Психология

dust, or paint chips (Bellinger & Needleman, 2003). [40] Both of these factors can slow brain development and reduce intelligence.

If impoverished environments can harm intelligence, we might wonder whether enriched environments can improve it. Government-funded after-school programs such as Head Start are designed to help children learn. Research has found that attending such programs may increase intelligence for a short time, but these increases rarely last after the programs end (McLoyd, 1998; Perkins & Grotzer, 1997). [41] But other studies suggest that Head Start and similar programs may improve emotional intelligence and reduce the likelihood that children will drop out of school or be held back a grade (Reynolds, Temple, Robertson, & Mann 2001). [42]

Intelligence is improved by education; the number of years a person has spent in school correlates at about r = .6 with IQ (Ceci, 1991). [43] In part this correlation may be due to the fact that people with higher IQ scores enjoy taking classes more than people with low IQ scores, and they thus are more likely to stay in school. But education also has a causal effect on IQ. Comparisons between children who are almost exactly the same age but who just do or just do not make a deadline for entering school in a given school year show that those who enter school a year earlier have higher IQ than those who have to wait until the next year to begin school (Baltes & Reinert, 1969; Ceci & Williams, 1997). [44] Children‘s IQs tend to drop significantly

during summer vacations (Huttenlocher, Levine, & Vevea, 1998), [45] a finding that suggests that a longer school year, as is used in Europe and East Asia, is beneficial.

It is important to remember that the relative roles of nature and nurture can never be completely separated. A child who has higher than average intelligence will be treated differently than a child who has lower than average intelligence, and these differences in behaviors will likely amplify initial differences. This means that modest genetic differences can be multiplied into big differences over time.

Psychology in Everyday Life: Emotional Intelligence

Although most psychologists have considered intelligence a cognitive ability, people also use their emotions to help them solve problems and relate effectively to others. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to accurately identify, assess, and understand emotions, as well as to effectively control one’s own emotions (Feldman-Barrett & Salovey, 2002; Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2000). [46]

The idea of emotional intelligence is seen in Howard Gardner‘sinterpersonal intelligence (the capacity to understand the emotions, intentions, motivations, and desires of other people) and intrapersonal intelligence (the capacity to understand oneself, including one‘s emotions). Public interest in, and research on, emotional intellgence became widely prevalent following the publication of Daniel Goleman‘s best-selling book,Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can

Matter More Than IQ (Goleman, 1998).[47]

There are a variety of measures of emotional intelligence (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2008; Petrides & Furnham, 2000). [48] One popular measure, the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (http://www.emotionaliq.org), includes items about the ability to understand, experience, and manage emotions, such as these:

What mood(s) might be helpful to feel when meeting in-laws for the very first time?

Tom felt anxious and became a bit stressed when he thought about all the work he needed to do. When his supervisor brought him an additional project, he felt ____ (fill in the blank).

Contempt most closely combines which two emotions?

1.anger and fear

2.fear and surprise

3.disgust and anger

4.surprise and disgust

Debbie just came back from vacation. She was feeling peaceful and content. How well would each of the following actions help her preserve her good mood?

o Action 1: She started to make a list of things at home that she needed to do.

o Action 2: She began thinking about where and when she would go on her next vacation.

o Action 3: She decided it was best to ignore the feeling since it wouldn't last anyway.

One problem with emotional intelligence tests is that they often do not show a great deal of reliability or construct validity (Føllesdal & Hagtvet, 2009). [49] Although it has been found that people with higher emotional intelligence are

also healthier (Martins, Ramalho, & Morin, 2010), [50]findings are mixed about whether emotional intelligence

predicts life success—for instance, job performance (Harms & Credé, 2010). [51]Furthermore, other researchers have questioned the construct validity of the measures, arguing that emotional intelligence really measures knowledge about what emotions are, but not necessarily how to use those emotions (Brody, 2004), [52] and that emotional intelligence is actually a personality trait, a part of g, or a skill that can be applied in some specific work situations— for instance, academic and work situations (Landy, 2005).[53]

Although measures of the ability to understand, experience, and manage emotions may not predict effective behaviors, another important aspect of emotional intelligence—emotion regulation—does. Emotion regulation refers to the ability to control and productively use one‘s emotions. Research has found that people who are better able to override their impulses to seek immediate gratification and who are less impulsive also have higher cognitive and social intelligence. They have better SAT scores, are rated by their friends as more socially adept, and cope with frustration and stress better than those with less skill at emotion regulation (Ayduk et al., 2000; Eigsti et al., 2006; Mischel & Ayduk, 2004). [54]

Because emotional intelligence seems so important, many school systems have designed programs to teach it to their students. However, the effectiveness of these programs has not been rigorously tested, and we do not yet know whether emotional intelligence can be taught, or if learning it would improve the quality of people‘s lives (Mayer &

Cobb, 2000). [55]

K EY TA KEA WAY S

Intelligence is the ability to think, to learn from experience, to solve problems, and to adapt to new situations. Intelligence is important because it has an impact on many human behaviors.

Psychologists believe that there is a construct that accounts for the overall differences in intelligence among people, known as general intelligence (g).

There is also evidence for specific intelligences (s), measures of specific skills in narrow domains, including creativity and practical intelligence.

The intelligence quotient (IQ) is a measure of intelligence that is adjusted for age. The Wechsler Adult lntelligence Scale (WAIS) is the most widely used IQ test for adults.

