IQ and Genes

• Identical twins reared together have virtually the same scores.• Fraternal twins reared together have really different scores• Identical Twins reared apart have slightly more different IQ

scores about 12%• Identical twins brain scans show similar gray matter

composition• There is a possible intelligence gene on chromosome 6• Mice get smarter when an extra gene is inserted into the

eggs.

Ethnic Similarities and Differences

• Racial groups differ in their average scores on IQ tests.

• Asians have higher math scores than North Americans, maybe because they spend 30% more days in school each year, they spend more time in and out of class on math and they are more conscientious about test scores.

• The difference is not due to genetics but due to environment.

• Caucasian African American infants scored the same •

Gender Similarities and Differences

• Girls have higher computational scores• Boys scored higher 45 points higher on the math

section of the SAT• Boys have better problem solving scores.• Girls were better at locating objects, more sensitive,

spelling and verbal ability• Exposure to high levels of male sex hormones during

the pranatla period do enhance spatial abilities. • Women are more better at emotional-detecting

ability.

Creativity• Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel

and valuable.• People who do well on IQ tests also do well on creativity tests.• Those who score higher than 120 are less likely to correlate

their creativity success.• Convergent thinking demands a single correct answer.• Divergent thinking imagines multiple possible answers to a

problem. • Injury to the left parietal lobe damages the convergent

thinking tested by IQ tests.• Injury to certain areas of the frontal lobe destroys imagination

although it does not affect reading, writing and arithmetic skills.

• There are five components of creativity including expertise( the well developed base of knowledge), Imaginative thinking skills ( the ability to see things in novel ways to recognize patterns to make connections) , A venturesome personality (tolerating ambiguity and risk, perseverance in overcoming obstacles), intrinsic motivation( being motivated by interest, enjoyment, satisfaction and challenge) and creative environment ( sparking, supporting and refining creative ideas)

• Amabile’s experiments also reveal that a creative environment frees individuals from the concern about social approval.

• If students were not worried about being graded, they would be more creative.

• Amabile states that managers should allow employees to work on what they are naturally interested in and provide time, freedom and support to reach these goals.

AI: Artificial Intelligence

Historical Perspective• 4000 years ago in China• Han Dynasty– Test batteries (2 or more tests used concomitantly)

• Ming Dynasty– National Testing Program

• Galton (1859)– Higher forms evolved because of differences

• Catell (1890)– Coined ‘mental test’– Led to modern test development

• A test is a measurement device or technique used to quantify behavior or aid in the understanding and prediction of behavior. They are not perfect measures.

• An item is a specific stimulus to which a person responds overtly, and can be scored or evaluated.

What confounding variables can there be that can cause someone

to perform poorly on an achievement or aptitude test?

Bell Work

• The ____ is appropriate for people from age two to 90 years old and measures five cognitive factors (fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory) using both verbal and non-verbal questions for each area.– WAIS III– Stanford-Binet– WISC– SAT– ACT

Semester 2 Grading Scale

• Summatives-60%• Classwork/Homework-25%• Vocab-5%• Final Project-5%• Final-5%

Intelligence

• Act purposely.• Think rationally.• Deal effectively with the environment.

Wisdom

• Creativity (divergent thinking)• convergent thinking– J.P. Guilford: Convergent thinking involves aiming

for a single, correct solution to a problem, whereas divergent thinking involves creative generation of multiple answers to a set problem.

• tolerance

David Perkins

• Reflective Intelligence: the ability to become aware of one's own thinking habits– metacognition

Types of Tests

• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)-person's responses reveal underlying motives, concerns, and the way they see the social world through the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures of people.– Daria

• Consequences Test-‘test’ judgment by considering the consequences of applying judgment to hypothetical or real situations

• Unusual Uses Test.– Functional fixedness

• Anagrams Test

Norms

• Norm-referenced testing estimates the position of the tested individual in a predefined population, with respect to the trait being measured– A detailed description of 900 lawyers'

performance on a test of legal knowledge provides the test's norms

Types of Reliability• Split-Half Reliability -Randomly divide all items that are supposed to

measure the same construct/concept into two sets (factor analysis). Examine correlation (if any) between the two. Since both sets are supposed to measure the same construct, there should be a high correlation. – This can be done by the participants (have half of participants only answer odd

numbered and other half answer even numbered) or during analysis by experimenters

• Equivalent Forms-Two different versions of the same test are given to people and the scores from each version are compared. The differences might be framing of questions.

