Discussion post 5

The assignment is to choose only two of my classmate's post and reply to their post. One paragraph or two is enough for each of my classmates. Because it is like a discussion post try to be informal and use words like ( I like your points on..., I found your post really interesting, you have a good point..., when I read your post I..., I believe that ....) something like that (using the "I" word)

The rubric

For the Response Posts you will be graded as follows:

Points Awarded	0	1-­‐2	3-­‐4
Criteria	You did not complete any response posts, or your response Posts did not contribute to the discussion question.	You only completed one response post and/or your responses did not contribute to the discussion in a significant way.	Your responses advanced the conversation in a meaningful way, and provided a helpful and unique perspective on the discussion topic.

The question was:

How would you describe the general intelligence factor, "g"?  Discuss the importance of nature (biology) and nurture (environment) in determining "g" (support your response with evidence from the readings).  How can you define rational thinking?  Do you believe rational thinking is part of "g"?  Why or why not based on the readings this week?  How can rational thinking be tested? 

Your answer was:

The study reveals that the general intelligence factor (g) is considered as the existence of a comprehensive mental capacity that mainly affects performance based on cognitive ability measures. As noted by the Spearman in his research" g" factor was liable for general performance based on mental ability tests (Dunkel, 2013). Spearman argues different people would excel in some areas. However, he concluded that those people who do well in certain areas are often the same people who also did well in other areas.

As mentioned in the study, nature (biology) is defined as the hereditary factors and the overall genes that influence people's personality (Branden, 2011). Mainly, nature determines "g" in terms of a person's characters and physical appearance. The biology of g indicates that g is mostly independent cultural content such as beliefs regarding the concept of intelligence. On the other hand, nurture (environment) is about the environmental variables that impact people — for instance, the social relationship, culture, and childhood experiences. Finding from the study reveals that children do not experience influential rearing environmental aspects in the same way.

According to scholars, rational thinking organized extension and development of ideas with the use of established rules of inference and judgments and evading rhetorical questions, logical fallacies and cognitive collapses (Stanovich & West, 2014). Based on the readings, I believe that rational thinking is part of "g". This is because rational thinking is also about perception, what people mainly think and speak, which is connected to "g". Moreover, rational thinking can be tested with the implementation of 1Q test. However, this test has some limitation since some measures are not included in IQ rest. Therefore, researchers are working hard to come to develop RQ test, which can better measure rational thinking.

Ellie’s answer:

In the ZAPS assignment, if a person does well on one section of a standardized test, they're likely to do well on the other areas. Likewise if someone does poorly on one, they're likely to do poorly on them all. This ability to generally pass or generally fail, seemed to be what 'g' is. 

In The General Intelligence Factor, 'g' is impacted more by a person's genetics than their environments. On average, as a person gets older their intelligence will reveal more about their genetics than their environments. A study of adopted kids showed that their IQs did not line up with the average IQs of their adoptive family, which means that their intelligence genetics came from their biological parents. 

Rational thinking is being able to make decisions that have the best outcome and that support a person's goals or ideals (Rational Thinking and IQ). IQ tests may measure 'rational' thinking in terms such as finishing the pattern '9, 18, 27, 36', but I think the need to think rationally presents itself more when a person is making a big life decision and cannot rely on general knowledge.

Rational thinking can be examined through testing fluid and crystallized rationality, which are the process and knowledge structure components of rational thinking.

Nik’s answer:

I would describe the general intelligence factor as the factor of intelligence that would help shape common sense and innate information that everyone is born with. Biology factors into intelligence by generational intelligence passed down throughout a family. There is a higher chance that if your parents were scholars then the children will be as well. They know what it takes to get to that level. Nurturing plays a giant role with intelligence because every person goes through a phase in life where nurturing is the most important impact and the brain develops immensely when being nurtured. You see kids that grow up in foster homes less likely to go to college and further education beyond that because they weren't nurtured at that prime age. 

I would put rational thinking in with the general intelligence because it coincides with common sense learning. Rational thinking could be tested by giving individuals from all different types of backgrounds, home life, etc and see where there are similarities and differences.

