Brief Introduction to Theories of Intelligence
THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
• According to Wechsler (1958), “intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment.” The different definitions of intelligence basically deal with three aspects, ie., ability to adjust to total environment , ability to learn and the ability to carry on abstract thinking.
FACTOR THEORIS OF INTELLIGENCE-
The centre point of discussion of factor theories is whether intelligence is a single characteristic or a collection of specific distinguishable abilities. The technique adopted by these theories is known as factor analysis. It is a way of identifying groups of abilities or behaviours or traits that are related to one another. Following are the factor theories of intelligence; *G-factor theory *Multifactor Theories *Hierarchical Theory
G-FACTOR THEORY
The British psychologist Charles Spearman observed that people who scored well on one test of mental ability tended to score well on other tests (Spearman,1927).He believed that performance on any cognitive task depended on a primary general factor (which he termed as g factor) and one or more specific factors relating to particular tasks.
Spearman, the originator of factor analysis based this view on the following findings: Although tests of intelligence often contain different kinds of items designed to measure different aspects of intelligence, scores on these items often correlate highly with one another. This fact suggested to him that no matter how intelligence was measured, it was related to a single, primary factor.
According to Spearman, a person would be described as bright or generally dull depending upon the amount of g. Moreover, G factor is the major dominant of performance on intelligence test items. In addition special factors
• According to Wechsler (1958), “intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment.” The different definitions of intelligence basically deal with three aspects, ie., ability to adjust to total environment , ability to learn and the ability to carry on abstract thinking.
FACTOR THEORIS OF INTELLIGENCE-
The centre point of discussion of factor theories is whether intelligence is a single characteristic or a collection of specific distinguishable abilities. The technique adopted by these theories is known as factor analysis. It is a way of identifying groups of abilities or behaviours or traits that are related to one another. Following are the factor theories of intelligence; *G-factor theory *Multifactor Theories *Hierarchical Theory
G-FACTOR THEORY
The British psychologist Charles Spearman observed that people who scored well on one test of mental ability tended to score well on other tests (Spearman,1927).He believed that performance on any cognitive task depended on a primary general factor (which he termed as g factor) and one or more specific factors relating to particular tasks.
Spearman, the originator of factor analysis based this view on the following findings: Although tests of intelligence often contain different kinds of items designed to measure different aspects of intelligence, scores on these items often correlate highly with one another. This fact suggested to him that no matter how intelligence was measured, it was related to a single, primary factor.
According to Spearman, a person would be described as bright or generally dull depending upon the amount of g. Moreover, G factor is the major dominant of performance on intelligence test items. In addition special factors