History of the Psychometric Movement

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1 History of the Psychometric Movement

2 Why Use Standardized Assessment? Provides legal compliance at federal, state, and local levels Provides profile of cognitive strengths/weaknesses Descriptive categories, not actual entities Multi-dimensional nature of intelligence Load on Verbal/Mathematical factors (School vs. Home) Provides comparison of examinee s performance with peer group Problems with test standardization Ignores local norms, i.e., district/school/classroom Biases, i.e., cultural, racial, linguistic, gender Age/grade equivalents Provides educational opportunity May also limit educational opportunity May also result in educational tracking/stereotyping

3 Assumptions: Standardized Cognitive Assessment 1.) There is an ideal way to measure intelligence. 2.) If we know a person's IQ score, we also know his or her intelligence. Even Terman warned against total reliance on tests: "We must guard against defining intelligence solely in terms of ability to pass the tests of a given intelligence scale" (1926, p. 131). E. L. Thorndike echoed Terman's concern by stating "to assume that we have measured some general power which resides in [the person being tested] and determines his ability in every variety of intellectual task in its entirety is to fly directly in the face of all that is known about the organization of the intellect" (Thorndike, 1926, p. 126). Terman, L. M. (1926). Genetic studies of genius: Mental and physical traits of a thousand gifted children (Vol. I, 2nd ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Thorndike, E. L. (1926). Intelligence and its measurement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 12,

4 Practical Implications Intellectual assessment must directly linked to the referral question(s), not merely eligibility determination. Mandatory use of IQ for all referrals and/or reevaluations is not consistent with best practices. Intellectual assessment is one part of a multi-factored approach. Score reporting/interpretation reflects known test limitations. Contextual interpretations. Educational diagnosticians must protect students from misuses/misconceptions of test results, i.e., slow learners. Reschly, D.J. & Grimes, J.P. (1995). Best practices in intellectual assessment. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology II. Washington, DC: NASP.

6 Defining Intelligence Binet (1916) defined it as the capacity to judge well, to reason well, and to comprehend well. Terman (1916) defined it as the capacity to form concepts and grasp their significance. Spearman (1923) defined it as a general ability involving mainly the ability to see relations and correlates. Wechsler (1939) defined it as the global capacity of an individual to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment. Gardner (1986) defined it as the ability to solve problems or fashion products valued within some setting. E.G. Boring (1920 s) defined it as whatever intelligence tests measure.

7 Stern (1912). Early Definition of IQ mental age chronological age Intelligence Quotient (IQ) = x100 What is the problem with this definition? Crystallized/Fluid Intelligence

8 Modern IQ score: Norm-Referenced (score - mean) standard deviation IQ = x15

9 The IQ Controversy Nature-nurture controversy The debate over whether intelligence and other traits are primarily the result of heredity or environment Modifications in environment can change IQ scores considerably (Schooling) Flynn Effect: James Flynn: Changes in standard of living Analyzed 73 studies involving some 7,500 participants ranging in age from 12 to 48 and found that every Binet and Wechsler sample from 1932 to 1978 has performed better than its predecessor The consistent improvement in IQ scores over time that accompanies changes in standards of living is known as the Flynn effect IQ tests have been misused to label certain ethnic/racial groups as inferior/superior based on the belief that these tests measure genetic, non-modifiable aspects of human performance.

10 The IQ Controversy Race and IQ Arthur Jensen Published an article in the Harvard Educational Review in which he attributed the IQ gap to genetic differences between the races Claimed that the genetic influence on intelligence is so strong that the environment cannot make a significant difference. (80%) Claimed that Blacks and Whites possess qualitatively different kinds of intelligence; Level 1 (rote memorization of simple facts) and Level 2 (problem-solving).

11 The IQ Controversy Race and IQ Richard Herrnstein (psychologist) and Charles Murray (political scientist) Published their book called The Bell Curve (1994) Argued that IQ differences among people and between groups explain how those at the top in U.S. society got there and why those at the lower rungs of society s ladder remain there. Used AFQT for IQ Funded by the Pioneer Fund APA Task Force **** The Mismeasure of Man ****

12 Racial Differences??? Reynolds, C. R., Chastain, R. L., Kaufman, A. S. and Mclean, J. E. (Win 1987). "Demographic Characteristics and IQ among Adults - Analysis of the WAIS-R Standardization Sample as a Function of the Stratification Variables". Journal of School Psychology 25 (4):

13 Summary Traditionally, academic subjects have been taught in ways that largely involve two intelligences linguistic and logical-mathematical. Now consider what an IQ test basically measures ability with words and numbers. So students who are naturally strong in linguistic and mathematical intelligences do well on the standard Stanford-Binet IQ test. Therefore, it's a fairly good predictor of success at school because the way we teach (lectures) and the material with which we deal (logically constructed books) depend heavily on these two intelligences

