Human Growth and development

Lecture 8
Intelligence part 1

Learning Outcomes
 After watching this video students will be able to:
 Understand intelligence and facts about intelligence
 Know about various theories of intelligence
 Explain the importance of emotional intelligence
 Know about the ways of assessing intelligence
 Inform about different intelligence scales

What does intelligence means? Some Facts

 Intelligence is not a thing or object.
 It is a way of acting in a situation.
 Intelligence is not acquired after sustained labor or Intelligence is not a skill which a worker
acquires after planned practice.
 It is a gift from nature.
 Intelligence is not memory. An intelligent person may have
 Poor memory.
 Intelligence is not a guarantee of a good behavior of the individual.

How can we define intelligence?

Intelligence is contained in these four words comprehension, invention, direction, criticism (Alfred
Binet).
It is:
1. The ability to think in terms of abstract ideas. (Terman)
2. The capacity to learn or to profit by experience (Dearborn) The ability to adjust to environment.
(Colvin)
3. Intellect put to use. (Woodworth)
4. The power of perceiving, learning, understanding and knowing.(Oxford Dictionary)
5. The ability to use memory, knowledge, experience, understanding, reasoning, imagination and
judgment in order to solve problems and adapt to new situations. (All Words Dictionary)

How can we define intelligence?

It can be defined as:
Alfred Binet the first psychologist who worked on intelligence define “Intelligence as the ability to judge
well, understand well and reason well”.
As the global and aggregate capacity of an individual to think rationally act purposefully and to deal
effectively with her/his environment”. Wechsler
Intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more
cultural settings. H. Gardner
Intelligence is performing an operation on specific type of content to produce a particular product. J. P.
Guilford
Intelligence is not a single, unitary ability, but rather a composite of several functions. The term denotes
that combination of abilities required for survival and advancement within a particular culture. Anastasi
Intelligence is that facet of mind underlying our capacity to think, to solve novel problems, to reason and
to have knowledge of the world. M. Anderson
Intelligence is contained in these four words comprehension, invention, direction, criticism (Alfred
Binet).

Characteristics of Intelligence
Intelligence is the power or capacity of human being: Intelligence is the power or capacity of human
being which helps to make reason, understanding and well-judgment. Intelligence is the capacity which is
innate as well as acquired.
Intelligence means all-round mental efficiency: All round mental efficiency means that it includes all
the qualities in mental development of an individual. Through the process of intelligence the whole
general and abstract thinking, reasoning powers are revealed.
It is goal directed and adaptive behavior: A property of the mind that encompasses many related
abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend
ideas, to use language, and to learn.
Intelligence is a power of good responses from the point of truth: As a global or aggregate capacity of
an individual, intelligence is a conglomeration of many powers as a whole in the structure of truth.
Intelligence is the ability of adaptation and adjusting to a new situation: Intelligence is the property
of recombining our behavior pattern so as to act better in a novel situation. It means that intelligence is
the potent factor through which the adjustment and re-adjustment to any situation is easily possible.
Intelligence is the ability for abstract thinking as well as the capacity to learn from the past
experience: Intelligence is the ability to think abstractly. It is also the capacity to learn from the past
experience and hence, it makes the profitable use of the past. Intelligence is not knowledge though
acquisition of knowledge depends to a great extent on intelligence and vice versa.

Classification intelligence as given by

E.L. Thorndike
1. Concrete Intelligence It is the ability of an individual to comprehend actual situations and to
react to them adequately. The concrete intelligence is evident from various activities of daily life.
This type of intelligence is applicable when the individual is handling concrete objects or
medicines. Engineers, mechanics and architects have this type of intelligence.
Concrete intelligence is also known as mechanical intelligence. It is the intelligence that has the relation
with concrete materials. This kind of intelligence is measured by performance tests and picture tests in
which an individual is asked to manipulate concrete materials.

2. Abstract Intelligence –It is the ability to respond to words, numbers, formulas, diagram and
letters etc. This formula is conspicuously absent in animals. An abstractly intelligent person is
able to discover relations among symbols and to solve the various problems with the help of such
aids (symbols, formula, diagram, letter etc.) and symbols. Abstract intelligence is required in the
ordinary academic subjects in the school. This is acquired after an intensive study of books and
literature. Good teachers, lawyers, doctors, philosophers etc. have this type of intelligence.

3. Social Intelligence –It means the ability of an individual to react to social situations of daily life.
Social intelligence is possessed by those people who are able to handle people well and also have
friends easily and understand human relations. Adequate adjustment in social situations is the
index of social intelligence. Persons having this type of intelligence know the art of winning
friends and influencing them. Leaders, ministers, members of diplomatic sources and social
workers have it.

