| | | | There are five ways to use what we learn from intelligence tests: Educational Screening Vocational Planning Predictions of General Adaptation Allocation of Resources Evaluation of Educational Efforts
1) Educational Screening This is of course why Binet and Simon initially developed IQ tests, and this ties in with the field of Educational Psychology. Modern IQ testing began in the early 1900s when the Paris city leaders were charged with finding away to determine which children should eventually be sent to the University to become "educated men" (where reading, language, verbal fluency, and critical thinking skills would be needed), which should be sent to trade and guild schools to learn a craft or skill (where dexterity and motor skills, strength, and visual-analytic skills would be needed), and which should not be accepted into schools because they were "retarded" and thus unable to benefit from education (as it was offered then).
Binet found that the average 5 year old French child could copy a square and count four pennies. The average 7 year old could copy a diamond and define objects by their purpose. The average 9 year old knew the days of the week and could make change. These kinds of differences between children can show you that a 7 year old making change is likely smarter than peers, and a 9 year old who can't is likely not as smart as peers. Dividing the Mental Age by the Chronological Age yielded an "IQ" or Intelligence Quotient.
While many believe the tests that have resulted in the 100 years since are biased, the purpose of this original request was not biased. Otherwise, the school leaders would simply have decided whoever could buy admission to a finer school for their son would send him there, and whoever couldn't would send their son wherever he could (girls just got married, sorry). Early goals were clearly 1) to base these decisions on a quantitative measurement, 2) to ground the assessment in researched theories, and 3) to represent a social value in the scores.
Binet actually thought intelligence was composed of three abilities. First was direction, or the ability to know what to do and how to do it. Second was adaptation, or the ability to well-match your strategies to the situation at hand. Third was criticism, or the ability to check your work to see if you are closer to your goal, and re-adjust your strategies if needed. Binet did not think IQ scores (and thus intelligence) were fixed, but believed instead the test could differentiate the two groups as they stood at testing, and spell out possible areas to work on to teach lower scoring children to improve. Sort of like undergoing a physical fitness exam. It can determine who's up to the requirements of a physically demanding job and who isn't, and tell those not up to it what they would need to do to get in shape.
So, in 1905, after 15 years of work, Binet and Simon released the first modern intelligence test. Binet and Simon continued to update the test, revising it three years later to include better norms for children, and again three years later to include adult assessment. It was brought to the United States and revised by Lewis Terman at Stanford from 1912 to 1915 and released to become the Stanford Binet test in America, which is now in its fifth edition. It was the first test to compute an "IQ" or Intelligence Quotient. This is the client's mental age divided by their chronological age, and this single number is designed to capture a person's intellectual functioning. It was basically formatted around age equivalence but was revised in 1986 to be a point-based system. Thus, instead of telling us only where a child stands in comparison to other children their same age, the point-based test allows us to compare where a child stands now in comparison to other children, and where they stand now in comparison to last year. The Wechsler scales (which we'll learn in this class) adopted this system long before the Stanford Binet did, and became more popular as a result. Nonetheless, the Stanford Binet continues to be a popular test because it assess verbal and quantitative reasoning as types of crystallized abilities, abstract-visual abilities as examples of fluid abilities, and short-term memory. It is valid for ages 2 through 23. | |
Other tests were developed over time. The KABC assesses simultaneous (compare and contrast tasks, language, and spatial orientation) and sequential (habitualization of skills, rote memory, and narration) processing, versus achievement. It is now in its second edition. It is not as verbally mediated as the WISC, and so was often better if you suspected that a child has LD. It is valid for ages 2 years 6 months through 12 years 5 months and is based on a nationwide sample. More effort is put into making sure the child understands the task through teaching before it "counts for real," and acquired knowledge is downplayed.
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It has 16 subtests, and the number and specific ones you give depends on the child's age. It includes a "triangles" subtest of matching patterns and a hand movement subtest, for example. A new version of it should be out soon if it's not already out now.
