Mental Ability 1 - 4
Mental Ability 1 - 4
Mental Ability 1 - 4
INDORE
Unit 4 Creativity and Intelligence, Creativity and Personality, Creativity and Motivation,
Creativity and Culture, Creativity in Everyday Life. Assessment of Creativity: Projective-
Inkblot, Word Association; Psychometric BatteriesTorrance, Guilford. Creativity in eminent
people. Enhancing Creativity: Programs and Strategies.
Suggested Readings: Anastasi, A. (1988). Psychological Testing (6thEd.). New York: McMillan.
Cattell, R.B. (1987). Intelligence: Its Structure, Growth, and Action. North Holland: Amsterdam
Eysenck, H.J. (1982). A Model for Intelligence. New York: Springer-Verlag
Intelligence
Intelligence is one of the most talked about subject in psychology, there is no standard
definition of what exactly constitute intelligence. Some researcher have suggested that
intelligence is a single, general ability, while other believes that intelligence encompasses a
range of aptitude, skills and talent.
Cognitive approaches to intelligence seeks to discover the internal processes that account
for intelligent behaviour. There is some evidence to suggest that performance on traditional
tests of mental ability might be related to the speed of processing among neurons in the
brain. The multiple intelligence approach of Howard Gardner and the triarchic th eory of
Robert Sternberg suggests that the concept of intelligence must be defined broadly. We
cannot rely entirely on things such as academic ability to define intelligence.
Definitions of Intelligence
According to Freeman, "Intelligence can be defined as the faculty with which the subject-
matter of experience can be organized into new patterns."
The true nature of intelligence can be understood by first defining it to understand its
meaning, describing various theories, explaining its structure in terms of the several
constituents and factors and identifying the numerous other aspects and characteristics
related to intelligence and its functioning.
1. Adjustment,
3. Abstract thinking
Nickerson, Perknis and Smith (1985) have complied the following list of abilities that they
believe represent human intelligence.
The ability to classify patterns: eg. telephone refers to a wide class of objects used for long-
distance electronic communication.
(ii) The ability to modify behaviour adaptively to learn: Many theorists consider adapting to
one's environment the most important mark of human intelligence.
ii) The ability to reason deductively-Deductive reasoning involves making logical inferences
from stated premises.
2. He is able to concentrate and keep his attention focused for a longer period of time.
3. Adjusts in a new and unaccustomed situation rapidly and with less confusion and with
fewer false moves.
7. He has greater capacity of inhibition and delay is capable of exercising self criticism.
Historical views
2300 years ago, the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle made our first reference to
something close to the idea of intelligence, but he called it “reason.”
Reason, according to Aristotle, was about humans’ ability to reign in their passions, i.e., our
ability to resist the urge of our instincts. This was what separated us from the animals:
humans had reason, beasts did not.
Now, come the 1600s, thinkers still described reason as this “all or none” ability, but 200
years later with Charles Darwin behind the pen, we get the notion that there may
be degrees to this “reason”–which he now calls “mental powers.”
To Darwin, reason could be broken down into gradations, where some people have more
and some have less. The idea was based on Darwin’s observations of evolution, and how
“mental powers” were greater in more evolved species.
When the word intelligence is finally introduced by the physiologist, George Romanes,
it remains heavily influenced by its evolutionary origins. Intelligence, now, means
“adaptability.” Or in other words, the better a person is able to adapt (i.e. succeed) in their
environment, the more “intelligent” they were.
With the turn of the 19th century and the introduction of the Industrial Age, this idea of
intelligence as adaptability became more specific. Now, with the standardization of factory
work and the specialization of occupations, it was much easier to quantify “adaptability.”
Because people were doing very similar jobs, it was easy to compare those who succeeded
versus those who didn’t.
And at this point, Francis Galton narrows the definition of intelligence even
further: people’s ability to gain reputation and success in a professional endeavor,
particularly, scholarly ones.
In 1903, Alfred Binet published his methods for an “intelligence test,” and its application to
schools became quickly apparent–so much so, that classrooms themselves were altered
and standardized to foster a better testing environment for determining students’
intelligence (e.g., that’s why certain class content is mandatory; there are set lengths of
times for each class).
A few years after intelligence testing burst onto the scene, World War I broke out, and
America, who had a relatively small army at the time, began to mass enlist people into the
military. However, this proved a terrible mess for military officials because they had no way
to categorize new recruits’ aptitude for different jobs.
But before then, intelligence tests consisted of intensive, one-on-one interviews with a
psychological professional, so applying this test to millions of recruits simply wasn’t
feasible.
To resolve this, researchers created a standardized, multiple choice test that could spit out
a number that told you a person’s “intelligence.”
Since then, our society often tends to equate intelligence with IQ, but still, this only gets us
back to the quote that opened this post.
• Neurological Foundation,
• Genetic Basis,
• Environmental Influences.
• Racial and Gender differences.
Neurological Foundation
Exploring the relationships between human intelligence and the brain requires a careful
consideration of the structure of human intelligence.
Other, and related, research has examined metabolic activity in the brain during cognitive
tasks (e.g., Haier et al., 1993). Presumably, if intelligence is related to efficient brain
functioning, then the more intelligent people are, the less energy their brains should expend
while working on various tasks. This prediction, too, has been confirmed: The brains of
persons scoring highest on written measures of intellectual ability do expend less energy
when these individuals perform complex cognitive tasks.
The data in these studies have been gathered using the PET technique of brain imaging
Finally, some findings suggest that there is a link between brain structure and intelligence
(Andreasonet al., 1993).
Specifically, scores on standard measures of intelligence such as the WAIS are related to the
size of certain portions of the brain, including the left and right temporal lobes and the left
and right hippocampus. Moreover, this is true even when corrections are made for
individuals' overall physical size. In sum, it appears that the improved methods now
available for studying the brain and nervous system are beginning to establish the kind of
links between intelligence and physical structures that psychologists have long suspected to
exist. Such research is very recent, so it is still too soon to reach firm conclusions
The evidence for hereditary influences on intelligence comes mainly from studies on twins
and adopted children. The intelligence of identical twins reared together correlate almost
0.90. Twins separated early in childhood also show considerable similarity in their
intellectual, personality and behavioural characteristics. The intelligence of identical twins
reared in different environments correlate 0.72, those of fraternal twins reared together
correlate almost 0.60, and those of brothers and sisters reared together correlate about
0.50, while siblings reared apart correlate about 0.25. Another line of evidence comes from
the studies of adopted children, which show that children's intelligence is more similar to
their biological rather than adoptive parents.
With respect to the role of environment, studies have reported that as children grow in age,
their intelligence level tends to move closer to that of their adoptive parents. Children from
disadvantaged homes adopted into families with higher socioeconomic status exhibit a
large increase in their intelligence scores. There is evidence that environmental deprivation
lowers intelligence while rich nutrition, good family background, and quality schooling
increases intelligence. There is a general consensus among psychologists that intelligence is
a product of complex interaction of heredity (nature) and environment (nurture). Heredity
can best be viewed as something that sets a range within which an individual's
development is actually shaped by the support and opportunities of the environment.
Do males and females differ in intelligence? Overall, they score virtually identically on
standard tests of this characteristic (e.g., Lynn, 1994). However, a few subtle differences do
seem to exist with respect to certain components of intelligence.
First, females tend to score higher than males with respect to verbal abilities such tasks as
naming synonyms (words with the same meaning) and verbal fluency (e.g., naming words
that start with a given letter). Females also score higher than males on college achievement
tests in literature, spelling, and writing (e.g., Stanley, 1993). Such differences are relatively
small and seem to be decreasing (Feingold, 1992), but they do appear, even in very careful
meta-analyses performed on the results of many different studies. In contrast, males tend
to score somewhat higher than females on visual-spatial tasks such as mental rotation or
tracking a moving object through space (Law, Pellegrino, & Hunt, 1993). However, gender
differences in performing visual-spatial tasks, like almost all gender differences, are far
smaller than gender stereotypes suggest; so if you do observe any difference, it is likely to
be a small one.
