Intelligence

Intelligence is defined as the ability to learn and solve issues. There are various intelligence hypotheses used in psychology to describe the idea.

Evolution of Intelligence in Psychology
Given the widespread fascination with the concept of intelligence, some of the field's most brilliant minds have looked into it from a variety of perspectives. Some of the major theories of intelligence that have arisen in the last 100 years are listed here.

General Intelligence
The concept of general intelligence, or the "g factor," was coined by British psychologist, Charles Spearman (1863–1945). Spearman discovered that the scores on these exams were surprisingly comparable after applying factor analysis to analyse them.

People who did well on one cognitive exam were more likely to do well on others, while those who did poorly on one test were more likely to do poorly on others. He came to the conclusion that intelligence is a general cognitive skill that can be measured and expressed mathematically by researchers.

Mental Abilities: The Basics
Rather than a single, generic skill, psychologist Louis L. Thurstone (1887–1955) concentrated on seven fundamental mental abilities.
 * 1) Associative memory: The ability to memorize and recall information
 * 2) Numerical ability: Mathematical problem-solving skill
 * 3) Perceptual speed: The ability to distinguish between objects based on their differences and similarities
 * 4) Reasoning: Rule-finding ability
 * 5) Spatial visualization: The ability to see connections visually
 * 6) Verbal comprehension: The ability to decipher and define words.
 * 7) Word fluency: The ability to churn out words quickly

Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is one of the more recent ideas about intelligence. Traditional IQ testing, he claims, does not fully and accurately depict a person's abilities. He proposed eight distinct intelligences based on skills and abilities valued in different cultures:
 * 1) Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: The ability to control one's movements and manipulate objects with dexterity
 * 2) Interpersonal intelligence: The ability to recognize and respond appropriately to other people's moods, motivations, and desires
 * 3) Intrapersonal intelligence: The ability to be self-aware and aware of one's own feelings, values, beliefs, and thought processes
 * 4) Logical-mathematical intelligence: The ability to think abstractly and conceptually, as well as to recognize logical or numerical patterns
 * 5) Musical intelligence: The ability to create as well as enjoy rhythm, pitch, and timbre
 * 6) Naturalistic intelligence: The ability to recognize and categorize animals, plants, and other objects in nature
 * 7) Verbal-linguistic intelligence: Well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings, and rhythms of words
 * 8) Visual-spatial intelligence: The capacity to think in images and visualize accurately and abstractly.

Intelligence in a Triarchic Framework
Robert Sternberg, a psychologist, defined intelligence as "mental activity directed toward purposeful adaptation to, selection of, and shaping of real-world environments relevant to one's life."

He agreed with Gardner that intelligence is much more than a single, general ability, but he suggested that some of Gardner's intelligence types should be considered individual talents. Sternberg coined the term "successful intelligence," which consists of three elements:
 * 1) Analytical intelligence: The ability to analyze data and come up with solutions
 * 2) Creative intelligence: The ability to generate novel ideas
 * 3) Practical intelligence: Adaptability to a changing environment

Intelligence (IQ) Testing
When German psychologist William Stern coined the term "intelligence quotient" (IQ) in the early twentieth century, efforts to quantify intelligence took a significant step forward. Based on this, psychologist Alfred Binet created the first intelligence tests to assist the French government in identifying students who required additional academic support. Binet was the first to coin the term "mental age," which refers to a set of abilities that children of a specific age possess.

Since then, intelligence testing has grown in popularity, spawning a slew of new skill and aptitude assessments. IQ testing, on the other hand, continues to elicit debate about its use, cultural biases, intelligence influences, and even the definition of intelligence itself.

How Psychologists and Psychiatrists Measure Intelligence
To assess intelligence, experts use a variety of standardized tests. The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the American College Test are two examples of group-based aptitude tests (ACT). Individual IQ tests are among the others.

The average IQ score is around 100. The majority of children with intellectual disabilities (85%) have a score of 55 to 70. Severe disabilities are usually associated with even lower scores.

The Binet-Simon intelligence scale, which was developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon in 1905, was the first IQ test ever used. The test was then adapted for use in the United States by Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman. The Stanford-Binet IQ test calculated a person's IQ by dividing their estimated mental age by their chronological age (mental age/chronological age x 100). The mental age corresponded to the age group whose mean score was the same as the individual's.

In 1939, David Wechsler created the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, which was the first intelligence test for adults (WAIS). It was the first to score using a standardized normal distribution, and it is still widely used today. It is broken down into verbal and performance measures, with verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed indices being the most common. It uses a bell curve for scoring, as do most modern tests.

The Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, the Cognitive Assessment System, and the Differential Ability Scale are some of the other tests used by psychologists and psychiatrists today.