PYC 4805:
Developmental
Psychology
Chapter 07
, 1. Defining Intelligence:
1.1. Intelligence in Everyday Life:
» Robert Sternberg has argued for decades that intelligence involves more than just a particular fixed set of
characteristics.
» There is extremely high agreement between experts and laypeople on ratings of the importance of particu
in defining intelligence.
- The two groups agreed intelligence consisted of three major clusters of related abilities: problem solving
ability, and social competence.
» Problem solving ability consists of behaviors such as reasoning logically, identifying connections among ide
aspects of a problem, and making good decisions.
» Verbal ability comprises such things as speaking articulately, reading with high comprehension, and having
vocabulary.
» Social competence includes behaviors such as accepting others for what they are, admitting mistakes, disp
in the world at large, and being on time for appointments.
, 1.2. The Big Picture: A Life-Span View:
» One thing is clear about the ways people view intelligence – everyone has an idea of what intelligence is, a
considers it a complex construct.
- In the big picture, then, intelligence consists of many different skills.
» Theories of intelligence, therefore, are multi dimensional, that is, they specify many domains of intellectu
» The life span concepts including multi-directionality, plasticity, and Inter-individual variability play an impo
this conceptualization of intellectual change.
» Overall, this perspective asserts intellectual decline may be seen with age but stability and growth in ment
also can be seen across adulthood.
- The life span perspective emphasizes the role of intelligence in human adaptation and daily activity.
» The first concept, , refers to the distinct patterns of change in abilities over the lifespan, with these patter
different abilities.
- Every day knowledge accumulates over time and thus increases with age.
- However, basic cognitive mechanisms underlying key intellectual skills show more declines, especially int
» The term plasticity refers to the range of functioning within an individual and the conditions under which
abilities can be modified within a specific age range.
- Plasticity implies what may appear to be declines in some skills may in part represent a lack of practice in
- Current studies examining brain plasticity and behavior find experience alters the brain across the lifespa
- Older adults activate new or additional areas in the brain to compensate for decline in other areas.
, 1.2. The Big Picture: A Life-Span View:
» The last concept, Inter-individual variability, acknowledges adults differ in the direction of their intellectu
development.
- Sequential research indicates that within a given cohort or generation, some people show longitudinal de
specific abilities, whereas other people show stability of functioning and display improvements in those sa
» The dual-component model of intellectual functioning as proposed by Baltes and his colleagues, which
two interrelated types of development.
» The first component, termed the mechanics of intelligence, concerns the neurophysiological architecture
- This architecture provides the foundational basis for cognitive abilities, including basic forms of thinking
with information processing and problem solving such as attention, reasoning, spatial orientation , or perc
- Intellectual change in this first component is greatest during childhood and adolescence, as we acquire th
interconnections responsible for the requisite skill to handle complex cognitive tasks such as those encoun
school.
» The second component, pragmatic intelligence, concerns acquired bodies of knowledge available from an
within cultures.
- In other words, it includes everyday cognitive performance and human adaptation.
- Such abilities include verbal knowledge, wisdom, and practical problem solving.
- Pragmatic intellectual growth dominates adulthood.
