Psychology
Intelligence Testing
Intelligence testing refers to the assessment of an individual's cognitive abilities, problem-solving skills, and overall intellectual potential. These tests are designed to measure various aspects of intelligence, such as verbal, mathematical, and spatial reasoning. They are used in educational, clinical, and occupational settings to identify strengths and weaknesses, guide interventions, and make informed decisions about individuals' abilities and potential.
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10 Key excerpts on "Intelligence Testing"
eBook - PDF- John Hunsley, Catherine M. Lee(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
Theories of Intelligence 149 We begin this chapter by outlining theories of intelligence and some of the research relevant to understanding the influences on intelligence and intelligence tests. Psychologists working in many different settings are often asked to assess an individual’s intellectual and cognitive abilities. After describing some of the more common situations in which such evalua- tions are required, we move to describe the most commonly used intelligence tests and other tests of cognitive functioning. Defining Intelligence We all have an intuitive idea of what intelligence is. We can point to individuals we consider highly intelligent; likewise, we can probably identify examples of intelligent behaviour (and probably some examples of not-so-intelligent behaviour). How can we define intelligence in a manner that is appropriate across skill sets, areas of performance, and cultural contexts? One option is to simply avoid the use of the term intelligence and to use other concepts such as abil- ity or, more accurately, general mental ability. Although a number of theorists and test develop- ers have taken this approach, it doesn’t really get us any further in trying to tease out the meaning of intelligence, as it just substitutes one word or phrase for another. Throughout the years, psychologists have made many attempts to define intelligence. These include both broad definitions, such as the ability to learn or to adapt to the environ- ment, and narrow definitions, such as the ability to engage in abstract thinking (cf. Aiken, 2003). Because Binet was working on the development of a tool to predict school performance, his definition focused on ability related to scholastic/academic tasks. You will probably agree that this yields a limited definition. Subsequent definitions of intelligence have focused on the context of life more generally.
eBook - PDF- Neil J. Salkind(Author)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
As such, certain state and provin-cial restrictions exist that limit who is permitted to administer and interpret the results. In general, the use of intelligence tests is limited to psychologists or other such individuals who have a minimum of graduate-level training in psychology and assessment. Although most commonly used by school or clinical psychologists within school and clinical settings, intel-ligence tests may also be used by psychologists within other specializations (e.g., counseling, industrial organi-zation, research) and in such additional settings as community and state agencies, workplaces, universi-ties, and private practices. In part, the purpose for administering an intelligence test may vary to some extent depending on the reason for referral and who is administering it and in which setting. A school psy-chologist may use the results of an intelligence test to help decide which students should be selected for a gifted program, whereas a neuropsychologist may use the results to assist with determining the location and extent of a brain injury. In general, intelligence tests provide information that can inform a wide range of diagnostic and decision-making processes. Among the most common uses of intelligence tests are to assist with diagnostic and eligibility decisions, intervention planning, progress monitoring, and research into cogni-tive functioning. Diagnostic and Eligibility Decisions Originating with Binet and Simon’s development of an intelligence scale to identify children who would bene-fit from regular and special education, one of the pri-mary uses of intelligence tests has been and continues to be in making diagnostic and eligibility decisions. In particular, various classification systems, laws, and pol-icies use an individual’s level of intellectual function-ing (IQ or equivalent) for the purposes of identifying particular groups of individuals and for determining eli-gibility for services.
