CHAPTER 8
UNIT II
Lecture 11: Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Text Assignments: Chapter 8 pp. 325-374
I. Four Types of Language Units
1. Phonology: the structure of the sounds in a language
(a) Phonemes: the basic building block of speech sounds
(b) Humans produce about 100 phonemes
(c) No single language uses all 100 (English uses about 45)
2. Syntax: the syntax of a sentence is determined by a set of rules for combining
different categories of words. Generally, we interpret syntax in the simplest way possible – usually each word as we encounter with only one topic. This, however, can throw us off. For example: “She petted the dog and the cat.” But, if we add “bit her” so that the sentence now reads: “She petted the dog and the cat bit her.”, the meaning changes and it results in two topics rather than one.
3. Semantics: the semantics of a word or a sentence is its meaning.
(a) Morphemes: the smallest units of meaning in a language. Morphemes can be one word such as “burn”, but the meaning may change by adding other morphemes such as “ing” or “ed” so that the word becomes “burning” or “burned”.
(b) Some morphemes have more than one meaning dependent on the context of other words. For example: “Look at the bark on this tree” and “did you hear a dog bark?”
(c) Meanings are often assigned arbitrarily to different sounds or written words. For example, we could have assigned the word dog to cat or vice versa.
(d) Meanings may have emerged as a result different events in the past. The present meaning may be somewhat different than the historical origins. For example, the word “bedlam” which refers to chaos or confusion has its origin in the name of St. Mary of Bethlehem where “lunatics” were confined (luna = moon) and lunatic presumably was a condition resulting from staring at the moon. Bedlam is a shortened word for Bethlehem
(e) Of interest may be the origins of emotionally charged, socially unacceptable words
4. Pragmatics: is concerned with the way language implies meaning. For example, if
you ask a young teenager, “do you know where the restroom is?” you may simply
get a “yes”.
(a) Pragmatics may play a role in our understanding of a metaphor. For example, “she is a real jewel.”
(b) In right handed persons, the left hemisphere controls most language functions, however, the ability to understand metaphors and most forms of humor, depends more on the right cerebral hemisphere. Damage to the right cerebral hemisphere can result in a very literal interpretation that confuses a person – for example “she is a real jewel” may make the impaired individual wonder if you mean a diamond or an emerald.
II. Bilingualism
1. Ideally, a person is more likely to master a second language if the learning process begins at a very young age
2. The vast majority of adults who learn a second language after puberty will make grammatical errors and speak with an accent
3. Our culture is changing, and, in the future, Spanish may be as common as English
III. Does Language Determine Thought?
IV. Mental Imagery: Perception without Sensation – images based on stored information
rather than immediate sensory input.
(a) Spatial Extent: mental scanning of a room is an example – the greater the extent of the mental scan, the longer it takes
(b) Limited Size: how large can a mental image be? If you imagine that you are walking toward an elephant, the closer you get to it, the more likely the edges of the animal will blur.
(c) Grain: e.g. imagery space has a grain much like TV viewed extremely close up will be perceived as composed of many dots.
V. Concepts: a grouping of a set of objects – an unambiguous internal representation that
may be abstract such as “truth” or “justice”.
1. Concepts may be expressed by images and words but they are not the same as either images or words.
CHAPTER 9 TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SMART?
UNIT II
Lecture 12: Thursday, October 8, 2009
Text Assignments: Chapter pp. 379-422
I. INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence- The ability to solve problems well and to understand and learn complex material.
IQ short for Intelligence Quotient- a test score in western countries as a general measure of intelligence.
I. Binet and Simon
1. Devised the first intelligence test between 1904 and 1911.
2. Originally to test children for the French Government to identify children needing special education classes
3. This test was the first “norm referenced” test scoring children based on a group of “normal children”
Norm-Referenced Measurement- when we compare examinees scores to those of a particular group of subjects. The norm provides the indication of the
average or typical performance.
