Lesson 1 - Intelligence and Intellectual Disability

What is the term “Pathology”?

The scientific term for disease, disorder, abnormality. It is not a term unique to psychology or counseling. It is used in different disciplines like medicine, dental and botany.

What is Intelligence?

• It is one of the most talked-about cognitive abilities within the field of psychology, but it does not have a standard definition.  

• Some researchers have suggested that it is a single, general ability. Other theories hold that it encompasses a range of aptitudes, skills, and talents.

What did Alfred Binet (1857-1911) do?

He created an objective method for assigning pupils to special classes. This test was first created for French-speaking children, as he lived in that area.

The Binet-Simon Scale IQ test

Who and when was the first test successfully conducted?

It was constructed by French psychologists Alfred Binet and his colleague Theodore Simon in 1905, to respond to this need.

What did Binet believe this test should consist?

Binet believed that test items should tap complex mental activities involved in intelligent behavior, such as memory and reasoning. Tasks (verbal and nonverbal items)

What was the first test to associate items of increasing difficulty with chronological age?

The Binet-Simon Scale IQ test

What did this enable Binet and Simon to estimate?

How much a child was behind or ahead of her age mates in intellectual development.

How was the Binet-Simon Scale IQ test calculated?

1. Mental age – score a person receives on the intelligence test. 

2. Chronological Age – an individual’s age, based on the calendar date on which he/she was born.

What did Lewis Terman do?

In 1916, he at Stanford University adapted the Binet-Simon Scale IQ test for use with English Speaking school children.

What is the name of the English version of the test that Lewis Terman created?

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

What is Louis Thurstone (1938) view on intellectual disabilities?

Intelligence behavior arises from 7 primary mental abilities. The abilities are independent from each other.

What are these 7 primary mental abilities?

1. Verbal Comprehension

2. Verbal Fluency

3. Numerical Ability

4. Perceptual Speed

5. Inductive Reasoning

6. Spatial Visualization

7. Memory

What is Verbal Comprehension?

The understanding ability / capacity of a person

What is Verbal Fluency?

How fast, how rapid you are able to produce words

What is Numerical Ability?

How comfortable you are with numbers/calculations

What is Perceptual Speed?

How fast you process visual information (the ability to process whatever you see)

What is Inductive Reasoning?

How logical you are in generating new ideas

What is Spatial Visualization?

The ability to understand your space

What is Memory?

How well you encode information, store them and retrieve them

What did theory did Raymond B. Cattell come up with?

Crystallized Intelligence versus Fluid Intelligence

What are the characteristics of Fluid Intelligence?

• Capacity to think logically

• Ability to solve problems in novel / new situations

• Independent of learning

• Necessary for all logical problem solving specifically scientific, mathematical and technical problems

• Tends to peak early in life and steadily declines.

What are the characteristics of Crystallized Intelligence?

• Experience

• Involves knowledge that comes from prior learning and past experience.

• Relies on accessing information from long term memory. 

• Demonstrated through one’s vocabulary and general knowledge. 

• Tends to improve with age as experience tends to expand one’s knowledge.

• Continues to expand throughout the lifetime.

What does Robert Sternberg Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory consist of?

It consists of three domains,

• Analytical Intelligence

• Creative Intelligence

• Practical Intelligence

What is analytical intelligence?

• Apply strategies

• Acquire task-relevant and metacognitive knowledge

• Engage in self-regulation

What is creative intelligence?

• Solve novel problems

• Makes processing skills to free working memory for complex thinking

What is practical intelligence?

• Adapt to…

• Shape…and/or

• Select…environments to meet both personal goals and the demands of one’s everyday world

What are the two types of thinking?

• Conversion

• Divergent

What is convergent thinking?

• Focuses on one concrete solution to a problem.

• Involves logic, accuracy, and narrowing down options to find the best or correct answer.
  

What is divergent thinking?

• Involves generating multiple, varied solutions to a problem.

