Measuring Intelligence

1. Measuring Intelligence Chapter 11: Pages 476-479

2. Binet’s test of intelligence • Intelligence tests used today are evolved from the work of Alfred Binet. • The first tests were created to measure ‘mental functions’ • In 1905, Binet and Simon published their test, which had questions in order of increasing difficulty. • If a child scores the average number of correct items for their age group then their mental age would match their chronological age • The participants chronological age is measured in years and months.

3. Stanford-binet test of intelligence • After Binet died in 1911, his test was translated into English and adapted for the US. • Lewis Terman, a lecturer at Stanford University adapted the questions so they were suitable for American students and also adults. • In 1916, the test was republished as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. • The most recent revision of the test was in 2003, this is done to make sure items are still relevant • Now five cognitive abilities are measured for people between 2-85+ years • The abilities are; • Fluid reasoning knowledge • Quantitative reasoning • Visual-spatial processing • Working memory

4. Wechsler’s test of intelligence • One of the most widely used is the intelligence test developed by David Wechsler in 1939. • Though devised in America, they have been adapted for use in Australia • The best known scales are WAIS-IV (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) and the WISC-IV (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) • An IQ score can be calculated from the total combined performance on the four components of the test. • Those components are; • Verbal comprehension • Perceptual reasoning • Verbal memory • Processing speed.

5. Multiple intelligence test For some fun let’s see what are learning strengths are! http://www.jaconline.com.au/sosealive/home/mitest.swf http://www.bgfl.org/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm