Intelligence in Context: The Cultural and Historical Foundations of Human Intelligence

Description

This book reflects on the various ways in which intelligence can manifest itself in the wide range of diverse contexts in which people live. Intelligence is often viewed as being tantamount to a score or set of scores on a decontextualized standardized intelligence test. But intelligence always acts within a sociocultural context. Indeed, early theorists defined intelligence in terms of adaptation to the environment in which one lives. The tradition of decontextualization is old, dating back to the very beginning of the 20th century with the development of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scales. This tradition is not only old, however, but obsolete. Because people live in different sociocultural as well as physical environments, intelligence can take somewhat different forms in different places and even at different times. The chapters in this edited volume show that intelligence viewed in the abstract is a somewhat vacuous concept - it needs to be contextualized in terms of people’s physical and sociocultural surroundings. Preface References Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1: Introduction References Part I: Intelligence and Cultural Evolution 2: Intelligence as Ecological and Cultural Adaptation Introduction. What Is Intelligence? Differences from the Conventional View of Intelligence Ecocultural Perspective Changes in Intelligence Assessment of Intelligence Indigenous Psychologies Cognitive Styles International Study Across Societies Adivasi Children Study in India Implications for the Anthropocene Epoch References 3: Adaptive Intelligence and Cultural Evolution Adaptive Intelligence and Cultural Evolution Adaptive Intelligence: What Is It, and Why? Cultural Evolution Adaptive Intelligence and the Multilevel Selection Problem Context-Responsiveness in Behavioral Expressions of Adaptive Intelligence Abilities and Processes that Support Adaptive Intelligence Attention Memory Problem-Solving Innovation or Niche Construction Implications for Measuring Adaptive Intelligence Summary and Future Directions References Part II: Culture and Society in the History of Research on Human Intelligence 4: A Brief History of IQ Testing: Fixed vs. Malleable Intelligence A Brief History of IQ Testing: Fixed vs. Malleable Intelligence Alfred Binet’s Unknown Worldview About Malleable Intelligence in Context The Origins of the Theory of Fixed Intelligence Lewis Terman and the Stanford-Binet World War I and Nonverbal Testing Long-lasting Influences of Fixed Intelligence in IQ Testing The Mixed Messages of David Wechsler Wechsler Was an Advocate of g Theory Wechsler Was Opposed to the Notion of Fixed Intelligence The Decade of the 1960s: Challenges for Fixed Intelligence The Growth of the Learning Disabilities Movement The Emergence of Neuropsychology Hunt and Piaget The 1970s and 1980s The Black Psychologists Association Jane Mercer’s Push for Adaptive Behavior Advances in Theory Finally Had an Influence on IQ Test Interpretation David Wechsler at APA Alan Kaufman’s Intelligent Testing Philosophy A Shift in Focus Away from g and Outmoded Notions of Fixed Intelligence An Emphasis on Theory-Based Tests and Profile Interpretation Research Has Consistently Supported the Lack of Constancy in a Person’s IQ Over Time IQ Tests and Society What the Future Holds References 5: The Idea of a Peculiarly Female Intelligence: A Brief History of Bias Masked as Science Before Intelligence: Male–Female Polarities The Invention of General Inherited Intelligence Women Are Granted the Same Kind of Intelligence as Men, But Less of It The Failure to Measure Intelligence How Women’s and Men’s Average Intelligence Were “Made Equal” Binet’s Intelligence Test Crosses the Atlantic and Becomes Seen as a Test of Genetic Ability Men and Women Are Assigned the Same Mean Intelligence How Differences in Intelligence Became Differences in Personality Larger Variability in IQ Justifies Male Superiority The Variability Hypothesis Lessons Learned Why Is History Relevant? The Persistence of Polarity-Based Theorizing Beyond Polarities and IQ: Intelligent Decision Processes Conclusion References 6: Wisdom as Perfect Intelligence: Intelligence and Wisdom in Chinese Intellectual History and in Modern-Day Taiwan Taiwan and Its Cultural Context Intelligence and Wisdom in Chinese Intellectual History A Study of the Differences between Wisdom and Intelligence as Perceived by Young Taiwanese in Modern Times Conclusions and Suggestions References Part III: Socio-cultural Influences in Human Intelligence 7: The Status of