Intelligence and the Assessment of

Intelligence
Syeda Batool Najam

Institute of Business Management

Intelligence

“Mental activity directed towards purposive adaptation to, and selection and
shaping of, real-world environments relevant to ones life”

“The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to

think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment”
What is Intelligence?

Based on the definitions, it is:

• Rational thought and reasoning

• The ability to act purposefully in an environment.

• The ability to deal with situations, in an effective manner, within an environment.

• Cognitive – Examples of cognitive ability: memory, perception, concept formation, problem solving, mental
imagery, action, association, language and attention.

• The ability to learning from experience

• The ability to live and cope with the demands of daily life
 Genetics
Environment

It is important to note that genetics and the environment interact to determine exactly how inherited genes are
expressed.
Evidence of genetic influences:
- Twin studies suggest that identical twins IQ's are more similar than those of fraternal twins (Promin &
Spinath, 2004).
- Siblings reared together in the same home have IQ's that are more similar than those of adopted children
raised together in the same environment (McGue & others, 1993).
Evidence of environmental influences:
- Identical twins reared apart have IQ's that are less similar than identical twins reared in the same
environment (McGue & others, 1993).
- School attendance has an impact on IQ scores (Ceci, 2001).
- Children who are breastfed during the first three to five months of life score higher on IQ tests at age 6
than same-age children who were not breastfed (Reinberg, 2008).
Theories of Intelligence
Charles Spearman – General Intelligence

 There must be a single underlying construct that all of these items measure.

He called the construct that the different abilities and skills measured on intelligence tests have in common the
general intelligence factor (g).

Those who hold this view believe that intelligence can be measured and expressed by a single number, such as an
IQ score.

Virtually all psychologists now believe that there is a generalized intelligence factor, g, that relates to abstract
thinking and that includes the abilities to acquire knowledge, to reason abstractly, to adapt to novel situations, and
to benefit from instruction and experience

People with higher general intelligence learn faster.

 Raymond Catell – Two Factor Theory
Raymond Cattell (1963) believed that ‘g’ is composed of fluid and crystallized intelligence.

These intelligences must be different because crystallized intelligence increases with age — older adults are as good as or better
than young people in solving crossword puzzles — whereas fluid intelligence tends to decrease with age.

Fluid Intelligence Crystallized Intelligence

capacity to learn new ways of solving problems and accumulated knowledge of the world we have acquired
performing activities throughout our lives. 

• The degree of flexibility in thinking and the ability to
reason abstractly
• The ability to solve novel problems, usually
measured by nonverbal tasks.
• Considered to be influenced more by genetics and
brain physiology than environment.
• Examples of the use of fluid intelligence include
solving puzzles and coming up with problem-
solving strategies.
• Involves knowledge that comes from prior learning
and past experiences.
• Dependent upon education and cultural assimilation
• Situations that require crystallized intelligence
include reading comprehension and vocabulary
exams. 
 Howard Gardner - Multiple Intelligence

His theory describes eight distinct intelligences that

are based on skills and abilities that are valued within
different cultures.

1. Naturalist

2. Spatial

3. Musical

4. Logical Reasoning

5. Interpersonal

6. Bodily Kinesthetic

7. Linguistic

8. Intrapersonal
Intelligence Assessment
Purpose

Psycho-educational Assessment

• Identification & placement of special-needs students.

Predict academic and work performance.

Evaluate for Mental Retardation & Learning Disabilities.

Evaluate for neurological impairment.

Career Counseling.

Research.
Francis Galton

Charles Darwin’s theory of

evolution sparked interest in
the study of differences in
mental abilities.
Francis Galton, cousin of
Charles Darwin, studied
family trees to try to
demonstrate a hereditary
basis for intelligence.
Aplha Beta Test
With a staff of 40 psychologists, Yerkes was able
to develop two different tests for intelligence. The
first test, the Alpha, was a written test made up of
true/false and multiple-choice questions that
assessed things like the ability to follow directions,
arithmetic, and analogies. The Army Alpha test
was distributed to determine whether draftees
could read English, but also to evaluate soldiers so
that they could be assigned to tasks or training in
alignment with their abilities.

The Army Beta test was developed for those men

with limited literacy who were unable to respond
to the written test. The instructions for the test
were provided using pictures and other symbols,
and it tested using things like mazes, identification
of patterns, and picture completion.
Standford Binet Test

Early intelligence tests measured sensory-motor functions, such as reaction time.

1905: Alfred Binet & Theodore Simon developed a test to identify mentally retarded students in Paris,
France.

1916: Lewis Terman published the first version of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.

https://stanfordbinettest.com/
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children/Wechsler
Adult Intelligence
 Vocabulary

What is a car?
What is an umbrella?

Similarities

Pen-pencil
Apple-banana Digit-Span
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

It is a mathematical formula that is

supposed to be a measure of a person's
intelligence.

IQ= Mental age/Chronological Age X 100

IQ ratio enables direct comparison of

children of different ages
IQ Range Classification

Over 140 Genius or almost genius

120 - 140 Very superior intelligence

110 - 119 Superior intelligence

90 - 109 Average or normal intelligence

80 - 89 Dullness

70 - 79 Borderline deficiency in intelligence

Under 70 Feeble-mindedness