4. Mental age- is calculated by the average scores obtained by children in a specific grade.
5. Chronological Age- is actual age of a person.
6. If children’s mental age is lower than chronological age they were thought to be of lower intelligence
II. Terman and Wechsler
1. Lewis Terman- Contributed to IQ testing by revising the Binet-Simon test in 1916 while
attending Stanford University and called the test the Stanford Binet and this test is still being used today. Commonly known as the 1916 Stanford-Binet
TERMAN AMERICANIZED THE TEST (CHANGING WHAT HE FELT WERE CULTURALLY INAPPROPRIATE ITEMS)
2. David Wechsler- in 1958 devised another IQ test called the WAIS the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the WISC the Wechsler intelligence scale for
children. Today they are in the 3rd revision thus giving then the name WAIS III and WISC III.
3. David Wechsler did not want to focus on just the verbal ability and thought Binet focused too much on it so he created these tests which measure primarily two
things. Performance and Verbal abilities
III. William Stern- German psychologist developed the first know Intelligence Quotient
Mental Age
Chronological Age x 100
IV. BELL SHAPED CURVE- THE NORMAL CURVE
1. IQ test scores are based on a Standardized Sample which is a sample of people with the same `characteristics who are randomly chosen from the population.
2. Normal Curve- Scores almost always fall near the middle with some in the extreme ends of the tails.
3. Norming- Setting of two measures, the mean and the standard deviation
4. WAIS III and WISC III are all normed at mean 100 and Standard Deviation 15/
V. Psychometric Approach- designing a test to measure psychological characteristics
1. Average IQ of college age students is 112-120
2. Scores of 70 and below can be considered in the mentally retarded range
VI. Reliability-Refers to consistency of measurements
VII. Validity-The extent to which the test measures what it is supposed to measure.
VIII. PERSPECTIVES OF “g”
1. Spearman: Postulated the “g” factor- “general factor” a single intellectual capacity that underlies the positive correlations among different tests of
intelligence.
2. “s” factor- “specific factors” or aspects that are particular to a given kind of processing—and distinct from “g”.
3. HOW SMART YOU ARE RELIES HEAVILY ON “g”
IX. Thurstone: used Factor Analysis- A statistical method that uncovers the particular attributes, “factors” that make scores more or less similar.
1. Thurstone found SEVEN different types of abilities which he believes are components of intelligence.
2. He rejected the idea of Spearman’s “g”
X. SPEARMAN now called BIG “G” and THURSTONE now called little “g”
XI. Catell & Horn
1. Crystallized vs. Fluid Intelligence
2. Crystallized- relies on knowledge of facts and the ability to combine them, develops as you become experts, or previous acquired knowledge.
3. Fluid Intelligence- Is a free form ability to figure out novel solutions. Non-verbal relatively culture free mental efficiency
XII. Gardner
1. Theory of Multiple Intelligences- Eight basic forms of intelligence, developed from Gardner’s work at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, with
people who suffered brain damage. The eight forms were:
(1) Linguistic Intelligence
(2) Musical Intelligence
(3) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
(4) Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence
(5) Intrapersonal Intelligence
(6) Interpersonal Intelligence
(7) Naturalist Intelligence
(8) The newest addition to the eight is Existential Intelligence
XIII. Robert Sternberg's Triarchy
1. Analytic Intelligence: ability to learn to write clearly, do math and understand literature
2. Practical Intelligence: involves knowing sich things as fox a car or sew a button, and sometimes on implicit memories, the unconscious biases and
tendencies that guide our a actions
3. Creative Intelligence: which seen closely related to Catell and Horn’s fluid intelligence, is the ability to formulate novel solutions to problems.
XIV. MAYER & SAOLVEY
1. Emotional Intelligence
(1). knowing your emotions
(2). Managing your feelings
(3). Self-motivation
(4). Recognizing others’ emotions
(5). Handling relationships
2. Women score higher on some aspects particularly those that relate to social skills.
3. Emotional Intelligence correlates to Sternberg’s Practical Intelligence
Nature-Nurture Controversy
I. Evidence Supporting a Genetic Influence (actual research)
1. The correlation between adult identical twins raised apart is higher than that for
both fraternal twins and non-twin siblings raised together
2. The correlation between the IQ of the adopted child with biological mother, is higher than that for the child and the adoptive mother
3. The positive correlation between the adopted child with the IQ’s of biological children in the family disappears in the adult years (if the environment was a
strong factor, one would expect the positive correlation would increase the longer the children were in a similar environment).
