2. Psychologists hold divergent views on what
intelligence is, how it develops, its relevance with
human life achievement and how best to measure it.
Binet & Simon(1905):considered the essence of
intelligence as; to judge well, to comprehend well
and to reason well.
Terman(1916):described intelligence as” the ability
to carry out abstract thinking”
Haggerty :believed intelligence is the ability to deal
with novelty.
3. Garret :thought of intelligence as capacity to utilize
symbols.
•To coordinate all the views, one may rely on the
definition given by DAVID WECHLER
The global capacity to think rationally, act
purposefully, and deal effectively with the
environment. According to this defenition,
intelligence is an effective, rational & goal directed
behavior.
4. • Theories of intelligence :
1.Factor theories :
• Spearman’s two factor theory ,
• Cattell’s and Horn’s theory ,
• Thurstone’s multifactor theory ,
• Vernon’s hierarchal theory
2.Process – oriented theories / cognitive
theories of intelligence
• Piaget’s theory
• Bruner’s theory
5. FACTOR THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
• One important issue is whether intelligence is a
single factor or made up of particular components.
1. Spearman G-Factor theory(1904):
• Intelligence is the ability to think constructively.
• Spearman proposed that every intellectual
performance is associated with a common and
general factor called g
• This general factor works in conjunction with
special abilities .
6. • Every intellectual activity involves a
specific ability pertaining to that
particular activity.
• Only one g factor and many s factors.
• Spearman advocated that everyone starts
with a general mental ability , later
specializes into one chosen field
• People have varied proportions of g and s
factors.
7. g is not itself an ability , but some property of
the brain that causes all forms of mental
abilities to be positively correlated .
Some of the well known intelligence tests like
Raven’s Progressive Matrices are designed to
measure Spearman’s g factor.
8. THURSTONE’S GROUP FACTOR
THEORY/ MULTI FACTOR THEORY
(1946):
• Rejected the general theory of intelligence.
•Instead of viewing intelligence as a single , general
ability , Thurstone’s theory focused on seven
primary mental abilities.
•His theory states that the human intelligence
includes seven primary mental abilities.
•The seven primary mental abilities may appear to
be different but they are related to each other.
•The seven primary mental abilities are;
9. 1. Spatial ability : The ability to perceive spatial
relation.
2. Perceptual ability : The ability to grasp visual
field.
3. Numerical ability : The ability to deal with
numbers
4. Verbal comprehension : The ability to understand
meaning of words
5. Word fluency : The ability to think and use words
rapidly
6. Memory : The ability to remember things
7. Reasoning : The ability to think logically .
10. Thurstone developed a test called Test of
Primary Mental Abilities (PMA ) in order to
assess these factors .
11. CATTELAND HORN’S THEORY OF
FLUID & CRYSTALLIZED
INTELLIGENCE
•The Cattell-Horn theory of fluid and crystallized
intelligence proposes that general intelligence is actually a
conglomeration of perhaps 100 abilities working together
in various ways in different people to bring out different
intelligences.
•Raymond Cattell held a hereditary view of intelligence,
arguing that the weight of the statistical evidence supports
the idea that intelligence is largely determined by genetics
•Fluid intelligence (Gf) and Crystallized intelligence (Gc)
12. Fluid intelligence :
Innate , biological or genetically determined
capacity
Not influenced by education or learning
Helps in learning and solving novel problems.
the individual's ability to think and act quickly,
and encode short-term memories..
Ability that helps to understand and adjust to
strange situations
Develops fully by the end of an individual’s
adolescence.
13. They have been described as the source of intelligence
that an individual uses when he or she doesn't already
know what to do
Crystallized intelligence
Learned or acquired capacity
Influenced by environmental factors like education,
training , culture , knowledge
Can be observed in the behaviour of a person while
dealing with culture and traditions , his knowledge in
worldly affairs , the skills in handling machinery, tools
etc.
14. Is reflected in tests of knowledge, general
information, use of language (vocabulary) and a wide
variety of acquired skills
Personality factors, motivation and educational and
cultural opportunity are central to its development,
and it is only indirectly dependent on the
physiological influences that mainly affect fluid
abilities
Continues throughout the life.
