Convergence between attention variables and factors of psychometric intelligence in older adults

The purpose of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that individual differences on measures of attention would converge with select factors of psychometric intelligence, especially fluid intelligence and short-term acquisition and retrieval. A sample of 83 elderly adults $\text{(}\text{X}\text{= 71}\text{years}\text{)}$ was administered a battery of 17 psychometric ability tests. Tests were selected to mark four psychometric ability factors (Cattell and Horn's dimensions of fluid and crystallized intelligence, short-term acquisition and retrieval, and perceptual speed). Also, seven tasks representing four aspects of attention—decoding processes, selective attention, attention switching, and concentration—were administered. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among the four psychometric ability factors and 11 variables obtained from the attention tasks. Results were only partially consistent with the hypothesized pattern of convergence. Two attention measures had significant loadings on a fluid-type intelligence factor, and one had a marginally significant loading on a short-term memory factor. In general, the greatest convergence occured between attention variables and the ability factor of Perceptual Speed. Results were discussed with respect to previous research on psychometric abilities and cognitive processes, the theory of fluid-crystallized intelligence, and their implications for understanding intellectual aging.     

Adolescent coping scales: a critical psychometric review

Individual coping is identified as an important factor in relation to health and well-being. Although several coping scales have been developed, key terms of coping such as nature and a number of primary and secondary factors (dimensions) are obscure. Coping scales, such as those that have been developed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), have been criticized for poor psychometric properties, yet the critique so far does not evaluate development of the scales against best test-theoretical practice. The present study reviews six adolescent coping scales against ten detailed psychometric criteria in relation to statistical choices throughout the process of scale development. All six scales measured poorly on several criteria. Best practice had not been followed throughout their development and they suffered serious psychometric limitations. These findings indicate that there still is empirical research to be pursued in search of latent constructs and possible dimensions of coping through the implementation of EFA.     

Estimates of emotional and psychometric intelligence: evidence for gender-based stereotypes

The authors examined participants' estimates of own and parental psychometric intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EI). The authors asked 224 participants (82 men, 138 women, 4 people who did not report their gender) to estimate their own and their parents' IQ and EI scores on a normal distribution ranging from 55 to 145 points. The authors hypothesized that men would give higher IQ but lower EI self-estimates than women and that participants, regardless of gender, would rate their fathers as higher on IQ but lower on EI than their mothers. The results confirmed the hypotheses, supporting the view that people perceive psychometric intelligence as a primarily masculine attribute in contrast with emotional intelligence, which they perceive as a primarily feminine attribute. The results also showed that the intensity of the stereotypical perception of EI as a feminine attribute diminished when the authors asked participants to estimate their scores on a range of specific EI facets instead of providing a direct overall self-estimate.     

The relationship between psychometric intelligence and inspection time

The relationship between psychometric intelligence and inspection time (IT) is reviewed. Results are contradictory, which makes questionable the reliability of this relation. Moreover, the hope that IT constitutes a measure of ‘culture fair’ intelligence has not been confirmed and its correlation with tests considered to be culture fair and tests supposedly influenced by culture are not very different. The results do not allow us to establish a greater correlation between IT and specific factors of intelligence like verbal, spatial or numerical ability. Procedural problems apparent in measuting IT could explain, in part, the variability in results.     

Book review section: Computer intelligence and human intelligence

Great Ideas in Information Theory, Language, and Cybernetics Jagjit Singh New York: Dover Publications, 1966 pp. viii + 338, Paperbound, $2.00     

Processing of temporal and nontemporal information as predictors of psychometric intelligence: a structural-equation-modeling approach

Recent research suggests a functional link between temporal acuity and general intelligence. To better understand this relation, the present study took advantage of a large sample (N=260) and structural equation modelling to examine relations among temporal acuity, measured by various tasks, speed of information processing as measured by the Hick reaction time task, and psychometric intelligence. Temporal acuity and the Hick task showed common variance in predicting psychometric intelligence. Furthermore, timing performance was a better predictor of psychometric intelligence and mediated the relation between Hick task performance and psychometric intelligence. These findings are consistent with the idea that temporal acuity reflects a basic property of neural functioning that is relevant to intelligence-related aspects of mental activity including speed of information processing.     

Electrical potentials of the cerebral cortex and psychometric intelligence

Contradictory findings concerning relationships between intelligence-test scores and different EEG evoked-potential (EP) measures have been reported. The positive findings suggest that intelligence is correlated with the number and amplitude of components in the EP waveform. Since there is evidence that both of these parameters are influenced by stimulus intensity, we examined the extent to which an EP/intelligence relationship may depend on stimulus intensity. In a sample of 22 Ss a relationship between EP amplitude and intelligence was found and the magnitude of this correlation was related systematically to stimulus intensity. The maximum correlation (r = 0.69) with scores on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices was obtained at an intermediate level of intensity. These findings may account for some of the inconsistencies in the literature. Moreover, they suggest an explanation for higher general intelligence in terms of greater central activation of neural processes in response to normal levels of stimulation.     

