Intelligence: Definition, Theories & Testing - Simply Psychology

Spearman concluded that there is a single g-factor which represents an individual's general intelligence across multiple abilities, and that a ... 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CognitivePsychologyIntelligenceIntelligence:Definition,TheoriesandTestingIntelligence:Definition,TheoriesandTestingByCharlotteRuhl,publishedJuly16,2020Take-homeMessagesDefiningandclassifyingintelligenceisextremelycomplicated.Theoriesofintelligencerangefromhavingonegeneralintelligence(g),tocertainprimarymentalabilities,andtomultiplecategory-specificintelligences.FollowingthecreationoftheBinet-Simonscaleintheearly1900s,intelligencetests,nowreferredtoasintelligencequotient(IQ)tests,arethemostwidely-knownandusedmeasurefordetermininganindividual’sintelligence.Althoughthesetestsaregenerallyreliableandvalidtools,theydohavetheirflawsastheylackculturalspecificityandcanevokestereotypethreatandself-fulfillingprophecies.IQscoresaretypicallynormallydistributed,meaningthat95%ofthepopulationhasIQscoresbetween70and130.However,therearesomeextremeexamplesofpeoplewithscoresfarexceeding130orfarbelow70.WhatIsIntelligence?Itmightseemuselesstodefinesuchasimpleword.Afterall,wehaveallheardthiswordhundredsoftimesandprobablyhaveageneralunderstandingofitsmeaning.However,theconceptofintelligencehasbeenawidelydebatedtopicamongmembersofthepsychologycommunityfordecades.Intelligencehasbeendefinedinmanyways:higherlevelabilities(suchasabstractreasoning, mentalrepresentation,problemsolving,anddecision making),theabilitytolearn,emotionalknowledge,creativity,andadaptationtomeet thedemandsoftheenvironmenteffectively.PsychologistRobertSternbergdefinedintelligenceas"thementalabilitiesnecessaryforadaptation to,aswellasshapingandselectionof,anyenvironmental context(1997,p.1) TableofcontentsBriefhistoryofintelligenceTheoriesofintelligenceTypesofintelligenceIntelligencetestingCriticismofintelligencetestingExtremesofintelligenceIntelligencetodayReferencesABriefHistoryofIntelligenceABriefHistoryofIntelligenceThestudyofhumanintelligencedatesbacktothelate1800swhenSirFrancisGalton(thecousinofCharlesDarwin)becameoneofthefirstpeopletostudyintelligence.Galtonwasinterestedintheconceptofagiftedindividual,sohecreatedalabtomeasurereactiontimesandotherphysicalcharacteristicstotesthishypothesisthatintelligenceisageneralmentalabilitythatisaproduceofbiologicalevolution(hello,Darwin!).Galtontheorizedthatbecausequicknessandotherphysicalattributeswereevolutionarilyadvantageous,theywouldalsoprovideagoodindicationofgeneralmentalability(Jensen,1982).Thus,Galtonoperationalizedintelligenceasreactiontime.Operationalizationisanimportantprocessinresearchthatinvolvesdefininganunmeasurablephenomenon(suchasintelligence)inmeasurableterms(suchasreactiontime),allowingtheconcepttobestudiedempirically(Crowthre-Heyck,2005).Galton’sstudyofintelligenceinthelaboratorysettingandhistheorizationoftheheritabilityofintelligencepavedthewayfordecadesoffutureresearchanddebateinthisfield.TheoriesofIntelligenceTheoriesofIntelligenceSomeresearchersarguethatintelligenceisageneralability,whereasothersmaketheassertionthatintelligencecomprisesspecificskillsandtalents.Psychologistscontendthatintelligenceisgenetic,orinherited,andothersclaimthatitislargelyinfluencedbythesurroundingenvironment.Asaresult,psychologistshavedevelopedseveralcontrastingtheoriesofintelligenceaswellasindividualteststhatattempttomeasurethisveryconcept.Spearman’sGeneralIntelligence(g)Generalintelligence,alsoknownasgfactor,referstoageneralmentalability