INTELLIGENCE
AND
ABILITY
(i) Intelligence: what is meant by intelligence - theories regarding the nature of
intelligence; how intelligence is measured - the concept of IQ, intelligence tests
– Individual Tests, Group Tests, Culture Fair Tests. Levels of intelligence and
associated characteristics (from gifted through average to below average).
Different views regarding the nature of intelligence: general or multifaceted;
quality or process; modern emphasis on social context; Intelligence: what is
meant by intelligence - theories regarding the nature of intelligence; Theories of
Intelligence: Two Factor Theory – Charles Spearman; Primary Mental Abilities
– Thurstone; Raymond Cattell – Fluid and Crystallised Intelligence; Guillford’s
Structure of Intellect Model. Modern Theories: Information Processing;
Triarchic Theory – Sternberg; Theory of Multiple Intelligence – Howard
Gardner. How intelligence is measured - the concept of IQ; Intelligence Tests –
Individual Tests - Stanford Binet, Wechsler, Group Tests – Raven’s Progressive
Matrices, Culture Fair Tests – Cattell’s Culture Fair Test. Levels of intelligence
and associated characteristics (from gifted through average to below average).
(ii) Aptitude, Achievement and Interest: meaning of these terms. Reason for their
assessment and means of assessment (different tools/ tests) used.
What is meant by Aptitude - when aptitude needs to be assessed - the GATB
(General Aptitude Test Battery); meaning and usefulness of Achievement tests;
why and how Interest is measured - the SCII (Strong Campbell Interest
Inventory).
Intelligence
Concept of Intelligence
As Isaac Asimov suggests, intelligence is hard to define. When several people in a
group speak of intelligence, they are likely to nod knowingly as if they all share a
common definition. Different people are likely to agree fairly well on who the
bright people in their work group or social circle are. However, there are wide
variations in lay people's definition of intelligence. A comprehensive meaning of
intelligence is that a person may be said to be intelligent to the extent of the
effectiveness with which he deals with all the elements and situations in his
environment. Thus, his intelligence is evaluated according to the manner in which
he deals with people, things and ideas. In other words, the degree of intelligence
depends upon the degree of effective integration of one's capacities and abilities for
dealing successfully with one's environment.
A person may be intelligent in some respects and not in others. One may be very
intelligent in academic aspects, but be unwise in matters of money or have such
poor control over one's emotions and feelings as to be unable to get along well with
people. If a person is as egocentric as to alienate his friends, his behavior is
certainly not considered intelligent. A child may be a good learner but be so full of
anxiety and fears that he is tense and unhappy all the time. Therefore, it might be
useful to evaluate a person's behavior in its entirety to determine the nature and
extent of his intelligence. Anyone who examines an individual's adjustment to life's
problems is bound to note that intelligence shows some direct relationships; for
example, more intelligent people can handle problems which people of lower
intelligence cannot tackle successfully.
Intelligence has been variously defined by different psychologists, but the
commonest features in most definitions are that intelligence is the ability to learn,
the ability to carry on the higher processes of thought, especially abstract thinking;
and the ability to adapt to novel situations Among the definitions of intelligence,
one of the most important is clearly, intelligence--the ability to think abstractly and
to learn readily from experience (Flynn, 1987)
Bagley, Lippman, Terman and Whipple opine that intelligence must be manifested
in behavior before it can be judged. Environment and training must first-interact
with native talents in order that the latter maybe recognized; hence the paradox that
achievement is the test of potentiality and that the capacity to learn is judged by the
amount that one has actually learned. Intelligence undoubtedly is inherited, but it
needs a proper environment to bring it to fruition.
Intelligence refers primarily to individual differences in a wide range of cognitive
abilities. It involves the ability to think abstractly and to learn readily from
experience. The concept pf general intelligence is too broad to be of practical
value. For convenience therefore, psychologists often distinguish 3 kinds of
intelligence activity-the abstract, the mechanical and the social. Abstract
intelligence is exhibited in our handling of symbols-words, numbers, diagrams etc.
This ability is conspicuously absent in animals. The abstractly intelligent person is
able to discover relations among symbols and to solve problems with their aid.
Successful lawyers, businessman, statesman, ordinarily possess abstract
intelligence to a high degree. Mechanical intelligence enables its possessor to deal
readily with machines and mechanical contrivances e.g. engineer. The third type is
social intelligence, which refers' to the knack of getting along with other people,
making friends easily and being tactful and understanding in human relationships.
Nature and Theories of Intelligence
As can be seen, psychologists, too, differ from one another in their definitions of
the concept. To illustrate these differences, we will sample a few theories of
intelligence from two different groups of theorists. One group consists of theorists
who have studied the organization of mental ability. Their primary interest is in
identifying the factor or factors that constitute intelligence. The theories that have
merged from these efforts are called factor theories. The second group of theorists
have focused not on the component parts of the intellectual but on the processes
involved in intellectual activity-that is, the processes involved in solving problems
or planning how to remember something. The result of their efforts has been a
group of process-oriented theorists. We first turn to the factor theories
I. FACTOR THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
A) Spearman's Two-factor theory:
This theory, which views intelligence as a single entity, just one general ability that
is I involved in an individual’s every function, every unit of behavior-mental,
social, physical or emotional-was the oldest theory which is no longer accepted as
a complete theory of intelligence.
