Interest in intelligence has traditionally centered on the products of intelligence rather than on the processes of intellectual endeavor. Specialists in intelligence testing have generally described intelligence by means of an intelligence quotient (IQ). However, it is important to remember that what is measured on an IQ test is performance; capacity cannot be directly measured. A LAY DEFINITION OF INTELLIGENCE Although a number of experts have agreed with laypeople that intelligence has three central aspects—practical problem-solving ability, verbal ability, and social competence—a satisfactory definition of intelligence must consider additional factors, such as the predictive value of intelligence for behavior and the degree to which various factors that affect intelligence may be modified. THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE The Factor Analytic ApproachIt is generally agreed that intelligence is composed of multiple abilities and is not a single, general construct. Factor analysis has been instrumental in research leading to this view. However, contemporary intelligence specialists have confirmed the existence of a general factor of cognitive ability, derived from Spearman’s original general factor ( g). This modern middle-ground position, which also recognizes Spearman’s concept of specific factors ( s), holds that children may vary both in overall intellectual power and in their proficiency in specific aspects of cognitive functioning. The Information-Processing Approach: Sternberg’s Triarchic TheoryAn information-processing approach to intelligence, Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence, holds that intelligent behavior is built on information-processing skills, experience with particular kinds of tasks and problems, and the abilities to adapt to a particular context, or environment, and to shape others to one’s needs. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple IntelligencesGardner’s theory of multiple intelligences suggests that each of eight kinds of intelligence has its own developmental path and is guided by different forms of perception, learning, and memory. Each type of intelligence is likely to characterize individuals and cultures with particular interests and endeavors, and a single individual may possess one or more types. The idiot savant may or may not be an example of a person with only one specialized type of intelligence. TESTING INTELLIGENCE: PURPOSES AND METHODS Intelligence tests have three primary purposes: predicting academic performance, predicting performance on the job, and assessing general adjustment and health. Although traditional tests predict school performance better than anything else, they have been criticized as unfair to minority groups, and efforts have been made to develop culture-fair tests. The widely used Bayley Scales of Infant Development, designed for infants and very young children, measure certain developmental milestones and are generally used with children who are thought to be at risk of abnormal development. The newer Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence is designed not only to measure processing skills but also to be culture-fair. The Stanford-Binet TestThe intelligence test developed by French scientists Alfred Binet and Theophile Simon focused on verbal and problem-solving abilities. The Stanford-Binet Test is an American adaptation of Binet’s test. Binet developed the concept of mental age, an index of a child’s performance level as compared with her true age. Stern combined chronological age with mental age to create the intelligence quotient. The Wechsler ScalesThe Wechsler Intelligence Scales—the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Intelligence Scale for Children, and Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence—are probably the most commonly used intelligence tests today, in part because they include a substantial performance section. Their scoring is based on a deviation IQ, or the relation between an individual’s score and the distribution of scores for the group of which she is a member. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for ChildrenEmphasizing the processes of intelligence, the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children also attempts to be culture-fair. Examiners teach a child who fails an item how to solve it before moving on to the next item. Constructing Measures of Intelligence. Psychometricians establish test norms by administering a test to groups having particular characteristics, such as age. The stimuli, instructions, and scoring of test items are also carefully standardized so that the test procedures will be the same when administered by different people. Intelligence tests must have both validity and reliability. Test constructors may examine for these characteristics by splitting a test’s items and comparing each half with the other or by comparing the results of one administration with those of another on another date. Stability of Measured IntelligenceIQ scores can and do fluctuate, because they measure current performance rather than underlying ability. Early studies indicated that scores on intelligence tests during infancy were not predictive of later performance, but recent research suggests that measures of infant attention may be related to IQ scores during early childhood. The study of infants’ skill at recovery has contributed to our ability to measure intelligence and predict from it. Other factors in the development of cognitive skills include visual recognition memory, cross-modal transfer, and speed of processing. After about age 8, prediction of intelligence becomes more accurate. The rate of mental growth varies among children, however, so that IQ scores are more stable for some than others. Children develop cognitively at different rates of speed, and major stresses or changes in life circumstances may temporarily disrupt cognitive performance. WHY DO PEOPLE DIFFER IN MEASURED INTELLIGENCE? How Much of Intelligence is Inherited??Most estimates of the heritability of intelligence have indicated that 40 percent to 50 percent of the variability in intelligence among middle-class white Americans is due to genetic factors. In addition, other genetically determined behaviors such as temperament or personality may affect intellectual performance. Many psychologists continue to debate the heritability of intelligence; some holding that it is less than 50 percent, others that it is more. Arthur Jensen, the most extreme representative of the latter group, proposes two types of learning, both inherited—associative learning and cognitive learning. According to Jensen, all people share the first type of learning, but the second type is more