Intelligence

• The ability to learn from

one’s experiences, acquire
knowledge, and use
resources effectively in
adapting to new situations
or solving problems.
• The ability to judge,
comprehend, and reason.
• The ability to understand
and deal with people,
objects, and symbols.
• The ability to act
purposefully, think
rationally, and deal
effectively with the
Intelligence environment.
Theories of Intelligence
1. Spearman's G Factor.
Charles Spearman (1904) saw intelligence as two
different abilities.
• The ability to reason and solve problems was labeled g
factor for general intelligence,
• Whereas task-specific abilities in certain areas such as
music, business, or art are labeled s factor for specific
intelligence.
• A traditional IQ test would most likely measure g factor,
but Spearman believed that superiority in one type of
intelligence predicts superiority overall.
• He proposed a very simplified concept of intelligence
 2. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
• Originally proposed 7 types of intelligence but later added two more.
Type of Intelligence Description Example

1. Verbal/linguistic Ability to use language Writers, speakers

2. Musical Ability to compose and/or perform Musicians, even those who do not
music read musical notes but can perform
and compose

3. Logical/ Ability to think logically and to Scientists, engineers

mathematical solve mathematical problems

4. Visual/spatial Ability to understand how objects Pilots, astronauts, artists,

are oriented in space navigators
5. Movement Ability to control one’s body Dancers, athletes
motions

6. Interpersonal Sensitivity to others and Psychologists, managers

understanding motivation of others

7. Intrapersonal Understanding of one’s emotions Various people-oriented careers

and how they guide actions

8. Naturalist Ability to recognize the patterns Farmers, landscapers, biologists,

found in nature botanists

9. Existentialist Ability to see the “big picture” of the Various careers, philosophical
(a candidate human world by asking questions thinkers
intelligence) about life, death, and the ultimate
reality of human existence
 • Fluid intelligence is the
power of reasoning and
using information. It
includes the ability to
perceive relationships,
solve unfamiliar problems,
and gain new knowledge
(Reaches at its peak before
age 20, remains nearly
steady for decades, and
declines on the average in
old age)
• Crystallized intelligence
consists of acquired skills
and knowledge and the
ability to apply that
knowledge in specific
situations (Increases with
age till person active,
3. Cattell’s Theory specialization of person).
 4. Sternberg’s Triarchic
Theory of Intelligence

