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    Intelligence

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    Chapter | elligence ‘After reading this chapter, you will be conversant with: “Nae © The Meaning of Intelligence . ‘The Theories of Intelligence te «The Different Ways of Measuring Intelligence The Reliability and Validity of Psychological Tests ‘The Determinants of Intelligence-Nature/Nurture |e Mental Retardation and Giftedness @) Emotional Intelligence Sas A little girl of five became an expert in complex mental arhmei, and was considered a child prodigy. At the age of six, si demonstrated her talents at the University of Mysore, before a huge gathering of professors and students of higher studies in ‘mathematics. She worked with lightning speed and scientific accuracy and gave the right answers to the most complicaled problems, by simply working them out mentally. As a little girl, she toured all over india not only exhibiting her talent in numbers but also by telling thg-exact day of the week of any date, month, or year of the past or future, She fraveled to Europe and Rome enthralling her audience.(The litile girl being referred to here is now 64-years-old) she is none other then the world renowneq ‘Shakuntala Devi, more commonly referred to as the “human computer”. ITRODUCTION , Intelligence is defined as the process that involves the understanding of complex ideas, adapting effectively to the environment, learning from experience, reasoning, problem solving and so forth, It is generally viewed as the capacity of fan individual to use the available resources more effectively than others in accomplishing a given task. defined intelligence in various ways. Let us examine a few “Intelligence isthe capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use A resources effectively when faced with challenges” -.Wechsler. * “Intelligence means intellect put to use. It isthe use of intellectual abilities for hhandling a situation or accomplishing any task” ~ Woodworth and Marquis. ‘* Intelligence may be defined as “the power of good responses from the point of view of truth or fact” — Thorndike. “Intelligence is a generalGapaciS) of an individual consciously to adjust his thinking to new reayiremenis. It is general menial adaptability to new problems and conditions of life” ~ Stern. * Intelligence is “the ability to think abstractly and learn readily from experience” - Flynn. From these definitions we see that there are various ways of understanding the construct “intelligence”. Psychologists do not entirely agree ‘upon what precisely intelligence is. But to equip ourselves with a working definition of intelligence we can adopt the definition offered by a distinguished panel of experts (Neisler et al, 1996) who suggest that intelligence refers to individuals abilities to understand complex ideas to adapt effectively to the environment, to leam from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, and to overcome obstacles by careful thought. After trying to define intelligence, Psychologists turned their attention to explaining the structure of intelligence; they tried to find out the different components or elements of intelligence. And in the process. different Psychologists proposed various theories. We shall now examines few theowice - THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE ). The second category © component parts of the intellect activity (process-oriented theories Consists of theorists who have focused not on th, but on the processes involved in the intellectual of intelligence). Cr 2.jFactor Theories of Intelligence Many psychologists consider intelli ili 4 they view intelligence asa general unifed capac a ilies or ‘factors’ Ne ee i fo Searman when talking about the factor theories, The se eracioc tata nh be present in the performance of all activities, and the sioariing @ ak aoa perenne of specific tasks. Therefore, when you are YOU are i ge hal be specific to eee awing on the “g” as well as on a specialized ability, 2, AGARDNER’S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE * Dr. Howard Gardner, University, develope traditional beliefs of every individual has environment around th ® psychologist and professor of neuroscience from Harvard d the theory of Multiple Intelligence, He challenged the understanding intelligence. According to Howard Gardner, a different way of interacting with other people and the rem based on the different kinds of intelligence. Gardener proposed the existence of seven kinds of intelligences, each relatively independent of the other. For e.g. — one can excel in one area such as musical ability and be quite average in the areas of mathematical skills or language skills. At the same time, Gardner also suggests that these separate intelligences do not operate in absolute isolation, as any activity encompasses several kinds of intelligences working together, e.g. a person having good interpersonal skills also requires language skills etc. The seven kinds of intelligences proposed by Gardner’ are: 1. Linguistic intelligence 2. Musical intelligence 3. Logical-mathematical intelligence 4. Spatial intelligence 5. Movement or bodily kinesthetic intelligence 6. Interpersonal intelligence 7. Intrapersonal intelligence. a Linguistic Intelligence - The ability to read, write and ‘communicate effectively with others. It involves