INTELLIGENCE

TESTING
Dr.V.Veera Balaji Kumar
What is Intelligence ?
 Hard to define…
 Even psychologists differ !
 One group  Organization of mental ability –
identifying the factors which constitute
intelligence. The theories of this group 
Factor theories
 Second group  Focus on the process
involved in intellectual activity (eg. Problem
solving, remembering). Process oriented
theories
What is Intelligence?

 Intelligence
 ability to learn from experience,
solve problems, and use
knowledge to adapt to new
situations
THEORIES OF
INTELLIGENCE
 Is intelligence a single characteristic or is it a
collaboration of specific distinguishable
abilities.
 Statistical technique - Factor analysis
 FACTOR THEORIES
 Charles spearman (1927)
 Louis L. Thurstone (1938)
 Hierarchical theory of Intelligence – Vernon
(1950)
 Howard Gardner - Multiple Intelligences
Factor analysis
 A technique for identifying groups of abilities
or behaviours or traits that are related to one
another.
 Technique is applied to subtests that are
designed to measure a particular specific
cognitive ability.
 Eg. Memory factor, language factor, reasoning
factor etc.
 Factor analysis can help from coherent groups
os subtests, but it cannot tell us what subtests
to include in the first place.
Charles Spearman - General
Intelligence

Found that schoolchildren's

grades across seemingly
unrelated subjects were
positively correlated, and
proposed that these
correlations reflected the
influence of a dominant
factor, which he termed g for
"general" intelligence.
Charles Spearman - General
Intelligence
 TWO [G-S] FACTOR THEORY
 Most influential and earliest factor theories by
British psychologist.
 Developed a model where all variation in
intelligence test scores can be explained by two
factors.
 The first is the factor specific, s to an individual
mental task: the individual abilities that would
make a person more skilled at one cognitive
task than another.

Charles Spearman - General
Intelligence
The accumulation of cognitive
testing data and improvements in
analytical techniques have
preserved g 's central role and led
to the modern conception of g .

An illustration of Spearman's two-

factor intelligence theory. Each
small oval is a hypothetical
mental test. The blue areas show
the variance attributed to s , and
the purple areas the variance
attributed to g .
An analogy
 Irregular objects, such as the human body, are
said to vary in "size". Yet no single
measurement of a human body is obviously
preferred to measure its "size".
 Instead, many and various measurements, such
as those taken by a tailor, may be made.
 All of these measurements will be positively
correlated with each other, and if one were to
"add up" or combine all of the measurements,
the aggregate would give a better description of
an individual's size than any single
Challenges to g
 researchers in artificial intelligence have
argued that the science of mental ability can
be thought of as "computationalism" and is
"either silly or pointless," noting, "Mental
ability tests measure differences in tasks that
will soon be performed for all of us by
computational agents."[
 intelligence theorist Howard Gardner also has
written that he does not believe "that there is a
single general talent, whether it be called
intelligence, creativity or 'g'."
condition in which a person
otherwise limited in
mental ability has an
exceptional specific skill
 Computation
 Drawing
 Music
 Language
Louis L. Thurstone - Primary Mental
Abilities

Psychologist Louis L.
Thurstone (1887-1955)
Instead of viewing
intelligence as a single,
general ability offered a
differing theory of
intelligence.
He began with a set of 56
tests from the patterns of
correlation he identified
factors he called Primary
mental abilities
Louis L. Thurstone - Primary Mental
Abilities
 Thurstone's theory focused on seven different
"primary mental abilities" (Thurstone, 1938).
 The abilities that he described were:
 Verbal comprehension
 Reasoning
 Perceptual speed
 Numerical ability
 Word fluency
 Associative memory
 Spatial visualization
 Guilford’s multifactor theory
Rejected Charles Spearman's view that
intelligence could be characterized in a single
numerical parameter and proposed that three
dimensions were necessary for accurate
description:
 content,
 operations, and

 productions.

 Guilford researched and developed a wide variety of

psychometric tests to measure the specific abilities
predicted by SI theory. These tests provide an
 Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SI)
theory
 an individual's performance on intelligence tests
can be traced back to the underlying mental
abilities or factors of intelligence. Developed
Thurstone’s theory
 SI theory comprises up to 180 different
intellectual abilities organized along three
dimensions—Operations, Content, and Products.
 He discovered the important distinction between
convergent and divergent thinking.
 a major impetus for Guilford's theory was his interest in
creativity (Guilford, 1950). The divergent production
 Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SI)
theory
Operations dimension - six operations or general
intellectual processes:
 Cognition—The ability to understand, comprehend,
discover, and become aware of information.
 Memory recording—The ability to encode
information.
 Memory retention--The ability to recall information.
 Divergent production—The ability to generate
multiple solutions to a problem; creativity.
 Convergent production—The ability to deduce a
single solution to a problem; rule-following or
problem-solving.
 Evaluation—The ability to judge whether or not
 Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SI)
theory
Content dimension - includes five broad areas of
information to which the human intellect applies the six
operations:
 Visual—Information perceived through seeing.

