Lecture 11: Intelligence & Achievement
Intelligence
Tend to follow normal distribution with most having an average of 100
Flynn effect
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Test (WISC-IV)
Perceptual reasoning
Processing speed
Verbal comprehension
Working memory
comprehension of language, ability to solve word problems
measure vocabulary and general knowledge of the world
Shown pictures, asked to complete missing details, arrange into logical sequences and recreate abstract designs
Speed of deciphering & understanding info
Simple arithmetic & memory tasks
Correlates
occurs even in rural societies such as Kenya
attributed to environmental causes such as better education, health and nutrition
increase in average intelligence of the world population over successive generations
best single predictor of academic achievement, can explain 25% of variation
correlate with years of schooling, level of employment and workplace success
Defining intelligence
Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
Sternberg's Successful Intelligence Theory
Cattell's Theory
Fluid intelligence
Crystallised intelligence
ability to think flexibly, solve new problems, learn in new situations
Ability to use acquired skills & knowledge
Spatial
Creative abilities
Practical abilities
Analytic abilities
comparing, analysing, computing, evaluating
Inventing, discovering, creating
Using & acting on info in the appropriate way
Differences
Sex differences
Ethnic differences
Male
Female
Better spatial capabilities
More extreme IQ scores
Better language capabilities
Less variance in IQ scores
May be due to diff in upbringing-->social influence on sex differences
eg. African Americans only performed worse when the negative stereotype about their race was made salient
children from stigmatised groups e.g African Americans are more aware of stereotypes
Stereotype threat: fear of confirming to a negative stereotype creates anxiety and distracts the individual-->poor performance
In US, school engagement decreases over time
Changes in environment
Changes in children
Greater emphasis on evaluation
Children have less control
Desire for autonomy
Competing interests
Concern with evaluation by peers
at lower levels, don't really have gradings/streaming/comparisons
when at higher level, grouped according to abilities, not everyone performs equally. Children don't feel special anymore
At higher levels, teachers need to cover more material
lessons have more structure, more rules to follow
Poor environment-stage fit
individuals are most successful when the environment best suits them
Individual differences
Dweck's Model
Response to challenge
70% mastery response
30% helpless response
engaged, effort attributions, +ve affect
disengaged, ability attributions, -ve affect
Entity Theory
Incremental theory
intelligence is fixed
Performance goal (doing well is more impt than learning)
when face high challenges, likely to give up cos feel threatened-->helpless, low engagement
Mastery goal (want to improve skills, gain knowledge)
so whether high/low challenge, likely to persist because they see it as part of the learning experience-->high engagement
belief that intelligence can be changed with effort
Role of praise
- Children were given an easy task-->provide a measure of how performance changed with diff kinds of praise
- Children then filled a questionnaire measuring Incremental theories, Mastery goals, Engagement
2.Children later failed at a difficult task that is rigged
Praising effort increases performance, praise ability decreases it, no praise better than praise ability
1.Children succeed at an easy task, then either praised for ability or effort or no praise
conclusion: how we praise children shape the theories they form about ability and success
Role of parents
Autonomy supportive parenting
Controlling parenting
Allow child to initiate own behaviour
Encourage solving problems on their own
exert pressure to meet external standards
Regulate child's behaviour
more likely to lead to high engagement, achievement
supports learning rather than outcomes, leads children to feel autonomous & have control over mastery to be good at the task
Role of self-control
eg. Marshmallow task-->predicts achievement 10 yrs later
affects engagement
Delay of gratification:ability to put off an immediate reward for a better reward in future
Mathematical
Musical
Kinesthetic
Linguistic
Interpersonal
LetMeKnowIfIMustStripNaked
Intrapersonal
Naturalistic
Good with words, language
good with math, logic, discovering patterns
Good with visualisation, maps and 3D models
Good with melodies, rhythm, musical patterns
good with complex motor skills, manipulating objects
good at sensing other ppl's thought & feelings
Able to recognise own abilities & accomplishments
good at understanding plants, animals & relations in nature
decline in engagement