IQ's Corner: July 2021

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Myths and misconceptions about intelligence: A study of 35 myths - ScienceDirect

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886921003895
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886921003895?via%3Dihub

Abstract This study is concerned with the extent to which people believe in, and endorse, various myths about intelligence and intelligence testing. It examined the prevalence of myths about intelligence as set out in a recent book (Warne, 2020). Participants (N = 275) completed a questionnaire in which they rated the extent to which they thought various statements/facts about intelligence were essentially true or false. In all, eighteen of these myths were rated as true (definitely or partly), two as definitely false and six probably false by the majority of the participants. There were no significant demographic or personality correlates of the total correct score (determined by rating the myth as false). The discussion considers why, in this important area of psychology, myths, misconceptions and ignorance seem so difficult to dispel. Limitations of this, and similar, studies are noted, and implications are discussed.

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Kevin S. McGrew, PhD
Educational Psychologist
Director
Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP)
www.themindhub.com
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Monday, July 26, 2021

A new beginning of intelligence research. Designing the playground - ScienceDirect

A new beginning of intelligence research. Designing the playground - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016028962100043X?via%3Dihub

Protzko, J., & Colom, R. (2021). A new beginning of intelligence research. Designing the playground. Intelligence, 87, 101559.

Abstract
Here we present several points for designing a probable playground concerning a new beginning of intelligence research within the XXI Century: the nature, definition, and measurement of the construct of interest, its development across the lifespan, its enhancement by varied means, and its place within the already identified human psychological traits. Predictions can go wrong when those who make them 1) assume that trends will be linear, 2) use script-writing assuming that they know what the responses to any trend will be, and 3) conflate primary facts with their interpretation. With these pitfalls in mind, we predict: 1) a proliferation of alternate models of the positive manifold; 2) The derailment of the field in the next decade or two with a new trendy research angle; 3) The gradual abandonment of classic IQ tests for intelligence research in favor of alternative measurements. We see a bright future for intelligence research, but dark spots cannot be discarded.

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Kevin S. McGrew, PhD
Educational & School Psychologist
Director
Institute for Applied Psychometrics (IAP)
https://www.themindhub.com
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Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Variability and Stability in Cognitive Abilities Are Largely Genetic Later in Life | Semantic Scholar

Variability and Stability in Cognitive Abilities Are Largely Genetic Later in Life | Semantic Scholar
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Variability-and-Stability-in-Cognitive-Abilities-in-lomin/1e03a69d741d1b1f1bf2229b066cce818fe41961?utm_source=alert_email&utm_content=FeedPaper&utm_campaign=AlertEmails_DAILY&utm_term=FeedPaper&email_index=0-0-0&utm_medium=2363016

The powerful quantitative genetic design of identical and fraternal twins reared apart (112 pairs) and matched twins reared together (111 pairs) was employed to assess the extent of genetic influence on individual differences in cognitive abilities during the last half of the life span. General cognitive ability yielded a heritability estimate of about .80 in two assessments 3 years apart as part of the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging. This is one of the highest heritabilities reported for a behavioral trait. Across the two ages, average heritabilities are about .60 for verbal tests, .50 for spatial and speedof-processing tests, and .40 for memory tests. For general cognitive ability, the phenotypic stability across the 3 years is .92 and stable genetic factors account for nearly 90% this stability. These findings suggest that general cognitive ability is a reasonable target for research that aims to identify specific genes for complex traits.

Sunday, July 18, 2021

The Big Five Personality Traits and Academic Performance: A Meta-Analysis. | Semantic Scholar

The Big Five Personality Traits and Academic Performance: A Meta-Analysis. | Semantic Scholar
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Big-Five-Personality-Traits-and-Academic-A-Mammadov/a3402eeb709a39e23f8dcee1dad5663e08afab33?utm_source=alert_email&utm_content=FeedPaper&utm_campaign=AlertEmails_DAILY&utm_term=FeedPaper&email_index=0-2-2&utm_medium=2352302

This meta-analysis reports the most comprehensive assessment to date of the strength of the relationships between the Big Five personality traits and academic performance by synthesizing 267 independent samples (N = 413,074) in 228 unique studies. It also examined the incremental validity of personality traits above and beyond cognitive ability in predicting academic performance. Operational validities of the most popular six personality measures were compared and reported. The combined effect of cognitive ability and personality traits explained 27.8% of the variance in academic performance. Cognitive ability was the most important predictor with a relative importance of 64%. Conscientiousness emerged as a strong and robust predictor of performance, even when controlling for cognitive ability, and accounted for 28% of the explained variance in academic performance. A significant moderating effect of education level was observed. The relationship of academic performance with openness, extraversion, and agreeableness demonstrated significantly larger effect sizes at the elementary/middle school level compared to the subsequent levels. Openness, despite its weak overall relative importance, was found to be an important determinant of student performance in the early years of school

The Role of Cognitive Self-Report Measure Type in Predicting Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review. | Semantic Scholar

The Role of Cognitive Self-Report Measure Type in Predicting Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review. | Semantic Scholar
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Role-of-Cognitive-Self-Report-Measure-Type-in-A-Wion-Hill/4b4bf38d963ef145b6126074c8860f1915afcbe5?utm_source=alert_email&utm_content=FeedPaper&utm_campaign=AlertEmails_DAILY&utm_term=FeedPaper&email_index=0-1-1&utm_medium=2352302

Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology

Many types of items are used to measure self-reported cognition, resulting in heterogeneity across studies. Certain cognitive self-report measure types may be more predictive of future decline. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to compare whether specific types of cognitive self-report measures better predict risk for cognitive decline over time when measures are directly compared within the same study. The PRISMA criteria guided the review. Eligibility criteria included: longitudinal studies, outcome of cognitive decline, at least 2 different cognitive self-report measures, and no cognitive impairment at baseline. Nineteen studies were included in the final review. A narrative synthesis of results was completed, resulting in 3 thematic groups of comparisons across self-reported measure types. Self-reported memory decline with worry and peer perceptions of memory were associated with the highest risk for cognitive decline. Future longitudinal investigations of self-reported cognitive problems should focus on using measures that may be most sensitive to predicting cognitive decline