14 Part II: Eugenics in the United States Great emigration after the Civil War from the South and southern Europe to cities resulting in inadequate housing, labor unrest, differential reproductive rate between the wealthy and the poor Introduction of progressivism and social Darwinism

15 Revelations in genetics led to the belief that science could cure all social maladies First wave of the gene for explanation Therefore, societal problems could be cured by properly managing human breeding

(positive eugenics) The poor and degenerate should be

16 Scientific Origins The term coined by Francis Galton in 1883 The wealthy and intelligentsia should have more babies (positive eugenics) The poor and degenerate should be sterilized (negative eugenics) (In the U.S.A., Germany, Scandinavia)

17 Numerous associations and institutions were created to promote eugenics (The Pioneer Fund) IQ tests became widespread and used particularly among individuals in mental asylums, poor immigrants, and minorities Anthropometric data were also used The data was used to design forced sterilization and immigration laws

18 Flaws Definition of traits Reification Poor surveys and statistical methods False quantifications Ignoring social and environmental influences

19 Social Outcomes Laws against interracial marriage up to the mid- 20 th. century in the U.S. Racial definitions ( a negro is a negro if one the parents is a negro even is the other is white ) Similar laws were adopted by Nazi Germany regarding the Jews In 1967 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all these laws

21 Sterilization Laws First: 1907 in Indiana By 1914 twelve states had passed laws One reason stated was to reduce taxes to pay for caring for the insane and feebleminded Even epileptics and felons were sterilized Up to the 1970 s up to 33 states had sterilized 60,000 people

22 Immigration Laws 1882: Law prohibiting the immigration of Chinese 1924: A law restricted the number of Italians and Jews that could enter the U.S. That law remained in the books until 1965

Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard (April 24, 1775 - July 5, 1838) French Physician Father of Special Education Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard was educated to be a tradesman, but during the French Revolution

23 Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard (April 24, July 5, 1838) French Physician Father of Special Education Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard was educated to be a tradesman, but during the French Revolution he joined the army and became an assistant surgeon at a military hospital in Toulon. He had no scientific training and received his medical education "on the job" (Gaynor, 1973; Pinchot, 1948).

24 Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard His work with the child known as "The Wild Boy of Aveyron" earned him an international reputation, and he is recognized today as one of the founding fathers of special education The famous psychiatrist Philippe Pinel put it succinctly when he said that the boy was in fact "an incurable idiot" (Gaynor, 1973). Itard disagreed. He believed that the boy had survived alone in the woods for at least seven years, citing as evidence his "profound aversion to society, its customs, and its artifacts" (Itard, 1801/1962). He asserted that his apparent mental deficiency was entirely due to a lack of human interaction. Moreover, he believed that this could be overcome. He brought the boy-whom he eventually named "Victor"--to The National Institution for Deaf-Mutes, and devoted the next five years to an intensive, individualized educational program (Humphrey, 1962; French, 2000). This was the first example of an IEP, and the beginning of modern special education

25 Eduard Séguin Itard's influence was further extended through the work of his pupil, Eduard Séguin. Séguin improved and expanded his teacher's sensory-training approach, and put it into practice in special schools for retarded students. He earned fame both in Europe and abroad for his nonverbal intelligence test, which also had its roots in Itard's work (French, 2000; Humphrey, 1962; Kanner, 1967). Maria Montessori developed her methods in large part by modifying Séguin's educational approach.

26 In 1865 he began to study heredity, partly brought on by reading his cousin, Charles Darwin's publication Origin of Species (Clayes, 2001). Galton soon discovered that his true passion was studying the variations in human ability. In particularly, he was convinced that success was due to superior qualities passed down to offspring through heredity. His book, Hereditary Genius (1869), outlined this hypothesis and utilized supporting data he had collected by analyzing the obituaries of the Times newspaper, where he traced the lineage of eminent men in Europe. Francis Galton ( ) British Psychologist

27 Galton Ultimately, these findings sparked the formative years of the eugenics movement, which called for methods of improving the biological make-up of the human species through selective parenthood. Galton would even go so far as to advocate human breeding restrictions to curtail the breeding of 'feebleminded' (Irvine, 1986; Clayes, 2001). "It seemed obvious and even unarguable to Galton that, from a eugenic viewpoint, superior mental and behavioral capacities, as well as physical health, are advantageous, not only to an individual but for the well-being of society as a whole" (Jensen, 2002). Within this mindset led the inevitable value-laden categorization or ranking of populations based on measurable traits and natural ability (Simonton, 2003). It followed that Galton estimated from his field observations in Africa that the African people were 'two grades' below Anglo-Saxons' position in the normal frequency distribution of general mental ability, which gave claim to the scientific validation of Africans' mental inferiority compared with Anglo- Saxons (Jensen, 2002); findings that continued to spark controversy in academia today.

