Something New.

So I've been using a computer and the internet pretty much my whole life, but not once did I think to create a blog. I felt that nothing interesting ever happened to me, so I couldn't possibly have anything to blog about, but now that I have already blogged a bit, I think I might have interesting things to share. Unfortunately, I don't have much spare time on my hands to blog about anything, as I find that my week consists basically of school, work, more school and more work. It's refreshing to discover something new to do with the internet. Nonetheless, it's a nice, fun thing to learn how to do.

The Cognitive Approach to Intelligence

In contrast to the psychometric approach, cognitive approaches to intelligence emphasize several kinds of intelligence and the strategies people use to solve problems. Stenberg's theory of intelligence prosposes three aspects of intelligence; componential, experiential (creativity), contextual (practicality). Contextual knowledge allows you to acquire tacit knowledge, practical strategies that are important for success but are not explicitly taught. Howard Gardner proposes that there are actually several "intelligences" besides those actually considered, including musical and kinesthetic intelligence, and the capacity to understand the natural world, yourself, or others. The latter two overlap with what some psychologists call emotional intelligence. Intellectual achievement also depends on motivation, hard work, and attitudes. Research shows that in teenagers, self-discipline predicts grades better than IQ does. Cross-cultural work shows that beliefs about the origins of mental abilities, parental standards, and attitudes toward education can also help account for differences in academic performance.

The Psychometric Approach to intelligence

Theorists who follow the psychometric approach to intelligence believe that a general ability called the "g factor" underlies many specific abilities tapped by intelligence tests, whereas others do not. The traditional psychometric approach to intelligence focuses on how well people perform on standardized aptitude tests. The intelligence quotient, IQ, represents how a person has done on an intelligence test compared to other people. Alfred Binet designed the first widely used intelligence test, to identify children who could benefit from remedial work. But in North America, people assumed that intelligence tests revealed "natural ability" and used the tests to categorize people in school and in the armed services.
IQ tests have been criticized for being biased in favour of white, middle-class people. However, efforts to construct tests that are free of cultural influence have been disappointing. Culture affects nearly everything to do with taking a test, from attitudes to problem-solving strategies. Negative stereotypes about a person's ethnicity, gender, or age may cause the person to suffer stereotype threat, which can lead to anxiety or "disidentificaton" with the test.

What is Intelligence ?

Lots of people tend to disagree on what intelligence really is. Some equate it with the ability to reason abstractly, others with the ability to learn and profit from experience in daily life. Some emphasize the ability to think rationally, others the ability to act purposefully. These qualities are all probably part of what most people mean by intelligence, but theorists weigh them differently. One of the longest running debates in psychology is whether a global quality called "intelligence" even exists. A typical intelligence test asks you to do several things such as provide a specific bit of information, notice similarities between objects, solve arithmetic problems, define words, fill in the missing parts of incomplete pictures etc. I personally think that these types of tests do not measure every aspect of intelligence. Sure, it might measure how smart someone is academically, but it leaves out other aspects like emotional intelligence and everyday life scenarios. There are two approaches to intelligence, in psychology: the psychometric approach and the cognitive approach. My view on what intelligence is, is more in tune with the cognitive approach. What do you think? Do you agree with me ?

The Specs !

Hi, my name is Ashley Chand. I am 19 years old. My hometown is Portland, Oregon-yes, I was born in America. I currently reside in Surrey, BC. I am currently a student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, enrolled in General Studies, just to get a feel for what subjects I'm really interested in. From all of the classes I have taken so far, I find Human Biology to be the most interesting, so my career goal is to either be a nurse or doctor.

Whenever i manage to have spare time, I enjoy dancing-I am part of a hip hop team, baking, yoga, and hiking. I usually don't have time to do much, these days I find that my days consist mostly of school and work, but I guess you have to sacrifice some things in order to become successful in life.