievement,
  particularly test scores, grades, suspension
  rate, and dropout rates (Macionis, 2006)
• Why do think that SES is such a powerful
  predictor?

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Intelligence Socioeconomic status (II)

• SES influences learning in at 3 ways
• Note The below describes group differences
  individuals within a group vary widely

High SES (gt160,000) Low SES (lt25,000)
Basic needs experiences Well nourished, stable homes -Access to ed. activities outside home -Sometimes lack proper nourishment -Homelessness, lack access to learning experiences outside of school
Parental involvement -Highly involved, involvement in extracurricular activities -Low involvement in extracurricular activities
Attitudes values -Parents value/emphasize autonomy -High expectations -Parents value conformity -Lower expectations