Charles Spearman (1927) believed that performance on any cognitive task
depended on a primary general factor, (which he named 'g') and on one or more
specific factors ('s') relating to that particular task. Spearman based this view on the
observation that people who scored high or low on one kind of intelligence test
would Score at a similar level on other tests too. His theory is often defined thus:
All branches of intellectual activity have one fundamental function in common
whereas the remaining or specific elements seem in every case to be wholly
different from this and all the others. The general ability or general intelligence, 'g',
is the thing which intelligence tests measure with a fair degree of success. It is
constant for the same individual but varies from individual to individual and is the
common element which makes the measures of an individual in a number of traits
exhibit positive correlations. It functions in every intellectual, physical, social, or
abstract, that one performs. The specific factor‘s’ inherent in the act or
performance under consideration may represent musical capacity in a musical test
and mathematical capacity in a mathematical test and the ‘s’ for different spheres
may be markedly different in amount ill the same individual. It is the variation of
these independent's' factors, which, occasions the variety of performance in
different tasks when undertaken by the same individual, but one's success m any
form of response is the joint product of his 'g' and 's', that is, his ability in general
(g) and his ability for the task in question(s)
Spearman argued that each intellectual task taps both general intelligence or G and
some other ability, S, specific to that particular task. For example, an arithmetic
test might tap both G and a specific mathematical ability. Spearman's views, which
have come to be called G-factor theory, are reflected in intelligence tests that yield
a single score, such as, an IQ.
B) Thurstone's Primary Mental Abilities: One of the most influential of the
multifactor theories grew out of the work of factor analysts L.L.
Thurstone(1938). Thurstone began with a set of 56 tests; from the patterns of
correlation among these tests, he identified factors, which he called primary
mental abilities. They included verbal comprehension, word fluency,
perceptual speed, memory, numerical ability, spatial ability, and reasoning.
Thurstone assembled a battery of tests to measure these abilities. This
Primary Mental Abilities test (PMA) is still widely used. This theory is also
known as the group factor theory. Thurstone believed that assessment of
intelligence required measurement of all seven factors.
C) J.P. Guilford's Structure of Intellect model:
Guilford and his associates developed a model of intellect on the basis of the
factor analytical research studies conducted by them, which involved a number
of intelligence tests. It consists of 5 x 6 x 5 = 150 factors in all which may
constitute human intelligence, where each parameter operations, contents and
products may be further subdivided into some specific factors and elements.
Each one of these factors has a trigram symbol, i.e. at least one factor from each
of the three parameters has to be present in any specific intellectual activity or
mental task. (180 Factors according to the latest revision/120 factors).
Division of intellectual activity
with parameters and specific
factors:
Contents
Products
Operation
Evaluation (E)
Visual factor (F)
Units (U)
Convergent Thinking (C)
Symbolic (S)
Classes (C)
Divergent Thinking (D)
Semantic (M)
Relations (R)
Memory (M)
Behavioural (B)
Systems (S)
Cognition (C)
Auditory (A)
Transformation
(T)
Implication (I)
D) Cattell's Theory of intelligence
Not all views of intelligence divide sharply on the unified/multifaceted issue. One
influential perspective, proposed by Cattell (1963, 1987), adopts a more integrated
approach. According to Cattell, intelligence consists of two major components:
fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. Crystallized intelligence includes
those aspects of intelligence that involve drawing on previously learned
information to make decisions or solve problems. Classroom tests, vocabulary
tests, and many social situations involve crystallized intelligence. In contrast, fluid
intelligence involves the abilities to form concepts, reason and identify
similarities: it is more intuitive and is active in forming new mental structure:
rather than in making use of existing ones. Research focusing on these two typesintelligence suggests that fluid intelligence may peak in early adulthood, while
crystallized intelligence increases across the life span. Thus Fluid intelligence is
inherited and crystallized intelligence is learn from the environment.
II. PROCESS ORIENTED THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
The Process Approach deals with the processes involved in intellectual activity,
which consists of problem solving, remembering, thinking; analyzing, reasoning
etc. Process oriented theories concern themselves with the patterns of thinking that
people use when they reason and solve problems. Such theories focus on
 Cognitive processes rather than intelligence
 'How' people go about solving problems and figuring out answers
 The developmental processes and how the processes change as individuals
mature.
A) Sternberg's Triarchic Theory
This theory is a part of the information - processing approach, which has been
applied to many aspects of human behavior According to an informationprocessing perspective, to understand intelligence. We must understand the
cognitive strategies used by individuals who score high or low on this dimension.
In other words, we must define intelligence in terms of basic aspects of cognition.
For example, consider a theory proposed Sternberg (1985, 1986) According to this
theory, known as the triarchic theory of intelligence, there are actually three types
of human intelligence. The first, known as componential intelligence, emphasizes
effectiveness in information processing. Persons who rate high on this dimension
are able to think critically and analytically. Thus they usually excel on standard
tests of academic potential and make excellent students.
In contrast, the second type, experiential intelligence, emphasizes insight and the
ability to formulate new ideas. Person who rate high on this dimension excel at
zeroing in on what information is crucial in a given situation and at combining
seemingly unrelated facts. This is the intelligence shown by many scientific
geniuses and inventors, such as Einstein Newton etc.
Finally, there is what Sternberg terms contextual intelligence. Persons high on this
dimension are intelligent in a practical adaptive sense. They quickly recognize
what Sternberg has also expanded his triarchic theory to bridge the gap between
intelligence and personality. Sternberg notes that in addition to the three types of
intelligence described above. We must also consider intellectual styles-ways in
which the three types are actually, used in solving the problems of everyday life.
Whether or not Sternberg's theories are confirmed by future research, they are
representative of a new approach to the study of intelligence that draws heavily on
basic knowledge about cognition generally.