the mastery and love for language and words, manipulating them and expressing in a poetic or rhetoric way. We usually find such ability in poets, speakers and writers. Musical intelligence - Involves the ability to make or compose music, to sing well, understand and appreciate music. A person with musical intelligence is able to hear patterns, recognize them, and manipulate them. Musicians, Composers, dancers and recording engineers have a high level ‘of musical intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence — The ability to think in a logical and systematic manner. It is the capacity to understand underlying principles, and to manipulate numbers, quantities, and operations. This intelligence is usually associated with scientific and mathematical thinking, ] Spatial intelligence —Is te ability to “thinkin pictures,” te. to represent the spatial world internally in one’s minds and it ‘enables a person to alter an image in the mind or on Pape". ‘ Spatial intelligence is highly developed in artists, architects, designers and sculptors. Movement or bodily Kinesthetie intelligence — It is the ability to control one's own body movement's in & © ful ‘vay, to solve problems, create products oF presen ideas and siotions. Mimes, dancers, basketball players, and actors are mong those who display bodily kinesthetic intlligence- he ability to understand ‘and motivations. It others, display Inter-personal intelligence ~ It is t other people, their moods, desires, an¢ enables a person to work effectively wit! Cor 8) empathy and understanding. Interpersonal intelligence is cepbeially important for teachers, clinicians, s'eshorore politicians, religious leaders, and parents, “> OP of Pralligence i infact necessary for every individual gence - It is the ability to em emotions, moods, goals, etc. "do be important for personal jon. Philosophers, counselors, and jelds of endeavor have this Intra-personal intelli understanding one’s 0 self-analysis and reflect many peak performers in all fi form of intelligence. tly added an eighth and ninth kind of intelligence kn yown as the Gardner subsequent naturalist and existential intelligence. ‘A quick reference table of Gardner's intelligence: Deseription "The ability to use one’s physical body} Examples Dancers, athletes, surgeons, crafts well. people. Inter-personal The ability to sense other's feelings| Sales peopl, teachers, clinicians, and be in tune with others. politicians, religious leaders. Intra-personal Selfawareness. The ability to know| People who have good insight into ‘your own body and mind. themselves and make effective use of their other intelligences ‘Kind of Intelligence Bodily-kinesthetic Poets, writers, orators, The ability to communicate well, both| communicators. Linguistic orally and in writing, sometimes in several languages t00. Logical mathematical |The ability to learn _higher| Mathematicians, logician. mathematics. The ability to handle ‘complex logical arguments. The ability to learn, perform, and ‘Musicians, composers. ‘Musical compose music. Naturalistic The ability to understand different| Biologist, naturalists. species, recognize patterns in nature classify natural objects. Spatial ‘The ability to accomplish tasks Sailors navigating without modem requiring three-dimensional| navigational aids, surgeons, visualization. sculptors, painters , A rn Process oriented Theories of Intelligence The cognitive psychologists have primaril imeligece. Th copiive pychalogst do vat te on he setae. of intelligence or its underlying content or dimensions; they focus on the processes involved in producing inteligent behavior (Sternberg, 1990;Fagan,1992). According te, the ay people store infra inthe memory and ws the aa ; ual tasks provides intelligence. Applying the cognitive ‘preach ‘o intelligence, Tater Sunbery weloped the triarchic theory of intelligence. This theory is a synthesis of the various theories of intelligence and highlights the value of practical intelligence. ERNBERG'S TRIARCHIC THEORY : ‘According to this theory, there are three major types or sub-theories of intelligence: componential, experiential, and contextual. Understandin intelig eriential, IL. the interaction ofthese three sub theories provides a better explanation of imeligece Experientia (Crete) Componential Contextual (hn (Peta Componential or analytic intelligence - Is the ability to acquire new knowledge, think abstractly and critically and to analytically processes information and solve problems effectively. Sternberg states that this ability reflects how an individual relates to his internal world. E.g., Lecturers and professors are high on this aspect of intelligence. Experiential or Creative Intelligence — Is the ability to adapt to new situations in a creative manner. This involves formulating new ideas, or combining unrelated fats and information. E.., persons with this kind of intelligence excel at zeroing in on what information is crucial in a given situation, and are good at combining seemingly unrelated facts. E.g., scientists and inventors possess this form of intelligence, Contestual or Practical intelligence - Is the ability to select and exhibit behaviors according to contexts or specific situation so as to excel, Persons high on this dimension are quick to recognize what factors influence suocess on various tasks and are quick in either adapting to the