ALFRED BINET
Intelligence as consisting of one similar set of abilities called one factor theory which can be used for
solving any or every problem in an individual’s environment.

CHARLES SPEARMAN
In 1927, Charles Spearman proposed a two- factor theory of intelligence consisted of a general factor (g)
& special factor (s).
General factor (g)- includes mental operation which are common to all performance.
Special factor (s)- Other Many abilities like Excellent Singers, architects, scientist & athletes. Spearman
proposed that general intelligence (g) is linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis.
For example, people who do well on vocabulary examinations do well on paragraph comprehension
examinations, a cluster that helps define verbal intelligence. Other factors include a’ spatial ability factor,
or a reasoning ability factor.

Louis thurstone’s theory

He proposed the theory of primary mental abilities which is consists of seven primary abilities
(i)Spatial Relations (visualizing patterns and forms)
(ii)Perceptual (speed in perceiving details)
(iii)Memory
(iv) Numerical
(numerical and computational skills)
(v)Verbal Comprehension (grasping meaning of words, concepts, and ideas)
(vi) Word Fluency
(vii)Inductive Reasoning (deriving general rules from presented fact)

Arthur Jensen
Intelligence consisting of abilities operating at two levels, called Level I and Level II.
Level I is the associative learning in which output is more or less similar to the input.
Level II, called cognitive competence, involves higher-order skills as they transform the input to produce
an effective output.

Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner (1983, 1999) supports Thurstone’s idea that intelligence comes in multiple forms.
Gardner notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability but not others.
Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligences. According to him, intelligence is not a
single entity; rather distinct types of intelligences exist. Each of these intelligences are independent of
each other. He described eight types of intelligence.
People with savant syndrome excel in abilities unrelated to general intelligence
Linguistic (skills involved in the production and use of language): It is the capacity to use language
fluently and flexibly to express one’s thinking and understand others. Persons high on this intelligence are
‘word-smart’ poets & writers are very strong in this component of intelligence.
Logical-Mathematical (skills in scientific thinking and problem solving): Persons high on this type of
intelligence can think logically. They engage in abstract reasoning, and can manipulate symbols to solve
mathematical problems Scientists and Nobel Prize winners are likely to be strong in this component.
Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Intrapersonal (awareness of one’s own feelings, motives, and desires): This refers to the knowledge of
one’s internal strengths and limitations and using that knowledge to effectively relate to others.
Philosophers and spiritual leaders present examples of this type of intelligence.
Naturalistic (sensitivity to the features of the natural world) : This involves complete awareness of our
relationship with the natural world. Eg.farmers, tourists, botanist.

Robert Sternberg
Sternberg (1985, 1999, 2003) also agrees with Gardner, but suggests three intelligences rather than eight.
1. Analytical Intelligence: Intelligence that is assessed by intelligence tests.
2. Creative Intelligence: Intelligence that makes us adapt to novel situations, generating novel ideas.
3. Practical Intelligence: Intelligence that is required for everyday tasks (e.g. street smarts).
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, understand, and use emotions (Salovey and colleagues,
2005). The test of emotional intelligence measures overall emotional intelligence and its four
components.
Intelligence and Creativity
Creativity is the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable. It correlates somewhat with
intelligence.
1. Expertise: A well-developed knowledge base.
2. Imaginative Thinking: The ability to see things in novel ways.
3. Adventuresome Personality: A personality that seeks new experiences rather than following the pack.
4. Intrinsic Motivation: A motivation to be creative from within.
5. A Creative Environment: A creative and supportive environment allows creativity to bloom

TESTS
 Aptitude Tests predict a person’s ability in specific area. (SAT and GRE)
 Achievement Test determine the specific level of knowledge in an area. (F.SC or A-Levels)

Types of TESTS
Individual Test & Group Test:
The criterion for any test is Reliability, Validity and Standardization.

INDIVIDUAL TEST:
 WAIS III (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale)
 WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children)

GROUP TEST
 Army Alpha Intelligence Test:
During World War I (1914-1918) the United States Army asked educational psychologists to develop an
intelligence test for recruits. Paper pencil test.
 Army Beta:
During World War I (1914-1918) the United States Army administered intelligence tests. The Army Beta
exam, which posed nonverbal problems, was given to non English speakers and illiterate recruits.
Concept of Mental Age (Alfred Binet)
 ► Alfred Binet was a psychologist. His greatest accomplishment in the field of psychology lead
to what we now call the Intelligence Quotient or IQ.
 ► He developed a test to measure the ‘mental age’ (MA) of children entering school. Mental age
refers to the child’s current ability compared to other children of different ages.
 In other words, if a child responded to questions at about the same correctness as an eight year
old, the child would be said to have a mental age of eight.