Intelligence

Alex Wissner-Gross: A new equation for intelligence

What exactly is intelligence?

Intelligence is defined as the ability to adapt to one’s environment. Intelligence is the product of though and what you know.  It is quantitative and can be tested. The purpose of measuring IQ is to be able to control and predict future abilities. Intelligence is a score on a test and does not necessarily mean a person is smart.

Cognition refers to the thinking process.  It is how you know what you know. Cognitive thought has depth and breadth, knowledge leads to comprehension leads to application leads to analysis leads to synthesis leads to evaluation.  Cognition is qualitative and observable. The purpose of studying cognition is to understand and explain the thinking process.

Theories

Origin of the IQ test

In 1905, Binet & Simon were asked by the French government to identify school-aged children with mental retardation.  The pair developed the test for mental age. Mental age is a baseline measurement of the capabilities of an average child for his age base. The pair compiled tests for each age that would measure a child’s ability to accomplish certain tasks or exhibit certain capabilities that were age appropriate. The students took the tests and were evaluated.  If the child passed the age test for his/her age the next age test was given until a test was not passed.  If the child failed the age test for his/her age the age below test was given to the child until a test was passed.  These test determined the child’s mental age.  A child could have a chronological age of 8 but have a mental age of 10 or a mental age of 6 depending on which tests were passed.

In 1916, Stern took the test a step further and invented the intelligence quotient. Intelligence quotient is measured by dividing the mental age by the chronological age.  The intelligence quotient (IQ) was invented by Terman in 1916.  Terman took Stern’s idea a step further.  Intelligence quotient or IQ is mental age divided by chronological age multiplied by 100 (MA/CAx100).

Charles Spearman

Charles Spearman believed there was more to intelligence than just one simple score on a test.  He believed that intelligence should be divided into two factors g factor and s factor. G factor refers to generalized intelligence. The factors of the generalized intelligence are related. The s factor referred to specialized abilities. The s factors are factors that require specific skills. This was the first time someone had introduced the idea of multiple intelligences.

 Primary Mental Abilities

L. L. Thurstone believed that intelligence should be divided up into even more factors.  Factor 1 was numerical, and it referred to basic arithmetic manipulation ability.  Factor 2 was logical reasoning abilities, and it was measured by word problems. Factor 3 was memory skills, and it was measured by passage recall and answered questions on passage. Factor 4 was spatial perception, and it was measured by the recognition of geometric shapes. Factor 5 was perceptual speed, and it was measured by a timed test. Factor 6 was verbal comprehension, and it was measured by the ability to define words. Factor 7 was word fluency, and it was measured by antonym and synonym tests.

 Intellect Model

J. P. Guilford continued research on multiple types of intelligence and developed a theory of different dimensions with 160 different factors:

Operations dimension

SI includes six operations or general intellectual processes:

1.Cognition – The ability to understand, comprehend, discover, and become aware of information.

2.Memory recording – The ability to encode information.

3.Memory retention – The ability to recall information.

4.Divergent production – The ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem; creativity.

5.Convergent production – The ability to deduce a single solution to a problem; rule-following or problem-solving.

6.Evaluation – The ability to judge whether or not information is accurate, consistent, or valid.

Content dimension

SI includes four broad areas of information to which the human intellect applies the six operations:

1.Figural – Concrete, real world information, tangible objects—things in the environment. It includes visual: information perceived through seeing; auditory: information perceived through hearing; and kinesthetic: information perceived through one’s own physical actions.

2.Symbolic – Information perceived as symbols or signs that stand for something else, e.g., Arabic numerals, the letters of an alphabet, or musical and scientific notations.

3.Semantic – Concerned with verbal meaning and ideas. Generally considered to be abstract in nature.

4.Behavioral – Information perceived as acts of people. (This dimension was not fully researched in Guilford’s project, remains theoretical, and is generally not included in the final model that he proposed for describing human intelligence.)

Product dimension

As the name suggests, this dimension contains results of applying particular operations to specific contents. The SI model includes six products, in increasing complexity:

1.Units – Single items of knowledge.

2.Classes – Sets of units sharing common attributes.

3.Relations – Units linked as opposites or in associations, sequences, or analogies.

4.Systems – Multiple relations interrelated to comprise structures or networks.

5.Transformations – Changes, perspectives, conversions, or mutations to knowledge.

6.Implications – Predictions, inferences, consequences, or anticipations of knowledge.

Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner also had a theory on multiple intelligences in which he believed people learned, adapted, and exhibited intelligence in different ways:

Triarchic Theory of Intelligence 

Robert Sternberg categorized intelligence into three main branches: analytic, creative, and practical. Analytic intelligence is responsible for analyzing, judging, evaluating, and comparing of things or ideas. Creative intelligence is responsible for design, invention, and creation of things or ideas. Practical intelligence is responsible for implementing ideas or action plans or setting them into motion.

Emotional Intelligence

Goleman found that emotional intelligence is even more important than IQ in predicting success in life.  He divides emotional intelligence into 4 different factors. Self-awareness is the ability to separate feelings from actions.  Self-management is the ability to control negative emotions. Social awareness is the ability to take the perspective of others. Relationship management is the ability to solve relationship problems. He believed that if a person had high emotional intelligence, then that person would have high life success.

Personal Experience

Personally, I never remember taking an IQ test. In my school we did not have “gifted” or “special education” classes.  The only type of test I remember taking was the T-cap tests in elementary school. We received average, below average, or above average ratings on each individual subject in the test.  In our school we basically rated intelligence on class order or grades. Now when I talk about someone being intelligent the terms my friends and I generally use are “common sense” and “book smart.” A person can be extremely smart when it comes to text book knowledge, but they can have absolutely no common sense, and vice versa.

I do consider myself to be an intelligent person.  I can talk to people with ease.  I make good grade in school.  I have common sense.  I have high emotional sense.  I am very aware of what others around me are feeling or thinking.  I would like to take an IQ test in the future, but to this day I do not believe I have ever taken one.

In Education…

In a classroom setting it would be very important to know children’s IQ.  Children with learning disabilities or social disorders may score lower on IQ exams, but this is where things get difficult.  In order to properly educate children we must know their individual strengths and weaknesses.  We need to know how they learn.  We need to know what they relate to. If we know these things we can use thing ideas or styles as teaching tools to help children who have problems understand more easily.