Intelligence Testing Methods

Abstract

Modern methods of intelligence examination are undoubtedly indebted to the pioneering works of Ch. Darwin. On the other hand, without the fundamental mathematical developments of K. Gauss and K. Pearson, the examination of intelligence would not be the way it is today. At the same time, F. Galton was the first to demonstrate that the Laplace-Gauss distribution or “normal distribution” can be applied to human psychological properties, including intelligence. In addition, F. Galton founded the world’s first intelligence testing center, in which an individual could pass a series of tests and receive a written report on the results obtained. F. Galton also believed that intelligence is a matter of neurological efficiency, and therefore suggested that it can be examined by measuring reaction time and acuity of sensations. Around the same time, J. Cattell conducted a series of experiments with reaction time. When he became aware of F. Galton’s anthropometric laboratory, he founded his own anthropometric laboratory and became a successful defender of the psychophysical approach to the examination of intelligence. It should be noted that before H. Ebbinghaus, the study of higher mental processes was still dominated by introspective approaches. H. Ebbinghaus’s approach to the study of memory changed this paradigm, demonstrating that higher cognitive processes can be studied empirically. After that, V. Wundt created the world’s first laboratory of experimental psychology. Anthropometric examination in general became controversial after the publication of the work of Wissler, who used a correlation approach to empirically refute J. Cattell’s method of examining intelligence by determining mental abilities by measuring reaction time and other simple mental and sensory processes, who was one of the first researchers to seek the only factor underlying human intelligence. Interest in measurement led to the development of what would become the basis for the Binet-Simon intelligence scale, which developed a scale in which specific tasks were correlated with ability levels or mental age and which H. Goddard brought to the United States. L. Terman agreed with V. Stern’s proposal to accept the ratio between mental and chronological age as a single measure of intelligence, multiplied by 100, thereby obtaining the “intelligence quotient”. Considering the above, D. Veksler published several instruments for the examination of intelligence. F. Goodenough developed the Draw-A-Man and the Minnesota Preschool Scale, as well as several other alternative intelligence tests. At the same time, A. Anastazi believed that most of the slogans regarding culturally unrelated tests are incorrect. Following J. Gilford’s model of intelligence, K. Taylor found that typical intelligence tests examine only a small part of abilities, in particular, 10 % at most. The above, which is pointed out in the article, shows that less has been done in intelligence testing than should be done.