PSYC 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Louis Leon Thurstone, Factor Analysis, Robert Sternberg

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 106
• Professor: Sherri Atwood

Document Summary

Is intelligence one ability or many: charles spearman (1863-1945) set out to discover a if there was a hierarchy of abilities, and found correlations (though not perfect) among many cognitive tasks. Factor analysis: statistical technique that explains a large number of correlations in terms of a small number of underlying factors. Two-factor theory of intelligence: spearman"s theory suggesting that every task requires a combination of a general ability (g) and skills that are specific to the task (s) General factor, specific factors, and group factors. The middle-level abilities: middle level abilities lie between specific and general mental abilities in regards to intelligence. The data-based approach connects intelligence test performance to clusters. The theory-based approach broadly surveys human abilities and then determines which ones intelligence tests measure (or fail to measure): john carroll (1916-2003) found patterns of correlation among eight independent middle-level abilities: Fluid intelligence: fluid intelligence: ability to see abstract relationships and draw logical inferences.