Intelligence as defined by the Cambridge dictionary is the ability to learn, understand, and make judgments or have opinions that are based on reason.1 There is much debate and controversy on this subject and psychologists do not all agree upon a standard definition. Yet, one of the very first definitions of intelligence was developed by the psychologists responsible for the development of the first intelligence test, Binet and Simon (1905) who argued that the essence of intelligence is: ‘to judge well, to comprehend well, to reason well’.2 Another sample definition was provided later by Heim, in 1970, who argued that ‘intelligent activity consists in grasping the essentials in a situation and responding appropriately to them’.3 There are also arguments surrounding how many different types of intelligence there are, as well as the intelligence theories of psychology. However elusive, we can ascertain that all psychologists have universally agreed upon general intelligence (g), an expression devised by the English psychologist Charles Spearman and defined as ‘a mental attribute called on for virtually any task’.4 This essay will inform the reader of the different methods proposed and used by psychologists to assess ability and discuss their evaluations. To assess the individual differences in ability, psychologists use intelligence testing which has been around since the beginning of the twentieth century when psychology became an established science. How the
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.
What does it mean to be intelligent? J.P Das has been asking this question since he was child. Determined to understand intelligence outside of the conventions of an IQ test, Das has dedicated his career to neuropsychology and psychology. Throughout his studies, Das found that intelligence is a comprehensive facet of human existence, which embodies the processes of planning, attention, and sequencing. Together with his college Jack Naglieri, Das developed an intelligence assessment that eliminates cultural and educational biases. Today, psychologists around the globe use the Das-Naglieri test, helping educators develop interventions for students. In recognition to his contributions to the international educational psychology community, Dr.
It is practically impossible for a nation’s intelligence community to detect and prevent every attack on its soil. However, the American failure to uncover the 9/11 plot should be considered a massive failure considering the scope of the attack which involved careful planning, training many perpetrators, and a high profile target with many victims. Furthermore it can be demonstrated that there were many signals and opportunities to discover the plot that the intelligence machinery missed. “Hindsight is 20/20” and there needs to be an understanding of how easy it is to look back at how the intelligence gathered before the attacks should have signaled a serious threat, and thus provoked the unraveling of the 9/11 plot had the intelligence community picked up on and discriminated the signals from the noise. . However, there is evidence that the US intelligence community’s failure to link the information they had differentiated from the “background noise” as representing a possible terrorist threat points to the entire failure of the intelligence system. Therefore, while a nation’s intelligence system and the communities supporting it cannot be expected to succeed 100% of the time, this incident pointed at a 100% failure of the American intelligence community. Although it is recognized that many factors contributed to this failure, there is evidence that the organizational structure and culture both within the individual intelligence agencies and amid the intelligence
For many decades psychologist have attempted to link intelligence to genetic traits and test the probability of intelligence of an individual. How does one define intelligence and what measurement scale is effective in measuring intelligence are problems scientist are facing when determining intelligence. Other factors to consider when testing and tracking intelligence is the environment, nutrition and nurture of an individual. If psychologist were able to predict the intelligence potential of an individual, the individual could be linked to the maximum occupational and income potential.
Intelligence is often dictated as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills, it encompasses a number of mental abilities such as reasoning, planning and problem-solving. There has always been large controversy and arguements over whether intelligence is inherited through genes or influenced by the environment. If intelligence is nature, it means that human beings are born with it, and cannot be changed by environment or through time; but if we were to say it is nurtured, then it means all are born with the same intelligence and potential and it develops over time under the influence of surroundings. Intelligence is one of the most important topics in many professions but even after myriads of research
The concept of intelligence has originated innumerous discussions in the field of psychology and pedagogy, and it is also marked by controversy among scholars. One can say that many of these disagreements are generated from the lack of consensus on the definition and conceptualization of intelligence with regard to their nature, source and development. Generally, the theories that defends intelligence as inherently born with the individual, explain differences among people by genetic dispositions. Environmental theorists consider the environment in which individuals were raised and find themselves currently as the main factor determining their level of intelligence. In addition, we have a Factor G theory, which favors the existence of a single factor in the composition of intelligence, and theories which postulate the existence of different types of intelligence, such as the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Emotional Intelligence Theory and Triarchic Theory of Intelligence.