Additional findings suggest that other subtle differences may exist between males and
females with respect to various aspects of intelligence. For instance, consider the following
study by Silverman and Eals (1992). These researchers asked female and male participants
to perform several tasks in a small office. In one condition participants were told to try to
remember the location of various objects in the room; in another no mention was made of
this task. When later asked to name the objects and indicate their locations, women men in
both conditions. However, the difference was larger in the condition in which participants
were not told to remember the information (Azar, 1996).
Other studies, in contrast, indicate that men are better at finding their way back to some
physical location after taking a complex route away from it. What accounts for these
observations? Silverman and Eals suggest that such gender differences may reflect different
kinds of tasks performed by females and males during the evolution of our species. Before
the development of civilization, humans lived by hunting and gathering. Men hunted and
women foraged for edible plants. Silverman and Eals suggest that these tasks required
different spatial abilities. Gatherers (primarily females) needed to be able to notice edible
plants and to pinpoint their location so that they could find them again in the future. In
contrast, hunters (mainly males) needed to be able find their way back home after crossing
large distances. The result, the two psychologists suggest, is that men are better at tasks
such as rotating objects in their minds, while women are better at noticing and
remembering specific objects and their locations. We can't do experiments on the evolution
of our species, however, so we can't know for certain. In any case, it is clear that a few
differences do exist between males and females where certain components of intelligence
are concerned, but that these differences are small in size and subtle in nature.
Racial difference
Regression analyses showed that different factors predicted fluid and crystallized
intelligence, with meta memory predicting the latter but not the former. An implication of
these findings has potential educational significance: training directed at executive skills,
introduce at an early age, might elevate learning and problem-solving skills in black
children, thereby reducing racial differences in crystallized intelligence.
Assessment of Intelligence
Alfred In 1905, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon 905, made the first successful attempt to
formally measure intelligence. In 1908, when the scale was revised, they gave the concept
of Mental Age (MA), which is a measure of a person's intellectual development relative to
people of her/his age group. A mental age of 5 means that a child's performance on an
intelligence test equals the average performance level of a group of 5-year olds.
Chronological Age (CA) is the biological age from birth. A bright child's MA is more than
her/his CA; for a dull child, MA is below the CA. Retardation was defined by Binet and
Simon as being two mental age years below the chronological age.
In 1912 William Stern a German psychologist, devised the concept of Intelligence Quotient
(IQ). IQ refers to mental age divided by chronological age, and multiplied by 100.
IQ x 100
The number 100 is used as a multiplier to avoid the decimal point. When the MA equals the
CA, the IQ equals 100. If MA is more than the CA, IQ is more than 100. IQ becomes less than
100 when the MA is less than the CA. For example, a 10-year-old child with a mental age of
12 would have an 19 of 120 (12/10 × 100).
Theories of Intelligence
Intelligence is a complex concept to define and understand. Its broadness makes it difficult
for psychologist to come up with a determined understanding of the concept. Psychologists
have presented their understanding of the concept of intelligence in psychology through
various theories of intelligence.
Charles Spearman published an epoch-making study in 1904, which indeed proved to be the
crucial step toward quantitative testing of theories, as opposed to simple quantification or
measurement. He used the techniques of correlational analysis and factor analysis, both of
which had been developed carlier by Karl Pearson, in relation to the scores obtained by
groups of children on various intelligence tests. His historical significance can be seen in the
development of the factor analytical method and in its explicit use for the first time.
This high positive correlation between different abilities is attributed to the presence of 'g'
factor in almost similar amount in all these activities or abilities, From the above discussion,
following findings can be arrived.
In view of this, it may be concluded that what we call intelligence is the 'g' factor, which
varies from person to person, where an activity involves more of motor and physical action
and is routinised the 's' factor assumes a greater role.
The g factor according to Spearman can be taken as the general cortical of neural energy at
the disposal of the individual.
The credit for arriving at the first systematic and scientific formulation of a theory of
intelligence goes to Spearman His theory changed the nature of tests of intelligence
Spearman's theories of intelligence are very stimulating and his contribution to the
psychology of intelligence be regarded important mainly for two major reasons.
First, he developed the mathematical model for studying 'g' and for that purpose he laid the
foundation of factor analysis. The logic and method of correlational analysis was afterward
followed by other researchers for developing multi-factorial theories of intelligence.
According to Nunnally, "Spearman was concerned much more with understanding human
abilities than with just measuring them. Spearman had many interesting theories about G,
its biological basis, the influence of culture, the interactions of G with manifestations of
abilities in daily life, and the relation of G to speed, fatigue and other variables."
Among the other critics of Spearman, GH Thomson has argued that the inter correlations
between tests are actually the result of common samplings of independent factors.
Thomson has accordingly proposed a sampling theory, which maintains that every test
samples a certain range of elementary abilities; some with a wide range and some with a
narrow range.
LL Thurstone offered a new factor model in the nineteen thirties. He was one among the
leading psychologist who criticised the Charles Spearman's two factor theory. Using
improved techniques of statistical analysis, he came to vastly different conclusions from
Spearman about nature of intelligence. Thurstone generalised Spearman's methods and
formulas, translated them into matrix algebra and carried out large scale studies, using as
many as fifty-seven tests on one group of subjects. On the basis of these studies he
concluded that instead of Spearman's 'g' factor, seven primary abilities fitted the data much
better.
Numerical Ability 'N' the ability to deal with number and manipulate them.
Reasoning, Ability 'R' the ability to apply logic like induction, deduction and arrive at
conclusion.
Verbal Fluency 'W' competence in language and the use of words, fluently, the ability to
translate procedures, factors and ideas into languages, which in turn promotes better
reasoning.
Verbal Comprehension 'V-A' part from the ability to use and deal with words, the ability to
understand material presented in the form of words.
Perceptual Ability 'P' the ability to perceive situations which are complex with a variety
elements and organise them in order to arrive at a meaningful perception.
Memory 'M'-The ability to remember facts, situations, experiences etc. which often become
relevant to solve a problem or answer a question in the present
Spatial Ability's This relates to the ability to organise space and the stimulation coming
from different directions, coordinate the same integrate one's behaviour.
Today, Thurstone's theory is not used as often in its original but it has served as a basis for
many subsequent theories of intelligence, including hierarchical theories and modem
theories such as Gardner's. Thus, to the extent that a theory is judged by its heuristic value,
Thurstone's has been one of the most important in the field.
Thurstone was responsible for the standardised mean and standard deviation of IQ scores
used today, as opposed to the Intelligence Test System originally used by Alfred Binet. He is
also known for the development of the Thurstone scale. Thurstone work in factor analysis
led him to formulate a model of intelligence center around.
'Primary Mental Abilities', which were independent group factors of intelligence that
different individuals possessed in varying degrees. He opposed the notion of singular
general intelligence that factored into the scores of all psychometric tests and was
expressed as a mental age. In 1935 Thurstone, together with EL Thorndike and JP Guilford
founded the Journal Psychometric and also the psychometric society, going on to become
the society's first President in 1936.
The theory of Intelligence that is most used in 1Q test is Cattell Hom Carroll (CHC) theory, a
combination the Cattell Horn theory of fluid and crystallised agence and Carroll's theory and
Saratum theory the Catell Horn and Carroll models essentially arted from the same point
Spearman's 'g' factor theory.
Though they took different paths they ended up with markably consistent conclusion about
the spectrum cognitive abilities Aforementioned components are abilities organised by the
broad factor with which each in planet below
Crystallised General Ability From the view point of Cattell crystallised general ability, show
itself in jagemental skills that have been acquired by mltural experience vocabulary, good
use of ynonyms, numerical skills mechanical knowledge of a well-stocked memory and even
habits of logical reasoning, which refers to accumulated knowledge He is high on the
subtests that traditionally have been built into intelligence tests vocabulary size battery for
children seemed edition analogies and classifications involving cultural knowledge of
objects in the problem.
