CHAPTER 8: INTELLIGENCE
What is intelligence?
The ability to solve problems and to adapt to and learn from life’s everyday experiences
The ability to solve problems
The capacity to adapt and learn from experiences
Includes characteristics such as creativity and interpersonal skills
The mental abilities that enable one to adapt to, shape, or select one’s environment
The ability to judge, comprehend, and reason
The ability to understand and deal with people, objects, and symbols
The ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment
As you think about what intelligence is, you should ask the following questions:
To what extent is intelligence genetic?
To what extent is intelligence stable?
How do cognitive abilities interact with other aspects of functioning?
Are there true sex differences?
Is intelligence a global capacity (similar to “good health”) or can it be differentiated into various
dimensions (called “factors” or “aptitudes”)?
Are there a number of “intelligences”?
How do you measure intelligence?
Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Measure of intelligence that takes into account a child’s mental and
chronological age
IQ Score = MA / CA x 100
Mental age (MA): the typical intelligence level found for people at a given chronological age
Chronological age (CA): the actual age of the child taking the intelligence test
People whose mental age is equal to their chronological age will always have an IQ of 100. If the
chronological age exceeds mental age – below-average intelligence (below 100). If the mental
age exceed the chronological age – above-average intelligence (above 100).
, The normal distribution: most of the population falls in the middle range of scores between 84 and 116.
• Very Superior Intelligence (gifted) - Above 130 • Borderline Intellectual Functioning - 71 to 79
• Superior Intelligence - 120 to 129 • Mild Mental Retardation - 55 to 70
• High Average Intelligence - 110 to 119 • Moderate Retardation - 40 to 54
• Average Intelligence - 90 to 109 • Severe Mental Retardation - 25 to 39
• Low Average Intelligence - 80 to 89 • Profound Mental Retardation - Below 25
Intelligence tests were developed for the practical function of selecting students for admission or placement in
schools. Originally these tests were not based on any theory of intelligence. They defined intelligence as the
ability to do well in school.
Stanford-Binet
This test was developed to identify children who had serious intellectual difficulties -- such that they would
not succeed in the public school system and who should not be placed in the same classes with other
students. This test measured things that were necessary for school success such as understanding and using
language, computational skills, memory, and the ability to follow instructions.
Individual responses in four content areas -
Verbal reasoning
Quantitative reasoning
Abstract/visual reasoning
Short-term memory
Wechsler Scales
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III): Used with people 17 and older
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III): Used with children 6 to 16
Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner)
Gardner thinks there are eight types of intelligence. He believes each of us have all of the eight types of
intelligence to varying degrees. These multiple intelligences are related to how an individual prefers to
learn and process information.
Verbal skills: The ability to think in words and use language to express meaning
o Sensitivity to the meanings and sounds of words, mastery of syntax, appreciation of the ways
language can be used (authors, journalists, speakers, poets, teachers)
Mathematical skills: The ability to carry out mathematical operations
o Understanding of objects and symbols and of actions that be performed on them and of the
relations between these actions, ability for abstraction, ability to identify problems and seek
explanations (scientists, engineers, accountants)
Spatial skills: The ability to think three-dimensionally
o Capacity to perceive the visual world accurately, to perform transformations upon perceptions
and to re-create aspects of visual experience in the absence of physical stimuli, sensitivity to
tension, balance, and composition, ability to detect similar patterns (architects, artists, sailors,
chess masters)
Bodily-kinesthetic skills: The ability to manipulate objects and be physically adept
o Use of one’s body in highly skilled ways for expressive or goal-directed purposes, capacity to
handle objects skillfully (surgeons, craftspeople, dancers, athletes, actors)
What is intelligence?
The ability to solve problems and to adapt to and learn from life’s everyday experiences
The ability to solve problems
The capacity to adapt and learn from experiences
Includes characteristics such as creativity and interpersonal skills
The mental abilities that enable one to adapt to, shape, or select one’s environment
The ability to judge, comprehend, and reason
The ability to understand and deal with people, objects, and symbols
The ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment
As you think about what intelligence is, you should ask the following questions:
To what extent is intelligence genetic?
To what extent is intelligence stable?
How do cognitive abilities interact with other aspects of functioning?
Are there true sex differences?
Is intelligence a global capacity (similar to “good health”) or can it be differentiated into various
dimensions (called “factors” or “aptitudes”)?
Are there a number of “intelligences”?
How do you measure intelligence?
Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Measure of intelligence that takes into account a child’s mental and
chronological age
IQ Score = MA / CA x 100
Mental age (MA): the typical intelligence level found for people at a given chronological age
Chronological age (CA): the actual age of the child taking the intelligence test
People whose mental age is equal to their chronological age will always have an IQ of 100. If the
chronological age exceeds mental age – below-average intelligence (below 100). If the mental
age exceed the chronological age – above-average intelligence (above 100).
, The normal distribution: most of the population falls in the middle range of scores between 84 and 116.
• Very Superior Intelligence (gifted) - Above 130 • Borderline Intellectual Functioning - 71 to 79
• Superior Intelligence - 120 to 129 • Mild Mental Retardation - 55 to 70
• High Average Intelligence - 110 to 119 • Moderate Retardation - 40 to 54
• Average Intelligence - 90 to 109 • Severe Mental Retardation - 25 to 39
• Low Average Intelligence - 80 to 89 • Profound Mental Retardation - Below 25
Intelligence tests were developed for the practical function of selecting students for admission or placement in
schools. Originally these tests were not based on any theory of intelligence. They defined intelligence as the
ability to do well in school.
Stanford-Binet
This test was developed to identify children who had serious intellectual difficulties -- such that they would
not succeed in the public school system and who should not be placed in the same classes with other
students. This test measured things that were necessary for school success such as understanding and using
language, computational skills, memory, and the ability to follow instructions.
Individual responses in four content areas -
Verbal reasoning
Quantitative reasoning
Abstract/visual reasoning
Short-term memory
Wechsler Scales
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III): Used with people 17 and older
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III): Used with children 6 to 16
Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner)
Gardner thinks there are eight types of intelligence. He believes each of us have all of the eight types of
intelligence to varying degrees. These multiple intelligences are related to how an individual prefers to
learn and process information.
Verbal skills: The ability to think in words and use language to express meaning
o Sensitivity to the meanings and sounds of words, mastery of syntax, appreciation of the ways
language can be used (authors, journalists, speakers, poets, teachers)
Mathematical skills: The ability to carry out mathematical operations
o Understanding of objects and symbols and of actions that be performed on them and of the
relations between these actions, ability for abstraction, ability to identify problems and seek
explanations (scientists, engineers, accountants)
Spatial skills: The ability to think three-dimensionally
o Capacity to perceive the visual world accurately, to perform transformations upon perceptions
and to re-create aspects of visual experience in the absence of physical stimuli, sensitivity to
tension, balance, and composition, ability to detect similar patterns (architects, artists, sailors,
chess masters)
Bodily-kinesthetic skills: The ability to manipulate objects and be physically adept
o Use of one’s body in highly skilled ways for expressive or goal-directed purposes, capacity to
handle objects skillfully (surgeons, craftspeople, dancers, athletes, actors)
