g

Examples of g in the following topics:

• History of Intelligence Testing

  • Charles Spearman was the pioneer of the theory that underlying disparate cognitive tasks is a single general intelligence factor or which he called g.
  • In the normal population, g and IQ are roughly 90% correlated.
  • This strong correlation means that if you know someone's IQ score, you can use that with a high level of accuracy to predict their g, and vice versa.
  • He further argued that g should be free of cultural bias such as differences in language and education type.
  • This test is a nonverbal group test typically used in educational settings, designed to measure the reasoning ability associated with g.

• Specific Phobia

  • Blood-injury phobias, (e.g., fear of getting a shot, fear of the sight of blood)
  • In order to be diagnosed with a specific phobia, a person must experience a marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable, cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation (e.g., flying, heights, animals, receiving an injection, seeing blood).

• Sleep-Wake Disorders

  • It is often a symptom of a mood disorder (e.g., emotional stress, anxiety, depression), an underlying health condition (e.g., asthma, diabetes, heart disease, pregnancy, or a neurological condition), or abuse of alcohol or drugs.
  • The insomnia must not be better explained by and must not occur exclusively during the course of another sleep-wake disorder (e.g., narcolepsy, a breathing-related sleep disorder, a circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder, a parasomnia).
  • The insomnia must not be attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication).

• Schedules of Reinforcement

  • The variable-ratio schedule is unpredictable and yields high and steady response rates, with little if any pause after reinforcement (e.g., gambling).
  • A fixed-ratio schedule is predictable and produces a high response rate, with a short pause after reinforcement (e.g., eyeglass sales).
  • The variable-interval schedule is unpredictable and produces a moderate, steady response rate (e.g., fishing).
  • The fixed-interval schedule yields a scallop-shaped response pattern, reflecting a significant pause after reinforcement (e.g., hourly employment).

• Depressants

  • However, barbiturates are still used as anti-convulsants (e.g., phenobarbital, an anti-seizure medication), as sedatives (e.g., sodium thiopental), and analgesics for cluster headaches and migraines (e.g., Fioricet).

• Drive-Reduction Theory of Motivation

  • For instance, when you are dehydrated, freezing cold, or exhausted, the appropriate biological responses are activated automatically (e.g., body fat reserves are mobilized, urine production is inhibited, you shiver, blood is shunted away from the body surface, etc.).
  • Primary drives are innate biological needs (e.g., thirst, hunger, and desire for sex) that are usually necessary for survival.
  • Secondary drives, on the other hand, are not usually necessary for survival and are often linked to social or identity factors (e.g., the desire for wealth).

• Controversies in Intelligence and Standardized Testing

  • Psychometricians have sought to make intelligence tests more culture fair and valid over the years, and to make sure that they measure g, or the "general intelligence factor" thought to underly all intelligence.
  • Researchers have learned that IQ and general intelligence (g) correlate with some social outcomes, such as lower IQs being linked to incarceration and higher IQs being linked to job success and wealth.
  • They concluded that the SAT is primarily a test of g or general intelligence.

• Intellectual Disabilities

  • significant limitations in one or more areas of adaptive behavior (e.g., communication, self-help skills, interpersonal skills) across multiple environments, and
  • Environmental factors, such as exposure to certain diseases (e.g., whooping cough, measles, or meningitis) or toxins (e.g., lead or mercury), can cause intellectual disability if medical care is delayed or inadequate.

• Defining Intelligence

  • Based on the results of a series of studies collected in England, Spearman concluded that there was a common function across intellectual activities that he called g, or general intelligence.
  • Since the article, research has found g to be highly correlated with many important social outcomes and the single best predictor of successful job performance.
  • The current American Psychological Association definition of intelligence involves a three-level hierarchy of intelligence factors, with g at its apex.

• Theories of Multiple Intelligence

  • Today, the most widely accepted theory of intelligence is the "three stratum theory," which recognizes that there are three different levels of intelligence, all governed by the top level, g, or general intelligence factor.
  • Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: the control and use of one's body (e.g.,  dance, sports, art, primitive hunting, etc.)
  • Spatial intelligence: visual perceptions and manipulations (e.g.,  packing items into a box, reading a map, etc.)