Area of Study 2 - Intelligence and

PersonalityChapter 11 and 12

What is intelligence?

Widely accepted definition:

Involves the ability to learn from experience, to acquire knowledge, to reason and to solve problems.

Intelligence TheoriesINTELLIGENCE THEORIST INTELLIGENCE THEORY

Alfred Binet Intelligence as an age-related set of abilities

David Wechsler Intelligence as verbal versus performance abilities

Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligences

Robert Sternberg Triarchic theory or intelligence

Cattell-Horn-Carroll Model of psychometric abilities

Salovey and Mayer Ability based model of emotional intelligence

Alfred Binet - Intelligence as an age-related set of abilities

Developed the first intelligence test Binet was appointed by the French

government to identify children who experienced difficulties in the classroom in the early 1900’s

Binet viewed intelligence as a general ability with specific, but related mental functions

Binet proposed that intelligence is age-related, that is, EVERY 5 year old should be more intelligent than 4 years olds and less intelligent than 6 year olds.

David Wechsler - Intelligence as verbal versus performance abilities

Wechsler proposed that intelligence involves greater abilities that are not only relevant to school.

He categorised verbal abilities as those entirely language-dependent such as vocabulary and comprehension

He categorised performance abilities as those that are less dependent on language such as arranging pictures to tell a story and arranging blocks to form a pattern.

Wechsler identified 4 conditions which should be present for any behaviour to be described intelligent:

1/ Awareness: Intelligent behaviour is conscious and controlled

2/ Goal directed: Intelligent behaviour has a purpose.

3/ Rational: Intelligent behaviour is consistent and appropriate

4/ Worthwhile: Intelligent behaviour is valued by others.

Howard Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence

Linguistic intelligence — use of language and words (written and spoken)

Musical intelligence — musical competence, such as understanding pitch, rhythm and timbre

Logical–mathematical intelligence — ordering and reordering numbers of objects to measure their quantity, using a sequence of logical steps in solving a problem

Spatial intelligence — mentally forming and using accurate visual images of real objects and events, mentally rotating objects in 3D-space

Bodily–kinesthetic intelligence — using one's body in highly specialised and skilled ways, as seen in athletes, dancers, gymnasts and other physical performers

Intrapersonal intelligence — ability to understand one's own feelings and to draw on them to guide one's behaviour in an appropriate way

Interpersonal intelligence — ability to read other people's moods, motivations, intentions and other internal states and effectively act upon this knowledge.

Naturalistic intelligence - involves the ability to recognise and categorise natural objects (In 1995, Gardner added this 8th intelligence)

Two key claims of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences are that

(1) All people possess all these intelligences and

(2) All individuals have a unique combination of the different intelligences

Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence

Analytical intelligence: refers to the ability to complete academic, problem-solving tasks, such as those used in traditional intelligence tests

Creative intelligence: refers to the ability to successfully deal with new and unusual situations by drawing on existing knowledge and skills.

Practical intelligence: refers to the ability to adapt to everyday life by drawing on existing knowledge and skills. Practical intelligence is involved when dealing with everyday personal or practical problems.

Sternberg, proposes that the three parts of intelligence involve abilities that are different, separate and are not ‘fixed’; that is, they can change (become stronger or weaker) through experience in everyday life.

If a person is sufficiently strong in each of the three parts, then the three parts will be ‘in balance’. When this occurs, the person has what Sternberg calls successful intelligence.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll model of psychometric abilities

Psychometrics is a specialist area of psychology that focuses on the measurement of psychological abilities

Cattell and Horn worked together and developed a theory of intelligence called the Gf-Gc theory. The Gf-Gc theory describes intelligence as consisting of 10 separate and different broad cognitive abilities in an upper stratum and 69 narrow cognitive abilities in a lower stratum

John Carroll (1993) developed a theory of intelligence called the three-stratum model of human cognitive abilities, which is more commonly known as the three-stratum theory.

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll model of psychometric abilities is a combination of Cattell and Horn's Gf-Gc theory and Carroll's three-stratum theory, as indicated by its name .

Salovey and Mayer's ability-based model of emotional intelligence

Salovey and Mayer define emotional intelligence as the ability to recognise the meanings of emotions and their relationships, and to reason and problem solve on the basis of emotions

Salovey and Mayer believe that emotional intelligence involves four ‘branches’, or areas, of abilities. The four branches are described in their four branch model of emotional intelligence.

