EDUC 391
Intelligence in Everyday Life
Syllabus
Spring 2008
|
TR 11:00 a.m.-12.15 p.m.
Memorial Hall, Room 125
School of Education
University of Delaware
|
|| Objectives
|| Course
Requirements || Grading ||
Writing
Fellows ||
|| Policy
on Cheating || Policy on
Illness ||
|| Quick
Calendar of Assignments || Weekly
Schedule of Reading and Writing ||
|| Required
and Recommended Readings ||
This course is a Freshman Honors Colloquium. As such, it emphasizes class
discussion and requires considerable writing. The aim is to develop your
thinking and writing skills while sharing an intellectual adventure into a sometimes
contentious scientific arena--differences in human intelligence.
We will focus on questions of most relevance to daily life in modern
society. Is intelligence just a narrow academic skill, as some critics claim,
or does it provide practical advantages in everyday affairs? What is life like
for people of low, average, or high intelligence? And just what is intelligence
anyway, and why do people (even siblings) differ so much in intelligence level?
This course examines old discoveries as well as new surprises in the
scientific study of intelligence. We will also closely examine various IQ tests
to help understand why the mental differences they measure have practical value
in virtually all arenas of social life, but especially education, work, and health.
There is a wide dispersion in intelligence within all societies, so we will
ponder and debate the vexing challenges that such variation poses for
democratic societies such as ours.
We will carefully distinguish the scientific search for facts (what “is”)
from the moral and political debates over how we should respond to them (what
“ought to be”). This is very important. Although scientists lack complete
understanding of the facts, they look at the quality of evidence for competing
explanations in order to decide—provisionally—which is closer to the truth.
Such contests are not decided by what we want to be true, but by what the total
body of evidence says. This is a science class, so I demand that all claims
about facts be supported by evidence and logic, not wishes and presumptions.
How citizens and policy makers ought
to deal with the facts is an entirely different matter, however. There are
always different possible choices, and citizens and policy makers will
inevitably disagree about which ones are best, depending on their own interests
and values. Science can help us understand what our choices are but it can
never tell us which to choose. That is what the democratic process is
for—negotiating our choices. I will therefore encourage you to think about
alternative social policies for dealing with the empirical realities we
discuss.
- There will be three papers.
You will rewrite the first two. Rewriting is more then just a cosmetic
touch-up. It involves rethinking, too. Usually lots of it. A Writing
Fellow will be available to assist you with all papers, including the
rewrites. See the schedule below for when papers and rewrites will be
assigned and due. All papers and rewrites must be typed, double-spaced,
proofread, and stapled—and
pages numbered. You can use any standard bibliographic style for
your references.
All three papers will involve different aspects
of a larger research project, to be explained in class. (See also Starting Library Research).
- In addition to the graded
assignments, there will be daily pass-fail
writing assignments based on the readings for that day. I much prefer
but do not require that these assignments be typed. Pass-fail assignments
for a particular day are always finalized by the end of the prior class.
- You will be expected to attend
class, have done your readings, and regularly participate in class
discussion. Your participation grade is enhanced by a willingness to take
intellectual risks in class, asking good questions, facilitating
discussion among your classmates, and bringing pertinent news articles and
observations to class. Being prepared also includes bringing the day's
readings to class, because we will sometimes turn to them during our
discussions.
Table of
Contents
- 80% Papers
- 25% Rethink/Rewrite
1
- Note: You must
turn in the first versions of Papers 1 and 2 on time, or I will subtract
points from your grade for the rewrite.
- 30% Rethink/Rewrite
2
- 25% Paper 3
- 20% Class participation (doing
pass-fail writing assignments, attending and being prepared for class
everyday, being a fully contributing member of your research team, raising
good questions in class).
- I grade using the
plus-minus system.
This course, like other Freshmen Honors Colloquia,
participates in the Honors Program's Writing Fellow Program. Writing Fellows
are UD undergraduates who have taken a special course in peer tutoring of
writing.
- Fellows come from many
majors, and are not intended to know the subject matter. They do not
comment on the content of your papers. Rather, they work with you,
one-on-one, to help you improve your writing. (I will give you feedback on
the relevance, accuracy, and completeness of the content.) Fellows do not
edit or correct your papers. Rather, they help you formulate, organize,
and support your ideas, among other things mentioned below. Our objective
is not just for you to end up with a better paper, but to become a better,
more self-aware writer!
- Here is the fellowing process we follow in this class.
- Paper 1:
- You will turn in
two copies of your paper, one to me and one to your writing fellow. You
will also bring with you a completed Writer
Response form for your fellow. It gives the fellow helpful
information when going through your paper.
- NOTE: Your
first version is not a "draft!" It is your first best effort.
