Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T07:44:21.214Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

IQ testing

from Psychology, health and illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2014

By
Robertea J. Sternberg
Edited by
Susan Ayers ,
Andrew Baum ,
Chris McManus ,
Stanton Newman ,
Kenneth Wallston ,
John Weinman  and
Robert West
Robertea J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Tufts University
Susan Ayers
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Andrew Baum
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Chris McManus
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Stanton Newman
Affiliation:
University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
Kenneth Wallston
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
John Weinman
Affiliation:
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's
Robert West
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London
Get access

Summary

In this chapter, we first consider what intelligence is. Then we discuss the nature of IQ and its relation to intelligence. The two main test batteries that are used to assess IQ are described. Next we discuss the history of intelligence testing that led up to these tests and some of the main psychometric theories which underlie IQ testing. Mean differences among various groups in scores on tests of IQ are defined and illustrated. Finally we draw some conclusions.

What is intelligence?

In 1921, 14 famous psychologists presented their views on the nature of intelligence in a symposium organized in the Journal of Educational Psychology (see ‘Intelligence and its measurement: a symposium’, 1921). Although their responses varied, two themes became clear: intelligence comprises (1) the ability to learn from experience and (2) the ability to adapt to the surrounding environment. These themes are important. Ability to learn from experience implies, for example, that more intelligent people learn from their mistakes. They do not keep making the same ones again and again. Adaptation to the environment means that being intelligent goes beyond getting high scores on tests. It includes how you perform in school, handle a job, get along with other people and manage your life in general.

Sixty-five years after the initial symposium, 24 different experts of a later generation were asked to give their views on the nature of intelligence (R.J. Sternberg & Detterman, 1986).

