Theories of intelligence in psychological science. Concept and basic theories of intelligence

Last updated: 08/31/2014

Intelligence is one of the most discussed phenomena in psychology, but despite this, no standard definition what exactly can be considered “intelligence”. Some researchers believe that intelligence is an ability, while others believe that intelligence includes a number of abilities, skills and talents.
Over the past 100 years, many theories of intelligence have emerged, some of which we will look at today.

Charles Spearman's theory. General intelligence

British psychologist Charles Spearman (1863-1945) described a concept he called general intelligence, or g factor. Using a technique known as factor analysis, Spearman administered a series of intelligence tests and concluded that scores on these tests were remarkably similar. People who performed well on one test tended to do well on others. And those who scored a low number of points in one test, as a rule, received poor grades in the others. He concluded that intelligence is a general cognitive ability that can be measured and expressed numerically.

Louis L. Thurstone. Primary mental abilities

Psychologist Louis L. Thurstone (1887-1955) proposed a different theory of intelligence. Rather than viewing intelligence as a single, general ability, Thurstone's theory includes seven "primary mental abilities." Among the primary abilities he described are:

• verbal comprehension;
• inductive reasoning;
• fluency;
• perceptual speed;
• associative memory;
• computing ability;
• spatial visualization.

Howard Gardner. Multiple Intelligences

One of the latest and most interesting theories is the theory of multiple intelligences developed by Howard Gardner. Instead of focusing on analyzing test scores, Gardner stated that the numerical expression of human intelligence is neither complete nor accurate in describing a person's abilities. His theory describes eight different intelligences based on skills and abilities that are valued across cultures:

• visual-spatial intelligence;
• verbal-linguistic intelligence;
• bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
• logical-mathematical intelligence
• interpersonal intelligence;
• intrapersonal intelligence;
• musical intelligence;
• naturalistic intelligence.

Robert Sternberg. Three-component theory of intelligence

Psychologist Robert Sternberg defined intelligence as "mental activity aimed at selecting, shaping, and adapting to the actual conditions of one's life." He agreed with Gardner that intelligence is much broader than a single ability, but suggested that some of Gardner's intelligences should be considered separate talents.
Sternberg proposed the idea of ​​what he called "successful intelligence." Its concept consists of three factors:

• Analytical mind. This component refers to problem-solving abilities.
• Creative intelligence. This aspect of intelligence is based on the ability to cope with new situations using past experiences and current skills.
• Practical intelligence. This element refers to the ability to adapt to environmental changes.

No psychologist has yet been able to formulate a final concept of intelligence. They acknowledge that this debate about the exact nature of this phenomenon is still ongoing.

Until the 1960s, the factor approach prevailed in intelligence research. However, with the development of cognitive psychology, with its emphasis on models of information processing (see Chapter 9), a new approach has emerged. Different researchers define it slightly differently, but the basic idea is to explain intelligence in terms of the cognitive processes that occur when we perform intellectual activities(Hunt, 1990; Carpenter, Just & Shell, 1990). The information approach asks the following questions:

1. What mental processes are involved in various intelligence tests?

2. How quickly and accurately are these processes carried out?

3. What kind of mental representations of information are used in these processes?

Rather than explaining intelligence in terms of factors, the informational approach seeks to determine what mental processes are behind intelligent behavior. It suggests that individual differences in solving a given problem depend on the specific processes that different individuals use to solve it, and on the speed and accuracy of these processes. The goal is to use the information model of a specific task to find measures that characterize the processes involved in that task. These measures can be very simple, such as reaction times to multiple choice items, or the speed of a subject's reaction, or eye movements and cortical evoked potentials associated with that response. Any information necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of each component process is used.

Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner 1983) developed his theory of multiple intelligences as a radical alternative to what he calls the "classical" view of intelligence as the capacity for logical reasoning.

Gardner was struck by the diversity of adult roles in different cultures - roles based on a wide variety of abilities and skills equally necessary for survival in their respective cultures. Based on his observations, he came to the conclusion that instead of a single basic intellectual ability, or "factor g", There are many different intellectual abilities, found in different combinations. Gardner defines intelligence as “the ability to solve problems or create products that is culturally or social environment"(1993, p. 15). It is the multiple nature of intelligence that allows people to take on roles as varied as doctor, farmer, shaman and dancer.(Gardner, 1993a).

Gardner notes that intelligence is not a “thing”, not some device located in the head, but “the potential that allows an individual to use forms of thinking that are adequate to particular types of context” ( Kornhaber & Gardner, 1991, p. 155). He believes that there are at least 6 different types of intelligence, independent of one another and acting in the brain as independent systems(or modules), each according to its own rules. These include: a) linguistic; b) logical-mathematical; c) spatial; d) musical; e) bodily-kinesthetic and f) personal modules. The first three modules are the familiar components of intelligence and are measured by standard intelligence tests. The last three, in Gardner's opinion, deserve similar status, but Western society has emphasized the first three types and effectively excluded the others. These types of intelligence are described in more detail in Table. 12.6.

Table 12.6. Gardner's seven intellectual abilities

1. Verbal intelligence - the ability to generate speech, including mechanisms responsible for the phonetic (speech sounds), syntactic (grammar), semantic (meaning) and pragmatic components of speech (the use of speech in various situations).

2. Musical intelligence - the ability to generate, convey and understand meanings associated with sounds, including the mechanisms responsible for the perception of pitch, rhythm and timbre ( quality characteristics) sound.

3. Logical-mathematical intelligence - the ability to use and evaluate relationships between actions or objects when they are not actually present, that is, abstract thinking.

4. Spatial intelligence - the ability to perceive visual and spatial information, modify it and recreate visual images without referring to the original stimuli. Includes the ability to construct images in three dimensions, as well as mentally move and rotate these images.

5. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence - the ability to use all parts of the body when solving problems or creating products; includes control of gross and fine motor movements and the ability to manipulate external objects.

6. Intrapersonal intelligence - the ability to recognize one's own own feelings, intentions and motives.

7. Interpersonal intelligence - the ability to recognize and differentiate between the feelings, views and intentions of other people.

(Adapted from: Gardner, Kornhaber & Wake, 1996)

In particular, Gardner argues that musical intelligence, including the ability to perceive pitch and rhythm, was more important than logical-mathematical intelligence for most of human history. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence involves control over one's body and the ability to skillfully manipulate objects: examples include dancers, gymnasts, craftsmen and neurosurgeons. Personal intelligence consists of two parts. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to monitor one's feelings and emotions, differentiate between them, and use this information to guide one's actions. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to notice and understand the needs and intentions of others and monitor their mood in order to predict their future behavior.

< Рис. Согласно теории множественных интеллектуальных способностей Гарднера, эти три индивидуума (ученый-математик, скрипач, рыбак в море) демонстрируют different kinds intelligence: logical-mathematical, musical and spatial.>

Gardner analyzes each type of intelligence from several perspectives: the cognitive operations involved in it; the emergence of child prodigies and other exceptional individuals; data on cases of brain damage; its manifestations in different cultures and the possible course of evolutionary development. For example, with certain brain damage, one type of intelligence may be impaired while others remain unaffected. Gardner notes that the abilities of adults from different cultures represent different combinations of certain types of intelligence. Although all normal individuals are capable of exhibiting all varieties of intelligence to varying degrees, each individual is characterized by a unique combination of more and less developed intellectual abilities(Walters & Gardner, 1985), which explains individual differences between people.