that,accordingtoSpearman,underliesmultiplespecificskills,includingverbal,spatial,numericalandmechanical.CharlesSpearman,anEnglishpsychologist,establishedthetwo-factortheoryofintelligencebackin1904(Spearman,1904).Toarriveatthistheory,Spearmanusedatechniqueknownasfactoranalysis.Factoranalysisisaprocedurethroughwhichthecorrelationofrelatedvariablesareevaluatedtofindanunderlyingfactorthatexplainsthiscorrelation.Inthecaseofintelligence,Spearmannoticedthatthosewhodidwellinoneareaofintelligencetests(forexample,mathematics),alsodidwellinotherareas(suchasdistinguishingpitch;Kalat,2014).Inotherwords,therewasastrongcorrelationbetweenperformingwellinmathandmusic,andSpearmanthenattributedthisrelationshiptoacentralfactor,thatofgeneralintelligence(g).Spearmanconcludedthatthereisasingleg-factorwhichrepresentsanindividual’sgeneralintelligenceacrossmultipleabilities,andthatasecondfactor,s,referstoanindividual’sspecificabilityinoneparticulararea(Spearman,ascitedinThomson,1947).Together,thesetwomainfactorscomposeSpearman’stwo-factortheory.Thurstone’sPrimaryMentalAbilitiesThurstone(1938)challengedtheconceptofag-factor.Afteranalyzingdatafrom56differenttestsofmentalabilities,heidentifiedanumberofprimarymentalabilitiesthatcompriseintelligence,asopposedtoonegeneralfactor.ThesevenprimarymentalabilitiesinThurstone'smodelareverbalcomprehension,verbalfluency,numberfacility,spatialvisualization,perceptualspeed,memory,andinductivereasoning(Thurstone,ascitedinSternberg,2003).MentalAbililtyDescriptionWordFluencyAbilitytousewordsquicklyandfluencyinperformingsuchtasksasrhyming,solvinganagrams,anddoingcrosswordpuzzles.VerbalComprehensionAbilitytounderstandthemeaningofwords,concepts,andideas.NumericalAbilityAbilitytousenumberstoquicklycomputeranswerstoproblems.SpatialVisualizationAbilitytovisualizeandmanipulatepattersandformsinspace.PerceptualSpeedAbilitytograspperceptualdetailsquicklyandaccuratelyandtodeterminesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenstimuli.MemoryAbilitytorecallinformationsuchaslistsorwords,mathematicalformulas,anddefinitions.InductiveReasoningAbilitytoderivegeneralrulesandprinciplesfrompresentedinformation.AlthoughThurstonedidnotrejectSpearman’sideaofgeneralintelligencealtogether,heinsteadtheorizedthatintelligenceconsistsofbothgeneralabilityandanumberofspecificabilities,pavingthewayforfutureresearchthatexaminedthedifferentformsofintelligence.Gardner’sMultipleIntelligencesFollowingtheworkofThurstone,AmericanpsychologistHowardGardnerbuiltofftheideathattherearemultipleformsofintelligence.Heproposedthatthereisnosingleintelligence,butratherdistinct,independentmultipleintelligencesexist,eachrepresentinguniqueskillsandtalentsrelevanttoacertaincategory.Gardner(1983,1987)initiallyproposedsevenmultipleintelligences:linguistic,logical-mathematical,spatial,musical,bodily-kinesthetic,interpersonal,andintrapersonal,andhehassinceaddednaturalistintelligence.Gardnerholdsthatmostactivities(suchasdancing)willinvolveacombinationofthesemultipleintelligences(suchasspatialandbodily-kinestheticintelligences).Healsosuggeststhatthesemultipleintelligencescanhelpusunderstandconceptsbeyondintelligence,suchascreativityandleadership.Andalthoughthistheoryhaswidelycapturedtheattentionofthepsychologycommunityandgreaterpublic,itdoeshaveitsfaults.Therehavebeenfewempiricalstudiesthatactuallytestthistheory,andthistheorydoesnotaccountforothertypesofintelligencebeyondtheonesGardnerlists(Sternberg,2003).TriarchicTheoryofIntelligenceJusttwoyearslater,in1985,RobertSternbergproposedathree-categorytheoryofintelligence,integratingcomponentsthatwerelackinginGardner’stheory.Thistheoryisbasedonthedefinitionofintelligenceastheabilitytoachievesuccessbasedonyourpersonalstandardsandyoursocioculturalcontext.Accordingtothetriarchictheory,intelligencehasthreeaspects:analytical,creative,andpractical(Sternberg,1985).Analyticalintelligence,alsoreferredtoascomponentialintelligence,referstointelligencethatisappliedtoanalyzeorevaluateproblemsandarriveatsolutions.ThisiswhatatraditionalIQtestmeasure.Creativeintelligenceistheabilitytogobeyondwhatisgiventocreatenovelandinterestingideas.Thistypeofintelligenceinvolvesimagination,innovationandproblem-solving.Practicalintelligenceistheabilitythatindividualsusetosolve problemsfacedindailylife,whenaperson findsthebestfitbetweenthemselvesandthedemandsoftheenvironment.Adaptingtothedemandsenvironmentinvolveseither utilizingknowledge gainedfromexperiencetopurposefully changeoneselftosuittheenvironment (adaptation),changingtheenvironmentto suitoneself(shaping),orfindinganew environmentinwhichtowork(selection).OtherTypesofIntelligenceOtherTypesofIntelligenceAfterexaminingthepopularcompetingtheoriesofintelligence,itbecomesclearthattherearemanydifferentformsofthisseeminglysimpleconcept.Ononehand,Spearmanclaimsthatintelligenceisgeneralizableacrossmanydifferentareasoflife,andontheotherhand,psychologistssuchasThurstone,Gardener,andSternbergholdthatintelligenceislikeatreewithmanydifferentbranches,eachrepresentingaspecificformofintelligence.Tomakemattersevenmoreinteresting,let’sthrowafewmoretypesofintelligenceintothemix!EmotionalIntelligenceEmotionalIntelligenceEmotionalIntelligenceisthe“abilitytomonitorone’sownandotherpeople’semotions,todiscriminatebetweendifferentemotionsandlabelthemappropriately,andtouseemotionalinformationtoguidethinkingandbehavior”(SaloveyandMayer,1990).Emotionalintelligenceisimportantinoureverydaylives,seeingasweexperienceoneemotionoranothernearlyeverysecondofourlives.Youmaynotassociateemotionsandintelligencewithoneanother,butinreality,theyareveryrelated.Emotionalintelligencereferstotheabilitytorecognizethemeaningsofemotionsandtoreasonandproblem-solveonthebasisofthem(Mayer,Caruso,&Salovey,1999).ThefourkeycomponentsofemotionalIntelligenceare(i)self-awareness,(ii) self-management,(iii) socialawareness,and(iv) relationshipmanagement.Inotherwords,ifyouarehighinemotionalintelligence,youcanaccuratelyperceiveemotionsinyourselfandothers(suchasreadingfacialexpressions),useemotionstohelpfacilitatethinking,understandthemeaningbehindyouremotions(whyareyoufeelingthisway?),andknowhowtomanageyouremotions(Salovey&Mayer,1990).Fluidvs.CrystallizedIntelligenceFluidvs.CrystallizedIntelligenceRaymondCattell(1963)firstproposedtheconceptsoffluidandcrystallizedintelligenceandfurtherdevelopedthetheorywithJohnHorn.Fluidintelligenceistheabilitytoproblemsolveinnovelsituationswithoutreferencingpriorknowledge,butratherthroughtheuseoflogicandabstractthinking.Fluidintelligencecanbeappliedtoanynovelproblembecausenospecificpriorknowledgeisrequired(Cattell,1963).Asyougrowolderfluidincreasesandthen startstodecreaseinthelate20s.Crystallizedintelligencereferstotheuseofpreviously-acquiredknowledge,suchasspecificfactslearnedinschoolorspecificmotorskillsormusclememory(Cattell,1963).Asyougrowolderandaccumulateknowledge,crystallizedintelligenceincreases.TheCattell-Horn(1966)theoryoffluidandcrystallizedintelligencesuggeststhatintelligenceiscomposedofanumberofdifferentabilitiesthatinteractandworktogethertoproduceoverallindividualintelligenceForexample,ifyouaretakingahardmathtest,yourelyonyourcrystallizedintelligencetoprocessthenumbersandmeaningofthequestions,butyoumayusefluidintelligencetoworkthroughthenovelproblemandarriveatthecorrectsolution.Itisalsopossiblethatfluidintelligencecanbecomecrystallizedintelligence.Thenovelsolutionsyoucreatewhenrelyingonfluidintelligencecan,overtime,developintocrystallizedintelligenceaftertheyareincorporatedintolong-termmemory.Thisillustratessomeofthewaysinwhichdifferentformsofintelligenceoverlapandinteractwithoneanother,revealingitsdynamicnature.IntelligenceTestingIntelligenceTestingBinet-SimonScaleDuringtheearly1900s,theFrenchgovernmentenlistedthehelpofpsychologistAlfredBinettounderstandwhichchildrenweregoingtobeslowerlearnersandthusrequiremoreassistanceintheclassroom(Binetetal.,1912).Asaresult,heandhiscolleague,TheodoreSimon,begantodevelopaspecificsetofquestionsthatfocusedonareassuchasmemoryandproblem-solvingskills.Theytestedthesequestionsongroupsofstudentsagedthreetotwelvetohelpstandardizethemeasure(Binetetal.,1912).Binetrealizedthatsomechildrenwereabletoansweradvancedquestionsthattheirolderpeerswereabletoanswer.Asaresult,hecreatedtheconceptofamentalage,orhowwellanindividualperformsintellectuallyrelativetotheaverageperformanceatthatage(Cherry,2020).Ultimately,Binetfinalizedthescale,knownastheBinet-Simonscale,thatbecamethebasisfortheintelligencetestsstillusedtoday.TheBinet-Simonscaleof1905comprised30itemsdesignedtomeasurejudgment,comprehension,andreasoningwhichBinetdeemedthekeycharacteristicsofintelligence.Stanford-BinetIntelligenceScaleWhentheBinet-SimonscalemadeitswayovertotheUnitedStates,StanfordpsychologistLewisTermanadaptedthetestforAmericanstudents,andpublishedtheStanford-BinetIntelligenceScalein1916(Cherry,2020).TheStanford-BinetScaleisacontemporaryassessmentwhich measuresintelligenceaccordingtofivefeaturesofcognitiveability, includingfluidreasoning,knowledge,quantitativereasoning,visual-spatialprocessingandworkingmemory.Bothverbalandnonverbalresponsesaremeasured.Thistestusedasinglenumber,referredtoastheintelligencequotient(IQ)toindicateanindividual’sscore.Theaveragescoreforthetestis100,andanyscorefrom90to109isconsideredtobeintheaverageintelligencerange.Scorefrom110to119areconsideredtobeHighAverage.Superiorscoresrangefrom120to129andanythingover130isconsideredVerySuperior.TocalculateIQ,thestudent’smentalageisdividedbyhisorheractual(orchronological)age,andthisresultismultipliedby100.Ifyourmentalageisequaltoyourchronologicalage,youwillhaveanIQof100,oraverage.If,however,yourmentalageis,say,12,butyourchronologicalageisonly10,youwillhaveanabove-averageIQof120.WISCandWAISJustastheoriesofintelligencebuildoffoneanother,intelligencetestsdotoo.AfterTermancreatedStanford-Binettest,AmericanpsychologistDavidWechslerdevelopedanewtoolduetohisdissatisfactionwiththelimitationsoftheStanford-Binettest(Cherry,2020).JustlikeThurstone,Gardner,andSternberg,WechslerbelievedthatintelligenceinvolvedmanydifferentmentalabilitiesandfeltthattheStanford-Binetscaletoocloselyreflectedtheideaofonegeneralintelligence.Becauseofthis,WechslercreatedtheWechslerIntelligenceScaleforChildren(WISC)andtheWechslerAdultIntelligenceScale(WAIS)in1955,withthemostup-to-dateversionbeingtheWAIS-IV(Cherry,2020).TheWechslerIntelligenceScaleforChildren(WISC),developedbyDavidWechsler,isanIQtestdesignedtomeasureintelligenceandcognitiveabilityinchildrenbetweentheagesof6and16.Itiscurrentlyinitsfourthedition(WISC-V)releasedin2014byPearson.AboveImage:WISC-IVSampleTestQuestionTheWechslerAdultIntelligenceScale(WAIS),isanIQtestdesignedtomeasurecognitiveabilityinadultsandolderadolescents,including