Chapter 2

Intelligence
Tanuja Gadgil

1. Definition of Intelligence
The word intelligence is derived from the Latin word intelligentia. Intelligence is a unique
& the highest attribute of human species because of which human is proved to be supreme
today. Humans have achieved new horizons of progress by using the gift of intelligence.
Intelligence means a capacity to understand the world think rationally & use available
resources effectively when faced with challenges. Intelligence is defined as follows-
1. Lewis Terman- An ability to think on an abstract level.
2. David Wechsler- Intelligence is the aggregate global capacity of an individual to act
purposefully, to think rationally & to deal effectively with the environment.

2. Perspectives on intelligence
Many psychologists believe that intelligence is a single, general ability. On the other hand,
many other psychologists believe that intelligence encompasses several different abilities.
The perspectives on intelligence are explained as follows-
SINGLE ABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE
Psychologist like Binet, Terman & Wechsler believed in the unitary notion of intelligence
i.e., the uni-factor theory of intelligence. According to the unitary notion of intelligence only
the functions of intelligence take different forms but basically it is the same ability.
MULTIPLE ABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE
Psychologists like E.L Thorndike, Thurstone, Spearman Cattell & Horn, Gardner came up
with the notion that multiple abilities are involved in intelligence. These perspectives are
explained as follows-
(A) Charles Spearman (Two factor theory)
In 1927 spearman with the help of statistical technique called factor analysis proposed that
intellectual abilities comprised of 2 factors-
General factor (G factor) - is the universal inborn ability. It is the minimum competence
required to carry out daily work.
Specific factor (S factor) - is acquired from the environment. It basically includes specific
abilities which are required to solve specific problems.
In all the intellectual activities that, human beings engage in the general ability is present
along with the specific ability related to the activity.
(B) Raymond Cattell & John Horn
Raymond Cattell with his student John Horn proposed a theory of intelligence explaining
two types of intelligence which are explained as follows-
1. Fluid Intelligence- This is an innate biologically or genetically determined capacity &
not influenced by education or training. This aspect of intelligence involves the ability to
solve problems and reason about things without any previous knowledge. When an
individual encounters an entirely new problem that cannot be solved with his existing
knowledge, he must rely on fluid intelligence to solve it. Examples of the use of fluid
intelligence include solving puzzles and coming up with problem-solving strategies.
2. Crystallized Intelligence- It is a learnt or acquired ability & is influenced by the
environmental factors like education, culture, observation, training etc. Crystallized
intelligence involves knowledge that comes from prior learning and past experiences.
Situations that require crystallized intelligence include reading comprehension and
vocabulary exams & knowledge-based exams. Crystallized intelligence is based upon facts
and rooted in experiences. As one ages and accumulates new knowledge and
understanding, crystallized intelligence becomes stronger. This type of intelligence tends to
increase with age. The more learning and experience one has, the more he builds up on his
crystallized intelligence.
(C) Howard Gardner
He gave the theory of ‘multiple intelligence’ in 1983. According to this theory an individual
possesses different kinds of intelligence so we learn, remember, understand things in
different ways. Although we all possess these 9 types of intelligence we differ in the
strength of these types of intelligence. The types of intelligence are as follows-
1. Linguistic Intelligence-People who are strong in linguistic intelligence can use words
well both when writing & speaking. These individuals are typically very good at writing
stories, memorizing information & reading, creative writing etc. The potential career choice
would be a writer, lawyer, teacher etc.
2. Logical-Mathematical intelligence- People who are strong in logical intelligence are
good at reasoning, recognizing patterns, & logically analyzing problems. They excel in
problem solving skills, like scientific experiments, good at solving complex calculations. The
potential career choice would be scientist, mathematician, engineer, accountant etc.
3. Visual- Spatial Intelligence- People who are strong in this type of intelligence are good
at visualizing things. They can perceive objects accurately, transform & recreate images.
They are good at solving puzzles, drawing, painting, recognizing patterns, interpreting
pictures. The potential career choice would be artist, architect, painter etc.
4. Bodily- kinesthetic Intelligence- Those who are high in this intelligence are good at
body movement, performing actions & physical control. People who are strong in this area
tend to have excellent hand-eye coordination. These people are good at dancing & sports,
enjoy creating things with hands. The potential career choice would be dancer, gymnast,
athlete etc.
5. Musical Intelligence-People who have strong musical intelligence are good at thinking
in patterns, rhythms, and sounds. They can appreciate & create music. They enjoy singing
& playing musical instruments, recognizing patterns & tones, good at remembering
melodies etc. The potential career choice would be musician, singer, composer etc.
6. Interpersonal Intelligence- Those who have strong interpersonal intelligence are good
at understanding and interacting with other people. These individuals are skilled at
assessing the emotions, motivations, desires, and intentions of those around them. They
are skilled at verbal communication, interpreting nonverbal cues, creating positive relations
with others. The potential career choice would be psychologists, counselor, salesman etc.
7. Intrapersonal Intelligence- Individuals who are strong in intrapersonal intelligence are
good at being aware of their own emotional states, feelings, motives etc. they are good at
analyzing their strength & weaknesses, self-aware etc. The potential career choice would be
philosopher, writer, scientist etc.
8. Naturalistic Intelligence- Individuals who are high in this type of intelligence are more
in tune with nature & are often interested in nurturing, exploring the environment &
learning about other species. The potential career choice would be biologist, gardener,
conservationist etc.
9. Existential Intelligence-They have the capacity to tackle deep questions about human
existence. They ask questions about life, death & the ultimate reality of human existence.
(D) E. L Thorndike gave 3 types of intelligence
1. Abstract intelligence- is an individual’s capacity to deal with verbal, numerical,
diagrammatic, symbolic problems etc. this type of intelligence is very useful in school &
college situations.
2. Social Intelligence- is the capacity to understand & deal with people in general. Social
intelligence is very important for being successful in life. People who have high abstract
intelligence but low social intelligence do poorly in life.
3. Concrete Intelligence- is the ability to deal effectively with things other than living
beings. People with high concrete intelligence can deal with machines, mend appliances, or
construct new ones.
(E) Thurstone proposed primary mental abilities. Intelligence is the cluster of these
abilities. These abilities are independent of each other & in every cognitive task there is one
primary factor involved.
1. Verbal comprehension- It refers to the ability of the person to understand and use
verbal material, words, sentences, language. This ability can be assessed through
vocabulary tests, jumble word tests, reading comprehension etc.
2. Word Fluency- When a person is asked to rapidly produce isolated words or sentences,
then verbal fluency comes into play. It is measured by tests requiring the person to
produce as many words as possible starting with a particular letter.
3. Numerical Facility- It involves the ability of an individual to do quick and accurate
numerical calculations.
4. Spatial visualization- This ability involves visualizing shapes, rotating objects & how
pieces of puzzles fit together. This ability is tested when the individual is asked to solve
puzzles, identifying the correct mirror image, choosing the image from the option when it is
rotated etc.
5. Associative memory- It refers to the ability of the person to quickly memorize the
various concepts or phenomena and retaining them for a longer period. It is a skill that
focuses on rote memory tasks. It is tested by asking the individual to learn a list of non-
sense syllables & recalling it or learning a pair of unrelated words.
6. Perceptual speed- The ability to grasp perceptual details quickly & accurately & to
determine similarities & differences between stimuli. This ability is involved in proof
reading & in rapid recognition of letters & numbers. Tests like picture recognition, rapidly
crossing specific letters from the series, finding word from the paragraph.
7. Reasoning- ability to determine a rule from individual instances used in problem
solving.

