Development of intelligence test performance Essay

Intelligence can be defined in several ways, ranging from broader definitions such(prenominal) as the ability to cope with life, to more than specific definitions such as skill in problem-solving and reasoning. Intelligence discharges be implemented by psychologists in order to assess such skills, and a quantitative measure of this watchword is usually presented in the form of an IQ (intelligence quotient). IQ scores argon the basis of much research into the development of intelligence test performance. ane cultural factor which may tolerate an affect on a childs thrifty intelligence is m early(a) love attachments may play a part in childrens cognitive development. This assumption can be tested by nationaling children who have been stray from an attachment object (i.e. a parent), and Skeels & Dye ensnare evidence to send word that the formation of an attachment amends intelligence test performance. In their test, 13 of the approximately mentally retarded infants in an orphanage were moved to an institution for mentally retarded women, where they would form an attachment with a mildly retarded woman. over the next four years, those who had moved had an clean IQ gain of 32 points, compared with an average reduction of 21 IQ points for those who remained in the orphanage this struggle was still evident 27 years later. This study can be commended for its implications at the time the accepted view was that IQ was constant through go forth life, just the study showed that, with the right treatment, IQ can be significantly improved.Another factor in IQ development is quality of tuition. Schweinhart et al.s Perry Preschool Project provides evidence for this compared to children given no pre-school education, those who had been given quality pre-school education appeared not only to have improved IQs later in life, moreover they were also less likely to commit crime and drop out of blue school. This finding is duplicated by Operation Headstart, whi ch provided children from disadvantaged firms with pre-school programs. There was an average IQ gain of 10 points in the first year and, although the IQ scores returned to average levels, subsequent progress such as high school graduation was higher in those who had taken part in the project. This indicates that an increased quality of education may lead to an increase in IQ.Another cultural factor that may ferment the development of measured intelligence is a childs home environment. Bradley et al. Identified vi factors, including parental involvement and the provision of play materials, which were significant in a childs development of intelligence, and called it the HOME inventory. If the HOME score of a child was low, a childs IQ may have declined betwixt 10 and 20 points between the ages 1 and 3, whereas the opposite was neat for those with high HOME inventory scores. This theory would be supported by Piaget and Vygotsky, the theories of twain of whom suggest that the pro vision of age-appropriate play materials are likely to improve cognitive development. In addition, Vygotsky emphasises the role of ending in cognitive development, which is actually much in line with the HOME inventory study.It may however be that diet is a cultural factor which has an influence on a childs development of intelligence. In a study by Schnthaler & Bier, children who had been given vitamin-mineral supplements performed violate on a non-verbal IQ test than those who had been given a placebo. This supports the idea that diet has an influence on intelligence, but it it not needs the case that supplements improve IQ the researchers suggested that it was a scurvy diet that diminished IQ, and the improved diet restored the cognitive abilities of the children who previously had a poor diet.The idea that it is environmental cultural factors, rather than race and inherited cultural factors, that have an effect on a childs intelligence test performance is supported by Sca rr& Weinberg, who found that both white and black children, when adopted by middle-class white families, performed better on IQ tests at age 7 than the average for their several(prenominal) ethnic groups. They attributed this improvement to growing up in a culture of tests and schools, and exposure to better healthcare and socialisation.However, in a follow-up study ten years later, it was found that the black childrens IQs were not notably higher than the average for their group, indicating that an upbringing in a white, middle-class home had little or no influence on their intelligence. However, this does not necessarily indicate that it is a genetic cause, since skin colour and intelligence are believed to have very different genetic structures. It may be in indirect genetic influence, in that black children raised in a white home have lower self-expectation, or that they socialise with other black children at school (which may have more of an influence than their white, middle- class home).IQ tests have, however, been heavily criticised for lacking reliability, as an IQ topic from one test can vary dramatically with an IQ answer from another. Additionally, they have been criticised for being culturally biased there are umpteen different types of thought (e.g. language, problem-solving, pattern recognition, reasoning), and some types of thought are more valued in some cultures than in others.This may extend to sub-cultural differences between people of different socioeconomic status. For example, it has often been found that black American children perform less well on IQ tests than white children, however, Serpell (1979) found that white children performed significantly less well than black children on an IQ test aimed at black Americans. This brings into question the use of IQ tests as a valid method of measuring intelligence.