Unit III

INTELLIGENCE
A four-and-a-half-year-old boy sits at the kitchen table with his father, who is reading a new
story aloud to him. He turns the page to continue reading, but before he can begin, the boy
says, “Wait, Daddy!” He points to the words on the new page and reads aloud, “Go, Pig! Go!”
The father stops and looks at his son. “Can you read that?” he asks. “Yes, Daddy!” And he
points to the words and reads again, “Go, Pig! Go!”

This father was not actively teaching his son to read, even though the child constantly asked
questions about letters, words, and symbols that they saw everywhere: in the car, in the
store, on the television. The dad wondered about what else his son might understand and
decided to try an experiment. Grabbing a sheet of blank paper, he wrote several simple words
in a list: mom, dad, dog, bird, bed, truck, car, tree. He put the list down in front of the boy and
asked him to read the words. “Mom, dad, dog, bird, bed, truck, car, tree,” he read, slowing
down to carefully pronounce bird and truck. Then, “Did I do it, Daddy?” “You sure did! That is
very good.” The father gave his little boy a warm hug and continued reading the story about
the pig, all the while wondering if his son’s abilities were an indication of exceptional
intelligence or simply a normal pattern of linguistic development. Like the father in this
example, psychologists have wondered what constitutes intelligence and how it can be
measured.

Intelligence is influenced by heredity, culture, social contexts, personal choices, and certainly
age. Intelligence is a most complex practical property of mind, integrating numerous mental
abilities, such as the capacities to reason, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas
and language, and learn. The study of intelligence within psychology generally regards this
trait as distinct from creativity or personality. However, the definition of intelligence has
been, and continues to be, subject to debate. Some claim a unitary attribute, often called
"general intelligence" or g, which can be measured using standard IQ tests, and which
correlates with a person's abilities on a wide range of tasks and contexts. Others have argued
that there are multiple "intelligences," with different people displaying differing levels of each
type. Additionally, great controversies have aroused regarding the question of whether this
"intelligence" is inherited, and if so whether some groups are more intelligent than others. Of
particular concern has been the claim that some races are superior, leading justification to
racist expectations and behavior.

DEFINITION
Alfred Binet defined intelligence as judgment, otherwise called good sense, practical sense,
initiative, the faculty of adapting one's self to circumstances...auto-critique."

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Intelligence may be regarded as a sort of mental energy [in the form of mental or cognitive
abilities] available with an individual to enable him to handle his environment in terms of
adaptation and facing novel situations as effectively as possible.

CHARACTERISTICS
The main features of Intelligence are the following:
• Intelligence is an innate natural endowment of the child.
• It helps the child in maximum learning in minimum period of time.
• The child is able to foresee the future and plan accordingly.
• The child is able to take advantage of his previous experiences.
• The child faces the future with compliance.
• He develops a sense of discrimination between right or wrong.
• The developmental period of intelligence is from birth to adolescence.
• There is a minor difference in the development of intelligence between boys and girls.
• There are individual differences with regard to the intelligence between boys and girls.
• Intelligence is mostly determined by heredity but a suitable environment necessary to
improve it.

TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE: SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Social intelligence refers to a person’s ability to understand and manage interpersonal
relationships. It is distinct from a person’s IQ or “book smarts.” It includes an individual’s
ability to understand, and act on, the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of other people. This
type of intelligence can take place “in the moment” of face-to-face conversations but also
appears during times of deliberate thinking. It involves emotional intelligence and self-
awareness.

Examples of social intelligence include knowing when to talk or listen, what to say, and what
to do. Timing is a big part of social intelligence. For example, someone who is imperceptive,
may tell a funny joke – but at the wrong time, or not show enough interest when meeting
someone new.

CRYSTALLISED INTELLIGENCE
Refers to the accumulated knowledge of the world we have acquired throughout our lives.
Crystallised intelligence, also called the pragmatics of intelligence. It refers to the use of
previously-acquired knowledge, such as specific facts learned in school or specific motor skills
or muscle memory. As the person grow older and accumulate knowledge, crystallised
intelligence increases.

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional Intelligence is the “ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to
discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional
information to guide thinking and behavior”.

Emotional intelligence is important in our everyday lives, seeing as we experience one

emotion or another nearly every second of our lives. One may not associate emotions and
intelligence with one another, but in reality, they are very related.
Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognise the meanings of emotions and to
reason and problem-solve on the basis of them. The four key components of emotional
Intelligence are
(i) Self-awareness,
(ii) Self-management,
(iii) Social awareness, and
(iv) Relationship management.

In other words, if a person is high in emotional intelligence, they can accurately perceive
emotions in themselves and others (such as reading facial expressions), use emotions to help
facilitate thinking, understand the meaning behind their emotions (why are you feeling this
way?), and know how to manage their emotions.

FLUID INTELLIGENCE
Refers to the capacity to learn new ways of solving problems and performing activities quickly
and abstractly. Fluid intelligence, sometimes called the mechanics of intelligence.

Fluid intelligence is the ability to solve problems in novel situations without referencing prior
knowledge, but rather through the use of logic and abstract thinking. Fluid intelligence can be
applied to any novel problem because no specific prior knowledge is required. As the person
grow older fluid increases and then starts to decrease in the late 20s.

THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE: FACTOR THEORY

General intelligence, also known as g factor, refers to a general mental ability that, according
to Spearman, underlies multiple specific skills, including verbal, spatial, numerical and
mechanical.

Two factor theory was propounded by Charles spearsman in 1904. He concluded that
intelligence is comprised by two factors, general Intelligence known as g factor and specific
factor known as s factor. This theory states that every cognitive task involves a general factor
g which it shares with all other cognitive tasks and specific factor s which it shares with none.

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For example, a student who was good in General Knowledge would be so in quizzes and
debate. A student good in maths would be good in logical games and detecting patterns as
well. This is what Spearman’s Two Factor Theory of Intelligence suggests.

Characteristics of G
1. G is universal and inborn ability.
2. g varies from person to person but in a person it is constant.
3. g is common in all life activity.
4. g is responsible for success in life.
5. whenever we talk about testing intelligence, we actually mean to measure g with the
help of intelligence test.
6. Greater the ‘g’ in an individual, greater is his success in life.

Characteristics of S
1. s is learned and acquired in environment
2. s is closely associated with the aptitude of person
3. s varies form person to person

‘G’ factor represents Native Intelligence thus when we respond to any situation or perform
an intellectual task, our general mental ability or ‘G’ factor is mainly responsible for it and our
specific ability in that particular task is responsible for the rest.

HIERARCHICAL THEORY

British psychologist Vernon (1960) gave an alternative scheme for the organisation of factors.
At the top of the hierarchy, Vernon places that ‘G’ factor or the general cognitive factor. At
the next level he places two broad group factors, corresponding to verbal-educational (v: ed)
and practical-mechanical (k: m.) aptitudes. These major factors may be further sub-divided.

The verbal educational factor may be sub-divided into creative abilities, verbal fluency, and
numerical factors (educational abilities) and the practical mechanical factor into mechanical
information, spatial, and psychomotor ability. At the lowest level of the hierarchy are the
special factors. Finally ’s’ factors at the bottom, and progressively narrower group factors in
between.”
This is a rough distinction between verbal and non-verbal intelligence measurement. Vernon
also said that v:ed and k:m can represent different education and cultural experience. The
v:ed factor may come from school life and k:m factor comes from skills forming in non-school
time.

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PROCESS ORIENTED THEORY
Cognitive Theories of Intelligence: These theories are otherwise called process-oriented
theories. They focus on intellectual processes; the patterns of thinking and reasoning in
people, used to solve problems.

These theories consider intelligence as a process which helps to deal with problems and to
find out the answers. They are called cognitive theories because of their focus on fundamental
cognitive processes. The important theories are:

Cattell and Horn’s Theory:

Cattell (1971) and Horn (1978) have proposed this theory in which they have distinguished
two types of intelligence.

a. Fluid intelligence
This is an innate, biologically or genetically determined capacity and not influenced by
education or training. This capacity helps the person in learning and problem solving. This is
the ability which is useful in understanding and adjusting to strange situations. This ability
develops fully in people by the end of an individual’s adolescence.

b. Crystallised intelligence
It is a learned or acquired capacity. It is influenced by environmental factors like education,
training, culture, knowledge and learned skills. This ability can be observed in the behavior of
a person while dealing within culture, traditions in society, his knowledge in worldly affairs,
through the skills in handling machinery, tools, etc. Generally it continues throughout life.
Though both types of intelligence are independent, they are interrelated.

INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY

This theory was proposed by American Psychologist Robert Sternberg (1984). Information
processing theory is an approach to cognitive development studies that aims to explain how
information is encoded into memory. It is based on the idea that humans do not merely
respond to stimuli from the environment. Instead, humans process the information they
receive. While experts believe that the brain’s mechanisms and functions are relatively
simple, the magnitude and scope of neural networks and their behaviors are quite powerful
as a whole.