3. History of Intelligence Testing-

Paul Broca & Sir Francis Galton were among the first scientists to think about measuring
intelligence.
Sir Francis Galton thought that intelligence could be determined by measuring the size of
the human skull. He assumed that the larger the head size the smarter the person would
be. Hence in the mid-1880s Sir Francis Galton administered a battery of tests where he
measured variables such as head size, reaction time, visual accuracy, auditory threshold,
breathing capacity etc. However, Sir Francis Galton’s test did not prove very useful for the
measurement of intelligence.
Raymond Cattell was an assistant in Sir Francis Galton’s laboratory. He established
similar tests in the United States in the early 1890’s. He agreed with Sir Francis Galton
that intelligence should be measured through sensory tasks. He used the term mental tests
for the first time in the literature of psychology. He emphasized that test administration
procedure should be standardized.
In the beginning of the 20th century the school authorities in Paris were interested in
knowing the reasons for repeated failure of certain students as they could not find any
medical or environmental reason for their failure.
Hence the Binet-Simon Intelligence scale was developed in 1905 by French psychologist
Alfred Binet in collaboration with Theodore Simon. The Binet Simon Intelligence scale
consists of several components such as logical reasoning, finding rhyming words etc. The
scale was revised in 1908 & 1911. Binet is known as the father of intelligence tests.
Lewis Terman from Stanford University revised the Binet Simon Intelligence scale in 1916.
This test is known as the Stanford-Binet Test. He adapted few items, added other items,
established new age norms & extended the upper age limit of the scale. It was revised in
1937, 1960, 1972, 1986, 2004.
The first world war began in 1914 & after the first world war the importance of intelligence
testing increased. In 1917 Robert Yerkes 2 intelligence tests named Army Alpha & Army
Beta group test of intelligence. These tests were used while recruiting soldiers in the army.
Similarly, during the second world war in 1939 another intelligence test called army
general classification test was used on a large scale for recruiting soldiers.
In 1939 David Wechsler published the Wechsler-Bellevue scale. This scale was revised in
1955 & was renamed as the Wechsler Adult intelligence scale. (WAIS) It is used to measure
intelligence of older adolescents & adults. The fourth edition of this test called WAIS-IV was
released in 2008 by Karl Pearson. He also developed an intelligence test to measure the
intelligence of children. This test is known as Wechsler intelligence scale for children
(WISC)

