Download Scientific Theories: Concepts and constructs

CLASS 13
Approach 3:
Beyond ‘g’
Spearman says g underlies
all intelligence
 But we all know someone who…..
 Most people think and some researchers agree that:
Intelligence is more than ‘g’
Statistical Paradox ?
 Everyone believes that some people are more
intelligent than others
 But everyone believes that they are above average
 Statisticians say impossible !
Psychologists say
no paradox
 Dunning solves the paradox:
 Our personal definitions ensure that we are above average
 What other definitions have a legitimate basis?
Gardner’s multiple intelligences
TRADITIONAL
Logical-mathematical
Spatial (geometric)
Linguistic (verbal)
Inter-personal (social)
CONTROVERSIAL
Intra-personal
Musical
Kinesthetic
Naturalist
Spiritual
Gardner’s latest
 Replaced Spiritual intelligence with:
 Existential intelligence
 Moral intelligence
Here are some recent nominees:
Which type of intelligence does each
have?
Albert Einstein
Logicalmathematical
intelligence
Oprah
Winfrey
Interpersonal
intelligence
Gary Kasparov
Spatial intelligence
Eminem
Linguistic
intelligence
Sigmund Freud
Intra-personal
Intelligence
Patrick Kane
Kinesthetic intelligence
Mahatma Ghandi
Spiritual
intelligence
David Suzuki
Naturalist
intelligence
But where is creativity?
Suggestions for other
intelligences?
Critique of Gardner’s approach
 Much subjective opinion
 Many of the intelligences are too vague
to be measured objectively
 Without measures, no practical value yet
IN HIS DEFENSE: used multiple sources
CYNICAL VIEW: everyone needs to feel intelligent and
Gardner just wants to make us all happy
Empirical
components
 Spearman (1 = g)
 Wechsler (2)
 Cattell (2)
 Thurstone (7)
 Guilford (120)
Scholastic aptitude
 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
– 3 subscales (math, reading, writing)
 Graduate Record Exam (GRE) -- 3
 LSAT, MCAT, GMAT (2-3 subscales)
Sex differences?
 Have diminished over time
 Some remain – even on GREs
 Writing ability favors females (recent addition)
 Spatial rotation favors males
Why sex differences?
 Nature: Brain differences ?
 Nurture: sex roles ?
e.g. spatial
ability
Sex differences in g
 No sex differences on Stanford-Binet
 Coincidence ?
Summary
 Several empirical components are reliably distinguished
 Many conceptual intelligences not yet measured
 Traditional sex differences are diminishing but some still
evident
Emotional
Intelligence
 Being good at perceiving, understanding, and expressing
emotions
 More important than IQ?
 But how to measure?
 One approach is to test ability to judge emotions accurately.
Q: What emotion?
A: Sadness, as judged by the person who
made the drawing
Q: what emotion?
A: grief:
-as judged by
consensus based on
context
A: Surprise
-- based on instructions to pose.
Q: What emotion?
A: the joy of using Play Station 3,
as judged by the manufacturer.
Critique of EQ
 Difficult to evaluate emotion accuracy
 Self-reports are dubious
 Is emotional intelligence something
else?