Crystallised ability stretches across the whole range of cultural acquisitions Mechanical
knowledge, which is negligible or even negative on fluid ability has a measurable effect on
crystallised ability
Fluid Ability According to Cattell, fluid ability has little relation to a well stocked memory.
They are cture fair perceptual and performance tests and those specially developed tests of
judgement and reasoning, which have been considered relatively culture free. They involve
solutions to tests of danifications, analogies, matrices topology and problem that do not
involve much educational acquisition which is inherites abilities to think and
Fluid ability does have a role in numerical reasoning and even in verbal shills It is fairly
powerful in spatial reasoning and very powerful in inductive Horn identified four additional
abilities and by mid 1990s his model included 9 to 10 broad abilities The initial dichtomy
had grown, but not in hierarchy Hom retained the name Gf GC theory, but the diverie board
abilities were treated as equals, not as Part of any hierarchy These included visualisation
(GV), short term memory by (GSM), long tem Memory (GLX) and processing speed (GS).
Stratum Theory
Carroll developed a hierarchical theory based on hit depth survey of factor analytic studies
composed of three levels or strata of abilities
(i) Stratum III (general), a spearman live g, which considered to be a valid construct based
on Overeating evidence from factor analysis.
(ii) Stratum II (broad), composed of 8 broad factors that correspond closely to Horn's broad
abilities
(iii) Stratum I (narrow), composed of about 70 fairly specific abilities organized by the broad
factor with which each is most closely associates
In recent years. Carroll's chemical theory and the Hom Camell Theory GF-GC theory have
been merged into the Cattell Hom Carroll (CHC) theory The CHC theory has been
particularly influential in the development of neart IQ tests must notably the fifth edition of
the standard Binet, the Kaufman assortment Battery for children seemed edition
The CHC model incorporates both the concept of general intelligence and the concept of
many different aspects of intelligence are considered to be related to a common although
and the concept of many different aspects of Intelligence Largely because of the confluence
of CHC theurs really all curve IQ test have shifted focus from small number of part screens
to a contemporary emphasis on anywhere from 4 to 7. cognitive abilities about which is
better still go on
The CHC model procedure has ten different factors of intelligence: GF, GQ, GC Grw, GV,
GSM, GA, Gir, GS and Gt of there 10 only 7 are measured by today IQ text: GQ grown in
domain of academic achievement and therefore, measured by individually administered
achievement tests and Gt is not measured by any standardized test of anything. The CHC
theory has only two strata stratum II, which consists of the 10 abilities identified above and
startum, which includes more specific abilities similar to Carroll's original theory.
Guilford
Operations Dimension
Content Dimension
SI includes five broad areas of information to which the human intellect applies the six
operations:
Product Dimension
As the name suggests, this dimension contains results of applying particular operations to
specific contents. The SI model includes six products, in increasing complexity:
These include how the brain processes information. Information processing theory not only
explains how information is captured, but how it is stored and retrieved as well (Çeliköz,
Erişen, & Şahin, 2019). The process begins with receiving input, also called stimulus, from
the environment using various senses.
The input is then described and stored in the memory, which is retrieved when needed. The
mind or the brain is likened to a computer that is capable of analyzing information from the
environment.
• While major models of information processing theory vary, they are mostly composed
of three main elements (Çeliköz, Erişen, & Şahin, 2019):
• Information stores – The different places in the mind where information is stored,
such as sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, semantic memory,
episodic memory, and more.
• Cognitive processes – The various processes that transfer memory among different
memory stores. Some of the processes include perception, coding, recording,
chunking, and retrieval.
Level of Intelligence
Arthur Jensen has advanced intelligence Level 1 and level 11 Level-l denotes associative
learning (eg learning and memory). These activities involve minimal transformation of the
stimulus input prior to the outcome et response Level-ll refers to a general class of abilities
involving effective transformation or manipulation of stimuli as evidenced in higher order
learning such as reasoning and problem solving
Factors of Intelligence
According to Jensen, there are two factors of intelligence breadth and attitude
The first includes general information, vocabulary etc. which are directly dependent
on a person's experience exposure and opportunities, which a person has had
environmental influences, as well as attitudes and interest acquired by an individual
in the course of his life have these own influence on the breadth of a persons
intelligence
The other factor attitude however, according to Jensen in more innate and less
dependent on environmental influence, again leaving a resemblance to Cattell's
concept of fluid intelligence.
The correlation of genotypes and environments for a pro traits in the populations increase
the phenotypic vari over what it would be, if the correlation were Assuming for simplicity
that there is no GE interaction total Phenotypic (P) Variance (V) is the sum of th Genetic (G)
variance and the environmental (E) Variance plus twice the covariance of G and E or as it is
expressed a biometrical genetics Ve=Vg+ Ve+2 Cor GE
One serious fallacy in Jensen's argument concerns the confusion between within group
variance and between group variance. Burt's heritability estimate was an attempt to explain
how intelligence varies within a single population. It was looking at within group variance
and seeking to explain how that happens. But Jensen was looking at difference between
two entirely different populations between group variance. The two types of figures are
entirely different and to try to use one to explain the other is completely inappropriate.
Gould gives the example of height, to make this point. Within any given human population,
the heritability of height is about 95% tall parents tends to produce tall children and short
parents produce short children. That is common within all populations.
The PASS theory of intelligence proposes that cognition is organised in three systems and
four processes. The first process is Planning, which involves executive functions responsible
for controlling and organising behaviour, selecting and constructing strategies and
monitoring performance.
The second is the Attention process, responsible for maintaining arousal levels and alertness
and ensuring bon on relevant stimuli The two processes, Simultaneous processing and
Successive processing is engaged for determination of the relationship between items
integration into whole units of information is required Example of this include recognising
figures, such as a angle within a circle n's a circle within a triangle Successive processing is
required for organising separate ms in a sequence such as remembering a sequence of
words or actions exactly in the order in which they had been presented, these four
processes are hypothesised functions of four areas of the brain.
Planning is broadly located in the front part of our brains, the frontal lobe. Attention and
arousal are combined functions of the frontal lobe and the lower parts of the although the
parietal lobes are also involved in attention as well. Simultaneous processing and successive
processing occur in the posterior region or the back of the brain
The PASS theory provides the theoretical framework for a measurement instrumental called
the Das-Naglien Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) published in 1997, the test is designed
to provide a nuanced assessment of the individuals intellectual functioning, providing
information about cognitive strengths and weaknesses in each of the four processes
This emphasis on processes (rather than abilities) is said to make it useful for differential
diagnosis, unlike traditional full scale IQ tests, the PASS is capable of diagnosing learning
disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism. Mental Retardation Cognitive Change in
Ageing and Down Syndrome and more recently changes due to brain impairment in stroke,
its usefulness as a theory and measurement instrument for planning and decision-making in
in management has also been demonstrated
According to Gardner, intelligence is much more than IQ because a high IQ in the absence of
productivity does not equate to intelligence. In terms of his definition: "Intelligence is a bio-
psychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to
solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture." Consequently, instead of
intelligence being a single entity described psychometricians.
To achieve this goal Gardner established several criteria for defining intelligence. In
identifying capabilities to be considered for one of the 'multiple intelligences' the construct
under consideration had to meet eight criteria rather than resting on the results of a narrow
psychometric approach.
To qualify as 'intelligence' the particular capacity under the study was considered from
multiple perspectives consisting of eight specific criteria drawn from the biological sciences,
logical analysis. developmental psychology, experimental psychology and psychometrics.
From the above criteria, Gardner initially formulated a list of seven intelligences. In 1999, he
added naturalist intelligence as the eight. He has also considered inclusion of existential
intelligence as the ninth intelligence in his theory. The first two have been typically valued in
schools; the next three are usually associated with the arts; the next two are what Gardner
called personal intelligences, while the newly added final two are related to aesthetics and
philosophical views of life.