If it's not, then you are wasting my time and the fellow’s, and you are
less likely to end up with a satisfactory result.
- One week after you
turn in the paper, you will get feedback on it from the writing
fellow. Fellows do not give any
grades.
- You will have one
week to rethink and revise your paper. During this time you will meet
for a one-half hour conference with your fellow to discuss how you want
to revise your paper. You will turn in two copies of your second
version.
- The conference for
this paper is mandatory, and you must notify the fellow ahead of time,
if possible, when you cannot keep your appointment. You must then
reschedule it.
- I will return your
revision to you in one week, with feedback and a grade.
- You may seek
advice from either the writing fellow or me, or both, anytime during
this process.
- Paper 2:
- Exactly the same
process as for Paper 1.
- Paper 3:
- There is no
mandatory conference, but I strongly encourage you to meet with your
writing fellow because you will not be rewriting this paper.
- Fellows use a variety of
practices to help students with their writing, depending on the stage of
the writing process and students' needs. For example, they can help you
- brainstorm thoughts
for a paper and interpret the writing assignment
- revise your drafts
by helping you with organization, tone, the thesis statement, proper
citation, and the like
- use
a variety of stylistic techniques to polish near-final drafts.
- Writing fellows are a
wonderful and rare resource. Make good use of this opportunity.
·
Please familiarize yourself with the
University's statement on academic dishonesty
in the Student Code of Conduct, especially as it pertains to plagiarism.
- I prosecute cheating and I have won all
cases so far.
Table of
Contents
If you have a contagious illness, please do not come to class. Stay home and
rest. Just let me know as soon as you can why you will miss, or have missed,
class. Your classmates and I can help you catch up.
Clicking on the date in the calendar will take you to that date's readings
and P/F writing assignment. (Clicking on the day in the Weekly Schedule,
further below, will also take you to that day's assignment.)
Weekly Schedule of Reading and
Writing
I: OUR RESEARCH QUESTION: DOES
INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH TELL US ANYTHING USEFUL ABOUT DEALING WITH CHRONIC
ILLNESS?
Day 1 (2/12) Research teams formed and given
a diagnosis
Day 2 (2/14) Where do you get information about your just-diagnosed chronic
illness?
·
Cartoon
Day 3
(2/19) What kind of “job” is this chronic disease
for a patient (and the family)?
II. WHAT DO INTELLIGENCE TESTS
REALLY MEASURE?
Day 4 (2/21) A look
inside some IQ tests
Day 5 (2/26) Mainstream science vs. public perceptions
about IQ tests and intelligence
Day 6 (2/28) Validity: What test scores really mean
(education as the focus)
- Jensen's Straight
Talk, pp. 19-20, 26-34,
50-51. Pages 21-26, 42-50 are only recommended.
- ABC video, part 1 (in
class)
Day 7 (3/4) Intelligence as g (the general
mental ability factor)
- Jensen's Straight
Talk, pp. 52-73
- Deary's
Intelligence, pp. 13-16 (Dataset 2)
III. HOW MUCH AND WHY DOES
INTELLIGENCE MATTER IN EVERYDAY LIFE?
Day 8 (3/6) Complexity as the key to g's
importance in everyday life, I: Jobs as mental tests
- Gottfredson's "Why g matters,"
read pp. 79-80, 87-92 carefully and skim 81-86 well enough to explain the
main points highlighted in the article's subheadings
- Deary's
Intelligence, pp. 91-99 (Dataset 10)
- Handout on What is g?
Day 9 (3/11) Complexity as the key to g's
importance in everyday life, II: Job tasks as mental test items
Day 10 (3/13) Discussion of class findings: What cognitive
demands do the four chronic diseases make?
DUE: Paper 1
Day 11 (3/18) g, "functional literacy" (bills,
order forms, bus schedules, maps, etc.) and “health literacy” (prescription
labels, prep directions for lab test, appt. slips)
Day 12 (3/20)
Role of g in health and
safety
Day 13 (3/25)
Mental retardation
- Koegel & Edgerton ("Black 'six-hour
retarded children' as adults")
- Kenney
("When one falters...")
