Intelligence and General Ability
Testing
Chapter 7
Models of Intelligence
 Psychometric approach
 Developmental progressions
 Information processing
 Other theories
Psychometric Approach
 Based on premise that intelligence can be described
in terms of mental factors (Bjorkland, 2005)
 Spearman’s two-factor model (1927)
 g (general ability factor)
 Specific factors
 Guilford’s structure-of-intelligence theory (1988)
 180 intellectual factors in three dimensions:
 Mental operations
 Content areas
 Products
Psychometric Approach (cont.)
 Thurstone’s 7 primary mental abilities (1938)
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Verbal comprehension
Word fluency
Number facility
Perceptual speed
Memory
Space
Reasoning
 Vernon’s hierarchical theory (1950)
g
 Verbal and educational aptitude & spatial, mechanical
and practical aptitude
Cattell-Horn-Carroll Model
 One of the more influential contemporary theories
 g: top stratum
 Second stratum: Fluid abilities (Gf), crystallized abilities
(Gc) & six other broad abilities
 Third stratum: more specific factors
Developmental Progressions
 Developmental theorists posit that intelligence can be better
understood by examining how intelligence develops
 Learning and environment influence the process
 Jean Piaget (1972)
 Stages of Development:
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Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete
Formal operations
Developmental Progressions
 Jean Piaget (1972) (cont.)
 Intellectual functions:
 Assimilation
 Accommodation
 Ceci’s bioecological model (1990, 1993)
 Intellectual abilities are highly influenced by context in
which they are performed
 Intelligence may not be reflected in methods currently
used to assess intelligence
Information-Processing
 These models focus on how individuals process information
 Luria’s theory (1966)
 Simultaneous processing
 Sequential processing
 Naglieri & Das’ theory (1997, 2005)
 Planning, Attention, Simultaneous and Successive (PASS)
 Sternberg’s triarchic theory (1985, 1988)
 Internal world of individual or mental processes that underlie
intelligence
 Experiential subtheory
 Individual’s contextual or external world
Other Theories
 Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (1993)
 Any set of adult competencies that are valued in a culture merits
consideration as a potential intelligence
 9 “frames of mind”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Linguistic
Logical-mathematical
Musical
Spatial
Bodily-kinesthetic
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturalist
Existential
 Measures need to value intellectual capacities in wide range of
domains, methods should be appropriate for domain
Individual Intelligence Testing
 Wechsler Scales
 Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
 Kaufman Instruments
 Woodcock-Johnson III Complete Battery
 Additional Individual Instruments
Wechsler Scales
 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition
(WAIS-IV, 2008)
 Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition
(WISC-IV, 2003)
 Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of
Intelligence III (WPPSI-III, 2002)
 Wechsler Memory Scale IV (WMS-IV, 1997)
WAIS-IV
 Full Scale IQ
 Index Scores:
 Verbal Comprehension (Vocabulary, Similarities,
Information, Comprehension*)
 Perceptual Reasoning (Block Design, Matrix Reasoning,
Visual Puzzles, Figure Weights*)
 Working Memory (Digit Span, Arithmetic, Letter-Number
Sequencing*)
 Processing Speed (Symbol Search, Coding, Cancellation*)
 Uses basal and ceiling levels
WISC-IV
 Full Scale IQ – based on four Index Scores:
Verbal Comprehension Index
•Similarities
•Vocabulary
•Comprehension
•Information (supplemental)
•Word Reasoning (supplemental)
Working Memory Index
•Digit Span
•Letter-Number Sequencing
•Arithmetic (supplemental)
Perceptual Reasoning Index
•Block Design
•Picture Concepts
•Matrix Reasoning
•Picture Completion (supplemental)
Processing Speed Index
•Coding
•Symbol Search
•Cancellation (supplemental)
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test – 5
 For use with individuals 2 – 85 years old
 Verbal IQ, Nonverbal IQ, Full Scale IQ
 Five factors for both verbal and nonverbal areas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Fluid Reasoning
Knowledge
Quantitative Reasoning
Visual-Spatial Processing
Working Memory
 Basal level, ceiling level, routing tests
Kaufman Instruments
 Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition
(KABC-II, 2004)
 Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT, 1993)
 Not as widely used as Wechsler instruments
