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The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. |
For other uses, see Intelligence (disambiguation).
Intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may include traits such as creativity, personality, character, knowledge, or wisdom. However, some psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of intelligence.
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Intelligence comes from the Latin verb "intellegere", which means "to understand". By this rationale, intelligence (as understanding) is arguably different from being "smart" (able to adapt to one\'s environment), or being "clever" (able to creatively adapt).
At least two major "consensus" definitions of intelligence have been proposed. First, from Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns, a report of a task force convened by the American Psychological Association in 1995:
Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought. Although these individual differences can be substantial, they are never entirely consistent: a given person’s intellectual performance will vary on different occasions, in different domains, as judged by different criteria. Concepts of "intelligence" are attempts to clarify and organize this complex set of phenomena. Although considerable clarity has been achieved in some areas, no such conceptualization has yet answered all the important questions and none commands universal assent. Indeed, when two dozen prominent theorists were recently asked to define intelligence, they gave two dozen somewhat different definitions.APA Task Force Report, "Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns"
A second definition of intelligence comes from "Mainstream Science on Intelligence", which was signed by 52 intelligence researchers in 1994:
A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do.Mainstream Science on Intelligence reprinted in Gottfredson (1997). Intelligence p. 13
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Additionally, many researchers, prominent in the fields of Psychology and Learning, have offered their own definitions of human intelligence:
Other researchers prominent in the fields of Mathematics and Engineering, have offered their own definitions of intelligence:
In an educational context, one\'s intelligence should not be equated with one\'s academic performance, or with the volume of knowledge one has acquired through formal education. A person\'s ability to think critically and analytically about his or her knowledge and experience is more important than command of a large number of facts. Intelligence is not confined to thinking either. Purposeful actions demonstrating appropriate responses to the situation and reasoned application of one\'s knowledge are evidence of intelligence. It is also important to note that analytic skills only constitute one part of intelligence -- mimesis, synthesis, creative and the ability to find innovative solutions to unfamiliar problems are also important.
Despite the variety of concepts of intelligence, the most influential approach to understanding intelligence (i.e., with the most supporters and the most published research over the longest period of time) is based on psychometric testing. Such intelligence quotient (IQ) tests include the Stanford-Binet, Raven\'s Progressive Matrices, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children.
All forms of IQ tests correlate highly with one another. The traditional view is that these tests measure g or "general intelligence factor". However, this is by no means universally accepted. Charles Spearman (1924) is credited with having developed the concept of g. g can be derived as the principal factor using the mathematical method of factor analysis. One common view is that these abilities are hierarchically arranged with g at the vertex (or top, overlaying all other cognitive abilities). g itself is sometimes considered to be a two part construct, gF and gC, which stand for fluid and crystallized intelligence.Cattell, R. B. (1941). Some theoretical issues in adult intelligence testing. Psychological Bulletin, 38, 592.Horn, J.L. (1965). Fluid and crystallized intelligence: A factor analytic and developmental study of the structure among primary mental abilities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois, Champaign. Carroll expanded this hierarchy into a Three-Stratum theory, also known as the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of cognitive abilities (or simply CHC Theory).Carroll, J.B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor-analytic studies. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Intelligence, as measured by IQ and other aptitude tests, is widely used in educational, business, and military settings because it is an effective predictor of behavior. Intelligence is significantly correlated with successful training and performance outcomes. According to research by Ree and Earles (1992), g is the single best predictor of job performance, with minimal statistical improvements gained by the addition of more specific ability measures. Using data from thousands of cases, they demonstrated that the average magnitude of correlation of g with various criterion measures ranges from r =.33 to .76. Ree, M. J. & Earles, J. A. (1992). Intelligence is the best predictor of job performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1, 86-89.
In a recent review of the empirical research, David Geary found that g is highly correlated with many important social outcomes. Geary, D. C. (2005). The origin of mind: Evolution of brain, cognition, and general intelligence. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Individuals with low IQs are more likely to be divorced, more likely to have a child out of marriage, more likely to be incarcerated, and more likely to need long term welfare support. Furthermore, he found that high IQs are associated with more years of education, higher status jobs, and higher income.
IQ tests were originally devised specifically to predict educational achievement.[citation needed] The inventors of the IQ did not believe they were measuring fixed intelligence.[citation needed] Despite this, critics argue that intelligence tests have been used to support nativistic theories in which intelligence is viewed as a qualitatively unique faculty with a relatively fixed quantity.The myth of intelligence. The Psychological Record, Vol. 53, 2003
Critics of the psychometric approach point out that people in the general population have a somewhat different and broader conception of intelligence than what is measured in IQ tests. In turn, they argue that the psychometric approach measures only a part of what is commonly understood as intelligence. Furthermore, skeptics argue that even though tests of mental abilities are correlated, people still have unique strengths and weaknesses in specific areas. Consequently they argue that psychometric theorists over-emphasize g.