Linguistic Intelligence This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to
express oneself rhetorically or poetically and as a means to remember information. Writers,
poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Howard Gardner sees having a high
linguistic intelligence.
Musical Intelligence This intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition and
appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognise and compose
musical pitches, tones and rhythms. According to Gardner, "musical intelligence runs in an
almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence."
Spatial Intelligence Spatial intelligence involves the potential for recognising and
manipulating the patterns of both wide spaces such as those negotiated by pilots or
navigators and confined spaces such as those encountered by sculptors, architects or
championship chess players.
Interpersonal Intelligence This area has to do interaction with others. In theory, people who
have a high interpersonal intelligence tend to be extrovert, characterised by their sensitivity
to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations and their ability to cooperate in
order to work as part of group.
Naturalistic Intelligence This intelligence has to do with nature, nurturing and relating
information to one's natural surroundings. Such a person demonstrates expertise in
recognition classification of the numerous species-the flora and fauna, of her or his
environment. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include naturalists. farmers and
gardeners.
According to Gardner each of these 'intelligence' has a specific set of abilities that can be
observed and measured. Gardner nominated three additional candidate intelligence:
Naturalist, Spiritual and Existential intelligence and evaluated them in the context of the
eight criteria he had established in his research.
Analytic Intelligence
Sternberg believes that any complete theory of intelligence must refer in some way to basic
analytic skills. Some people are simply better than others at processing information, they
are good at representing problems in the right way and can generate effective strategies for
solutions.
People with high degree of analytical intelligence tend to perform well on conventional tests
that tap reasoning and logical mathematical ability. Because most psychometric tests of
intelligence require these kinds of abilities, people, who are high in analytic intelligence
tend to be assigned a high of general intelligence.
Creative Intelligence
Sternberg proposes a second kind of intelligence, creative intelligence, that expresses how
well people are able to cope with new or novel tasks. Being analytic and processing
information well, does not guarantee that you will be creative or be able to apply the skills
you have masters in a new context. The world is full of people, who are good in school or
who perform well on assigned tasks, but can not seem to think their way out of a paper bag
They lack creativity and seem to have trouble anything, what they have learned. A child who
quickly and effortlessly learns to read after acquiring the rudiments of language eg. is a
child. who is presumably high in creative intelligence.
Practical Intelligence
Finally, people differ in practical intelligence, which taps as how well they fit into their
environments. People with lots of practical intelligence solve the problems that are uniquely
possed by their cultural surroundings. They mould themselves well into existing settings and
they can select new environments, if required that provide a better fit or niche for their
talents. In a nut shell, these individuals have 'street smart' they size up situations well and
act accordingly. You probably know someone, who seems to lack analytical skills, who fails
school or drops out, but still manages to succeed quite well in life. They work well with d
the tools of the environment and manage to do what it takes to succeed.
Sternberg's triarchic theory fits the current trend towards a broadening of the concept of
intelligence.
Intelligence
Accordingly to Goleman El consists of, "Abilities such as being able to motivate oneself and
persist in the face of frustrations, to control impulse and delay gratification, to regulate
one's moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think, to empathise and to
hope."
The main areas are
Managing emotions.
Motivating oneself,
Handling relationships.
But Goleman seems to confuse El with character. He said, there is an old-fashioned word for
the body of skills that emotional intelligence represents: character. Also, he does not credit
the original authors in many areas.
Mayer and Salovey revised their earlier model saying the former one 'omits thinking about
feelings. The new model presents a hierarchy of mental abilities. Accordingly, the revised
model consists of the following abilities.
Perception, Appraisal and Expression of Emotion The core capacities are identifying
feelings and thoughts through proper and appropriate words in itself as well as in others
and discriminating between real and unreal emotional expression.
• Emotional Facilitation of Thinking The core abilities are using emotions in thinking by
giving proper attention to useful information, using emotions in appropriate judgement and
memory concerning feelings.. This ability also includes emotional facilitation to be
optimistic, using emotion in tasks requiring reasoning as well as creativity.
It can be either personality trait or intelligence depending on the type of measure used.
Petrides and Furnham believe that "It is the type of measurement rather than the theory
that determines the nature of the model."
Goleman made a provocative claim that if IQ contribute upto 20% of life success, the
remaining has to be filled in by EI. The front cover of Time magazine carried the question Ho
'what is your EQ?' and reported, It is not your IQ. It is not even number.
Goleman claimed that El would contribute to success at home, at school and at work. He
further expresses that less rudeness or aggressiveness will be seen more among youth was
high El and right decisions about 'drugs, smoking and sex' is associated with it
According to Elies et al, more than 20 formal programmes inte the entire curriculum of the
school has been tested. The ideas used in these programmes are very much closed to the
current models of El-Then Mayer and Salovey feel that "More emotionally intelligent
individuals might succeed at making these workers feel better, at communicating in lec
interesting ways and at designing projects that involve g infusing products with feelings and
aesthetics." It is however, important to note that the above prediction are based on
different theories of EI.
Models of EI originated in the West, but it can be applied effectively in the Indian context as
we have seen enough gl evidence of the usefulness of several measures of IQ and
personality, which also originated in the West.
However, one has to take several precautions in such venture. Translations of scales
standardised in foreign culture or just because the items are understandable in India, do not
mean that the conceptions of EI or the most culturally relevant items to measure these
conceptions would be the same across cultures.
Similarly, equal means for different ethnic groups do not guarantee that the El measure is
equally appropriate or valid across cultural or ethnic groups. It is very much important to
provide reliability and validity within each group.
In India, it is also worth examining whether, the factors in the models of El can remain
together, under the umbrella a global El. The factors should correlate moderately if ach a
global El has to be established, because if the relations are high then will indicate that the
factors are more or less the same.
Again, if the factors are slightly correlated the difference among the factors are in such a
way that they cannot be dubbed together to explain individual differences However,
correlational studies might not be enough to explain world the existence of such a
phenomenon in real life.
Eysenck
British psychologist Hans Jürgen Eysenck, born in Germany and died in Great Britain on 4
September 1997, spent his entire career in Great Britain. Despite working on other
psychological topics, his work on intelligence and personality is what people often
associate him with. Eysenck was the most frequently referenced living psychologist at the
time of his passing in the literature of peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Biological Theory of Intelligence (1979)
Eysenck claimed that psychology already has a theory of intelligence, which he referred to
as the discipline's orthodox view. Eysenck (1939) had been involved in the debate between
Spearman and Thurstone over whether factor analysis supported a single general
intelligence (g factor) or multiple primary factors. Even though factor analysis had been
helpful, Eysenck asserted that it could not account for the 'g' phenomenon it had revealed.
Eysenck included the latest advances in the field: Rasch's new measurement model, Maher
and Jinks' improvements in genetic data analysis, and research linking intelligence to purely
biological phenomena like inbreeding depression and jaw bone shape.
Eysenck's conception of intelligence as a biological phenomenon that affects social
behavior was a holdover from the earliest Galtonian days of the London School of
Psychology. Eysenck enlarged the legacy with his students and colleagues even during
behaviorism, which rejected the mind and genes.
Measuring Intelligence
One assessment technique common to infant development tests is a test of the "alerting"
response. An alerting response is indicative of an infant's capacity for responsiveness and it
is deemed to be present when the infant's eyes brighten and wider this in contrast to the
term orientation, which is used to define the response of turning in the direction of a
stimulus (Erickson, 1976). Here the child is exhibiting an alerting response to the sound of
the bell.