- Matarazzo ("Degrees of mental
retardation")
- NBC video ("The
struggle to be normal - fitting in"--in class)
Day 14
(3/27) Giftedness
- Benbow & Stanley ("Mathematically
precocious youth")
- Winner,
pp. 1-6, 14-31, 35-42; the rest is recommended ("Gifted
children")
- Laycock ("Terman
study")
- Readings on "genius"
contributions to society--not required
- Simonton
("The importance of intelligence")
- Adams
("The evolution of idiots" --very short, very funny piece
from a Dilbert book on the trouble that smart people create for everyone
else)
·
DUE: Paper 1 rewrite
SPRING
BREAK
IV. BIOLOGICAL & CULTURAL
CORRELATES OF INTELLIGENCE
Day 15
(4/8) Young and old: Or, the rise
and fall of raw mental power
Day 16 (4/10) -- TBA
Day 17 (4/15)
g and speed of simple mental
processing
- Eysenck
(Chapter
4: "Intelligence, reaction time, and inspection time")
Day 18 (4/17) Brain correlates of g
- Eysenck
(Chapter
5: "The biological basis of intelligence")
- Deary's
Intelligence, pp. 43-49 (Dataset 6)
- Everyday efforts to raise
intelligence nutritionally--not required
Day 19 (4/22) Genetics of intelligence I: Heritability
Day 20 (4/24) Discussions of class findings
Due: Paper 2
Day 21 (4/29) Genetics of
intelligence II: Two big surprises
- Eysenck
(Chapter
3: "Nature and nurture: The great partnership")
- Deary's
Intelligence, pp. 81-85 (Dataset 8)
- Murray
("Brains, rather than...")
- Worksheet
on shared and non-shared environmental effects--bring to class
Day 22
(5/1) Genetics of intelligence: Two
big myths
- Rowe,
pp. 133-146, 153-155
V. SOCIETAL CHALLENGES
POSED BY DIFFERENCES IN INTELLIGENCE
Day 23 (5/6) Cultural bias in testing: How much, if any?
Due: Rewrite 2
Day 24
(5/8) Magnitude and implications of
group differences
Day 25
(5/13) The
conflict between equality and excellence
Day 26 (5/15) Different views on how society should deal
with differences in intelligence
Day 27 (5/20) Relevance of
intelligence differences to health policy
·
Team discussions
Finals day (???)
Relevance of intelligence differences to health policy
·
Team recommendations
Paper
3: DUE: Friday, May 23, in my office or mailbox by 4:00 p.m.
Required and Recommended Readings
Note: Some readings may be deleted and others added during the
course of the semester. The readings (and pass-fail assignments) for any
specific class will be considered final at the time of the previous
class.
- Required books
available at UD bookstore
- Gardner, J. W.
(1984). Excellence: Can we be equal and excellent too? (revised edition). You will read most of this little
book. {Gardner's Excellence}
- Deary, I. (2000). Intelligence: A very short
introduction. Oxford:
Oxford
University
Press. You will read several chapters of this. {Deary's Intelligence}
- All other required
readings are available online (see below).
Table of
Contents
- Required and
recommended articles (all online, some requiring the class password:
6335)—plus some extras
- Adams,
Scott. (1996). Pp. 6-9 in The Dilbert
Principle. New
York: Harper Collins.
- Affeldt,
J., & Paterson, E. (1994, November 17). I.Q. tests are
designed for white middle-class children. Oakland Tribune,
p. A18.
- Benbow, C.P., & Stanley, J. C. (1983). Pp. 146-148 in Academic
precocity: Aspects of its development. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
Press.
- Boldt, D. (1998, Sept 19). Casting a new
thoughtful light on the racial gap in test scores. The Inquirer.
- Bornstein,
M. H. (1994). Infancy. Pp. 570-575 in R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Encyclopedia
of human intelligence. New York: Macmillan.
- Bouchard,
T. J., Jr. (1997). Whenever the twain shall meet. The Sciences,
pp. 52-57.
- Davis,
B.D. (1980). Three specters: Dangerous products, powers or ideas. Pp. 3-8
in A. Milunsky & G.J. Annas
(eds.), Genetics and the law II. New York: Plenum.
- Edgerton,
R. B. (1981). Another look at culture and mental retardation. Pp. 309-320
in M. J. Begab, H.C. Haywood, & H.L.
Garber. (Eds.), Psychosocial influences in retarded performance. Vol.
I: Issues and theories in development. Baltimore: University Park
Press.
- Eysenck,
H. J. (1998). Intelligence: A new look. New Brunswick, NJ:
Transaction.
- Chap.
3. "Nature and Nurture: The great partnership" (pp.
29-47).
- Chap.
4. “Intelligence, reaction time, and inspective time” (pp. 49-60).
- Chap.
5. “The biological basis of intelligence” (pp. 61-80)
- Fowler,
S. (1996, March 1996) "Test helps teams make smart picks." The
Charlotte Observer, pp. 1A, 15A.
- Gardner,
H. (1998, Winter). A multiplicity of
intelligences. Scientific American Presents, 9 (4), 19-23,
51.
- Gottfredson, L. S.
(1998, Winter). The
general intelligence factor. Scientific American Presents, 9
(4), 24-29, 51.
- Glazer,
N. (1994, October 31). The lying game. The New Republic,
15-16.