 Auditory--Information perceived through hearing.

 Kinesthetic - Information perceived through touch.

 Symbolic—Information perceived as symbols or signs

that have no meaning by themselves; e.g., Arabic
numerals or the letters of an alphabet.
 Semantic—Information perceived in words or
sentences, whether oral, written, or silently in one's
mind.
 Behavioral—Information perceived as acts of an
individual or individuals.
 Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SI)
theory
Product dimension - this dimension contains results of
applying particular operations to specific contents. The SI
model includes six products, in increasing complexity:
 Units—Single items of knowledge.

 Classes—Sets of units sharing common attributes.

 Relations—Units linked as opposites or in associations,

sequences, or analogies.
 Systems—Multiple relations interrelated to comprise
structures or networks.
 Transformations—Changes, perspectives, conversions,
or mutations to knowledge.
 Implications—Predictions, inferences, consequences,
or anticipations of knowledge.
 Guilford's Structure of Intellect

According to Guilford there are 6 x 5 x 6 = 180 intellectual abilities or

factors. Each ability stands for a particular operation in a particular
content area and results in a specific product, such as Comprehension of
Figural Units or Evaluation of Semantic Implications.
Vernon’s Hierarchical Theory of
Intelligence
(1950)
 g is the highest level
 Next are verbal-educational skills and spatial-
mechanical skills
 Lower levels have smaller subdivisions, which
are
further divided into more specialized skills
Howard Gardner - Multiple Intelligences
 One of the more recent ideas to emerge
 describes eight distinct intelligences that are
based on skills and abilities
 Visual-spatial Intelligence
 Verbal-linguistic Intelligence
 Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence
 Logical-mathematical Intelligence
 Interpersonal Intelligence
 Musical Intelligence
 Intra personal Intelligence
 Naturalistic Intelligence
Visual-Spatial Intelligence
 Strengths: Visual and Spatial Judgment
 People who are strong in visual-spatial intelligence are good a
visualizing things. These individuals are often good with directions
as well as maps, charts, videos and pictures.
 Characteristics of Visual-Spatial Intelligence
 Enjoys reading and writing
 Good at putting puzzles together
 Good at interpreting pictures, graphs and charts
 Enjoys drawing, painting and the visual arts
 Recognizes patterns easily
 Potential Career Choices
 Architect
 Artist
 Engineer
Linguistic-Verbal Intelligence
 Strengths: Words, Language and Writing
 use words well, both when writing and speaking. good
writing stories, memorizing information and reading.
 Characteristics of Linguistic-Verbal Intelligence
 Good at remembering written and spoken information
 Enjoys reading and writing
 Good at debating or giving persuasive speeches
 Able to explain things well
 Often uses humor when telling stories

 Potential Career Choices

 Writer
/ Journalist
 Lawyer
 Teacher
Logical - Mathematical
Intelligence
Strengths: Analyzing Problems and Mathematical Operations
 goodat reasoning, recognize patterns and logically analyze
problems. These individuals tend to think conceptually about
numbers, relationships and patterns.
 Characteristics of Logical-Mathematical
Intelligence
 Excellent problem-solving skills
 Enjoys thinking about abstract ideas
 Likes conducting scientific experiments
 Good and solving complex computations

