Psychology: Basics of Intelligence Types - Dummies.com

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• Selectiveencoding:Distinguishingbetweenrelevantandirrelevantinformation
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• Selectivecombination:Pullingtogetherseeminglydisparateelementsofaproblemforanovelsolution
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• Selectivecomparison:Discoveringnewandnonobviousconnectionsbetweennewandoldinformation
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AdamCashisaclinicalpsychologistwhohaspracticedinavarietyofsettingsincludingforensicinstitutionsandoutpatientclinics.HehastaughtPsychologyatboththecommunitycollegeanduniversitylevels.Heiscurrentlyinprivatepracticespecializinginpsychologicalassessment,childpsychology,andneurodevelopmentaldisorders.","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9556"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":34076,"title":"GeneralPsychology","slug":"general-psychology","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/34076"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[{"label":"Thefactorsofintelligence","target":"#tab1"},{"label":"Cattell-Horn-CarrollTheoryofCognitiveAbilities","target":"#tab2"},{"label":"Streetsmarts","target":"#tab3"},{"label":"Multipleintelligences","target":"#tab4"},{"label":"Makingtheintelligencegrade—onacurve","target":"#tab5"}],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":273560,"title":"GoingBeyondStress:ThePsychologyofHealth","slug":"going-beyond-stress-the-psychology-of-health","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/273560"}},{"articleId":273555,"title":"10GreatPsychologicalMoviesandShows","slug":"10-great-psychological-movies-and-shows","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/273555"}},{"articleId":273547,"title":"TheOrganizationoftheBrain","slug":"the-organization-of-the-brain","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/273547"}},{"articleId":273542,"title":"BiologicalPsychology:TheRoleofCellsandChemicals","slug":"biological-psychology-the-role-of-cells-and-chemicals","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/273542"}},{"articleId":207964,"title":"PsychologyForDummiesCheatSheet","slug":"psychology-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/207964"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":273560,"title":"GoingBeyondStress:ThePsychologyofHealth","slug":"going-beyond-stress-the-psychology-of-health","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/273560"}},{"articleId":273555,"title":"10GreatPsychologicalMoviesandShows","slug":"10-great-psychological-movies-and-shows","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/273555"}},{"articleId":273547,"title":"TheOrganizationoftheBrain","slug":"the-organization-of-the-brain","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/273547"}},{"articleId":273542,"title":"BiologicalPsychology:TheRoleofCellsandChemicals","slug":"biological-psychology-the-role-of-cells-and-chemicals","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/273542"}},{"articleId":208951,"title":"PositivePsychologyForDummiesCheatSheet","slug":"positive-psychology-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/208951"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282513,"slug":"psychology-for-dummies-3rd-edition","isbn":"9781119700296","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","emotional-health-psychology","psychology","general-psychology"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119700299/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1119700299/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1119700299-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119700299/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1119700299/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/psychology-for-dummies-3rd-edition-cover-9781119700296-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"PsychologyForDummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"

AdamCashisaclinicalpsychologistwhohaspracticedinavarietyofsettingsincludingforensicinstitutionsandoutpatientclinics.HehastaughtPsychologyatboththecommunitycollegeanduniversitylevels.Heiscurrentlyinprivatepracticespecializinginpsychologicalassessment,childpsychology,andneurodevelopmentaldisorders.