• Inter-Rater Reliability-Assessment of whether two different raters/graders produce similar results. Two or more raters for same test (FRQ and Benchmarks), or standardization at beginning.

• Test-Retest Reliability-Used to assess the consistency of a measure from one time to another. Traditional reliability—if I administer the test now and in two months, will I get the same results.

• Internal Consistency Reliability-Used to assess the consistency of results across items within a test (factor analysis)

The Female Traveler Problem

• Susan gets in her car in Boston and drives toward New York City, averaging 50 mph. Twenty minutes later, Ellen gets in her car in New York City and starts driving toward Boston, averaging 60 mph. Both women take the same route, which extends a total of 220 miles between the two cities. Which car is nearer to Boston when they meet?

The Field Trip Problem

• A teacher had 23 pupils in his class. All but 7 of them went on a museum trip and thus were away for the day. How many students remained in class that day?

The Unlisted Number Problem

• Fifteen percent of people in Topeka have unlisted telephone numbers. You make a random selection of 200 names from the Topeka phone book. How many of these people can be expected to have unlisted phone numbers?

The Buddhist Monk Problem• Exactly at sunrise one morning, a Buddhist monk set out to

climb a tall mountain. The narrow path was not more than a foot or two wide, and it wound around the mountain to a beautiful, glittering temple at the mountain peak. The monk climbed the path at varying rates of speed. He stopped many times along the way to rest and to eat the fruit he carried with him. He reached the temple just before sunset. At the temple, he fasted and meditated for several days. Then he began his journey back along the same path, starting at sunrise and walking, as before, at variable speeds with many stops along the way. However, his average speed going down the hill was greater than his average speed climbing. Prove that there must be a spot along the path that the monk will pass on both trips at exactly the same time of day.

The Six Letter Problem

• Cross out six letters to make a single word out of the following:

CSRIEXLEATTTERES

Truthtellers & Liars

• You are visiting a strange country in which there are just two kinds of people—truthtellers and liars. Truthtellers always tell the truth and liars always lie. You stop the first two people you meet and say, “Are you truthtellers or liars?” The first person mumbles something you can’t hear. The second says, “He says he is a truthteller. He is a truthteller and so am I.” Can you trust the directions that these two may give you?

The Tree Planting Problem

• Suppose you have ten trees to plant on a large, flat area of your farm. They must be planted in a pattern so that the ten trees form five straight rows with four trees in each row. Some trees will be in more than one row of trees.

The Hobbits & Orcs Problem

• Three Hobbits and three Orcs arrive at a river bank and they all wish to cross to the other side. Fortunately, there is a boat, but unfortunately, the boat can only hold two creatures at one time. Also, there is another problem. Orcs are vicious creatures and whenever there are more Orcs than Hobbits on one side of the river, the Orcs will immediately attack the Hobbits and eat them up. Consequently, you should be certain that you never leave more Orcs than Hobbits on any river bank. How should the problem be solved? (Note: Orcs, though vicious, can be trusted to bring the boat back!)

The Sheep Farmer Problem

• A farmer had 19 sheep. All but 9 died. How many sheep did the farmer have left?

Methods for Solving Problems

Method #1: Analogical Reasoning

• If you can spot an analogy between problems, you may be able to use the solution to a previous problem to solve a current one.

• Of course, using this strategy depends on recognizing the similarity, which may itself be a challenge.– The challenge may come as a result of focusing on

superficial, surface features of problems rather than the underlying structure.

– Female Traveler and Field Trip: What are the similarities?

• Both have obvious solutions hidden in irrelevant quantitative information.

• Neither problem requires any calculation at all.

• Female Traveler: When the two cars meet, they’re in the same place. Obviously, they have to be the same distance from Boston.