Especially when individually administered by a trained professional, the tests afford the
examiner a unique opportunity to observe the child's reactions to success, failure, and
frustration, and his or her general approach to problem solving and the test situation. Keen
observation of the child's verbal and nonverbal behavior during the testing can yield a
wealth of insights that in many cases will help to clarify ambiguities that arise in the test
data. The tests may be extremely useful in bringing to light hitherto unidentified assets or
deficits and may have value not only in general class placement but also in individual
tailoring of teaching agendas.
A list of the most frequently administered children's intelligence tests would include
individually administered tests such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, the
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised, the Kaufman Assessment
Battery for Children, the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition, and a group test
called the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test. All these tests will be discussed later we will look
at a "new breed" of intelligence test for children, the psychoeducational test battery.
Integrated into such tests is not only coverage of many of the abilities tapped in more
traditional intelligence tests, but measures of more school-related ability and achievement
as well.
According to Wechsler (1958, p. 7), adult intelligence scales should assess individual's global
capacity "to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with [the] environment."
The tests should tap such abilities as retention of general information, social judgment,
quantitative reasoning, and expressive language and memory. The specific types of tasks
used to reach these objectives on the Wechsler scale for adults are the same as many of the
tasks used with children.
The purpose of intelligence testing with adults differs in some respects from the purpose of
intelligence testing with children. Tests of intelligence are seldom administered to adults for
purposes of educational placement. Rather, they are generally administered to obtain some
measure of potential along with clinically relevant information (Harrison et al., 1988).
Publishers of intelligence tests have made available series of tests that can be used through
a period that not quite-but almost-spans "cradle to grave." The Wechsler series of tests, for
example, includes a preschool measure, a children's measure, and an adult measure. The
current edition of the Stanford-Binet has an age range of 2 years to adulthood. The current
revision of the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery has an age range of 2½ years
to 84 years. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, combined with its sister test, the
Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Scale, has an age range of 2½ years through 75
years.
People with disabilities When assessing people with disabilities, it is often important to
include in a full evaluation tests designed specifically for and standardized on a particular
special population. This is necessary because of the comparatively lower performance and
decreased validity of tests developed for the nondisabled when used with an individual with
a particular disabling condition. These lower scores are due to a variety of factors, including
the differences in the life experiences of the two groups and the fact that the tests often
require skills (rotor, visual, auditory, or language) that the disabled individual may lack.
Hearing-impaired individuals often cannot respond to the verbal directions included as part
of most conventional tests and/or cannot respond verbally because of the severe language
deficits that often accompany hearing loss. For the hearing-impaired, directions, test
stimuli, and the subject's responses are often pantomimed. The visually impaired often
require modifications such as enlarged test stimuli (enlarged print, for example) or the
presentation of test stimuli by tactile-kinesthetic perception. There are also a number of
specifically designed intelligence tests for the visually impaired and the hearing-impaired.
Individuals with motor impairments reflected in their speech or body movement resulting
from stroke, cerebral palsy, or other disease may require modification such as using their
eye movements for indicating responses, modifying written tasks to require an oral
response, or presenting test items in an oral multiple-choice format. In the assessment of
developmental disabilities, state and federal law dictate the use of supplementary adaptive
behavior measures or measures of social competency assessment techniques. Items on
these scales might assess adaptive behavior in a number of areas, including self-help eating
(skills such as drinking from a cup, using a spoon to eat), locomotion (walking, going about
town), self-direction (use of money, looking after one's own health), and communication
(comprehension of instructions, use of telephone, use of mail, enjoyment of reading).
The gifted Tests of intelligence are widely used as an aid in the identification of members of
special populations at all points in the possible range of human abilities including that group
of exceptional people we collectively refer to as "the gifted." But who are these people and
how do psychological tests help us to identify them?
Gifted people have been described in many ways. Witty (1940, p. 516) succinctly described
the gifted individual as "one whose performance is consistently remarkable in any positively
valued area.
Public Law 95-561 defined giftedness a little less broadly and with reference to specific
areas such as intellectual ability, creative thinking, leadership ability, and visual and
performing arts.
3. Learns rapidly, easily, and with less repetition 4. Learns to read sooner and continues to
read at a consistant advanced level.
5. More mature in the ability to express himself or herself through the various
communicative skills
7. Asks more questions and really wants to know the causes and reasons for things.
8. Likes to study some subjects that are difficult because he enjoys the learning.
9. Spends time beyond the ordinary assignments or schedule on things that are of interest
to him or her.
12. Reasons out more problems since he or she recognizes relationships and comprehends
meanings.
10. Knows about many things of which other children are unaware.
14 Shows a high degree of originality and often uses good but unusual methods or ideas.
16. Is more adept in analyzing his or her own abilities, limitations, and problems
17. Performs with more poise and can take charge of the situation
Do you believe that intellectual ability is innate and that it simply "unfolds" from birth
onward? How stable are IQ scores over time? What factors influence measured
intelligence? These are some of the many questions and issues that have been raised with
respect to intelligence and its measurement.
Emotional Development
Emotional Stability -Is able to cope with normal frustrations of living; adjusts to change with
minimum of difficulty. Emotional Control Expresses and displays emotions appropriately;
emotional outbursts rarely occur. Openness to Experience Appears to be receptive to new
tasks or experiences; seems able to take reasonable risks, can respond naturally to unusual
or unexpected stimuli. Enthusiasm. Enters into most activities with eagerness and
wholehearted participation, maintains enthusiasm for duration of activity .
Self-Acceptance. Seems to understand and accept self; able to view self in terms of both
limitations and abilities. Independence. Behavior usually is dictated by his or her own set of
values; is concerned with the freedom to express ideas and feelings.
Although most behavioral scientists today believe that measured intellectual ability
represents an interaction between (1) innate ability and (2) environmental influences, such
a belief was not always popular.
Longitudinal research studies have in general suggested that above the age of 7, IQs tend to
remain relatively stable over time. Below the age of 7 and particularly below the age of 5,
measured IQs have not generally been shown to be very stable, although evidence to the
contrary may also be found (see Lamp & Krohn, 1990; and Smith, Bolin, & Stovall, 1988). A
lack of stability in measured intelligence in very young children is understandable in light of
the fact that there is typically a great amount of intellectual growth during the early
childhood years.
There is little reason to have great confidence that the measured intelligence of infants and
preschool children would correlate highly with measures of intelligence obtained in later
years (Wesman,1968). This is so because the types of measures used in infant and preschool
tests differ so markedly from those used to measure intelligence in school-age, adolescent,
and adult individuals.
The rise and fall of IQ Since the early 1900s, it has been widely held intellectual growth
begins to decline at about age 20. If that is true and you are at about that age, then you're
at the height of your intellectual powers right now you've "peaked" and it's all downhill
from here.
The process of measurement Measured intelligence may vary as a result of factors related
to the measurement process, such as the instrument used to measure intelligence,
including the test author's definition of intelligence, the standardization sample employed,
the competency of the test administrator, and the accuracy of the scoring. Other factors
related to the measurement process itself include the amount of test taking experience
and/or prior coaching on the part of the examinee and numerous personality and
situational factors (such as the examinee's level of anxiety or fatigue and the extent to
which the conditions of the test's administration conform to the requirements of the test
manual).
Gender It is generally believed that the sexes do not differ significantly in general
intelligence as measured by the most widely used standardized intelligence tests. Although
differences in some specific abilities have been observed, these differences tend to be
insignificant statistically (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974). Thus, for example, it has been found
that females as a group tend to score slightly higher than males as a group in tasks involving
verbal ability, whereas males tend to outscore females in tasks involving quantitative or
mathematical ability (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974; Silverstein & Fisher, 1960; Terman & Tyler,
1954).
Family environment Environmental factors such as parental ability concern regarding the
child's achievement have been shown to correlate positively with the child's measured
intelligence (Honzik, 1967). High measured intelligence in children has also been associated
with warm democratic homes in which there are explanations for discipline policies
(Baldwin et al., 1945; Kent & Davis, 1957; Sontag et al., 1958). been studied.