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Thefactorsofintelligence Sure,intelligenceisacollectionofcognitiveabilities,butaunifyingconstructcalled“intelligence”thatcanbemeasuredandquantifiedmustexist,right?Psychologiststhinkso,andthey’vebeenworkingtirelesslytotestandmeasureintelligenceforalongtime.Aspartofthiswork,psychologistshavedevelopedintelligencetestsandworkedwithmilitaries,schools,andcorporations,tryingtosortindividualdifferencesinintelligenceintheserviceofjobselection,academichonors,andpromotions.Fromallthistestinghasemergedtheconceptof“g”asageneralandmeasurableintelligencefactor.Theg-factoriscomprisedofsubcomponentsknownass-factors.Together,theg-ands-factorscomprisewhatiscalledthetwo-factortheoryofintelligence: g-factor:Somepsychologistcomesupwithatestofmentalabilitiesandgivesittoalotofpeople.Whenascoreiscalculatedandaveragedacrossabilities,ageneralintelligencefactorisestablished.Thisisfactoroneofthetwo-factortheory,commonlyreferredtoastheg-factor,orthegeneralintelligencefactor.Itismeanttorepresenthowgenerallyintelligentyouare,basedonyourperformanceonthistypeofintelligencetest. s-factor:Theindividualscoresoneachofthespecificabilitytestsrepresentthes-factors.Ans-factorscorerepresentsaperson’sabilitywithinoneparticulararea.Putallthes-factorstogether,andyougettheg-factor.Commonlymeasureds-factorsofintelligenceincludememory,attentionandconcentration,verbalcomprehension,vocabulary,spatialskills,andabstractreasoning. So,intelligenceaccordingtothepsychometrictheoryisascoreonanintelligencetest.Howcanthisbe?Eachtestismadeupofsubtests,andtypically,peoplewhoscorehighononetestdowellontheothertests,too.Thisrevealsarelationshipamongtheindividualabilitiesasmeasuredbythesubtests;thegeneralintelligenceconceptunderliesthatrelationship. PsychologistandintelligenceresearchpioneerLouisThurston(1887–1955)cameupwitharelatedtheoryofintelligencecalledprimarymentalabilities.It’sbasicallythesameconceptasthes-factorpartofthetwo-factortheory,withalittlemoredetail.ForThurston,intelligenceisrepresentedbyanindividual’sdifferentlevelsofperformanceinsevenareas:verbalcomprehension,wordfluency,number,memory,space,perceptualspeed,andreasoning.Thurston’swork,however,hasreceivedverylittleresearchsupport.Cattell-Horn-CarrollTheoryofCognitiveAbilities Psychologistscontinuetodividegeneralintelligenceintospecificfactors.TheCattell-Horn-CarrollTheoryofCognitiveAbilities(CHCTheory)proposesthat“g”iscomprisedofmultiplecognitiveabilitiesthatwhentakenasawholeproduce“g.”TheindividualcontributorstoCHCtheory(RaymondCattell,JohnHorn,andJohnCarroll)producedamodelofgeneralintelligenceconsistingoftenstrata.Theyareasfollows: Crystallizedintelligence(Gc):comprehensiveandacquiredknowledge Fluidintelligence:reasonandproblem-solvingabilities Quantitativereasoning:quantitativeandnumericalability Readingandwritingability:readingandwriting Short-termmemory:immediatememory Long-termstorageandretrieval:long-termmemory Visualprocessing:analysisanduseofvisualinformation Auditoryprocessing:analysisanduseofauditoryinformation Processingspeed:thinkingfastandautomatically Decisionandreactionspeed:comingtoadecisionandreactingswiftly ResearcherscontinuetoworkwiththeCHCmodelandhavedevelopedresearchprogramslookingintoaddingtothetenstrata.Manyprofessionalsbelievethatsensoryandmotorabilitiesneedtobemorefullyincludedinthistheory,andresearchersarelookingat“tentative”factorssuchastactileabilities(touch),kinestheticability(movement),psychomotorabilityandspeed,andolfactoryability(senseofsmell).Waitaminute,youmeanIcanbeasmartsmeller?Onlythenoseknows!ManyintelligenceresearchersandpractitionershaveacceptedCHCasatriumphofpsychologicalscienceandtheconsensusmodelofpsychometricconceptionsofintelligence.Itis,however,aworkingmodel,andmanyintelligenceinvestigatorsandtheoristsconsiderCHCtheoryasastrongbeginningbutnotthefinalwordonintelligence. Streetsmarts