Intelligence, Ability and Capability

Intelligence

Intelligence has historically been defined and redefined by numerous theorists, psychologists and scientists. It is impossible to argue the objectivity of intelligence where one definition is seen as correct as all interpretations hold an extent of truth. That being said, there are some more clear and concise descriptions than others. Moreover, many of them share common characteristics.

Definitions collected in the book ‘Contemporary View on Human Intellect and Learning’ by Gaines Bradford Jackson:

‘Intelligence is not a single, unitary ability, but rather a composite of several functions. The term denotes that combination of abilities required for survival and advancement within a particular culture.’ (Anastasi, 1992)

The American Psychological Association defines intelligence as ‘Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought.’ (APA, 2020)

‘A person possesses intelligence in so far as he has learned, or can learn, to adjust himself to his environment.’ (Colvin, 1982)

‘The capacity to learn or to profit by experience.’ W. F. (Dearborn in Sternberg’s book ‘Handbook of Intelligence’, 2000)

‘Sensory capacity, capacity for perceptual recognition, quickness, range or flexibility or association, facility and imagination, span of attention, quickness or alertness in response.’ (Freeman in Sternberg’s book ‘Handbook of Intelligence’, 2000)

‘An intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings.’ (Gardner, 1993)

‘Intelligence is assimilation to the extent that it incorporates all the given data of experience within its framework . . . There can be no doubt either, that mental life is also accommodation to the environment. Assimilation can never be pure because by incorporating new elements into its earlier schemata the intelligence constantly modifies the latter in order to adjust them to new elements.’ (Piaget, 1963)

Other definitions:

‘[Vygotsky’s] approach to intelligence emphasized intelligence as a process activity rather than a state entity’ (Human Intelligence, 2020)

Theory:

Based off of findings from Michael Gardner’s book, ‘The Oxford Handbook of School Psychology’ Intelligence theories tend to be grouped in four main categories: psychometric theories; cognitive theories; cognitive-contextual theories and biological theories. Psychometric theories are based on studying individual mental capabilities and behavioural style through a series of cognitive ability test. This is where the idea of general intelligence and its importance is discussed most. Cognitive theories are based on studying mental action and processes related to learning, acquiring knowledge and understanding through experience and senses. ‘These processes range from the very simple (e.g., inspection time) to the fairly complex (e.g., working memory).’ (Gardner, 2011) Cognitive-contextual theories focus on similar aspects to cognitive theories but within a particular context/various settings such as cultural environment. Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences; Piaget’s theory of Development and Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory are all based on these categorical approaches for determining intelligence. As for biological theories, they tend to focus on ‘…the relationship between intelligence, and the brain and its functions. Numerous relationships have been found, but none have been elaborated into a detailed theory of the neuropsychology of intelligence.’ (Gardner, 2011) An example of a biological description of intelligence would be ‘the ability of an organism to adapt to its environment through learning and through shaping the environment, the organism employing its cognitive abilities to do so. ‘Intelligence, in that sense, translates as the ability of an organism to exhibit such adaptive plastic behavior’ (Stanovich 2009).

Intelligence Testing

Sandra Leaton Gray in her 2013 paper titled, ‘A guide to intelligence (and heritability) for beginners’ mentioned many of the ways in which intelligence is tested including:

In the west, intelligence is measured through IQ (Intelligence Quotient) which determines intellectual ability and potential through a range of timed cognitive ability tests with relation to age. The score quantifies an individuals intelligence. This is quite similar to how most exams take place in educational institutions today ‘fixed in time, both in terms of clock, and in terms of biological age, remains central to assessing intelligence.’ (Gray, 2013)

The Simon-Binet test (1905) which measures intelligence against five factors of cognitive ability: reasoning, knowledge, quantitive reasoning, visual-spatial processing and working memory. In this test both verbal and nonverbal responses are measured.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (1939) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) this test is meant to measure the ability to ‘adapt and constructively solve problems in the environment’ (Wechsler definition mentioned in article by Genius Test, 2020) ‘This included verbal and non verbal test items, such as the manipulation of blocks, pictures, etc. It was felt that non verbal test items would help the test be more culturally neutral.’ (Gray, 2013)

Bayley Scales of Infant Development (1969) is an infant and toddler development test. This test covers five domains, ‘Cognitive, Language (Receptive & Expressive), Motor (Gross & Fine), Social-Emotional and Adaptive’ (Harman, Smith-Bonahue, 2010).