4. Mental Age
The concept of mental age was given by Alfred Binet. Mental age can be defined as the age
at which individual performs successfully on all items on the test prepared for that age.
Chronological age is the biological age of a person calculated on the basis of date of birth.
Mental age may or may not correspond to the actual age (chronological age).
Example

He devised a test comprising of items specified for different age groups to measure the
mental age of individuals.

5. Intelligence Quotient
The concept of intelligence quotient was introduced by German psychologist William
Stern in 1912. Stern defined the formula of IQ as a ratio of mental age (MA) to
chronological age (CA.)
Later in 1916 Terman refined the formula of IQ by multiplying the ratio of Mental age to
Chronological age by 100. The formula is as follows-

Relationship between Mental Age & chronological Age & Intelligence quotient
If mental age equals to Chronological Age, then IQ will be 100 (average). e.g.- if MA is 08 &
CA is 8 then the IQ would be 100.
If mental age is less than chronological age then the resulting IQ will be less than 100 i.e.,
below average e.g.- If MA= 08 & CA= 10 then the IQ will be 80 i.e., Below average &
If the mental age is greater than the chronological age then the resulting IQ will be more
than 100 i.e., above average. E.g. if MA=12 & CA=10 then the IQ is 120 i.e., above average.
6. Types of Intelligence Tests
A wide variety of intelligence tests are available. They can be categorized as individual or
group tests based on their administration procedure & can be categorized as verbal or non-
verbal based on material used.

Intelligence Tests

Administration Material used

Procedure

Verbal Tests Non-Verbal Tests

Individual Tests Group Tests

(a)Characteristics of individual tests/Advantages & disadvantages of individual tests/ what

is an individual test
Refer to pg. 16 of the textbook
(b) Characteristics of group tests/Advantages & disadvantages of group tests/ what are
group tests
Refer to pg. 16 of the textbook
(c) Characteristics of verbal tests/Advantages & disadvantages of verbal tests/ what are
verbal tests
Refer to pg. 16 & 17 of the textbook
(d) characteristics of non-verbal tests/Advantages & disadvantages of non-verbal tests/
what are non-verbal tests
Intelligence tests that use pictures, designs, and objects to measure intelligence are called
non-verbal tests of intelligence. In these tests language is not used to measure intelligence.
In these tests subjects are not required to respond verbally to test items.
Non- Verbal Tests are of 2 types-
1. Performance Tests It involves manipulation of objects with minimal or no use of paper
& pencil. E.G- Koh’s block design, Alexander’s pass along test, Merril Palmer block building
test, Dr. Bhatia’s non-verbal test.
2. Paper Pencil tests- In this test the Test taker is provided with a test form which
contains pictures, diagrams, non-linguistic symbols & the person must mark the correct
response. E.g. Ravens progressive matrices, Raven’s colored progressive matrices etc.
Advantages & disadvantages of non-verbal tests
Refer to pg. 17 of the textbook