- Susan Whiston(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
In all of these cases, knowledge of Intelligence Testing will assist counselors in better serving their clients. Although terms such as intelligence and IQ are a common part of everyday language, there is a lack of consensus within the profession concerning the specifics on definition and structure of intelligence. In the United States, Sternberg, Conway, Ketron, and Bernstein (1981) found that both laypeople and experts had some common ideas about intelligence that included some kind of problem solving, a factor related to verbal ability, and some kind of social competence. Some professionals in the field of assessment prefer the term general ability because of the negative connotations associated with Intelligence Testing. The debate about the meaning of intelligence and intelligence test scores is somewhat emo-tionally charged. According to Neisser et al. (1996), political agendas, rather than scientific knowledge, often fuel the debate related to Intelligence Testing. To facilitate an understand-ing of Intelligence Testing, this chapter briefly reviews several different perspectives on the nature of intelligence. This overview of models lays a foundation for the discussion of spe-cific intelligence or general ability tests. Both individually administered and group tests are included in the discussion. This chapter concludes with a summary of research related to pertinent issues in intelligence or general ability testing. Models of Intelligence Psychometric Approach Since the beginning of the twentieth century, a major influence on the study of individual differences in intelligence has been the psychometric (or differential) approach . Psychometric theories of intelligence are based on the premise that intelligence can be described in terms of mental factors (Bjorklund, 2012), which are general mental skills that influence mental perfor-mance in a variety of situations.
eBook - PDF- Douglas Bernstein, , , (Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
We can’t use x-rays or brain scans to see intelligence, so we have to draw conclusions about people’s intelligence from what can be observed and measured in their actions (Borkenau et al., 2004). This usually means looking at scores on tests designed to measure intelligence. TESTING FOR INTELLIGENCE How is intelligence measured? What, exactly is intelligence? The answer is hard to pin down. Though there is no single, universally accepted definition, most psychologists agree that intelligence includes three main characteristics: (1) abstract thinking or reasoning abilities, (2) problem-solving abilities, and (3) the capacity to acquire knowledge (Gottfredson, 1997b; Snyderman & Rothman, 1987). Standard tests of intelligence measure some of these characteristics, but they don’t address all of them. That is why some psychologists argue that these tests fail to provide a complete picture of someone’s intelligence in its broadest sense. Others say that broadening the definition of intelligence too much makes it meaningless. Still others suggest dropping the term altogether in favor of the more descriptive and less emotionally charged concept of cognitive ability. To better understand the controversy, let’s look at how standard intelligence tests were created, what they are designed to measure, and how well they do their job. Later, we will consider some alternative intelligence tests that have been proposed by those who find fault with traditional ones. A Brief History of Intelligence Tests The story of modern intelligence tests begins in France in 1904, when the French govern-ment appointed a psychologist named Alfred Binet (pronounced “bee-NAY”) to a com-mittee whose job was to identify, study, and provide special educational programs for children who were not doing well in school. As part of his work, Binet developed a set of test items that provided the model for today’s intelligence tests.
eBook - PDF- Robert J. Sternberg(Author)
- 2000(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Through research knowledge, theoretical sophistication, and clinical ability, examiners must generate hypotheses about an individual's assets and deficits and then confirm or deny these hypotheses by exploring multiple sources of evidence. Well-validated hypotheses must then be translated into meaningful, practical rec- ommendations. Practitioner-scientists must come well equipped with in-depth understanding of the state-of-the-art instrumentation and select tests that meet exceptional psychometric standards, but good judgment, knowledge of psychology, and clinical 454 ALAN S. KAUFMAN training are more important than the particular in- strument selected for an evaluation if one is to move beyond the obtained IQs and profile of subtest scores (Kaufman, 1990a, 1994). Each adult and child who comes for an assessment has unique character- istics, a particular way of approaching test items, and may be affected differently by the testing situation than the next individual. Through the use of an inte- grated interpretation approach, the various dimen- sions that influence a child can become apparent. Apart from this general philosophy of test inter- pretation, the intelligent testing approach is rooted in five basic principles. These have most recently been articulated for the WISC-III (Kaufman, 1994, chapter 1), but they pertain to all of the individual tests of intelligence discussed in this chapter. 1. The tasks constituting the intelligence tests, whether verbal or nonverbal, measure what the individual has learned. As such, these tests are like achievement tests in that they measure past accomplishments and are predictive of success in traditional school subjects. Research indicates that intelligence tests consistently prove to be good predictors of con- ventional school achievement (e.g., Wechsler, 1991, pp. 206-209).
