Intelligence chapter bsc nursing 1 semister, Study notes of Psychology

Download Intelligence chapter bsc nursing 1 semister and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!

INTELLIGENCE

Intelligence came from Latin word intelligere “to understand”.

It’s the general capacity for comprehension and reasoning.

Intelligence has been defined in many ways: higher level abilities (such as abstract reasoning, mental

representation, problem solving, and decision making), the ability to learn, emotional knowledge,

creativity, and adaptation to meet the demands of the environment effectively.

It consists of an individual’s mental or cognitive ability which helps the person in solving his actual life

problems and leading a happy and well-contended life.

DEFINITIONS:

Psychologist Robert Sternberg defined intelligence as "the mental abilities necessary for adaptation to,

as well as shaping and selection of, any environmental context.

“Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to think rationally, to act purposefully

and deal effectively with the environment”. (Wechsler -1944)

“Intelligence is the ability to master the information and skills needed to succeed within a particular

culture”. (Lolurto-1991)

Effects of Heredity and Environment

on Intelligence

Both nurture (heredity) and nature (environment) play an important

role in the development of intelligence.

While heredity provides the inherent abilities, their interaction with

the environmental factors influences and further shapes those abilities.

Intelligence abilities run along with families. Genes concerned with

intelligence are passed from parents to their children. Some of the

cognitive domains such as processing information, verbal

comprehension, working memory and perceptual organization of

information are determined by genetic factors.

Intelligence is not entirely influenced by genetic factors. Environment in

which child is raised, prenatal infections, care and affection also have a

profound effect on the level of intelligence. These may also include

schooling and play, nutrition, socio-economic status of the family, physical

and social surrounding around home.

Social intelligence : ability to understand social situations and act wisely in human relationships.

Socially intelligent people know the art of winning friends and influence them.

Examples: leaders, salesmen, etc.

Abstract intelligence : ability to respond to words, numbers and letters, etc.

This type of intelligence is acquired by study of books and related literature.

Examples: teachers, lawyers, doctors and philosophers.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE

• (^) According to Howard Gardner there are eight types of intelligence.
• (^) The theory of multiple intelligences differentiates human intelligence

into specific ‘modalities’, rather than seeing intelligence as dominated

by a single general ability.

• (^) Howard Gardner proposed this model in his 1983 book Frames of

Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

FACTORS INFLUENCING INTELLIGENCE

• (^) Biochemical Factors- disturbances of biochemical balances of the body may

underlie various disorders of learning and intelligence. Optimum functioning of

the nervous system, sufficient supply of oxygen and various nutrients are

necessary. Body temperature, hormones also influence neural activities.

• (^) Sociocultural Factors-

*Parent’s occupation

*Socioeconomic Status

*Regional Influences

*Environment

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

The ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions.

Some studies show EQ to be a greater predictor for future success than IQ.

It is basis of empathy for others, self-awareness, and social skills. Ex. eye contact,

flexibility and cooperation

High emotional intelligence might enable the individual to tune into other’s

feelings, permitting a high degree of responsiveness to others.

It helps in building the therapeutic relationship with patient.

DISTRIBUTION OF IQ

GENIUS 140 and

• Very Superior 130 to above
• Superior 120 to
• Above Average 110 to
• Average 90 to
• Dull Average 80 to
• Borderline 70 to
• Mild Mental Retardation 50 to
• Moderate Mental Retardation 35 to
• Severe Mental Retardation 20 to
• Profound Mental Retardation 0 to

THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE

FACTOR THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE

Two-factor theory: advocated by Charles Spearman (1927), a British

psychologist.

Intelligence consists of two factors-

*General intelligence factor or G factor.

*Specific intelligence or special factor called S factor.

Thus, an individual’s total ability or intelligence (A) is the sum of the general factor

and all his specific abilities. This can be expressed as:

A=G+S1+S2+S3+………..

Group Factor Theory: expounded by LL Thurstone in 1938 an American

psychologist. Intelligence is a cluster of abilities. He stated that there exist

seven different mental abilities and he called them the primary mental

abilities. He stated that every individual possesses different levels of

seven primary mental abilities.

• (^) Verbal factor (V): Ability to understand verbal material.
• (^) Spatial factor (S): Ability to imagine an object in space.
• (^) Numerical factor (N): Ability to perform mathematical calculations,

rapidly and accurately.

• (^) Memory factor (M): Ability to memorize quickly.
• (^) Reasoning factor (R): Ability to reason and think things out.
• (^) Perceptual factor (P): Ability to perceive objects accurately.
• (^) Problem-solving factor (PS): Ability to solve problems independently.

Based on these factors Thurstone constructed a test of intelligence

known as: “Test of Primary Mental Abilities (PMA)”.

Piaget’s theory

• (^) According to Piaget, intelligence is an adaptive process involving

interplay of biological maturation and interaction with the

environment.

• (^) His theory proposes 4 stages of development.

Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2yrs- object permanence

Preoperational stage: 2 to 7yrs- symbolic thought

Concrete operational stage: 7 to 11yrs- logical thought

Formal operational stage: 12 and up- scientific reasoning

Bruner’s theory

According to Bruner, intelligence is a growing dependence on internal

representation of objects or situations.

• (^) These growing abilities are influenced by the environment, especially

the rewards and punishments people receive for using particular

intellectual skills in particular ways.

• (^) He views symbolic representation as crucial for cognitive

development, and since language is our primary means of symbolizing

the world, he attaches great importance to language in determining

cognitive development.