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Intelligence
Research
Intelligence origin, science, impact and theories
The subject and study of intelligence requires a wide angle view to see the breadth and scope of its complex and highly contested development. In my research for source material on intelligence in education, I utilized the Flite Library to locate journals on this topic. The basic search for intelligence yielded many unrelated sources that did not involve education, while the term ‘IQ’ yielded the majority of content that I chose to use. This search produced a variety of perspectives on intelligence and its use in assessment of students and the general public. Subtopics included the history and measurement of intelligence, the science of the brain, and alternative views of intelligence.
Intelligence and Phenotype- Ian Deary
Deary begins this article by drawing a distinction between the two methods psychologists use to study intelligence: cognitive and differential psychology. He mentions the skepticism in the intelligence debate concerning the controversies of testing and experiments like the Twin studies performed by Cyril Burt. Instead of accepting the widely used definition of intelligence, Deary seeks to understand intelligence based on what he calls an “empirical regularity” discovered within Charles Spearman’s research called the “G” factor. Deary also states the lack of evidence for the correlation of brain size and IQ. To conclude his article, Deary explains the consequences of intelligence differences, noting how standard intelligence testing determines the quality of life in education, health, illness, and death.
Why might stage be a better measure of “smarts” than verbal IQ? Featherston, K. G
This medical journal discusses the methodology and flaws of IQ tests based on two factors: experimental results using alternative standards of measurement, and the Model of Hierarchical Complexity (MHC), a behavioral development theory. These factors were used to determine which methods were more accurate in measuring intelligence. The authors begin with explaining that the standard IQ test was in fact created to test learning disabilities and not intelligence. The experiment involved performing an intelligence test using the MHC model, and the results were also analyzed by standard IQ methods. The conclusion was that the MHC model was a better method in determining intelligence for two reasons. First, it has no “ceiling,” as the author points out, in the ability to assess complex answers. Second, the MHC can test with a sequential progression of questions that reflect intelligence better than the standard IQ method of arbitrary scoring of test questions.
Beyond the IQ: Education and Human Development- Howard Gardner
After a brief journey throughout the creation, history and adaptation of Binet’s IQ test in the United States, Gardner transitions into his theory of multiple intelligences. In contrast to the one-dimensional view of intelligence held by the uniform school model, where there is one set of facts that all students should know, Gardner focuses on several. While Gardner acknowledges Binet’s work, he makes a distinction between the research and science that was available then and now, specifically cognitive and neuroscience, as a basis for the introduction of his theory. As a model for a new way to look at intelligence and the future of education, his model focuses on seven forms of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Gardner suggest a school of the future where educators are able to access students who have different interests and learn in different ways, offering them a unique course of study that supports their form of intelligence. Overall, Gardner invites his Intelligence 4 audience to broaden their view of intelligence based on the developments of new research available, including his own work and theory.
Who owns intelligence?- Howard Gardner
Gardner begins with the creation of Binet’s IQ test that has affected the assessment of millions of people and now is the bread and butter of modern day psychometricians, who make a living off of Binet’s work. Gardner continues with a detailed unfolding of Binet’s work and its inception into modern day education. Next, he presents the case for multiple intelligences, labeling the major concepts and alternative perspectives, including Sternberg’s research and efforts to bring about change to the definition of what intelligence really is and how it should be measured. The discussion turns to the varied definitions of intelligence and finally to the connection between intelligence and morality, in that intelligence is often seen as related to a human's values and beliefs, or in other words, morality. Gardner concludes with the idea that once intelligence is related back to the basics of information processing and the making of products, then the use of technology assessment is a viable option.
Measuring What Matters- C. Grace
Grace begins this article with the story of Sternberg’s journey through public education, including his experience with IQ testing, which ultimately labeled him as dumb, to his graduating summa cum laude at Yale and now being a leading psychologist in the field of intelligence research. The author discussed Sternberg’s WISC model of leadership that stands for wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized, and explained how Sternberg tested out his theory on intelligence and assessment at a private school called Choate, by introducing the Kaleidoscope system, which is a take home admissions test that measures all the forms of intelligence based on Sternberg’s research. This article also mentions that Sternberg’s admission assessments were being used in other independent schools where the results improved prediction of success significantly. Grace concludes with the admonition that independent schools should lead the way in bringing about change in the way intelligence is assessed.
Cold Winters Theory, race, IQ and well-being - Pesta, B.J
By accessing multiple sources of public information, the authors of this article confirm high correlations between state temperature and IQ, which is also part of the cold winter theory suggesting a similar connection. In addition, the article sought to prove if evolutionary factors had any part of this phenomenon; in the end this could not be concluded as a factor. Along with measuring the correlation between the IQ and state temperature, the authors also included the results of correlations between well-being and state temperature. The conclusion confirms the data found in their correlation matrices which used black resident population data to indicate the high correlation between state temperature, IQ and well-being.
