THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE

A. Psychometric Theories- sought to understand the structure of intelligence: the form it

takes, its categories and its composition
 Charles E. Spearman
- a British psychologist who first published the first psychometric theory in 1904
-His theory noted that people who excelled on one mental ability test often did well on
the others and those who did poorly on one of them tended to do poorly on the others.
-devised a technique of statistical analysis for this concept
-discovered the two sources of these individual differences: the “general factor” (our
general intellectual ability) and a test-specific factor
 L.L. Thurstone
- an American psychologist who disagreed with Spearman’s theory and his isolation of
the “general factor” of intelligence
-believed that if analysis were more thorough, seven factors would emerge namely:
“primary mental abilities” and included verbal comprehension, verbal fluency, numbers,
spatial visualization, inductive reasoning, memory and perceptual speed.
 Raymond Catell and Philip Vernon
- an American and Canadian psychologist who combined the first two theories, stating
that abilities are hierarchical
-“General factor” of intellectual is at the top of hierarchy, below are the successive
levels on narrowing abilities and ending with Thurstone’s “primary mental abilities”.
It became apparent to many psychologists that there were problems that could not be
identified by psychometric theories because of the limitations of testing and analysis.
Cognitive theories began to fill the gap that psychometric theories had no means of
addressing on the most significant problem extended beyond the number of abilities.

B. Cognitive Theories- the study of individual differences and commonalities in human

behavior are united as proposed on 1957 by an American psychologist Lee Chronbach
This approach to intelligence assumed that a more intelligent person represents
information better and operates more quickly on these representations than a less
intelligent person.
 Earl Hunt, Nancy Frost, and Clifford Lunneborg-
- Showed that psychometric modeling and cognitive modeling could be combined
using tasks that allowed them to study the basis of cognition- perception, learning
and memory
- Individual differences in the tasks became apparent which they related to differing
patterns of forming and operating mental representations
  Robert Sternberg
-argued that there was only a weak relationship between basic cognitive tasks and
psychometric test scores because tasks being used were too simple, though they involve
cognitive processes, they are peripheral rather than central
The assumption for cognitive approach is that we process chunks of information one at
a time, trying to combine the processes into an overall problem-solving strategy. Despite
evidence and support for cognitive intelligence theories, major problem remains regarding the
nature of intelligence. Conventional tests do not reliably predict performance. Therefore, the
context in which cognition operates also need to be accounted.
C. Exceptional Development
 Giftedness
-psychometricians and psychologists equated giftedness with high IQ
-other researchers (e.g. Cattell, Guilford and Thurstone) argued that intellect cannot be
expressed in such a unitary manner and have suggested more multifaceted approaches
to intelligence
-Conception of Giftedness is the work of Sternberg and Davidson on the reexamination
of “giftedness” which supports the notion on multiple components to intelligence.
-Most of the investigators define giftedness in terms of multiple qualities, not all of
which are intellectual.
-Motivation, high self-concept and creativity are the key qualities in the broadened
conceptions of giftedness
 Mental Retardation
-a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning basic motor and language skills during
childhood and a significantly below-normal global intellectual capacity as an adult or
sometimes people with an IQ of 70 or below
 Autism
-developmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and
communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior all exhibited before a child is
three year-old
-early intervention may help children gain self-care and social skills, but there is no cure
with this condition
 Asperger’s Syndrome or Asperger’s Disorder
-one of several autism spectrum disorder (ASD) characterized by difficulties in social
interaction and by restricted stereotyped interests and activities
-no single treatment for AS and the effectiveness of particular intervention is supported
by only limited data
-Researchers and people with AS have contributed to a shift in attitudes that AS is a
difference rather than a disability.
 Down Syndrome or Trisomy 21
-a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all part of an extra 21 st chromosome
-named after John Langdon Down in 1866, and was identified as a chromosome 21
trisomy by Jerome Lejeune in 1959
-a condition characterized by a combination of major and minor differences in structure
-often associated with some impairment of cognitive ability (lower than average) and
physical growth as well as facial appearance. It can be identified during pregnancy or at
birth
-The incidence of Down syndrome is estimated at 1 per 800-1,00o births.