Intelligence and IQ Testing
Can intelligence be measured? Does an IQ test actually measure a person's intelligence? Does a high score indicate a genius? Does a low score indicate stupidity or merely ignorance? These questions have been asked over and over again by psychiatrists and scientists alike, but to date there are no clear answers. These questions cannot be answered without first defining what is meant by the term intelligence. Once intelligence has been defined then it should be easy to answer these questions; however, multiple definitions of the word tend to lead to further confusion.In a 1921 symposium entitled "Intelligence and Its Measurement", psychiatrists were asked to define intelligence and their answers varied greatly. One described intelligence as "equivalent to the capacity to learn." Other definitions included "the ability to adapt adequately to relatively new situations", "the capacity to learn or profit from experience", and "the knowledge that an individual possesses." And one stated that there was no simple definition to the word because "intelligence involves two factors- the capacity for knowledge and knowledge possessed" (Sternberg & Detterman, 1986, p.39-40). Dictionaries add still more definitions: Funk & Wagnall's
Carvin, A. EdWeb: Exploring technology and school reform. [On-Line]. Available: http://edweb.gsn.org/edref.mi.intro.html defines intelligence as "The faculty of perceiving and comprehending meaning; mental quickness; active intellect; understanding" , while Webster's defines it as "the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations; the skilled use of reason." While some of these definitions are similar, none of them are exactly the same. Durie, R. The building tool room: an interview with Howard Gardner. [On-Line]. Available: http://www.newhorizons.org/trm_gardner.html Lawler, J. (1978). Iq, heritability, and racism. New York: International Publishers. In group testing literacy is required and each person simply takes a timed written test. In individual testing literacy is not required: Each individual meets privately with a test proctor and takes a mostly oral examination. For example, a child of three would be asked to string beads, identify individual pictures by name not use, build a bridge with blocks, identify a specific article from a picture shown earlier, draw a circle, and draw a vertical line. Test questions become gradually more difficult with age (Lawler, 1978, p. 29-33).
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Approximate Word count = 1318
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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