These include how the brain processes information. Information processing theory not only
explains how information is captured, but how it is stored and retrieved as well. The process
begins with receiving input, also called stimulus, from the environment using various senses.
The input is then described and stored in the memory, which is retrieved when needed. The
mind or the brain is likened to a computer that is capable of analysing information from the
environment. This theory addresses how as children grow, their brains likewise mature,

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leading to advances in their ability to process and respond to the information they received
through their senses.
Consequently, information processing affects a person’s behavior. In the expectancy theory
of motivation, an individual processes information about behavior-outcome relationships.
Then, they can form expectations based on the information and make decisions.

While major models of information processing theory vary, they are mostly composed of
three main elements:

Information stores – The different places in the mind where information is stored, such as
sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, semantic memory, episodic
memory, and more.

Cognitive processes – The various processes that transfer memory among different memory
stores. Some of the processes include perception, coding, recording, chunking, and retrieval.

Executive cognition – The awareness of the individual of the way information is processed
within him or her. It also pertains to knowing their strengths and weaknesses. This is very
similar to metacognition.

He distinguished between information processing components and meta-components.

Components are the steps to solve a problem and the meta-components are the basics of
knowledge that one has to know to solve the problem.

The information processing is like a process of solving a problem by an individual in which he

proceeds to solve a problem which he comes across, gathers the necessary information and
makes use of this information for completing that task.
Information processing includes the following steps:
i. Identifying the relevant information (encoding)
ii. Drawing the necessary inferences (inferring)
iii. Establishing relationship between past and present experiences (mapping)
iv. Applying the inferred relationship (application)
v. Justifying the correct solution (justification)
vi. Provide the correct solution (response).

EDUCATING GIFTED CHILDREN

Highly able children need challenging learning experiences at school and home. Evening,
weekend and holiday time activities which include children of a wide age range can help to
ground the child’s emotional and social development.

Teachers in primary schools are used to managing groups of children of widely different
abilities and to planning individual extension or enrichment activities. Where the curriculum

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allows it, the child can work with other staff or older classes on agreed activities, always
remembering that what can happen easily one year may be difficult the next.
There is more scope for differentiation and ability setting in secondary schools, but highly able
children still need to have extension activities built into each lesson, depending on the
individual school’s resources.
The Encyclopedia Britannica defines a gifted child as someone more able than the average
child of her age. She could be gifted in different ways, from being a genius in maths to being
a master in the creative field. There are signs through which a person can understand if their
child is gifted or not. Here are some of them:

Gifted children often -

• Tend to question instructions issued to them
• Prefer the company of children older than them
• Have a high level of energy at most times
• Have a strong sense of justice

Raising a gifted child comes with its own set of challenges. One of the most crucial roles a
person has to play, as a parent, is to give them the kind of environment and education that
enables them to perform to their best potential. To be able to help them, parents need to
know how they learn differently compared to an average child.

Five ways gifted children learn differently:

1. They learn quickly
Gifted children tend to learn more quickly. This happens because either these children are
born with a higher than average brain power, or they were provided a stimulating
environment which helped build their mental capacity.

How parents can help: Providing support during the early learning stages is essential for gifted
kids to thrive. Ask your child's school if they conduct special classes for children with advanced
learning capabilities. If the school does not provide such facilities, you can find out about
centres offering specialised training for gifted kids. Choose the right programme for him and
enroll him for the classes. Also, you could provide advanced learning material to compliment
his academic growth.

2. They have better memory

Gifted children have higher than average recall power, and are likely to start remembering
things from an earlier age compared to their peers.

How parents can help: Child doesn't need to revise as much as the average child does, so do
not push her to do so. Forcing her to revise will only bore her and not help her learn more.
Remember that gifted children need constant mental stimulation. “A good memory is the
most common trait in gifted children and most parents don't know how they can help their
child channelise this ability. It is important that parents involve their child in subjects that

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need him to exercise his power to recall rather than having him memorise meaningless things.
Moreover, memory is usually found with other symbiotic traits like great logical thinking, good
vocabulary, etc. Parents can help him build his memory power through activities that interest
him. For example, if the child is interested in acting, encourage him to pursue his passion, as
acting usually involves memorising the script. It is of utmost importance that he is interested
in that field."

3. They tend to grasp concepts quickly

Gifted children tend to understand concepts faster than those with average capabilities. For
example, once a gifted child understands that three and seven add up to 10, she can easily
apply the same concept of addition to 4+7=11. This is because once she understands a
concept, she can apply it in different contexts. This style of thinking is known as abstract
thinking.

How parents can help: Understand that the child needn't go through the entire material to
understand a concept or a formula. However, he might still need help. Parents should provide
opportunities for their children to practice their abstract thinking to help them get better in
solving complex problems. This could be done through increasing the difficulty level of the
problems in their interest area. For example, if the child is in grade 6, parents can give her
problems from grade 8, depending on her ability. The problems should be such that they are
challenging, but not so hard that she gives up on them.