Relationships between working memory and intelligence from a developmental perspective: Convergent evidence from a neo-Piagetian and a psychometric approach

The objective of this paper, in line with the other papers of this special issue, is to show the potentialities of combining intelligence research and cognitive psychology. The development of intelligence is here addressed from two usually separate perspectives, a psychometric one, and a neo-Piagetian one. Two studies are presented. In Experiment 1, children aged 6, 7, 9, and 11 years (N = 100) were administered two working memory tasks and three Piagetian tasks. In Experiment 2, children aged 8–12 years (N = 207), young adults aged 20–35 (N = 160), and older adults aged 60–88 years (N = 135) were administered working memory and processing speed tasks, as well as the Raven Standard Matrices task. Regression and commonality analyses were run to analyse the age-related variance in the Piagetian tasks (Study 1), and in the Raven task (Study 2). In both experiments, working memory accounted for a large part of the age differences observed, but more so in Study 1 (Piagetian tasks) than in Study 2 (Raven task). It is concluded that working memory mediates the effect of age on fluid intelligence during childhood and during adulthood.     

The intelligence of the Mongoloids: A psychometric, evolutionary and neurological theory

This paper presents a theory of the intelligence of the Mongoloids consisting of three linked sub-theories. The first concerns the psychometric features of Mongoloid intelligence and proposes that Mongoloids are characterised by high general intelligence (Spearman's g), high visuospatial abilities and low verbal abilities. Mongoloid abilities also display slow maturation in infancy and early childhood. It is proposed that this pattern of abilities cannot be explained in environmental terms and should be regarded as substantially genetically programmed. The second sub-theory presents an evolutionary explanation for this pattern of abilities in Mongoloids, whereby it is proposed that the extreme cold of the ice ages acted as a selection pressure for increases in Spearman's g and the visuospatial abilities. The low verbal abilities and slow maturation rates are interpreted as by-products of these adaptations. The third sub-theory presents a neurological model for the Mongoloid brain in which it is proposed that cortex devoted to the visuospatial abilities was expanded at the expense of the cortex devoted to the verbal abilities. The implication that there exists a negative correlation between the visuospatial abilities and the verbal abilities is considered in the concluding part of the paper and shown to be correct.     

Trait emotional intelligence: psychometric investigation with reference to established trait taxonomies

This paper sets out the theoretical foundation of emotional intelligence (EI) as a constellation of traits and self‐perceived abilities. The discriminant validity of trait EI is explored in two studies. In study 1 (N = 227), the psychometric properties of the BarOn Emotional Quotient inventory were scrutinized through confirmatory factor analysis and the measure was found to be unifactorial. When the EQ‐i was examined concurrently with the Eysenck Personality Profiler, a clear trait EI factor emerged in Eysenckian factor space. In study 2 (N = 166), a modified version of the EQ‐i was examined concurrently with the NEO PI‐R and a truncated trait EI factor was isolated within the Five‐Factor Model. Results are discussed with explicit reference to established personality models and it is concluded that trait EI can be conceptualized as a distinct composite construct at the primary level of hierarchical trait structures. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Frequency Accrual Speed Test (FAST): psychometric intelligence and personality correlates

Performance on a putative psychophysical measure of information processing related to intelligence (Vickers' 1995 Frequency Accrual Speed Test, FAST) was assessed in relation to two psychometric measures of intelligence (Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and the Mill Hill vocabulary test). Participants (N = 57) completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire — Revised (EPQ‐R), and performed the FAST task under either low (70 dB) or high (90 dB) levels of white noise. FAST correlated with Raven's (r = 0.56) and Mill Hill (r = 0.28), as expected. FAST total scores were not affected by personality or personality‐by‐noise interactions. However, a measure of consistency of FAST performance (i.e. the standard deviation) was correlated negatively with total FAST scores (r = ?0.37) and positively with (EPQ‐R) extraversion (r = 0.34). The results are discussed in terms of the validity of the FAST to explicate the information processing variables in psychometric intelligence. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Toward a brief multidimensional assessment of emotional intelligence: psychometric properties of the Emotional Quotient Inventory-Short Form

Although several brief instruments are available for the emotional intelligence (EI) construct, their conceptual coverage tends to be quite limited. One notable exception is the short form of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i:S), which measures multiple EI dimensions in addition to a global EI index. Despite the unique advantage offered by the inventory, psychometric properties of the EQ-i:S scores have not yet been systematically evaluated. Such an evaluation was the main goal of the present investigation. Using data from 2,508 undergraduates, the authors conducted 2 studies involving factor structure, internal reliability, 6-month temporal stability, and construct validity of the EQ-i:S responses, both for the total EQ scale and for each constituent dimension. The results supported the multidimensional measurement structure of the EQ-i:S, with each dimension producing internally consistent, temporally stable, and theoretically meaningful responses. Scores on the EQ-i:S were associated more strongly with performance on an ability test of EI and with a conceptually similar construct of alexithymia than with the broader dimensions of basic personality and explained nontrivial amounts of incremental variance in the criterion symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Moreover, scores on each EQ-i:S dimension exhibited unique patterns of associations with the validation variables. The discussion highlights the advantages of the multidimensional approach in the assessment and study of EI.     

Linguistic and psychometric factors in propositional reasoning

An experiment is reported which demonstrates the effects of linguistic and psychometric factors on adults' performance on a propositional reasoning task. The three linguistic factors were the semantic content in which the logical rule was embedded, the linguistic form of the logical rule, and the polarity of the major premise of the logical arguments. The two psychometric factors were the mode of response and the order of presentation of the different types of content. The results showed that the linguistic factors had a pronounced effect on adults' propositional reasoning abilities, whereas the influence of the psychometric factors was negligible. These findings are discussed in relation to operational and interpretational factors in reasoning.