eBook - PDF- Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- BPS Blackwell(Publisher)
The extent to which intelligence is or is not a meaning- ful concept will therefore depend on empirical data or observable behavior. Typically, this behavior is measured in terms of individual differences in standardized perfor- mance on tests correlated with real-life outcomes, such as academic exam grades or job performance. Thus, the key issue is not whether we measure “intelligence” but whether we have found something worth measuring (Miles, 1957). As shown in Figure 5.2, the notion of intelligence is directly inferred from the relationship between test scores (e.g., IQ points) and other criteria, such as perfor- mance in school or at work. If these are significantly correlated, we can assume that intelligence has similarly affected both test performance and school/job performance. Any definition of intelligence will also have to conceptualize the underlying or latent processes that cause individual differences in test and school/job per- formance. Definitions of intelligence will be examined more closely throughout this chapter, but for an overview and preliminary understanding of the concept it should suffice to define it as a “general ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, learn quickly, and learn from experience” (Gottfredson, 2000, p. 81). Intelligence, then, does not refer to specific abilities but to an “indivisible quality of mind that influences the execution of all consciously directed activities” (Robinson, 1999, p. 720).
eBook - PDFIntroduction to Clinical Psychology
Bridging Science and Practice
- Douglas A. Bernstein, Bethany A. Teachman, Bunmi O. Olatunji, Scott O. Lilienfeld(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
As for validity, the test shows high correlations with the WISC (McKown, 2011), and also correlates strongly with criteria such as school grades, achievement test scores, and neuropsychological performance (Braden, 1995; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004a). A brief version Tests of Intellectual Functioning | 159 called the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-2 (K- BIT-2) is designed to yield estimates for crystal- lized and fluid intelligence in about 20 minutes (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2004b). Several other intelligence tests in use today assess intelligence without emphasis on verbal or vocalization skills. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Revised, the Leiter International Performance Scale, and the Raven’s Progressive Matrices, for example, allow clinicians to assess intellectual functioning in clients who are very young or have other characteristics that impair their ability at verbal tasks. These tests also pro- vide a backup in cases in which the clinician suspects that a client’s performance on a standard IQ test may have been hampered by anxiety, verbal deficits, cultural disadvantages, or other situational factors. Aptitude and Achievement Tests Intelligence tests can be viewed as general meas- ures of both aptitude (the capacity to acquire knowledge or skill) and achievement (the knowledge or skill that a person has acquired). A number of other tests have been designed expressly to measure these more specific aspects of cognitive ability. Aptitude tests are usually designed to predict success in an occupation or an educational program. Along with overall cog- nitive ability, they measure the accumulated effects of many different educational and living experiences and attempt to forecast performance on the basis of these effects. Achievement tests measure proficiency at certain tasks; that is, they measure how much people know or how well they can perform in specific areas.
eBook - PDFAssessment in Counseling
Procedures and Practices
- Danica G. Hays(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- American Counseling Association(Publisher)
Such group-administered tests are now used at every education level from kindergarten through graduate school. They are also used extensively by industry, by the military, and in research studies. The Beta III is widely used when hiring non-English-speaking or il- literate unskilled laborers for whom a verbal test would not be appropriate (Bellah, 2005). Assessment of Intelligence 197 To avoid the term intelligence test, because the term intelligence is so often misunderstood and misinterpreted, counselors are encouraged to describe these tests, particularly those designed for school use, in terms of mental maturity, cognitive ability, school ability, or academic ability. Group Intelligence Tests for School Use Because these tests are administered across a number of grades throughout entire school systems, they are administered in the hundreds of thousands each year. The market for these tests is therefore a profitable one, and a large number are available for use. Four of the most popular and most psychometrically sound instruments are briefly described here. Results are typically reported in a variety of forms: national and local age and grade per- centiles, stanines, and normal curve equivalents. Cognitive Abilities Test The Cognitive Abilities Test, Form 6 (CogAT-6), was published in 2001 and normed in 2000 and 2005. The test has two editions: the Primary Edition, with three levels for kindergarten through Grade 2, and a Multilevel Edition, with levels for use in Grades 3 through 12. The CogAT-6 is composed of three batteries assessing verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal abilities, with each battery consisting of three separate tests with a composite score (Rodgers, 2005). The nonverbal section uses neither language nor numbers but rather uses geometric figures for tasks that require classification, analogies, or figure synthesis. In this portion, the effects of formal schooling, poor reading ability, or non-native English speaker status are minimized.
eBook - ePub- Edgar Stones(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
In the American Otis Test, however, the items are different in kind and include such things as: following instructions, detecting associations, picture completion (illustrated), following a maze, picture sequence (illustrated), similarities, synonym-antonym and common sense. To test common sense, the tester reads out questions and three alternative answers. The child underlines on his test sheet the number of the answer he considers to be correct. The Rationale of Intelligence Testing So far we have considered Intelligence Testing mainly from a descriptive point of view. Let us now consider some of the basic postulates of the theory of Intelligence Testing [5]. As we have seen, American and British tests of intelligence have made use of different concepts about the nature of intelligence. This points to one of the most intractable problems in this field: there is no generally accepted definition of what is being tested. Psychologist have grappled with this problem over the years; books have been written arguing one view or the other and many issues of educational journals include discussion and argument about intelligence and its nature. The extent of the difficulty may be illustrated by an examination of the comments of different psychologists on the subject. Spearman, as we have seen, considered intelligence to consist mainly in the ‘ability to educe relations’. Burt considered it to be ‘innate, general, cognitive ability’. On the other hand in the ‘General Instructions to the use of the Stanford revision of the Binet test’ (1955) Terman and Merrill comment: ‘Whatever the nature of intelligence may be [my italics], its manifestations in the individual are uneven…. Abilities are always manifested and measured in relation to experience and training, and the behavioural composite which we call intelligence is of necessity modified and moulded by these factors.’ D
eBook - PDFMental Testing in Clinical Practice
The Commonwealth and International Library: Mental Health and Social Medicine Division
- Moyra Williams, Hugh L. Freeman(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Pergamon(Publisher)
Scored in terms of social age (S.A.) and social quotient (S.Q.). (2) Intelligence Testing OF THE DEAF (Hiskey, M. S., 1941) Although many performance tests are used with deaf children, it must be remembered that all have been standardised on those who could hear. Only the Nebraska Scale (involving eleven sub-tests) has been standardised on the deaf. (3) Intelligence Testing OF THE BLIND (Bauman and Hayes, 1951) The verbal items from the Binet and from the Wechsler-Bellevue (see later) have both been specially standardised on blind people. (4) Intelligence Testing OF THE ORTHOPAEDICALLY HANDICAPPED (Heilman, 1951) This has only just begun. It is usual to use performance tests (e.g. Raven Matrices) cutting out the time element. INTELLIGENCE 21 4. Intelligence Testing of Adults WECHSLER-BELLEVUE SCALE (Wechsler, 1939) This has three claims to fame: (1) It was the first scale specifically standardised for adults, and allowing for normal decline of some abilities with age. (2) It was devised in a clinical setting and is orientated towards clinical problems. (3) It was the first test in which items were arranged and grouped for the assessment of the different aptitudes separately. Material. The test is presented in two parallel forms. Each form contains eleven sub-tests—five verbal, five non-verbal and a vocabu- lary test. Within the sub-tests, the items are arranged in ascending order of difficulty. Presentation. As originally devised, the test should be given in its entirety, but much work has been done on shortened forms (usually missing out one or more of the sub-tests). Values gained by averaging the scores obtained on the sub-tests which are given, and multiplying this average by the number of sub-tests in the battery, correlate well with the whole test.
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