Piaget's Theory (Part of the Development Chapter )
Jean Piaget (1970) is a particularly prominent process theorist. In his view,
intelligence is an adaptive process that involves interplay of biological maturation
and interaction with the environment. He states that the relationship between the
mind and biological organization is the starting point of any study on the origins of
intelligence. He then, discusses the continuity between intelligence and biological
processes. The following sequence explains the route by which, children using
their bodily structures, interact with their environment, form cognitive structures,
.and, on attaining adolescence, finally develop the logical thought processes that
underlie verbal intelligence.
Anatomical structure
Reflex system
Habits and associations
Sensorimotor intelligence
Verbal intelligence
If we examine this sequence we can better .understand what Piaget means when he
says that mental development is conditioned by heredity. Since we are human, we
function mentally as our biological heredity permits, i.e., by the formation and
organization of our intellectual structures. Even though intelligence is hereditary
according to Piaget, he also states that it is observable through oven behavior and
this behavior along with these structures, directs and determines the behavior and
utilization of the structures in the face of environmental demands.
B ) Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence: Howard Gardner initially
formulated a list of seven intelligences. His listing was provisional. The first two
have been typically valued in schools; the next three are usually associated with the
arts; and the final two are what Howard Gardner called ‘personal intelligences’
(Gardner 1999)
Linguistic intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the
ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain
goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express
oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember
information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard
Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.
Logical-mathematical intelligence consists of the capacity to analyze problems
logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically.
In Howard Gardner’s words, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason
deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with
scientific and mathematical thinking.
Musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and
appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and
compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms. According to Howard Gardner
musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entails the potential of using one’s whole body or
parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to
coordinate bodily movements. Howard Gardner sees mental and physical activity
as related.
Spatial intelligence involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of
wide space and more confined areas.
Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the
intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work
effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and
counsellors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence.
Intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate
one’s feelings, fears and motivations. In Howard Gardner’s view it involves having
an effective working model of ourselves, and to be able to use such information to
regulate our lives.
In Frames of Mind Howard Gardner treated the personal intelligences ‘as a piece’.
Because of their close association in most cultures, they are often linked together.
However, he still argues that it makes sense to think of two forms of personal
intelligence. Gardner claimed that the seven intelligences rarely operate
independently. They are used at the same time and tend to complement each other
as people develop skills or solve problems.
In essence Howard Gardner argued that he was making two essential claims about
multiple intelligences.
The theory is an account of human cognition in its fullness. The intelligences
provided ‘a new definition of human nature, cognitively speaking’ (Gardner 1999:
44). Human beings are organisms who possess a basic set of intelligences.
People have a unique blend of intelligences. Howard Gardner argues that the big
challenge facing the deployment of human resources ‘is how to best take
advantage of the uniqueness conferred on us as a species exhibiting several
intelligences’ (ibid.: 45).
Measurement of Intelligence
TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE TESTS
Intelligence tests are categorized according to the activities they comprise of and
who they are intended for. We may say that there are five categories:
Individual Verbal tests
These tests make use of language and consist of questions spoken or written:
examples of such tests are the Stanford-Binet tests. These tests can only be
administered to one person at a time, are expensive and time-consuming. The
examiner also needs to be trained in bringing out the best in the individual
examinee. The limitations of such tests are that they cannot be used with illiterate
people or people with foreign backgrounds.
The Stanford Binet Intelligence Tests: The first individual intelligence test was
constructed by Alfred Binet, who was also known as the Father of Intelligence
Testing. He was asked to design a device by which it would be easy to differentiate
children with high intelligence from children with low intelligence. The purpose of
such a test was so that alternative teaching environments could be created for less
intelligent children for their benefit. Binet, together with his colleague Theodore
Simon, devised the first Binet Simon Intelligence Scale in France, 1905, which
contained 30 items.
In designing this test Binet and Simon were guided by the belief that the items used
should be ones children could answer without special training or study. They felt
that this was important because, the test should measure the ability to handle
intellectual tasks - not specific knowledge acquired in school. Therefore, Binet and
Simon decided to use items of two basic types: ones so new or unusual that none of
the children would have had prior exposure to them, and ones so familiar that
almost all youngsters would have encountered them in the past.
Due to the success of the first version of the test in 1905, schools could readily
identify children in need of special assistance. Encouraged by this success, Binet
and Simon broadened the scope of their test to measure variations in intelligence
among children of normal intelligence. This revised version, published in 1908,
grouped items by age, with six items at each level between three and thirteen years.
Items were placed according to age levels by first administering them to large
groups of children of various ages. Those items that could be passed correctly by
about 75% of children of a certain age were included within that age level. Thus
the test is an age scale. The test was revised many times after that.
The tests were revised further and published by Lewis Terman at the Stanford
University and thus came to be known as the Stanford Binet Intelligence Tests.
Revisions of this test were made in 1916, 1837 and then in 1960. They further
revised in 1972 and also in 1986. One of the most significant contributions of the
Stanford Binet was that it yielded a single score assumed to reflect an individual's
level of intelligence - the now famous IQ.
The concept of IQ was devised by the German psychologist William Stem, but its
popularity is mainly due to its adoption in the Stanford Scales. IQ technically
refers to a person's ratio between his mental age (the level of mental development
attained by a child as expressed in terms of the average development of children of
a given age) and his chronological age (the age at which he is). The product is
multiplied by 100.
For testing purposes, the highest level at which all items are passed by a given
child is that child's basal age. Starting with the basal age, the tester adds additional
credit (two months per item) for each item the child passes until it reaches a ceiling
age-that is, the lowest level at which all items are failed. The final score (mental
age) is calculated taking into account the values between the basal age and the
ceiling age. The final value is expressed as an IQ.
