Intelligence and Intelligence Testing

Richard B Fletcher, John Hattie, Richard Fletcher

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780415600927
• eBook ISBN: 9781136823206
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Bildung Allgemein

Have you ever wondered what IQ is and how it is measured? Why is there such a premium placed on high IQ? What do we mean by intelligence? What does your IQ score mean?

There can be no denying the enduring appeal of IQ over the last century. It is probably one of the most misunderstood yet highly researched psychological constructs ever. Such has been the controversy surrounding this topic that it is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. Intelligence and Intelligence Testing is a text that aims to address that.

This book examines the controversial psychological construct that is IQ, discussing and reviewing the history and current status of the research on intelligence and providing an overview of its development, measurement and use. From Galton, Spearman and Binet to the relatively recent controversy caused by the research of Herrnstein and Murray, this important book makes a major claim about the importance today of 'problem solving on demand' as one of the key components of today's notions of intelligence.

Chapters include coverage of:

• Intelligence and schooling;
• Cultural differences in views of intelligence;
• The history of IQ testing and its emergence into public consciousness;
• IQ as predictor of educational and occupational outcomes;
• Psychometrics and measurement of intelligence;
• The future of intelligence research.

Written by Richard B. Fletcher and John Hattie, the author of the highly-regarded Visible Learning, this textbook will be invaluable for all undergraduate and Masters level students studying the theory of intelligence and the impact of testing on educational. Detailed and annotated further reading lists and a glossary of terms are also included.

1

What is intelligence?

If we said that we wanted to measure whether you can reason, think logically, solve problems and use your memory successfully to accomplish these tasks, most people would agree that this is a worthwhile activity. Yet, if we said we wanted to measure ‘intelligence’, and particularly if we used the phrase ‘IQ’, it would be likely to provoke outcries such as ‘You cannot measure IQ’, ‘You’re a racist’, ‘IQ is a dirty word’, ‘There is not an agreed definition of what intelligence means’, ‘Intelligence is different across cultures’ and other cries of woe. As a lecturer in psychology I (Richard) often say to students that there are three typical reactions people give when asked about IQ: those who like it (usually because they have scored or believe they will score highly on an IQ test), those who could not care less about it (they scored around the average score on an IQ test) and those who think they are a waste of time (yes, you guessed it – they scored low on the IQ test). What intrigues us as professional educators is the range of opinions that people proffer about intelligence and IQ and just how little of these are based on a solid understanding of these topics. It should be no surprise that the term ‘intelligence’ provokes such reactions, given the complexity of the concept and the many contrasting and often conflicting views people have expressed in regard to this psycho logical concept. This should be of no surprise given its often chequered history (more on this in Chapter 2). Indeed, its history has made some people wary of it and in particular the manner in which it has been used – sometimes with good cause.

The term IQ is often tossed about in casual conversation with little understanding as to its meaning, its component or how it is measured – if asked, most people could hazard a guess as to what IQ stands for, but they would probably find it difficult to elaborate much more about IQ. It is the case that the psychological and statistical terminology used by the ‘experts’ often builds smokescreens that can make research on the topic inaccessible and somewhat dry to the layperson. It is worth mentioning at this point that intelligence and IQ are subtly different, in that intelligence in its broadest sense is more related to the ability to acquire and apply knowledge, whereas IQ places this definition into a metric with the ‘Q’ denoting a quotient (something divided by something, i.e. IQ = 100 × (Mental Age/Chronological Age)). It is, perhaps, terms like ‘mental age’ that can be off-putting to the layperson as it is difficult to convey its meaning (even professional psychologists have difficulty with it). In many ways, the overuse of jargon and the smokescreens have been to the detriment of our profession; for our part we want to break open this very interesting but often abused concept so that you, the reader, can become more informed about the issues and current debates.

We have aimed to write the book in a style more accessible than the typical education or psychology book. We have provided references for more reading on the topics covered in this book in the Appendix, and those wishing to see defence for the claims we make in the chapters should seek out some of these references.

This book is essentially about intelligence and IQ. The ‘I’ relates to definitions and the ‘Q’ addresses issues of metrics, which implies the processes and issues surrounding its measurement. We do not forget the most critical aspects of IQ – that is, how we interpret the results as well as the conclusions we make about IQ. It is hoped that having read this book you will have a better understanding of what IQ is, how it is measured and what use it has or can have in today’s highly technological and competitive society.

To set the context for more detailed discussion on the concept of intelligence and IQ, we begin by looking at everyday views held about intelligence. We then discuss differences in cultural views of intelligence, consider briefly the views expounded by the ‘experts’ and conclude with a summary of the major dimensions of ‘intelligence’ as perceived by 52 eminent researchers of intelligence.

The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them for ever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Everyday views on intelligence

In a series of studies, American psychologist Robert Sternberg (1985a), then professor at Yale University, asked laypeople what intelligence meant to them. He found that people perceived intelligence as being related to reasoning logically, making connections between ideas and seeing all aspects of a problem. From this series of studies, Sternberg concluded that laypeople held one of three primary views of intelligence: problem-solving intelligence, verbal intelligence and social intelligence – all views that fit well with the attributes most ‘experts’ ascribe to the concept of intelligence, as discussed later in this chapter.

We also vary our beliefs about intelligence depending on the age of the person whose intelligence is being considered. For example, children are considered intelligent if they are good at problem-solving and reasoning; young adults, if they have high verbal and learning ability; and older people, if they have skill at social adaptation, usually about the more everyday problems in the world around them. Thus, we value problem-solving intelligence in children, verbal intelligence in young adults and social intelligence in adults.

