L1: Psychometric and Non-Psychometric Theories of Intelligence

Spearman’s Two Factor Theory of Intelligence

general ‘g’ factor of intelligence

some small factors of intelligence that form up to make g and are sometimes correlated but not always

g is a mental energy, some sort of neurological efficiency

g is a neutral term to represent ‘intelligence’

Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities Model

believed in 8 primary mental abilities, regarded g as incorrect

believed all intellectual activity has a systematic organization but that this is different from a general ability factor

over time, he was forced to consider that a second order g factor does exist when moderate correlations were found between different abilities

Cattell and Horn’s Fluid and Crystalized Intelligence

fluid ability: non-verbal, culture free, mental efficiency. on the spot ability to solve mental problems, raw intelligence, dependent on underlying physiological brain structures. increases until adolescence and then plateaus and declines reflecting physiological changes. more sensitive to brain injury

crystalized ability: ability to learn over the course of a lifetime, acquired intellectual skills, based on fluid ability, increases at least until middle adulthood

Second Order Abilities proposed by Horn

multi-factor modele including fluid and crystalized ability among others

Guilford’s Structure of Intellect Model

better to think of intelligence as a rubik’s cube

we perform a mental operation for a situation to produce a product

Carroll’s 3 Stratum Factor Analytic Theory

a unified statistical approach to model intelligence based on numerous data sets generated from different models of intelligence

intended to replace all previous models

stratum III: g

stratum II: 8 mental abilities including fluid and crystalized intelligence, intercorrelate but not perfectly which is what gives us g

stratum I: abilitycorrelates related to their respective category in stratum II

Horn criticized with the idea of a ‘crud’ factor saying that you will of course find intercorrelation in things measuring essentially the same thing

Cattell, Horn, and Carroll Consensus Model

Carroll model only has g

CH model only contains vulnerable abilities (fluid intelligence), expert abilities (crystalized intelligence), and perceptual abilities (sensory systems)

overall the best representation of intelligence from the psychometric approach

does not include things like emotional intelligence or kinesthetic ability

Sternberg’s Triarchic Model of Intelligence

believes psychometric theories are incomplete

a theory that adequately describes intelligent behavior needs three subcomponents: analytical, practical, and creative dimensions of intelligence

analytical: metacomponents (information processing strategies that overview, plan, monitor, control, and evaluate our intelllectual activity), performance components (lower order aspects of intelligence, carry out problem solving), knowledge acquisition components (allow us to learn new information, students)

practical: how do you behave intelligently in the real world, adapting to environment, selecting a new environment, or shaping of the existing environment

creative: capitalizing on past experiences to solve new problems, automization

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory

direct challenge to psychometric theories

intelligence is not a thing, it is a potentially useful scientific construct

explains not just intelligence that allows someone to become a scientist but also how to become a musician or farmer

8 different types of intelligence, 8 criteria for an intelligence to be considered

Gardner rejected spiritual intelligence even though it has a strong case against the 8 criteria