Assessing Intelligence Essay Discussion Paper

Over time rise in IQ scores is known as the Flynn effect (Bratsberg & Rogeberg, 2018).

  • Genetic factors: Heterosis or random mating is the cause of IQ gains. In random mating, dominant and recessive alleles combine among themselves to produce changes in traits.
  • Environmental factors: They act as the moderator of the Flynn effect. These factors include sibship size and nutrition at the stage of the prenatal and early postnatal period. It is seen that a decrease in sibship size is related to an increase in IQ scores. Development quotient score gains in infants show the score gains in IQ for the preschool, school-aged, and adults. Improvement of Pre- and post-natal nutrition not only the causes Flynn effect but also improves other characteristics in an infant like height, head circumference, weight. The prenatal environment can be improved by reducing the use of tobacco, and alcohol during pregnancy. Socio-environmental changes in developing countries are the indicator of increasing IQ scores. If the changing IQ scores are the outcome of improvement in socio-environmental factors, then with the optimization of living condition, the plateau of IQ scores occur. Changes in family life factors like parenting style, and size of family may lead the IQ scores to plateau. Shifts in educational priorities also can decline IQ scores.
  • Infectious diseases: Infectious diseases lead to a decrease in average IQ. Compared to the healthy control, the cognitive abilities and performance in school are impaired for patients affected with infectious diseases Assessing Intelligence Essay Discussion Paper.

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It is a test of intelligence and achievements, designed for children between the age of 2.5 and 12.5 years.  Here, the ability of the child to process information to solve a problem is assessed to define the intelligence of the child. It is based on the theory of cognitive and neuropsychology. Two mental processing scales are there to measure the problem-solving ability of a child. Processing information serially, and temporally in a stepwise manner is measured via the Sequential processing scale. Sequential processing subtests are hand movement, recall of numbers, and word order. In the simultaneous processing scale, the nature of problem-solving is analogical, organizational, and spatial. Simultaneous processing subtests are magic window, Triangles, spatial memory, face recognition, matrix analogies, and photo series. Previous learning is measured by the Achievement scale in the K-ABC where verbal intelligence, acquired school skills, and general knowledge of the child are utilized (Patel et al., 2018).

Achievement subtests include expressive vocabulary, arithmetic, riddles, reading, faces, and places. The intellectual potential of language disordered or hearing-impaired children is estimated by the nonverbal scale of K-ABC. The information processing approach of Alexander Luria and the cerebral specialization theory is the basis of the neuropsychological theory applied by Kaufman. The simultaneous and successive modes of information processing are the basis of sequential simultaneous dichotomy according to Luria’s model. Sequential processing means the ability to solve problems in the left hemisphere and simultaneous processing in the right hemisphere.  Linguistic, serial, propositional, and analytical tasks are found in the left hemisphere whereas nonverbal, holistic, and synthetic tasks occur in the right hemisphere Assessing Intelligence Essay Discussion Paper.

Binet described intelligence as a collection of specific processes rather than a single entity. According to Binet, People’s mental abilities vary in quantity as well as quality. Binet told that intelligence was not fixed and it was changeable within limits means by proper education intelligence level of a person could be raised. There was always room for improvement (Peterson et al., 2020). From his research, it was found that the difference between the normal intelligent children and the retarded children was that the normal children became masters in the same skill at a younger age than the mentally retarded ones.

To assess the mental level of a child Benet designed a model of 30 tasks with gradually increasing difficulty. If the mental age of a child trailed his chronological age by at least 2 years then he was diagnosed with mental retardation. His test was mainly designed based on psychological criteria rather than educational. The limitations of his tests were that it was only valid for the children from the background of mainstream French culture. Binet IQ tests have many limitations. Binet told that intelligence was influenced by many factors, changeable over time, and only be compared in children with the same background. The Binet test provided an incomplete measure of intelligence. Sometimes preschool children got a score of 0 did not mean that the child was mentally disabled. As the test was very difficult, for a child lack of cooperation also led to a lower score.

Binet’s Model Of Intelligence Assessment

Vygotsky promoted the term zone of proximal development. It is defined as the distance between the actual development level and the level of potential development (Silalahi, 2019). The level of actual development is determined by solving problems independently and the level of potential development is determined by solving problems under the guidance of adults or in association with more capable peers. The zone of proximal development of a child is not static. Though a child’s existing knowledge or competence primarily defines the region of sensitivity to learning, a child’s level of competence can be changed by proper support for learning. Then the zone of proximal development changes accordingly.