 Integration of different theoretical approaches
KABC-II
 Designed to assess children ages 3 to 18
 Yields 4 or 5 scales depending on whether the CattellHorn-Carroll (CHC) or Luria approach is used
 CHC perspective (Fluid-Crystallized Index)
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Short-Term Memory
Visual Processing
Long-term Storage and Retrieval
Fluid Reasoning
Crystallized Abilities
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Sequential Processing
Simultaneous Processing
Learning Ability
Planning Ability
 Luria perspective (Mental Processing Index)
KAIT
 Designed for individuals 11-85 years old
 3 intelligence scales:
 Fluid (Gf)
 Crystallized (Gc)
 Composite
 6 subtests:
 3 assess fluid intelligence
 3 assess crystallized intelligence
Woodcock-Johnson III Complete
Battery
 Assesses general intellectual ability, specific cognitive
abilities, scholastic aptitude, oral language & academic
achievement
 Comprised of two instruments:
 Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities
 Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement
 Based on CHC model of intelligence
 Clusters: Verbal Ability, Thinking Ability, Cognitive
Efficiency, Broad Reading, Broad Math, Broad Written
Language, Oral Language
Additional Individual Instruments
 Differential Ability Scales-Second Edition (Elliot, 2006)
 Slossen Intelligence Test-Revised, Third Edition
(Nicholson & Hibpshman, 1990)
 Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (Raven et al., 1998)
 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition
(Dunn & Dunn, 2007)
 Test of Nonverbal Intelligence 3 (Brown et al., 1997)
Group Intelligence Testing
 Given more often than individual intelligence tests,
usually in schools
 Not as easy to monitor test-taker’s behavior during
assessment
 Require more reading than individual tests
 Must consider other factors of individual (culture,
background, language proficiency) when
interpreting results
Group Intelligence Testing (cont.)
 Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)
 Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, 8th Edition (OLSAT-8)
 Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT)
 Multidimensional Aptitude Battery II (MAB-II)
 Wonderlic Contemporary Cognitive Ability Test
Is Intelligence Stable?
 Infants and young children have the least stable intelligence
test scores
 Early research indicated intelligence gradually declines after
age 20 – not supported by later research
 More recent research indicates intelligence gradually
increases from childhood to middle age and then levels off
 Declines tend to occur in areas of fluid intelligence
 Degree of decline related to interaction of variables, such as
physical health, mental activities, education
What Do Intelligence Scores Predict?
 Intelligence tests appear to be related to academic
performance (correlation of 0.5)
 The relationships among IQ scores, occupational success,
and income are not simple
 Validity generalization
 Same test score data may be predictive for all jobs – if test is valid for
a few occupations, it is valid for all jobs in that cluster
 GATB validity coefficients can be generalized to other occupations.
 Concerns regarding the use of the Job Family method and ethnically
diverse groups
Is Intelligence Hereditary?
 One of the most controversial issues in intelligence
testing
 Difficult to determine estimates of genetic
contribution to intelligence
 Heritability indexes for intelligence tend to be
approximately .50
 Both genetic and environmental factors affect
intellectual development; IQ scores seemingly related
to interaction between the two
What Environmental Factors
Influence Intelligence?
 Culture and language
 School attendance
 Quality of schooling
 Family environment
 Environmental toxins
Are There Group Differences in
Intelligence?
 Gender
 Do not appear to be general intellectual differences between
men and women
 Men may be better at visual-spatial tasks
 Women may be better at some verbal tasks
 Ethnicity
 African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans tend to
score lower on intelligence tests than European-Americans or
Asian-Americans
 Differences may be due to socioeconomic, linguistic, cultural
factors, etc.
What is the Flynn effect?
 James Flynn (1984, 1987) first to identify steadily
increasing intelligence test scores in recent years
 Gains in IQ not reflected in gains in achievement
 Possible explanations: better nutrition, more test
sophistication, changes in education and opportunities,
changes in parenting practices