Intelligence Theory And Its Impact On The Development Of The Iq ( Intelligence Quotient )

Ever since Spearman proposed the intelligence theory with G factor, there were several other intelligence theories proposed in response or as an alternative to Spearman’s. Among those, Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence and Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory would be the most influential ones as they are widely accepted and used in real life. Both of the theories share a critical view towards the unitary perspective which is the traditional definition of intelligence. However, the two theories differ in which they don’t agree with what factors should be the measures of intelligence, as well as the emphasis of the two theories.

There are a slew of tests that attempt to measure how intelligent human beings are. They all measure different aspects and those factors will be covered here. One of the misconceptions is that the tests measure inborn intelligence. Few of the activities are designed for that purpose. They actually measure a person’s interaction with the environment and what they have learned from that interaction. The most common tested aspect is critical thinking. Instead of straightforward questions, intelligence tests offer questions with a twist. It is assumed that the most intelligent people will see obvious flaws in the obvious answers (Steinberg & Williams, 2015). Some intelligence tests also measure reflexes, both mental and physical. The assumption is quick reaction times reflect an active brain and in the line of thinking, a more intelligent person.

This paper discusses the pros and cons of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III). First, important definitional, theoretical issues, including the nature of intelligence, a brief history, and pros and cons are discussed. Next, the development, reliability, validity, and assets and limitations of the WAIS-III are examined. This is followed by discussion of the meaning of IQ scores, use of successive level interpretation and cautions and guidelines for administration. Last, subtests, assessing special population groups, short forms, profile forms, and what a

Charles Spearman’s theory (1904) also takes the psychometric approach that there is a general intelligence. Spearman maintains that intelligence is hereditary and an individual is born with their maximum mental ability. This suggests that intelligence cannot be changed or strengthened. The concept of ‘general intelligence’ suggests that an individual has an underlying intelligence, in which their performance in one type of cognitive task is often similar to their performance in another (Boundless 2013). Spearman demonstrated this through the correlations between tests, where individuals who performed well in one test, often performed well in others. This led Spearman to the conclusion that intelligence is defined as a single factor. However, critics refute Spearman’s conclusions, as they argue that one cannot reduce all factors of intelligence to an indefinable “g” (Neisser et al. 1996).

Wechsler Intelligence Scales. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) (Wechsler, 2003) was used to evaluate intellectual functioning in the majority (90%) of the children ages 6 to 16. However, some of the children (10%), ages 13 to 18, were evaluated by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence - Second Edition (WASI-II) (Wechsler, 2011) in addition with the WISC-IV subtests comprising of the working memory (WMI) and processing speed (PSI) indexes.

There is a relationship between intelligence and culture because intelligence is culturally shaped and defined and some cultures support and identify it as very vital in the context of social and ecological aspects. In the early years, there was a bias towards intelligence tests because they used English language and culture. The formation of Wesler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Addition (WAIS,IV) in 2008 by David Wesler was meant to minimise the bias. According to Westen, Burton and Kowalski (2006), intelligence assists human beings to take control of their lives and it varies cross culturally because the power dynamics differ in each society and this leads to differences in behaviour and line of thinking. These authors describe intelligence as multifaceted, functional and can be defined by culture because it is universal and studying intelligence using different culture as a sample that can be used to question Western ideas about intelligence with some emphasis on the assessment of skills and abilities using culturally appropriate methods (Benson, 2003)

It wasn’t until the year 1920 that different types of intelligence were defined. It was proposed by a man named EL Thorndike, and he separated the different types of intelligence into three categories: abstract, mechanical, and social intelligence. Years later, it was argued that social intelligence is somewhat

This paper examines standardized tests and what makes them an unreliable medium to gauge intelligence on. It analyzes what personality traits can lead to alter test scores and how often these traits are completely unaccounted for. Test score differences based on economic status and ethnicity is also discussed. It also explores how standardized tests usually only analyze one form of intelligence (fluid or crystallized) and thus is not an accurate portrayal of a person’s overall intellectual merit. The differences between the BIS (Berlin Model of Intelligence

The term intelligence begs an important question. How can something be measured when it is indefinable? Numerous scientists, psychologists, theorists, neurologists, and many more can concur that intelligence does exist. Yet, to date, none of them can agree upon a universal definition. Therefore, intelligence is known only to be a scientific construct. (Floyd & Kranzler, 2013). Over the years, individuals have attempted to delimit intelligence by means of research, assessments, and theories. Beginning as early as the 19th century, Francis Joseph Gall, presented the scientific measuring tool known as phrenology. He believed mental qualities and functions could be evaluated according to specific faculties mapped out in the brain. (CIA textbook)

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale was tested for reliability by using internal consistency, test-retest stability, and interscorer agreement. All three reliability tests show “strong evidence for score reliability” (Wechsler, 2008, para. 6).

This assessment instruments are administered individually where scales manifested in a battery format are used to conduct composite intelligence tests. I chose this assessment because intelligence or IQ measurement is very significant in determining a person’s smartness that helps explain why some people perform well in their studies while others do not. These intelligence scales assess various intellectual ability areas and provide a scenario where different personality aspects can be

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition(WAIS-IV) was created to account for some of the psychometric weaknesses of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III). For example, the WAIS-III lacked in fluid reasoning and as a results figure weights were added to the WAIS-IV (Flanagan & Harrison, 2012). David Wechsler, the original creator of the Wechsler scales had a theory of intelligence but included abilities that could not be measured by IQ test that was available at that time. Some of the abilities included personality, emotional, and conative factors. He was unsuccessful in creating a measure for those skills but it lead to the creation of Wechsler intelligence scales the most widely used in the world today (Flanagan & Harrison, 2012). After three revisions, the WAIS-IV was created. The WAIS-IV was normed off 2,200 individuals into 13 age bands and included 300 examinees. It is the new standard for testing intelligence in adults, with the multiple adds on such as the subtest cancellation that was taken from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Flanagan & Harrison,

The Analysis of the Intelligence of Individuals and Groups Much controversy surrounds the subject of intelligence. Intelligence tests were developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to assess the intelligence of individuals and groups. However, criticisms quickly arose regarding tests due to results being used to justify discrimination between different groups and cultures. Theorists argued that the tests assess verbal, mathematical, and spatial capabilities, but they do not directly examine other abilities that seem to be inherent parts of intelligence: creativity, social understanding, knowledge of one’s own strengths and weaknesses and so on.

Intelligence can be defined in many different ways. This concept has been the focus of numerous studies and investigations by psychologists and other scientific experts. Intelligence can be the mental ability to reason, plan ahead, understand a wide range of complex issues and learn from past experiences (Gottfredson, 1997). Intelligence is the “resultant of the process of acquiring, storing in memory, retrieving, combining, comparing, and using in new contexts information and conceptual skills” (Humphreys, 1979)

According to the proposed theory of human intelligence and its development (Sternberg, 1999a), a common set of processes underlies all aspects of intelligence. These processes are hypothesized to be universal. These processes are applied to different kinds of tasks and situations depending on whether a given problem requires practical skills and creative skills.