verbalcomprehension,perceptualreasoning,workingmemory,andprocessingspeed.ThelatestversionoftheWechslerAdultIntelligenceScale(WAIS-IV)wasstandardizedon2,200healthypeoplebetweentheagesof16and90years(Brooksetal.,2011).ThestandardizationofatestinvolvesgivingittoalargenumberofpeopleatdifferentagesinordertocomputetheaveragescoreonthetestateachagelevelTheoverallIQscorecombinesthetesttakers’performanceinallfourcategories(Cherry,2020).Andratherthancalculatingthisnumberbasedonmentalandchronologicalage,theWAIScomparestheindividual’sscoretotheaveragescoreatthatlevel,ascalculatedbythestandardizationprocess.TheFlynnEffectTheFlynnEffectItisimportanttoregularlystandardizeanintelligencetestbecausetheoveralllevelofintelligenceinapopulationmaychangeovertime.ThisphenomenonisknownastheFlynneffect(namedafteritsdiscoverer,NewZealandresearcherJamesFlynn)whichreferstotheobservationthatscoresonintelligencetestsworldwideincreasefromdecadetodecade(Flynn,1984).Aptitudevs.AchievementTestsAptitudevs.AchievementTestOthertests,suchasaptitudeandachievementtests,aredesignedtomeasureintellectualcapability.Achievementtestsmeasurewhatcontentastudenthasalreadylearned(suchasaunittestinhistoryorafinalmathexam),whereasanaptitudetestmeasuresastudent’spotentialorabilitytolearn(Anastasi,1984).AlthoughthismaysoundsimilartoanIQtest,aptitudeteststypicallymeasureabilitiesinveryspecificareas.CriticismofIntelligenceTestingCriticismofIntelligenceTestingCriticismshaverangedfromtheclaimthatIQtestsarebiasedinfavorofwhite,middle-classpeople.Negativestereotypesaboutaperson’sethnicity,gender,oragemaycausethepersontosufferstereotypethreat,aburdenofdoubtabouthisorherownabilities,whichcancreateanxietythatresultinlowerscores.ReliabilityandConstructValidityReliabilityandConstructValidityAlthoughyoumaybewonderingifyoutakeanintelligencetestmultipletimeswillyouimproveyourscoreandwhetherthesetestsevenmeasureintelligenceinthefirstplace,researchprovidesreassurancethatthesetestsarebothveryreliableandhavehighconstructvalidity. Reliabilitysimplymeansthattheyareconsistentovertime.Inotherwords,ifyoutakeatestattwodifferentpointsintime,therewillbeverylittlechangeinperformanceor,inthecaseofintelligencetests,IQscore. Althoughthisisn’taperfectscienceandyourscoremightslightlyfluctuatewhentakingthesametestondifferentoccasionsordifferenttestsatthesameage,IQtestsdemonstraterelativelyhighreliability(Tuma&Appelbaum,1980). Additionally,intelligencetestsalsorevealstrongconstructvalidity,meaningthattheyare,infact,measuringintelligenceratherthansomethingelse. Researchershavespenthoursonenddeveloping,standardizing,andadaptingtheseteststobestfitintothecurrenttimes.Butthatisalsonottosaythatthesetestsarecompletelyflawless. Researchdocumentserrorswiththespecificscoringoftests,interpretationofthemultiplescores(sincetypicallyanindividualwillreceiveanoverallIQscoreaccompaniedbyseveralcategory-specificscores),andsomestudiesquestiontheactualvalidity,reliability,andutilityforindividualclinicaluseofthesetests(Canivez,2013). Additionally,intelligencescoresarecreatedtoreflectdifferenttheoriesofintelligence,sotheinterpretationsmaybeheavilybasedonthetheoryuponwhichthetestisbased(Canivez,2013). CulturalSpecificityCulturalSpecificityThereareissueswithintelligencetestsbeyondlookingattheminavacuum. Thesetestswerecreatedbywesternpsychologistswhocreatedsuchtoolstomeasureeuro-centricvalues.  Butitisimportanttorecognizethatthemajorityoftheworld’spopulationdoesnotresideinEuropeorNorthAmerica,andasaresult,theculturalspecificityofthesetestsiscrucial.  Differentculturesholddifferentvaluesandevenhavedifferentperceptionsofintelligence,soisitfairtohaveoneuniversalmarkerofthisincreasinglycomplexconcept?  Forexample,a1992studyfoundthatKenyanparentsdefinedintelligenceastheabilitytodowithoutbeingtoldwhatneededtobedonearoundthehomestead(Harknessetal.,1992),and,giventheAmericanandEuropeanemphasisonspeed,someUgandansdefineintelligentpeopleasbeingslowinthoughtandaction(Wober,1974).  Together,theseexamplesillustratetheflexibilityofdefiningintelligence,makingitevenmorechallengingtocapturethisconceptinasingletest,letaloneasinglenumber. AndevenwithintheU.S.doperceptionsofintelligencediffer.  