As we noted, conventional tests IQ They are good predictors of college grades, but they are less valid as predictors of subsequent job success or career advancement. Measures of other abilities, such as personal intelligence, may help explain why some people who excel in college become miserable failures later in life, while less successful students become admired leaders(Kornhaber, Krechevsky & Gardner,1990). Therefore, Gardner and his colleagues call for “intellectually objective” assessment of students' abilities. This will allow children to demonstrate their abilities in ways other than through paper-based tests, such as peer-to-peer tests. various elements to demonstrate spatial imagination skills.

Anderson's Theory of Intelligence and Cognitive Development

One of the criticisms of Gardner's theory is that a high level of ability related to any of the manifestations of intelligence that he identifies tends to correlate with high level abilities related to other manifestations of intelligence; that is, that no specific ability is completely independent of the others(Messick, 1992; Scarr, 1985). In addition, psychologist Mike Anderson points out that Gardner does not clearly define the nature of multiple intellectual abilities - he calls them “behaviors, cognitive processes, and brain structures” (1992, p. 67). Because of this uncertainty, Anderson attempted to develop a theory based on the idea of ​​general intelligence put forward by Thurstone and others.

Anderson's theory states that individual differences in intelligence and developmental changes in intellectual competence are explained by a number of different mechanisms. Differences in intelligence are a consequence of differences in the “basic mechanisms of information processing”, which involve the participation of thinking and, in turn, lead to the mastery of knowledge. The speed at which recycling processes occur varies among individuals. Thus, an individual with a slow functioning basic processing mechanism is likely to have greater difficulty acquiring new knowledge than an individual with a fast functioning processing mechanism. This is equivalent to saying that slow processing is the cause of low general intelligence.

However, Anderson notes that there are cognitive mechanisms that are not characterized by individual differences. For example, individuals with Down syndrome may not be able to put two and two together, but they are aware that other people have beliefs and act on those beliefs(Anderson, 1992). The mechanisms that provide such universal abilities are called “modules.” Each module operates independently, performing complex calculations. Modules are not affected by basic processing mechanisms; in principle, they are automatic. According to Anderson, it is the maturation of new modules that explains the growth of cognitive abilities in the process of individual development. For example, the maturation of the module responsible for speech explains the development of the ability to speak in complete (expanded) sentences.

According to Anderson's theory, in addition to the modules, intelligence includes two “specific abilities”. One of them is related to propositional thinking (language mathematical expression), and the other is related to visual and spatial functioning. Anderson believes that tasks requiring these abilities are performed by "specific processors." Unlike modules, specific processors are subject to basic processing mechanisms. High-speed processing mechanisms allow an individual to use specific processors more efficiently, thereby achieving higher test scores and achieving more in real life.

Thus, Anderson's theory of intelligence suggests that there are two different “routes” to knowledge acquisition. The first involves the use of basic processing mechanisms, leading, through specific processors, to the acquisition of knowledge. In Anderson's view, it is this process that we understand by "thinking" and it is responsible for individual differences in intelligence (in his view, equivalent to differences in knowledge). The second route involves the use of modules to acquire knowledge. Module-based knowledge, such as the perception of three-dimensional space, comes automatically if the corresponding module is sufficiently mature, and this explains the development of intelligence.

Anderson's theory can be illustrated by the example of a 21-year-old young man, known by his initials M.A., suffered from convulsions as a child and was diagnosed with autism. By the time he reached adulthood, he was unable to speak and scored the lowest on psychometric tests. However, he was found to have IQ, equal to 128 points, and extraordinary ability to operate prime numbers which he performed more accurately than a specialist with a degree in mathematics(Anderson, 1992). Anderson concluded that M.A.'s basic processing mechanism was intact, allowing him to think in abstract symbols, but that his linguistic modules were affected, preventing him from mastering everyday knowledge and communication processes.

Sternberg's triarchic theory

Unlike Anderson's theory, Sternberg's triarchic theory considers individual experience and context, as well as the basic mechanisms of information processing. Sternberg's theory includes three parts, or subtheories: a component subtheory, which considers mental processes; experimental (experiential) subtheory, which considers the influence of individual experience on intelligence; contextual subtheory that considers environmental and cultural influences(Sternberg, 1988). The most developed of them is the component subtheory.