For example, if the child's mental age is 6 years and his chronological age is 8
years, his IQ will be
MA X 100 = 6 X 100 = 75(below average)
CA
8
75 is below average because a perfect IQ would be 100,
The problem with this type of IQ is that at some point mental age levels off or
stops, while chronological age continues to grow. As a result, IQ scores began to
decline after the early teen years. Partly because of this problem, IQ scores now
have a different meaning. They simply reflect an individual's performance on an
intellectual test relative to that of persons the same age.
Individual Non-Verbal Tests
Such tests make use of non-verbal or performance items and can therefore be used
with people who are illiterate, foreign or culturally deprived, even those who are
verbally challenged. These tests allow the evaluation of intelligence with minimum
interference from language. They involve the least possible use of linguistic ability
and are almost completely unaffected by knowledge derived from books. An
example of such a test is the Pintner Paterson Test devised by Paterson in 1917.
The other famous individual performance test is the Weschler Adult Intelligence
Scale (WAlS).
Weschler Adult intelligence Scale: As noted above, the tests developed by Binet
and later adapted by Terman and others remained popular for many years. They do,
however, suffer from one major drawback: All are mainly verbal in content. As a
result, they pay little attention to the fact that intelligence can be revealed in
nonverbal activities as well.
To overcome this and other problems, David Weschler devised a set of tests for
both children and adults that include nonverbal, or performance items as well as
verbal ones and that yield separate scores for these two components of intelligence.
The first Weschler test was developed in 1939, at the Belleview Psychiatric
Hospital. It was then superceded by an improved test-the Weschler Adult
Intelligence Scale (WAlS) for persons between the ages of 16-74 years. The
Weschler tests are perhaps the most frequently used individual tests today.
The WAlS consists of 6 verbal subtests and 5 non-verbal subtests. The items in
each of these subtests is arranged in ascending order of difficulty. Each subject
starts on the simplest item and goes on to items of increasing difficulty. When the
most difficult item of a subtest has been completed, the next subtest is attempted.
Weschler believed that differences between scores on the various subtests could be
used to diagnose serious mental disorders. Research on this possibility has yielded
mixed results, however. Some findings suggest that a Verbal IQ significantly
higher than a Performance IQ can indicate damage to the left cerebral hemisphere,
while the opposite pattern can indicate damage to the right hemisphere. But this is
not always the case, and other evidence is usually required before conclusions can
be reaching about possible brain damage. Other findings indicate that patterns of
scores on the Weschler tests may be linked to various psychological disorders. For
example, some research has found that chronic schizophrenics have higher Verbal
IQs than Performance IQs, while persons suffering from a disorder known as
antisocial personality disorder-a disorder marked by lack of conscience-have
higher Performance than Verbal lQs.
A Weschler test for children, the Weschler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC'),
has also been developed. Here too, efforts have been made to determine whether
differences in scores on the various subtests indicate various kinds of disorders.
Some of the results obtained in this research are intriguing. For example, echoing
the findings with respect to the antisocial personality disorder mentioned above, it
has been found that Performance lQ almost always exceeds Verbal IQ in
youngsters classified as delinquent. Patterns of scores on the subtests of the WISC
are also sometimes used to identify children suffering from learning disabilities.
Some findings indicate that children who score high on certain, such as Picture
Completion and Object Assembly, but lower on others, including Arithmetic,
Information and Vocabulary are more likely to be suffering from learning
disabilities than children with other patterns of scores.
Another test by Weschler for little children was the Weschler Preschool and
Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI).
The Weschler is a point scale not an age scale. The examinees total score is
converted directly to an IQ without bringing in the mental age. Thus while using
the Weschler Scales, IQ is simply the Person's score/ Average Score. Scoring of
the scale is so adjusted that the average IQ for each age level from 10-70 years is
exactly 100. The final score on the Weschler is converted to a deviation IQ which
is an IQ score expressed in standard deviation units.
Group Verbal tests
Group tests of intelligence owe their origin to difficulties arising from individual
tests. In many practical situations, group tests of intelligence were required, for
instance, during WW1 and WW2, where as many as 10,000,000 people were tested
for availability. Thus, group tests were developed which could be easily
administered to large groups an easily scored. The verbal tests meant for literates
were the Army Alpha Tests.
Group Non-Verbal tests
A test developed with the same goal in mind but meant for illiterate people as well
were the Army Beta tests. A more recent group test for the Armed Forces is the
AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Tests). Similar tests desired for schools and
colleges e.g. The Longe - Thorndike Intelligence Tests. More group tests were
developed during WW2 of which two are: The Naval General Classification Test
and Army Classification Test.
The disadvantage of group tests is that the examiner cannot be sure that the subject
is following instructions properly; that he is in a fit condition or whether he
cheated.
Group tests are of two kinds, i.e., verbal and non-verbal. Some items i.e., verbal
ones in group tests, depend largely on information and knowledge, while modem
non-verbal group tests place greater emphasis on the discovery of essential
relationships. Verbal group tests demand intelligent manipulation of words or
rather of ideas expressed in words.
The Army Alpha Test: An example of a group verbal test is the Army Alpha Test
developed during World War I. It consists of verbal or language items which are
like those on the Stanford-Binet Scale.
Test 1 involves figures 1-9 placed in circles and the examiner says, "Attention,
look at question 2 where the circles have numbers in them. When I say 'go' draw a
line from circle 2 to circle 5 that will pass under circle 3 and above circle X …..
Go!!!"
Test 2 has 20 questions such as 'if an aero plane goes 300 yards in 10 seconds, how
many feet does in go in 1/5 seconds?
Test 3 requires the choice of the best answer from among three statements such as
'every soldier should be inoculated against typhoid because… (a) many men have
typhoid, (b) doctors insist on it, (c) it prevents epidemics,
Test 4 involves the subject being called upon to decide if 40 pairs of words are
similar or opposite in meaning,
Test 5 requires subjects to place jumbled words in correct order.