The hypothesis of different intelligences was created in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor from Harvard College. It proposes that the customary idea from claiming intelligence in view of IQ testing, will be far excessively restricted. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes nine separate intelligences that would represent a more extensive extent of mankind's possibility. These intelligences are separated into the following categories: Linguistic intelligence, Logical-mathematical intelligence, Spatial intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence, Musical intelligence, Interpersonal intelligence, Intrapersonal intelligence, and Naturalist intelligence.
Although most people will propose the question, “plant’s do not have a brain, therefor how could one consider them as intelligent organisms?”, while they are anatomically correct, determining whether or not plants actually are intelligent beings depends solely on how one defines the word, intelligent. Ironically, the definition of intelligence is so vague and difficult to describe that even one provided by Miriam Webster’s dictionary contains the word “intelligent” on three separate occasions. Accounting for the lack of substance in this definition, a new one was born; intelligence is the ability to solve problems, interact with other beings and surrounding, and work in groups. According to this definition of intelligence and scientific evidence, plants are very intelligent.
In attempting to understand intelligence, it can be alleged that someone who is intelligent is able to make logical reasonable decisions, to assess situations, has read extensively, has good ideas and is an expert on a particular subject. This then leads to the question, how is intelligence measured? This article is concerned with discussing the involvement of David Wechsler and his role in the development of the IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test by describing the history and content of such tests’. This will be done by employing secondary data from journal articles, newspapers and credible sources via internet.
Intelligence tests are the most widely used method for assessing intelligence. This method has developed greatly over the past several decades. However, intelligence tests have continually been scrutinized for various reasons and due to this criticism, one maycan suggest that intelligence tests may be inaccurate measurements of intelligence. This issue is important because, in today’s time, intelligence tests are used to determine various things that pertain to individuals, and it would be wrong that for an individual to be put in a category in which he or she does not fitis not to be in. The purpose of this paper is to prove this to its respective audience by looking at our current standards of intelligence tests, what intelligence tests cover, various flaws of intelligence and how to improve intelligence tests.
Intelligence is a very important factor in human psychology. Human intelligence is a rather complicated form of psychology and quite complex as well. Many people may lack intelligence, many people may have a strong amount of intelligence. Human intellect is what makes humans “smart” and sets us aside from animals and other types of beings. Many researchers in psychology have studied intelligence and how it makes us, us. Intelligence has since become something that can be tested and measured through a wide array of tests. Although intelligence can vary from person to person, it is what truly makes us human.
Since childhood I can remember how the term “IQ” could make or break a person’s dignity and credibility all in one. Through the years a line has been drawn that to this day categorizes a person’s abilities both mentally and physically. Statements like “He is street smart, not book smart” have been used and overused in today’s society. Although research and new learning strategies have been in development since the 1980s, much of society still sees intelligence in this limited manner. Though the course of this paper we will look at theories for measuring intelligence. We will also explore how memory plays a major role in developing intelligence and the effect these factors have on learning.
People may think that each student learns the same way yet that is not true. Each child is different, and it depends on their learning ability and intelligence. Intelligence is conventionally defined as a uniform cognitive capacity with which people are born. Howard Gardner defines intelligence as the ability to solve problems, or to create products that are valued within one or more cultural settings. Today, there are nine distinct intelligences. Some of these include musical, interpersonal, existential and a few more (2004). The Theory of Multiple Intelligences has helped students that learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways (Lane).
Intelligence tests began as a psychologist's solution to a problem faced by Paris schools at the beginning of the century. Alfred Binet, a French psychologist, developed a test to measure potential ability at school tasks rather than performance in school, and to produce the same scores
To start off with Intelligence is defined as your capacity for learning, understanding for learning, and gathering or distribution of information. Howard Gardner’s Theory is based on eight unique theories of how we learn or think. The multiple intelligences are visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, naturalistic, and logical-mathematical. The way we learn or the way that works the best for you to understand the information that is given to you. He believed that we are all possess all eight intelligences although we may tend to favor one or two more than the rest, we also may grow and recede throughout our life. Many self-assessment questionnaires are based on this theory. They are known as VAK or VARK questionnaires. Most assesses 3 or 4 out of the 8 learning preferences. (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write.) The MI assessment uses all 8 of the learning preferences. Here is a link to an assessment: http://literacynet.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html