CH AP TE R 12

Intelligence

acte risti c. Intelligence is one of

Intelligence is an imp orta nt hum an char
e than to define. We often refer
those concepts that are easi er to reco gniz
to others' intelligence, desc ribi ng peop
le as brig ht, shar p or quick, on one
or idiot on the othe r hand . The
hand, or as slow, dull, and even stup id
abilities to und ersta nd complex
term "Intelligence" refe rs to indi vidu al's
t, to lear n from experience, to
ideas, to adapt effectively to the env iron men
overcomEi obstacles by careful
engage in various form s of reas onin g, to
thought (Neisser et al., 1996).

E
l2,1 DEFINITIONS OF INTELLIGENC
. nce was d eve1ope_d by .the French
One Of the first defi nitio ns of inte llige t
t
t of the firS mtelbgen ce !es '
psychologist resp onsi ble for the dev elop men
Alfred Binet (11 July; 185 7-18 Octo ber,
1911) and an
-9 February
Am;~:~
, ·
Psych.ologis . on (15 une, 1916
· t Herbe rt Ale' xan der Sim J . t felt that

inte!Inet, the inve ntor of the indi vidu

al intelhge~~~ te:s
'reasoning,
abi 1d e~gned his tests
1
iin .ge~t behaviour wou ld be man ifes ted in such he )esi gued that the
lity, so
to agination, insig ht, judg men t, and adap tabi
Sim on (l 905 d-:e n to reason
es evaluate just thes e func tion s. Bin et and mpr ehen '
.
sence of · t ellig "To judg e well , to co
WeU ,, m ence is: ·t of an
· • ener al capaci y is
A • ·
indi .ceordmg to. Ster n (1914) ' . "Int ellig ence is a g equi reme
..
nts. !t ,
of life.
"VJdua] . lr:ng to newd rcond1t1on s
consciously to adju st his thm .ruu
the blem s an
genera} men tal ada ptab ility to new pro
351
 352

Alfred Binet Herbert Alexander Simon

(1857-1911) (1916-2001)