AnexampleisinSanJose,California,whereLatino,Asian,andAngloparentshadvaryingdefinitionsofintelligence. Theteachers’understandingofintelligencewasmoresimilartothatoftheAsianandAnglocommunities,andthissimilarityactuallypredictedthechild’sperformanceinschool(Okagaki&Sternberg,1993).  Thatis,studentswhosefamilieshadmoresimilarunderstandingsofintelligenceweredoingbetterintheclassroom.  Intelligencetakesmanyforms,rangingfromcountrytocountryandculturetoculture. AlthoughIQtestsmighthavehighreliabilityandvalidity,understandingtheroleofcultureisas,ifnotmore,importantinformingthebiggerpictureofanindividual’sintelligence.   IQtestsmayaccuratelymeasureacademicintelligence,butmoreresearchmustbedonetodiscernwhethertheytrulymeasurepracticalintelligence,orevenjustgeneralintelligenceinallcultures. SocialandEnvironmentalFactorsSocialandEnvironmentalFactorsAnotherimportantpartofthepuzzletoconsideristhesocialandenvironmentalcontextinwhichanindividuallivesandtheIQtest-relatedbiasesthatdevelopasaresult. Thesemighthelpexplainwhysomeindividualshavelowerscoresthanothers.Forexample,thethreatofsocialexclusioncangreatlydecreasetheexpressionofintelligence. A2002studygaveparticipantsanIQtestandapersonalityinventory,andsomewererandomlychosentoreceivefeedbackfromtheinventoryindicatingthattheywere“thesortofpeoplewhowouldendupaloneinlife”(Baumeisteretal.,2002). Afterasecondtest,thosewhoweretoldtheywouldbelovelessandfriendlessinthefutureansweredsignificantlyfewerquestionsthantheydidontheearliertest. Andthesefindingscantranslateintotherealworldwherenotonlythethreatofsocialexclusioncandecreasetheexpressionofintelligencebutalsoaperceivedthreattophysicalsafety. Inotherwords,achild’spooracademicperformancecanbeattributedtothedisadvantaged,potentiallyunsafe,communitiesinwhichtheygrowup. StereotypeThreatStereotypeThreatStereotypethreatisaphenomenoninwhichpeoplefeelatriskofconformingtostereotypesabouttheirsocialgroup.Negativestereotypescanalsocreateanxietythatresultinlowerscores. Inonestudy,BlackandWhitecollegestudentsweregivenpartoftheverbalsectionfromtheGraduateRecordExam(GRE),butinthestereotypethreatcondition,theytoldstudentsthetestdiagnosedintellectualability,thuspotentiallymakingthestereotypethatBlacksarelessintelligentthanWhitessalient. Theresultsofthisstudyrevealedthatinthestereotypethreatcondition,BlacksperformedworsethanWhites,butinthenostereotypethreatcondition,BlacksandWhitesperformedequallywell(Steele&Aronson,1995). Andevenjustrecordingyourracecanalsoresultinworsenedperformance.Stereotypethreatisarealthreatandcanbedetrimentaltoanindividual’sperformanceonthesetests. Self-FulfillingProphecySelf-FulfillingProphecyStereotypethreatiscloselyrelatedtotheconceptofaself-fulfillingprophecyinwhichanindividual’sexpectationsaboutanotherpersoncanresultintheotherpersonactinginwaysthatconformtothatveryexpectation. Inoneexperiment,studentsinaCaliforniaelementaryschoolweregivenanIQtestafterwhichtheirteachersweregiventhenamesofstudentswhowouldbecome"intellectualbloomers"thatyearbasedontheresultsofthetest(Rosenthal&Jacobson,1968). Attheendofthestudy,thestudentsweretestedagainwiththesameIQtest,andthosewhowerelabeledas“intellectualbloomers”hadsignificantincreasesintheirscores. Thisillustratesthatteachersmaysubconsciouslybehaveinwaysthatencouragethesuccessofcertainstudents,thusinfluencingtheirachievement(Rosenthal&Jacobson,1968),andprovidesanotherexampleofsmallvariablesthatcanplayaroleinanindividual’sintelligencescoreandthedevelopmentoftheirintelligence. Thisisalltosaythatitisimportanttoconsiderthelessvisiblefactorsthatplayaroleindeterminingsomeone’sintelligence.WhileanIQscorehasmanybenefitsinmeasuringintelligence,itiscriticaltoconsiderthatjustbecausesomeonehasalowerscore,doesnotnecessarilymeantheyarelowerinintelligence. Therearemanyfactorsthatcanworsenperformanceonthesetests,andtheteststhemselvesmightnotevenbeaccuratelymeasuringtheveryconcepttheyareintendedto. ExtremesofIntelligenceExtremesofIntelligenceIQscoresaregenerallynormallydistributed(Mooreetal.,2013).Thatis,roughly95%ofthepopulationhasIQscoresbetween70and130.Butwhatabouttheother5%? Individualswhofalloutsidethisrangerepresenttheextremesofintelligence. ThosewhohaveanIQabove130areconsideredtobegifted(Lally&French,2018),suchasChristopherLangan,anAmericanhorserancher,whohasanIQscorearound200(Gladwell,2008).Thoseindividualswhohavescoresbelow70dosobecauseofanintellectualdisability,markedbysubstantialdevelopmentaldelays,includingmotor,cognitive,andspeechdelays(DeLight,2012). Someofthetime,thesedisabilitiesaretheproductofgeneticmutations. Downsyndrome,forexample,resultingfromextrageneticmaterialfromoracompleteextracopyofthe21stchromosome,isacommongeneticcauseofanintellectualdisability(Breslin,2014).Assuch,manyindividualswithdownsyndromehavebelowaverageIQscores(Breslin,2014). Savantsyndromeisanotherexampleofanextremeofintelligence.Despitehavingsignificantmentaldisabilities,theseindividualsdemonstratecertainabilitiesinsomefieldsthatarefaraboveaverage,suchasincrediblememorization,rapidmathematicalorcalendarcalculationability,oradvancedmusicaltalent(Treffert,2009).Thefactthattheseindividualswhomaybelackingincertainareassuchassocialinteractionandcommunicationmakeupforitinotherremarkableareas,furtherillustratesthecomplexityofintelligenceandwhatthisconceptmeanstoday,aswellashowwemustconsiderallindividualswhendetermininghowtoperceive,measure,andrecognizeintelligenceinoursociety.IntelligenceTodayIntelligenceTodayToday,intelligenceisgenerallyunderstoodastheabilitytounderstandandadapttotheenvironmentbyusinginheritedabilitiesandlearnedknowledge. ;Manynewintelligencetestshavearisen,suchastheUniversityofCaliforniaMatrixReasoningTask(Pahoretal.,2019),thatcanbetakenonlineandinverylittletime,andnewmethodsofscoringthesetestshavebeendevelopedtoo(Sansoneetal.,2014). Admissionintouniversityandgraduateschoolsrelyonspecificaptitudeandachievementtests,suchastheSAT,ACT,andtheLSAT–thesetestshavebecomeahugepartofourlives.Humansareincrediblyintelligentbeingsandwerelyonourintellectualabilitieseveryday.Althoughintelligencecanbedefinedandmeasuredincountlessways,ouroverallintelligenceasaspeciesmakesusincrediblyuniqueandhasallowedustothriveforgenerationsonend.AbouttheAuthorCharlotteRuhlisamemberoftheClassof2022atHarvardUniversity.ShestudiesPsychologywithaminorinAfricanAmericanStudies.Oncampus,Charlotteworksatanimplicitsocialcognitionresearchlab,isaneditorfortheundergraduatelawreview,andplayssoftball.Howtoreferencethisarticle:Howtoreferencethisarticle:Ruhl,C.(2020,July16).Intelligence:definition,theoriesandtesting.SimplyPsychology.www.simplypsychology.org/intelligence.htmlAPAStyleReferencesAnastasi,A.(1984).7.AptitudeandAchievementTests:TheCuriousCaseoftheIndestructibleStrawperson. Baumeister,R.F.,Twenge,J.M.,&Nuss,C.K.(2002).Effectsofsocialexclusiononcognitiveprocesses:anticipatedalonenessreducesintelligentthought.Journalofpersonalityandsocialpsychology,83(4),817. Binet,A.,Simon,T.,&Simon,T.(1912).Amethodofmeasuringthedevelopmentoftheintelligenceofyoungchildren.ChicagomedicalbookCompany. Breslin,J.,Spanò,G.,Bootzin,R.,Anand,P.,Nadel,L.,&Edgin,J.(2014).ObstructivesleepapneasyndromeandcognitioninDownsyndrome.DevelopmentalMedicine&ChildNeurology,56(7),657-664. Brooks,B.L.,Holdnack,J.A.,&Iverson,G.L.