Intelligence and Aptitude

What is Intelligence?
• Ability to judge well, to understand well, to reason well (Binet &
Simon, 1905)
• Global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think
rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment (Wechsler,
1939)
• Entire repertoire of acquired skills, knowledge, learning sets, and
generalization tendencies considered intellectual in nature that are
available at any period of time (Humphreys (1971)
• Mental capacity to automatize information processing and to emit
contextually appropriate behavior in response to novelty (Sternberg,
1985)
 Spearman’s Two-Factor Theory
• According to Spearman, intelligence is made up of a single general (g)
factor and numerous specific (s1, s2, s3) factors.
• Spearman used factor analysis technique. Factor analysis is a procedure
through which the correlation of related variables are evaluated to find an
underlying factor that explains this correlation.
• Spearman noticed that those who did well in one area of intelligence tests,
also did well in other areas. Spearman concluded that there is a single g-
factor which represents an individual’s general intelligence across multiple
abilities, and that a second factor, s, refers to an individual’s specific ability
in one particular area.
• Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) was designed primarily as a measure
of Spearman’s g factor or general intelligence.
g factor and s factors
 Thurstone and Primary Mental Abilities
• Thurstone (1938) challenged the concept of a g-factor. After analyzing
data from 56 different tests of mental abilities, he identified a number
of primary mental abilities that comprise intelligence, as opposed to
one general factor.
• The seven primary mental abilities in Thurstone’s model are verbal
comprehension, verbal fluency, number facility, spatial visualization,
perceptual speed, memory, and inductive reasoning.
Mental Ability Description
Ability to use words quickly and fluency in performing such
Word Fluency tasks as rhyming, solving anagrams, and doing crossword
puzzles.
Ability to understand the meaning of words, concepts, and
Verbal Comprehension
ideas.
Ability to use numbers to quickly computer answers to
Numerical Ability
problems.
Spatial Visualization Ability to visualize and manipulate patters and forms in space.
Ability to grasp perceptual details quickly and accurately and
Perceptual Speed
to determine similarities and differences between stimuli.
Ability to recall information such as lists or words,
Memory
mathematical formulas, and definitions.
Ability to derive general rules and principles from presented
Inductive Reasoning
information.
 Cattell’s Theory of Intelligence
• Raymond B. Cattell argued that fluid intelligence and crystallized
intelligence are two categories of general intelligence.
• Fluid intelligence is the capacity to think speedily and reason flexibly
in order to solve new problems without relying on past experience
and accumulated knowledge. Fluid intelligence allows us to perceive
and draw inferences about relationships among variables, and to
conceptualize abstract information, which aids problem-solving.
• Crystallized Intelligence refers to the ability to utilize skills and
knowledge acquired via prior learning. The use of crystallized
intelligence involves the recalling of pre-existing information as well
as skills.
 Guilford’s Structure of Intellect
• In Guilford’s Structure of Intellect theory, intelligence is viewed as comprising
operations, contents, and products.
• Operations are what the respondent does. It refers to the particular cognitive
process being used. These are cognition, memory, divergent production,
convergent production, and evaluation.
• Contents refer to the particular medium in which a person happens to be
operating at the moment. It is the nature of materials or information on which
intellectual operations are performed. These include visual, auditory, symbolic,
semantic, and behavioral.
• Product is the result of operations and contents. It includes units, classes,
relations, systems, transformations and implications.
 Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
• Robert Sternberg proposed triarchic theory of intelligence. This theory is based
on the definition of intelligence as the ability to achieve success based on your
personal standards and your sociocultural context. According to the triarchic
theory, intelligence has three aspects: analytical, creative, and practical.
• Analytical intelligence, also referred to as componential intelligence, refers to intelligence
that is applied to analyze or evaluate problems and arrive at solutions. This is what a
traditional IQ test measure.
• Creative intelligence is the ability to go beyond what is given to create novel and interesting
ideas. This type of intelligence involves imagination, innovation and problem-solving.
• Practical intelligence is the ability that individuals use to solve problems faced in daily life,
when a person finds the best fit between themselves and the demands of the environment.
 Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory
• Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences divides human intelligence
into eight different types instead of looking at a single ability.
• He deemed intelligence as the biopsychological potential for
processing information. The theory claims that human beings have
different ways in which they process data, each being independent.
• The eight types of intelligence described by Gardner include: musical-
rhythmic, visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical,
bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic.
 Aptitude
• The word aptitude is derived from the word “aptos” which means
‘fitted for’. Very often words such as ‘potentiality’, ‘capacity’, ‘talent’
etc. are used synonymously with aptitude.
• According to Traxler (1957), Aptitude is a condition, a quality or a set
of qualities which is indicative of the probable extent to which an
individual may be able to acquire, under suitable training, some
knowledge, understanding, or skill.
 Features of Aptitude
• Aptitude is indicative of one’s potential.
• ︎Aptitude is the result of interaction of heredity and environment.
• The concept of aptitude is very broad. It includes characteristic which
contributes to learning, including intelligence, achievement,
personality, interests and skills.
• Aptitude predicts future ability.
• Aptitudes are qualities of an individual that can be harnessed by
appropriate training.
 Aptitude and Intelligence
• Aptitude can be described as a specific ability while intelligence refers
to a general mental ability
• ︎Aptitude has future orientation while intelligence indicates the
present ability
• ︎Aptitude tests are mainly for career and employment decisions. While
intelligence tests are used for educational, clinical and research
purposes.
 Types of Intelligence Tests
• Individual tests
• Group tests
 Individual Tests
• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales – IV
• Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales – V
• Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Test
 WAIS - IV
• Verbal Comprehension Scale • Perceptual Reasoning Scale
• Vocabulary • Block Design
• Similarities • Matrix Reasoning
• Information • Picture Completion
• Comprehension • Processing Speed Scale
• Working Memory Scale • Symbol Search
• Digit Span • Digit Symbol-Coding
• Arithmetic
• Letter Number Sequencing
 Stanford Binet Scale
• 10 Sub Scales
• 5 Verbal
• 5 Non Verbal
• Fluid Reasoning
• Knowledge
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Visual-Spatial Reasoning
• Working Memory
 Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Test
• Developed by CM Bhatia in 1955
• Five sub-tests
• Pattern Drawing Test
• Kohs Block Design Test
• Picture Construction Test
• Alexander Pass Along Test
• Immediate Memory Test for Digits
 Group Test of Intelligence
• Raven’s Progressive Matrices
• Developed by John Raven
• Measures
• Non-Verbal Reasoning
• Abstract Reasoning
• Cognitive Functioning
 Differential Aptitude Test
• Verbal Reasoning
• Numerical Ability
• Abstract Reasoning
• Mechanical Reasoning
• Space Relations
• Spelling
• Language Usage
• Perceptual Speed and Accuracy