-The ability to accurately perceive emotions in oneself and others

-The ability to use emotions to facilitate (assist) thinking

-The ability to understand emotions; -The ability to manage emotions

Measuring Intelligence

Binet's test of intelligence Wechsler's tests of intelligence IQ and its calculation Mental Age: A score indicating the

level of mental functioning in years, as measured by an intelligence test.

Chronological Age: The actual age since birth (In years, months, weeks or days)

Does IQ = Intelligence? Strengths and Limitations

STRENGTHS LIMITATIONS

Helps us diagnose specific learning difficulties of individuals and to recommend special assistance to help overcome these difficulties

Intelligence tests measure only some of the abilities thought to be associated with intelligent behaviour

Can provide useful information about an individual's mental abilities

Unless they are used carefully, the results could misrepresent the intellectual capability of an individual

IQ should be regarded as no more than a number that tells us how a person performed on a particular test as compared with others in the same age bracket

Care must be taken to avoid misrepresenting the intellectual capacity of individuals in certain ethnic or cultural groups

Caution must also be shown when using intelligence tests to predict an individual's potential

Standardised Tests and Culture Fair Testing

Standardised Tests Culture Fair Testing

For a test to be standardised it must first be administered to a large sample who are representative of the population. This is to ensure scores on an intelligence test are to have meaning.

- Cultural bias refers to the tendency of a test to give a lower score to a person from a culture different from that on which the test was standardised- Culture-fair tests attempt to provide items that will not disadvantage or penalise a test-taker on the basis of their cultural or ethnic background

Reliability and Validity

To be useful, an intelligence (and personality) test must be valid; that is, it must actually measure what it is supposed to measure.

An intelligence (and personality) test must also be reliable. In relation to tests, reliability refers to the ability of a test to consistently measure what it is supposed to measure each time it is given.

Environmental versus Genetic factors influencing Intelligence

Psychologists believe that variations in intelligence can be attributed to both hereditary and environmental factors, but which has the greater influence is very difficult to judge.

Flynn effect provides very strong evidence for the impact of environment on intelligence.

The Flynn effect is a research finding that IQ scores have risen over time.

What is Personality? Psychologists have

defined personality in many ways over time. Most current definitions refer to personality as an individual's unique pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviour that are relatively stable over time and across situations.

Personality TheoriesPERSONALITY THEORIST PERSONALITY THEORY

Sigmund Freud Psychodynamic theory of personality

Gordon Allport Trait Theory: Hierarchy of traits

Raymond Cattell Trait Theory: 16 Personality factor model

Hans Eysenck Trait Theory: PEN model

Paul Costa and Robert McCrae Trait Theory: Five Factor Model

Carl Rogers Humanistic Theory of personality

Psychodynamic Theories of Personality

Basic understanding of a psychodynamic theory of personality is that personality is a result of unconscious psychological conflicts.

The origin of these conflicts are seen to be in childhood experiences, due to the fact that an individual’s instinctive urges often do not match up to what is viewed as ‘acceptable’ in society

Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) It attempts to explain how

personality develops throughout the lifespan

Freud’s Structure of Personality

The Iceberg Metaphor Freud believed that the human mind is like an

iceberg, where most of it is beneath the surface

3 different levels within the mind:-- conscious-- pre-conscious-- unconscious

Freud’s Structure of Personality The id is impulsive and represents our biological needs.

Works on the pleasure principle The ego is realistic and considers the ‘real life’

consequences of the id’s demands. Works on the reality principle

Superego is our judgemental conscience. Works on the moral principle

Freud suggested that these 3 forces are constantly in conflict and that our behaviour is produced as a result of this interaction

Freud’s Structure of Personality

Defence Mechanisms The ego is constantly playing the role of trying to

mediate between the id and the superego There are many instances when this conflict is not

effectively resolved and according to Freud, this results in individuals feeling anxiety

However, it is the ego’s role to protect us from such anxiety.

The unconscious processes by which the ego attempts to protect us from the anxiety arising out of unresolved internal conflict are called defence mechanisms

By denying, falsifying or distorting reality at an unconscious level, our ego leads us to believe that there is no need to feel anxious

Defence Mechanisms Denial: claiming/believing

that what is true to be actually false.

Displacement: redirecting emotions to a substitute target.

Projection: attributing uncomfortable feelings to other people around.

Compensation: covering up weaknesses by emphasizing perceived strengths

Intellectualisation: Ignoring emotions and feelings by talking about painful events in a ‘cold’ way

Rationalization: creating false but credible justifications.

Reaction Formation: overacting in the opposite way to your true feelings.

Regression: going back to acting as a child.

Repression: pushing uncomfortable thoughts into the subconscious.

Sublimation: redirecting 'wrong' urges into socially acceptable actions.

Fantasy: Fulfilling unconscious wishes by imagining them in activities

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Freud developed a theory of how our sexuality starts from a very young age and develops through various stages.

Freud used the word ‘sex’ broadly to describe anything ‘physically pleasurable’ within these stages.

If these stages are not psychologically completed and released, we can be trapped by them and they may lead to various fixations to avoid the anxiety produced from the conflict in leaving of the stage.

He suggested that we progress sequentially through 5 stages:

-- Oral Stage-- Anal Stage-- Phallic Stage-- Latency Stage-- Genital Stage

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Oral Stage (Birth to 18 months)

During the oral stage, the child if focused on oral pleasures (sucking).

Too much or too little gratification can result in an Oral Fixation is evidenced by a preoccupation with oral activities.

This type of personality may have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite his or her nails.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Anal Stage (18 months to three years)

The child’s focus of pleasure in this stage is on eliminating and retaining faeces.

The child has to learn to control anal stimulation.

In terms of personality, after effects of an anal fixation during this stage can result in an obsession with cleanliness, perfection, and control (anal retentive). On the opposite end of the spectrum, they may become messy and disorganized (anal expulsive).

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Phallic Stage (ages three to six) The pleasure zone switches to the genitals. Freud believed

that during this stage boy develops unconscious sexual desires for their mother. Because of this, he becomes a rival with his father and sees him as competition for the mother’s affection. This is known as the Oedipus Complex

Later it was added that girls go through a similar situation, developing unconscious sexual attraction to their father. This is known as the Electra Complex.

According to Freud, out of fear and due to the strong competition of his father, boys eventually decide to identify with him rather than fight him. By identifying with his father, the boy develops masculine characteristics, and represses his sexual feelings toward his mother. A fixation at this stage could result in sexual deviancies.

Psychosexual Stages of DevelopmentLatency Stage (age six to

puberty)The stage begins around

the time that children enter into school and become more concerned with peer relationships, hobbies, and other interests.

It is during this stage that sexual urges remain repressed and children interact and play mostly with same sex peers.

Genital Stage (puberty onwards)

The final stage begins at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once again awakened.

Through the lessons learned during the previous stages, adolescents direct their sexual urges onto opposite sex peers, with the primary focus of pleasure is the genitals.

If the other stages have been completed successfully, the individual should now be well-balanced and caring.

Psychodynamic TheoriesSTRENGTHS LIMITATIONS

Psychology has gained some useful insights into personality development from some of Freud’s proposals

Relatively few contemporary psychologists believe that personality development proceeds in age-related stages

Many psychologists agree with Freud's idea that adult personality is significantly influenced by experiences early in life

Most psychologists also have a view that personality development continues throughout the entire lifespan, and does not ‘stop’ or ‘slow down’ at five or six years of age

There is research evidence supporting our use of defence mechanisms.

Freud's theory lacks scientific research evidence, most contemporary psychologists do not support Freud's theory of personality development or any of the other psychodynamic theories.

Trait Theories of Personality

A personality trait is a personality characteristic that lasts over time and across situations

Trait theories of personality focus on measuring, identifying and describing individual differences in personality in terms of traits or characteristics

The trait approach emphasises traits running on a continuum

Most personality tests are based on the trait approach to personality

Allport’s hierarchy of Traits

Gordon Allport (1897 – 1967) Widely recognised as the first trait approach to

studying personality Compiled a list of all the words that could be

used to describe personality and then minimised the list by reducing synonyms and words rarely used in the English language. This process is known as the lexical approach.

Allport’s hierarchy of Traits Allport organised these traits into 3 groups: 1. Cardinal traits: traits which are seen as motivators

or a driving force in that person’s personality. Cardinal traits are very dominant, but extremely rare

2. Central traits: traits which are present to some degree in all individuals within a culture or society Allport suggested that central traits are the basis of our personality and influence our behaviour to a large extent ( eg. independence, kindness, trustworthiness)3. Secondary Traits: like central traits these traits too are present to some degree in all individuals. However, they do not influence behaviour to the same degree (eg. Loves classical music)

Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor model (16PF)

Raymond Cattell (1905 – 1995) Dissatisfied with Allport’s qualitative measure Used statistical procedure called factor analysis

to reduce Allport’s list Factor analysis is when certain pieces of

information are seen to be highly correlated to each other and therefore are seen as a group (or a factor).

For example, words such as happy, talkative, friendly, outgoing correlate high with each other. Thus, those words were grouped together as the factor ‘extraversion’

Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor model (16PF) Through factor analysis, Cattell identified 16

different factors or dimensions

Like all trait theories, an individual’s scores were placed on a continuum for each factor, with opposites such as reserved and outgoing at each extreme

EG: Intelligence:

Less Intelligent More intelligent

Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor model (16PF)

Cattell identified 2 levels of traits:

1. Surface trait: lies beneath the ‘surface’ of your personality, can be observed indirectly from your behaviour

2. Source trait: A group of surface traits that usually occur together are considered together as a source trait. Thus, a source trait is a ‘factor’ or dimension of personality

Cattell’s model used 16 different factors or source traits to describe an individual’s personality

Eysenck’s PEN Model Hans Eysenck (1916 – 1997) Reduced Cattell’s 16 personality factors to 3 and called

them ‘dimensions of personality’

These dimensions were called: 1. Introversion – Extraversion 2. Neuroticism – Emotional stability 3. Psychoticism (present to some degree in all of individuals, added to the theory after the first two dimensions)

Measured these dimensions using the EPQ (160 items) Scores indicate ‘how much’ of each dimension the person

displays

Costa and McCrae Five-Factor Model

Costa and McCrae combined Allport’s lexical approach and Cattell’s factor analysis to determine the 5 factors

FACTOR TRAITS INCLUDE

Openness to experience

imaginative, curious, artistic, excitable, insightful, unconventional

Conscientiousness organised, thorough, efficient, reliable, self-disciplined, dutiful

Extraversion outgoing, sociable, talkative

Agreeableness cooperative, compliant, sympathetic, kind, affectionate, forgiving, modest and straightforwardness

Neuroticism tense, anxious, moody, irritable, impulsive, self-conscious and vulnerability

Trait TheoriesSTRENGTHS LIMITATIONS

Trait theories and models provide useful descriptions of personality and its structure

Can lead people to accept and use oversimplified classifications and descriptions of people’s personality

They have provided the foundation for the development of valid and reliable personality assessment devices.

Underestimate the way(s) in which specific situations and socio-cultural factors can influence human behaviour

Can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from vocational selection to diagnostic testing for personality or neuropsychological disorders.

They tend to underestimate the uniqueness of each individual

Humanistic Theory of Personality

Founder: Carl Rogers Person centred therapy Humanistic theories of personality emphasize:- uniqueness of the individual - the positive qualities and potential of all human

beings to fulfill their lives (reach self actualisation)

These theories are based on the assumptions that:

- All people are born good- All people want to strive to reach their full

potential

Roger’s Person-Centred Humanistic Theory of Personality- The self-image (person you think you are)- The ideal self (person you want to be) - The true self (person you actually are)- Roger’s believed that all 3 need to be

fairly similar for a healthy, well-adjusted personality to develop

Roger’s Person-Centred Humanistic Theory of Personality

According to Rogers there is a close connection between a person’s mental health and the extent to which their ideal self, true self and self-image match

The Q-sort test is used mainly during therapy to examine the self-concept, and the extent to which the true self and the ideal self match (or are mismatched).

Humanistic Theory of Personality

STRENGTHS LIMITATIONS

They have focused on the positive dimensions of personality

Criticised for their simplistic, idealistic and vague ideas about personality

The humanistic theories give a complete (but not necessarily accurate) picture of how the healthy personality develops and provide an explanation for the development of an unhealthy personality.

Encourage the individual to focus on their own self-fulfilment or other ‘ideals’ which may not be realistic or even appropriate in contemporary society.

Criticised for being unrealistic in its view of the world in that it does not recognise human beings’ capacity for pessimism or evil

Criticised due to its subjective (‘personalised’) and non-scientific basis

What Influences Our Personality?

