PSYCH 342 #2

Psych 342 #2



Psych 342 #2

1) How is intelligence defined, how is it measured, and what would you argue are appropriate uses for measurement of school children's intelligence? What controversies surround its educational uses? Intelligence is the ability that allows us to gather information from within and the world around us, in order to issue the response best suited to the demands we face everyday living, according to general agreement among experts on the subject depends on genetic background and the experiences that we experience throughout life (Wiley et al 2001). In psychology, intelligence is defined as the ability to acquire knowledge or understanding and using it in novel situations. Under experimental conditions can be measured in quantitative terms the success of individuals to adapt their knowledge to a situation or to overcome a specific situation. An intelligent person is characterized by knowledge, by its rapid solution to a problem, maturity, creativity, ease and willingness to learn, and for his ability to relate. Some psychologists, before defining it, prefer to highlight some features:

Some theories considered as different adaptability that individuals have it especially in new situations, adapting not only by automatic mechanisms but also by the use of the mind. They also highlight the versatility and adaptability as essential features of intelligence.

Others believe that being smart is knowing how to solve problems efficiently as possible. This requires an ability to think and decide strategies to solve the problem. This will highlight the originality and creative thinking.

Some cognitive theories insist that intelligence is the ability to process information rationally. This highlights the role of reasoning and logical thinking.

In summary we can say that the concept of intelligence encompasses a set of skills (learning, memory, storage, selective perception, social skills, etc..) that allows humans to adapt to the world around you and solve your problems efficiently.

Measuring Intelligence

Intelligence Tests are the yardstick with which we measure intelligence. An intelligence test is a test specifically designed to measure skills, knowledge and skills of the individual. It consists of a set of questions or exercises common to all subjects, called items, whose function is to determine quantitatively the knowledge or skills. The test is evaluated by comparison: comparing the score of a specific individual with a group of individuals who have been subjected to the same test. Generally, items are arranged in order of increasing difficulty. The first tests related to the concept of IQ were those of Binet and Simon in 1905, which aimed to identify which children need special education because of their low intelligence. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is by far most popular intelligence measure used by psychologists. The IC establishes a relationship between chronological age and mental age of an individual. The mental age is a theoretical assumption based on an assumption of Binet, whereby people have a mental level-specific chronological age (Wiley et al 2001). Currently, out of pure scientific convection is considered that the mental age of an individual can be expressed numerically, exactly is the score for that individual in a ...