A culture provides specific models for ways of thinking, acting, and feeling; it enables
people to survive both physically and socially and to master and control the world around
them (Chinoy, 1967). Items on tesis of intelligence tend to reflect the culture of the society
where such tests are employed; to the extent that a score on such a test reflects the degree
to which test takers have been integrated into the society and the culture, it would be
expected that members of subcultures (as well as others who for whatever reason choose
not to perceive themselves as identified with mainstream society) would score lower.
At one time in the history of intelligence testing, developers of intelligence tests sought to
develop "pure" measures of intelligence that would be "culturefree." The assumption was
that if cultural factors could be controlled, scores of average measured intelligence for
minority and majority group members should not significantly differ. One way that the
effect of culture could be controlled was through the elimination of verbal items and
exclusive reliance on nonverbal, performance items. Researchers thought that the
nonverbal ite ms represented the best available means for determining the cognitive ability
of minority group children and adults. On the face of it, such an assumption seemed
reasonable. However, the presumption that the use of nonverbal test items would eliminate
the differences between minority and majority groups in measured intelligence was not
found to be true for native-born, English speaking minority groups. For example, on the
average, Blacks tended to score as low on performance as on verbal tests (Cole & Hunter,
1971; McGurk, 1975).
PSYCHOMETRIC TEST: Psychometric tests are a standard and scientific method used to
measure individuals' mental capabilities and behavioural style. Psychometric tests are
designed to measure candidates' suitability for a role based on the required personality
characteristics and aptitude (or cognitive abilities).
Aim to measure aspects of your mental ability, aptitude or your personality. Used as part of
the recruitment or selection process Provide employers with a method of selecting the most
suitable job applicants or candidates for promotion.
Intelligence tests are of several types. On the basis of their administration procedure, they
can be categorised as individual or group tests. They can also be classified as either verbal or
performance tests on the basis of the nature of items used. Depending upon the extent to
which an intelligence test favours one culture over another, it can be judged as either
culturefair or culture-biased. You can choose a test depending on the purpose of your use.
An intelligence test may be fully verbal, fully non-verbal or fully performance based, or it
may consist of a mixture of items from each category. Verbal tests require subjects to give
verbal responses either orally or in a written form. Therefore, verbal tests can be
administered only to literate people. The non-verbal tests use pictures or illustrations as test
items.
Intelligence tests that can be administered to a single individual at a time are called
individual tests of intelligence. Individual tests require the test administrator to establish a
rapport with the subject and be sensitive to her/his feelings, moods and expressions during
the testing session. Binet's Scale of Intelligence, Wechsler Scale of Intelligence, Dr. Bhatia's
Performance Test of Intelligence, Arthur Point Scale, Koh's Block Design, etc. are some of
the examples of individual tests of intelligence.
Intelligence tests that can be administered to more than one person at a time are called group
tests of intelligence. Group tests of intelligence were devised to recruit large number of
soldiers in the army during the First World War. Group tests generally seek written answers
usually in a multiple-choice format.Group tests are useful mainly for mass testing. Army
Alpha Test, Army General Classification Test, Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices, etc.
are some of the examples of group tests of intelligence.
Intelligence tests that use language (words or numbers) for measuring intelligence are called
verbal tests of intelligence. In these tests subjects are required to respond verbally to test
items. Group tests, however, do not allow an opportunity to be familiar with the subjects'
feelings. Army Alpha Test, Wechsler's Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), etc. are some of the
examples of verbal tests of intelligence.
Intelligence tests that use pictures, designs, material objects, etc. to measure intelligence are
called non-verbal tests of intelligence. In these tests language is not used to measure
intelligence. In these tests subjects are not required to respond verbally to test items. Non-
verbal tests are of two types viz. (1) Performance tests and (2) Paper-pencil tests. Koh's
Block Design Test, Alexander's Pass-along test, Merril Palmer Block Building test, Dr.
Bhatia's Non-Verbal Test of Intelligence, etc. are some of the examples of performance tests
of non-verbal tests of intelligence. Performance tests require subjects to manipulate objects
and other materials to perform a task. Written language is not necessary for answering the
items. For example, Kohs' Block Design Test contains a number of wooden blocks. The
subject is asked to arrange the blocks within a time period to produce a given design. A
major advantage of performance tests is that they can be easily administered to persons from
different cultures.
Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, etc. are
some of the examples of paper pencil tests of non-verbal tests of intelligence.
Intelligence tests can be culture-fair or culture-biased. Many intelligence tests show a bias to
the culture in which they are developed. Tests developed in America and Europe represent an
urban and middle class cultural ethos. Hence, educated middle class white subjects generally
perform well on those tests. The items do not respect the cultural perspectives of Asia and
Africa. The norms for these tests are also drawn from western cultural groups. It is nearly
impossible to design a test that can be applied equally meaningfully in all cultures.
Psychologists have tried to develop tests that are culture-fair or culturally appropriate, i.e.
one that does not discriminate against individuals belonging to different cultures. In such
tests, items are constructed in a manner that they assess experiences common to all cultures
or have questions in which language usage is not required. Non-verbal and performance tests
help reduce the cultural bias usually associated with verbal tests.
S.M. Mohsin made a pioneering attempt in constructing an intelligence test in Hindi in the
1930s. C.H. Rice attempted to standardise Binet's test in Urdu and Punjabi. At about the
same time, Mahalanobis attempted to standardise Binet's test in Bengali. Attempts were also
made by Indian researchers to develop Indian norms for some western tests including RPM,
WAIS, Alexander's Passalong, Cube Construction, and Kohs'
Block Design. Long and Mehta prepared a Mental Measurement Handbook listing out 103
tests of intelligence in India that were available in various languages. Since then, a number
of tests have either been developed or adapted from western cultures. The National Library
of Educational and Psychological Tests (NLEPT) at the National Council of Educational
Research and Training (NCERT) has documented Indian tests. Critical reviews of Indian
tests are published in the form of handbooks. NLEPT has brought out the handbooks in the
area of intelligence, aptitude, personality, attitudes, and interests. lists some tests developed
in India. Among these, Bhatia's Battery of Performance Tests is quite popular.
Some Tests Developed in India
Verbal
Performance
Studies demonstrate a correlation between brain size and intelligence, larger brains
predicting higher intelligence. It is however not clear if the correlation is causal. The
majority of MRI studies report moderate correlations around 0.3 to 0.4 between brain
volume and intelligence. The most consistent associations are observed within the frontal,
temporal, and parietal lobes, the hippocampus, and the cerebellum, but only account for a
relatively small amount of variance in IQ, which suggests that while brain size may be
related to human intelligence, other factors also play a role.
In addition, brain volumes do not correlate strongly with other and more specific cognitive
measures. In men, IQ correlates more with gray matter volume in the frontal
lobe and parietal lobe, which is roughly involved in sensory integration and attention,
whereas in women it correlates with gray matter volume in the frontal lobe and Broca's area,
which is involved in language.[
Research measuring brain volume, P300 auditory evoked potentials, and intelligence shows a
dissociation, such that both brain volume and speed of P300 correlate with measured aspects
of intelligence, but not with each other.[ Evidence conflicts on the question of whether brain
size variation also predicts intelligence between siblings, as some studies find moderate
correlations and others find none.[A recent review by Nesbitt, Flynn et al. (2012) point out
that crude brain size is unlikely to be a good measure of IQ, for example brain size also
differs between men and women, but without well documented differences in IQ.
A discovery in recent years is that the structure of the adult human brain changes when a new
cognitive or motor skill, including vocabulary, is learned.
Structural neuroplasticity (increased gray matter volume) has been demonstrated in adults
after three months of training in a visual-motor skill, as the qualitative change (i.e. learning
of a new task) appear more critical for the brain to change its structure than continued
training of an already-learned task. Such changes (e.g. revising for medical exams) have
been shown to last for at least 3 months without further practicing; other examples include
learning novel speech sounds, musical ability, navigation skills and learning to read mirror-
reflected words.[
EEG
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using
small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to the scalp. Brain cells communicate via electrical
impulses and are active all the time, even during asleep. This activity shows up as wavy lines
on an EEG recording.