• Encourages creativity, open-mindedness, and brainstorming.

What is Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences?

It defines intelligence in terms of distinct sets of processing operations that permit individuals to solve problems, create products, and discover new knowledge in a wide range of culturally valued activities.

What is Linguistic intelligence?

The sensitivity to the sounds, rhythm and meaning of words and the function of language.

ex - Poet, journalist

What is Logico-mathematical intelligence?

The sensitivity to, and capacity to detect, logical or numerical patterns; ability to handle long chains of logical reasoning

ex - Mathematician

What is Musical intelligence?

The ability to produce and appreciate pitch, rhythm (or melody), and aesthetic quality of the forms of musical expressiveness

ex - Instrumentalist, composer

What is Spatial intelligence?

Ability to perceive the virtual-spiritual world accurately. To perform transformations on those perceptions and to re-create aspects of visual experience in the absence of relevant stimuli

ex - Sculptor, navigator

What is Bodily- kinesthetic intelligence?

Ability to use the body skilfully for expressive as well as goal-directed purposes; ability to handle objects skilfully

ex - Dancer, athletic

What is Naturalist intelligence?

The ability to recognize and classify all varieties of animals, minerals and plants

ex - Biologist

What is Interpersonal intelligence?

The ability to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, temperaments, motivations and intentions of others

ex - Therapist, salesperson

What is Intrapersonal intelligence?

The ability to discriminate complex inner feelings and to use them to guide one’s own strengths, weaknesses, desires and intelligences

ex - Person with detailed, accurate self-knowledge

What are the different types of commonly used intelligence tests?

They are based on

• number of individuals to be tested

• form of test

What are the types of tests based on number of individuals to be tested?

• Individual Tests – administer single subject at a time 

• Group Tests – administered to a large group at a time

What are the types of tests based on the form of test?

• Verbal Tests – utilize language 

• Non-verbal Tests – utilize concrete non-verbal materials

What is the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale?

It is the modern descendant of Alfred Binet’s first successful intelligence test is the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition, for individuals from age 2 to adulthood

What does the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale consist of?

• This latest edition measures general intelligence and five intellectual factors: fluid reasoning, quantitative reasoning, knowledge, visual-spatial processing, and working memory (Roid, 2003)  

• Each factor includes both a verbal mode and a nonverbal mode of testing, yielding 10 subtests in all.  

• The nonverbal subtests, which do not require spoken language, are especially useful when assessing individuals with limited English, hearing impairments, or communication disorders.

What is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children?

• The Scale for Children–IV (WISC–IV)is the fourth edition of a widely used test for 6- through 16-year olds  

• A downward extension of it, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–III (WPPSI–III), is appropriate for children 2 years 6 months through 7 years 3 months (Wechsler, 2002, 2003)  

What does Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children consist of?

It offered both a measure of general intelligence and a variety of factor scores long before the Stanford-Binet

What is the Wechsler IQ Scale?

What is the Stanford-Binet IQ Scale?

What do they use these to classify intellectual disability?

• Intellectual Developmental Disorder – DSM-V 

• Mental Retardation – ICD-10

What is the criteria that must be met to diagnose with intellectual disability?

1. Deficits in intellectual functions, such as reasoning, problem solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, academic learning, and learning from experience, confirmed by both clinical assessment and individualized, standardized intelligence testing. 

2. Deficits in adaptive functioning that result in failure to meet developmental and sociocultural standards for personal independence and social responsibility. Without ongoing support, the adaptive deficits limit functioning in one or more activities of daily life, such as communication, social participation, and independent living, across multiple environments, such as home, school, work, and community. 

3. Onset of intellectual and adaptive deficits during the developmental period.

What are the risk factors for intellectual disability?

• Genetic and physiological prenatal etiologies include genetic syndromes, inborn errors of metabolism, brain malformations, maternal disease and environmental influences.