 Potential Career Choices

 Scientist Engineer
 Accountant Computer programmer
 Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
 Strengths: Physical Movement, Motor Control
 Those who have high bodily-kinesthetic
intelligence are said to be good at body
movement, performing actions and physical
control. People who are strong in this area tend
to have excellent hand-eye coordination and
dexterity.
 Characteristics of Bodily-Kinesthetic
Intelligence
 Good at dancing and sports; Enjoy creating
things with their hands ; Excellent physical
coordination; Tends to remember by doing,
 Musical Intelligence
 Strengths: Rhythm and Music
 People who have strong musical intelligence
are good and thinking in patterns, rhythms and
sounds. They have a strong appreciation for
music and are often good at musical
composition and performance.
 Characteristics of Musical Intelligence
 Enjoy singing and playing musical instruments
 Recognizes musical patterns and tones easily
 Good at remembering songs and melodies
 Rich understanding of musical structure, rhythm
 Interpersonal Intelligence
 Strengths: Understanding and Relating to Other
People -- Those who have strong interpersonal
intelligence are good understanding and
interacting with other people. skilled at
assessing the emotions, motivations, desires
and intentions of those around
 Characteristics of Interpersonal Intelligence
Good at communicating verbally; Skilled
nonverbal communicators ;See situations from
different perspectives ;Create positive
relationships with others ;Good at resolving
conflict in groups
Intrapersonal Intelligence
 Strengths: Introspection and Self-Reflection
 aware of their own emotional states, feelings and
motivations. enjoy self-reflection and analysis,
including day-dreaming, exploring relationships
 Characteristics of Intrapersonal Intelligence
 Good at analyzing their strengths and weaknesses
 Enjoys analyzing theories and ideas
 Excellent self-awareness
 Clearly understands the basis for their own
motivations and feelings
 Potential Career Choices
• Philosopher • Writer • Theorist • Scientist
 Naturalistic Intelligence
 Strengths: Finding Patters and Relationships to Nature
 more in tune with nature and are often interesting in
nurturing, exploring the environment and learning about
other species. These individuals are said to be highly
aware of even subtle changes to their environments.
 Characteristics of Naturalistic Intelligence
 Interested in subjects such as botany, biology and
zoology
 Good at categorizing and cataloguing information easily
 May enjoy camping, gardening, hiking and exploring the
outdoors
 Doesn’t enjoy learning topics that have no connection to
nature
 Potential Career Choices
PROCESS ORIENTED
THEORIES
 PIAGET’S THEORY
 BRUNER’S THEORY
 Robert Sternberg - Triarchic Theory of
Intelligence
 Neo-Piagetian theoroes – Juan Ascaul-Leone
(1983)
PIAGET’S THEORY
 Prominent process theorist.
 Intelligence is an adaptive process that
involves an interplay of biological maturations
and interaction with the environment.
 Intellectual development as an evolution of
cognitive processes such as understanding of
laws of nature, principles of grammar and
mathematical rules.
 BRUNER’S THEORY
 Jerome Bruner (1973) sees intellectual
development as a growing reliance on internal
representation.
 Interested to know how these growing abilities
are influenced by environment – rewards and
punishments for using intellectual skills in a
particular way.
 Babies – highly action-oriented intelligence. They
know an object only to the extent they can act on
it. Young children know by vivid perceptual
characteristics of objects and events
Robert Sternberg - Triarchic
Theory of Intelligence
 defined intelligence as "mental activity directed
toward purposive adaptation to, selection and
shaping of, real-world environments relevant
to one’s life“
 proposed what he refers to as 'successful
intelligence,' which is comprised of three
different factors:
 Analytical intelligence
 Creative intelligence
 Practical intelligence
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
 Analytical intelligence: This component refers to
problem-solving abilities.
 Creative intelligence: This aspect of intelligence
involves the ability to deal with new situations
using past experiences and current skills.
 Practical intelligence: This element refers to the
ability to adapt to a changing environment.
INFORMATION PROCESSING
THEORIES
 Robert Sternberg (1984) distinguishes
between information processing “components”
and “metacomponents”
 Components are the steps one goes through
to solve a problem.
 Meta components are the kinds of knowledge
required to solve the problem. They somewhat
relate to the general; intelligence proposed by
Spearman.
 Neo-Piagetians
 Neo-Piagetians have rewritten Piaget’s theory in
information-processing terms.
 Juan Pascaul Leone has expanded Piaget’s
notion of scheme into action schemes and
executive schemes.
 Action schemes are similar to specific repeatable
intellectual sequences
 Executive schemes are similar to plans and
strategies.
 Such schemes are referred to as intellectual
software. They grow more sophisticated as one
CLASSIFICATION OF INTELLIGENCE
TESTS
 Intelligence tests mostly include such
problems as solving a maze, copying a design
blocks and fitting jigsaw shapes together to
form a design or picture.
 Individual & group tests
a) Stanford-Binet intelligence scale
b) Wechsler tests
c) Standard progressive matrices
d) Goodenough-Harris Draw-a-man test
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
(WAIS)
 is a general test of adult intelligence (i.e., an
IQ test), first published in February 1955 by
David Wechsler; the fourth and most recent
edition of the test (WAIS-IV) was released in
2008 by Pearson.
 Wechsler definedc intelligence as "The global
capacity of a person to act purposefully, to
think rationally, and to deal effectively with
his/her environment.”
 The subtests can be grouped into two
categroies:
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
(WAIS)
There are four index scores representing major
components of intelligence:
 Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
 Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
 Working Memory Index (WMI)
 Processing Speed Index (PSI)
 Two broad scores are also generated, which
can be used to summarize general intellectual
abilities:
 Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), based on the total combined
performance of the VCI, PRI, WMI, and PSI
 General Ability Index (GAI), based only on the six
subtests that comprise the VCI and PRI
 Raven Progressive Matrices

