Types of Studies
A cross sectional study looks at people of different ages at the same point in time, while a longitudinal study looks at the same group of people over a long period of time.
What is Down Syndrome?
It is a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.
What are the two main types of intelligence?
Crystallized and fluid intelligence.
How close are genetically similar people in intelligence scores?
The closer in genetics they are (nature) the more similar they are in intelligence test scores.
What is the stereotype threat?
A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.
Which type of study points towards a more stable view of intelligence over time?
Longitudinal studies.
What is savant syndrome?
A condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional skill.
What is crystallized intelligence and how is it affected by aging?
Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills, and this intelligence tends to increase with age.
Would adopted children's intelligence test scores more closely resemble their biological or adoptive parents intelligence scores?
The heritability of a trait may vary depending on what?
The range of populations and environments studied.
What are some of the potential confounding variables in cross sectional studies?
1) Generally, people born later will have had access to better education and will therefore tend to perform better on intelligence tests.
2) People from larger families might have less access to higher education and therefore might perform worse on intelligence tests.
3) People from wealthier families typically would have better access to education and therefore might perform better on intelligence tests.
What are the two criteria that must be met to diagnose an intellectual disability?
1) Performance on intelligence tests must be in the lowest 3% of the general population or about a 70 or below on an IQ test.
2) Difficulty adapting to independence as expressed in three different areas: conceptual, social, and practical.
What is fluid intelligence and how is it affected by aging?
Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly, and this intelligence tends to decrease with age.
How has performance on intelligence tests changed from generation to generation, and how is that related to nurture?
Younger generations that are better-fed, better-educated, and more test prepared perform better on average than did previous generations that didn't have the same levels of nurturing that younger generations do.
What is a way that an intelligence test could be considered biased?
If the test detects not only innate differences in intelligence but also performance differences caused by cultural experiences and past education.
What are some of the potential confounding variables in longitudinal studies?
The participants that survived to the end of the study might be the healthier and brighter people because they managed to live longer than others.
What is a way that we can promote both equity and excellence for all within the educational system?
Appropriate placement suited to each child's talents.
How do aging adults both win and lose in terms of intelligence?
Aging adults lose recall memory and processing speed (fluid intelligence), but gain vocabulary and knowledge (crystallized intelligence).
Social reasoning skills also increase, as does an ability to take multiple perspectives, to appreciate knowledge limits, and to offer helpful wisdom in times of social conflict.
Their decisions become less distorted by negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and anger.
How do economies that have a large wealth gap affect the intelligence scores of their populations?
They create a large rich-verses-poor intelligence test score gap, where the rich tend to produce higher scores than the poor.
Why do Asian students outperform North American students on intelligence tests?
They typically spend 30 percent more time in school and much more time in and out of school studying math.
What presumption was challenged by longitudinal studies?
The presumption that intelligence sharply declines with age.
Why are gifted child programs bad?
1) They tend to segregate high-scoring children into separate classes from their peers, giving them academic enrichment that is not available to everyone.
2) This can create a self fulfilling prophecy where those who receive special attention then continue to improve at faster rates than those who were deemed "ungifted".
3) This can increase the gap between the "gifted" and the "ungifted".
How much do intelligence tests and observations predict the future?
- Casual observations and intelligence tests before age 3 only modestly predict the kids' future aptitude.
- By age 4 intelligence tests start to begin to predict future scores.
- By age 11 there is stability on intelligence scores.
Girls: Spelling, verbal fluency, locating objects, detecting emotions, and sensitivity to touch, taste, and color.
Boys: Spatial abilities, complex math problems (not overall math performance).
What are Sternberg's three intelligences?
1) Analytical intelligence: academic problem solving that predicts school grades reasonably well.
2) Creative intelligence: ability to adapt to situations and novel ideas.
3) Practical intelligence: needed for everyday tasks that need multiple solutions.