The SOMPA, or System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment was developed by Mercer in 1979 and integrates 1) physical health, with 2) socio-cultural background, and 3) socio-adaptive behavior skills. It involves an intelligence test (typically the WISC III), interviews with family and teachers, and the Bender Gestalt or similar test of visual-motor ability. It requires assessments of hearing, vision, and physical health as well. It yields an Estimated Learning Potential, not an IQ. It is good for children 5 to 11, but is not used, as it doesn't really work. What does an ELP tell you? If the child lived in a different home, with a different type of family, in a different school system, they would perform differently? So does this tell us whether or not they need special education classes in this world? Further, it doesn't predict school performance as well as the WISC alone. Groth-Marnat notes some research supported that the children classified as MR with the SOMPA are still more likely to be minorities. Educational screening is extremely important. Koger, Schettler, and Weiss (2005) report that 17% of US kids under the age of 18 in 2004 (or 12 million kids) have a developmental disability (Autism, Cerebral Palsy, hearing or vision loss, MR, LD, or ADHD). About 6% (or 4 million) have an LD, and 20% of them have LD and attentional problems like ADHD. About 2% (or 1.5 million) have MR. In other words, there's a lot of kids with special educational needs, and identifying them and their specific needs has to be done somehow.
IQ correlations you might find interesting: IQ and Grades correlate .65 for grade school, and .55 for high school IQ and Years of Schooling correlate .96 for MZ twins, .94 for gamblers, and .60 to .80 for others after controlling for SES, or .55 for everybody averaged together IQ and Delayed Entry into School correlate well, as late starters show large decrements (5 to 7 points) in IQ for every year delayed (for deprived children the correlation was -.75) IQ and Dropping Out correlate as well, as leaving school early results in a 1 to 2 IQ point loss for every missed year of high school for teens up to 8 points, but 3.5 to 5 points for children IQ and Reading Skills correlate .38 in the 1st grade, and .46 by the 6th grade IQ and Efforts to Increase IQ are tricky; college prep high school students can gain 9.3 points in special programs. Headstarters can show a 10 to 30 point gain in IQ scores. Early 8 year olds (the August born eight year olds) who started a year ahead of their peers (the October born 8 year olds) were closer to ten year olds who started late than to other eight year olds IQ and Summers Off are interesting; IQ drops slightly for middle class children, but more significantly for lower SES children when they have few summer "school-like" activities like outings, camps, and cultural events  Why would IQ correlate so well with school-based variables? One example I use to explain this comes from my second grade teacher (Ms. Purdy) who gave math drills first thing every day. It was 20 problems, five minutes, in a column format, one for each day of the school week. She started the day with a task that highlighted performance expectations, work within time limits and pressure, and awareness of personal success (she reviewed with you your grade from day before yesterday, yesterday, and today). The "Dum Dum" suckers she gave for perfect scores didn't hurt either in motivating good behavior and performance. ;)
My friend Ben did an exercise with his students, "If we say Michael is looking forward to vacation, what do we mean?… Another word for 'looking forward to' is enthusiastic. So we can say Michael is looking forward to vacation, or we can say Michael is enthusiastic about vacation…" which the class repeats with him. Simple verbal exercises, teaching a good synonym for a word, can improve vocabulary skills and elevate scores on the vocabulary test.
Schooling can improve knowledge of specific facts for IQ tests, familiarity with testing practices, concentration and attention span, and verbal problem solving skills. If it didn't, those books that teach you to take tests more efficiently wouldn't work or wouldn't have anything to say at least. Studies show that SAT and GRE scores, for example, can be altered with study and preparation.
Neisser explains that higher social class is often defined by professional careers, and professionals value their education, make more money, and have more money to send their children to better and more schools. Their children pursue careers that require more education, and if they do well on IQ tests, they can do well on standardized tests to get into schools. These factors inflate the IQ and Education correlation more through income, family, and test-taking variables. IQ predicts social status (r=.50 or 25% of the variance) and income (r=.41 or 17% of the variance) for the same reasons.
On this though… consider that IQ correlates with years of schooling .55. Delayed entry to school costs 5 to 7 IQ points, and early termination of school costs 3.5 to 5 IQ points for children per missed year. Osofsky (1995) talks about the New Haven Study in which they interviewed 6th, 8th, and 10th grade children and found The Bell and Jenkins (1991) study of the South Side of Chicago found In that study, they asked parents about their children's safety: 35% felt the children were not safe walking to school 54% felt the children were not safe on the playground 60% felt the children were not safe in the classroom Thus, if violence is more common in poor neighborhoods (and it often is), consider how skipping school for safety could cause a decrease in IQ, and anxiety over safety could decrease classroom effectiveness.