• Field Trip: 7

Method #2: Working Backward

• Brain Games: Lily Pad Problem

Method #3: Recognize Irrelevant Information

• People often assume that all numerical information in a problem is necessary to solve it. They try to figure out how to use quantitative information before they even consider whether it is relevant.

• Unlisted Number Problem: What information is irrelevant?

• 15% and 200 names. This information is irrelevant, since all the names came out of the phone book.

Method #4: Graphic Illustrations

• Draw a graphic to represent the information given.

• Buddhist Monk Problem

• Construct a graph.• Draw a line for each monk—ascending and descending.• They start at the same time (sunrise time doesn’t differ

much from one day to the very next)• The two monks must meet at some point. If you

construct a graph, you can vary the speed of the monk’s descent/ascent in endless ways, but there’s always a place where they meet. The time of day may vary, but there will always be a crossing point where the monk is in the same place at the same time.

Method #5: Restate the Problem/Change the Representation of the Problem

• Whether you solve a problem often depends on how you envision it—how you state or represent it. Problems might be represented verbally, mathematically, spatially, or graphically. There isn’t one ideal way—it varies. Try changing how you represent it.

• Six Letter Problem: If you found it difficult, restate the problem. Were you trying to cross out six letters? The real solution here is to cross out the letters in the words six letters, which yields the word _________.

Method #6: Insight & Incubation

• Sometimes we are unaware of using any problem solving strategy at all; solutions simply pop into our heads while we ponder our problems. This sudden realization is called insight. It is often characterized by an “aha moment.”

• Research shows that insight often comes as a result of time and trial-and-error.

• Often times, it helps to take a break from a problem—incubation period.

• Truthtellers & Liars: Propose different hypotheses. “If the person was a ______, what would he have said?”– The question doesn’t say that one is a truthteller and one is a liar.

Both could be truthtellers or liars.

• The first person must have said he was a truthteller—either he was lying or he was honest. The second man then must have been a truthteller and so was the first man since the second man said so.

Method #7: Avoid Unnecessary Constraints & Faulty Assumptions

• Effective problem solving requires specifying all the constraints governing a problem without assuming any constraints that don’t exist.

• Tree Planting: Most people assume that all five rows must be parallel to one another. Try again without this constraint.

Method #8: Means-End Analysis (Forming Sub-Problems or Sub-Goals)

• Each sub-problem is solved by determining the difference between the initial state and goal state and then eliminating the difference.

• Hobbits & Orcs– Move 2 Orcs Across– Move 1 Orc Back– Move 2 Orcs Across– Move 1 Orc Back– Move 2 Hobbits Across– Move 1 Orc and 1 Hobbit Back– Move 2 Hobbits Across– Move 1 Orc Back– Move 2 Orcs Across– Move 1 Orc Back– Move 2 Orcs Across

Impediment #1: Mental Set/Fixation

• Mental Set: The tendency to persist in using solutions that have worked in the past, even though better alternatives may exist.

• Fixation: Tendency to get “hung up” on wrong solutions or to become blind to alternatives.– Functional fixedness– Four Oaks Problem

• Four trees can be placed equidistance from one another by piling dirt into a mound. Three of the trees are planted equal distances apart around the base of the mound. The fourth tree is planted on top of the mound.

• If you were fixated on arrangements that involve level ground, you may have been blind to this 3D solution.

Impediment #2: Functional Fixedness

Enhancing Effective and Creative Problem Solving

1. Break mental sets & challenge assumptions.2. Define problems more broadly.3. Restate the problem in different ways.4. Create an original and imaginative

atmosphere.5. Allow time for incubation.6. Seek various sources of input.7. Look for analogies.

Incubation & Inspection

• Timed IQ tests:– The more time for inspection/incubation, the

lower the intelligence.