An EEG is one of the main diagnostic tests for epilepsy. An EEG can also play a role in
diagnosing other brain disorders.
There are three main types of brain connectivity. One is structural connectivity as measured
by structural MRI and diffusion tensor imaging. This level of connectivity is the same
whether one is alive or shortly after death and represents the essential structural infra-
structure of the brain. The second is functional connectivity as measured by EEG coherence
and fMRI correlations between brain regions. This level measures the temporal correlation
between two or more brain regions and indicates functional activity shared by the correlated
regions. The third level is called effective connectivity which is a measure of the magnitude
and direction of information flow between two or more connected brain regions. By analogy
structural connectivity is like the street connecting a parking lot to a sports stadium,
functional connectivity is the correlation between changes in the two locations and effective
connectivity measures the direction and magnitude of the flow of people that travel between
the two locations.
Two related and commonly reported models of intelligence emphasize efficiency of
information processing between the frontal lobes and the parietal lobes. EEG network studies
have argued that increased complexity and increased neural efficiency are positively related
to intelligence. Studies by Haier et al. demonstrated greater gray matter volume in frontal
and parietal regions in high I.Q. children and Langeslag et al. reported increased functional
connectivity with BOLD fMRI in high I.Q. children.
Creativity
Test of Creativity
Two approaches have been used by psychologists to test creativity. The first approach was
inspired by the work of Guilford, who tried to classify mental abilities in much the same way
that chemical elements are classified in the periodic table. One of his classification was
divergent production, a category of tasks, for which there are many 'right' answers, so that
the tester might not know them all in advance. The question, 'How many uses can you think
of a brick?'
It is a typical divergent production item. Answers can be scored for appropriateness and
quantity.
Another approach is that of Mednick, who argued that "truely creative person is not merely
one, who produces a great variety of ideas." Rather, says Mednick, true creativity is the
ability to think of an idea i.e. improbable, unusual or remote, yet exactly right for the
situation. Mednick devised a word-finding test called the Remote Associates Test (RAT).
It is ironic that no dominant theory has emerged during the past twenty years that might
unify the desperate and sometimes conflicting studies of creativity. The absence of a unified
theory points out both the inherent difficulty of the topic and the lack of widespread
scientific attention nevertheless, creativity is widely heralded as an important part of
everyday life and education.
A long ago in the history of cognitive psychology, Wallas described the creative process as
having four sequential stages
(i) Preparation Formulating the problem and making initial attempts to solve it.
Wallas's four-stage model of the creative process has given us a conceptual framework to
analyse creativity, which are as follows
Stage 1: Preparation
This stage prepares a person to acquire. The relevant an necessary facts, experience and
skills for the task and t ask the right question.
Poincare mentioned in his notes that he had been working intensively on the problem for 15
days. During that period he seemed to have thought of several tentative solutions, which he
tried out and for one reason or another, discarded. However, to suggest that the period of
preparation was 15 days is, of course, wrong. All of his professional life as a mathematician
and probably a good portion of his childhood could be considered part of the preparation
stage.
Stage 2: Incubation
In this stage one leaves the problem alone to develop in the unconscious mind. Pornos, offers
several hypothesis about the incubation phase. One suggestion is that the incubation period
allows us to recover from the fatigue associated with problem solving. Also, interruption of
an arduous task may allow us to forget in appropriate approaches to a problem. We have
already seen that functional fixedness can impede problem solving and it is possible that
during incubation people forget old, unsuccessful solutions to problems another reason
incubation may help in the creative process is that during this period we may actually work
on the problem unconsciously.
Stage 3: Illumination
In this stage a person gets a crucial idea or any sudden appearance or insight, when relaxing
or dreaming. Incubation does not always lead to illumination when it does, however, the
sensation is unmistakable. Suddenly, the light bulb is turned on. The creative person may feel
a rush of excitement as all the bits and pieces of ideas fall into place.
All of the pertinent ideas complement each other and irrelevant thoughts are discarded. This
history of creative breakthroughs is replete with example of the illumination stage. This
discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule, the composition of the benzene ring the
invention of the telephone, the conclusion of a symphony and the plot of a novel are all
examples of how a moment of illumination has flooded the mind with a creative solution to a
vexing old problem.
Stage 4: Verification
Following the euphoria that sometimes accompanies an insightful discovery, the idea is
tested. This is the mopping up stage of the creative processes, in which the creative product
is examined to verify its legitimacy. Often a solution first thought to be creative is only an
intellectual fool's gold, when examined carefully. This stage may be rather brief as in the
case of rechecking one's calculations or seeing whether an invention works; however in some
cases verification may require a lifetime of study, testing and retesting.
View of Torrance on Creativity
From the evidence accumulated in the Minnesota studies of creative thinking in the early
school years it seems that much in our present educational system tends to alienate boys.
Especially the highly creative ones, from their peers and teachers. Educators might do well to
consider giving parallel streatment to the development of the thinking abilities alongwith the
development of the memory and conformity to behavioural norms.
This would involve, among other things, rewarding creative thinking. If boys in the early
school years were rewarded for some of the things, in which they appear to excel, they might
possibly be more willing to master some of the language and other conforming skills about,
which there is concern. According to Torrence, there are characteristics of creativity.
Children show
Principles
He presumed the following factors regarding highly creative children • Sanctions against
divergency.
Torrance suggests that following five principles, which believed that can be applied to child.
The first, principle, is 'be respectful of unusual questions. Nothing is more rewarding to a
child, who tasks questions than to find the answer to his questions. Questions reflect a 'mind
hunger' and this hunger must be satisfied lest the mind be starved. Although the need should
be met: immediately, these is much that we can do to enrich the period between the question
and the answer.
This means that we need to teach them the skills of inquiry. The parents or teacher, who sets
out to be respectful of the questions children ask must be prepaired for some socks, children
will ask many questions, which they cannot answers. This should be accepted as normal and
desirable. Teachers and parents should not feel threatened and should find enjoyment in a
mutual searching for solutions to the questions children raise.
The third principle is 'Show children that their ideas have value.' The trouble is that many
teachers and other adults do not feel that children are capable of thinking of ideas that have
value. Such individuals obviously will not be able to reward creative thinking in children. He
would only suggest that such individuals be on the alert for a while to recognise new ideas
among children. Children can be shown that their ideas have value, if communicate them to
proper grounds or individuals, if we display them, if we give credit for them and the like.
An old principle of learning is, "Excite and direct the self-activities of the learner and tell
him nothing that he can learn for himself." One mark of the highly creative individual is his
self starting ability. The strong curiosity of the child and his exploratory tendencies suggest
that all or almost all children have this self-starting ability. The problem of parents and
teacher is to keep it alive.
We do not have to evaluate everything. There needs to be periods, when the individual can
learn without threat of being evaluated. External evaluation is always a threat and creates a
need for defensiveness. This makes some portion of the individual's experiencing or sensing
denied to awareness. Thus, there is lacking the openness, which is so necessary in the
production of new ideas we have conducted experiments to try to valid this principle.
Like many other creative tests, the Torrance test measure a variety of areas or aspects of
creative thinking. Scores on the TTCT can be obtained in each of these areas. However, like
individual ability tests for the handicaped and tests of learning disability, the TTCT does not
quite meet the standards of the Binet and Wechsler scales in terms of standardisation,
reliability and validity.
In sum, the Torrance test typical of creativity tests. Applied practitioners demand such a tool
for their work and although in consistent available data reflect its merit and fine potential. As
with so many other tests, however, more work is needed. Results from the new creativity
tests must be viewed as tentative and with caution.
