UNIT-EIGHT(8)

COGNITION (INTELLIGENCE)
 Nature, types and determinants of intelligence,
intelligence tests and concept of IQ
 Individual differences in intelligence
Introduction to Intelligence
Intelligence is a sort of mental energy available with an individual to
enable him to handle his environment in terms of adaptation and
facing novel (new) situations as effectively as possible.
Woodworth and Marquis: “Intelligence means intellect put to use. It
is the use of intellectual abilities for handling a situation or
accomplishing any task.”
Stern: “ Intelligence is a general capacity of an individual consciously
to adjust his thinking to new requirements. It is general mental
adaptability to new problems and conditions of life.”
 Wagnon: “ Intelligence is the capacity to learn and adjust to
relatively new and changing conditions.”
 Thorndike: “Intelligence may be defined as the power of good
responses from the point of view of truth or fact.
 Terman: “An individual is intelligent in proportion as he is able to
carry on abstract thinking.
 Intelligence has been defined in many ways, including: the
capacity for logic, understanding, self awareness, learning,
emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical
thinking and problem solving.
 More generally, it can be described as the ability to perceive or
infer information, and to retain it as knowledge to be applied
towards adaptive behaviors within an environment or context.
 Human intelligence is the intellectual power of humans, which is
marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation
and self awareness. Intelligence enables humans to remember
descriptions of things and use these in future behaviors.
 Intelligence is a cognitive process, it gives humans the cognitive
abilities to learn, form concepts, understand, and reason,
including capacities to recognize patterns, comprehend ideas,
plan, solve problems, and use language to communicate.
Intelligence enables humans to experience and think.
Nature of intelligence
 Intelligence is the ability to learn from experience.
 It focuses to adapt effectively with the environment.
 It enables to reason, understand complex ideas, and to think
abstractly.
 It is the total sum of cognition that refers to the individual’s
overall capacity.
 It generates the power of making appropriate responses to
certain stimuli in a given sentence.
 It involves awareness, it is goal directed, it is rational, and it has
value.
 It measures the mental capacity or mental energy available
within individual at a particular time in a particular situation.
 Intelligence can be categorized in measurement like problem
solving intelligence, academic intelligence(book smart) and
emotional intelligence(social intelligence).
IMPORTANCE OF INTELLIGENCE
1. Understand the complexity of situations.
2. Solve problems related to life.
3. Fit in with others.
4. Utilize available resources.
5. Think rationally.
6. Adapt to environment effectively.
7. Know the world better.
8. Take decision properly.
9. Learn from experience.
Determinants of Intelligence
1. Heredity
 Intellectual capabilities are inherited to some extent.
Heredity is a dominant factor to determine intelligence
level.
 Within cells, there are cellular structures called
chromosomes that carry the units of information
about several characteristics including intelligence
called genes.
 The intelligence of parents and children are correlated
in most of the cases. The identical twins reared worlds
apart for several years are also known to have similar
intelligence.
Determinants of Intelligence
1. Heredity
 Significant correlation was not found between
intelligence scores of adopted children and adopting
parents even after they lived several years of together.
2. Environment
 Environment is also responsible for intelligence of a
person.
 Various factors like rural/urban upbringing, education,
socio-economic status, kind of school we attended, the
type of family we grew up in and the culture we
belong to influence our intelligence.
Major approaches/types of Intelligence
 Intelligence has been classified by several psychologists
on different bases.
1. TWO-FACTOR THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE
British Psychologist Charles Spearman gave two-factor
theory of intelligence in 1904. According to him, there
are two types of intelligence.
a. General Intelligence (g factor-it is the general mental
ability or general intelligence factor)
b. Specific Intelligence (specific abilities in addition to
general intelligence including the ability to think
abstractly, acquire new knowledge, adapt to novel
situations, learn from experience etc.)
Major approaches/types of Intelligence
2. Group Factor Theory of Intelligence
 Psychologist Louis L. Thurston said that there are seven
different primary factors that are independent to each
other. He argued general mental ability and specific
abilities.
 Verbal Comprehension ability
 Word Fluency ability
 Numerical ability
 Spatial ability(Visual)
 Memory ability
 Perceptual speed ability
 Reasoning ability
Major approaches/types of Intelligence
3. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence
 American psychologist Howard Gardner introduced his
theory of Multiple Intelligence in 1983. He denied the
concept of general intelligence and came out to tell
every person is intelligent in special way.
 According to him, there are multiple types of
intelligence. All people have all intelligences in varying
amounts. No two persons are intelligent in quite the
same way.
 There are different dimensions of multiple intelligence
proposed by Howard Gardner.
 He suggested that there is more to intelligence than single
scores, or based on current intelligence test. People can
manifest intelligence in many ways that are not measured by
such tests.
 According to Gardner, a person with high interpersonal
intelligence may become a successful salesperson despite
having only average logical/mathematical abilities. Or a
brilliant composer may have poor linguistic skills.
Types of intelligence according to Gardner
 Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
 Usually, one of the most obvious gauges used in determining
whether one is intelligent or not is his logical ability to solve
mathematical problems. This type of intelligence describes
superior Inductive and deductive reasoning and calculating
ability.
 Linguistic/verbal Intelligence
 Linguistic intelligence refers to a person’s ability to use words
and language effectively.
 Visual-Spatial Intelligence
 It refers to the ability to comprehend shapes and images. It
perceives and thinks about objects in 3D even despite having
limited information about it. It also covers the capacity to
draw generalizations from the limited information available.
 Artistic skills, or the ability and skills in creating fine art.
Graphic skills also fall under this category.
 Naturalist intelligence
 It is a type of intelligence that one is able to read and
understand nature, and the living things. Having sensitivity
for all living and non-living elements in nature makes you
‘nature smart’.
 Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
 It is a mind-body coordination. It is mainly about physical
skills, and how you are able to use your physical ability to
manipulate objects and other elements around you.
 Interpersonal(other people) Intelligence
 It refers to the ability to sense other people’s feelings, as
well as read their motives. It is an ability to interact with and
understand others and to interpret their behaviors.
 Intrapersonal(self) Intelligence
 It includes the ability to understand own self. If you know
what you are feeling and why you are feeling it, what you
want and need, then you can confidently say that you
possess intrapersonal intelligence.
4. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Robert Sternberg proposed that there are three types of
intelligence;
a. Practical Intelligence: ability to solve problems of daily life.
b. Analytical/Componential Intelligence: ability to understand
the complex situations.
c. Experiential/Creative Intelligence: ability to formulate new
ideas and to adapt creatively.
4. Cattell’s Theory of Intelligence
Raymond Cattell concluded that two major clusters of mental
abilities exist.
d. Fluid Intelligence: information-processing abilities,
reasoning, memory etc.
e. Crystallized Intelligence: accumulated knowledge.
Intelligence Tests
 Psychologists have devised so many intelligence tests for the
measurement of intelligence. However, measurement of
intelligence is not possible in the same way as we use the term
measurement in measuring a piece of cloth or temperature of
body.
 We can have only its assessment and not the measurement in
physical terms as intelligence is not the thing, it is only an idea, an
abstraction.
Classification of intelligence tests
A. As far as the administrative point of view is concerned the
intelligence tests can be classified into two broad categories
namely;
1. Individual Tests:- In which only one individual is tested at a time.
2. Group Tests:- In which a group of individuals is tested at a time.
B. Another way of classifying the intelligence test is based on the form
of the test. Accordingly there are two types of tests.
1. Verbal or language tests
2. Non verbal tests or non-language tests
Verbal or language tests
 These tests make use of language. Here the instructions are given in
words either in written or oral or both. Individuals are required to
use language as well as paper and pencil for giving the responses.
The test content is loaded with verbal material.
Non verbal or Non-Language tests
 These tests involve such activities in which the use of language is
not necessary. The use of language is eliminated from test content
and response except in giving directions.
 The typical examples of such non-verbal tests are performance
tests. The principle characteristics of this tests are given below.
 Test contents of these tests are in the form of material objects.
 What an individual has to do is indicated by the tester either
through oral instructions or by signs.
 Individual’s responses depend upon what he does or performs
rather than by anything he says or writes.
 Generally these tests are individual tests.
Picture of the types of Intelligence Tests

Intelligence Tests

Individual Tests Group Tests

Verba l T ests Perf ormance Te sts Verba l Tests N on-Verbal Tes ts

Individual Verbal Tests
 The tests involve the use of language. Example of such test is
Stanford-Binet Scale. Alfred Binet, French psychologist, is the father
of intelligence tests construction movement. He, along with
Theodore Simon prepared a test as early as in 1905, consisting of 30
items graded for different levels. The test included such items as;
At age 3—point out to nose, eyes and mouth
At age 7 –Tell what is missing in the unfinished picture.
 The tests in this scale are grouped into age levels, extending from
age 2 to 22 years. The tasks to be performed in this test range from
simple to abstract reasoning.
 Binet Tests have been adopted in India too. The first such attempt
was made by Dr. C.H. Rice in 1922.
 The other common verbal individual intelligence test used in India is
Samanya Budhi Pariksha. This test is an Indian Adaptation of the
well known test of william Stephenson.
Individual Performance Tests(Non-verbal tests)
 In these tests, the contents and responses are in the form of
performance. And Language is not used at all. Generally the activities,
on which the performance of an individual is tested are of the
following types.
 Block building or cube construction:- where the subject is asked to
make a structure or design by means of blocks or cubes supplied to
him.
 Fit the blocks in the holes:- test materials of such types provides
numerous blocks and a board in which there are holes corresponding
to these blocks. The subject has to fit the blocks in the holes of the
boards.
 Tracing a maze:- test material consists of a series of mazes of
increasing difficulty, each printed on a separate sheet. The subject is
required to trace with pencil, the path from entrance to exit.
 Picture arrangement or picture completion:-
In picture arrangement tests, the task is to arrange in series the given
picture where as in picture completion test, the subject is required
to complete the picture with the help of given pieces cut out of
each picture.
The group Verbal Intelligence Tests
• The tests which necessitate the use of language and are applied to
a group of individuals at a time come under this category. Some of
the earlier tests belonging to this category are;
 Army Alpha Test (developed in world War I)
 Army general Classification Test (developed in world war II)
Today we have so many group verbal tests. Some of the popular
tests of this nature are;
 The Group Test of General Mental Ability constructed by Dr. S.
Jalota (Hindi)
 Group Test of Intelligence, prepared by Bureau of psychology,
Allahabad (Hindi)
 Prayag Metha’s Grouped Intelligence Test
 General Mental Abilities Test, prepared by Dr. P. Gopala Pillai of the
kerela University etc.
The Group non-verbal intelligence tests
 These tests do not necessitate the use of language and are applied
to the group of individuals at a time.
 Test materials in the non-verbal tests used for group testing, is
provided in a booklet and requires the use of pencil by the testee.
 It contains pictures, diagrams and geometrical figures etc in
printed booklet.
 The examples of such type of tests are;
 Army Beta Test: It was developed in world war I in USA for testing
the intelligence of those soldiers who were either illiterate or were
not used to English language.
 Chicago Non-verbal Test:-This non-verbal test has been proved
most useful for the young children aged 12 and 13 years.
• Raven’s progressive Matrices Test: This test was developed in the
U.K. It is a very popular non-verbal group test of intelligence. The
test has been designed to evaluate the subjects’ ability;
--to see relationship between geometrical figures or designs.
--to perceive the structure of the design in order to select the
appropriate part for completion of each pattern.
Concept of I.Q (Intelligence Quotient)
 Intelligence assessed through the various intelligence tests is
always expressed in terms of I.Q.
 It was the German psychologist William Sterm who first initiated
this term in the form of a ratio i.e. Mental Age
Chronological(real) Age
 It measures the rate of mental development of an individual. To do
away with the decimal point, the ratio of mental age and
chronological age was again multiplied by 100 and thus the
formula to calculate I.Q. was given as; I.Q.=MA/CA ×100 (where
MA stands for mental age and CA stands for chronological age of
the individual whose intelligence is being tested).
 The concept of mental age was introduced earlier by a French
psychologist Alfred Binnet. It was based upon the principle of the
normal distribution of intelligence; majority of the children of
particular age are of normal intelligence and they have a mental
Level approximating that age, which mental level could be termed as
their ‘mental age’.
 If some child excels in his performance of certain tasks from the
performance of the majority of the children of his age, he is said
to possess a higher mental age.
 For example, if a child of 8 years has his performance on certain
adequately determined tasks equal to that majority of the 10
years old, then he had the mental age(MA) of 10 years where as
another child of 8 years showing his performance equal to that of
the majority of the 6 years old, on the same tasks could be said to
possess the mental age of 6 years.
 For example, an 8 year old child with a mental age of 8 would
have an IQ of 100 (8/8×100=100). If the same child had a mental
age of 5, it would be 63 (5/8×100=63). If the child’s mental age is
12, the IQ would be 150 (12/8×100=150).
 An IQ above 100 showed that the individual was more intelligent
than students of the same age. In contrast, numbers below 100
indicated that the individual was less intelligent than his or
her peers.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN INTELLIGENCE
 People possess various levels of intelligence. Some people
have very low intelligence while some have very high
intelligence. Most of the people lie in the middle.
1. Mental retardation(Intellectual Disability)
 Mental retardation is a condition in which persons have sub
average intellectual functioning and limitations on
conceptual, practical and social adaptive skills.
 In terms of IQ, people scoring less than 70 in intelligence
tests are considered retard.
a. Less than 30: severely retarded
b. 30-50: moderately retarded
c. 50-70 mildly retarded
 Mental retardation is also called intellectual disability.
Intellectually disabled people can be helped to manage
their life.
2. Gifted
 Some people score very high in intelligence tests. People
scoring 130-145 are called superior.
 Those who score higher than 145 are considered gifted.
Some individuals score even higher.
 Researches have shown that most of the gifted people are
outgoing, well-adjusted, healthy and popular but it does not
mean that high IQ is a guarantor of success in life.