28 Galton Galton is also hailed as having made lasting contributions to the fields of psychology and statistics. In his passionate drive to quantify the passing down of characteristics, qualities, traits, and abilities from generation to generation, he formulated the statistical notion of correlation which led to his understanding of how generations were related to each other (Bynum, 2002). He also established that "numerous heritable traits, including height and intelligence, exhibited regression to the mean - meaning that extreme inherited results tended to move toward average results in the next generation"

29 Galton Galton was the first to demonstrate that the Laplace- Gauss distribution or the "normal distribution" could be applied to human psychological attributes, including intelligence (Simonton, 2003). From this finding, he coined the use of percentile scores for measuring relative standing on various measurements in relation to the normal distribution (Jensen, 2002). He even established the world's first mental testing center, in which a person could take a battery of tests and receive a written report of the results.

30 Spearman Charles Spearman ( ) liked Binet s methods of testing liked Galton s idea that intelligence was a single entity developed factor analysis two factors g = general intelligence s = specific ability score on any given test depends on a combination of these 2 factors g accounts for the similarity in test results s accounts for the differences in test results

31 Binet and Simon Originators of modern intelligence tests Although Binet was a well-known theoretician, he was chosen to solve a purely practical problem To identify children who could benefit (or not) from mainstream education (just made universally available in France) Binet had been attracted by Craniometry, but suspected (and demonstrated) experimenter bias So, adopted a different and purely pragmatic approach to his problem

32 Binet Sample items: copy drawing, repeat string of digits, recognise coins, calculate change, explain an absurdity may rely on background knowledge of "common culture" composite score correlated with school grades and teacher's evaluation of intelligence. Binet originally focused on MA - CA as a measure of (relative) ability

33 Binet

34 The American Version Goddard took the Binet scale to America Unlike Binet suggested the idea of single innate thing that the scale measured Lewis Terman - Eugenics; at Stanford; standardised the Binet for USA (Stanford-Binet, 1916) Yerkes - US WW1 soldiers million tested, using tests based on Stanford- Binet. Army Alpha and Army Beta - group tests (as are modern SAT and GRE Scholastic Aptitude, Graduate Record). Beta mainly nonverbal - for people who didn't speak English very well Wechsler adult IQ = (test score)/(average for norm group) X 100; Deviation IQ - though a percentile score suggested as more informative (15 IQ points = 1 standard deviation)

35 Wechsler WAIS , WAIS-R 1981 (16-74 yrs) WISC (5-15 yrs), WISC-R 1974 WPPSI (Pre-School Primary Scale of Intelligence) 1963 (4-6.5 years) Wechsler tests 11 subscales, 6 "verbal" (vocabulary, general comprehension, general knowledge, mental arithmetic, similarities between pairs, digit span), 5 "nonverbal (block design, picture arrangement, picture completion, object assembly, digit symbol)

36 Horn & Cattel Proposed two types of intelligence: Fluid intelligence- capacity to process novel information (problems requiring little or no previous knowledge); largely uninfluenced by prior learning; e.g., verbal and nonverbal abstract reasoning Crystallized intelligence- ability to apply learned information and experience; knowledge acquired over a lifetime; depends on education, culture, and memory. E.g., vocabulary, general information

37 Some studies using the factor analytic approach ended up finding many different factors related to intelligence for example, Thurstone (1938) found 7 factors; verbal comprehension, verbal fluency, number, spatial visualization, memory, reasoning, and perceptual speed. However, when a factor analysis was performed on Thurstone s factors, Cattell found that two factors underlie the 7 factors. He labeled these two factors Fluid intelligence (g f ): Ability to see relations and patterns. Crystallized intelligence (g c ): Accumulated life knowledge.

38 CHC Theory Carroll s Three-Stratum Model Numerous narrow abilities (Stratum I) Broad abilities (Stratum II) General ability (g; Stratum III)

39 Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory Gf fluid intellectual abilities Gc crystallized intellectual abilities Gsm short-term memory Glr long-term retrieval Gs processing speed Gv visual-spatial thinking Ga auditory processing Gq quantitative Grw reading-writing

40 Sternberg s Triarchic Theory Sternberg s theory focuses on aspects of intelligence that may be increasingly valuable in adult life, e.g., practical intelligence street smarts and tacit knowledge, that are not measured by conventional intelligence tests.

41 Sternberg s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

42 Sternberg s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Intelligence is shown by an ability to adapt to the situation or context one finds oneself in shaping or changing the environment so that it better meets one's needs selecting an alternate environment or context within which to live and work (not all environments should be adapted to and some are not worth trying to change)

43 Gardner s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Denies the existence of a g factor First developed his theory by studying patients with different types of brain damage that affect some forms of intelligence but leave others intact He proposes eight independent forms of intelligence, or frames of mind Linguistic Logical/mathematical Musical Spatial Bodily/kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalistic

44 Testing Multiple Intelligences

45 Gardner s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Testing and Individual Differences

Testing and Individual Differences College Board Objectives: AP students in psychology should be able to do the following: Define intelligence and list characteristics of how psychologists measure intelligence: