Intelligence

Intelligence has been historically identified by test performance. Tests may include: Give meanings of words, find analogical relations, solve new problems, speed of association, matching designs, counting backwards, etc. Groupings of individual differences across different tests can be found psychometrically, e.g. using factor analysis. Different methods yield either Spearman's general factor or "g," or Thurstone's primary mental abilities, specific factors, organized around more narrowly determined content and performance areas. Some views combine these in a hierarchical intelligence, g, with group and specific components, or g combined with crystallized and fluid abilities.

Many people still believe that there is a general intelligence that people have more or less of, e.g., Herrnstein and Murray and the normal curve. It's interesting to note that a normal curve is generated from scores based on a random selection of many independent components with different values.

There are other views: Steven J. Gould talks of two metaphors for intelligence: the ladder and the bush. The classical IQ view and cultural norm push the ladder metaphor. Gould and most alternative views are more likely to prefer the bush metaphor.

Thurstone's Primary Mental Abilities (early 20th century): a) Verbal comprehension (vocabulary, reading comprehension); b) verbal fluency; c) number (computation & word problems); d) Memory: (short term, strings of numbers, words or faces, note sequences); e) perceptual speed (proofreading, matching symbol strings, finding identical pictures); f) Induction (number series, word classifications, finding odd word in a group); g) spatial visualization (rotating figures, folding boxes).

Two generalized aspects of intelligence: 1) Fluid intelligence--figural analogies, series completion, classification; 2) Crystallized intelligence--vocabulary, general knowledge, reading comprehension

Cognitive components perspective (Mayer’s favorite): There are many aspects of cognition on which there are individual differences in ease of acquisition and efficiency of use. These computational components are combined and integrated to generate intelligent behavior. What are the component processes in the demonstration of intelligence? How are they acquired? How are they related? What precursors are needed? Is it the same problem as proposed for children in terms of their developmental level? All intelligent behaviors require a sequence of processes. Any of these may have an individual difference component. Intelligent behaviors require search, recognition, identification, selection, memory, knowledge, concentration, planning, evaluation, decisions, execution skill, etc.

Guilford identified different kinds of operations, products and abstract contents that can be applied across different domains and define intelligence. (Mayer, pp. 332-4)

Robert Sternberg identifies several relatively independent intelligences (analytic, practical, social, creative)

Howard Gardner: different intelligences defined according to a set of eight criteria--

Gardner identified Seven Intelligences: