PSYA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lev Vygotsky, Egocentric Bias, The Human Face
57 views17 pages
Helen%Li%
PSYA02H3%
LECTURE1:)Measuring)Intelligence%
%
Studying)Individual)Differences%
• Most%psychological%research%aims%to%understand%the%“average”%human%
…%this%is%sometimes%called%nomothetic%research%
o On%average,%how%much%can%a%human%being%remember?%
Perception?%Attention?%
%%
• %But%some%areas%of%research%tries%to%understand%why%and%how%some%
humans%differ%from%others%…%this%research%is%said%to%focus%on%
“individual%differences”%work%
o What%makes%up%a%persons%personality?%%
%
Intelligence%
Most%societies%believe%it%is%in%the%interest%of%the%populace%to%financial%support%
the%education%of%it’s%citizens%…%an%educated%(intelligent?)%populace%leads%to%a%
better%country%…%more%innovation,%stronger%economy%…%power%
• “Political%baggage”%%
%
An%ability%to%measure%“intelligence”%might%be%beneficial%in%a%couple%of%ways%…%
1. It%allows%you%to%assess%whether%certain%educational%approaches%lead%to%
higher%levels%of%success%
2. It%may%allow%one%to%tailor%a%child’s%education%to%their%current%abilities%
%
But%how%does%one%measure%intelligence?%
• Can%we%change%intelligence?%(Governments%=>%Make%citizens%
more%intelligence%to%educate/%prosper)%
o %Want%to%know%if%we’re%succeeding%%
What%is%intelligence?%
• Albert%Einstein%vs%Steve%Jobs%%
! Steve%Jobs%created%devices%that%we%all%used,%but%we%
didn’t%think%we%wanted%it%10%years%ago%=>%diff%kind%
of%intelligence%%
%
A)Brief)History%
Galton,%a%cousin%of%Darwin,%was%into%measuring%humans%in%every%way%possible%
…%including%measuring%their%ability%to%make%sensory%discriminations,%which%
he%assumed,%was%linked%to%intellectual%ability%
• Are%there%humans%that%are%somehow%genetically%superior?%=>%
Tried%to%access%peoples%intellectual%abilities%(cognitive)%%
o Link%to%normal%distributions%(bell%shaped%graph)%%
Helen%Li%
PSYA02H3%
o A%lot%of%things%are%normally%distributed%=>%cognitive%
abilities%(give%people%small%tasts%Z>%press%buttons;%quickly)%
o Neural%impulses%=>%maybe%that%some%people%are%better%
wired,%can%transfer%information%faster%(speed%of%which%
people%can%respond%=>%effective%in%the%world)%
• Measured%intelligence%as%the%speed%of%info%
processing%
%
However,%the%measure%of%intelligence%really%took%off%with%the%work%of%Binet%
who%thought%that%intelligence%was%not%reflected%in%abilities%to%make%sensory%
discriminations%but,%instead,%was%reflected%by%performance%on%a%variety%of%
paperZandZpencil%tests%targeting%such%things%as%imagery,%attention,%
comprehension,%imagination,%judgements%of%visual%space,%memory,%etc…).%
• Binet%worked%for%French%government%%
• French%government%interested%in%educating%well%
o Figure%out%children’s%with%diff%intellectual%capabilities%
(support%gifted%to%max%potential)%
%%
The%BinetZSimon%test%(1905)%was%the%first%such%test.%
%
The%BinetZSimon%Scale%was%revised%in%1916%and%was%then%called%the%StanfordZ
Binet%Scale.%%With%that%version%of%the%scale,%the%IQ%of%a%person%represented%
their%mental%age%(as%suggested%by%the%test)%divided%by%their%chronological%age%
…%then%multiplied%by%100.%The%test%was%revised%again%in%1985,%and%the%way%
that%IQ%is%measured%was%also%changed.%%The%test%was%set%up%in%a%way%such%that%
the%average%score%is%100,%and%the%standard%deviation%is%16.%
So%now,%a%person’s%IQ%is%simply%their%score%on%the%test.%
%
Helen%Li%
PSYA02H3%
%
%
%
)
Interpreting)Test)Scores)
In%order%to%make%any%sense%of%an%individual’s%score,%it%is%necessary%to%first%give%
the%test%to%many%many%people%in%order%to%find%the%mean%and%standard%
deviation%of%the%test%for%humans%in%general%…%this%is%called,%establishing%the%
norms%for%the%test.%
• Randomly%get%people%to%do%the%test%and%get%the%average%person%
for%the%new%test%
%%
Often%it%is%necessary%to%acquire%such%norms%separately%for%different%age%
groups%so%that%a%person’s%score%can%be%compared%to%a%set%of%peers%of%the%same%
age.%
%%
One%issue%that%has%arisen%when%such%comparisons%are%made%is%that%it%is%
important%that%the%individual%is%from%the%same%cultural%group%as%the%norms%
were%gathered%from.%
%%
)
)
)
)
)
)
)