There are a number of approaches to the investigation of the traits or characteristics, in which
creative individuals are most likely to excel. Some investigators appear to regard the
phenomenon of creativity as a single dimension of personality. He viewed that the creative
disposition is made up of many components and that its composition depends upon where
you find it. Practically all investigators recognise that there are many potentially contributing
conditions.
According to Guilford, "creative individuals think with greater fluency, with more flexibility
and with greater originality. The tests designed to measure fluency present very simple tasks
and the quantity of output determines the scores." Flexibility in thinking means a change of
some kind a change in the meaning, interpretation or use of something, a change in
understanding of the task a change of strategy in doing the task or a change in direction of
thinking, which may mean a new interpretation of the goal.
Guilford gives closer attention to the various factors of fluency, flexibility, originality and
elaboration.
Fluency F Factors It turns out that in verbal tests alone there are three differentiated fluency
factors.
(i) Ideational fluency has to do with generation of a quantity of ideas. The idea produced may
be as simple as a single word, as complex as the title for a picture or a story or as phrases and
short sentences that convey unitary v thoughts. It is easy to see where an operation such as
that in tests of ideational fluency fits into problem-solving of many kinds.
(ii) Another kind of fluency is called associational fluency. It pertains to the completion of
relationships, in distinction from the factor of Hans ideational fluency, which involves giving
ideas that fits a class. The factor of associational fluency may have more general utility.
(iii) A third kind of fluency is called expressional fluency. It has to do with the facile
construction of sentences. We ask the examine to write as many four word sentences as he
can, all different, with no world used more than once.
Flexibility Factors
One type of flexibility Guilford recognised as spontaneous flexibility because the tests that
measure, it do not even suggest that the examine be flexible, without his knowing it, he can
make a good score if he varies his kinds of responses. If we tell the examinee to list all the
uses he can think of for a common brick, the total number of uses listed is a good score for
his status on the factor of identical fluency.
But we also score his performance in terms of the number of times he changes category of
uses. For example The person who responds with build a house, build a school, build a
factory etc. does not change his class of uses.
The person who makes a low spontaneous flexibility score is rigid in the sense that he
perseverates within one or a very few classes.
A second kind of flexibility has been called adaptive flexibility, for the reason that in tests in
which it was first found, the examinee, to succeed, must make changes of some kind changes
in interpretation of the task, in approach or strategy or in possible solutions.
Originality Factor
The current interpretation of the factor of originality is that it is adaptive flexibility in dealing
with verbal information.
Elaboration Factor
In the course of the investigations of abilities involved in planning, he proposed other kind of
ability called laboration. In one test, given the base outlines of a plan, the examinee is asked
to produce the detailed steps needed to make the plan work. The more details, he adds, the
better is his score. It was eventually recognised that the abilities of fluency, flexibility and
elaboration are similar in that the tests of them call for a variety of answers.
The relationship between intelligence and creativity is that both of them are functions of the
brain that process information to determine a solution or an answer to a problem. Intelligence
and creativity are different abilities but they are closely linked with each other. The general
belief is that people with high IQ are generally more creative and people who are highly
creative have high IQ's. This is'nt necessarily true. Following theories will shed light on
relationship between intelligence and creativity.
For many years, it was assumed that creativity and intelligence were closely related. The
incidence of highly creative individuals such as Churchill, Edison and Einstein, who at
sometimes experience difficulty in school.
One of the most widely published studies were done by Getzel and Jackson, who produced
evidence that creativity and intelligence were largely independent traits.
Their study was first systematic study to distinguish between creativity and intelligence was
on adolescents. This study attracted wide attention among scientists and the later researchers
constantly remembered the results of the study. Creativity in particular mental ability, which
is clear from the paper and pencils tests of the adolescents. These tests included verbal and
numeral science object space relationship etc. According to these studies creativity depends
upon the number, novelty and variety of responses to a given stimuli. They maintained that
traditional intelligence tests measure convergent and traditional mental process involving
memory. As against this creative
tests measure divergent, introvert and creative mental processes. Infact, these two processes
are so intimately related that it is difficult to find out persons who are higher in one and not,
so in the other.
In the course of this study Getzel and Jackson selected two groups of subjects, in which one
group the level of intelligence was high, but creativity was not so much present. In the other
group, the level of creativity was high, but the level of intelligence was not a high as that
(this study led to conclusion that the traditional tests of intelligence are not sufficient tests of
mental processes), low correlation was found between creativity and intelligence.
The scientists, however, maintained that creativity and intelligence are different since, they
observed that among the creative and intelligence group there was a clear distinction of
personal values, imaginative productivity, aims of career and the family background. This
study has been widely criticised on the basis of its method and other factors.
There were five creativity measures some of which were taken or adopted from test made up
by Gilford and by Cattell, an a others specially constructed by Getzel and Jackson.
• Word Association Meaning and use required of common words, with multiple meanings
example, bold, sack. Scored both for number of defination and number of radically different
meanings.
• Uses for Things As many different uses as possible to be given for objects such as brick,
paper chip. Scored for number of uses and originality of uses.
• Hidden Shape It in simple geometrical figures, each followed by four complex figures.
Subject required to find the geometric form hidden in the more complex pattern.
Fables Four fables were presented, in which the last line I were missing. The subject was
required to provide three different endings to each stories. One moralistic, one humorous and
one sad. Make up Problems Four complex paragraphs containing many numerical statements
were presented. Subject required to make up as many mathematical problem as possible from
them. Scored on number from appropriateness and originality of problems.
Interesting and important similarity and differences were found by Getzels and Jackson
between the high creativity and high IQ groups. Most striking, perhaps was the finding that
the high creativity group equal the high IQ group in scholastic achievement inspite of having
an average IQ 23 points lower. There were high correlation between some of the individual
tests and both verbal and numerical achievement for the whole samples of experiment.
The three tests, which showed up best in this way were word association, make up problems
and hidden shapes in that order. Getzel and Jackson attempted to find out whether this
unexpectedly high degree of scholastic achievement on the part of the high creativity group
could be ascribed to higher strength of motivation. They found however, no difference
between the two groups on Mc Clelland's need for achievement measures, therefore
concluded that the explanations lay not in any motivational difference, but the predictive
limitations of the conventional intelligence test. Another striking findings in this study was
that teachers appeared to approve more strongly of the high IQ group than of the high
creativity group.
A third respect, in which the groups were found to differ was in their attitudes to success in
adult life. In the high IQ group, the correspondence between the qualities they valued for
themselves and the qualities, which they thought would be conductive to success in adult life
was quite close
Further light on these conflicting findings has also been thrown by a recent extensive
research report by Wallach and Kogan. They begin by reviewing earlier reports of the
distinction between intelligence and creativity, of Getzel and Jackson. They made their
conclusion from these survey is that the distinction between creativity and intelligence has
not been adequately supported by empirical evidence and that the correlation between
measures of creativity of generally lower than those between a typical test of creativity and
one of intelligence.
Wallach and Kogan report a fair degree of success in establishing separate measures of
creativity and intelligence in these conditions
High Creativity High Intelligence These children can exercise within themselves both control
and freedom, both adult like and child like kinds of behaviour. ●
High Creativity and Low Intelligence These children are in angry conflict with themselves
and with 1 their school environment and are be set by feelings of unworthiness and in
adequacy. In a stress-free context, however, they can blossom forth cognitively.
• Low Creativity and High Intelligence These children can be described as addicted to school
achievement. Academic failure would be perceived by them as catastrophic, so that they
must continually strive for academic excellence in order to avoid the possibility of pain.
Low Creativity and Low Intelligence Basically bewildered these children engage in various
defensive maneuver ranging from useful adaptation such as intensively social activity to
regression such as passivity or psychomatic symptoms. Thus, work progressed from the
definition and operationalisation of two types cognitive activity to an investigation of their
correlates in such areas as observable social and achievement relevant behaviours, ways of
forming concepts, pshysiognomic sensitivities and self described levels of general anxiety,
text anxiety and defensiveness.