Brain volume, speed of neural transmission, and working memory capacity are related to IQ.

Between 40% and 80% of the variability in IQ is due to genetics, meaning that overall genetics plays a bigger role than does environment in creating IQ differences among individuals.

Intelligence is improved by education and may be hindered by environmental factors such as poverty.

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify, assess, manage, and control one’s emotions. People who are better able to regulate their behaviors and emotions are also more successful in their personal and social encounters.

EXE RCIS ES AND CRI T IC AL THINKI NG

1.Consider your own IQ. Are you smarter than the average person? What specific intelligences do you think you excel in?

2.Did your parents try to improve your intelligence? Do you think their efforts were successful?

3.Consider the meaning of the Flynn effect. Do you think people are really getting smarter?

4.Give some examples of how emotional intelligence (or the lack of it) influences your everyday life and the lives of other people you know.

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[9]Simonton, D. K. (2000). Creativity: Cognitive, personal, developmental, and social aspects. American Psychologist, 55(1), 151–158.

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[15]Sternberg, R. J., Wagner, R. K., & Okagaki, L. (1993). Practical intelligence: The nature and role of tacit knowledge in work and at school. In J. M. Puckett & H. W. Reese (Eds.),Mechanisms of everyday cognition (pp. 205–227). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; Wagner, R., & Sternberg, R. (1985). Practical intelligence in real-world pursuits: The role of tacit knowledge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(2), 436–458.

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[17]Sternberg, R. J., Wagner, R. K., & Okagaki, L. (1993). Practical intelligence: The nature and role of tacit knowledge in work and at school. In J. M. Puckett & H. W. Reese (Eds.),Mechanisms of everyday cognition (pp. 205–227). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

[18]Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York, NY: Basic Books; Gardner, H.

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[21]Flynn, J. R. (1999). Searching for justice: The discovery of IQ gains over time. American Psychologist, 54(1), 5–20.

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[40]Bellinger, D. C., & Needleman, H. L. (2003). Intellectual impairment and blood lead levels [Letter to the editor]. The New England Journal of Medicine, 349(5), 500.

[41]McLoyd, V. C. (1998). Children in poverty: Development, public policy and practice. In W. Damon, I. E. Sigel, & K. A. Renninger (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Child psychology in practice (5th ed., Vol. 4, pp. 135–208). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; Perkins, D. N., & Grotzer, T. A. (1997). Teaching intelligence. American Psychologist, 52(10), 1125–1133.

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[44]Baltes, P. B., & Reinert, G. (1969). Cohort effects in cognitive development of children as revealed by cross-sectional sequences. Developmental Psychology, 1(2), 169–177; Ceci, S. J., & Williams, W. M. (1997). Schooling, intelligence, and income. American Psychologist, 52(10), 1051–1058.

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[46]Feldman-Barrett, L., & Salovey, P. (Eds.). (2002). The wisdom in feeling: Psychological processes in emotional

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[47]Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Books.

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9.2 The Social, Cultural, and Political Aspects of Intelligence

LE ARNING OB JECT I VE S

1.Explain how very high and very low intelligence is defined and what it means to have them.

2.Consider and comment on the meaning of biological and environmental explanations for gender and racial differences in IQ.

3.Define stereotype threat and explain how it might influence scores on intelligence tests.

Intelligence is defined by the culture in which it exists. Most people in Western cultures tend to agree with the idea that intelligence is an important personality variable that should be admired in those who have it. But people from Eastern cultures tend to place less emphasis on individual intelligence and are more likely to view intelligence as reflecting wisdom and the desire to improve the society as a whole rather than only themselves (Baral & Das, 2004; Sternberg, 2007). [1] And in some cultures, such as the United States, it is seen as unfair and prejudicial to argue, even at a scholarly conference, that men and women might have different abilities in domains such as math and science and that these differences might be caused by genetics (even though, as we have seen, a great deal of intelligence is determined by genetics). In short, although psychological tests accurately measure intelligence, it is cultures that interpret the meanings of those tests and determine how people with differing levels of intelligence are treated.

Extremes of Intelligence: Retardation and Giftedness

The results of studies assessing the measurement of intelligence show that IQ is distributed in the population in the form of anormal distribution (or bell curve), which is the pattern of scores usually observed in a variable that clusters around its average. In a normal distribution, the bulk of the scores fall toward the middle, with many fewer scores falling at the extremes. The normal distribution of intelligence (Figure 9.6 "Distribution of IQ Scores in the General Population") shows that on IQ tests, as well as on most other measures, the majority of people cluster around the average (in this case, where IQ = 100), and fewer are either very smart or very dull. Because the standard deviation of an IQ test is about 15, this means that about 2% of people score above an IQ of 130 (often considered the threshold for giftedness), and about the same percentage score below an IQ of 70 (often being considered the threshold for mental retardation).

Although Figure 9.6 "Distribution of IQ Scores in the General Population"presents a single distribution, the actual IQ distribution varies by sex such that the distribution for men is more spread out than is the distribution for women. These sex differences mean that about 20% more men than women fall in the extreme (very smart or very dull) ends of the distribution (Johnson, Carothers, & Deary, 2009). [2] Boys are about five times more likely to be diagnosed with the

reading disability dyslexia than are girls (Halpern, 1992), [3] and are also more likely to be classified as mentally retarded. But boys are also about 20% more highly represented in the upper end of the IQ distribution.