CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

1. What is intelligence, and what are some of the

problems we face in measuring this construct?
2. What is the relationship between intelligence
and school success as well as between
intelligence and occupational status and
success?
3. What do studies suggest regarding the genetic
versus environmental influence on intelligence

Focus Questions:

4. How are the Stanford-Binet Fifth Edition

(SB-5) and Wechsler scales (WAIS-IV,
WISC-IV) similar? How are they different?
5. How are intelligence tests used in a
clinical situation? What are some of the
limitations regarding their use in these
situations?

Definitions

that focus on the ability to

learn on educability in the broad sense
of the term.

Definitions

that emphasize abstract

thinking the ability to use a wide range
of symbols and concepts, the ability to
use both verbal and numerical symbols

Intelligence

Definitions

that emphasize adjustment or

adaptation to the environment
adaptability to new situations, the
capacity to deal with a range of situations.

Factor

Analytic Approaches.
Spearman (1927)

The

father of factor analysis

He believes in the existence of a g factor
(general intelligence) and s factors
(specific intelligence).

Theories of Intelligence

Thurstone

described seven group factors, which he

labeled:
1. Numerical Facility
2. Word Fluency
3. Verbal Comprehension
4. Perceptual Speed
5. Spatial Visualization
6. Reasoning
7. Associative Memory (Thurstones Primary Mental
Abilities).

Cattells Theory
The

work of R. B. Cattell (1987) emphasized the

centrality of g. At the same time, Cattell offered a
tentative list of 17 primary ability concepts. He
described two important. second-order factors that
seem to represent a partitioning of Spearmans g into
two components:

A.
B.

Fluid ability (the persons genetically based

intellectual capacity)
Crystallized ability (the capacities, tapped by the
usual standardized intelligence test, that can be
attributed to culture-based learning).

Guilfords

Classification.

The

views of Guilford (1967) were quite

different from those of Cattell, Spearman,
Thurstone, and most other psychometricians.

Guilford

proposed a Structure of the Intellect

(SOI) model and then used a variety of
statistical and factor analytic techniques to
test it.

Guilford

reasoned that the components of

intelligence could be organized into three
dimensions: a. operations, b. contents,
and c. products (units, classes, systems,
relations, transformations, and
implications)

Gardner

(1983, 1999) has described a

theory of multiple intelligences. Human
intellectual competence involves a set of
problem-solving skills that enable the
person to resolve problems or difficulties.

To

cite another example of a theory of

multiple forms of intelligence, Sternberg
(1985, 1991, 2005) has proposed a
triarchic theory of intelligence.

He

maintains that people function on the

basis of three aspects of intelligence:
componential, experiential, and contextual

Ratio IQ.
Stern developed the concept of
intelligence quotient (IQ) to circumvent
several problems that had arisen in using
the difference between the chronological
age (CA) and the MA to express deviance.

1.
.

THE IQ: ITS MEANING

AND ITS CORRELATES

IQ = MA/CA 100

2. Deviation of IQ
Although

initially appealing, the ratio IQ is

significantly limited in its application to
older age groups. The reason is that a
consistent (even if very high) mental age
(MA) score accompanied by an increasing
chronological age (CA) score will result in
a lower IQ.

Wechsler

introduced the concept of

deviation IQ. The assumption is made that
intelligence is normally distributed
throughout the population.

Correlates

of the IQ -Whether
intelligence tests are valid depends on
how we define intelligence

No if _________________
Yes if _________________

Correlates of IQ

1.
2.
3.

School Success.
Occupational Status and Success.
Demographic Group Differences.

1. Heritability of Intelligence.
2. Stability of IQ Scores and the Flynn effect
Clinicians

cannot assume that a single IQ test score

will accurately characterize an individuals level of
intelligence throughout his or her life span. IQ
scores do tend to change, and this is especially true
for young children.
For this reason, clinicians often describe the
individuals present level of intellectual
functioning in their test reports.

Heredity and Stability of IQ Scores

This

refers to the empirical finding that

from 1972 on, Americans IQ scores have
on average increased 3 points each
decade.

Flynn Effect

1.

SB -5

the SB-5 is based on a hierarchical model of

intelligence. Specifically, the StanfordBinet Fifth Edition (SB-5) assesses five
general cognitive factors, and each
factor is tapped by both verbal and nonverbal subtest activities

THE CLINICAL ASSESSMENT

OF INTELLIGENCE

1. Fluid reasoning involves the ability to solve new

problems and is measured by the following subtests;
2. Quantitative reasoning involves the ability to solve
numerical and word problems as well as to
understand fundamental number concepts;
3. Visual-spatial processing involves the ability to see
relationships among objects, to recognize spatial
orientation, and to conduct pattern analysis.

4. Working memory involves the ability to

process and hold both verbal and nonverbal information and then to interpret it
5. Knowledge involves the ability to absorb
general information that is accumulated
over time through experience at home,
school, work, or the environment in
general.

David Wechsler published the WechslerBellevue Intelligence Scale in 1939. Subsequent revisions o
this test have become the most widely used techniques
to assess intellectual functioning

The

Estimation of General Intellectual

Level.

The

most obvious use of an intelligence

test is as means for arriving at an
estimate of the patients general
intellectual level. Frequently, the goal is
the determination of how much general
intelligence (g) a given person possesses.

The Clinical Use of Intelligence

Tests

Obtaining

an IQ is not the end of a

clinicians taskit is only the beginning.

As

mentioned previously, there are data

that demonstrate a relationship between
intelligence test scores and school
success.

To

the extent that intelligence should

logically reflect the capacity to do well in
school, we are justified in expecting
intelligence tests to predict school success

Prediction of Academic Success.

One

of the major values of individual

intelligence tests is that they permit us to
observe the client or patient at work.

The Appraisal of Style

1.
2.

IQ Is an Abstraction
Generality Versus Specificity of
Measurement.

Some Final Observations

and Conclusions

Thank you!