The beliefs we hold about intelligence can make a big difference to our effectiveness. For example, Carol Dweck (1999) has shown many times that teachers who believe intelligence is something that is changeable and can be improved are far more successful at teaching than those who believe intelligence is something that is fixed and something you cannot change – regardless of the truth about whether intelligence is or is not changeable. In sum, the confidence that teachers have about their ability to change students’ intelligence is a powerful tool for actually making a difference!

Intelligence and schooling

From a developmental perspective, primary/elementary school teachers consider intelligence to be more related to social attributes such as popularity, friendliness, respect for law and order and interest in the environment. High school teachers favour more verbal skills and energy, and university teachers see intelligence as related to reasoning, broad knowledge and the ability to deal maturely with problems. Thus, elementary teachers favour social intelligence; high school teachers favour verbal intelligence and university teachers favour problem-solving intelligence.

Having the positive attitude that we can change our level of performance can certainly make a difference. While some see such attitudes as related to intelligence (highly intelligent people are more confident of their success), there is much evidence that confidence of success occurs at all levels of intelligence – if you are confident you can improve then you are more likely to improve. Perhaps Norman Vincent Peale was right – we can build confidence to win and influence not only people but also our abilities. This is important, because intelligence, while valued as an asset, is not something that can be easily ‘learned’ via a training programme. It may be that a more important area for people to invest in is personal confidence. In other words, the question is not whether a person can attain a certain standing on a test or task but whether he or she has the confidence to tackle such tasks. As parents we would do better to believe that increasing our children’s confidence to try certain tasks is more potent for enhancing qualities such as self-esteem and motivation than relying solely on outcomes such as IQ or achievement scores. The message is clear: We should seek to combine personal efficacy/confidence with the motivation to learn, which may relegate intelligence to a lower priority, and which should then promote learning for the sake of learning. By promoting intrinsic motivation and confidence to try new tasks rather than focus on intelligence scores per se, there may be more successful outcomes. It is most important that we teach children, particularly elementary school–aged children, that effort and intelligence are separate abilities as this will more likely result in ‘effortful and confident learning’, which in turn makes a major difference to their achievement. We will note below that many Asian parents emphasise ‘effort’ whereas Western parents attribute success in school and other tasks to natural ability, luck and good fortune!

It is likely that because intelligence involves reasoning and problem-solving there is also a skill in knowing when to use these various intelligence strategies. Certainly, if you do not have a high ability in these strategies then you are unlikely to use them, to know when to use them or to realise how critical it is to acquire them. There is a double whammy here: a person with lower intelligence may not have sufficient knowledge about how they solve problems (the jargon word is metacognition or self-regulation) or how to choose among various intellectual strategies and, most importantly, they may not comprehend the importance of effort and attention to the task – particularly when they encounter obstacles to learning. Fortunately, however, it is possible to teach people some of these strategies, and in particular to appreciate that effort, motivation and attention are important.

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, first published in Esquire

Cultural differences in views about intelligence

Just as laypeople in the Western world have different views of what intelligence is, so there are diverse perspectives of intelligence as we move across different cultures. The major difference across cultures relates to the importance of what we reason and problem-solve about. Some societies care more about problem-solving that leads to greater personal development (individualism), while others care more about problem-solving that leads to greater social harmony (collectivism) – and there are many variations in the balance of these factors.

Collectivism refers to societies (or people) that favour harmony, a sense of closeness and duty to family and others, seeking others’ advice and a responsibility to the group. Individualism refers to societies that value uniqueness, personal independence, achievement, self-knowledge, clear communication and competition. You can imagine that what is seen as intelligence is likely to differ in these two types of societies.

Collectivists are more likely to see social intelligence, working with others, contemplative thinking, seeking the views of others, humility and an ability to know oneself and others as the hallmarks of intelligence.

Individualists are more likely to see verbal and knowledge-based notions of intelligence, speed of thinking, getting ahead and enjoying learning for self-improvement as the hallmarks of intelligence.

Collectivists consider rote learning and good memory as powerful tools for acquiring a deeper understanding of various topics. They see memory of facts as important for deeper thinking and intelligence. Collectivists would claim that we need to understand the surface features of things before we delve deeper into the relations between these facts or ideas, and particularly before we generalise or extend our thinking. In more individualistic societies, rote memory is something used often for quick success at passing exams or getting through difficult problem-solving exercises, but often this way of learning is not praised. Individualists largely view memory for facts as unimportant for intelligence. It is not surprising, then, that many Westerners condemn Eastern students as rote learners and fail to recognise that they are, indeed, using this technique to assist them in attaining a deeper level of understanding. This explanation of the different uses of memory in intelligence helps us unravel what John Biggs (1996) has called the ‘apparent paradox of the Asian learner’ – they come out at the top in the comparison of education systems across the world but we seem to not like the way they come out on top.

Another example of differences across cultures is silence. In some societies silence is a hallmark of intelligence, but that certainly is not the case in most Western or individualistic societies, where silence is often interpreted as the absence of intelligence. Similarly, some collectivist societies do not value the speed of thinking that many Western cultures do. Slow, contemplative thought rather than quick thinking is seen as the hallmark of intelligence in many non-Western cultures.

Another major difference across cultures relates to the purpose of intellectual thought. In many We...

Table of contents

• Frontcover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• Preface
• Chapter 1 What is intelligence?
• Chapter 2 The brief and sometimes dirty history of intelligence and IQ tests
• Chapter 3 Why do we care about intelligence?
• Chapter 4 The measurement of intelligence
• Chapter 5 The development of an IQ test
• Chapter 6 Test the Nation: The New Zealand IQ Test television programme
• Chapter 7 Profile of a nation
• Chapter 8 The future of intelligence
• Appendix
• Glossary
• References
• Index