PSY Smartbook Chapter 7

Charles Spearman (1904). S

. The idea that intelligence captures a common general ability that is reflected in performance on various cognitive tests was introduced by Spearman. noted that schoolchildren who did well in math also did well in reading, and he came up with the idea that intelligence is a general ability, which he called g. This view of intelligence suggests that general intelligence underlies performance in a variety of areas, whether it is mathematics, verbal ability, or abstract reasoning. Spearman's g essentially assumes that the intelligent person is a jack-of-all-cognitive trades.

intellectual disability

A condition of limited mental ability in which an individual has a low IQ, usually below 70 on a traditional intelligence test, and has difficulty adapting to everyday life

language

A form of communication—whether spoken, written, or signed—that is based on a system of symbols.

syntax

A language's rules for combining words to form acceptable phrases and sentences

morphology

A language's rules for word formation.

phonology

A language's sound system.

concept

A mental category that is used to group objects, events, and characteristics.

prototype model

A model emphasizing that when people evaluate whether a given item reflects a certain concept, they compare the item with the most typical item(s) in that category and look for a "family resemblance" with that item's properties.

availability heuristic

A prediction about the probability of an event based on the ease of recalling or imagining similar events.

artificial intelligence (AI)

A scientific field that focuses on creating machines capable of performing activities that require intelligence when they are done by people.

normal distribution

A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve, with a majority of test scores (or other data) falling in the middle of the possible range and few scores (or other data points) appearing toward the extremes.

intelligence

All-purpose ability to do well on cognitive tasks, to solve problems, and to learn from experience

mental age (MA)

An individual's level of mental development relative to that of others

intelligence quotient (IQ)

An individual's mental age divided by chronological age multiplied by 100

CRITICAL THINKING

Critical thinking means thinking reflectively and productively and evaluating the evidence. Scientists are critical thinkers.

functional fixedness

Failing to solve a problem as a result of fixation on a thing's usual functions.

Individuals who think creatively also show the following characteristics

Flexibility and playful thinking, Inner motivation, Willingness to face risk, Objective evaluation of work

Benjamin Whorf (1956)

He argued that language determines the way we think, a view that has been called the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

Reliability and validity are related.

If a test is valid, then it must be reliable, but a reliable test need not be valid. People can respond consistently on a test, but the test might not be measuring what it purports to measure.

CREATIVE THINKING

In addition to thinking critically, coming up with the best solution to a problem may involve thinking creatively

subgoals

Intermediate goals or problems to solve that put one in a better position for reaching a final goal or solution.

Cultures vary in the ways they define intelligence

Most European Americans think of intelligence in terms of reasoning and thinking skills, but people in Kenya consider responsible participation in family and social life an integral part of intelligence.

Flynn effect

One effect of the environment on intelligence is evident in rapidly increasing IQ test scores around the world, a phenomenon called the Flynn effect

gifted

Possessing high intelligence (an IQ of 130 or higher) and/or superior talent in a particular area

deductive reasoning

Reasoning from a general case that is known to be true to a specific instance.

inductive reasoning

Reasoning from specific observations to make generalizations

BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES

Scientists believe that humans acquired language about 100,000 years ago. In evolutionary time, then, language is a very recent human ability. However, a number of experts believe that biological evolution that occurred long before language emerged undeniably shaped humans into linguistic creatures (Chomsky, 1975). The brain, nervous system, and vocal apparatus of our predecessors changed over hundreds of thousands of years. Physically equipped to do so, Homo sapiens went beyond grunting and shrieking to develop abstract speech.

heuristics

Shortcut strategies or guidelines that suggest a solution to a problem but do not guarantee an answer. heuristics allow you to be more efficient than algorithms would. In the real world, we are more likely to solve the types of problems we face by heuristics than by algorithms. Heuristics help us to narrow down the possible solutions and to find one that works.

algorithms

Strategies—including formulas, instructions, and the testing of all possible solutions—that guarantee a solution to a problem.

infinite generativity

The ability of language to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences

standardization

The development of uniform procedures for administering and scoring a test, and the creation of norms (performance standards) for the test.

reliability

The extent to which a test yields a consistent, reproducible measure of performance.

semantics

The meaning of words and sentences in a particular language.

decision making

The mental activity of evaluating alternatives and choosing among them.

reasoning

The mental activity of transforming information to reach conclusions

problem solving

The mental process of finding an appropriate way to attain a goal when the goal is not readily available

Maier string problem,

The problem is to figure out how to tie two strings together when you must stand in one spot and cannot reach both at the same time. It seems as though you are stuck. However, there is a pair of pliers on a table.

thinking

The process of manipulating information mentally by forming concepts, solving problems, making decisions, and reflecting critically or creatively.

validity

The soundness of the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment. In the realm of testing, the extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure.

mindfulness

The state of being alert and mentally present for one's everyday activities.

open-mindedness

The state of being receptive to other ways of looking at things

base rate neglect

The tendency to ignore information about general principles in favor of very specific but vivid information

representativeness heuristic

The tendency to make judgments about group membership based on physical appearances or the match between a person and one's stereotype of a group rather than on available base rate information

hindsight bias

The tendency to report falsely, after the fact, that one has accurately predicted an outcome.

confirmation bias

The tendency to search for and use information that supports one's ideas rather than refutes them. It is easy to detect the confirmation bias in the way that many people think. Consider politicians. They often accept news that supports their views and dismiss evidence that runs counter to those views. Avoiding confirmation bias means applying the same rigorous analysis to both sides of an argument.

loss aversion

The tendency to strongly prefer to avoid losses compared to attempting to acquire gains

pragmatics

The useful character of language and the ability of language to communicate even more meaning than is verbalized

cognition

The way in which information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.

Wechsler scale

There are three versions of the scale. For those ages 16 and older, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (the WAIS) includes items such as vocabulary, working memory capacity, math problems, and the ability to complete jigsaw puzzles. For children between the ages of 6 and 16, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (the WISC) includes vocabulary and comprehension but also has tasks such as putting together blocks to fit a particular pattern. Finally, a version developed for children as young as 2½ is the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence (the WPPSI, pronounced "whipsy").

divergent thinking

Thinking that produces many solutions to the same problem. Divergent thinking occurs during brainstorming, which occurs when a group of people openly throw out a range of possible solutions to a problem, even some that might seem crazy.

convergent thinking

Thinking that produces the single best solution to a problem. Convergent thinking means taking all of those possibilities and finding the right one for the job

fixation

Using a prior strategy and failing to look at a problem from a fresh new perspective

cognitive psychology

a label for approaches that sought to explain observable behavior by investigating mental processes and structures that could not be directly observed

culture-fair tests

culture-fair tests Intelligence tests that are intended to be culturally unbiased

Terman's research,

gifted children typically did become experts in a well-established domain, such as medicine, law, or business; but the Termites did not become major creators or innovators

Noam Chomsky (1975)

has argued that humans come into the world biologically prewired to learn language at a certain time and in a certain way.

automatic system

involves processing that is rapid, heuristic, and intuitive; it entails following one's hunches or gut feelings about a particular decision or problem

controlled system

is slower, effortful, and analytical. It involves conscious reflection about an issue. This is the kind of thinking that might be required to solve a difficult math problem, for example.

Intuitive judgment

means knowing that something feels right even if the reason why is unknown

endowment effect

means that people ascribe greater value to things they already own, compared to objects owned by someone else.