Hauser (1966) and others cite studies of how many blacks were illiterate (in 1960 23% of blacks compared to 7% of whites), and completed high school (in 1974 40% of blacks compared to 60% of whites). Deutsch (1967) noted 80% of class time in black schools was related to discipline matters, cutting the students "teaching time" by 33-50% compared to white children. At first glance, this data may seem outdated. At second glance, you realize this data relates to current parents and grandparents of white and black children, their experiences in school, and possibly the value they place on even safe schools now. |
2) Vocational Planning  IQ and social class correlate .33, and teen IQ and middle age occupational status correlate .65. Parental IQ and child IQ correlate .30 to .50, while father's occupational status during a child's adolescence correlates .35-.40 with the child's middle age occupational status. IQ and Work Performance fall around .50. IQ correlates .58 with high complexity jobs and .23 with low complexity jobs. Clearly, IQ is related somehow to the kinds of jobs open to you, the kinds of jobs you may be encouraged to seek, and the kind of job performance you may show, but doesn't capture the whole picture (.582 = 34%, or just over a third of the variation in job performance).
 Gardner points out that a century ago, fewer than 10% of Americans went to high school, and most schools were happy with basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills at the end of five or eight years. Clearly, today's job market requires a greater degree and variety of skills in high paying jobs, but not in low paying jobs.
 Neisser argues that more complex jobs might provide opportunities for more flexible thinking and intellectual skills, and thus might be raising people's level of intelligence. This might be why people who sell things in the market might be able to make change and such quickly in their heads, but have difficulty on paper. Something that costs $1.65 will produce three different kinds of change from a $2 (coins only), $5 (small bills and coins), and $10 (large bill, small bills, and coins) payment. However, a written word problem might not be processed the same way. Similarly, many people who can not perform written math problems can predict the best buy at the grocery store for their money, and can shift sets to accommodate which size is the cheapest per ounce, which size can be consumed before spoiling, and which size will fit in the cupboard or refrigerator.
 This would explain why the best-designed tests sometimes don't predict so well in the real world (especially, tests of job performance). This also might be why sex differences are decreasing, as more and more women move out of the home, and into stimulating jobs. Others offer that even for moms who stay home, managing a home is far more complex these days (time schedules of kids activities, nutritional information, educational and medical involvement, homework assistance, computer access…) and so even stay-at-home moms are becoming smarter. |
3) Predictions of General Adaptation Wechsler hopes the WAIS assesses this, but Sternberg disagrees strongly.
Sternberg's Triarchic Model offers there are three kinds of intelligence - analytical, practical, and creative. Intelligence thus "comprises the mental abilities necessary for adaptation to, as well as shaping and selection of, any environmental context" (1997). He offers that it serves two basic functions: |  | | He also make the point to distinguish between intelligence and intelligent behavior. Intelligence is thought to be a set of mental processes that are stable, and they are used to produce intelligent behavior. Assessing this depends on the context, which is really what determines what is and is not intelligent behavior. In addition are three other issues. First is the ability to apply abstract information to the real world--imagine being able to determine the length of the boundary around a four sided polygon, but not being able to figure out how much fence to put around your back yard Second is the motivation to do it at all--imagine going to a restaurant and getting bad service. You might be able to figure out a 15% tip, but might not motivated to leave one since you got bad service. Third is the choice to do it. You might be able to figure out how to cheat on your taxes, and have some motivation to do so since it would save you money, but you might choose not to do it. Sternberg believes that because there are three main areas of intelligence, no single number would suffice to summarize intelligence. Further, any measurement of intelligence that doesn't assess all three would thus fall short. His criticism of IQ tests today is that they focus too much on passive, rote memorized, and academic knowledge, without a focus on active, constructed, and practical knowledge. While they may predict school performance well (which is what they were designed to do), grade and high schools rely on memorization rather than thinking, and teach information that will never be used in your adult life. He acknowledges that even a very well and thoughtfully designed test would still have problems incorporating all of these areas, and so a single test of intelligence is likely inadequate; you need observations and novel situations with a deeper understanding of how the person works and thinks. You can not easily assess on paper a person's ability to adapt to new situations, to choose strategies that fit the problem, and to learn from mistakes.