demands of the situation and are also capable of moulding their environment in such a way that they are able to accomplish their goals. Such individuals are adept at solving the problems of everyday life ‘An important asset of this theoty is its focus on the quality of performance of individuals in everyday tasks, which, according to sternberg isa better indicator of an individuals intelligence, .2.2 GUILFORD'S STRUCTURE OF THE INTELLECT 4. P. Guilford provided a three-dimensional cubical model to explain is theory of the Structure ofthe Intellect. According to this theory, an individual's performance on an intelligence test can be traced back to the underlying mental abilities or factors of intelligence. Guilford proposed a model of the intellect as comprising of 120 different intellectual abilities. These abilities were then organized along three dimensions- operations, content, and products. EMSS Te operation dimension — Is made up of five kinds of operations or general ‘intellectual processes: © Cognition © Memory Divergent production Convergent production «Evaluation. discover, and become aware. Cognition ~ The ability to understand, comprehend, ‘Memory ~ The ability to recall information. ultiple solutions to a problem. Divergent production ~ The process of generating m ingle solution to a problem. Convergent production — The process of deducing a si Evaluation — The process of judging whether an answer is accurate, consistent, or 1e broad areas of information in which val content dimension — It includes th ‘operations are applied. Its divided into four categories: © Figural © Symbolic © Semantic «Behavioral Figural — Includes all that is non-verbal or pictorial. ‘Semantic — Includes verbal thinking and communication. information organized as symbols or signs that Symbolic - Category comprises have no meaning by themselves, e.g, numbers and letters of the alphabet. “al Category includes all the behaviora-psychological acts ofan individual, ‘As the name suggests, this dimension contains results s in specific contents. There are six kinds of fe product dimension — ‘of applying particular operation: products, they are: A unit - It represents a single item of information. ‘A class — Is a set of items that share some attributes. ‘A relation — Represents a connection between items or variable. A system - Is an organization of items, or networks with interacting parts. ‘A transformation - Changes in an item’s attributes; an example is reversing the order of letters in a word, etc. © Implication — Is an expectation or prediction. Therefore, according to Guilford there are 5 X 4 X 6 = 120 intellectual abilities, or factors, Each ability stands for a particular operation in a particular content area resulting in a specific product. Guilford later modified his model of the intellect; he replaced the figural category within the content dimension with auditory and visual content categori i tegories. As a result of the change in the content dimension to 5 categories, the reatoual abies increased 0 5x645= 150. overall numberof Given below is — Guilford’s three-dimensional cubical model of the structure of the intellect. Image source http:/ip psychology org/gulford him Each of the theories provides a structure of intelligence in terms of its constituents cor factors in its own way. However, the best method would be to adopt an eclectic view by incorporating the essence of all the above theories, An overview of the different approaches to intlligence- (the highlighted theorists and sbeir theories of intelligence have been dealt with above) General ‘The ‘g’ Factor SPEARMAN Factorial \Verbal/Mathematica/spatal Binet ‘Primary mental abilities (5 factors) |Thurstone (Structure of the intellect (120 factors) |GUILFORD Hierarchical |Knowledge/Process/Meta jensen [Experientia/componentiaVcontextual__ [STERNBERG | |Knowledge/understanding/Application’ [Bloom | |Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation ‘Multiple Linguistic/Logic/Mathematical Spatial) [GARDNER Inesthetic/Inter-personaVIntrapersonal We know that intelligence encompasses the mental, cognitive abilities that promote leaming and adaptive behavior, and that each theory of intelligence provides a different way of sampling an individual's behavior. The complex processes underlying mental abilities can be inferred only from a person’s actions in situations requiring their use. Since the underlying mental studied directly, we make use of Intelligence tests. These Intelligence tests are designed to measure a person’s general mental abilities. ‘The G-factor theory suggests that a single score will represent intelligence; the mmulti-factor theories focus on different subtests to tap the different abilities. The process oriented theories look at the capacities thet would need to be measured in a test of intelligence. We shall now tum our focus to the measuring of human intelligence. . MEASURING HUMAN INTELLIGENCE Thelligence testing isa form of psychological testing ofan individual's capacity t| learn and deal effectively with his/her environment. IQ (intelligence quotient) is the score of an intelligence test The concept that intelligence could be tested, began as early as the nineteenth century, Sir Francis Galton, a British scientist (a cousin of Charles Darwin) was involved in measuring the ability of human beings to make sensory discriminations. He assumed