Test 6 requires completion of a number series 3-4-6-9-13-18....
Test 7 involves verbal analogies requiring the right choice e.g. skirt: girl trouser:
boy mayor: city
Test 8 checks general knowledge by correcting meanings of words and sentences
e,g, London is a city in England, Japan, France
Only 24 minutes is allowed for all 8 tests, the scoring is as follows:
Max-212 points
Excellent - > 135
Good - 105-134
Fair - 45-104
Culture Fair Tests
In order to remove linguistic or cultural bias and in order to ensure that language
and culture do not come in the way of the examinee's performance, certain tests
that are free from culture bias have been developed, The question; in such tests do
not penalize individual's whose cultural experiences or language differs from that
of the middle or upper classes.
.' .
The Raven's Progressive Matrices Test: The Raven's Progressive Matrices test
was developed in England and widely used in the British Armed Forces in wwII. It
consists of nonverbal scales designed, to evaluate the subjects' ability to apprehend
relationships between geometric figures and design, and to perceive the structure
of the design in order to select that appropriate part of completion of each pattern
or system of relations. The several scales for use with persons 5 years and older are
regarded by the author as being a test of educative ability, that is, a measure of the
general factor of intelligence. The tests are intended to evaluate a person's ability to
discern and utilize a logical relationship presented by non-verbal materials. The
problems require in varying degrees analytical and integrating operations.
Raven's Progressive Matrices (often referred to simply as Raven's Matrices) are
multiple choice intelligence tests of abstract reasoning, originally developed by Dr.
John C. Raven in 1936.[1] In each test item, the subject is asked to identify the
missing item that completes a pattern. Many patterns are presented in the form of a
4x4, 3x3, or 2x2 matrix, giving the test its name.
Versions
The matrices are posed in three different forms for participants of different ability:
Standard Progressive Matrices: These were the original form of the matrices, first
published in 1938. The booklet comprises five sets (A to E) of 12 items each (e.g.,
A1 through A12), with items within a set becoming increasingly difficult, requiring
ever greater cognitive capacity to encode and analyze information. All items are
presented in black ink on a white background.
Coloured Progressive Matrices: Designed for younger children, the elderly, and
people with moderate or severe 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 coloured background to make the test
visually stimulating for participants. However the very last few items in set B are
presented as black-on-white; in this way, if a subject exceeds 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.
According to their author, Raven's Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary tests
measure the two main components of general intelligence (originally identified by
Charles Spearman): the ability to think clearly and make sense of complexity,
which is known as eductive ability (from the Latin root "educere", meaning "to
draw out") and the ability to store and reproduce information, known as
reproductive ability.
The uses of culture fair tests is that they are valuable primarily with 'children who
have had limited educational opportunities or impoverished social backgrounds,
with young children who have not learned to read, with older pupils who are
handicapped by reading or language difficulties and with literate or non-English
speaking adults. These tests are also extremely useful for the better diagnosis of
persons who on the verbal tests have intelligence quotients between 60 and 75 and
would therefore by consider as subjects for special education and institutional care.
The Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT) was constructed by Raymond B.
Cattell, PhD, DSc in an attempt to produce a measure of cognitive abilities that
accurately estimated intelligence devoid of sociocultural and environmental
influences.[1] Scholars have subsequently concluded that the attempt to construct
measures of cognitive abilities devoid of the influences of experiential and cultural
conditioning is a challenging one.[2] Cattell proposed that general intelligence (g)
comprises both Fluid Intelligence (Gf) and Crystallized Intelligence (Gc).[3][4]
Whereas Gf is biologically and constitutionally based, Gc is the actual level of a
person's cognitive functioning, based on the augmentation of Gf through
sociocultural and experiential learning (including formal schooling).
The Culture Fair tests consist of three scales with non-verbal visual puzzles. Scale
I includes eight subtests of mazes, copying symbols, identifying similar drawings
and other non-verbal tasks. Both Scales II and III consists of four subtests that
include completing a sequence of drawings, a classification subtest where
respondents pick a drawing that is different from other drawings, a matrix subtests
that involves completing a matrix of patterns and conditions subtests which involve
which out of several geometric designs fulfill a specific given condition.
SIGNIFICANCE AND USES OF INTELLIGENCE TESTS
a. Classifying and grading pupils: the feeble minded are segregated for giving
them special education as they do not profit from normal education while
talented students receive an enriched curriculum.
b. Admission and Grading: in colleges and universities, intelligence tests are
used as a partial basis for determining admission and grading.
c. Diagnostic Purposes: these tests are used for diagnosing feeble mindedness,
superior intelligence, special abilities and disabilities of children,
maladjustments of educational and social nature and even personality
disorders.
d. Prognostic Purposes: these tests are used for forecasting the intellectual or
vocational future of young students. Intelligence tests tell us which pupils will
succeed provided they work hard; remain reasonably free from disease and
from mental and moral degeneration. It is unwise to encourage a person of low
intelligence to attempt a professional career, as he will certainly be
disappointed in it.
e. Placement and Promotion: together with achievement tests, intelligence tests
can be used to determine whether the child is mentally capable of doing the
work of a certain standard.
f. Determining readiness: these tests can be used to determine the child's
readiness to read, to calculate and so on.
g. Determining placement of subject matter materials: since intelligence tests
show the kind and complexity of thinking possible at each age level, these can
help curriculum framers to place specific subject matter at the proper level.
h. Diagnosing other reasons for low achievement: intelligence test scores,
when compared with achievement test scores, can reflect the reasons other than
intelligence that may be responsible for a child's low achievement.
