Theories of intelligence and the binet scale- psychological testing book by Kaplan

Alfred Binet, one of the original authors of the test that bears his name, defined intelligence
as “the tendency to take and maintain a definite direction; the capacity to make adaptations
for the purpose of attaining a desired end, and the power of autocriticism”

Spearman (1923), by contrast, defined intelligence as the ability to deduce either relations or
correlates.

According to Freeman (1955), intelligence is “adjustment or adaptation of the individual to

his total environment,” “the ability to learn,” and “the ability to carry on abstract thinking”.

And Das (1973) defined intelligence as “the ability to plan and structure one’s behavior with
an end in view.”

H. Gardner (1983) defined intelligence in terms of the ability “to resolve genuine problems or
difficulties as they are encountered”

Sternberg (1986, 1988) defined intelligence in terms of “mental activities involved in

purposive adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of real-world environments relevant to
one’s life.”

For Anderson (2001), intelligence is two-dimensional and based on individual differences in

information-processing speed and executive functioning influenced largely by inhibitory
processes.

Taylor (1994) identified three independent research traditions that have been employed to
study the nature of human intelligence: the psychometric,the information-processing, and
the cognitive approaches.

• The psychometric approach examines the elemental structure of a test. Following the
psychometric approach, we examine the properties of a test through an evaluation of
its correlates and underlying dimensions.

• In the information-processing approach, we examine the processes that underlie how

we learn and solve problems.

• Finally, the cognitive tradition focuses on how humans adapt to real-world demands.

Of the three approaches, the psychometric is the oldest.

There is a correlation between socioeconomic background and scores on all standardized

intelligence tests including Stanford-Binet.

Binet and his colleagues developed the world’s first intelligence test.

I. BINET’S PRINCIPLES OF TEST CONSTRUCTION

As you have seen, Binet defined intelligence as the capacity
(1) to find and maintain a definite direction or purpose,
(2) to make necessary adaptations—that is, strategy adjustments—to achieve that purpose,
and
(3) to engage in self-criticism so that necessary adjustments in strategy can be made.

Binet believed that intelligence expressed itself through the judgmental, attentional, and
reasoning facilities of the individual.

He was guided by two major concepts that to this day underlie not only the Binet scale but
also major modern theories of intelligence: age differentiation and general mental ability.

Principle 1: Age Differentiation

Age differentiation refers to the simple fact that one can differentiate older children from
younger children by the former’s greater capabilities. For example, whereas most 9-year-olds
can tell that a quarter is worth more than a dime, a dime is worth more than a nickel, and so
on, most 4-year-olds cannot.

Binet searched for tasks that could be completed by between 66.67% and 75% of the children
of a particular age group and also by a smaller proportion of younger children but a larger
proportion of older ones.

A particular 5-year-old child might be able to complete tasks that the average 8-year-old
could complete. On the other hand, another 5-year-old might not be capable of completing
even those tasks that the average 3-year-old could complete.

With the principle of age differentiation, one could determine the equivalent age capabilities
of a child independent of
his or her chronological age. This equivalent age capability was eventually called mental age.
If a 6-year-old completed tasks that were appropriate for the average 9-year-old, then the 6-
year-old had demonstrated that he or she had capabilities equivalent to those of the average 9-
year-old, or a mental age of 9.

Principle 2: General Mental Ability

Binet was also guided in his selection of tasks by his decision to measure only the total
product of the various separate and distinct elements of intelligence, that is, general mental
ability. With this concept, Binet freed himself from the burden of identifying each element or
independent aspect of intelligence. He also was freed from finding the relation of each
element to the whole.

He could judge the value of any particular task in terms of its correlation with the combined
result (total score) of all other tasks. Tasks with low correlations could be eliminated, and
tasks with high correlations retained.
 II. SPEARMAN’S MODEL OF GENERAL MENTAL
ABILITY

Binet was not alone in his conception of general mental ability. Before Binet, this notion was
propounded by Francis Galton (1869) in his classic work, Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry
into Its Laws and Consequences .

Independently of Binet,in Great Britain, Charles Spearman (1904, 1927) advanced the notion
of a general mental ability factor underlying all intelligent behaviour.

Spearman’s notion of general mental ability, which he referred to as psychometric g (or

simply g), was based on the well-documented phenomenon that when a set of diverse ability
tests are administered to large unbiased samples of the population, almost all of the
correlations are positive. This phenomenon is called positive manifold, which according to
Spearman resulted from the fact that all tests, no matter how diverse, are influenced by g. For
Spearman, g could best be conceptualized in terms of mental energy.

