MODULE 7
INTELLIGENCE
SUBMITTED to : Adhithya Miss
Dept. Of Sociology
SUBMITTED by: Farhana Shamnu
2nd MA Integrated Sociology
Definition
Intelligence is defined as mental capability that
involves the ability to reason, to plan, to solve
problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend
complex ideas, to learn quickly and to learn from
experience. It is not merely book learning, a
narrow academic skill, or test-taking smartness.
Nature and meaning of
Intelligence
Intelligence is primarily about processes that are
cognitive, higher order involved mental processes,
and memory. However, many theories still exist
that try to explain intelligence. These theories are:
multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence, and
practical intelligences.
1] Multiple intelligence :
Multiple intelligences theory states that everyone
has all eight intelligences at varying degrees of
proficiency and an individual's learning style is
unrelated to the areas in which they are the most
intelligent.
2] Practical Intelligence theory :
Practical intelligence is also called concrete
intelligence. Practical intelligence: It refers to the
ability to apply the right knowledge at the right time
through hands-on and concrete experiences.
An example of practical intelligence is someone
being able to make their way home without any
money or a map
3] Emotional Intelligence theory :
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand,
use, and manage your own emotions in positive
ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively,
empathize with others, overcome challenges and
defuse conflict.
Determinants of Intelligence
Heredity and Environment
Age
Race and Nationality
Culture
Health and Physical Development
Gender
Social and Economic Conditions
Herdity and Environment :
Heredity is responsible for all the inborn traits, the
instincts, emotions, I.Q., reflex action and physical
traits. Environment is responsible for the growth
and development of the physical, mental and
social traits.
Age:
A person who bright or dull in childhood tends
to remain bright or dull throughout his life.
Race and Nationality :
There is no prominent evidence to show that race in a
factor for determining intellectual level. Difference exist
between families are due to environment. The
differences in races are also due to opportunity for
training in early years.
Gender:
It is a popular belief that boys are suppose to be
more intelligent than girls.
Culture :
Answer in intelligent test question are highly
cultural. Cultural will determine the degree of a
person’s attitude and abilities.
Health and Psycal development :
Several factors can lead to significant cognitive
impairment, particularly if they occur during
pregnancy and childhood when the brain is
growing and the blood–brain barrier of the child is
less effective. Such impairment may sometimes be
permanent, sometimes be partially or wholly
compensated
Social Economic conditions :
family socioeconomic status impacts children's
development of intelligence from infancy through
adolescence. Children of the highest and lowest
SES backgrounds were on average separated by
6 IQ points at the age of 2 years. By the age of 16,
the IQ gap has almost tripled.
Eg : Low socioeconomic status (SES) children
perform on average worse on intelligence tests
than children from higher SES backgrounds
Theories of Intelligence
There are 4 types of theories
Psychometric theory
Cognitive theoty
Cognitive - Contextual theory
Biological theory
Psychometric Theory :
Psychometric theories are based on a model that
portrays intelligence as a composite of abilities
measured by mental tests. This model can be
quantified. For example, performance on a
number-series test might represent a weighted
composite of number, reasoning, and memory
abilities for a complex series.
Cognitive theory :
Cognitive intelligence is referred to as human
mental ability and understanding developed
through thinking, experiences and senses. It is the
ability to generate knowledge by using existing
information. It also includes other intellectual
functions such as attention, learning, memory,
judgment and reasoning.
Cognitive -Contextual theory
Cognitive-contextual theories emphasize
processes that demonstrate intelligence within a
particular context (such as a cultural environment).
Biological theory :
The idea that there is a biological basis for
intelligence in people has been translated into two
beliefs about IQ tests: first, that measured IQ is
genetically determined and that differences in IQ
between different groups are partly or largely caused
by genetic differences between them;
secondly, that IQ reflects some presumed fundamenta
property of the brain such as efficiency or speed of
neural transmission, that can be measured by recording
evoked potentials or by the speed with which a person
performs some very simple task.
