Human Intelligence

Prepared by Dipesh Upadhyay

 Topics covered
• Meaning of intelligence: education or adaptation?
• Determinants of intelligence: Genes or Environment?
• Theories of intelligence: Two Factor Theory or The “g” factor and
“s” factor, Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence, Information
Processing as Intelligence, Howard Gardner’s concept of multiple
intelligences, Sternberg’s Three Aspects of Intelligence (Triarchic
Theory of Intelligence)
• Concept and measurement of IQ i.e. Simon Binet Test, Stanford
Binet Test, Wescheler Intelligence Test
• Classification of IQ
• Individual differences in IQ i.e. low IQ and metallly gifted
Who is intelligent and Who is not?
• Is there any universal measure of intelligence??
• Who is more intelligent a Sherpa living in
Himalaya mountains or a NASA scientist???
• Are rural and uneducated persons have less
intelligence than urban people with an
educational degree?
What makes us intelligence
then???
 What is intelligence
• Capacity to understand the world, think
rationally, and use resources effectively when
faced with challenges
• The ability to learn from experience, solve
problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new
situations

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Determinants of Intelligence Nature
or Nurture?
• Genetic or heredity
• Environment i.e. rich/poor
 Genetic, Heritability and Environmental
Determinants
– Background and experiences of test-takers have the potential to
affect results
– Some standardized IQ tests contain elements that discriminate
against minority-group members whose experiences differ from
those of the white majority
– Herrnstein and Murray, middle- and upper-SES blacks score
lower than middle- and upper-SES whites, just as lower-SES
blacks score lower on average than lower-SES whites.
– Intelligence differences between blacks and whites, they
concluded, could not be attributed to environmental differences
alone but genetic and heritability.
 Two Factor Theory
• Popularized by Spearman two factors: “g” for general
intelligence and “s” for specific intelligence
• He assumed that there was a single, general factor for
mental ability, which he called g, or the g –factor
• People who were good on one test generally were good
on others; those who did poorly on one test tended to
do poorly on others.
• According to Spearman’s ‘S’ factor specific abilities,
there could be many specific abilities i.e. language or
mathematical ability
Cattel’s Fluid and Crystallized intelligence

• Fluid intelligence reflects information-processing

capabilities, reasoning, and memory
• Fluid intelligence encompasses the ability to reason
abstractly
• We use fluid intelligence when we’re trying to rapidly
solve a puzzle
 Crystallized intelligence
• Crystallized intelligence is the accumulation of
information, skills, and strategies that people have
learned through experience and that they can apply
in problem-solving situations
• It reflects our ability to call up information from long-
term memory
Information Processing as Intelligence

• The way people store information in memory and

use that information to solve intellectual tasks
provides the most accurate measure of intelligence
• Research shows that people with high scores on tests
of intelligence spend more time on:
– the initial encoding stages of problems,
– identifying the parts of a problem and
– retrieving relevant information from long-term
memory
 Gardner’s multiple intelligences
• Gardner argues that we have different forms of
intelligence, each relatively independent of the
others
• Gardner suggests that there may be even more
types of intelligence, such as existential
intelligence, which involves identifying and
thinking about fundamental questions of human
existence
 Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
• Analytical intelligence refers to the ability to break
problems down into component parts, or analysis, for
problem solving i.e. academic problem solving
• Creative intelligence is the ability to deal with new and
different concepts and to come up with new ways of
solving problems (divergent thinking) i.e. generating novel
ideas
• Practical intelligence is the ability to use information to
get along in life i.e. how to be tactful, how to manipulate
situations to own advantage, and how to use inside
information to increase odds to success i.e. required for
everyday tasks where multiple solutions exist
 Measurement and Assessment of
Intelligence
• Concept of IQ- MA/CA x 100
• Binet-Simon Intelligence Test in 1905, France
• Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test: revised by
Terman in the USA in 1916
• Wechsler’s Intelligence Scales
• Classification of IQ
Binet-Simon Intelligence Test
• Alfred Binet and
Theodore Simon
(1905)
• First gave the idea of
IQ as mental
age/chronological age
x 100
• Mental age: indicates
a test score typical of
children at a certain
chronological age
Intelligence Quotient