AmericanpsychologistRobertSternbergdevelopedtheTheoryofSuccessfulIntelligenceinparttoaddressthestreetsmartscontroversy,whichholdsthatmanyintelligentpeoplemaybesmartwhenitcomestoacademicsortheclassroombutlackcommonsenseinreallifeorpracticalmatters.AculturalmythclaimsthatAlbertEinstein,unquestionablygiftedinmathematicsandphysics,couldn’ttiehisownshoes.Idon’tknowifthisistrueornot,butSternbergseemstoagreethatanimportantaspectofbeingintelligentispossessingagoodlevelofcommonsenseorpracticalintelligence.Thethreeintelligencecomponentsofhistheoryareasfollows: Analyticalintelligence:Theabilitytoanalyze,evaluate,judge,decide,choose,compare,andcontrast. Creativeintelligence:Theabilitytogenerateuniqueorcreativewaystodealwithnovelproblems. Practicalintelligence:Thetypeofintelligenceusedtosolveproblemsandthinkaboutactionsofeverydaylife.LikeEinsteintyinghisshoes,openingupajarofpickles,howtosendagrouptext,orfiguringouthowtochangeyourfaceintoanalienwiththelatestphotofilteringapp. Multipleintelligences HaveyoueverwonderedwhatmadeMichaelJordansuchagoodbasketballplayer?WhataboutMozart'smusicalability?Hewroteentireoperasinonesittingwithoutediting.That’sprettyimpressive!AccordingtoAmericanpsychologistHowardGardener,eachofthesemendisplayaspecifictypeofintelligence.Gardenergeneratedatheoryknownasmultipleintelligencesfromobservingextremelytalentedandgiftedpeople.Hecameupwithseventypesofintelligencethataretypicallyleftoutofconventionaltheoriesaboutintelligence: Bodilykinestheticability:MichaelJordanseemstopossessalotofthisability.Peoplehighinbodilykinestheticabilityhavesuperiorhand-eyecoordination,agreatsenseofbalance,andakeenunderstandingofandcontrolovertheirbodieswhileengagedinphysicalactivities. Musicalability:Ifyoucantapyourfootandclapyourhandsinunison,thenyou’vegotalittlemusicalintelligence—alittle.Peoplehighinmusicalintelligencepossessthenaturalabilitytoread,write,andplaymusicexceptionallywell. Spatialability:Haveyouevergottenlostinyourownbackyard?Ifso,youprobablydon’thaveaveryhighlevelofspatialintelligence.Thisintelligenceinvolvestheabilitytoeasilymovearoundinspaceandtopicturethree-dimensionalscenesinyourmind. Linguisticability:Thisisthetraditionalabilitytoread,write,andspeakwell.Poets,writers,andarticulatespeakersarehighinthisability. Logical-mathematicalability:Thisintelligenceincludesbasicandcomplexmathematicalproblem-solvingability. Interpersonalability:Thegiftofgabandtheused-carsalesmanactaregoodexamplesofinterpersonalintelligence.A“peopleperson”whohasgoodconversationalskillsandknowshowtointeractandrelatewellwithothersishighininterpersonalability. Intrapersonalability:Howwelldoyouknowyourself?Intrapersonalintelligenceinvolvestheabilitytounderstandyourmotives,emotions,andotheraspectsofyourpersonality. AnyoneofuscanhavevaryingdegreesofGardener’sintelligences.Imaybeoneheckofabaseballplayerandamathwhiz,butImaybeunabletocarryaconversation,getlostwalkinghomefromthegrocery,andhavenoideahowIfeelaboutallthat. Makingtheintelligencegrade—onacurve