IQ's Corner: May 2022

Friday, May 20, 2022

Intelligence and wisdom: Age-related differences and nonlinear relationships. - PsycNET

Intelligence and wisdom: Age-related differences and nonlinear relationships. - PsycNET
https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpag0000692

Using data from two studies, we tested three predictions about the relationship between intelligence and wisdom: (a) Relationships between intelligence and wisdom are "triangular" rather than linear, that is, intelligence is a necessary but not sufficient condition for wisdom; (b) intelligence is primarily related to cognition-focused measures and performance measures of wisdom; (c) the relationship between wisdom and intelligence varies by intelligence domain and age-group. In Study 1, 318 participants from three age-groups (adolescents: 15–20 years; younger adults: 30–40 years; older adults: 60–70 years) completed measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence and the Berlin wisdom paradigm (BWP). Necessary-condition analyses showed "triangular" relationships between intelligence and wisdom. Crystallized intelligence was a necessary condition for wisdom in all age-groups; fluid intelligence was a necessary condition for wisdom in adolescents and young adults below a certain intelligence threshold. In Study 2, a life span sample of 155 participants (Age-group 1: 23–57 years, M = 45.0; Age-group 2: 58–90 years, M = 68.1) completed four measures of wisdom and measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Crystallized intelligence was a necessary but not sufficient condition for wisdom as measured by performance measures; fluid intelligence may also be a necessary condition for wisdom in advanced old age. Relationships with self-report measures of wisdom were zero for fluid and moderate and linear for crystallized intelligence. In other words, the role of intelligence for wisdom varies across conceptualizations of wisdom and across life phases. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

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

Is Early Bilingual Experience Associated with Greater Fluid Intelligence in Adults?

Is Early Bilingual Experience Associated with Greater Fluid Intelligence in Adults?
https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/7/2/100

Emerging evidence suggests that early bilingual experience constrains the development of attentional processes in infants, and that some of these early bilingual adaptations could last into adulthood. However, it is not known whether the early adaptations in the attentional domain alter more general cognitive abilities. If they do, then we would expect that bilingual adults who learned their second language early in life would score more highly across cognitive tasks than bilingual adults who learned their second language later in life. To test this hypothesis, 170 adult participants were administered a well-established (non-verbal) measure of fluid intelligence: Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM). Fluid intelligence (the ability to solve novel reasoning problems, independent of acquired knowledge) is highly correlated with numerous cognitive abilities across development. Performance on the RAPM was greater in bilinguals than monolinguals, and greater in 'early bilinguals' (adults who learned their second language between 0–6 years) than 'late bilinguals' (adults who learned their second language after age 6 years). The groups did not significantly differ on a proxy of socioeconomic status. These results suggest that the difference in fluid intelligence between bilinguals and monolinguals is not a consequence of bilingualism per se, but of earlyadaptive processes. However, the finding may depend on how bilingualism is operationalized, and thus needs to be replicated with a larger sample and more detailed measures. View Full-Text
Keywords: bilingual advantage; bilingualism; child development; early bilingual; fluid reasoning; multiple-demand (MD) system; Raven's Progressive Matrices

Sunday, May 15, 2022

J. Intell. | Free Full-Text | Bridging Brain and Cognition: A Multilayer Network Analysis of Brain Structural Covariance and General Intelligence in a Developmental Sample of Struggling Learners

J. Intell. | Free Full-Text | Bridging Brain and Cognition: A Multilayer Network Analysis of Brain Structural Covariance and General Intelligence in a Developmental Sample of Struggling Learners
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/9/2/32

Abstract: Network analytic methods that are ubiquitous in other areas, such as systems neuroscience,

have recently been used to test network theories in psychology, including intelligence research.

The network or mutualism theory of intelligence proposes that the statistical associations among

cognitive abilities (e.g., specific abilities such as vocabulary or memory) stem from causal relations

among them throughout development. In this study, we used network models (specifically LASSO)

of cognitive abilities and brain structural covariance (grey and white matter) to simultaneously model

brain–behavior relationships essential for general intelligence in a large (behavioral, N = 805; cortical

volume, N = 246; fractional anisotropy, N = 165) developmental (ages 5–18) cohort of struggling

learners (CALM). We found that mostly positive, small partial correlations pervade our cognitive,

neural, and multilayer networks. Moreover, using community detection (Walktrap algorithm) and

calculating node centrality (absolute strength and bridge strength), we found convergent evidence

that subsets of both cognitive and neural nodes play an intermediary role 'between' brain and

behavior. We discuss implications and possible avenues for future studies.

Keywords: general intelligence; cortical volume; fractional anisotropy; brain structural covariance;

cognitive network neuroscience; multilayer network analysis

Sunday, May 01, 2022

The sexes do not differ in general intelligence, but they do in some specifics - ScienceDirect

The sexes do not differ in general intelligence, but they do in some specifics - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289622000320?via%3Dihub

Abstract
Reliable and meaningful sex differences exist in specific cognitive abilities despite no reliable or meaningful sex difference in general intelligence. Here we use Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory to highlight research findings related to sex differences in intelligence, with a focus on studies of test scores from comprehensive intelligence measures that were obtained from large and representative samples of children and adolescents. Female advantages in latent processing speed and male advantages in latent visual processing are the most meaningful and consistently reported sex differences regarding CHC broad cognitive abilities. Differences have been reported in narrow and specific ability constructs such as mental rotation and object memory location. In academic achievement, the largest and most consistent findings are female advantages in writing, whereas male advantages at higher math ability levels are also found. Empirical descriptions of sex differences should consider the breadth of the construct under study and incorporate analysis beyond simple mean differences. Score analysis methods that utilize multiple-group confirmatory factor models and multiple-indicator multiple cause models are useful to address the former, and analysis methods such as quantile regression and male-female ratio calculations along score distributions are useful to address the latter. An understanding of why specific ability differences exist in combination and in the presence of similarities will improve researchers' understanding of human cognition and educational achievements.