What Have You Learned?

1. Question 21.1

   Many neuroscientists have searched for a genetic underpinning of g; how successful have they been?

   Many neuroscientists search for genetic underpinnings of intellectual capacity, although they have not yet succeeded in finding g. Some aspects of brain function, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, hold promise. Many other scientists also seek one common factor that undergirds IQ—perhaps prenatal brain development, experiences in infancy, or physical health.

2. Question 21.2

   What does cross-sectional research on IQ scores throughout adulthood usually find?

   Cross-sectional research on IQ scores suggests that scores peak in adolescence and gradually decline across the adulthood years.

3. Question 21.3

   What does longitudinal research on IQ scores throughout adulthood usually find?

   Longitudinal research on IQ scores suggests that scores peak in middle adulthood, and begin to decline in the late adulthood years.

4. Question 21.4

   In what ways are younger generations more intelligent than older ones, according to cross-sequential research?

   Each successive cohort scored higher in adulthood than did the previous generations in verbal memory and inductive reasoning.

5. Question 21.5

   How do historical changes affect the results of longitudinal research?

   Unusual events such as a major war or a breakthrough in public health can affect each cohort. More mundane changes, such as widespread use of the Internet or less secondhand smoke, can make it hard to predict the future based on the history of the past.

6. Question 21.6

   How does cross-sequential research control for cohort effects?

   The cross-sequential research design controls for cohort effects by combining the cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. The study begins as a cross-sectional design, but then those initial groups are retested later. At the retest, a new group is added. The problems inherent in the cross-sectional design, such as the cohort effect, are controlled for with the longitudinal component. The problems inherent in the longitudinal design, such as practice effects and attrition, are controlled for by the cross-sectional component.

7. Question 21.7

   What factors does K. Warner Schaie think have the most significant impact on adult intelligence?

   School curricula may explain cohort differences in verbal memory and inductive reasoning. By the mid-twentieth century, reading, writing, and self-expression were more emphasized than in the beginning of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The fact that the later-born population, on average, has more education and better health may account for the delay in age-related declines. Finally, Schaie found that recent cohorts of adults more often have intellectually challenging jobs and thus higher intellectual ability.

8. Question 21.8

   Why would a person prefer to have greater crystallized intelligence than fluid intelligence?

   Crystallized intelligence is the accumulation of facts, information, and knowledge as a result of education and experience. Intelligent adults read widely, think deeply, and remember what they learn, so their achievement reflects their aptitude. Greater vocabulary, knowledge base, and memory for important facts are all extremely important for practical intelligence.

9. Question 21.9

   Why would a person prefer to have greater fluid intelligence than crystallized intelligence?

   Fluid intelligence is quick and flexible, allowing people to learn anything, even things that are unfamiliar and unconnected to what they already know. People high in fluid intelligence can draw inferences, understand relationships between concepts, and readily process new ideas and facts in part because their working memory is large and flexible.

10. Question 21.10

    If you want to convince your professors that you are smart, what might you do and what intelligence does that involve?

    I would display my ability to analyze the course content using my analytic intelligence, and I would use creative intelligence to interpret the information from my own perspective (practical intelligence).

11. Question 21.11

    If you want to convince your neighbors to compost their food and yard waste, what might you do and what kind of intelligence does that involve?

    I would use my practical intelligence to apply the knowledge that I have acquired about the most likely strategies for convincing people to compost. I might need to get creative—if they are reluctant to compost because of space limitations in their yard or fear of the smell, for example, I would point them to specific composting systems that address those issues.

12. Question 21.12

    What kinds of tests could measure creative intelligence?

    Sternberg developed tests of creative intelligence that include writing a short story titled “The Octopus’s Sneakers” or planning an advertising campaign for a new doorknob. Those with many unusual ideas earn high scores.

13. Question 21.13

    In what situations is emotion-focused coping the best?

    When the situation cannot be changed, it is best to use emotion-focused coping, in which people try to change their emotional reactions to the situation.

14. Question 21.14

    In what situations is problem-focused coping the best?

    When the situation needs to change, problem-focused coping, in which people attack the stressor directly, is the best response.

15. Question 21.15

    Why is religious coping more common in adulthood than in adolescence?

    Social scientists find that religious coping, in which people believe that there is some divine purpose for the problem, is particularly likely when people have unexpected illnesses or disasters. These kinds of stressors are more common in adulthood than in adolescence, and thus this coping strategy is more common in adulthood than in adolescence.

16. Question 21.16

    What might a person do to optimize ability in some area not discussed in the book, such as playing the flute, or growing tomatoes, or building a cabinet?

    If individuals want to optimize their ability to learn a task, they must focus on that one chosen thing and then practice. Selective optimization means that each adult selects certain aspects of intelligence to optimize and neglects the rest. When adults are motivated to do well, few age-related deficits are apparent.

17. Question 21.17

    How might a person compensate for fading memory skills?

    A person could compensate by using more external cues to memory, such a lists, sticky-notes, and reminder alarms from their cellular phones.

18. Question 21.18

    How does the saying, “Can’t see the forest for the trees,” relate to what you have learned about adult cognition?

    Novices follow formal procedures and rules (trees), whereas experts rely more on past experiences and immediate contexts (forest).

19. Question 21.19

    Think of an area of expertise that you have and most people do not. What mistakes do people who are not experts in your area tend to make?

    Answers will vary.

20. Question 21.20

    How does automatic processing contribute to expertise?

    When experts are working in their area of expertise, they use automatic processing to utilize information rapidly and efficiently. Automatic processing allows them to see the “whole picture” and make fast—and generally accurate—decisions based on that.

21. Question 21.21

    Explain how intuition might help or diminish ability.

    Intuitive reasoning allows experts to rely on context and experience to create responses that are less stereotypic than novices would create. Given time pressure that prevents conscious thought, experts are more accurate than novices in making judgments. However, if an expert has misjudged a situation, his or her intuition may lead to an erroneous conclusion.

22. Question 21.22

    In what occupations would age be an asset, and why?

    In occupations in which expertise is a factor, older workers will generally perform better than younger workers—if they are motivated to do their best.

23. Question 21.23

    In what occupations would age be a liability, and why?

    Occupations that require mainly fluid intelligence may favor younger employees.