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 273 - 278
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Berg, C. A. & Klaczynski, P. A. (2002). Contextual variability in the expression and meaning of intelligence. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). General factor of intelligence: How general is it? (pp. 281–98). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. (Originally published in 1905.)
Boring, E. G. (1923, June 6). Intelligence as the tests test it. New Republic, 35–7.Google Scholar
Brody, N. (2000). History of theories and measurements of intelligence. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). Handbook of intelligence (pp. 16–33). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: a survey of factor-analytic studies. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cattell, R. B. (1971). Abilities: their structure, growth and action. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Daniel, M. H. (1997). Intelligence testing: status and trends. American Psychologist, 52, 1038–45.Google Scholar
Daniel, M. H. (2000). Interpretation of intelligence test scores. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). Handbook of intelligence (pp. 477–91). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Demetriou, A. (2002). Tracing psychology's invisible giant and its visible guards. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 3–18). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Detterman, D. K. (2002). General intelligence: cognitive and biological explanations. In Sternberg, R.J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 223–43). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Embretson, S. & McCollam, K. (2000). Psychometric approaches to the understanding and measurement of intelligence. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). Handbook of intelligence (pp. 423–44). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Eyferth, K. (1961). Leistungen verschiedener Gruppen von Besatzungskindern im Hamburg-Wechsler Intelligenztest für Kinder (HAWIK). Archiv für die gesamte Psychologie, 113, 222–41.Google Scholar
Feingold, A. (1988). Cognitive gender differences are disappearing. American Psychologist, 43, 95–103.Google Scholar
Fischer, C. S., Hout, M., Sanchez Janowski, M.et al. (1996). Inequality by design: cracking the bell curve myth. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Gottfredson, L. S. (2002). g: Highly general and highly practical. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 331–80). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Grigorenko, E. L. (2002). Other than g: the value of persistence. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 299–327). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Halpern, D. F. (1997). Sex differences in intelligence: implications for education. American Psychologist, 52, 1091–102.Google Scholar
Herrnstein, R. J. & Murray, C. (1994). The bell curve. New York: Free Press.
Humphreys, L. G. & Stark, S. (2002). General intelligence: measurement, correlates, and interpretations of the cultural-genetic construct. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 87–115). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
“Intelligence and its measurement”: a symposium. (1921). Journal of Educational Psychology, 12, 123–47, 195–216, 271–5.
Jensen, A. R. (1998). The g factor: the science of mental ability. Westport, CT: Praeger/Greenwoood.
Jensen, A. R. (2002). Psychometric g: Definition and substantiation. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). General factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 39–54). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Kaufman, A. S. (2000). Tests of intelligence. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). Handbook of intelligence (pp. 445–76) New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kaufman, A. S. & Lichtenberger, E. O. (1998). Intellectual assessment. In Reynolds, C. R. (Ed.). Comprehensive clinical psychology: Vol. 4: Assessment (pp. 203–38). Tarrytown, NY: Elsevier Science.
Kray, J. & Frensch, P. A. (2002). A view from cognitive psychology: g – (G)host in the correlation matrix? In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: How general is it? (pp. 183–220). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kyllonen, P. C. (2002). g: Knowledge, speed, strategies, or working-memory capacity? A systems perspective. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 415–45). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Lautrey, J. (2002). Is there a general factor of cognitive development? In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.) The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 117–48). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Loehlin, J. C. (2000). Group differences in intelligence. In Sternberg, R.J. (Ed.). Handbook of intelligence (pp. 176–93). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Mackintosh, N. J. (1998). IQ and human intelligence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mayer, R. E. (2000). Intelligence and education. In Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). Handbook of intelligence (pp. 519–33). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Moore, E. G. J. (1986). Family socialization and the IQ test performance of traditionally and transracially adopted black children. Developmental Psychology, 22, 317–26.Google Scholar
Naglieri, J. A. & Das, J. P. (2002). Practical implications of general intelligence and PASS cognitive processes. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 55–86). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Nisbett, R. (1995). Race, IQ, and scientism. In Fraser, S. (Ed.). The bell curve wars: race, intelligence and the future of America (pp. 36–57). New York: Basic Books.
Petrill, S. A. (2002). The case for general intelligence: a behavioral genetic perspective. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 281–98). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Roid, G. (2003). Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales (5th edn.). Itasca, IL: Riverside.
Scarr, S. & Weinberg, R. A. (1976). IQ test performance of black children adopted by white families. American Psychologist, 31, 726–39.Google Scholar
Scarr, S., Weinberg, R. A. & Waldman, L. D. (1993). IQ correlations in transracial adoptive families. Intelligence, 17, 541–5.Google Scholar
Schmidt, F. L., Ones, D. S. & Hunter, J. E. (1992). Personnel selection. Annual Review of Psychology, 43, 627–70.Google Scholar
Spearman, C. (1927). The abilities of man. London: Macmillan.
Stankov, L. (2002). g: A diminutive general. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 19–37). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: how stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613–29.Google Scholar
Stern, W. (1912). Psychologische methoden der Intelligenz-Prüfung. Leipzig, Germany: Barth.
Sternberg, R. J. (1990). Metaphors of mind: conceptions of the nature of intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Successful intelligence. New York: Plume.
Sternberg, R. J. (1999). The theory of successful intelligence. Review of General Psychology, 3, 292–316.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2002). Beyond g: the theory of successful intelligence. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it?Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Culture and intelligence. American Psychologist, 59, 325–38.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. & Detterman, D.K. (Eds.). (1986). What is intelligence?Norwood, NJ.: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Sternberg, R. J., Forsythe, G. B., Hedlund, J.et al. (2000). Practical intelligence in everyday life. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). (2001). Environmental effects on cognitive abilities. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Terman, L. M. (1916). The measurement of intelligence: an explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Stanford revision and extension of the Binet–Simon Intelligence Scale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Thurstone, L. L. (1938). Primary mental abilities. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Wagner, R. K. (1997). Intelligence, training, and employment. American Psychologist, 52, 1059–69.Google Scholar
Wahlsten, D. (2002). The theory of biological intelligence: History and a critical appraisal. In Sternberg, R. J. & Grigorenko, E. L. (Eds.). The general factor of intelligence: how general is it? (pp. 245–77). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wechsler, D. (1939). The measurement of adult intelligence. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Wechsler, D. (1974). The measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Weinberg, R. A., Scarr, S. & Waldman, I. D. (1992). The Minnesota Transracial Adoption Study: A follow-up of IQ test performance at adolescence. Intelligence, 16(1), 117–35.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×