What Should Intelligence Tests Test?- R. Sternberg
Sternberg, Psychology Professor at Yale, proposes that current intelligence testing is not a proper measurement of intelligence and that it leaves out important aspects of a test taker’s intellect. Citing Ghiselli’s research on test validity, Sternberg notes that most tests rate at a low validity coefficient, which is a measurement of how useful a test is to measure a type of behavior. The majority of this article covers the triarchic theory of intelligence and the introduction of three major components that are not covered in standard intelligence tests: the metacomponents, performance components, and knowledge acquisition components. These are factors of intelligence that Sternberg describes as missing from the definition of intelligence. In closing, he criticizes how scoring high on these tests becomes more important than the application of what these tests cover.
Intelligence, creativity, and innovation. Intelligence- J. Squalli
The main question that the authors of this article research was whether states with high IQs innovate more. Studies have not been done to compare the correlations between intelligence and innovation and this article explains how they concluded that indeed, high IQ populations equate to more innovation and economic development. During the research, the authors discovered three reasons for this correlation: more intelligent people have more time to innovate, Intelligence 7 innovation via association with “knowledge spillovers,” and patent requirement requires higher intelligence to produce. Improving on previous low correlation studies of the connection between innovation and creativity, they used Silva’s reanalysis to prove a higher correlation than previously found. The research included the use of a data set comprised of NAEP assessment over multiple years, the patent database, and real GDP per capita information from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, among many other national databases. Research showed linear regression results that suggest a certain drop-off of income after innovation levels reached a certain point. The study also showed a consistent relationship between IQ and utility patents registered. Citing other research that intelligence is not a genetic trait, the authors suggest that to create innovation i, investments in community education efforts can help foster economic developments according to their finding in this article.
Genetics Of Brain Structure And Intelligence- A.W. Toga
This article covers the connection between brain structure and intelligence and the factors that contribute to the strong correlation, found using MRI brain mapping, between brain size, structure and intelligence. Before scientifically explaining the study and process, the authors review the general history of intelligence research and its purveyors: Binet, Sternberg, and Gardner. The authors contend that even though neuroscience has advanced considerably, MRI scanning of brain mapping, used to make correlations to other factors like intelligence, is still Intelligence 8 limited due to limited baseline data and equipment limitations. To support this thesis, the authors cite an experiment of dizygotic and monozygotic Finnish twins in a seventeen year study that showed almost no difference between brain gray matter, determining that brain volume is highly genetically influenced; thus, brain structure and intelligence are correlated, or brain size and IQ go together. To conclude, the authors discussed environmental adaptations to some of these regions confirming the plasticity of brain development congruent with specific activity, meaning that the brain literally changes based on activities performed within unique environments or actions like juggling or driving a taxi.
Puritan intelligence: The ideological background to IQ- John White
John White proposes that his contemporary concept of IQ shares ideological foundations with Francis Galton and Puritan beliefs, stating that the former is connected to the latter as a precursor of scientific psychology. White has a problem with the upper limits of Galton’s theories concerning intelligence and this opens up the article to the history how Galton’s theories and the Puritan beliefs came to influence intelligence quotient assessments. White denounces a precept of Galtonian, which is eugenics, as a base for Galton’s belief that individual differences in ability exist within intelligence. White suggests the connection between Galton’s “doctrine of intelligence,” and the predestination language in Puritan beliefs, which are parallel in his view. White also suggest that eugenicist held a unique idea of intelligence that influenced assessment that would keep students who could achieve the standards succeeding while other low performers fell behind. To conclude, White examines key figures in the history of education, Intelligence 9 drawing comparisons to Galton and Puritan-type beliefs in terms of maintaining the assessment of intelligence in one dimension.
Conceptual foundations of IQ testing- Sheldon White
Through the exploration of how the IQ test evolved from the 19th century, Sheldon White, a Harvard Developmental Psychologist, traces the origins of intelligence classification back to the work of Binet and Simon, who led the initial effort to distinguish between normal and degenerative, or retarded, people. Most of this article describes the early beginnings of the social problem of degeneracy and the attitude toward the “feeble minded.” White points out, through this examination of the history behind IQ testing, that there was no collective, efficient or scientific method to classify the degenerative condition until Binet introduced his method that specifically assessed this condition. This testing method later evolved to measure higher forms of intelligence, much to the disapproval of Binet, who criticized the “deplorable verdicts” that attempted to corral intelligence into a single dimension or definition. White reasons that today’s IQ tests work reasonably well, even as the foundations were based on Binet’s classification efforts through testing for degeneracy. He concludes with a list of observations that support the effort to continue using this method, but suggests improvements are still needed as we have not yet figured out what intelligence really is.
Intelligence, education, and mortality - G.D. Batty
In an effort to confirm the associations between poverty, intelligence and mortality, the authors introduced a Swedish experiment that correlations between these do exist. The authors quote Linda Gotfredson, saying that intelligence is the ‘fundamental cause’ of social economic disparities when viewed by epidemiologists who study community issues of health and disease. They also probe the interrelated possibilities of which element contributes to the other in terms of sequence or order. This study contradicts and discredits a 1932 Scottish survey which stated mortality was a higher risk factor for women with higher intelligence scores. In conclusion, the authors note the importance of broadening “educational opportunities and interventions” to improve intelligence, thus improving well-being; but, as noted, efforts have not produced positive outcomes.
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