To understand how a single general factor can underlie all intelligent behavior, consider the
analogy of a central power station for a large metropolitan city. The same station provides the
power for lights of all sizes and types. Although some
lights may be brighter or better than others, all depend on power from the central power
source. Reducing the output from the central source affects all of the lights.

To support the notion of g, Spearman developed a statistical technique called factor

analysis. Factor analysis is a method for reducing a set of variables or scores to a smaller
number of hypothetical variables called factors.

Spearman found that, as a general rule, approximately half of the variance in a set of diverse
mental-ability tests is
represented in the g factor. Today, Spearman’s g “is the most established and ubiquitous
predictor of occupational and educational performance.

Spearman (1923), defined intelligence as the ability to deduce either relations or correlates.

Implications of General Mental Intelligence (g)

True, performance on any given individual task can be attributed to g as well as to some
specific or unique variance (just as the luminance of a light depends on the central power
source as well as the individual qualities of the light). However, if the set of tasks is large and
broad enough, the role of any given task can be reduced to a minimum. Differences in unique
ability stemming from the specific task tend to cancel each other, and overall performance
comes to depend most heavily on the general factor. Such reasoning guided the development
of the Binet scale as well as all its subsequent revisions through the most current fifth edition.

The gf-gc Theory of Intelligence

According to gf-gc theory, there are two basic types of intelligence: fluid (f ) and crystallized
(c).

Fluid intelligence can best be thought of as those abilities that allow to reason, think, and
acquire new knowledge.

Crystallized intelligence, by contrast, represents the knowledge and understanding that we

have acquired.

You might think of this distinction in terms of the abilities that allow us to learn and acquire
information (fluid) and the actual learning that has occurred (crystallized).

The early Binet Scale

Using the principles of age differentiation and general mental ability, Binet and another
appointee of the French minister of public instruction, T. Simon, collaborated to develop the
first version of what would eventually be called the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. The
first version, the 1905 Binet-Simon scale, was quite limited compared with current
applications of intelligence tests. Its purpose was restricted to identifying mentally
disabled children in the Paris school system.

The 1905 Binet-Simon Scale

The 1905 Binet-Simon scale was an individual intelligence test consisting of 30 items
presented in an increasing order of difficulty. Item 4, for example, tested the subject’s ability
to recognize food (e.g., to discriminate between chocolate and wood). Item 14 required
subjects to define familiar objects such as a fork. The most difficult item, 30, required
subjects to defi ne and distinguish between paired abstract terms (e.g., sad and bored).

In Binet’s time, three levels of intellectual deficiency were designated by terms no longer in
use today because of the derogatory connotations they have acquired. Idiot described the
most severe form of intellectual impairment, imbecile moderate levels of impairment, and
moron the mildest level of impairment.

Problems with the 1905 Binet Simon scale:

• Measuring unit
• Normative data
• Validity documentation

The 1905 Binet-Simon scale lacked an adequate measuring unit to express results; it also
lacked adequate normative data and evidence to support its validity.

The 1908 Scale

In the 1908 scale, Binet and Simon retained the principle of age differentiation. Indeed, the
1908 scale was an age scale, which means items were grouped according to age level rather
than simply one set of items of increasing difficulty, as in the 1905 scale.
Despite its limitations, the 1908 Binet scale clearly reflected improvement over the 1905
scale. However, Binet had done little to meet one persistent criticism: The scale produced
only one score, almost exclusively related to verbal, language, and reading ability.

Not until the 1986 revision were these problems seriously addressed, and in the fifth revision
major efforts were made to provide a wide diversity of scores as well as a balance of verbal
and nonverbal items.

Perhaps the main improvement in the 1908 scale was the introduction of the concept of
mental age. Here Binet attempted to solve the problem of expressing the results in adequate
units. A subject’s mental age was based on his or her performance compared with the average
performance of individuals in a specific chronological age group. In simple terms, if a 6-year-
old can perform the tasks that can be done by two thirds to three fourths of the representative
group of 8-year-old children, then this child has a mental age of 8. A 10-year-old who can do
no more than pass items that two thirds to three fourths of the representative group of 5-year-
olds can pass is said to have a mental age of 5.

Changes made with the 1908 scale:

• Retained principle of age differentiation

• Used age scale format
• Introduced concept of mental age

TERMAN’S STANFORD BINET INTELLIGENCE SCALE

It was the 1916 Stanford-Binet version, developed under the direction of L. M. Terman, that
flourished and served for quite some time as the dominant intelligence scale for the world.

The 1916 Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

In developing the 1916 Stanford-Binet version, Terman relied heavily on Binet’s earlier
work. The principles of age differentiation, general mental ability, and the age scale were
retained. The mental age concept also was retained.

The Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

The 1916 scale provided the first significant application of the now outdated intelligence
quotient (IQ ) concept. This particular IQ concept, recommended by Stern (1912), used a
subject’s mental age in conjunction with his or her chronological age to obtain a ratio score.
This ratio score presumably reflected the subject’s rate of mental development.

In calculating IQ , the first step is to determine the subject’s chronological age. To obtain
this, we need only know his or her birthday. In the second step, the subject’s mental age is
determined by his or her score on the scale. Finally, to obtain the IQ , the chronological age
(CA) is divided into the mental age (MA) and the result multiplied by 100 to eliminate
fractions: IQ = MA/CA × 100.

When MA is less than CA, the IQ is below 100. In this case, the subject was said to have
slower-than-average mental development. When MA exceeded CA, the subject was said to
have faster-than-average mental development.

Principles retained from the 1911 revision:

• Age differentiation
• General mental ability
• Age scale
And;
• Mental age concept

Changes introduced in the 1916 Terman’s Binet-Simon scale:

• Age range increased (3–14 yr plus average and superior adults)

• Alternate item added
• Increased size of standardization sample
• Introduced IQ concept

The 1916 scale had a maximum possible mental age of 19.5 years; that is, if every group of
items was passed, this score would result. Given this limitation, anyone older than 19.5 would
have an IQ of less than 100 even if all items were passed. Therefore, a maximum limit on the
chronological age had to be set. Because back in 1916 people believed that mental age ceased
to improve after 16 years of age, 16 was used as the maximum chronological age.

The 1937 Scale

The 1937 scale extended the age range down to the 2-year-old level. Also, by adding new
tasks, developers increased the maximum possible mental age to 22 years, 10 months.
(22/16 x 100=137 then was the highest IQ score)

Scoring standards and instructions were improved to reduce ambiguities, enhance the
standardization of administration, and increase interscorer reliability.

Furthermore, several performance items, which required the subject to do things such as copy
designs, were added to decrease the scale’s emphasis on verbal skills. However, only some
25% of the items were nonverbal, so the test was not balanced between the two types of
items.

Perhaps the most important improvement in the 1937 version was the inclusion of an
alternate equivalent form. Forms L and M were designed to be equivalent in terms of both
difficulty and content.

Problems with the 1937 Scale

A major problem with the 1937 scale was that its reliability coefficients were higher for older
subjects than for younger ones. Thus, results for the latter were not as stable as those for the
former. Reliability figures also varied as a function of IQ level, with higher reliabilities in the
lower IQ ranges (i.e., less than 70) and poorer ones in the higher ranges.

The lowest reliabilities occurred in the youngest age groups in the highest IQ ranges. These
findings apply generally to all modern intelligence tests: Scores are most unstable for
young children in high IQ ranges.

Another problem was that different age groups showed significant differences in the
standard deviation of IQ scores. For example, the standard deviation in the IQ scores at age 6
was approximately 12.5. The standard deviations at ages 2.5 and 12, on the other hand, were
20.6 and 20.0, respectively. Because of these discrepancies, IQs at one age level were not
equivalent to IQs at another. ( thus the z scores would have to be calculated to make
comparison possible)

The 1960 Stanford-Binet Revision and Deviation IQ (SB-LM)

The developers of the 1960 revision (SB-LM) tried to create a single instrument by selecting
the best from the two forms of the 1937 scale.

• Tasks that showed an increase in the percentage passing with an increase in age—a
main criterion and guiding principle for the construction of the Binet scale—received
the highest priority,

• as did tasks that correlated highly with scores as a whole—a second guiding principle
of the Binet scale.

CHANGES MADE

• IQ tables were extended from age 16 to 18.

• Combined forms L and M
• Rejected IQ concept, added the concept of deviation IQ.

The deviation IQ was simply a standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of
16 (today the standard deviation is set at 15). With the mean set at 100 and assigned to scores
at the 50 percentile, the deviation IQ was ascertained by evaluating the standard deviation of
th

mental age for a representative sample at each age level. New IQ tables were then constructed
that corrected for differences in variability at the various age levels.

By correcting for these differences in variability, one could compare the IQs of one age level
with those of another. Thus, scores could be interpreted in terms of standard deviations and
percentiles with the assurance that IQ scores for every age group corresponded to the same
percentile. Today, the deviation IQ method is considered the most precise way of expressing
the results of an intelligence test.
However, by 1972, a new standardization group consisting of a representative sample of 2100
children (approximately 100 at each Stanford-Binet age level) had been obtained for use with
the 1960 revision (Thorndike, 1973). Unlike all previous norms, the 1972 norms included
nonwhites.

Model for the Fourth and Fifth Editions of the Binet Scale

The model for the latest editions of the Binet (Figure 9.7) is far more elaborate than the
Spearman model that best characterized the original versions of the scale.