Jessica’s answer:

The general intelligence factor, "g" is the mental capacity that affects performance on cognitive ability. The general intelligence factor says that intelligence is both parts of biology and environment. People with more opportunities to learn or more likely to seem as though they are "more intelligent". Studies suggest that gender, physical stature, brain size as determined by magnetic resonance imaging is moderately correlated with IQ. The brains of bright people use less energy during problem-solving that the brains of others. Rational thinking would be defined to me as the ability to consider variables in situations and come to a good conclusion/ decision. I do not think that rational thinking is part of "g". I think that rational thinking is influenced both by nature and nurture. You can often make sound decisions based on your instinct however, in some situations more thinking and consideration is needed, and then it comes to nurture. I think that these articles demonstrated that rational thinking can be both, nature and nurture. Studies have shown that "g" is largely influenced by biology, and the environment will always play a role in how we act. Rational can be tested in everyday life, as well as by test. Rationality is not always based on IQ, just because people have lower IQ scores does not mean they will test lower on the rationality test. People can learn to make rational decisions, and people cannot always learn to have more intelligence and vice versa, therefore I do not think rational thinking is part of "g"

Jillian’s answer:

General intelligence is the mental age of a person getting tested on cognitive task that display different aspects of the person's intelligence. It is basically a test based on skills and information that a person is expected to learn due to cultural context. The nature aspect is that they are born with their talent, their personality, and how they look when facing their strength and weakness. It is difficult because everyone has different strengths and talents from other individual. According to the article, The General Intelligence Factor, the person's character can change the outcome of their happiness or success. For example, one person can be good at music and purse a career in acting while another person is good at science and purse a career in the medical field. When interacting with the environment, the individual could be expose to something that can change themselves or their entire life. According to Linda S. Gottfredson, the environment effects fades away over time, it doesn't grow with the person.  

Rational thinking means common sense with reliable facts instead of reckless decisions. Using judgment and dictate the situation is a part of rational thinking. I believe that rational thinking is part of the "g" but the environment aspect. It depends on what you parents teach and raise you. For example, my little sister is easier going and more likely make bad decisions because of her birth order. Being the last child to be born, my parents aren't as strict with her and don't lay the rules down as much. According to Keith E. Stanovich & Richard West, one of the aspects of irrationality is "the tendency toward self-serving personal judgments" which relates to bad decision making. Rational thinking can be tested on a series of questions with different types of answer that the individual could pick or present with a situation in front of a group of people without them knowing that it is fake. 

Matthew’s answer:

The general intelligence factor "g" is a construct that may be extracted via factor analysis in order to assess an individual's cognitive competence. Biology suggests that brain size is moderately correlated with IQ. Brains of individuals that are "smarter" typically use less energy when engaged in problem solving than others. It has also been found that those with higher IQs respond to sensory stimuli more promptly and consistently, such as an audible click. Some individuals are born with hereditary potentials as well. All of these factors influence "g" by one's cognitive abilities. Environmental factors to consider while determining "g" may include personality and societal attitudes. It has been found that environmental factors also fade with time, for example, children are dependent and influenced by parents as well as school. As they grow older, independence becomes more common which leaves them with choices not available to children. Findings also suggest that sharing an environment with others, such as siblings, has some effect on overall IQ but is dissipated by adolescence. These factor's affect "g" more so with young children, but biology retains a larger impact on IQ as findings concluded that IQ correlates with age by increasing as one continues to grow older.

Rational thinking is the ability to utilize one's goals and beliefs in order to take appropriate action. I believe that rational thinking certainly is a component of "g." When we apply mental shortcuts, or heuristics, to decision making processes, our brain must use energy to automatically reduce uncertainty during the process. If energy is a component of one's cognitive skills, then rational thinking and "g" must be intertwined. Rational thinking may be tested by way of mini experiments, such as those we've completed in the recent ZAPS assignment. Those experiments took advantage heuristics, framing, and anchoring to phrase questions in which would ultimately effect our decision making. This influenced the evaluation of the psychological prospects of the choices available in place of the objective expected values.