Stages of Creative Thought• Graham Wallas and Max Wertheimer• Preparation-preparatory work on a problem that focuses

the individual's mind on the problem and explores the problem's dimensions

• Incubation-unconscious recombination of thought elements that were stimulated through conscious work at one point in time, resulting in novel ideas at some later point in time

• Intimation-the creative person gets a "feeling" that a solution is on its way– Sometimes viewed as a sub-stage

• Illumination (or insight)-where the creative idea bursts forth from its preconscious processing into conscious awareness

• Verification-where the idea is consciously verified, elaborated, and then applied

Csikszentmihalyi’s Recommendations to Increase Creativity

– Try to surprise at least one person every day– Start doing more of what you really enjoy, less of

what you dislike– Try to look at problems from as many viewpoints

as you can

Nisbett (2005)

• Black children with normal IQs that were in orphanages were placed with adoptive families.

• This change resulted in a 13-point increase in their IQ scores and in increase in emotional well-being

Terman’s Study on the Gifted

• Socially skilled and were above average in leadership.

• Children: enjoy talking with older children and with adults, exhibit kindness to people, cooperative, excellent memory, and talks in complete sentences from young age.

• Those term gifted are likely or unlikely to be successful based on persistence

• The children with high IQ scores were healthy and well-adjusted and did well academically

Giftedness and Boredom

• Education scholars emphasize that we have to make peace with boredom, because it’s not a bad thing, and our fear of it is overstated. A lot of the things that bore adults don’t bore children, and people forget that.

• Decreases adaptability

Hothouse Children• Hothouse children are children whose parents push

them into learning more quickly and earlier than is appropriate for the cognitive age of the children.

• Parents who play classical music for their infants, and may even use flashcards to prepare their infant for reading and math. They also provide piano or violin lessons for their children, often starting when the children are three or four and make every effort to get their children into the "best" preschools, which they believe are the ones that emphasize academics.

• The two keys terms in this definition are "push" and "cognitive age."

• Gifted children vs. Hothouse—gifted children initiate the learning/activities– Gifted children can become hothouse children if parents

initiate the activities

Effects on Hothouse Children

• Increase in anxiety and depression• Decrease in adaptability and social ability

Retardation & Intelligence Deficiencies• Down’s Syndrome-47 (extra) chromosomes• Microcephaly (ceph means head)-the skull is

extremely small or fails to grow • Hydrocephaly-fluid in the brain– May require a tube to be surgically implanted to drain

fluid from the brain• abdomen to minimize brain damage.• Organic Retardation-Mental retardation caused by

birth injuries or fetal damage • Phenylketonuria (PKU)-enzyme deficiency and can

be controlled by a special diet

Artificial Intelligence• Q. Do computer programs have IQs? • A. No. IQ is based on the rates at which intelligence develops in children. It is the ratio

of the age at which a child normally makes a certain score to the child's age. The scale is extended to adults in a suitable way. Making computers that can score high on IQ tests would be weakly correlated with their usefulness. For example, the ability of a child to repeat back a long sequence of digits correlates well with other intellectual abilities, perhaps because it measures how much information the child can compute with at once. However, ``digit span'' is trivial for even extremely limited computers.

• Q. What about other comparisons between human and computer intelligence? • Arthur R. Jensen, a leading researcher in human intelligence, suggests ``as a heuristic

hypothesis'' that all normal humans have the same intellectual mechanisms and that differences in intelligence are related to ``quantitative biochemical and physiological conditions''. I see them as speed, short term memory, and the ability to form accurate and retrievable long term memories.

• The situation in AI today is the reverse. • Computer programs have plenty of speed and memory but their abilities correspond

to the intellectual mechanisms that program designers understand well enough to put in programs. The matter is further complicated by the fact that the cognitive sciences still have not succeeded in determining exactly what the human abilities are.

Artificial Intelligence• Q. What about chess? • A. Alexander Kronrod, a Russian AI researcher, said

``Chess is the Drosophila of AI.'' He was making an analogy with geneticists' use of that fruit fly to study inheritance. Chess programs now play at grandmaster level, but they do it with limited intellectual mechanisms compared to those used by a human chess player, substituting large amounts of computation for understanding. Unfortunately, the competitive and commercial aspects of making computers play chess have taken precedence over using chess as a scientific domain. It is as if the geneticists after 1910 had organized fruit fly races and concentrated their efforts on breeding fruit flies that could win these races.