Intelligence and Its Measurement

1. What is Intelligence?
   1. Robert Sternberg polled all types of laypersons and psychologists, and defined intelligence as:
      1. reasons logically and well.
      2. reads widely.
      3. displays common sense.
      4. keeps an open mind.
      5. reads with high comprehension.
   2. Sir Francis Galton (1883)
      1. Defined the most intelligent people as those who "were those equipped with the best sensory abilities, for it is through the senses that one comes to know the world."
      2. Also, Galton felt that intelligence was a number of distinct processes or abilities that had to be measured separately.
   3. Alfred Binet (1890)
      1. Explicitly defined intelligence as "the components of intelligence are reasoning, judgement, memory, and the power of abstraction."
      2. Measured intelligence as "general mental ability of individuals in intelligent behaviors."
      3. Described intelligence testing as classifying, not measuring.
   4. David Wechsler (1958)
      1. Defined intelligence as the "aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with the environment, and the only way to measure intelligence is evaluated quantitatively by the measurement of the various aspect of these abilities."
   5. Jean Piaget
      1. Defined intelligence as an evolving biological adaptation to the outside world; as cognitive skills are gained, adaptation increases, and mental trial and error replace actual physical trial and error.
      2. He believed experiences require cognitive organization or reorganization in the mental structure of SCHEMA.
      3. Piaget's 2 Mental Operations
         1. Assimilation: actively organizing new information so that it fits in with what already is perceived and thought.
         2. Accommodation: changing already perceived thoughts to fit in with new information.
   6. Factor Analysts:
      1. Charles Spearman (1904).
         1. Spearman examined his Theory of Universal Unity of the intellective function by correlating intelligence tests into the "2 Factor Theory of Intelligence."
         2. G Factor (i.e., general intelligence) comes from general electrochemical mental energy from the brain for problem solving.
      2. Measuring the Intelligence of Adults
         1. What Abilities Should be Assessed?
            1. General information retention?
            2. Social judgement?
            3. Quantitative reasoning?
            4. Expressive language and memory?
      3. Popular Intelligence Measures
         1. WISC-R/WISC-III
         2. WPPI.
         3. WAIS-R /WAIS-III
         4. Stanford-Binet.
         5. Kauffman Assessment Battery for Children.
         6. Kauffman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Scale.
         7. Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery.