What is Intelligence? | Child Development and Pedagogy for CTET Preparation - CTET & State TET PDF Download

Introduction

There is no single meaning or definition of intelligence. Generally, intelligence has been represented by thinking, problem solving, reflecting etc. The origin of intelligence in society is rather psychological. Darwin explained its biological genesis whereas Francis Galton, in 1880, talked about the existence of different types of intelligence in individuals. However, he limits intelligence to physical abilities. Tests developed by him to measure intelligence consist of questions on reflexes, ability to classify, ability to discriminate and so on. The two basic problems with his tests were their validity and efforts at proving that white people were academically brighter than any other. Cattle tried to fi nd out the relation between physical ability and academic performance and found no such relation.

Mahesh always take the first position in class. He is exceptionally good in mathematics and science. However, he has very few friends and most of the time he works alone. Whenever work given in groups, he fails to adjust. Teachers say Mahesh is an intelligent student. 

Rajni is an average student of her class. She completes all her task on time. She is very friendly and has many friends. She has good rapport with all the students, even from other classes. She is very good at handling social relations. Teachers say she is an average student, but not intelligent.

Raju does very good painting. He takes care of even small things while painting and does not get satisfied until everything is perfect. However, he is not equally good at academic subjects such as mathematics and sciences. Raju’s parents and teachers are not happy with him and object to his average performance in class.

We all have different abilities and capabilities and therefore, our intelligence is also different. Mahesh, Rajni and Raju have different abilities and expertise in different fields. But it is a dichotomy of our society and education system that we equate intelligence with academic performance only. The above examples show different kinds of intelligence. Mahesh is good in abstract intelligence, Rajni is socially intelligent and Raju has artistic intelligence.

Alfred Binet (1900), worked on thinking and he was given a task to develop a scale to know if children benefited from school. He gave this definition after developing a battery of tests to measure intelligence. He argued that thinking is not a simple process; rather, it is a complex process and different people have different mental abilities as far as intelligence is concerned. He developed tests to measure ability in different areas for different age groups. Goddard (1911), translated Alfred Binet test to English and these tests were known as Alfred Binet’s intelligence test. Alfred Binet had strong belief in social influence on intelligence and said it cannot be completely set genetically. Before Raven’s progressive metrics, it was believed that language does not have relation with intelligence. This notion was questioned by Raven. 

Edwin Boring (1923), gave a definition of intelligence and said: “Intelligence is what intelligence test measures”. The definition given by Edwin Boring is very superficial as it does not talk about the nature of intelligence. There are many tests available to measure intelligence and it is not clear which one is better. 

Three important and common components about intelligence have evolved up to the present time. These are ability to adjust with environment, ability to learn and ability to carry out abstract reasoning. There are people who have ability to adjust with environment effectively, whereas, others have good ability to learn and some have good ability to work effectively on abstract concepts. It is also important to know that Thorndike later explained three kinds of intelligence named social, abstract and concrete intelligence. People having social intelligence maintain good social relations. They will be good at social behaviour. Thorndike said that social intelligence is “the ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls, to act wisely in human relations”. This intelligence can also be represented as interpersonal intelligence. Social intelligence helps to maintain interpersonal relationship. 

The ability to think about and on abstract objects is known as abstract intelligence. Philosophers, artists and writers have this kind of intelligence. People having this kind of intelligence are academically very sound. Abstract intelligence involves ability to analyse and solve problems abstractly (hypothetically).

Concrete intelligence refers to the mental ability when a person is able to understand and manipulate concrete objects or persons to solve the problem, when it is available in concrete form. These people have very high practical intelligence. They are experts in doing manual work. They become professionals such as architects and engineers. 

Wechsler (1939), defined intelligence by stating that Intelligence is the aggregate of global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment. He emphasised on the aggregate of total ability and capacity a person has and that is used rationally to achieve a purpose. Stoddard (1941) said, “Intelligence is the ability to understand activities that are characterised by 

1. Difficulty
2. Complexity
3. Abstractness
4. Economy
5. Addictiveness to the goal
6. Social value
7. The emergence of originals and
8. To maintain such activities under conditions that demand a concentration of energy and a resistance to emotional factors.” 

Stoddard emphasised on the ability to understand the mind’s activities or mind’s operations. These definitions of intelligence involve an aggregate of different abilities, use of insight, purposeful act and thinking, adaptation and adjustment, rational and abstract thinking and doing complex tasks efficiently. Thurston has talked about seven abilities of intelligence, whereas, Guilford (1967) identified 150 abilities. 

Vernon’s (1969) definition of intelligence involved three aspects named intelligence as genetic capacity (intelligence A), intelligence as social observation (intelligence B), and intelligence as test score measures (intelligence C). 

What an intelligence test measured has been a very dominating and essential aspect of almost all the definitions of intelligence. Intelligence test measures IQ (intelligence quotient). Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon (1905) developed the first intelligence test. This test was gradually improved upon by many people; Terman was one of them. There is a mathematical formula to calculate IQ of a person, which is given below:

IQ = (MA/CA) × 100

where
IQ = Intelligence quotient
MA = Mental age
CA = Chronological age 

Mental age can be known by conducting an intelligence test on any person. For example, if the actual age of a child is 12 and he solves the intelligence test made for a child of age 14, it means his chronological age is 12 but mental age is 14. Mental age is expressed as the age at which a child is performing intellectually.

Example:

Vaishali has a mental age of 14 (MA = 12) which is determined by test. Her actual (chronological age) is 12 years (CA = 12).
Her IQ would be: (14/12) × 100 = 116.66
Now, we have to refer to the table below to interpret the IQ scores. According to the given table, Vaishali is an above average child.

After seeing and reviewing many definitions and meanings of definitions, we can talk about some important aspects of intelligence to have a comprehensive perspective.

The Ability to Adapt, Learn for Daily Life Events and Problem Solving 
The concept of intelligence involves the ability and capability which helps a person to solve problems. An intelligent person can solve simple and complex problems confidently. They also relate their learning with daily life and try to make sense of them. They learn and understand things and concepts beyond rote learning. These peoples are very adaptive in different circumstances and situations.

The Capacity to Learn from Experiences 
Intelligence involves the capacity to learn from experiences. Their learning is not restricted to one dimension. They have the capacity to learn from all experiences of life. 

Creativity and Interpersonal Skills are Included In Intelligence 
Intelligence involves creativity. Creativity represents thinking in a creative and productive manner. A creative person will be able to see new things in old concepts. Good interpersonal skills are also part of intelligence. Interpersonal skills talk about how one develops and maintains his or her social life. Behaviour, social relation and other such things are part of interpersonal skills. It also involves the mental abilities that enable one to adapt to, shape, or select one’s environment.

Intelligence Involves Ability of Judgment, Comprehension and Reasoning 

Judging, comprehending and reasoning are also part of intelligence. Judging here means to take decision about rights and wrongs. An intelligent person takes decisions after evaluating all possibilities. Intelligence helps to comprehend the situation we are living in. These comprehensions help to understand the situation from various dimensions, which ultimately help to take decision about anything. Comprehension helps in reasoning. Reasoning involves understanding things and concepts analytically and critically. Reasoning develops the ability to question a given idea and helps to produce alternative ideas. 

Intelligence Involves Ability to Understand People, Objects and Symbols Like Language
Intelligence helps to deal with different people, objects and symbols. People here mean social life; we have to deal with many relations in the family, school and society. Intelligence helps to deal with them. Language development is associated with intelligence. Intelligence helps us to learn, understand and comprehend languages and objects. 

There are some questions one should think about before we proceed ahead, such as: Is intelligence genetically determined? Is intelligence constant? What is the relationship between cognitive ability and various other aspects of functioning? Is there any sex or gender difference in intelligence? Are there many intelligences or one? These questions can be answered and understood with the help of various theories of intelligence.