 Defined originally the ratio of mental

age (ma) to chronological age (ca)
multiplied by 100
 IQ = ma/ca x 100)
 On contemporary tests, the average
performance for a given age is
assigned a score of 100
Frequency Distribution and Classification
of IQ Scores

(Figure adapted from Anastasi & Urbina, 1997)

Classification of IQ according to old IQ
tests
• 140 and above: Genius
• 125-140: Very superior
• 110-125: Superior
• 90-110: Average
• 75-90: Borderline or dull
• 50-75: Morons or feeble minded
• 25-50: Imbeciles
• 0-25: Idiots
• Currently such classifications are not used for performing
low on intelligence test
• Culture-fair IQ Test: One that does not discriminate
against the members of any minority group
Stanford–Binet Fifth Edition (SB5) classification
(Current)
IQ Range ("deviation IQ") IQ Classification
145–160 Very gifted or highly advanced
130–144 Gifted or very advanced
120–129 Superior
110–119 High average
90–109 Average
80–89 Low average
70–79 Borderline impaired or delayed
55–69 Mildly impaired or delayed
Moderately impaired or
40–54
delayed
 Types of Intelligence Tests
• Individual Test: Verbal Test and
Performance Test i.e. Wechsler’s
Intelligence Test
• Group Test: Verbal and Non Verbal Test i.e.
Army Alpha and Army Beta Test, GMAT, SAT
• Aptitude tests: assess talent for specific
types of mental ability i.e. GMAT
• Achievement tests: mastery and
knowledge of various subjects i.e. final
exams
 The Wechsler Scales Measures IQ
Based on
Verbal Subtests Performance Subtests
• Information Picture Completion
• Vocabulary Picture Arrangement
• Arithmetic Block Design
• Similarities Object Assembly
• Comprehension Digit Symbol
• Digit Span
Picture Completion
Block Design
Object Assembly
Picture Arrangement
Current Wechsler (WAIS–IV, WPPSI–IV) IQ classification

IQ Range ("deviation IQ") IQ Classification

130 and above Very Superior

120–129 Superior

109–119 High Average

90–109 Average

80–89 Low Average

70–79 Borderline

69 and below Extremely Low

Terman's Stanford–Binet original (1916) classification

IQ Range ("ratio IQ") IQ Classification

Above 140 "Near" genius or genius

120–140 Very superior intelligence

110–120 Superior intelligence

90–110 Normal, or average, intelligence

Dullness, rarely classifiable as feeble-

80–90
mindedness

Border-line deficiency, sometimes

70–80 classifiable as dullness, often as
feeble-mindedness

Below 70 Definite feeble-mindedness

 Individual differences in intelligence

• Variation in intellectual ability

– Mentally gifted
– Intellectual disability
 Mentally Gifted
• Accounting for 2%–4% of the population, the
intellectually gifted have IQ scores greater
than 130.
• Terman and others (1921) showed they were
taller, birth weight above normal, talked and
walked early
• As adults highly successful in academics, more
income, low death rate, few emotional
problems
• If these persons abilities not recognized,
problems to teachers, parents, or friends;
problems in achievement and adjustment
 Intellectual Disability/Mental
Retardation/Developmental Delay
• This is the condition in
which a person’s behavioral
and cognitive skills exist at
an earlier developmental
stage than the skills of
others who are the same
chronological age.
 Intellectual Disability/Mental
Retardation/Developmental Delay

• IQ score less than 70

• Causes of retardation include:
– Fetal alcohol syndrome
– Familial retardation
– Genetic disorder: Down syndrome (extra 21st
chromosome)
– Environmental issues
• Damage incurred during birth process
• Head injury
• Meningitis
Intellectual Disability or Mental
Retardation