that this ability was linked to ones intellectual capability. He believed thatthe mental traits were in fact inheritable just like the eye-color or blood-type. His ideas on intelligence were greatly influenced by the work of a Belgian statistician named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, ‘Quetelet applied the statistical methods to the study of human characteristics, and he discovered the concept of normal distribution. According to this concept, the majority of the individuals tend to fall somewhere between two extremes, with numbers dropping sharply at either extreme. When plotted on a chart, these values assume the shape of a bel. as i 1e concept of intelligence: | Hons ee ate wei a al be ed te ee endian, oe 1s by the handicapped students. Base on these Hing, Binet calculated the ‘normal abilities for students at € — es pinpoint how many years 2 student's mental age was above or c Noticing his work, the Paris school board appt objective test to help teachers separate and identify scl risk of falling behind their peers in academic achievement identify such ‘students and provide them with special education. | Binet enlisted the help of his colleague, Theodore Simon for this work. The first version of the test developed by them known as the Binet-Simon intelligence test ‘was published in 1905. The test contained thirty items that were two basic types. L Items that were unusual that none of the ‘children would have prior experience on them, and 2. Items so familiar that almost every child would have encountered ‘them in the past. For e.g. the children were asked to perform the following tasks- follow simple commands, name objects shown, repeat words and sentences, differentiate between two common objects and complete sentences given. Following the success of this test, Binet and Simon broadened the scope of their test to measure variations in intelligence among children of normal intelligence. The test was so designed that the items placed at a particular age-level could be attempted successfully by 75 % of the students of that age-group: the items on this test were graded in difficulty according to the age. On the basis of this test, Children were assigned a score that corresponded to their mental age. The mental age reflected the level at which the child performed on the test. If a child performed at the level of an average ten-year-old, then the child's mental age is eid to be ten, irrespective of the child’s chronological age (the child’s current age from the date of its birth). For e.g. if a 10-year-old boy teceived a score of 45 on the test and this was the average score received by 8-year-olds, the mental age of the boy would be considered to be 8 years. If the mental age is the same as the chronological age the child is considered to be average. If mental age is higher than chronological age the child is considered to be gifted or bright, and if the mental age is lower than the chronological age the child is regarded as retarded or lagging in intellectual development. The mental age provided an indication of whether a child was performing at the same level as its peers, but it could not be used for comparison of people from different age-groups. ee-oercome this dif {Lewis Terman, { psychologist at Stanford University << Frevised this test and adapted it for use in the United States. He developed a simple formula, which resulted in an intelligent quotient or 1Q score. IQ=MA/CA X 100. Where 1Q is the intelligent quotient, MA i i Sera eee , MA is the mental age and CA is the Using this formula we tur to the earlier example that has been cited and calculate the IQ score of the 10-year-old, boy. The mental age of the boy was said to be 8. Therefore 1Q = 8/10X100= 80. Using this formula we can see that any individual wi c any individual with a mental i ng oa ber ctronoogiea age will have an IQ equal to 100. Teton e chronological age the person will have 1Qs that exceeds 100. And when the mental age i i bats age is lower than the chronological age their IQs will be lower This revised and i adapted test is known as the Stanford-Binet test and it came to in rapi is gain rapid acceptance. This test has been revised many times; the Stanford-Binet test consists of test items in fo ¢ iF di ottstad GESTE ae r ope of mental activity. Scores in these areas are roached Binet to develop an hoo! children who were at t. The intention was to | 2Zy¥man- 3y/the Stanford Binet Test an Type of Reasoning, The Stanford Binet test covers Meaty Sc, lf wet whole, the test comprises of fiteen subtests- Vocabulary; Comprchereiog: sony Absurdites; Pattern Analysis; Matrices, Paper Folding. and Cutting, Compo, Quantitative; Number Series; Equation Building; Memory for Sentences: Mernee> for Digits; Memory for Objects; Bead Memory. cme 3.2 Jue Wechsler Tests The excessive emphasis that the Stanford-Binet test placed ili : ‘on the verbal abiliti led to the development of other intelligence tests, One such test was. Wechsler Intelligence scale that was designed for both adults and.children..The tests include non-verbal or performance items as well as verbal items. The test yielded separate scores for the verbal and performance tests. ‘The Weschlertests Drea tests consist of vocabulary, definitions, comprehension, general ‘information and arithmetic scales. erformance tests consist of items that involve assembling