Researchers in the field of human intelligence have encountered a considerable amount of public concern and criticism-- much more than scientists in other areas normally receive (see Gottfredson, 2005). For example, a number of critics have challenged the relevance of psychometric intelligence in the context of everyday life. There have also been controversies over genetic factors in intelligence, particularly the question of whether these differences relate to race and gender (see Race and intelligence and Sex and intelligence). Another controversy in the field is how to interpret the increases in test scores that have occurred over time, the so-called Flynn effect.
Stephen Jay Gould was one of the most vocal critics of intelligence testing. In his book, The Mismeasure of Man, Gould argued that intelligence is not truly measurable, and also challenged the hereditarian viewpoint on intelligence. Many of Gould\'s criticisms were aimed at Arthur Jensen. Jensen responded that his work had been misrepresented.Jensen, A. (1982). The debunking of scientific fossils and straw persons He further replied that making conclusions about modern IQ tests by criticizing the flaws of early intelligence research is like condemning the auto industry by criticizing the performance of the Model T.
Dissatisfaction with traditional IQ tests has led to the development of a number of alternative theories, all of which suggest that intelligence is the result of a number of independent abilities that uniquely contribute to human performance. Most of these theories are relatively recent in origin, though it should be noted that Louis Thurstone proposed a theory of multiple "primary abilities" in the early 20th Century.
Howard Gardner\'s theory of multiple intelligences is based on studies not only on normal children and adults but also by studies of gifted individuals (including so-called "savants"), of persons who have suffered brain damage, of experts and virtuosos, and of individuals from diverse cultures. This led Gardner to break intelligence down into at least eight different components: logical, linguistic, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, naturalist, intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences. He argues that psychometric tests address only linguistic and logical plus some aspects of spatial intelligence; other forms have been entirely ignored. Moreover, the paper and-pencil format of most tests rules out many kinds of intelligent performance that matter in everyday life, such as giving an extemporaneous talk (linguistic) or being able to find one\'s way in a new town (spatial).Gardner, H. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century - New York: Basic Books, 1999
Robert Sternberg\'s triarchic theory of intelligence proposes three fundamental aspects of intelligence-analytic, creative, and practical--of which only the first is measured to any significant extent by mainstream tests. His investigations suggest the need for a balance between analytic intelligence, on the one hand, and creative and especially practical intelligence on the other.
Daniel Goleman and several other researchers have developed the concept of Emotional intelligence and claim it is at least as important as more traditional sorts of intelligence. These theories grew from observations of human development and of brain injury victims who demonstrate an acute loss of a particular cognitive function -- e.g. the ability to think numerically, or the ability to understand written language -- without showing any loss in other cognitive areas.
IQ proponents have pointed out that IQ\'s predictive validity has been repeatedly demonstrated, for example in predicting important non-academic outcomes such as job performance (see IQ), whereas the various multiple intelligence theories have little or no such support. Meanwhile, the relevance and even the existence of multiple intelligences have not been borne out when actually tested. A set of ability tests that do not correlate together would support the claim that multiple intelligences are independent of each other. However, thus far no one has developed such a set of tests.[citation needed]
Although humans have been the primary focus of intelligence researchers, scientists have also attempted to investigate animal intelligence, or more broadly, animal cognition. These researchers are interested in studying both mental ability in a particular species, and comparing abilities between species. They study various measures of problem solving, as well as mathematical and language abilities. Some challenges in this area are defining intelligence so that it means the same thing across species (eg. comparing intelligence between literate humans and illiterate animals), and then operationalizing a measure that accurately compares mental ability across different species and contexts.
Wolfgang Köhler\'s pioneering research on the intelligence of apes is a classic example of research in this area. Stanley Coren\'s book, The Intelligence of Dogs is a notable popular book on the topic. Nonhuman animals particularly noted and studied for their intelligence include chimpanzees and other great apes, dolphins, elephants and to some extent parrots and ravens. Controversy exists over the extent to which these judgments of intelligence are accurate.
Because intelligence appears to be at least partly dependent on brain structure and the genes shaping the brain\'s development, it has been proposed that genetic engineering could be used to enhance the intelligence of animals, a process sometimes called biological uplift in science fiction. Experiments in this direction have already been conducted.[1]
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