PSYD34
Human Intelligence
Fall 2011
The class scheduled for this Thursday (November 24th) is cancelled. I will be in my office next Thursday morning (December 1st) to meet and discuss term papers.
Instructor: Dr. Douglas A. Bors
Office: S638
email: bors@utsc.utoronto.ca
Office Hours: Wednesdays 9:30 to 12:00
Texts: Kline, P. Intelligence: The Psychomentric view. London, Routledge.
Gould, S.J.The mismeasure of man. London, W.W. Norton.
Assigned articles to be announced.
This course begins with a review of the classical theories of human intelligence, with a focus on psychometric theory and factor analysis. We will start with the fundamental problem of understanding what an individual's score on a test represents. Then we will work our way up the issue of the consistent or inconsistent individual differences on the test. Crucial for all this are the notions of reliability and validity. following this we will survey contemporary approaches to intelligence and the researches that they have generated. Next we will critically examine the concept of heritability, how it is estimated, and its use and misueses.
Grading:
Your final grade in the course will be based on two short (two pages; 10% each) descriptive-reaction papers (the nature of which will be discussed in class), a mid-term paper (20%) and a final paper (60%). the mid-term paper's (hard copy) due date will be announced in class. The final paper (hard copy) is due at the last class meeting. For both your mid-term and final paper you will be given three topics from which to choose. The paper should follow APA format and have a cover page. three percent will be decutive from your mark for each day that a paper is late.
PSYD34 Mid-term Paper Topics
The papers should be four or five pages of text, not including a cover page and a reference list. Use your texts and one or two other references. The papers are due on or before October 22nd.