Chapter 10: Intelligence and Language
Activities
Exercises: Read & Learn
- Study: IQ Doesn’t Equal Intelligence: A look at a study claiming that intelligence is NOT the same as a high IQ. (https://www.indy100.com/article/iq-level-test-intelligence-myth-new-study-neuron-journal-7599446?utm_source=indy&utm_medium=top5&utm_campaign=i100)
- Girls Believe Brilliance is a Male Trait, Research into Gender Stereotypes Shows: A worrying look at stereotype threat among little girls. (https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jan/26/girls-believe-brilliance-is-a-male-trait-research-into-gender-stereotypes-shows)
- Starved, Tortured, Forgotten: Genie, the Feral Child Who Left a Mark on Researchers: A vivid description of the life of Genie. (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/14/genie-feral-child-los-angeles-researchers)
- Physically Active Math, Spelling Lessons Multiply Academic Success: A creative way to improve test scores? (http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/physical-activity-class-lessons-1.3460346)
- Getting to the Bottom of How Apes Think: Some fascinating research which seems to show that while apes cannot talk they are far from stupid! (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/getting-bottom-how-apes-think-180961151/)
Exercise: Listen & Learn
- Intelligence: Born Smart, Born Equal, Born Different: A podcast that takes an in-depth look at the nature-nurture debate as it relates to intelligence (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b041xbxc)
Exercises: Think & Do
- The text describes some research into sex differences in particular kinds of tasks, while noting that the differences are small and only refer to average differences between men and women. Why not see if your friends/family conform to these “averages”? Devise a test of spatial ability (something to do with map reading perhaps) and one which requires people to identify emotions and try them both out on some men and some women.
- Can you Correctly Answer the Cognitive Reflection Test? Try this incredibly brief “intelligence test” then try it out on some friends and family. Do you think it is a valid measure of intelligence? If not, why not?
(https://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2013/06/24/can-you-correctly-answer-the-cognitive-reflection-test-83-percent-of-people-miss-at-least-1-question/) - IQ-test.cc: This online IQ test focuses on perceptual reasoning. Try it and see whether you think your score accurately captures your intelligence. If not, what do you think is missing? (http://www.iq-test.cc/)
Exercise: Watch & Learn
Robert J. Sternberg – Successful Intelligence: In this video, Sternberg expands on his triarchic theory with the concept of “successful intelligence” and its application in the classroom. Do you think his theory captures important aspects of your intelligence? If so, how has this impacted your educational experience?
Can you think of how the topic of intelligence could be taught/tested in ways that would work for people with (a) analytical, (b) creative and (c) practical strengths?
Video 10.1: Robert J. Sternberg – Successful Intelligence, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow05B4bjGWQ) uploaded by Bob Greenberg.
References
BBC iPlayer Radio 4. (2014, May 5). Intelligence: Born Smart, Born Equal, Born Different [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b041xbxc
The Brainwaves Video Anthology. (2014, October 27). Robert J. Sternberg – Successful Intelligence [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow05B4bjGWQ
CBC News. (2016). Physically active math, spelling lessons multiply academic success. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/physical-activity-class-lessons-1.3460346
The Guardian. (2016). Starved, tortured, forgotten: Genie, the feral child who left a mark on researchers. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/14/genie-feral-child-los-angeles-researchers
The Guardian. (2017). Girls believe brilliance is a male trait, research into gender stereotypes shows. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jan/26/girls-believe-brilliance-is-a-male-trait-research-into-gender-stereotypes-shows
Indy100 from Independent. 2017. Marsden, Harriett. Study: IQ doesn’t equal intelligence. Retrieved from https://www.indy100.com/article/iq-level-test-intelligence-myth-new-study-neuron-journal-7599446
IQ-Test.cc (2018). IQ Test. Retrieved from http://www.iq-test.cc/
Smithsonian.com. (2016). Getting to the bottom of how Apes think.
Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/getting-bottom-how-apes-think-180961151/
Sternber, T. Successful Intelligence, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow05B4bjGWQ) uploaded by Bob Greenberg.
Talwalkar, P. (2013, June 24). Can you correctly answer the cognitive reflection test? (83% of people miss at least 1 question) [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2013/06/24/can-you-correctly-answer-the-cognitive-reflection-test-83-percent-of-people-miss-at-least-1-question/