These versions incorporate the gf-gc theory of intelligence. They are based on a hierarchical
model.

At the top of the hierarchy is g (general intelligence), which reflects the common variability
of all tasks.

At the next level are three group factors:

i)Crystallized abilities refl ect learning—the realization of original potential through

experience. In addition, crystallized ability has two subcategories: verbal reasoning and
nonverbal reasoning.

ii) Fluid-analytic abilities represent original potential, or the basic capabilities that a person
uses to acquire crystallized abilities (Horn, 1994; Horn & Cattell,1966; Horn & Noll, 1997).

iii) Short-term memory refers to one’s memory during short intervals—the amount of
information one can retain briefl y after a single, short presentation (Colom, Flores-Mendoza,
Quiroga, & Privado, 2005).

Characteristics of the 1986 Revision

To continue to provide a measure of general mental ability, the authors of the 1986 revision
decided to retain the wide variety of content and task characteristics of earlier versions.
However, to avoid having this wide content unevenly distributed across age groups, the age
scale format was entirely eliminated. In place of the age scale, items with the same content
were placed together into any one of 15 separate tests to create point scales. For example, all
vocabulary items were placed together in one test; all matrix items placed together in a
second.

Placing together items of similar content in a point scale permits the calculation of specific
scores for each of the 15 tests.

2003 Test revision

The more modern 2003 fifth edition provided a more standardized hierarchical model with
five factors. At the top of the hierarchy is general intelligence, just as in the 1986 edition.
However, there are now five rather than four main factors. Each factor, in turn, has an equally
weighted nonverbal and verbal measure.
 FACTOR NONVERBAL VERBAL
Fluid reasoning Matrices task Analogies
Knowledge Recognize Absurdities in Vocabulary
Pictures
Quantitative reasoning Quantitative Reasoning Verbal Quantitative
Reasoning
Visual/spatial reasoning Form board Positions and Directions
Working Memory Block Pattern Memory Sentence memory
(WM)

Characteristics of the 2003 Fifth Edition

• The examination begins with one of two routing measures (subtests): one nonverbal,
one verbal.

• The routing tests are organized in a point scale, which means that each contains
similar content of increasing difficulty. For example, the verbal routing test consists
of a set of vocabulary items of increasing difficulty.

The purpose of the routing tests is to estimate the examinee’s level of ability. The nonverbal
routing test is used to estimate nonverbal ability; the verbal routing test to estimate verbal
ability. The remaining eight subtests are arranged in an age scale format.

This means that tasks of differing content are grouped together on the basis of difficulty. For
example, an age scale-based subtest might have a mixture of different types of verbal and
nonverbal tasks, with the tasks grouped according to the typical age at which individuals are
able to correctly complete the task.
Using the routing tests to estimate ability, the examiner then goes to an age scale-based
subtest at the appropriate level for the examinee. In that way, items that are too easy are
skipped to save time and provide for a more efficient examination.

The estimated level of ability is called the start point.

However, if a certain number of early items are missed, then the examiner moves to a lower
(and therefore easier) level.

The level at which a minimum criterion number of correct responses is obtained is known as
the basal.

Testing continues until examinees reach the ceiling, which is a certain number of incorrect
responses that indicate the items are too difficult.

Scoring

Examiners can complete scaled scores for each of the five nonverbal subtests and each of the
five corresponding verbal subtests. These scaled scores have a mean of 10 and a standard
deviation of 3.

In addition, a standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 is computed
for nonverbal IQ , verbal IQ full-scale IQ , and each of the five factors: fluid reasoning,
knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and working memory.

Nonverbal and verbal IQ scores are based on summing the five nonverbal and five verbal
subtests. The full-scale IQ is based on all 10.

The age range touted by the fi fth edition spans from 2 to 85+ years of age. Norms were
based on a representative sample of 4800 individuals from age 2 through 85+, stratified by
gender, ethnicity, region, and education according to the
2001 census.

The range of possible scores runs from a low of 40 to a high of 160.

SUMMARY

Binet’s two principles of test construction were age differentiation and general mental ability.
Age differentiation refers to the fact that with increasing age, children develop their abilities.
Thus, older children have greater abilities than do younger ones.

Mental age is a unit of measurement for expressing the results of intelligence tests. The
concept was introduced in the second revision of the Binet scale in 1908. A subject’s mental
age is based on his or her performance compared with the average performance of individuals
in a specific chronological age group. For example, if a 6-year-old child can perform tasks
that the average 8-year-old can do, then the 6-year-old child is said to have a mental age of 8.

The most recent revision of the Binet scale, the fifth edition, was released in 2003. This
edition combines the age and point scale methods of test construction.