• Analytical intelligence: the ability to

break problems down into component
parts, or analysis, for problem solving.
• Creative intelligence: the ability to deal
with new and different concepts and to
produce new ways of solving problems.
• Practical intelligence: the ability to use
information to get along in life and
become successful.
5. Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory
Measuring Intelligence
1. Binet’s Mental Ability Test:
• French psychologist named Alfred Binet was
asked by the French Ministry of Education to
design a formal test of intelligence that would
help identify children who were unable to
learn as quickly or as well as others so that
they could be given remedial education
• Identify slow and quick learner
• Key element to be tested was a child’s mental
age
2. Stanford-Binet and IQ
• Lewis Terman (1916), a researcher at Stanford University, adopted
German psychologist William Stern’s method for comparing mental
age and chronological age (number of years since birth) for use with
the translated and revised Binet test.
• Stern’s (1912) formula was to divide the mental age (MA) by the
chronological age (CA) and multiply the result by 100. The resulting
score is called an intelligence quotient, or IQ.
• Formula. IQ = MA/CA * 100
• For example, if a child who is 10 years old takes the test and scores a
mental age of 15 (can answer the level of questions typical of a 15-
year-old), the IQ would look like this: IQ = 15/10 * 100 = 150
Conti..
• To compare the intelligence levels of people of different age groups. This
test works well for children, it produces IQ scores that start to become
meaningless as the person’s chronological age passes 16 years.
• SB5 is often used by educators to make decisions about the placement of
students into special educational programs, both for those with disabilities
and for those with exceptionalities.
• Verbal and nonverbal domain scores, all composed of five primary areas of
cognitive ability that are fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative
processing, visual–spatial processing, and working memory
• Items vary by task and difficulty as per age.
Example: Test items include tasks such as inserting correct shapes into
matching holes on a form board (Age 2), digit reversal or being able to repeat
four digits backward (Age 9),and testing vocabulary by defining 20 words
from a list.
3. The Wechsler Tests
• David Wechsler was the first to devise a series of tests designed for
specific age groups
• Originally dissatisfied with the fact that the Stanford- Binet test was
designed for children but being administered to adults, he developed
an IQ test specifically for adults (also developed different versions)
• 3 current versions
- The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV; Wechsler, 2008)
-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014)
-Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV;
Wechsler, 2012)
• Another way these tests
differed from the Stanford-
Binet was by having both a
verbal and performance
(nonverbal) scale, as well as
providing an overall score of
intelligence (the original
Stanford-Binet was
composed predominantly of
verbal items).
• Test composed of:
• Verbal-Comprehension
Index
• Perceptual Reasoning Index
• Working Memory Index
• Processing Speed Index
Test Construction: Good Test, Bad Test?
• Reliability of a test refers to the test producing consistent results each
time it is given to the same individual or group of people.
• Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it’s supposed to
measure.
• Another aspect of validity is the extent to which an obtained score
accurately reflects the intended skill or outcome in real-life situations,
or ecological validity (driving license)
 Standardization of Tests
• It refers to the process of giving the test to a large group of people that represents the kind
of people for whom the test is designed.
• Used for establishment of consistent and standard methods of test
administration.
• Sample selected randomly and should be a good representative of population.
• Norms: The scores from the standardization group would be called the norms, the standards
against which all others who take the test would be compared.
• Most tests of intelligence follow a normal curve (Mean and SD)
IQ Tests and Cultural Bias
• People do belong from different cultures.
• It is very difficult to develop tests free from
cultural biasness(a term referring to the
tendency of IQ tests to reflect, in language,
dialect, and content, the culture of the
person or persons who designed the test
(Usually IQ tests).
• These tests use questions that do not
create a disadvantage for people whose
culture differs from that of the majority.
Many items on a “culture-fair” test require
the use of nonverbal abilities, such as
rotating objects, rather than items about
verbal knowledge that might be culturally
specific (Example: Raven Progressive
Matrix).
Usefulness of IQ Tests
• IQ tests are generally valid for predicting academic success and job
performance.
• Intelligence testing also plays an important role in neuropsychology,
where specially trained psychologists use intelligence tests and other
forms of cognitive and behavioral testing to assess neurobehavioral
disorders in which cognition and behavior are impaired as the result
of brain injury or brain malfunction
 Individual Differences
in Intelligence
1. Intellectual Disability (intellectual
developmental disorder), formerly mental
retardation or developmentally delayed, is
neurodevelopmental disorder and is
defined in several ways.
• Person exhibits deficits in mental
abilities
• Person adaptive behavior is below age-
appropriate level
• These limitations must begin in the
developmental period
- Occurs in 1% of population
- IQ<70.
• Symptoms across three domains
-conceptual (memory, reasoning, language, reading, writing, math, and
other academic skills)
-social (empathy, social judgment, interpersonal communication, and
other skills that impact the ability to make and maintain friendships)
- practical (self-management skills that affect personal care, job
responsibilities, school, money management, and other areas)
• Causes (can be biological/environmental)
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
- Fragile X syndrome
- lack of oxygen at birth
- damage to the fetus in the womb (diseases, infections, or drug use)
 2. Gifted Individual( IQ > 140)

• Individuals who are gifted and have talents have

the capability to perform at higher levels
compared to others of the same age, experience,
and environment in one or more domains.
• The 2 percent of the population falling on the
upper end of the normal curve and typically
possessing an IQ of 130 or above.
Emotional Intelligence
• The awareness of and ability to manage one’s
own emotions to facilitate thinking and attain
goals, as well as the ability to understand
emotions in others.
Nature vs Nurture Debate in Intelligence

Role of Heritability in estimating Intelligence

???

Recap
Role of psychometric
properties of a test
Role of tests in assessment
Importance of standardization
in assessment and
interpretation.