Intelligence Testing and IQ

Intelligence Testing

• The Army used intelligence testing extensively during World War II for recruits.
• Intelligence tests were administered at Ellis Island to limit immigration based on test results, sometimes in languages not fully understood by immigrants, leading to the weaponization of these tests.
• Intelligence tests were used in Indian assimilation schools to highlight perceived intellectual deficiencies, which demonstrated the tests as another weapon.
• The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III (WISC-III) and the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales established that intelligence is multifaceted.
• IQ tests measure success within white middle to upper-class school systems rather than true intelligence.

IQ and Its Impact

• Labeling children with IQ scores can create self-fulfilling prophecies.
• IQ labels can negatively impact children, despite examples like J.D. Salinger, who had an average IQ but was an exceptional writer.
• High IQ doesn’t guarantee significant real-world achievements.
• Studies using IQ tests to prove racial differences occurred, but studies that showed otherwise were disregarded.
• Jensen conducted IQ testing of children and attributed differences between black and white children to biological factors, which was debated by scientists.
• Jensen's views were used by politicians to justify defunding Headstart, based on the false premise that biology cannot be changed.
• Herrnstein & Murray's book "The Bell Curve" suggested that standardized tests measure biological intelligence, determining one's societal status.
• The Bell Curve selectively used research to support its premise, which led to funding cuts for Headstart.
• Access to better education, influenced by financial status, affects test-taking abilities, distinguishing it from innate intelligence.

Environmental Impact on Intelligence

• A trans-racial adoption study by Scarr & Weinberg found that African American children raised in upper-middle-class white families had significantly improved IQ scores.
• The study supports the notion that a privileged environment boosts performance on IQ tests designed to reflect white middle to upper-class culture.
• Shirley Brice Heath's study highlighted differences in how white and African American mothers read to their children, with white mothers preparing them more directly for tests.
• All reading styles are great, but the difference in preparation can explain discrepancies in test scores.
• Stereotype threat, as demonstrated by McKowan & Weinstein, affects test performance in minority children.
• Stereotype threat lowered scores when Black/Hispanic children were told it was a test and scored high on stereotype knowledge, and had no effect on white kids.
• Knowing about negative stereotypes and being aware of a test situation can negatively impact scores for those subject to the stereotypes.

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

• There are three subtheories, which align with multiple intelligence theory, and test intelligence using real-life scenarios.
• Componential Subtheory (analytic) emphasizes metacognition, strategy application, and knowledge acquisition.
• Experiential Subtheory (creative) focuses on dealing with novelty and automatization of skills, like the Stroop effect.
• Contextual Subtheory (practical problem-solving) involves adapting to, shaping, or selecting new environments.

Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• Intelligence encompasses various independent forms influenced by biology, appearing early in childhood.
• Linguistic intelligence: Skillful with words, language, verbal persuasion, humor, and explanation, common in poets and novelists.
• Logico-mathematical intelligence: Scientific thinking, problem-solving skills, affinity for science, numbers, and statistics.
• Musical intelligence: Ability to think musically, recognize patterns, rhythms, sounds, tones, excel in composition, performance, singing, or playing instruments.
• Spatial intelligence: Proficiency in spatial reasoning, perception, mental rotation, understanding maps, charts, visual puzzles, and representational drawings.
• Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence: Expertise in controlling one's body through gross and fine motor skills, excelling in movement and hand-eye coordination.
• Interpersonal intelligence: Understanding and empathizing with others, interpreting body language, forming bonds, and potentially manipulating others.
• Intrapersonal intelligence: Self-understanding, introspection, self-reflection, and awareness of one's emotions and motivations.
• Natural intelligence: Fascination with the natural world, collecting natural items, recognizing patterns, and sensitivity to weather and seasons.
• Existential intelligence: Thinking about profound questions related to life, death, and existence.

Issues in School

• Schools often neglect divergent thinking which is fostering creativity, focusing instead on convergent thinking which has one answer.
• US report cards are worsening, indicating a neglect of creative thought processes.
• Mastery oriented attributions value learning for understanding, focusing on effort rather than grades.
• Performance oriented attributions focus on grades and outcomes, potentially harming self-esteem.
• Learned helplessness will cause students to believe they cannot perform a task no matter how hard they try.

Sociometric Status

• Sociometric Status is peer acceptance developed through nomination methods, such as asking children about their preferences.
• Popular children receive many positive votes.
• Rejected children do not receive many votes
• Controversial children receive many positive and negative votes.
• Neglected children receive very few votes, indicating they are largely unnoticed by peers.
• Popular children usually possess good social skills, but antisocial children do exist.
• Rejected children can be aggressive or withdrawn, lacking social skills and potentially becoming bullies or victims.
• Studies show that neglected or rejected children have lower levels of oral communication competence.

Bullying

• Bullying involves intentional, repeated harm to someone who struggles to defend themselves, leading to emotional issues.
• Cyberbullying is harmful because its effects happen even at home.
• When a child is bullied they may have unexplainable injuries
• When a child is bullying they may get into fights.
• Those who are perceived as different or weak, including LGBTQ+ individuals, are more likely to be targeted.
• Epigenetic research shows bullying can cause changes in DNA methylation on a specific gene that affects neural and cardiac functions.
• Conformity is heavily valued at that point in life.

Family Relationships

• Divorce can negatively impact children, though research on the impact of parents staying together unhappily is limited.
• Approximately 25% of American children live in single-parent households, headed mostly by mothers.
• Financial hardship is a common consequence of divorce, especially for mother-headed households due to lower-paying job opportunities and inconsistent child support.
• Moving to a new household may disrupt support from family and friends and/or require changing schools, leading to difficulties for children.
• Minimal parenting can occur initially as parents cope with their own hardships, but this typically improves after about a year.
• "Disneyland Dad" phenomenon, where fathers create fun-packed weekends, can make mothers seem boring in comparison.
• Boys in mother-custody families may experience more immediate and serious adjustment issues.
• Girls may experience long-term relational problems.
• Younger children may exhibit separation anxiety, blame themselves, and fantasize about their parents reuniting.
• Older children may respond positively to extra responsibility or exhibit negative behaviors like truancy and delinquency.
• Four factors influence how children cope with divorce: maintaining relationships with both parents, positive co-parenting, and stable financial circumstances.
• Banana Splits programs offer a safe space for children to express feelings, normalize emotions, and develop problem-solving skills and coping mechanisms.

Children and Media

• Children in the US spend more time watching TV than doing any other activity besides sleeping.
• Children are exposed to ~38 media hours per week.
• The violence is the biggest concern and parents don't monitor what media their children watch.
• Cartoons can include violent content.
• Children will start to imitate what they see.
• Violence is on children's TV, and predominantly male characters commit violence.
• Cultivation effect: adults watching a lot of news are more likely to see the world as mean and scary.
• Educational TV is typically gender-typed, but the average length of time of violence per film is 9.5 minutes (6 sec-24 min).
• Protracted TV viewing is now seen as a cause of violence and aggression in some children
• Frequent viewers are more likely to find violent solutions to problems acceptable