prevalent among certain racial-ethnic groups. Although contemporary specialists believe that intelligence generally stabilizes in middle childhood, they also acknowledge that researchers have not yet determined how to manipulate the environment to raise IQ levels permanently. When we estimate heritability among people within a specific cultural or ethnic group our estimates of heritability will be higher because such people by definition share some characteristics that are both inherited and environmental. Conversely, it is inappropriate to apply heritability indexes based on one group to members of another. In addition, because heritability estimates are based on specific groups of people, they yield average numbers; thus they do not necessarily apply to an individual member of such a group. Because differences in group average IQ scores have been declining, the continuing effort to determine precisely how nature and nurture work together to affect intelligence will be important, particularly as new knowledge may affect intervention programs designed to improve cognitive functioning. Environmental FactorsSignificant environmental factors that affect the child’s intellectual functioning include events during pregnancy and the child’s birth that can result in congenital defects as well as the interpersonal relationships that the child develops with family members, teachers, peers, and members of the community at large. ETHNIC, RACIAL, AND SOCIAL-CLASS FACTORS IN INTELLECTUAL PERFORMANCE Are Intelligence Tests Biased Against Minority Groups??According to those who hold that intelligence tests are biased against members of minority groups, the content of standard IQ tests is drawn from white middle-class language, vocabulary, experience, and values and thus is inappropriate for other groups. Although more tests that attempt to be culture-fair are now available, on even some of these the more educated and advantaged child appears to do better. Context is an important factor in children’s intellectual performance. Testing conditions, such as unfamiliar surroundings and all European American examiners, may be deleterious to the performance of lower-class and minority children. Social-Class Influences on Intellectual PerformanceResearchers have found that children from different racial-ethnic backgrounds may do better in different areas of knowledge and expertise than in others. However, social-class factors may compound such findings. The concept of cumulative risk suggests that the more negative aspects of poverty and deprivation, such as poor nutrition and homelessness, that constrain the life of a child, the more likely he is to score poorly on a test of intellectual skills. Varying styles of parent-child interactions in different social classes may influence a child’s development of verbal and cognitive skills. Studies indicate that early differences in mothers; use of language and infants’ attention to their mothers’ speech may account for later differences in the use of verbal information. Multicultural and Cross-Cultural Factors in Intellectual PerformanceResearch indicates that Multicultural and cross-cultural differences in parents’ attitudes and enthusiasm for education may affect children’s performance on academic tasks. Chinese and Japanese students have been found to perform at a higher intellectual level, particularly in mathematics, than Asian American students who, in turn, score higher than European American, African American, and Hispanic American students. COGNITIVE INTERVENTION STUDIES Head Start and Similar ProgramsSince the 1960s educationists and government offices have launched many programs aimed at modifying the development of learning-disabled or economically deprived children. One of the best known and most successful is Head Start, a federally funded program for severely economically deprived preschool children. The findings with respect to maintenance of gains achieved in initial years in this and other programs are mixed. Almost all programs, whether preventative or interventionist, have reported short-term gains in academic performance, but some others have reported a loss over time of the initial advances. Characteristics of Successful Intervention ProgramsKeys to long-term success may be involving children in these programs within the first two years of their lives, continuing intervention efforts at least until children enter kindergarten, and offering two-generation programs, in which educational, occupational, health, and counseling services are provided to the children’s parents at the same time as intervention efforts proceed with the children themselves. BEYOND THE NORMS: GIFTEDNESS AND MENTAL RETARDATION The Intellectually GiftedWhether or not to advance children who display intellectual giftedness to higher grades in school remains controversial, although some such programs have shown considerable success. Although some voice concerns that advancement to sometimes much older peer groups will isolate gifted young children socially, others hold that such children are generally advanced socially as well as intellectually. Children with Intellectual DeficitsSome 95 percent of children with mental retardation can pursue academic studies to a greater or lesser degree, hold jobs, and as adults live either independently or in supervised settings. Only 4 percent to 6 percent of children afflicted with mental retardation must live under close supervision throughout their lives. We do not yet know to what degree the intellectual competencies of any of these children can be improved, although some studies (discussed in Chapter 8) have shown that mentally retarded children who do not speak can learn to communicate through the computerized use of visual symbols. CREATIVITY Definitions and TheoriesThe defining features of creativity are uniqueness and usefulness. The creative person asks questions, proposes solutions, and creates products that are novel and that are useful in some area of human life. Relationship Between Creativity and IntelligenceThe relationship between creativity and intelligence continues to be debated, but a current theory suggests that the sources of creativity lie in intelligence and motivation as well as a willingness to meet challenges, overcome obstacles, and take risks. Are Children Creative??Because children lack the knowledge base required to evaluate true creative efforts, some psychologists believe that creativity begins only in adolescence. Others, however, hold that young children have novel ideas, engage in creative acts, and use play to practice divergent thinking. How Can We Encourage Creativity in Children??These psychologists believe that encouraging imaginative play in children may promote future creativity.