small objects, Arranging pictures in a logical order, solving puzzles and other such non-verbal tasks that usually required the individual to execute some task. The scores of an individual on the verbal and performance scales lie within close range to each other. If the person taking the test has a language deficiency or a background of severe environmental deprivation the scores shows a relatively large discrepancy. fechsler Intelligence scales consist of intelligence tests for children and adults. They are: © The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) — for children upto the age of 15 or 16. © The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) — for adults. Both these tests have been revised, several times and are now known as the WISC- IIL, and the WAIS-II. is designed for use by school psychologists and other trained clinical examiners to measure intelligence of children and to identify children suffering fom VaTTOUS > oi Subt Information; Simi = Plctae Completion; Pi or Mazes) and Digit Span. ‘The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-II} is a general test of intelligence, which consists of 14 subtests divided into-two parts, seven verbal and seven performance tests. The WAIS-III is used in clinical, educational, and research settings. EES y The Stanford Binet test and Weschlers tests are individual tests designed for use with one person at a time, such therefore these tests are time consuming, expensive and require a trained person to administer the tests. This proved to be a hurdle when large numbers of people had to be tested. To overcome the problem posed by the individual tests, group tests were designed. “3 Group Tests Group tests are mainly paper pencil tests and ¢ multiple-choice questions, which are answered on a machin are often administered to a large group of people. The advantage of the group tests is that a large number of people can be tested at a given point of time. The ease with which they can be administered is another of the advantages of such tests, The first group-test was developed during the First World War, Ane Oris developed two types of tests, to enable the recruitment of large number of people to the army. These tests were named: i“ Army Alpha Test, The Army Beta Test. The Army Alpha Test was designed for those who could read. It emphasized vetbaLabilities and was administered to all. The Army Beta Test emphasized on the non-verbal abilities and was to be given to those who performed poorly:on the Alpha test and were suspected of having language problems. It was designed for.those who could not read or speak English. typically include large number of scorable sheet and w The scores in these army tests were not expressed using the intelligence quotient, Instead points were awarded for correct answers. On the basis of these points, > individuals were divided into one of the five classes, ranking from A to E. Some of the popular group tests are: * Otis-Lennon School Ability Test. © — Henmon-Nelson Test. A. The Cognitive Abilities Test. © \, The California Test of Mental Maturity (CTMM). y- The SAT. The practical advantages of using these tests made several educational and occupational settings adapt the use of intelligence tests. The educational settings used the tests for identification of children who right require special eatin assistance. The occupational settings used intelligence tests to increase the efficiency of then recruitment Process,” 10 Ae 170% at “yawn {ee In the 1960s and ‘70s, IQ tests began to fall out of favor, and the schools did away with 1Q testing entirely. Nevertheless, interest and research in intelligence tests did fot die down and researchers began to devise methods to overcome the ortcomings of the existing intelligence tests. With the improvement in the itelligence tests they are once again being used. US fntelligence tests are popular and widely used, the drawbacks ofthese tests Ould be borne in mind. «It is said that these tests may discriminate against certain cultural and ethnic groups, (As the content and administration of 1Q tests are shaped by the values of Western middle-class society) and, people who do not have a strong, command over English language. © IQ tests are also criticized as the results of these tests are often used to label some students as slow learners. ‘© Critics point out that most intelligence tests are concerned with only a narrow set of skills. © Some critics are of the view that intelligence is far too complex to be precisely measured by tests. ‘To overcome the criticism that intelligence tests discriminate against cultural and jc’ groups, the culture-fair tests were designed. The primary aim of the evelopment of such tests was to rule parameters along which Raven's Progressive MatticeS(RPM was designed primarily as a measure of to assess the general intelligence of an individual. The items consist of a set of x5 mmairices, or arrangements of design elements info rows and columns, from each of W". > whieh apart has been removed. The task isto choose ihe missing insert from given vat alternatives. The easier items require accuracy of discrimination; the more difficult 7 items involve analogies, permutations and alterations of pattems, and_other \v 7. toca relations, The testis usvally administered with no time Timits and can be x

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