Intelligence has been a favourite topic for research in psychology and

education. Since it is due to this characteristics man differs from the animals.
Human behaviour is superior to the behaviour exhibited by any other form of life on
earth. It is because human behaviour is referred to as intelligence behaviour. The
word intelligence comes from the Latin word meaning " to understand ". In general
intelligence refers to our cognitive or mental ability.

Definition
Even psychologists agree that there is no precise and acceptable definition for
intelligence. Intelligence has been defined in many ways by many psychologists at
different times. Any discussion of intelligence must begin with Alfred Binet, "the
father of intelligence testing" who developed the first intelligence test. The
following are some important definitions.
1. Binet " a judgment of commonsense, initiative, the ability to
adjust to oneself , to judge well, to understand well and to reason out well".
2. David Wechsler: "It is the aggregate global capacity of an
individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively
with his environment".
3. Terman: Intelligence is the ability to think abstractly.
4. William Sterm: General adaptability to new problems and
conditions of life.

Theories of Intelligence
No one knows what intelligence is. Even there is no precise and acceptable
definition. Intelligence is a construct. We can only observe how it works, in terms
of behaviour; the assumption is that behaviour reflects intelligence. It is like the
energy in physics. Physicists do not know what energy is and we cannot see
energy. However we can study its nature and effects.
There are many theories to describe the nature of intelligence. However the
following theories are more important.
1) Two factor theory
The English psychologist "Charles Spearman" presented this theory in 1904.
According to him the intellectual abilities are made up of two factors- a general
factor (g) and specific factor (s)
The "g" factor is universal inmate ability. It is nothing but a general mental
energy. Though the amount of "g" varies from person to person; everyone has some
amount of "g".
Specific factors (s) are abilities to do particular things. These are numerous
and vary from individual to individual.
Although Spearman refused to identify "g" with general intelligence, he
believed that "g" refers to the general mental energy with which each individual is
endowed. He compared "s" factors to a large number of engines, which could be
activated by this [Link] are largely affected by education and training where
as , "g" is innate and not educable. The two – factor model can be represented
diagrammatically as follows.

Multifactor Theory
[Link] put forward this theory. He opposed the concept of general
intelligence. He viewed intelligence as nothing but specific S-R connections. What
is intelligence is an infinite number of connections in the brain. Depending on the
number of connections in the brain people differ in their level of intelligence.
Thorndike distinguished four attributes of intelligence
(1) Level-level of difficulty of the problem,
(2) Range-number of tasks at a particular difficulty level,
(3) Area -total number of situations and
(4) Speed-quickness of answering the test items

Group Factor Theory

[Link] put forth the theory that intelligence is composed of a number
of group of closely related abilities. He called them as "primary mental abilities"
and he developed the "Primary mental abilities (PMA) Test. The test measures the
following seven primary mental abilities .
1. Verbal Comprehension (V) is the understanding and use of words.
Vocabulary tests especially well represent this factor, but it is also measured by
reading comprehension, verbal analogies and other verbal problems, and putting
disarranged sentences back into proper form.
2. Word Fluency (W) is producing words rapidly to meet specified
requirements. Tests of this factor include naming words that begin with a given
letter, anagrams, and producing words that rhyme.
3. Number (N) is facility in using numbers, as in routine arithmetic
problems. Simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication tests would measure it.
4. Space (S) is the ability to deal with visual relationships in two or three
dimensions. A typical test would be to draw a design from memory.
5. Memory (M) is efficiency in rote recall. The chief test which has clearly
been identified is recall in the paired – associate task.
6. Perceptual Speed (P) is facility in grasping visual details of objects. A
typical test calls for reporting similarities and differences between pictured objects.
7. Reasoning (R) is finding a principle to solve a problem. The continuation
of a number series measures this factor (for example, (2 5 6 9 10 ? )

