Intelligence has been defined as the sum total of everything you know, as the ability to learn or profit from experience, as the ability to solve problems or as the ability to cope with the demands of the environment.
Some
of the definitions given by experts are given below:
“…intelligence,
that is to say, reasoning, judgment, memory, and the power of abstraction” (Binet
1890, cited in Sattler, 1988)
“An individual is intelligent in proportion as he is able to carry on abstract thinking” (Terman, 1921)
“Intelligence is the capacity of the organism to adjust itself to an increasingly complex environment” (Spearman, 1927)
In 1986, Sternberg and Determan found that twenty-four prominent scholars had twenty-four different definitions of intelligence.
Snyderman
and Rothman (1987) have presented responses of over 1,000 experts that belonged
to different disciplines such as psychology, sociology, education, and
genetics. Of the thirteen descriptions rated by the respondents, there was nearly
unanimous agreement that abstract reasoning, the capacity to acquire knowledge,
and problem solving ability were important elements of intelligence.
“Intelligence, as a hypothetical construct, is
the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to
think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment” (Wechsler,
1944).
“Intelligence comprises the mental abilities
necessary for adaptation to, as well as shaping and selection of, any
environmental context.” (Sternberg, 1997)
Boring (1923) operationally defined that “intelligence
is what intelligence tests measure”.
1.9) Theories of Intelligence:
1) Spearman’s Two factor theory of intelligence – G & S factors.
2) Triarchic theory of intelligence: - American
psychologist, Robert Sternberg, made his name by proposing
the triarchic theory of intelligence. This theory asserts that human
intelligence can be divided into three types: analytical, creative, and
practical intelligence.
3)
Gardner’s
theory of Multiple Intelligence – 9 forms of intelligene:
a) Naturalistic
intelligence; b) Musical intelligence; c) Logical-Mathematical; d) Existential;
e) Inter-Personal; f) Bodily-Kinesthetic; g) Lingustic; h) Intrapersonal; and
i) Visual-Spatial
4) Louis L. Thurstone: Primary Mental Abilities
5) Multi factor theory of intelligence: Proposed by EL Thorndike. According to Thorndike, intelligence is not a single factor like general intelligence rather it is a combination of multiple factors.
6) Guilford’s tri-dimensional theory: JP Guilford (1961) developed a model of intelligence in which he explained that every intellectual activity can be described in terms of three different basic dimensions, viz., operations- the act of thinking, contents- the terms in which we think like words, symbols, etc. and products- the ideas we develop.
7) Cattell and Horn’s Theory: Cattell (1971) and Horn (1978) have proposed this
theory in which they have distinguished two types of intelligence.
Fluid and Crystallized.
8) Jensen’s Theory of Mental Functioning: Arther Jensen (1969) proposed this theory. According to him, the functioning of one’s mind depends upon the type and degree of intelligence one possesses. Jensen splits intelligence into two types of abilities- associative abilities and cognitive abilities.
9) Das, Nagliery, and Kirby Pass theory: Das, Nagliery, and Kirby (1994) have developed a theory-based, multidimensional view of intelligence with constructs borrowed from contemporary research in neuropsychology, information processing and human cognition.
10)
Vernon’s Hierarchical Theory: Vernon’s description of different levels of
intelligence may fill the gaps between two extreme theories, the two-factor
theory of Spearman, which did not allow for the existence of group factors, and
the multiple-factor theory of Turstone, which did not allow a “g” factor.
Intelligence can be described as comprising abilities at varying levels of
generality:
i)
The highest level: “g”
(general intelligence) factor with the largest source of variance between
individuals. (Spearman).
ii)
The next level: major
group factors such as verbal-numerical-educational (v.ed) and
practical-mechanical-spatial-physical (k.m.) ability.
iii)
The next level: minor
group factors are divided from major group factors.
iv) The bottom level: “s”(specific) factor. (Spearmen)
This theory has four components: Planning, Attention-Arousal, Simultaneous, and Successive (PASS) processing systems.
Among the other critics of Spearman, G. H.
Thomson (1939) has argued that the inter correlations between tests are actually
the result of common samplings of independent factors.
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test
The Stanford-Binet intelligence test used a single number, known as the
intelligence quotient (or IQ), to represent an individual's score on the test.
The IQ score was calculated by dividing the test taker's mental age by
his or her chronological age and then multiplying this number by 100.
Mental Age
IQ = ————————— ×
100
Chronological Age
No comments:
Post a Comment