Levels of intelligence
People differ in the scores which they earn on intelligence tests, just as they differ
in height, weight and personality traits. Intelligence tests given to children provide
the clearest picture of the variations in mental ability in the general population.
Children are readily available than adults, they are more easily tested, and their
abilities and interests are more flexible. In a study done using the 1937 Stanford
Binet on nearly three thousand children from two to eighteen years, results found
were interesting. These children were drawn from eleven states and represented
quite adequately the various social and economic levels in the country. Very few
children fall at the lower end of the scale more and more are found in the middle
range, and again very few are at the high end of the scale. Most measured IQ's fall
in the middle of the score range-that is, between 85 and 115. Many more children
achieve IQ's of 100 and thereabouts than IQ's above 130 or below 70. This means
that very bright children and, fortunately, very dull children are relatively rare in
the general population as compared with normal and near normal. The percentage
of children who fall in each division of the IQ range drops sharply as we go from
the middle of the score range to the extremes. In other words, the distribution of
the levels of intelligence in children follows the normal probability curve.
In order to see where individuals lie along this I.Q. range, psychologists have
developed batteries of tests known as intelligence tests. These tests have proved to
be of great benefit in identifying students in need of special attention in school, in
diagnosing cognitive difficulties and in helping people make optimal educational
and vocational choices.
As we know, the most common indicator of intelligence is the IQ. Based on IQ
intelligence has been classified into 7 levels:
IQ Range
Classification
130 and above
120 - 129
110 - 119
90 - 109
80 - 89
70 - 79
Below 70
Very Superior
Superior
Bright , Normal
Average
Dull, Normal
Borderline
Mentally Retarded
%
of
Distribution
2.2%
6.7%
16.1%
50%
16.1%
6.7%
2.2%
Population
THE MENTALLY RETARDED CHILD
Mental retardation has been defined by the DSM IV as "significantly sub-average
general Intellectual functioning resulting in or associated with impairments in
adaptive behavior and manifested before the age of 18." Mentally retarded children
are further classified into 4 categories based on the level of retardation. Given
below is a classification of the mentally retarded.
IQ Range
Level
Features
Below 20 – 25
Profound
Gross retardation, minimal capacity for
functioning, needs nursing care. By
adulthood some speech development
may be present, and simple self help
skills may be acquires.
25-25 to 35 – 40
Severe
35-40 to 50-55
50-55 to 70
Moderate
Mild
Poor motor development; speech is
minimal, generally unable to profit from
training, little or no communication
skills. By adolescence, non-verbal forms
of
communication
may
evolve.
Generally obvious in the pre-school
years.
Can talk or learn to communicate; social
isolation may begin in the elementary
years; academic develop may be
facilitated by individual attention; poor
social
awareness;
fair
motor
development; can be managed with
moderate supervision; can even become
competent at occupational tasks in
supportive settings – ‘TRINEABLE”
May not be diagnosed until the affected
children enter school, may be
communication deficits, poor selfesteem and dependence which may
contribute to lack of spontaneity. Can
develop social and communication
skills,
minimal
retardation
in
sensorimotor areas, rarely distinguished
from normal until later age –
‘EDUCABLE”
Thus, we can see that children with such low levels of intelligence have special
characteristic and needs. Physically they are inferior to normal children e.g. slow
eye-reaction, poor muscular coordination; there are usually communication
deficits, poor self-esteem and dependence; there maybe hyperactivity, low
frustration tolerance, aggression, erratic behavior, repetitive behaviors and even
self-injurious actions; physical appearance may be affected, e.g. size of head,
prominent eyebrows, misshapen ears; social and moral development is also poor.
Mental retardation maybe caused by biological factors, the most common of which
is Down's syndrome (and extra 21st chromosome), lack of nutrition, poor neo-natal
conditions. Familial factors may also cause mental retardation e.g. poverty, lack of
environmental stimulation.
In order to cope with such deficiencies, children with mental retardation have
special needs. They require an education that addresses skill-training, social skill
training and vocational training with focus on improving communication skills.
They need more instance of positive reinforcement and less of rejection. Families
of such children need to be educated, about ways and means of helping such
children. Lastly, the child needs to feel accepted and better about himself and may
need medication to deal with symptoms like anger, aggression, self-injurious
behavior etc.
EDUCATION OF A MENTALLY RETARDED CHILD
a. A backward child must first be identified through intelligence tests, aptitude
tests, achievements tests, personality tests and case histories.
b. Special class arrangements with specially qualified teachers usually prove
effective. No child should be subject to fierce competition. They should be
treated with recognition and respect by their classmates. Too many students
should not be kept in one class so that individual attention is possible. There
have been criticisms of special classes as parents feel it further isolates the
child and inhibits his behavior in the presence of other normal children.
c. As a remedy for this, mainstreaming is now carried out where backward
children are taught in a ‘least restrictive environment’. It is aid that such a
process improves the educational opportunities, increases their social
acceptance and facilitates their integration into society as a whole.
d. Special schools for such children can be set up, though they too facilitate
isolation and labeling- and are very expensive.
e. For a teacher teaching a backward child, it is important to keep the following
in mind:
a) The child must bet taught in simple steps
b) There must be appropriate reinforcement provided to the child
c) All taught matter must be supplemented with meaningful examples
d) Important to refer to home regarding understanding- of concepts and
homework.
e) The home school passage should be kept open for communication
THE GIFTED CHILD
Another group of people, the mentally gifted, differ as much from those with
average intelligence as those who are mentally retarded, although in a different
manner. Comprising 2-4% of the population, the intellectually gifted have IQ
scores greater than 130.
