Intelligence

Intelligence

1. Intelligence is a concept, a construct that is created to explain a phenomenon that is believed to exist but cannot be directly observed or measured

2. The ability to learn from experience, to acquire knowledge, to reason and to problem solve, to deal with people and objects and to adapt effectively to the environment

3. General Intelligence

   • Sir Francis Galton, 1822-1911
     • He saw intelligence as an ability that showed itself in different ways depending on one’s environment
   • Charles Spearman, 1863-1945
     • Developed a two factor theory of intelligence. Considered that there was a general factor that accounted for positive relationship between scores on different tasks, but also abilities that were specific to different tasks

4. Measuring mental age

   • Alfred Binet, 1857-1911
     • He did not have a theory of intelligence but a test that measured intelligence. The scores of “normally developing” children on these tests provided a baseline which other children could be compared to
       • He compared mental age to chronological age
   • Lewis Terman, 1877-1956
     • He considered that intelligence was inherited and was the strongest part of life’s succession
     • He adapted the Binet-Simon scale for use in the USA ; the standford- Binet scale. He adopted Stern’s formula for converting mental age to an intelligent quotient (IQ) IQ age= mental age/ chronological age x 100

5. Empirical Approach

   • David Weschler, 1896-1981
     • His theory was based of empirical evidence rather than theory, he defined intelligence as the aggregate or global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally and to deal effectively with one’s envrionmen
       • His measures of intelligence produced a global IQ score and domain scores. These scores were obtained by comparing an individual’s scores with those of a large number of peers constituting a representative sample

6. Multiple Intelligence

   • Howard Gardner,1943-
     • 1983, Howard Gardner argued that being intelligent was more than being able to solve problems. He came up with 9 aspects that people are intelligent in, he claims everyone has these intelligence but people have different combinations of these intelligences
       • -linguistic: use of spoken and written language, ability to learn and develop language -logical: ability to analyse problems, solve problems and think scientifically -musical: ability to perform and compose music, appreciate rhythm and tone -bodily- kinaesthetic: use of our body to solve problems, coordination -spatial: ability to use large and small spaces,and to use visual images of small objects

7. Emotional Intelligence

   • Salovey and Mayer (1990)
     • The ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions
       • Four branch model
         • Managing emotions so as to attain specific goals
           • Understanding emotions, emotional language, and the signals conveyed by emotions
             • Using emotions to facilitate thinking
               • Perceiving emotions accurately in oneself and others
   • Goleman (1996)
     • Daniel Goleman in his book didn’t believe Gardners multiple intelligences covered everything needed
       • Goldman’s 4 Attributes
         • 1. Perceiving emotion
           • 2. Using emotion
             • 3.Understanding emotion
               • 4. Managing emotion
       • Goleman‘ s 5 constraints
         • 1. Self-awareness
           • 2. Self-regulation
             • 3. Social skills
               • 4. Empathy
                 • 5. Motivation

8. Intelligence Testing

   • Intelligence testing can be tested individually or as a group
     • Individual intelligence tests are used for clinical purposes and when major decisions hang on the outcome
       • This maybe used to determine whether an individuals level of intelligence meets the criteria for a diagnosis that leads to the provision of specialised services and determining the pattern of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses as a basis for developing an appropriate intervention
     • Group testing may be undertaken for screening purposes and when it is important to gather information about a group of people in a relatively short time
       • Group testing often involves pencil and paper tests and usually has simple instructions so the test takers can complete it on their own without interaction with the examiner
         • Lack of interaction can be both a limitation and advantage