What are these kinds of intelligence? Analytical intelligence is used to solve abstract problems. These problems typically contain all the information you need, have one right answer, and are divorced from anything common to your everyday life.
| | For example, "How much rope is needed to secure a 100 foot tall tower to a stake in the ground 30 feet from the base of the tower if the ground underneath the tower is perfectly flat. Since a2 + b2 = c2, c2 here equals (100x100) + (30x30) = 10900. c thus equals 104.4. So you need 104.4 feet of rope. When was the last time you had to do this? | |
Sternberg also offers practical intelligence or tacit knowledge refers to how to do something useful to you with the knowledge you have in the real world. Tacit knowledge is sometimes assessed with paper and pencil tests, and these tests do correlate strongly with others' assessments of leadership ability. Sometimes this is assessed with observational tasks; for example, Sternberg has people sort pictures of people into two groups--those of a worker and supervisor, and those of actors pretending to be worker and supervisor.
| | To build on our previous example… consider that you can not secure an antenna 100 feet in the air on top of your house to a stake 30 feet from the base of your house with 104.4 feet of rope. That is the distance from the antenna to the ground, but you still need a few extra feet to tie the rope at both ends. | |
Wisdom is thought to extend from tacit knowledge in part. It is, in part, an appreciation for the likely consequences of an action that figures in to decision making. It is part of the kind of real world reasoning where there is no "right" answer or "best option." Of course, living with those consequences is part of the popular concept of "emotional intelligence," so it is not just tacit knowledge.
| | Sternberg tells the story of a little boy named Mark, a boy whom the other kids thought was "slow." Another boy who thought himself the smartest in the class would say, "Hey, watch this!" He would call Mark over, show Mark a dime and a nickel, and say he could take and keep whichever one he wanted. Mark would choose the nickel every time, after which the smart boy would just laugh with his friends. A school teacher saw this, and pulled Mark aside. She explained that even though the nickel was bigger, the dime was worth more. Mark replied, "Oh I know, but if I chose the dime, he would stop doing it. He's given me 95 cents so far." | |
Proponents of his theory complain IQ tests can't really test intelligence because they: include problems relevant to other people that are boring and uninteresting as a result include all the information you need to solve a problem, which is seldom the case in the real world have only one correct answer are too clearly defined, which is seldom the case in the real world Of course, opponents complain that: "practical thinking" sounds like "street smarts" which is more experience and practice than intelligence, and is the ultimate use of something the same as the definition of if? (is the ability to hammer nails quickly and accurately part of the definition of a hammer?) it also sounds very close to "social skills" and motivation, which seem to be more personality based constructs rather than intellectual ones and finally, IQ scores do predict things in the real world just as well as the "practical intelligence" tests seem to Creativity is the third area of his theory, and is fairly difficult to assess. Sternberg does things like ask people to write a short story entitled, "The Octopus's Sneakers," or to create a work of art entitled, "Earth From An Insect's Point of View." Studies support a slight decrease in creativity as people grow older, but not enough to make a "creative person" fall down into the normal range. Creativity in older adults mainly depends on their creativity earlier in life.
4) Allocation of Resources This gets to merit, or who will make best use of the limited resources we have. Two otherwise equally qualified applicants are in front of you for one job. One has a higher IQ, the other has a lower IQ. Which do you hire? If that offends you…. one has a college education, and the other does not (education is highly correlated with IQ). Which do you hire? | |
The study of Terman's Gifted Group has been well cited (and well-criticized) over the years. He followed 1528 children from 1921 to the late 1950s who had an average IQ of 151. he found:
they had a slightly lower death rate they had a lower divorce rate 86% of the men were in "high status occupations," as well 11% of the women, with 7 of the women being featured in the "American Men of Science" journal they made 50% more money than their same age, average IQ peers |  | | I don't mean to imply that it is all about money…. but money does give access to better neighborhoods, health care, education… Of course, these correlations might be flawed. Remember, we said they might be inflated by test taking skills and SES. If so, how do we know we aren't allocating resources based on skewed data?
5) Evaluation of Educational Efforts I don't mean assessment of children to evaluate the child's success; I mean assessment of children to evaluate the school's success in teaching.
Before you go on, now is a good time to summarize what you're learned. Below, write a brief explanation for how intelligence test scores are used what are the major debates in the field about using these scores what problems do you see with relying on these scores |
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