According to Thorndike (1914), "Intelligence may be defined as the power

of good responses from the point of view of truth or fact." Intelligence is
of three kinds-socia l intelligence, concrete intelligence, and abstract
intelligence. "Social intelligence" is the ability to understand and deal
with other people, such as sensitivity to social cues, interest of one's
surroundings, and a concern for important norms.
Lewis Madison Terman (1916), described intelligence as "The ability
to carry on abstract thinking."
According to Terman A. Merril (1921), ''An individual is intelligent in
the proportion that he is able to carry on abstract thinking."
According to Thurstone (1924-1973), "Intelligence, considered as a
mental trait, is the capacity to make impulses focal at their early,
unfinished stage of formation. Intelligence is therefore the capacity for
abstraction, which is an inhibitory process."
According to Wagnon (1937), "Intelligence is the capacity to learn and
adjust to relatively new and changing conditions." ..
According to Burt (1941), "Intelligence is a fixed, inherited cognitive
ability."
According to Stoddard (1943), "Intelligence is the ability to un<lert~e
.
ac IVI·t·1es t hat are difficult, complex and abstract and which are adaptive
t
.
to a goal, and are done quickly and which have social value and which
lead to the creation of something new and different."
Acco rding to David Wechsler (1944), "Intelligence is the aggre?ate or
global capacity of_ an in~ivid~al to act purposefully, to think rati?njl~
~d t? deal effec~1vel! with his environment ." Wechsler also proVI~ des,
cntenon for definmg mtelligent behaviour in terms of four characteris
that is it involves awareness, is goal-directed, rational, and has value.
 telfigen
ce 35 3
~ .
rqu is (1948) "
. According to Wo od~ ort h and Ma l '. _I?telh gence means
of intellectua
. teUect put to use. It 1s the use abilities for handling a
k."
~ tion or acc om plis hin g any tas
situa ccording to J ean p·iag et (1952), "Intelligence 1s .
the ab"l• ty
A . ,, 11 to adapt
one's sur rou n d mg s.
tha t "In tell ige nt act·IVIt . .
to Heim ' in 197 0, arg ued
. . y con · t . spm g
. pon din g a ro . sis s m gra
the essentials m a situ atio n and res " PP ~nately to the m."
According to San•dra Sca rr (1981) "Intel! igen ce mcl ude s ·d
• • ' . a WI e range
ogn itive ski lls, . mc lud mg per cep tion , 1ear nm g me
of C ' mory, problem-
solving, and rea son mg ."
According to dEst es (1982), "Intelligence is a property of behavi
. b . . our,
·oin tly det erm me Y cogmti ve functioning and mot·Ives. 111 ne perform an
J . .
question."
intelligent act, or ask an mte lhg ent . the ability
83 2003) , "In te11·1gence 1s
According to Ho wa rd Ga rdn er (19 ' . h"
to solve problems, . or to cre ate pro duc ts ' tha t are val ued wit m one or
,,
more cul tural set tmg s. •y
"Intelligence 1·s a men t a1 act·IVIt
According to Ste rnb. erg (1985)., h · f
. ive ada pta tion to , and selecti·on and s apmg o,
directed tow ard . s pur pos
to one 's life ."
real-world enVIronments rele van t
tell ige nce is the ability to think
· According to Fly nn (1987), "In
m experience."
abstractly and to lea rn rea dily fro
telligence is the ability to master
According to Loc urt o (1991), "In ."
succeed within a particular culture
information and ski lls nee ded to
(1992), "Intelligence is the cap y acit
According to Wo rtm an and Lof tus
and to understani;l concepts and
to acquire and ret ain kno wle dge n
llig ent person uses effectively whe
relationships, cap aci ties tha t an inte
g."
solving problems and com mu nic atin
"In telligence is related to important
According to Go lem an (1998), to
s can ma ste r new tasks and adapt
out com es- how qui ckl y ind ivid ual s kin ds
y will be in school and in variou
new situation, how suc ces sfu l the d
can get along with others." We nee
of jobs, and eve n how well the y
intelligence in eve ryd ay life.
an (1998), "Intelligence is a s~cially
According to Ste rnb erg and Ka ufm tes
m "in tell ige nt" whatever attribu
constructed concept. Cu ltu res dee
enable success in tho se cul tur es. " ergy,
"In tell ige nce is a sor t ~f men~al ~n_
. According to Ma nga l (2002), le with an md i:id ual
Ill the form of me nta l or
cognitive abilities, ava·ilab t of ada pta tion to
. ent m erm s
. enVIro nm
whIch enables him to han dle his f m
as possible."
face novel situ atio ns as effectively bT1 1t t O 1ear t·
n ro
ige nce is thedaa t to Ynew s1·t ua 10n. "
According to My ers (2004) ' "In tell ,
erience , solv e pro ble ms , and use knowledge to appepnsb urg University '
exp 0 f Shi
Dr. C. Ge org e Bo~ ree . knowledge (that is, learn
. A_ccord ing to s) and (iii) engage
to (i) acq uire
llltelligence is a per son 's cap aci ty
dge (solve problem '
and und ers tan d), (ii) app ly knowle
 354 Psychology-Part
~
in abstract reasoning. It is the power of one's intellect, and as such .
clearly a very important aspect of one's overall well-being. Psychologis::
have attempted to measure it for well over a century.
Psychologists used to define "intelligence" narrowly as think.in
reasoning, and problem-solving ability. Perhaps, the single charactenst'
that has received the most attention is the ability to think abstractly. ~~
was generally agreed that those _who were go_od a~ abstract reasoning,
problem-solving and decision-making are more mtelhgent than those who
were poor at these mental activities. However, psychologists now accept
that the notion of intelligence is broader than that, and should include
skills like street-wisdom, social intelligence, and emotional intelligence
that are valued by the society or culture in which one lives. To improve
our understanding of intelligence, many psychologists agree that we must
consider the broader social contexts in which intelligent behaviour occurs.
To conclude, it can be said that intelligence is an ability (or set of
abilities) or capacity or characteristic. Intelligence is the ability to:
• learn quickly,
• master information and skills,
• solve difficult problems,
• perform tasks accurately and quickly,
• take decisions,
• engage in various forms of reasoning,
• understand complex ideas,
• profit from experience,
• overcome obstacles by careful thought,
• adapt or adjust effectively to the environment.
Representative characteristics of an ideally intelligent person, as
judged by experts in the field of intelligence (Sternberg et al., 1981) are:
(I) Verbal intelligence:
1. Displays good vocabulary.
2. Reads with high comprehension.
3. Displays curiosity.
(II) Problem-solving ability:
1. Enables us able to apply knowledge to problems at hand.
2. Makes good decisions.
3. Poses problems in an optimal or best possible way.
(ill) Practical intelligence:
1. Sizes up the situations well.
2. Determines how to achieve goals.
3. Displays awareness of the world around her or him.