• Perinatal causes include a variety of labour and delivery-related events leading to neonatal encephalopathy.

• Postnatal causes include hypoxic ischemic injury, traumatic brain injury, infections, demyelinating disorders, seizure disorders, severe and chronic social deprivation, and toxic metabolic syndromes and intoxications.

What is Down’s Syndrome?

• They have an extra copy of one of these chromosomes, chromosome 21. 

• A medical term for having an extra copy of a chromosome is ‘trisomy.’ 

• It is also referred to as Trisomy 21. 

• This extra copy changes how the baby’s body and brain develop, which can cause both mental and physical challenges for the baby.

What is Mental Retardation?

It is a condition of arrested or incomplete development of the mind, which is especially characterized by impairment of skills manifested during the developmental period, which contribute to the overall level of intelligence

How can Retardation occur?

Retardation can occur with or without any other mental or physical disorder.  

What is F70 Mild mental retardation?

It refers to individuals with below-average intellectual functioning and difficulties in adaptive behavior, with IQ scores typically between 50–70. These individuals may struggle with abstract thinking, problem-solving, and academic tasks, especially reading, writing, and math. However, they can usually communicate effectively, maintain relationships, and perform basic self-care independently. Social and practical skills may develop more slowly, and they might need help in areas like money management, decision-making, or unfamiliar tasks. With appropriate support, they can often live independently or semi-independently, hold jobs, and participate in the community. The condition begins in childhood and may be caused by genetic, prenatal, or birth-related factors.

What is F71 Moderate mental retardation?

It refers to a more significant level of intellectual and adaptive functioning difficulty than the mild type. Individuals typically have an IQ between 35–49 and show clear delays in speech, motor skills, and academic development. They can communicate basic needs and understand simple instructions but often require lifelong support in daily living, including hygiene, dressing, and financial matters. Social skills are limited, and while they can form relationships, they often struggle with social cues and judgment. With consistent training and supervision, they may perform simple jobs or tasks in sheltered or supported settings. The condition originates in childhood and often results from genetic or developmental issues.

What is F72 Severe mental retardation?

It refers to individuals with profound limitations in intellectual functioning, typically with an IQ between 20–34. These individuals show major delays in all areas of development, including speech, motor skills, and social functioning. Communication is very limited—often using single words, gestures, or assistive methods—and they require extensive support for daily activities such as eating, dressing, and hygiene. Social interaction is very basic and usually limited to familiar people. While they may learn simple routines with repetition, independent living is not possible, and lifelong, close supervision is necessary. The condition begins in early childhood and is often caused by genetic disorders, brain malformations, or severe neurological conditions.

What is F73 Profound mental retardation?

It is the most severe level of intellectual impairment, with an IQ below 20–25. Individuals with this condition have very limited cognitive functioning and often show significant physical and sensory impairments as well. They usually cannot speak meaningfully and rely on nonverbal communication such as facial expressions or gestures. Basic tasks like eating, dressing, or using the toilet require total assistance and constant supervision. Social and emotional responses are minimal and typically limited to close caregivers. Profound intellectual disability often results from serious neurological or genetic disorders and requires lifelong, intensive care in structured environments.

What is F78 Other mental retardation?

It refers to “Other specified intellectual disabilities” when a person clearly shows signs of intellectual disability, but the cause or severity level cannot be precisely classified due to unusual circumstances (e.g., sensory impairments, physical disabilities, or behavioral issues that prevent full testing).

What is F79 Unspecified mental retardation?

It  is used when a person clearly shows signs of intellectual disability, but there isn't enough information to determine the specific type or severity (mild, moderate, severe, or profound). This may happen in very young children, individuals who are uncooperative during testing, or those in emergency or crisis situations where full assessment isn’t possible.

It is a temporary or placeholder diagnosis used until a more detailed evaluation can be done. The goal is to ensure support and services are not delayed even if the exact classification isn’t yet available.