test
Raven's Progressive Matrices (often referred to
simply as Raven's Matrices) are multiple choice
tests of abstract reasoning, developed by Dr John
C. Raven (1936)
 Raven's Progressive Matrices was designed
primarily as a measure of Spearman's g.  There are
no time limits and simple oral instructions. There
are 3 different tests for different abilities:
 Standard Progressive Matrices (average 6 to 80 year
olds)
 Coloured Progressed Matrices (younger children and
special groups)
Standard Progressive Matrices
(SPM)
 was designed to measure a person’s ability to form
perceptual relations and to reason by analogy
independent of language and formal schooling, and
may be used with persons ranging in age from 6
years to adult
 consists of 60 items arranged in five sets (A, B, C, D,
& E) of 12 items each. Each item contains a figure
with a missing piece. Below the figure are either six
(sets A & B) or eight (sets C through E) alternative
pieces to complete the figure, only one of which is
correct.
 Each set involves a different principle or "theme" for
 Raven Progressive Matrices
test
 This is a widely used intelligence test in many
research and applied settings.
 In each test item, one is asked to find the missing
pattern in a series.  Each set of items gets
progressively harder, requiring greater cognitive
capacity to encode and analyze.

Sample item
from the
Raven
Progressive
Matrices tests
Coloured Progressed Matrices
 For younger children and special groups with
learning difficulties.
 this test contains sets A and B from the
standard matrices, with a further set of 12
items inserted between the two, as set Ab.
Most items are presented on a colored
background to make the test visually
stimulating for participants.
 if participants exceed the tester's expectations,
transition to sets C, D, and E of the standard
matrices is eased.
Advanced Progressive Matrices
 The advanced form of the matrices contains
48 items, presented as one set of 12 (set I),
and another of 36 (set II).
 Items are again presented in black ink on a
white background, and become increasingly
difficult as progress is made through each set.
 These items are appropriate for adults and
adolescents of above average intelligence.
Goodenough-Harris Draw-A-Man Test

 is a psychological projective personality or

cognitive test used to evaluate children and
adolescents for a variety of purposes.
 Children are asked to draw a man, a woman,
and themselves. No further instructions are
given and the child is free to make the drawing
in whichever way he/she would like. There is
no right or wrong type of drawing, although the
child must make a drawing of a whole person
each time - i.e. head to feet, not just the face.
 The test has no time limit.
Goodenough-Harris Draw-A-Man Test

 children rarely take longer than about 10 or 15

minutes to complete all three drawings.
 Harris's book (1963) provides scoring scales
which are used to examine and score the
child's drawings. The test is completely non-
invasive and non-threatening to children -
which is part of its appeal.
 The purpose of the test is to assist
professionals in inferring children's c o g nitive
d e ve lo p m e nta l le ve ls with little or no influence
of other factors such as language barriers or
Test of general mental ability

 Group tests
 Perfromance tests
CULTURE FAIR INTELLIGENCE
TESTS
 Test items free of cultural influences.
 To provide equal opportunity for all individuals
examined
 Cronbach (1960)
 A symphony is to a composer as a book is to
what ?
• Paper • Sculptor • Author • Musician • Man
 A baker goes with a bread like a carpenter goes
with what ?
• A saw • A spoon • A nail • A house • A man
CULTURE FAIR INTELLIGENCE
TESTS
 Davis & Havighurst (1948) suggested three

important guidelines:
 Choose a problem that are equally common and
motivating to all socio-economic groups
 Sample a wider range of mental activities
 Find other ways of testing and validating the
items that their relation to school work
 Culture free intelligence test developed by
R.B.Cattell contains such problems as selecting
a design which completes a series, making a
geometrical figure that not belong with others
and making a design that correctly completes a
given pattern.
Assessing Intelligence
 Standardization
 defining meaningful scores by comparison with
the performance of a pretested “standardization
group”
 Normal Curve
 the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes
the distribution of many physical and
psychological attributes
 most scores fall near the average, and fewer and
fewer scores lie near the extremes
The Normal Curve
Getting Smarter?
Assessing Intelligence
 Reliability
 the extent to which a test yields consistent
results
 assessed by consistency of scores on:
 two halves of the test
 alternate forms of the test
 retesting
 Validity
 the extent to which a test measures or predicts
what it is supposed to
Assessing Intelligence
 Content Validity
 the extent to which a test samples the
behavior that is of interest
 driving test that samples driving tasks
 Criterion
 behavior (such as college grades) that a test
(such as the SAT) is designed to predict
 the measure used in defining whether the
test has predictive validity
Assessing Intelligence

 Predictive Validity
 success with which a test predicts the
behavior it is designed to predict
 assessed by computing the correlation
between test scores and the criterion
behavior
 also called criterion-related validity