In current times many psychologists agree that nature (genes) and nurture (environment) both play important roles in the sculpting of intelligence in individuals, they work together constantly to guide maturity. This paper will look briefly at how intelligence is measured and the validity of those measurements. Additionally an argument for how environmental factors; education and parental health may influence the intelligence level of the individual throughout life.
The Wechsler scales, among others are one of the most widely individually administered measures of cognitive function (Wechsler, 1997) and together with other psychometric assessments have proved useful for identifying students with learning needs. The Wechsler scale is also used as bases for the design of suitable educational intervention programs for those identified students. (McCarthy, K., Dyer, S., & Hunter, M. (2002)
Although these intelligence or IQ tests are generally designed to be objective, reduce subjectivity and allow comparison of individual results (Wechsler 1975) these tests are often geared towards the measurement of skills that are important to learning in schools or mainstream educational facilities. Following from that, it is a well-debated point that Schools or traditional educational facilities, extend, or increase an individual's IQ. The tests themselves provide results based on academic intelligence, which may not provide an indication of overall intelligence (Ceci 1991).
A pertinent example of where IQ testing may be geared towards academic intelligence can be found with the 'Idiot Savant'. Idiot Savant is defined by the Oxford dictionary as "A person who has a mental disability or learning difficulties, but is extremely gifted in a partic...
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Westen, Drew and Burton, Lorelle J. and Kowalski, Robin (2012) Psychology: Australian and New Zealand Edition. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd., Milton, Australia.
The study required that participants must be given IQ tests, and also that they be observed in a classroom setting while interventions were put in place. Thus the adminsitratiors were able to draw results both from IQ scores and actual classroom preformance.
The World of Psychology. (2002). A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA: Samuel Wood & Ellen Green Wood p. 593
Before answering the questions let find out what intelligence test is. It is a test consisting of a series of tasks requiring people to use various verbal and non verbal skills to measure the individual’s intellectual ability. Now that we know what an intelligence test is we can now answer the question better. Three important short comings of intelligence test that have nothing to do with intelligence are: having low motivation or high anxiety which can greatly influence the performance on the test, also IQ test may contain cultural biases in their language and or tasks that may place people of one background above people of another back ground, and members of minority groups may have little experience with this kind of test or may be uncomfortable with examiners of a different ethnic back ground than them (Comer, 2013, pp.107).
General intelligence tends to relate to various degrees with each other (Cohen 2012). An example of this is that if an individual is good in math, they may also be good in spelling. In this weeks reading we reviewed several different models of measurement of intelligence. In regard to these theories and general intelligence (g), the theories are various but have commonality and overlap. The Spearman's two-factor theory is if a test has high correlation with other test than the measurement of g is highly saturated (Cohen, 2012). The greater the importance of g on a test, the better the test is believed to predict intelligence
Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. J. (2003). Psychology. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Intelligence tests have been developed by scientists as a tool to categorize army recruits or analyze school children. But still discussing what intelligence is, academics have a difficult time defining what intelligence tests should measure. According to the American researcher Thorndike, intelligence is only that what intelligence tests claim it is (Comer, Gould, & Furnham, 2013). Thus, depending on what is being researched in the test and depending on the scientist’s definition of intelligence the meaning of the word intelligence may vary a lot. This essay will discuss what intelligence is in order to be able to understand the intelligence theories and aims of intelligence tests.
Westen, D., Burton, L., & Kowalski, R. (2006). Psychology: Australian and New Zealand edition. Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons.
Intelligence has been defined in many different ways including ones capacity for logic, abstract thought, creativity, and problem solving. Standardized tests play a major role in education systems today. Although these tests do exemplify a student’s ability to read and write English, this test promotes “teaching to a test.” I have first handedly experienced this in my own life. Standardized tests undermine critical thinking and innovation and are not the best example of intelligence.
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...osh, D.E., Dixon, F. Newton, J.H., & Youman, E. (2010). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition, With A High-Achieving Sample. Psychology in Schools, 47(10), 1071-1083.
On the ‘nature’ side of the debate is the psychometric approach, considered to be the most dominant in the study of intelligence, which “inspired the most research and attracted the most attention” (Neisser et al. 1996, p. 77). It argues that there is one general (‘g’) factor which accounts for intelligence. In the 1880s, Francis Galton conducted many tests (measuring reaction times to cognitive tasks), (Boundless 2013), in order to scientifically measure intelligence. These tests were linked to the eugenic breeding programme, which aimed to eliminate biologically inferior people from society. Galton believed that as intelligence was inherited, social class or position were significant indicators of intelligence. If an individual was of high social standing, they would be more intelligent than those of a lower position. However he failed to show any consistency across the tests for this hypothesis, weakening his theory that social class correlated with intelligence. Nevertheless, his creation of the intelligence test led many to continue to develop...
“Measureable environment does not shift the IQ by more than 3 to 5 points above or below the value it would have had under normal environmental conditions… The nature or hereditary component in intelligence causes greater variation than does environment. When nature an...
This is an essay about the different theories of intelligence; it will discuss which theory is best at determining intelligence in my opinion. The information provided will help describe the pros and cons of each of the theories being used to define intelligence, explain why is it important to assess children’s intelligence, and discuss the type of intelligence I possess. The different theories of intelligence are complex and understanding the elements of each can help an individual choose the one that they believe is the best for determining intelligence. Comparing the positive and the negative elements of each theory of intelligence will allow an individual to see both sides of the theory and the flaws that may be twisted
Throughout the course of modern science, a popular topic of research and discussion has been whether intelligence is heritable. Twin studies have suggested a genetic influence on mathematical abilities, but when considered, environmental factors may also have played a part in the development of the individuals’ intelligence (Pinel, 1). Therefore, the argument remains between nature and nurture: which one contributes to an individual’s general intelligence and cognitive ability? Are some people just born smarter than others, or does everyone, notwithstanding mental disabilities, have the equal opportunity to garner intelligence? The research of various studies so far concludes that both are true; while intelligence is rooted in genetic influence, environmental factors play a crucial role in the extent of that influence.
As numerous research and studies' findings have shown, both nature and nurture work together. These shouldn't be considered as separate, but instead intertwined, as they both interact and depend on each other. An interaction of genetic and environmental factors are responsible for influencing and determining intelligence levels.