Topic:- Intelligence (Maharashtra board class 12)

Meaning And Perspectives On Intelligence:

• Intelligence is the highest attribute of human beings.

Different psychologists have defined intelligence differently.
• Lewis Terman explains intelligence as, “an ability to think on
an abstract level.”
• David Wechsler defines intelligence as, “the aggregate or
global capacity of an individual to act purposefully, to think
rationally and to deal effectively with his environment.”
The two main perspectives on intelligence
are –
• Intelligence as a single, general ability – The
classical notion of intelligence explains it as an
unitary ability and only the functions of
intelligence may take different forms.
Psychologists like Alfred Binet, David Wechsler,
William Stern and Lewis Terman believed that
intelligence is a single index of cognitive abilities.
• Intelligence as a set of multiple abilities – The
modern view of intelligence as explained by
psychologists like Charles Spearman, E.L.
Thorndike, Howard Gardner, etc., states that
multiple abilities are involved in intelligence.
They believe that distinct types of
intelligences exist.
• E. L. Thorndike – explained that intelligence consists of three independent abilities viz. Abstract
intelligence, Social intelligence and Concrete intelligence.
• Louis Thurstone – explained that intelligence consists of seven Primary Mental Abilities viz. verbal
comprehension, word fluency, number facility, spatial visualization, associative memory, reasoning
and perceptual speed.
• Charles Spearman – proposed the Two Factor Theory of Intelligence i.e. General factor (g) minimum
competence and Specific factor (s) specific abilities which are required to solve problems.
• Raymond Cattell and John Horn – The two types of intelligence are 1) fluid intelligence – dependent
on neurological development, 2) crystallized intelligence – function of knowledge, experience.
• Howard Gardner – Theory of Multiple Intelligence (1983) – There are nine independent types of
intelligence viz. linguistic,logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal,
naturalistic, existential intelligence.
 Measurement Of Intelligence:
• Sir Francis Galton thought that he could determine intelligence
by measuring the size of the human skull. He administered a
battery of tests to measure variables such as head size,
reaction time, visual acuity, etc. However, these tests did not
prove useful to measure intelligence.
• Raymond Cattell used the term ‘mental test’ for the first time.
Like his mentor, Sir Galton, Cattell also believed that
intelligence is best measured by sensory tasks. However, be
emphasized that test administration must be standardized.
• In 1905, Alfred Binet in collaboration with Theodore Simon published
the First Scale of Intelligence. This scale was revised in 1908 and 1911.
In 1916, Lewis Terman revised the scale, i.e., adapted few items,
established new age norms etc. This came to be called ‘Stanford Binet
Test’.
• In 1917, Robert Yerkes and his colleagues developed the Army Alpha
(verbal test) and Army Beta (performance test) intelligence tests.
These two tests were used to recruit soldiers during the First World
War. In 1939, during Second World War II also, to recruit army
personnel, the Army General Classification Test was used.
• In 1939, David Wechsler published the Wechsler-
Bellevue Intelligence Test. In 1955, the test was revised
and then called Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
(WAIS). It has a verbal scale and performance scale.
• Wechsler also developed a test to measure the
intelligence of children, i.e., Wechsler Intelligence Scale
for Children (WISC). In 2008, Pearson released the
WAIS-IV.
• Mental Age – Alfred Binet introduced the concept of Mental Age. It
is defined as the age at which the person successfully performs on
all items of the test prepared for that age level. Mental Age need
not correspond to Chronological Age. If Mental Age (MA) is the
same as Chronological Age (CA), the person has average
intelligence.
• Intelligence Quotient – In 1912, William Stern introduced the
concept of Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Terman refined the formula
for calculating IQ which is as stated below –
IQ = MACA × 100
• Individual tests of intelligence – Individual tests of
intelligence are tests which can be administered to a
single person at a time, for e.g., Stanford Binet
Scales, WAIS, Koh’s Block Design Test, etc. They
require a trained, skilled psychologist to administer,
score and interpret the test. Individual tests are
more capable of measuring productive thinking.
• Group tests of intelligence – Group tests of intelligence are tests that can be
administered to more than one person at a time, i.e., for mass testing, for e.g.,
Army Alpha and Army Beta Test, Otis self-administration tests, etc. Group tests
require less time consuming and more economical. However, they are less capable