Guilford's model of Intelligence

[Link] rejects the idea of a general intelligence and also broad factor
groups like Thurston's primary abilities. In 1966 at the university of Southern
California Guilford and his Co-workers developed the "Structure of the Intellect" It
was the product of sophisticated statistical technique called Factor Analysis.
According to Guilford the human intelligence has three dimensions: 1)
operations 2) contents and 3) products. The following explains the
Guilford model.
There are 4 types of content, 5 possible operations and to products –yielding
120 identifiable abilities (4x5x6=120). Thus the most acceptable description of
intelligence is that of Guilford's three-dimensional model. It reveals that there are
three basic kinds of mental ability-operations, contents and products. Operations
represent the act of thinking, Contents represents the terms in which we think
such as words, symbols etc., whereas products are the ideas. By the end of his life,
Guilford (1985) had increased the number of factors to 150 , and , ultimately to
180.
Triarchic Theory
Sternberg (1994) has developed a triarchic theory of intelligence, which
claims that intelligence comprises three kinds of abilities reported by the people.
He bases his theory on his observations of how people process information.
1. Componential intelligence is similar to the kind of intelligence considered by
traditional theories of intelligence. It primarily reflects our information processing
ability, which helps in academic performance.
2. Experiential intelligence is the ability to combine different experiences in insightful ways to
solve novel problems based on past experience. In part it reflects creativity, as exhibited by an
artist, composer, or scientist. Creative geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci and AlbertEinstein,
have especially high levels of experiential intelligence.
3. Contextual intelligence is the ability to function in practical, everyday social situations. It
reflects "street smarts, " as in negotiating the price of a new car. Though many situations require
the use of all three kinds of intelligence, some people are better at using one kind than at using the
other two . The triarchic theory recognizes that we must be able to function in settings other than
school. Sternberg believes that each of the three kinds of intelligence can be improved by special
training, and he is developing ways of testing and improving them .The triarchic theory received
some support from a study of intellectually gifted adolescent students. They were superior to non-
gifted adolescent students in the cognitive abilities that are encompassed by componential
intelligence.
For example, they were more sophisticated and efficient in solving decision-making problems .
Though Sternberg's theory goes beyond traditional theories by considering creative intelligence
and practical intelligence and academic intelligence, more research is needed to determine its
merits
Theory of Multiple Intelligence
While Sternberg bases his theory on his study of information processing,
Gardner (1983) bases his theory of multiple intelligences on his belief that the
brain has evolved separate systems for different adaptive abilities that he calls"
intelligences." According to Gardner, there are seven types of intelligence, each of
which is developed to a different extent in each of us: linguistic, logicalmathematical,
spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, and
interpersonal.
Linguistic intelligence is the ability to communicate through
language. If you are good at reading textbooks, writing term papers, and presenting
oral reports, you would be high in linguistic intelligence.
A person with high logical -mathematical intelligence would be good at analyzing arguments and
solving mathematical problems.
And a person with high spatial intelligence, such as a skilled architect or carpenter, would be good at
perceiving and arranging objects in the environment.
Musical intelligence is the ability to analyze, compose, or perform music.
A person with good bodily-kinesthetic intelligence would be able to move effectively,
as in dancing or playing sports, or to manipulate objects effectively, as in using
tools or driving a car.
If you have high intrapersonal intelligence, you know yourself well and understand what motivates
your behavior.
For example,

emotionally depressed people high in intrapersonal intelligence might be more likely

to find ways to relieve their depression. And if you have high interpersonal
intelligence, you function well in social situations because you are able to
understand the needs of other people and to predict their behaviour

The Concept of I.Q

Many Intelligence tests measures the intelligence and it is represented as I.Q. –
Intelligence Quotient. I.Q is the number which indicates the level of intelligence
I.Q. is calculated by using the formula:
CA
I.Q. = MA x 100

Where, MA = Mental Age

CA = Chronological Age

The concept of mental age was first suggested by Binet. MA is the level of
mental development .For example, if a ten years old child, successfully completes
the task the twelve year old children are able to complete, then the mental age of
child is 12. The mental age is measured by the sum total of age related test items of
the intelligence test that a child is able to pass. Thus the MA is find out by using
the intelligence test.
The chronological age CA actual age of the child and it is calculated from the
child's date of birth. In the beginning we had the concept of MA only. Later William
Stern, German psychologist, argued that the MA should be divided by CA to get "
mental ratio". Then Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman proposed that the mental
ratio should be multiplied by hundred to remove the decimals and the formula
became
I.Q. = MA X100
CA
It was first employed in 1916" Stanford Revision of Binet Scale ". The following
table gives the interpretation of IQ.

IQ Interpretation
Less than 20 Profound mental retardation
21-35 Severe mental retardation
36-50 Moderate mental retardation
51-70 Mild mental retardation
71-90 Slow learner
91-110 Average Intelligence
111-120 Superior Intelligence
121-140 Very Superior Intelligence
140 and above Gifted