(2011).AdvancedclinicalinterpretationoftheWAIS-IVandWMS-IV:Prevalenceoflowscoresvariesbylevelofintelligenceandyearsofeducation.Assessment,18(2),156-167. Canivez,G.L.(2013).Psychometricversusactuarialinterpretationofintelligenceandrelatedaptitudebatteries. Cattell,R.B.(1963).Theoryoffluidandcrystallizedintelligence:Acriticalexperiment.Journalofeducationalpsychology,54(1),1. Cherry,K.(2020).WhyAlfredBinetDevelopedIQTestingforStudents.Retrievedfromhttps://www.verywellmind.com/history-of-intelligence-testing-2795581 Crowther-Heyck,H.(2005).HerbertA.Simon:TheboundsofreasoninmodernAmerica.JHUPress. DeLigt,J.,Willemsen,M.H.,VanBon,B.W.,Kleefstra,T.,Yntema,H.G.,Kroes,T.,...&delRosario,M.(2012).Diagnosticexomesequencinginpersonswithsevereintellectualdisability.NewEnglandJournalofMedicine,367(20),1921-1929. Flynn,J.R.(1984).ThemeanIQofAmericans:Massivegains1932to1978.Psychologicalbulletin,95(1),29. Gardner,H.(1983).FramesofMind.NewYork:BasicBooks.Gardner,H.(1987).Thetheoryofmultipleintelligence.AnnalsOfDyslexia,37,19-35 Gignac,G.E.,&Watkins,M.W.(2013).Bifactormodelingandtheestimationofmodel-basedreliabilityintheWAIS-IV.MultivariateBehavioralResearch,48(5),639-662. Gladwell,M.(2008).Outliers:Thestoryofsuccess.Little,Brown.Harkness,S.,Super,C.,&Keefer,C.(1992).Cultureandethnicity:InM.Levine,W.Carey&A.Crocker(Eds.),Developmental-behavioralpediatrics(pp.103-108). Horn,J.L.,&Cattell,R.B.(1966).Refinementandtestofthetheoryoffluidandcrystallizedgeneralintelligences.JournalofEducationalPsychology,57,253-270. Jensen,A.R.(1982).Reactiontimeandpsychometricg.InAmodelforintelligence(pp.93-132).Springer,Berlin,Heidelberg.HeidelberKalat,J.W.(2014).IntroductiontoPsychology,10thEdition.CengageLearning. Lally,M.,&French,S.V.(2018).IntroductiontoPsychology.Canada:CollegeofLakeCountyFoundation,176-212. Mayer,J.D.,Caruso,D.R.,&Salovey,P.(1999).Emotionalintelligencemeetstraditionalstandardsforanintelligence.Intelligence,27(4),267-298. Moore,D.S.,Notz,W.I,&Flinger,M.A.(2013).Thebasicpracticeofstatistics(6thed.).NewYork,NY:W.H.FreemanandCompany. Okagaki,L.,&Sternberg,R.J.(1993).Parentalbeliefsandchildren'sschoolperformance.ChildDevelopment,64(1),36-56. Pahor,A.,Stavropoulos,T.,Jaeggi,S.M.,&Seitz,A.R.(2019).Validationofamatrixreasoningtaskformobiledevices.BehaviorResearchMethods,51(5),2256-2267. Rosenthal,R.,&Jacobson,L.(1968).Pygmalionintheclassroom.Theurbanreview,3(1),16-20. Salovey,P.,&Mayer,J.D.(1990).Emotionalintelligence.Imagination,CognitionandPersonality,9(3),185-211. Sansone,S.M.,Schneider,A.,Bickel,E.,Berry-Kravis,E.,Prescott,C.,&Hessl,D.(2014).ImprovingIQmeasurementinintellectualdisabilitiesusinNtruedeviationfrompopulationnorms.JournalofNeurodevelopmentalDisorders,6(1),16. Spearmen,C.(1904).Generalintelligenceobjectivelydeterminedandmeasured.AmericanJournalofPsychology,15,107-197. Steele,C.M.,&Aronson,J.(1995).StereotypethreatandtheintellectualtestperformanceofAfrican-Americans.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,69,797-811. Sternberg,R.J.(1985).BeyondIQ:Atriarchictheoryofhumanintelligence.CUPArchive. Sternberg,R.J.(1997).Theconceptofintelligenceanditsroleinlifelonglearningandsuccess.Americanpsychologist,52(10),1030.Sternberg,R.J.(2003).Contemporarytheoriesofintelligence.Handbookofpsychology,21-45. Treffert,D.A.(2009).Thesavantsyndrome:anextraordinarycondition.Asynopsis:past,present,future.PhilosophicalTransactionsoftheRoyalSocietyB:BiologicalSciences,364(1522),1351-1357. Thomson,G.(1947).CharlesSpearman,1863-1945.Tuma,J.M.,&Appelbaum,A.S.(1980).ReliabilityandpracticeeffectsofWISC-RIQestimatesinanormalpopulation.EducationalandPsychologicalMeasurement,40(3),671-678. Wober,J.M.(1971).TowardsanunderstandingoftheKigandaco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