So what is intelligence?
Intelligence comes from the Latin verb intellegere, which means "to understand". It is an ‘ used to describe a property of the that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to , to , to , to think , to comprehend ideas, to use , and to . There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may include traits such as , , , , or . However, most psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of intelligence. One definition of intelligence is:
“A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do” Gottfredson, L.S. (1997).
Another simple and efficient definition is “the ability to apply knowledge in order to perform better in an environment.”
AIMS AND HYPOTHESIS
The following study aims to find out if the findings of Hogan (1978) and Higgins (1987) are true in recent times. After looking into previous research, including previous studies and so on, the following hypothesis was drawn up:
Hypothesis
Based on the findings of Hogan and Higgins the following four points can be proposed:
- Male participants will give higher estimates of their own IQ than female participants would
- Participants will estimate a higher IQ score for their Fathers than for their Mothers
- Participants will estimate a higher IQ score for their fathers than for themselves
- Participants will estimate a lower IQ score for their Mothers than for themselves
Null Hypotheses
There will be no significant sex differences in people estimating IQ scores. Any differences that occur will be due to chance factors.
METHOD
Design
The research method used in this experiment is the questionnaire method.
The participant is required to estimate the answer to three questions, involving IQ scores of them self, their Mother and their Father
The Independent Variable (IV) is sex, its conditions male and female. The dependent variable (DV) is estimated own IQ score.
The controls on the investigation are:
- All questions will be the same and written by the investigator. This to ensure all participants are treated equally, and to avoid researcher bias. It does this by asking all participants the same questions.
- Confidentiality will help to control demand characteristics and only the participants and researchers will be permitted into the room whilst the investigation is in process.
The investigation meets ethical guidelines laid down by the BPS. All participants will be fully debriefed after the investigation has been completed. They will also have the opportunity to withdraw their results from the test, and for their test results to be destroyed.
Participants
The participants of this investigation are students from Thurrock and Basildon College, work colleagues and fellow psychology students, as well as family and friends of the investigator. An opportunity sampling method was used to select the participants for this investigation
We used 40 participants for this study. 20 of which were males, and 20 females for this investigation. The participants of this investigation were aged 15 – 60.
The researcher in this investigation is a member of the Access Psychology class at Thurrock and Basildon College.
Materials and Apparatus
- Participant answer sheet – these were designed by me and distributed to each participant before beginning.
- Participant feedback sheet – these were designed by me and were available to all participants at the end.
- Pen to record participant’s answers on the answer sheet- these were provided by the researchers.
- Desk/table and chairs
- Minimum of 40 participants (Equal number of male and female) – these were selected on an opportunity basis.
Procedure
Individuals are asked on an opportunity basis whether they know their IQ score or not. If the participant does not know their IQ score, they are then invited to take part in our psychological study. If the individual does know their IQ score, unfortunately they will not be able to take part in our study, as we are investigating how people estimate their IQ scores.
Upon agreeing to take part in our experiment, the participant is handed the pack of instructions, and is asked to read the introduction page; see Appendix 1.
The participant is then asked to read through the pack, and to answer the questions on the question sheet; see Appendix 2. Each participant is asked to note their answers individually, with no communication from anyone bar the investigator. They are also, at this point, given a pen.
The answers given by each participant will be noted down on the relevant sheet by the participant themselves. There is no need for names or other forms of identification for this investigation. We only record the sex of the participant in order to see if there are any sex differences. Upon completion of answering the three questions, the participant is then required to read the Closing sheet; see Appendix 3, and hand back their answer sheet to the investigator.
All participants are debriefed; see Appendix 4, with the investigator detailing the nature of the investigation, and the hypothesis which is being tested. The participant is then given a feedback sheet; see Appendix 5, to leave any feedback regarding the investigation if they wish to do so.
RESULTS
Table of Results
The table below is a summary of the data obtained during the investigation. A copy of the raw data can be seen in Appendix 6.
DISCUSSION
Treatment of results
I used Mann-Whitney U-Test for hypothesis 1, as it was comparing two different groups.
Relationship to background materials
Limitations and Modifications
This investigation was limited as the participants were students from Thurrock and Basildon College, as well as friends, family and colleagues of the investigator. Although the participants came from a variety of courses, both academically and vocationally, these cannot be generalised to other populations. The participants were also all from the same area of Essex, which also cannot be implemented to other populations throughout. The hypothesis only related the results to college students and so the study is not claiming they would apply to other social groups. The study could be modified on a larger scale by using a larger sample size of people from a variety of areas throughout the UK.
Another limitation could have possibly been the way in which the questions were worded. In the previous studies by Higgins and Hogan, the questions were written in a high level of English, so for my study, I changed the wording to adapt to current times and the sample used. The wording can be changed for different ethic and social groups, as well as different ages.
Implications and suggestions for further research
There are a number of further studies that could be carried out. With this particular study, our representation was people from the same area, so it would be interesting to see the results from studies in other social groups, as well as other ethic groups. As well as this further studies into different age groups could be conducted, to find if there are any differences in estimating IQ’s between the different generations. This was not looked into on this occasion as our sample did not provide an equal number of different aged individuals.
More studies could be conducted into self estimation of IQ across the different ethnic groups, or across the different social groups throughout the country.
In conclusion, this investigation has shown that there are no sex differences when estimating your own IQ, and that a Male participant will not give higher estimates of their own IQ than female participants would. The investigation did show that Participants will estimate a higher IQ score for their Fathers than for their Mothers, Participants will estimate a higher IQ score for their fathers than for themselves and Participants will estimate a lower IQ score for their Mothers than for themselves. This study supports ¾ of the hypothesis.
REFERENCES
Books
Mcllveen R., Higgins L., Wadeley A. (1992) BPS Manual of Psychology Practicals. Experiment, Observation and Correlation. BPS Books. Pages 44 – 51.
Gottfredson, L.S. (1997). "" (pdf). Intelligence 24 (1): 1–12. .
Beloff, H. (1992). Mother, father and me: Our I.Q. The Psychologist, 5, 309-11
Websites
Ask Oxford (Online Oxford Dictionary)
Wikipedia