Psychologistsliketomeasurestuff,especiallystuffrelatedtohumanbehaviorandthoughtprocesses,likecognitiveabilities.Measuringanddocumentingindividualdifferencesisatthecoreofappliedpsychologicalscience.WhetheryouascribetoCHC,Sternberg’smodel,ortheconceptofmultipleintelligences,don’tforgettheconceptofaverage.Intelligenceisconsideredtoexistinthehumanpopulationalongwhatiscalledanormaldistribution.Anormaldistributionisessentiallyastatisticalconceptthatrelatestotheultimaterangeofanyparticulartraitorpsychologicalphenomenonacrossapopulation.Individualsvaryinhowintelligenttheyare.Anormaldistribution(seethefollowingfigure)isestablishedbyassumingthatifthefullpopulationtookanintelligencetest,mostpeoplewouldcenteraroundaveragescoreswithsomevariation—fromslightlylessthanaveragetoslightlyhigherthanaverage.Anormaldistributionisalsoreferredtoasabellcurvebecauseitlookslikeabellwithabulkycenterandflatteningrightandleftends.Mostpeoplearesomewhereintherangeofaverageintelligence.Increasinglyfewerpeopleareatintelligencelevelsthatareclosertothehighestandlowestendsofthespectrum.NormaldistributionAtthehighendoftheintelligencecurvearepeopleconsideredintellectuallygifted;atthelowendarethoseconsideredintellectuallydisabled. Shiningbright Einsteinwasagenius,right?Sowhatexactlyisagenius?Psychologiststypicallyrefertosuper-smartpeopleasintellectuallygiftedratherthanusingthetermgenius.Butthereisnouniformcutoffscoreonanintelligencetesttodeterminegiftedness.Anaveragestandardintelligencescoreis100and,generallyspeaking,anyscoreabove120isconsideredsuperior.Giftednessisgrantedtopeopleinthetop1to3percentofthepopulation.Thatis,outof100people,onlyone,two,orthreeareconsideredgifted. Manypsychologistsarewaryofdefininggiftednessinsuchnumericalandstatisticaltermsandwarnthatculturalandsocietalcontextmustbefactoredin.Couldoneculture’sgeniusbeanotherculture’smadman?I’mnotsureit’sthatdramatic,butitisimportanttoconsiderthatgiftednessismultifacetedandnotsoeasilytiedtoacutoffscore. Numerousattemptshavebeenmadetopindownadefinitionofintellectualgiftedness.RobertSternbergproposedthatgiftednessismorethansuperiorskillsrelatedtoinformationprocessingandanalysis;italsoincludessuperiorabilitytocapitalizeonandlearnfromone’sexperiencestoquicklysolvefutureproblemsandautomatizeproblemsolving.Heproposedthatgiftedpeopleareespeciallyskilledatadaptingtoandselectingoptimalenvironmentsinawaythatgoesbeyondbasicinformationprocessingandwhatisconsideredgeneralintelligenceor“g.”Researcherscontinuetoexaminetheconceptofintellectualgiftedness,andoneconsistentfindingisthatgiftedindividualshavestrongermetacognitiveskills,orknowledgeoftheirownmentalprocessesandhowtoregulatethem.Thesethreespecificmetacognitivestrategiesareoftenusedbygiftedindividuals: Selectiveencoding:Distinguishingbetweenrelevantandirrelevantinformation Selectivecombination:Pullingtogetherseeminglydisparateelementsofaproblemforanovelsolution Selectivecomparison:Discoveringnewandnonobviousconnectionsbetweennewandoldinformation Inshort,thinkofanyofyourfavoritefictionaldetectives,likeSherlockHolmes,MissMarple,orLieutenantColumbo,andyou'llfindsomeonegiftedwithsuperiormetacognitiveskills.AboutThisArticleThisarticleisfromthebook:PsychologyForDummies,Aboutthebookauthor:AdamCashisaclinicalpsychologistwhohaspracticedinavarietyofsettingsincludingforensicinstitutionsandoutpatientclinics.HehastaughtPsychologyatboththecommunitycollegeanduniversitylevels.Heiscurrentlyinprivatepracticespecializinginpsychologicalassessment,childpsychology,andneurodevelopmentaldisorders.Thisarticlecanbefoundinthecategory:GeneralPsychology,GoingBeyondStress:ThePsychologyofHealth10GreatPsychologicalMoviesandShowsTheOrganizationoftheBrainBiologicalPsychology:TheRoleofCellsandChemicalsPsychologyForDummiesCheatSheetViewAllArticlesFromBook