INTELLIGENCE

WHAT IS
INTELLIGENCE ?
The Oxford Dictionary explains intelligence as the power of
perceiving, learning, understanding, and knowing.

Alfred Binet was one of the first psychologists who worked on

intelligence he defined intelligence as the ability to judge well,
understand well, and reason well.

Wechsler, whose intelligence tests are most widely used,

understood intelligence in terms of its functionality, i.e. its
value for adaptation to environment he defined it as the global
and aggregate capacity of an individual to think rationally, act
purposefully, and to deal effectively with her/his environment.
THEORIES OF
INTELLIGENCE
STRUCTURE OF
INTELLECT
By J.P. Guilford

THEORY OF PRIMARY THEORY OF MULTIPLE

MENTAL ABILITIES INTELLIGENCES
By Louis Thurstone By Howard Gardner

TWO FACTOR TRIARCHIC THEORY OF

THEORY INTELLIGENCE
By Charles Spearmen By Robert Sternberg
Two Factor Theory
By : Charles Spearmen g-factors s-factors

❑ In 1927, Charles Spearman proposed a two-factor theory of intelligence employing a

statistical method called factor analysis.

❑ He showed that intelligence consisted of a general factor (g-factor) and some specific
factors (s-factors).
❑ The g-factor includes mental operations which are primary and common to all
performances.
❑ In addition to the g-factor, he said that there are also many specific abilities. These are
contained in what he called the s-factor.
❑ Excellent singers, architects, scientists, and athletes may be high on g-factor, but in
addition to this, they have specific abilities which allow them to excel in their respective
domains.
Theory of Primary
Mental Abilities
By : Louis Thurstone

❑ It states that intelligence consists of seven primary abilities, each of which is

relatively independent of the others.
❑ These primary abilities are
Spatial Relations
Verbal Comprehension Memory
(visualising patterns
(grasping meaning of (accuracy in
and forms)
words, concepts, and recalling
ideas) information)
Perceptual Speed
(speed in perceiving
details) Inductive Reasoning
Numerical Abilities (deriving
(speed and accuracy general rules
Word Fluency (using
in numerical, from
words fluently and
computational skills) presented facts)
flexibly)
 STRUCTURE OF
INTELLECT
By : J.P. Guilford
❑ J.P. Guilford proposed the structureof-intellect model which
classifies intellectual traits among three dimensions: operations,
contents, and products.
OPERATIONS are what the
6x5x6 = 180 cells respondent does. These include
cognition, memory recording,
memory retention, divergent
CONTENTS refer to the nature of production, convergent
materials or information on which production, and evaluation.
intellectual operations are
performed. These include visual, PRODUCTS refer to the form in
auditory, symbolic (e.g., letters, which information is processed by
numbers), semantic (e.g., words) the respondent. Products are
and behavioural (e.g., information
classified into units, classes,
about people’s behaviour,
relations, systems,
attitudes, needs, etc.). transformations, and implications.
 THEORY OF MULTIPLE
INTELLIGENCES
By : Howard Gardner
Musical (an ability to produce Bodily-Kinaesthetic (an ability
and manipulate musical to use whole or portions of the
rhythms and patterns) body flexibly and creatively)

Spatial (an ability to Interpersonal (an ability to

form visual images and understand to subtle aspects of
others’ behaviours)
patterns)

Logical-Mathematical (an ability Intrapersonal (an ability to

to think logically and critically, understand of one’s own
and solve problems) feelings, motives, and desires)

Linguistic (an ability to Naturalistic (an ability to

produce and use language) identify the features of the
natural world)
TRIARCHIC THEORY
OF INTELLIGENCE META COMPONENTS
Control, monitor and
evaluate cognitive
By : Robert Stenberg processing

CONTEXTUAL
INTELLIGENCE
PERFORMANCE
Specifies the behaviours COMPONENTS
considered intelligent in a
Execute strategies
particular culture
assembled by meta
components

EXPERIENCIAL COMPONENTIAL
INTELLIGENCE INTELLIGENCE KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION
COMPONENTS
Specifies how experiences Specifies the cognitive
affect intelligence and how processes that underlie all
Encode, Combine and
intelligence affects a intelligent behaviour Compare information
person’s experiences
CONCEPT OF IQ
❑ In 1905, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon, made the first successful
attempt to formally measure intelligence.
❑ In 1908, when the scale was revised, they gave the concept of Mental
Age (MA), which is a measure of a person’s intellectual development
relative to people of her/his age group.
❑ Chronological Age (CA) is the biological age from birth.
❑ In 1912, William Stern, a German psychologist, devised the concept of
Intelligence Quotient (IQ). IQ refers to mental age divided by
chronological age, and multiplied by 100. The number 100 is used as a
multiplier to avoid the decimal point.
❑ When the MA equals the CA, the IQ equals 100. If MA is more than the
CA, IQ is more than 100. IQ becomes less than 100 when the MA is less
than the CA. For example, a 10-year-old child with a mental age of 12
would have an IQ of 120
❑ whereas the same child with an MA of 7 would have an IQ of 70 (7/10 ´
100). The average IQ in the population is 100, irrespective of age.
❑ IQ scores are distributed in the population in such a way that the scores
of most people tend to fall in the middle range of the distribution. The
frequency distribution for the IQ scores tends to approximate a
bellshaped curve, called the normal curve.
❑ The mean IQ score in a population is 100. People with IQ scores in the
range of 90–110 have normal intelligence.
❑ Those with IQ below 70 are suspected to have ‘intellectual disability’,
while persons with IQ above 130 are considered to have exceptional
talents.
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

❑ Those children who show intellectual deficiency are termed as

intellectually disabled.
❑ The American Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD) views
intellectual disability as “significantly sub-average general
intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in
adaptive behaviour and manifested
❑ This definition points to three basic features. First, in order to be
judged as intellectually disabled, a person must show significantly
sub-average intellectual functioning. Persons having IQs below 70
are judged to have sub-average intelligence during the
developmental period”.
❑ The second relates to deficits in adaptive behaviour. Adaptive
behaviour refers to a person’s capacity to be independent and deal
effectively with one’s environment.
❑ The third feature is that the deficits must be observed during the
developmental period, that is between 0 and 18 years of age.
These figures are used to understand the categories of intellectually
disabled. The different levels of intellectual disability are

MILD

(IQs 55 to
approximately 70)
SEVERE

(IQs 20–25 to
approximately 35–40)

MODERATE
PROFOUND
(IQs 35–40 to
approximately 50– 55) (IQs below 20–25)
INTELLECTUAL GIFTEDNESS
❑ Intellectually gifted individuals show higher performance because
of their outstanding potentialities.
❑ Some important
❑ characteristics of gifted children are :
❑ • Advanced logical thinking, questioning and problem solving
behaviour.
❑ • High speed in processing information.
❑ • Superior generalisation and discrimination ability.
❑ • Advanced level of original and creative thinking.
❑ • High level of intrinsic motivation and self-esteem.
❑ • Independent and non-conformist thinking.
❑ • Preference for solitary academic activities for long periods.