Gifted children have certain characteristics in common. They appear to have
superior physiques as demonstrated by above average height-weight coordination
and general health; they have a longer attention span, learn rapidly and with less
repetition; they usually learn to read sooner and continue to read at a consistently
more advanced level; they know about things which other children are usually
unaware about, usually due to their greater interest and ability to grasp
information; they show a high degree of originality, possess one or more special
talents and can take charge of situations; they also have diverse, spontaneous and
frequently self-directed interests and can judge other people well.
A teacher-counselor, after a study of the child’s educational-and, vocational
interests, apprises him of the educational and vocational possibilities in store for
him and prepares him mentally for courses he should take. Successful educational
programs for gifted children are ones that comprise general intellectual ability,
verbal skills, etc.; strengthen ability in areas like science, mechanics, music,
creative writing, and dramatics. Other important facets of a program best suited for
gifted children are emphasis on investigation, high standards of accomplishment,
individual attention by teacher to student, and extensive reading and concern with
community responsibility. It is also important for parents to play a role in the
identification, guidance and education of their gifted offspring. They have to help
their child against becoming a snob or a recluse by treating him as a normal child.
Other children in the family should not be made to sacrifice their needs for those of
the gifted child.
Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that children with such superior
characteristics require stimulating environments. They need individualistic and
flexible treatment with adequate opportunities to learn extra and at a rapid rate.
They may also need counseling services to express their needs and experiences and
should be allowed to engage in activities that tap their excess energy and ability.
Aptitude and Achievement
The distinction between aptitude and achievement
The terms aptitude, ability and capacity mean much the same thing and are often
used interchangeably. Aptitude is potential and it is revealed in performance or
inferred from performance. Aptitude has future reference, in that it sets limits of
what a person will achieve when given the opportunity and training. Achievement
on the other hand is actual performance; it is what a person does, regardless of his
capabilities. Aptitude often exceeds achievement. A boy may receive low grades in
school when his intelligence test scores and other evidence lead us to feel sure that
he possesses ability of a high order. But achievement can never really exceed
aptitude, though sometimes it may appear to do so. A dull child for example may
receive school grades better than his capacity warrants because he is overage for
his grade or is pleasant and docile. But the child is not bright, despite his passing
grade, and his achievement does not surpass his ability.
In some instances, we can feel fairly certain of the aptitudes, which a person must
possess in order to demonstrate achievement in a given task. Marked proficiency in
languages, for example, clearly demands a high level of verbal ability; success in
salesmanship requires good intelligence and tact even when a person possesses
ability of a high order. Ordinarily he can reveal his aptitude only through
achievement, and such achievement may require a considerable amount of
specialized training. When a group has undergone the same degree of training,
achievement becomes a reasonable measure of aptitude. .
Without aptitude tests of course, we can never be sure that achievement represents
aptitude fully. Even the best student in the class-the one who achieves fully-may
not be using all his ability. But various disturbing factors will cancel out in any
large group.
Aptitude tests can be of two kinds: specific and general. Specific aptitude tests
indicate the probability of success or achievement in a particular field or limited
type of activity e.g. music, graphic 8.rtS, mechanics. Examples of such tests are the
Meier Art Judgment Test and the Horn Art Aptitude Inventory. General aptitude
tests –indicate aptitude in various fields, making it 'possible to test all of a person's
vocational abilities in one sitting and interpret the scores in terms of a wide range
of occupations. Examples of general aptitude tests are the Differential Aptitude
Test (DAT) and the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB).
A GENERAL APTITUDE TEST: THE GENERAL APTITUDE TEST
BATTERY (GATB)
This battery has 12 tests that yield 9 'aptitude scores' and requires little more than
two hours to administer. The 9 aptitudes were identified by factor analysis and
included:
Intelligence (G)
Verbal Aptitude (V)
Numerical Aptitude (N)
Spatial Perception (S)
Form Perception (P)
Clerical Perception (0)
Motor Coordination (K)
Finger Dexterity (F)
Manual Dexterity (M)
This battery is intended for use in counseling individuals who are looking for
occupations or who want assistance in their choice of vocation. It was produced by
the Bureau of Employment Security, U.S.A., in the early 1940's.
The G factor consists of spatial, vocabulary and arithmetic reasoning.
Verbal ability requires subjects to pick out pairs of words that are either synonyms
or antonyms.
Numerical ability has two tests. The first test involves speed and accuracy in
simple computations and the second involves arithmetic reasoning.
Spatial perception involves the subject identifying the correct 3D figure that can be
produced by folding a flat sheet.
Form perception involves two tests-tool matching and form matching, both of
which require selecting an answer identical to stimulus format.
Clerical perception involves 'name comparison' where the subject has to find out
whether the pairs of names are identical or not.
Motor coordination involves measuring speed and accuracy of hand movements
and is evaluated by 2 peg-board tests.
Finger dexterity calls for more precise finger manipulations. There are 2 tests
called assemble and disassemble, which use a board with holes into which rivets
have to be correctly placed.
This battery is sufficient to warrant use in vocational counseling, provided it is
followed by thorough interviewing.
Achievement tests
Tests of achievement have been put to use in educational institutions at all levels,
in psychological clinics, in business, industry and government, in schools, they are
used to evaluate teachers' effectiveness of different teaching methods, school
administrators and supervisors have found these tests helpful in making surveys of
pupils' performance and progress - for a general evaluation of all or part of a school
system. Obviously for any of these purposes it is necessary to use uniform and
objective measuring devices, that is, tests that have been adequately standardized.
