Intelligence: Issues and Debates

Intelligence: Issues and Debates

1. Psychology as a Science

   • + Falsification: There have been changes in our understanding of intelligence + Objectivity: Intelligence testing attempts to assign a quantitative score for measurement + Manipulation of Variables: Van Leeuwen found less intellectual variation in twins than spouses and siblings

2. Holism

   • + Intelligence relates mainly to biology, though also has cognitive and social influences - This area only investigates biological influences on intelligence

3. Socially Sensitive Research

   • + Research into biological relevance to intelligence can be perceived by some as making intelligence deterministic

4. Ethnocentrism

   • + Van Leeuwen's sample was taken from the Netherlands, meaning their study's results lack generalisability to other cultures - This shouldn't matter; surely a brain is a brain?

5. Determinism

   • + Van Leeuwen's study of genetic influences on intelligence could be viewed as deterministic - However, it could also relate to some degree of freewill surrounding selective mating

6. Usefulness of Research

   • + Van Leeuwen showed that genetic factors do play a role in variation of intelligence, suggesting that some families may be more likely to achieve than others - What use is this information to families themselves?

7. Nature

   • + Reduces intelligence to a biological factor

8. Reliability

   • + Intelligence studies are often conducted in laboratory settings, with high levels of control and potential for replication

9. Ethics

   • + Because this approach mainly uses laboratory studies, it is very ethical; e.g. informed consent, protection of participants, debrief

10. Validity

    • + There exists many valid means of assessing intelligence, which have been developed over time