Finally the British Ability Scales (BAS) (1979) is the leading intelligence test in the UK which assesses children’s cognitive ability and potential. This includes all of the above as well as social and moral reasoning. This was also created to be ‘less US-centric’ (Gray, 2013)

Problems with Intelligence Testing and Misinterpreting The Word Ability

The problem with intelligence testing is that most of them do not fully consider contextual influences. Furthermore, the tests are affected by contextual factors such as educational culture and background; the environment and exposure; mood and motivation and unregulated testing.

Intelligence tests are a snapshot of an individuals ability at the given time of testing. I am deeply skeptical of measuring potential. Specifically because of the factors mentioned above; how can one fairly test someones potential when their educational background and environment are disregarded. If an individual’s environment and educational background have not exposed them or provided them with resources to develop the abilities being tested then they would not only score low but also seem to have very little potential. The words ability and capability should not be used interchangeably, what someone is able to do now does not determine what they are capable of doing in the future. Ability can be developed and therefore so can intelligence. Moreover, the validity of tests and results can also be questioned from the perspective of the instructors conducting the tests. As mentioned in Sandra Gray’s paper, intelligence tests are quite expensive and while normally, ‘used properly, an important consequence of this expense is that in some cash-strapped educational or health related contexts, bits and pieces of the test get lost or worn, parts are transferred from one test to another, photocopies are made, and this all means that the test isn’t as strictly regulated as it might be, with consequences for the results.’ (Gray, 2013). Other factors mentioned in the paper were bias based on educational background as mentioned above; the environment the test is being taken in (designed for laboratory conditions with no noise or interruptions) also mood and motivation. This begs the question of how reliable these tests are.

My Thoughts

Intelligence in my opinion is, as Vygotsky described it, a process and something to be developed. It is not something someone is born with which sets forth the notion that intelligence is set and unchangeable nor is it necessarily what results people get from an IQ test but rather depends on the environment they are in and what sort of exposure, stimulation and opportunities for learning they have. Most of the definitions and descriptions of intelligence mention the importance of the environment: ‘adapting and assimilating to an environment’. As Professor Gordon Storbart mentioned in this weeks course material, ‘if you have a really deprived environment it’s going to be very difficult to come out with high ability, because you’ve not had the stimulation, you’ve not had the structures and the like.’ (Gordon Storbart) So the richer the environment is in providing individuals with the elements mentioned above the more likely it is for them to develop abilities and therefore develop their intelligence. From all the reading material from this week and discussions had, the biggest take away is that intelligence is truly subjective. There are so many different ways in which someone can be seen as intelligent and that should not be limited to what is being assessed in intelligence tests.

Intelligence tests or any assessment results used incorrectly or misinterpreted can cause potential ramifications on an individuals learning experience and educational opportunities. I had the unfortunate experience of ability grouped classes. I had failed an English exam when I was in year five of schooling and put in the ‘bottom set’/ ‘low ability class’. The ‘low ability’ students were seen as slow and not up to par. The content we were being taught was completely different so we were not being given the same exposure, stimulation and opportunity to learn as the ‘high ability classes’. It’s no surprise I saw no improvements… until I was externally diagnosed with Dyslexia. I got support, again externally, and for that reason alone, I moved from the bottom set to the top set by the next academic year. I began to flourish and actually found deep interest in English Literature. Most of the students that were in the bottom set stayed there. These classes were not bridging the learning gap but rather, in a way, making it wider. My experience is an example of how these assessments may test your current ability but most definitely not your capability and potential. Moreover, an intelligence test or learning assessment result is useless if there is no good plan for development.

References

-Gardner M (2011) Theories of Intelligence. Oxford Handbooks Online.

-Genius Test (2020) Wechsler Intelligence Scale. [Online] Available at: https://geniustests.com/about-wechsler/wechsler-intelligence-scale (accessed 17/ 05/ 20).

-Harman J and Bonahue T (2010) Bayley-III Clinical Use and Interpretation 1st Edition. [Online] Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/books/bayley-iii-clinical-use-and-interpretation/weiss/978-0-12-374177-6 (accessed 17/ 05/ 20).

-Human Intelligence (2020) Human Intelligence: Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky. [Online] Available at: https://www.intelltheory.com/vygotsky.shtml (accessed 17/ 05/ 20).

-Jackson G (2010) Contemporary viewpoints on human intellect and learning (1st edition). Xlibris

-Sandraleatongray V (2013) A guide to intelligence (and heritability) for beginners. [Online] Available at: https://sandraleatongray.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/a-guide-to-intelligence-and-heritability-for-beginners/ (accessed 17/ 05/ 20).

-Stanovich K (2009) What intelligence tests miss. New Haven: Yale University Press