7. Application of Intelligence Tests/ Intelligence Testing has a wide usage in various

areas. Justify (please write the conclusion for this question)
Psychologist use a variety of intelligence tests to measure intelligence. They are categorized
as individual or group tests based on their administration procedure & can be categorized
as verbal or non-verbal based on material used. The measurement of intelligence began
with the need of knowing individual differences. Today intelligence testing has its
applications in diverse areas like educational institutes, child guidance centers, industries,
recruitment centers, diagnostic clinics etc. Following are some of the areas where
intelligence testing proves helpful-
1. Effective schooling- Intelligence tests enable teachers, educators & other authorities to
identify students who are unable to perform well with regards to academics. Once these
students are identified with the help of intelligence tests, its easier to provide them with
assistance & help them perform better. Periodic assessments are useful in categorizing
students wherein special instructional programmes can be devised to suit their needs. This
could help students improve their abilities & performance.
2. Mental health aiding- clinicians use intelligence tests to explore & determine the
intellectual potential as well as cognitive development of their clients. These tests can prove
extremely useful in aiding mental health professional to make a diagnosis. The results of
intelligence tests also help deciding the prognosis as well as the therapeutic or
rehabilitative programs.
3. Effective parenting- the results of intelligence tests help parents to understand the
overall intellectual potential of their children. These tests can also help in providing
relevant educational facilities to their children. Hence it helps parents to have realistic
expectations from their children & their children’s achievements.
4. Career counseling- intelligence tests are used in combination with other tests that
measure aptitude, interest & personality for educational guidance. This can help students
to select the most appropriate educational path which is most suited to their abilities which
increases their chances of success. These tests help in reducing the possibility of failure
due to a wrong educational choice which can lead to wastage of time, money & other
resources.
5. Vocational counseling- intelligence tests in combination with other tests that measure
aptitude, interest & personality can also help in choosing a suitable career or vocation.
This helps in reducing problems such as poor job satisfaction, absenteeism from work &
thus increases the possibility of living a satisfied & contented life.
Thus, in conclusion we can say that the above points help us to understand that
intelligence tests have predictive value & their results can be used in various fields like
educational institutes, child guidance centers, industries, recruitment centers, diagnostic
clinics etc.

8. New trends in Intelligence.

a. Social Intelligence/ explain the characteristics of people having high social
intelligence
People who are less qualified or who have not done well academically still are successful in
life because apart from cognitive abilities there is another factor that determines success
which is social intelligence.
The term social intelligence was proposed for the first time by E.L Thorndike in 1920 a
psychologist from Columbia university. Social intelligence is similar to interpersonal
intelligence given by Howard Gardner in his theory of multiple intelligence.
Karl Albrecht defined Social Intelligence as the ability to get along well with others & to get
them to cooperate with oneself.
According to Albrecht our behavior towards others falls on a spectrum between toxic
behavior & nourishing behavior.
Devaluing others, refusing cooperation to others, negative talking, discouraging others etc.
are examples of toxic behavior. A continuous pattern of toxic behavior indicates low social
intelligence.
Respecting others, cooperating with others, positive talking, encouraging others are all
examples of nourishing behavior. A continuous pattern of nourishing behavior indicates
high social intelligence.
The following are some of the characteristics of people having high social intelligence-
1. They are good at understanding & interacting with others.
2. They can monitor verbal & non-verbal expressions during communications.
3. They are good speakers & listeners
4. They can assess motives, desires & intentions of others.
5. They are flexible while dealing with others & understand social dynamics well.
6. They are goal oriented, persistent & self-confident.
7. They can resolve conflicts in social context & are successful negotiators.
8. They maintain good personal & professional relationships with others.
b. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is an individual’s ability to cope with challenging situations by being
aware of one’s emotional reactions & managing them.
The term was used for the first time by Salovey & Mayer & it was popularized by
Goleman
Mayer & Salovey defined emotional Intelligence as ability to perceive & monitor one’s own
& other’s emotion, to discriminate among them & to use this information to guide one’s
thinking & action. They presented an ability-based model of emotional intelligence.
According to them emotional intelligence consists of the following abilities-
1. Perceiving emotions- The ability to identify & interpret emotions of self & others.
2. Using emotions- The ability to use emotions to facilitate various cognitive activities such
as thinking & problem solving.
3. Understanding emotions- The ability to understand emotional language &
comprehending relationships among various emotions.
4. Managing emotions- The ability to regulate emotions of self & others.
Characteristics of people having high emotional intelligence-They are emotionally
stable, optimistic, independent, happy, enthusiastic, calm & satisfied.
Characteristics of people having low emotional intelligence-
They are emotionally unstable, impatient, pessimistic, dependent, sad, restless, and
dissatisfied.
c. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is a field where machines as well as the software programmes running
the machines are enabled to think & learn through experiences just like humans do. It is a
field of study which combines computer science, algorithms, language, philosophy, &
psychology. It is an innovation created by humans which tries to replicate human
intelligence. There are limitations to artificial intelligence as compared to human
intelligence. Knowledge is constantly upgraded due to new experiences imagination,
emotions ethics social values & so on. In such situations human intelligence can take
better decisions as humans can change themselves according to the new information.
Artificial intelligence can take decisions based on stored information. So, it cannot
substitute human intelligence as human intelligence is superior. Artificial Intelligence is
used on large scale to perform various routine tasks as well as for critical problem solving.
It is used in various areas-
1. Speech recognition
2. Natural language processing
3. Spam filtering from emails
4. medical diagnosis
5. Detecting frauds in transactions
6. weather forecasting