Genetic and Environmental factors

Longitudinal Studies Twin Studies Adoption Studies

How do we study personality?

Measuring Personality

Personality Tests: A personality test is an assessment device used to evaluate or measure aspects of personality, such as factors (dimensions) and specific traits. The 16PF, EPQ

Personality Inventories: A personality inventory is a self-report, ‘paper and pencil’ or online test which has a list of questions designed to assess various aspects of personality

Projective Tests: projective test attempts to uncover an individual's unconscious wishes, desires, fears, thoughts, needs and other ‘hidden’ aspects of personality by asking them to describe what they see or to make up a story from an ambiguous stimulus

PERSONALITY INVENTORY -Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®) is a personality inventory which categorises an individual into one of 16 personality types depending on their preferences for how they perceive the world and make decisions.

Extraversion (E)-Introversion (I): whether your energy is directed outward towards the world of activity, people and other things (E), or whether your energy is directed inward to your own thoughts and ideas (I)

Sensing (S)-Intuition (N): whether you prefer to take in information from the five senses (S), or whether you prefer to receive information from the unconscious (N)

Thinking (T)-Feeling (F): whether you make decisions with your head using logic and impersonal reasoning (T), or whether you decide with your heart using personal feelings and evaluations (F)

Judging(J)-Perceiving(P): whether you prefer to approach your life in a planned, orderly and organised way (J), or whether you approach life more flexibly, being spontaneous and open to options (P).

PERSONALITY INVENTORY - Holland’s Self-Directed Search

Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) is a career counselling inventory which enables a person to identify their personality type and match it with career preferences which suit their personality type.

PERSONALITY TYPE

CAREERS ATTRACTED

Realistic is attracted to careers such as mechanic, carpenter, electrician, air traffic controller, cook, surveyor and gardener.

Investigative attracted to careers such as mathematician, biologist, veterinarian, surgeon, laboratory assistant, engineer, computer programmer and systems analyst.

Artistic is attracted to careers such as musician, composer, photographer, dancer, journalist, writer, architect, actor, stage director and interior designer.

Social is attracted to careers such as nursing, teaching, speech therapy, occupational therapy, welfare work, religious work, police officer, personnel manager and specialist areas of psychology that involve counselling.

Enterprising is attracted to careers such as management, lawyer, salesperson, politician, travel agent, town planner, television production, financial planner and sports promoter.

Conventional attracted to careers such as accountant, book keeper, postal officer, bank teller, administrative officer, payroll clerk, building inspector, secretary, radio despatcher, switch board operator, checkout operator and website editor.

Projective Tests: Rorschach Ink Blot Test

The Rorschach inkblot test consists of 10 stimulus cards, initially constructed by dropping ink onto a piece of paper and then folding the paper in half.

Used to help identify individuals who had mental health problems

Test-takers are asked to describe what they see on each stimulus card

No longer used in contemporary psychology

Projective Tests: Thematic Apperception Test

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was first introduced in 1935 as a means of assessing personality

The test-taker is asked to tell a story about each picture by describing the background to what the characters are thinking or feeling and what the outcome will be. The test-taker's response is recorded word for word.

It is assumed that in creating these stories, individuals reveal the conflicts, moods or themes which dominate their lives and underlie their personality

Correlations!! Correlations show the existence and extent of

relationships between variables but they do not necessarily indicate a cause–effect relationship; that is, that one variable causes the other.

Positive correlation means that two variables vary, or ‘change’, in the same direction; that is, as one variable increases, the other variable tends to increase (and vice versa).

A negative correlation means that two variables vary, or ‘move’, in opposite directions; that is, as one variable increases, the other variable tends to decrease (and vice versa).).

A strong positive

correlation

A strong negative

correlationExample in terms of personality traits:- As self esteem increases, happiness tends to increase. (and as happiness decreases, self-esteem tends to decrease)

Example in terms of personality traits:-As self-esteem increases, sadness tends to decrease (and as sadness increases, self-esteem tends to decrease).

Operational Hypothesis NORMAL HYPOTHESIS: It is hypothesised students who study will get

better grades.

OPERATIONAL HYPOTHESIS: It is hypothesised that Year 11 Students at

William Ruthven Secondary College who have studied 2 hours every night for 2 weeks, will perform better on their end of year examination then students who do not study.