II. Evidence Supporting an Environmental Influence (actual research)
1. One could argue, with evidence, that prenatal environmental factors are an
influence even before twins are born. For example, two thirds of identical
twins share the same placenta and amniotic sac in uterus whereas fraternal
twins almost always have separate sacs. Twins in the same sacs share blood,
which contains chemicals that affect brain development. Therefore, high
correlations between identical twins on certain behaviors may reflect their
early shared environment as well as their early shared genes
2 . The households in which twins are placed often are more similar than not. This suggests that twins reared apart, may be in a very similar environmentswhich should increase a positive correlation
3. Identical twins, whether reared apart or not, will have similar characteristics such as being attractive or non-attractive, that may evoke similar social reactions which in turn would make them react in a similar way – for example, the effects of Evocative Interaction
III. What does the average person mean by intelligence?
What is involved when we make fairly quick judgments about a stranger that lead us to say he or she is very intelligent or stupid? Could it be that an intelligent
person is someone we agree with and like? How often have you heard the terms “intelligent” and “stupid” to refer to persons who have similar or different
political views? Is this what tests called Intelligence tests measure? How useful is the construct “Intelligence”?
IV. Group Differences
1. Within- Group versus Between-Group Differences – genetic contributions to within group differences cannot logically lead to inferences about between group
differences
2. Your text uses the example of two genetically similar apple orchards in two different environments. In one environment, the trees might thrive and produce
large apples whereas in the other, the differences in water and temperature may produce small apples
3. Even individual differences in trees within the two orchards can lead to no inferences about differences between the two orchards on the within differences
from one orchard compared to another orchard
V. The Controversy Over Race Differences
1. When we study genetic differences between rat strains, we use complex breeding procedures to make sure that the strains are genetically distinct.
VI. Variables Involved in the study of Ethnic Differences
1. A test primarily standardized on one group of persons may not be appropriate for
another: Example: Robert Williams, a psychologist who used to be in St. Louis,
developed the “BITCH” test which stood for “Black Intelligence Test Counterbalanced for Honkies”. Basically, he developed a test and standardized it
on African American children from a ghetto culture using their language and culture to form both the wording and content of the questions. On this
measure, African Americans scored in the average to high range whereas the white sample of children mostly were below average.
2. A complicated rat study by Gordon Harrington demonstrated that maze tests standardized on different strains of rats resulted in higher scores when the test
was administered to the same strains of rats on which the tests were standardized.
3. Children from economically advantaged families score higher on tests that purport to measure intelligence and so do their children
4. The difference between African American children and whites on tests is shrinking - it is now only two thirds of what it has been
5. As the education level of African American parents has risen, so have IQ scores of their children
6. In general, as African Americans have attained better educational opportunities scores on educationally related tests have risen.
VII. Sex Differences
1. In general, males tend to do better than females on tasks that require Spatial
reasoning whereas females tend to do better than males on tests that require verbal reasoning.
VIII. Intellectual Disabilities and the Label Mental Retardation
1. Generally, persons with a score 70 or lower on conventional IQ tests are labeled mentally Retarded. The American Association for Mental Retardation
adds two additional criteria: 1) significant limitations in two or more everyday abilities and 2) the presence of the condition since childhood
2. Down’s Syndrome: the most frequent form of Down’s Syndrome (approximately 94 %) are a result of Trisomy 21 – the creation of an extra chromosome
on the 21st pair during conception. It should be stressed that although this form of Down’s syndrome is a genetic abnormality, it is not inherited. However,
there are rarer forms of Down’s Syndrome that are inherited.
Recently a screening test has been recommended by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for being available to all pregnant mothers,
regardless of age. A screening test consisting of a blood test combined with an ultrasound exam is far less invasive than amniocentesis. It is now readily
available and can be used in the first trimester (used 11 weeks after conception, the approach can identify 87% of Down's syndrome fetuses)
3. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: can result in impairment of neurological development and lead to an intellectual disability
IX. Creativity and Intelligence
1. Guilford’s proposal that there are two types of thinking: convergent and divergent
2. Convergent thinking: one stays focused on a particular approach to a problem and works through a series of steps to derive a solution
3. Divergent Thinking: persons approach a problem from a variety of different angles, exploring a variety of approaches to a solution before settling on one
4. There have been proposals that creative individuals tend to be mentally unstable. Others have claimed however, that mental illness is independent of
creativity. The evidence is not conclusive.
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TEST 2: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009
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