of measuring the creative aspect of intelligence.
• Verbal tests of intelligence – Verbal tests of intelligence make use of words and
numbers to measure intelligence. Subjects respond verbally to the test items, for
e.g., WAIS, Army Alpha Test, etc. These tests are culture-bound but are useful to
measure higher mental abilities.
• Non-verbal tests of intelligence – Non-verbal tests of intelligence do not use
language to measure intelligence.
• They make use of pictures, designs, objects, etc. Such tests maybe
• Performance tests, e.g., Koh’s Block Design Test or
• Paper-pencil test e.g., Raven’s Standard Progressive
Matrices.
• Non-verbal tests are culture-free and are also suitable
for use with illiterate persons, children, etc. However,
they are less suitable to measure higher mental abilities.
Application Of Intelligence Testing:
• Effective Schooling – On the basis of intelligence test scores, teachers can classify
students into intellectual categories and devise special instructional programmes
suited to their mental development.
• Aids Mental Health Personnel – Intelligence tests are helpful to Mental Health
personnel such as psychologists etc., for diagnosis purposes and therapy.
• Effective Parenting – Parents can provide appropriate educational facilities to their
children based on their IQ scores.
• Career Counselling – Scores obtained on intelligence tests help the student to
select the right educational options/ courses.
• Vocational Counselling – Individuals can choose a suitable career and achieve job
satisfaction when they make a realistic choice of vocation based on IQ scores.
 New Trends In Intelligence:
• Social Intelligence:
E.L. Thorndike proposed the term social intelligence. Howard
Gardner included interpersonal intelligence in the Multiple
Intelligences Theory. According to Karl Albrecht, “Social intelligence
is the ability to get along well with others and to get them to
cooperate with oneself’.
• A continued pattern of nourishing behaviour indicates a high level
of social intelligence. Such persons are skilled at interacting with
and understanding people around them. They respect and
encourage others. They effectively comprehend social dynamics.
• Emotional Intelligence (El):
The term emotional intelligence was used for the first time by John Mayer
and Peter Salovey. The concept of emotional intelligence was popularized
by Daniel Goleman. It is defined as ‘the ability to perceive and monitor
one’s own and others emotions, to discriminate among them and to use
this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.
• Emotional intelligence refers to a set of cognitive abilities such as
perceiving emotions, using emotions to facilitate thought, understanding
emotions and managing (regulating) emotions. Persons with high
emotional intelligence tend to be emotionally stable, patient, optimistic,
enthusiastic and calm.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI):
The term artificial intelligence was suggested by John McCarthy. Artificial intelligence is
an innovation created by human intelligence. It is a field of study that combines
computer science, algorithms, psychology, etc. It refers to enabling software
programmes and computer systems to perform tasks that normally require human
intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, weather forecasting,
language translations, etc.
• Artificial intelligence can take decisions only on the basis of stored information and so it
cannot be an alternative to human intelligence. Artificial intelligence has immense
applications in daily life as well as to solve critical problems such as drones, Robotic
Process Automation, medical diagnosis, etc.
 Glossary:
• → Artificial Intelligence – A subfield computer science enabling software programs to run
machines just like human intelligence
• → Emotional Intelligence – An individual’s ability to perceive. assess, evaluate and regulate
one’s own and other’s emotions accurately.
• → Intelligence Quotient – The standard score of an individual’s intelligence based on an
intelligence test, It is also known as IQ.
• → Mental age – Is a measure of a child’s performance on an intelligence test and relative to
the performance of other children of the same age on the same test.
• → Performance tests – Any test that requires the individual to perform or do something
such as completing a task or manipulating abjects rather than respond using language.
• → Social Intelligence – An individual’s ability Lo effectively relate to others.
• → Verbal tests – They make use of words and numbers to measure intelligence and subjects
respond verbally to the test items.
• Individual tests – They are tests which can be
administered to a single person at a time.
• → Group tests – They are Lists that can be
administered to more than one person at a time.
• → Intelligence – The aggregate or global capacity of
an individual to act purposefully, to think rationally
and to deal effectively with his environment.