- Goo, S.
K. (1998). "Steering wheels are lap desks in scary mobile
offices." Wall Street Journal, September 23, p. B1.
- Gottfredson, L. S.
(2002).
"Everyday effects of health literacy." Excerpt from g:
Highly general and highly practical. A chapter in R. J. Sternberg &
E. L. Grigorenko (Eds.), The
general intelligence factor: How general is it? Erlbaum.
- Gottfredson,
L. S., & Deary, I. J. (2004). Intelligence predicts health and
longevity, but why? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(1),
1-4.
- Grenier, R. (1994, October 19). The ongoing
irrelevance of IQ. Washington
Times, p. A19.
- Herrnstein,
R., & Murray, C. (1994). The bell curve: Intelligence and
class structure in American life, Chapter 21: "The way we are
headed". New
York: Free Press.
- Holewa ,
L. (1998, Oct. 16). High-tech parking meters prove too taxing. News
Journal. p. A4.
- Holloway
M. (1998, Winter). Seeking "smart"
drugs. Scientific American Presents, 9 (4), 24-29, 51.
- Jensen, A. R.
(1998). The g factor: The science of mental ability. Greenwich CT:
Praeger.
- Kaus,
M.
(“End of equality" article)
- Kaus,
M. (1992, June 22).
The end of equality. Excerpt in The
New Republic.
- Kenney,
E. L. (1997, November 3). When one falters, the other is there. News
Journal, pp. A1, A8.
- Koegel,
P., & Edgerton, R. B. (1984). Black "six-hour
retarded children" as young adults. Pp. 145-171 in R. B. Edgerton
(Ed.), Lives in process: Mildly retarded adults in a large city. Washington, DC: American Association on
Mental Deficiency.
- Laycock, F. (1979). Terman's
studies. Pp. 38-48 in Gifted children.
Glenview,
IL: Scott, Foresman and Co.
- Lindberger, U., & Baltes, P. B. (1994). Aging
and intelligence. Pp. 52-66 in R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Encyclopedia of
human intelligence. New York: Macmillan.
- Loehlin, J.C. (1992). Should we do research on
race differences in intelligence? Intelligence, 16 , 1-4.
- Lunsky, Y., & Reiss, S. (1998, March). Health
needs of women with mental retardation and development disabilities
(Letter). American Psychologist, 53, (3), p.319.
- Maller, J. B. (1933). Vital indices and their
relation to psychological and social factors. Human Biology, 5,
94-121.
- Masten, A. S. & Coatesworth,
J. D. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable
environments. American Psychologist, (53), 205-220.
- Matarazzo, J. D. (1972). Weschler's
measurement of adult intelligence. Baltimore, MD:
Williams & Wilkins.
- Murray,
C. (1997, May 25). Brains, rather than family background, determine how
well our children will do in later life, says author of The Bell Curve
Charles Murray. London
Sunday Times.
- Sample
data on the heritability of attitudes and life events
- Seligman, D. (1994).
Chapter
6 (Slipping: How intelligence declines with age") in A
question of intelligence: The IQ debate in America.
New York:
Citadel Press.
- Schofield,
J. W. (1982). Pp. 84-92 in Black and white in school: Trust, tension,
or tolerance? Praeger.
- Seligman, D. (1994).
Chapter 1 ("What
it's like to take an IQ test") in A
question of intelligence: The IQ debate in America. New York:
Citadel Press.
- Seligman, D.
(1998, April 20). Gender and brains II. Forbes, pp. 52.
- Seligman, D. (1998, April 6). Gender mender.
Forbes, pp. 72.
- Shweder, R.A. (1991, March 17). Dangerous
thoughts. [Review of In search of human nature, by C. N. Degler. New York: Oxford University]. New York
Times Book Review, pages 1, 30, 31, 35. {ER}
- Simonton,
D. K. (1994). Chapter 8 ("The importance of intelligence") in Greatness:
Who makes history and why. New York: Guilford,
pp. 216-246.
- Thurow, R. "Duh...NFL players really aren't
so dumb." The Wall Street Journal, April 19, 1996, p. B1.
- Weissglass, J. (1998, April 15). The SAT:
Public-spirited or preserving privilege? Education Week, 44-45.
- Winner,
E. (1996). Pp. 1-43 in Gifted
children: Myths and realities. New York: Basic.
Table
of Contents
Linda S.
Gottfredson
219b Willard Hall
School of Education
College of Human Services, Education, and
Public Policy
University of Delaware
Newark, DE
19716
(302) 831-1650 (phone)
(302) 831-6058 (fax)
gottfred@udel.edu
© URL=
www.udel.edu/educ/gottfredson/intel/index.html
This page was last modified on 02/11/08.