Intelligence as a Panhuman Construct in Cross-Cultural Psychology Some Historical Trends Seeking Further Confirmation Rejecting Intelligence as a Universal Concept Critically Examining Assessment Conceptual and Methodological Framework for Comparability Four Conceptual Positions Full Relativism Construct Universalism Domain Universalism Full Universalism Levels of Equivalence Construct Equivalence Content and Structural Equivalence Metric Equivalence or Measurement Unit Equivalence Scale Equivalence or Full Score Equivalence Sources of Bias Construct Bias Construct Underrepresentation and Construct Irrelevance Method Bias Item Bias Applying the Framework to Intelligence Context-Focused and Assessment-Focused Approaches to Intelligence Trade-offs Between Positions Transfer of Instruments Conclusions References 8: Cultural Intelligence: From Intelligence in Context and Across Cultures to Intercultural Contexts Intelligence in Context: From School-Smart to Street Smart Intelligence Across Cultures: An Ethnological Approach Intelligence in Intercultural Context: Cultural Intelligence Conceptualization of Cultural Intelligence CQ Versus Other Intelligences Contributions of CQ to Research and the Real World Future Research Directions The Role of CQ in Resolving Global-Local Tensions CQ 2.0: From Horizontal to Vertical Differentiation A New Intelligence for the Anthropocene Epoch Conclusion References 9: Cultural Change in Africa Under the Pressure of HIV/AIDS: The Adaptive Role of Intelligence Intelligence in Cultures of sub-Saharan Africa and the Developmental Niche Adaptation Within Africa’s Kinship Networks Kinship and Fostering Under the Pressure of HIV/AIDS Competencies and Strategies for Coping: Adults Competencies and Strategies for Coping: Children Adaptation of African Conceptions of Time What Is Time? What Is African Time: A sociocultural Historical Perspective African Time in a Modern World Time and HIV/AIDS Intelligence and Adaption: Change and Survival References Part IV: Context, Assessment, and Intellectual Performance 10: Taking an Intelligence Test: Does the Context Matter? Introduction A Big Divide? Change in Intelligence “Experts” and the Public Fairness and Accuracy Everyday Tests and Playing Games Conclusion References 11: A Contextual Approach to Research on Intelligence and Complex Task Performance Context and Intelligence The Person The Broader Context The Differential Approach The Experimental Approach The Environment A Contextual Approach to Research on Intelligence Conclusions References Part V: Social Issues and the Science of Human Intelligence 12: Mindsets of Intelligence: Their Development, Consequences, and Relation to Group-Based Inequality Implicit Theories of Intelligence at the Individual Level Implicit Theories of Intelligence at the Organizational Level Stereotypes About Intelligence The Consequences of Organizational Mindsets on Stigmatized Groups Conclusion References 13: Re-envisioning Intelligence in Cultural Context Culture and Intelligence Testing Theoretical Definitions of Intelligence Multiple Intelligences Successful Intelligence Cultural Intelligence Emotional Intelligence Spiritual Intelligence Artificial Intelligence Adaptive Intelligence Future Directions: Moving Toward the Next Definition The Next Normal on Intelligence References 14: Challenges for Intelligence Today: Combatting Misinformation and Fake News Ubiquity of Fake News Today Detecting Fake News Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Factors Influencing Detection of Fake News Misinformation, Disinformation, Gullibility, and Suggestibility Intelligence, Cognitive Biases, and Online Fake News Suggestibility Versus Gullibility Is Actively Open-Minded Thinking (AOT) Protective? Concluding Thoughts References Part VI: The Future of the Science of Human Intelligence and Its Implications for Society 15: Human Intelligence in the Time of the Anthropocene The Evolving Niche of Human Intelligence The Ratchet Effect and the Development of Human Intelligence Intelligence Research Meets the Anthropocene Conclusion References 16: Time Bomb: How the Western Conception of Intelligence Is Taking Down Humanity What’s Wrong? How Environmental Context Can Make Us Smarter or Stupider The Law of Unintended Consequences How Do We Set What Is Wrong, Right? Elements of a Theory of Adaptive Intelligence Creativity Analytical Thinking Practical Thinking Wisdom Conclusion References Part VII: Conclusion 17: Conclusion: Intelligence Does Not Inhere Within the Individual but Rather in Person x Task x Situation Interactions Person x Task x Situation Interactions Across Milieus Conclusion References Index