AN ACHIEVEMENT TEST: THE GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION
(GRE)
Since 1937, objective tests of educational achievement for college graduates have
been developed. One such test is the Graduate Record Examination. An increasing
number of universities are using this as one of the criterion for admission to their
graduate schools. The examination consists of three parts: an aptitude test, area
tests and advanced tests. The first of these is a test of general mental ability,
yielding separate scores in verbal and quantitative subtests. It intends to serve as
one predictor of ability to do graduate work. The area tests provide examinations in
social science, humanities and natural science. They constitute a general
achievement battery designed to estimate the level and extent of a student's
knowledge and understanding in the major areas of college studies. The items
include some that evaluate the student's ability to solve problems in general fields
of study and to exercise judgment based upon familiarity with academic subject
matter. The advanced tests are specialized examinations to test students in their
subjects of major study and intended graduate specialization. Data on the
predictive validities of the GRE have shown that a combination of their scores with
undergraduate grades provides a better predictive criterion than either one taken
alone.
Interest Test
The nature and strength of one's interests and attitudes represent an important
aspect of personality. These characteristics materially affect educational and
occupational achievement, interpersonal relations, the enjoyment one derives from
leisure activities, and other major phases of daily living. Although tests typically
are directed toward the measurement of one or the other of these variables, the
available instruments cannot rigidly be classified according to such discrete
categories as interests and attitudes. Overlapping is the rule. Thus, a questionnaire
designed to assess the relative strength of interests in investigative, artistic or
conventional occupations also might be said to gauge the individual's attitudes
toward pure science, art for art's sake, practical tasks and the like.
AN INTEREST TEST: THE STRONG CAMPBELL INTEREST INVENTORY
The Strong Campbell Vocational Interest Blank is available' in separate forms for
men and women, from age 17 onwards. Each inventory contains 400 items dealing
with likes and dislikes in occupations, school subjects, amusements, activities, and
personality traits; with order of preference of activities, importance of factors
affecting one's work, order of preference of mean or women one would like most
and least to have been, positions one would most and least like to hold in an
organization, comparison of interest between paired items etc. .
The purpose of the inventory is to find the extent to which an individual's interest
and preferences agree with those of successful persons in specified occupations: 47
for men and 28 for women. The inventory scores separately for each occupation. It
is possible also to score the inventory for 6 occupational groupings in instances
where one wants to know which broad fields of occupations are indicated. These
groupings are of questionable value, as can be seen from the two that follow:
Group 1: artist, psychologist, architect, physicians etc
Group V: YMCA physical director, personnel manager, public administrator,
vocational counselor, social science teacher.
It is apparent that some of the occupations within each group require aptitudes and
other personality traits that are quite different from those of the others. What can
be said about Group 1 for example is that with the exceptions of artist and
architect, they are concerned with biological sciences, in varying degrees and with
healing and the amelioration of suffering, although this does not apply to all
branches of psychology.
This interest inventory has been the subject of years of research. It is now known
as the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory.
In order to establish the scoring key for an occupation, Strong and Campbell
compared the responses of persons within an occupation to those of a reference
group of persons in general. Since the responses of men and women show a
number of substantial differences on a number of interest items, the comparisons
have been carried out separately for men and women. For example, male
psychologists have been compared with a group of men in general while women
psychologists have been compared with women in general.
The total score is the sum of the item responses. A raw score is obtained in this for
each of the occupations for which a key bas been developed. There are separate
keys for men and women. The raw scores are then converted into standard scores
which makes interpretation easier. In general a score of 45 or above is considered
similar to those in the occupation and a score of 25 is considered dissimilar.
The Strong Campbell Inventory has added two types of scales that were not
included in the original test. The first of these is called the General Occupational
Theme Scale where each theme is described not only by the occupations that
appear to relate to it but also by a set of adjectives that are thought to be typical of
a person in whom the theme is prominent. Thus a person high on a 'realistic' theme
is defined as being practical, robust, stable, natural and persistent. The 6 themes
given are realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional.
Finally the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory provides Basic Interest Scales.
These are scores based on small clusters of items in which the items correlate fairly
substantially with each other and appear to share common content. This inventory
has fairly good reliability and validity.
Examples of Items on the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale
Year IV
Picture vocabulary
Naming objects from memory.
Pictorial Identification
Child must recognize and name objects seen in
pictures.
Child has to name the small toys representing
common objects and later recall the name of
each object.
Child has to identify pictures of objects on
cards.
Year X
Vocabulary
The subject must give acceptable definitions of
at least eleven words from a standard list.
The child must give at least two reasons to
justify statements read
Finding Reasons
Block Counting
The child must be able to infer from a picture
of a pile of cubes, the number of blocks in the
pile.
Year XIV
Vocabulary
The subject must define at least 17 words from
a standard list.
Induction
The subject has to comprehend and apply
general rules.
Reasoning
The child must solve problems that demand a
series of logical steps.
Ingenuity
The child must solve problems mentally when
each problem builds on the preceding one.
Description of subtests on the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale
Test
Description
Verbal
Tests
Examinees are asked to answer general information
Information
questions, increasing in difficulty.
Digit span
Vocabulary
Arithmetic
Comprehension
Similarities
Performance
Tests Picture
completion
Examinees are asked to repeat series of digits read
out loud by the examiner.
Examines are asked to define 35 words.
Examinees are asked to solve arithmetic problems
Examinees are asked to answer questions requiring
detailed
answers;
answers
indicate
their
comprehension of the questions.
Examinees indicate in what way two items are alike.
Examinees indicate what part of each picture is
missing
Examinees arrange pictures to make a sensible story.
Picture
Examinees attempt to duplicate designs made with
arrangement Block red and white blocks
design
Examinees attempt to solve picture puzzles.
Examinees fill in small boxes with coded symbols
Object Assembly
corresponding to a number above each box
Digit Symbol