Fluid and crystallized intelligence are independent
but they are interrelated
15. VERNON’S HIERARCHICAL THEORY OF
INTELLIGENCE
Philip E. Vernon (1950)
Hierarchical theory of intelligence
g at highest level, must consider it in order to
understand or measure intelligence
At next level are the major group factors:
Verbal-Educational
Spatial-Mechanical
16. Next level is minor group factors:
Lowest level contains specialized factors that
are unique to specific tests
Therefore, the lower on the hierarchy, the most
specific the behavior
Vernon’s theory is supported by numerous
studies finding positive intercorrelations
among different tests
17. • Vernon’s assumption of different levels of
intelligence may fill the gaps between two
extreme theories , two – factor theory of
Spearman , which didn’t allow for the
existence of group factors, and the multiple-
factor theory of Thurstone , which didn’t
allow a ‘g’ factor.
• Intelligence can be divided as comprising
abilities at varying levels of generality
18.
19. The highest level; ‘g’ (general intelligence ) factor
with the largest source of variance between
individuals (Spearman ).
The next level : Major group factors such as verbal-
numerical-educational (V.ed) & practical –mechanical
–spatial – physical( K. m) ability.
The next level: Minor group factors are divided from
major group factors.
The bottom level : ‘s’ (specific) factors (Spearman )
20. PROCESS – ORIENTED
THEORIES
These theories focus on intellectual processes –
the patterns of thinking that people use when
they reason and solve problems.
They often speak of cognition and cognitive
processes rather than intelligence .
They are often more interested in how people
go about solving problems & figuring out
answers than in how many right answers get.
21. Finally, the process- oriented theorists tend to
focus on the development of intellectual
processes – how the processes change as
individual mature
22. PIAGET’S THEORY - STAGE
THEORY OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
Intelligence is an adaptive process
Involves the interplay of biological maturation
and interaction with the environment
Piaget view intellectual development as an
evolution of cognitive processes such as
understanding the laws of nature , the
principles of grammar & mathematical rules
23. Schemas are categories of knowledge that help us
to interpret and understand the world
Assimilation - The process of taking in new
information into our already existing schemas is
known as assimilation.
Accommodation - Accommodation involves
modifying existing schemas, or ideas, as a result
of new information or new experiences. New
schemas may also be developed during this
process.
24. As children progress through the stages of cognitive development,
it is important to maintain a balance between applying previous
knowledge (assimilation) and changing behaviour to account for
new knowledge (accommodation). Equilibration helps explain how
children can move from one stage of thought into the next
• Piaget’s stages of cognitive development:
• Sensorimotor stage : Birth- 2years; development of object
permanence& motor skills, capacity for symbolic representation.
• Preoperational stage : 2-7yrs- development of language& thinking.
25. • Concrete operational stage:7-12yrs-
development of conversation.
• Formal operational stage- 12yrs-adulthood-
development of logical and abstract thinking
26. BRUNER’S THEORY
Bruner observes that the process of constructing
knowledge of the world is not done in isolation but
rather within a social context and notes that "there is
no unique sequence for all learners, and the optimum
in any particular case will depend upon a variety of
factors, including past learning, stage of development,
nature of the material, and individual differences."
Bruner built on Vygotsky's social constructional
theory
27. Like Piaget, Bruner said that children have an innate
capacity and that cognitive abilities develop through
active interaction.
Bruner argued that social factors, particularly
language, were important for cognitive growth. These
underpin the concept of scaffolding; the help given to
a child that supports learning
In contrast to Piaget's four stages, Bruner suggested
three stages.
1. The enactive mode
2. The iconic mode
3. The symbolic mode
28. The first is the enactive mode (first eighteen months)
when the child’s activities are predominantly motor
and related to motor nerves.
The iconic mode then develops where the child is
guided by mental imagery; able to form own mental
images and expresses self on that basis.
The final stage is the symbolic mode from about six or
seven years onwards in which the child will express
self in the form of words and will have a mental sense
of time and distance. At this stage language learning
also begins.
29. During the 1960's Bruner also developed his own
theory on cognitive development. In contrast to
Piaget, his approach looked to environmental and
experiential factors and criticized Piaget for his lack
of attention to social and political context of his
theory.
Bruner suggested that intellectual ability developed in
stages through step-by-step changes in how the mind
is used.
Bruner argued that any subject can be taught
effectively to any child at any stage of development.
30. For example, it would not be appropriate to
teach a three year old complex physics,
however, Bruner contented that they could be
taught some principles of physics (e.g., force,
mass, momentum, friction) in enactive form
and later repeated in iconic, then symbolic
form
Bruner's theories on enactive, iconic, and
symbolic stages may also be applicable to
adults learning unfamiliar material.
Verbal educational – creative, verbal fluency, and numerical factors
Spatial Mechanical- psychomotor, mechanical information
This adaptation ( assimilation & accomodation) is driven by a biological drive to obtain balance between schemes and the environment ( equilibration)