PSY 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Skill, Factor Analysis, Theory Of Multiple Intelligences

• School: University of Rochester
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 101
• Professor: Niemiec

Document Summary

A controversial concept: sparked debates among psychologists, educators, among public, subject to reification. Tend to view concept of intelligence as concrete thing. Consequences, pigeon hole individuals, label some kids as intelligent and others as not. Easier for us as parents, educators and policy makers to put students into categories, high level of intelligence and low. When children as categorized as high intelligence, they get exposed to more diverse educational opportunities. Low intelligence gets denied access early on in life, set on course of depravity. What is intelligence: the capacity to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt successfully to one"s environment and new situations, difficult to define, socially constructed concept. Definitions of intelligence vary from culture to culture. Ability to solve problems, standardized testing, etc. Navigate successfully from one island to the next, from point a to point b. Ability to hunt and gather food successfully. Street smarts, staying alive on the streets.