4. They are more easily distracted

Gifted children can be easily distracted, even if they don't suffer from ADD or ADHD. This is
mostly because they can absorb more stimuli in a given period of time. This, however,
becomes a problem when they are in an environment with various audio and visual stimuli
that distracts them from focusing on the task at hand.

How parents can help: Pick a space for the child where he can focus on his work. Make sure
that it doesn't have too much noise or is visually distracting (for example, a cluttered room
can be distracting). One could do this by cleaning and organising his study space. They can
even design his study space keeping his requirements in mind, which will help him focus.

5. They don't like taking instructions

"A larger number of gifted children have a very strong sense of right and wrong and they don't
shy away from pointing it out, even to an authority as their responses are very spontaneous.
Moreover, they don't like taking instructions or being pushed to do something. This trait of
theirs is often misinterpreted as disrespect. Therefore, it's important to discuss and consult
instructions with gifted children rather than giving them orders. It's important for them to
feel that they have some power over their own decisions and activities. However, if a gifted
child trusts them then she is more likely to listen to what one have to say."

How parents can help: As a parent, it's important for parents to help their child deal and wok
with a figure of authority in a harmonious manner. While it's important to listen to their child,

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do not allow their arguments to go on forever. Moreover, teach them that being right is
important, but so is being kind and empathetic. They should learn to pay attention to the
context and size of an error. Sometimes it's better to let bygones be bygones.

At the end of the day, remember that gifted children are also kids who need love and support
to help them grow into healthy, confident, and successful adults. They have a gift. As parents,
it's their duty to nurture them.

ASSESSMENT OF INTELLIGENCE

We are familiar only with that intelligence of an individual which is manifested by him through
an intelligence test or tests. Psychologists have devised so many such tests for the
measurement of intelligence. However, the term assessment, is preferred to be used in place
of measurement as measurement of intelligence is not possible in the same way as we use
the term measurement and measuring a piece of cloth or temperature of our body. It is
because, intelligence in all its meaning and application is not a thing, it is only an idea, an
abstraction. Therefore, we can only have its assessment and not the measurement in physical
terms. Moreover, in the case of measuring intelligence we cannot have such absolute scales
as are otherwise available for measuring physical entities i.e., piece of cloth or temperature.
Here as Griffths observes “the standard of measurement is a group performance”. Therefore,
when we measure intelligence of an individual with the help of an intelligence test we try to
interpret the resulting score in the light of the norms established [group performance] by the
author of the test. In this way one’s intelligence is determined relatively to the classified group
to which he belongs. So where in the case of a piece of cloth absolute measurement is
possible, we have relative measurement in the case of intelligence measurement.

INDIAN TESTS FOR INTELLIGENCE

Brain-Based Intelligence Test (BBIT) is developed in India by a team of Indian psychologists.
The BBIT measures two important clusters of cognitive processes – planning & executive
functions and integration of information. A crucial singular aspect of the BBIT is that it enables
teachers and curriculum developers to deliver programs to enhance the cognitive processes
that form the foundation of academic learning, such as reading and math. At the same time,
the test assists clinicians for the diagnosis of impairment of cortical functions as in stroke,
epilepsy and traumatic brain injury. Additionally, this test has diagnostic criteria to identify
hyperactivity and specific learning difficulties in children.

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THE CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENT QUOTIENT
An intelligence quotient or IQ is a score derived from a set of standardised tests developed to
measure a person's cognitive abilities ("intelligence") in relation to their age group.

The human mind is an interesting aspect to study; the complex behavior and working capacity
of the human mind have been an interesting topic for researchers for many years. The
concept of IQ is one of those interesting aspects that makes the human mind extremely high
functioning and unique to study. IQ, also called the intelligence quotient, is what makes a
difference in people’s brains.
We often see a student learning things in class but incapable of remembering that during the
exam this is because of the influence of their IQ. High and low IQ plays an important part in
the functioning of our brain. Sometimes schools conduct IQ tests to understand the
functioning of their students’ brains. Students scoring a lower mark on this test reveal a
weakness in certain parts of their learning, and they are given special care for that.
In simple words, if we describe the significance or the concept that works behind IQ, we can
say that it is an evaluation process of knowing how an individual’s brain functioning is. A
specific benchmark has been established, and scoring beyond it means the person is very
intelligent and below it means they are lacking the skills.
An IQ score of 130 or above indicates that the person is a genius or extremely intelligent.
However, this does not always indicate that the person will be doing extremely revolutionary
things in their life. It is just a calculation of the brain’s capacity to work.

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