It is twofold in the concept of the zone of proximal development. First, it describes an alternative approach for an intelligence assessment. It is used to assess the intellectual potential of the child under conditions that are created according to the learning needs of the child and also the present capabilities of the child. These ideas are in connection with the research of Vygotsky on the field of educational psychology and programs which support the learning needs of children with mental retardation or with disabilities. Second, the zone of proximal development represents the intellectual development of a child via interaction with a skilled partner. It builds a connection between the mind of a child and others. Through social interaction with others, a child participates in more cognitive activities. Though various types of social interactions help to develop the cognition of a child, Vygotsky preferred social interaction with adults rather than peers.

Classroom-based peer tutoring helps a child to learn about the uses of supportive techniques and produces a learning environment that is beneficial for both the tutor and the learner. According to Vygotsky, for the zone of proximal development, imaginative play also has a great role. For example, playing doctor help in the zone of proximal development. For applied psychologists, Vygotsky’s theory has a great contribution. Scaffolding, the instructions formed based on Vygotsky’s theory helps the partner design the amount or type of support for the child based on the learning needs of the child. Through this, the child develops himself to execute a task without any help. Reciprocal instruction is a classroom arrangement where the tutoring approach is based on the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Here also the ability of reading comprehension of a child is improved by collaboration with experienced partners. According to Vygotsky, instead of being a passive learner, the child is an active participant in an activity with the partner.

Academic skill-based instructions include abstract thinking, reflective abstraction, intuition, problem-solving, decision making, judgment, critical thinking, and creativity which help to increase the intelligence of a child (Widoretno & Dwiastuti, 2019)Assessing Intelligence Essay Discussion Paper.

Abstract thinking is related to symbolic thinking means it is related to thinking of objects which are not present physically. According to Jean Piaget, the famous developmental psychologist, the formal operational stage means at the last stage of development, a child develops abstract thinking skills. Some psychologists argued that the development of abstract thinking skills is not natural but the product of teaching, culture, and experience. Most intelligence test is dependent on abstract reasoning. Abstract thinking skills are linked with high levels of intelligence. It is difficult for a person with intellectual disabilities to develop abstract thinking skills

Reflective Abstraction Is The Construction Of  Logico Mathematical Structure During Cognitive Development It Was Introduced By Piaget Piaget Said That Reflective Abstraction was present at the early ages in the coordination of sensorimotor structures.

Intuition is a form of knowledge that appears in consciousness without any deliberation. It positively influences making the decision and other behavior. Intuition is based on the power of pattern matching. Mind go through the experiences collected in the long-term memory for similar previous situations and make decisions based on that. In Highway hypnosis, intuition based on automatic information processing can be seen.

Problem-solving is the way of analyzing a problem and resolving it. Here critical thinking skill and analytical skills of a person are utilized.

Decision-making is the act of choosing the right one. Intuition skills and reasoning power help an individual in decisions make.

Judgment is the ability of an individual to make a decision based on the evaluation of evidence.

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Critical thinking is the ability to think rationally and clearly. Critical thinking is achieved by observation of the incident, analysis, interpretation of the incident, reflection, inference, explanation of the incident, solving the problem, and making a decision.

Creativity is the generation of new processes based on mental and social processes. It is dependent on different factors like cognitive processes, environment, personality, and many more.

Reference List

Bratsberg, B., & Rogeberg, O. (2018). Flynn effect and its reversal are both environmentally caused. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(26), 6674-6678. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1718793115

Patel, D. V., Gopalan, R. T., & Nimbalkar, S. M. (2018). Adaptation of subtests of kaufman assessment battery for children, for Gujarati pre-school children. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 40(5), 420-425. https://doi.org/10.4103%2FIJPSYM.IJPSYM_104_18

Peterson, K. C., Peterson, M., & Carducci, B. J. (2020). Stanford?Binet Intelligence Scale. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences: Measurement and Assessment, 451-455. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118970843.ch145

Silalahi, R. M. (2019). Understanding Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development for learning. Polyglot: Jurnal Ilmiah, 15(2), 169-186. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.19166/pji.v15i2.1544

Widoretno, S., & Dwiastuti, S. (2019). Improving Students’ Thinking Skill Based on Class Interaction in Discovery Instructional: A Case of Lesson Study. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 8(3), 347-353. DOI: 10.15294/jpii.v8i3.2000 Assessing Intelligence Essay Discussion Paper