1. Intelligence
Chapter 11; Pages

2. What is intelligence?

3. Intelligence
There is not one single way of describing intelligence. Over the years psychologists have described it in many different ways. However, a widely accepted definition is: Intelligence is the global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally and deal effectively with the environment.

4. Theories on intelligence- Binet
Binet-General Intelligence.
Alfred Binet was a French psychologist who was appointed by the government to study children who experienced academic difficulty.
Binet’s view was that intelligence is age related, for example five year olds should be more intelligent than four year olds, but less intelligent than six year olds.

5. Theories on Intelligence- Weschler
Weschler- Intelligence as verbal and performance abilities.
David Weschler viewed intelligence as the capacity to act purposefully, think rationally and deal effectively with the environment.
Weschler disagreed with former explanations of intelligence that were generally school based.
He came up with two categories of intelligence; Verbal and performance abilities.
Verbal abilities are entirely language dependent; such as vocabulary and comprehension
Performance abilities are those that are less dependent on language; for example arranging pictures to tell a story
Weshcler also suggested four conditions which should be present for any behaviour to be described as intelligent;
Awareness- you are aware of what you’re doing
Goal directed- your behaviour has a purpose
Rational- behaviour is consistent and appropriate
Worthwhile- it is valued by other and useful

6. Theories on Intelligence- Gardner
Howard Gardner proposes that we have multiple intelligences.
Gardner initially identified seven intelligences;
Linguistic intelligence- use of language
Musical intelligence- musical competence
Logical-mathematical intelligence- measuring quantities and using a sequence of logical steps to solve problems
Spatial intelligence mentally forming and using images
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence- using one’s body in skilled, specialised ways
Intrapersonal intelligence- ability to understand one’s own feelings
Interpersonal ability to read other people’s moods and act accordingly.
Naturalistic (added later)- interacts well and has an interest in the environment.

7. Theories on intelligence- Sternberg
Sternberg- Triarchic theory of intelligence
Robert Sternberg believes that traditional theories on intelligence only value ‘school smarts’
Three parts of intelligence: analytical intelligence, creative intelligence and practical intelligence
Analytical- ability to complete academic, problem-solving tasks (more traditional)
Creative- ability to successfully deal with new and unusual situations by drawing on existing knowledge and skills
Practical- ability to adapt to everyday life by drawing on existing knowledge
When all three areas of intelligence are in balance, Sternberg would say that a person has successful intelligence.
Analytical Intelligence
Creative Intelligence
Practical Intelligence

8. Theories on intelligence- Cattell-Horn-Carroll
Psychometric abilities
Psychometric is a specialist area of psychology that focuses on the measurement of psychological abilities.
Psychometrics has been applied to the study of intelligence for over 100 years
Raymond Cattell, John Horn and John Carroll believed different intelligent thoughts are hierarchical (that is they are ranked).
They suggested there were two types of intelligence; fluid and crystalised.
Fluid intelligence involves the use of reasoning for problem solving particularly for new problems
Crystalised intelligence involves the use of knowledge and skills we acquire through experience in everyday life.
See tables on pp

9. Theories on intelligence- Salovey and Mayer
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise the meanings of emotions and their relationships, and to reason and problem solve on the basis of emotions.
Salovey and Mayer believe that emotional intelligence involves four abilities;
The ability to accurately perceive emotions in oneself and others
The ability to use emotions to facilitate (assist) thinking
The ability to understand emotions
The ability to manage emotions