Component theory examines the components of thinking. Sternberg identifies three types of components:

1. Meta-components used for planning, control, monitoring and evaluation of information processing in the process of problem solving.

2. Executive components responsible for using problem-solving strategies.

3. Components of knowledge acquisition (knowledge), responsible for encoding, combining and comparing information in the process of solving problems.

These components are interconnected; they all participate in the process of solving a problem, and none of them can function independently of the others.

Sternberg examines the functioning of the components of intelligence using the following analogy problem as an example:

“a lawyer treats a client as a doctor treats: a) medicine; b) patient"

A series of experiments with such problems led Sternberg to the conclusion that the critical components were the encoding process and the comparison process. The subject encodes each of the words of the proposed task by forming a mental representation of this word, in in this case- a list of features of this word, reproduced from long-term memory. For example, a mental representation of the word “lawyer” might include the following features: college education, familiarity with legal procedures, represents a client in court, and so on. After the subject has formed a mental representation for each word from the presented problem, the comparison process scans these representations in search of matching features that lead to a solution to the problem.

Other processes are involved in analogy tasks, but Sternberg showed that individual differences in solutions to this task depend fundamentally on the efficiency of the encoding and comparison processes. Experimental evidence suggests that individuals who perform better on analogy problems (experienced solvers) spend more time encoding and form more accurate mental representations than individuals who perform poorly on analogy problems (less experienced solvers). At the comparison stage, on the contrary, those experienced in solving compare features faster than inexperienced ones, but both are equally accurate. Thus, the better performance of skilled test takers is based on the greater accuracy of their encoding process, but the time it takes them to solve the problem is a complex mixture of slow encoding and fast comparison.(Galotti, 1989; Pellegrino, 1985).

However, the componential subtheory alone cannot fully explain the individual differences observed in the intellectual domain between people. Experience theory was developed to explain the role of individual experience in the functioning of intelligence. According to Sternberg, differences in people's experiences influence their ability to solve specific problems. An individual who has not previously encountered a particular concept, for example, mathematical formula or analogy problems, will have great difficulty using this concept than an individual who has already used it. Thus, an individual's experience with a particular task or problem can range from complete lack of experience to automatic performance of the task (that is, to complete familiarity with the task as a result of long-term experience with it).

Of course, the fact that an individual is familiar with certain concepts is largely determined by the environment. This is where contextual subtheory comes into play. This subtheory examines the cognitive activity necessary to adapt to specific environmental contexts(Sternberg, 1985). It is focused on the analysis of three intellectual processes: adaptation, selection and formation of the environmental conditions actually surrounding it. According to Sternberg, the individual primarily seeks ways to adapt or adapt to the environment. If adaptation is not possible, the individual tries to choose a different environment or shape the conditions of the existing environment in such a way that he can more successfully adapt to them. For example, if a person is unhappy in his marriage, it may be impossible for him to adapt to surrounding circumstances. Therefore, he or she may choose a different environment (for example, if he or she separates or divorces his or her spouse) or try to shape the existing conditions in a more acceptable way (for example, by going to marriage counseling)(Sternberg, 1985).

Bioecological theory of Cesi

Some critics argue that Sternberg's theory is so multi-component that its individual parts are inconsistent with each other(Richardson, 1986). Others have noted that the theory does not explain how problem solving is accomplished in everyday contexts. Still others point out that the theory largely ignores the biological aspects of intelligence. Stefan Cesi(Ceci, 1990) attempted to answer these questions by developing Sternberg's theory and paying much more attention to context and its influence on problem solving.

Ceci believes that there are "multiple cognitive potentials", as opposed to a single basic intellectual ability or general intelligence factor g. These multiple abilities or areas of intelligence are biologically determined and impose limitations on mental (mental) processes. Moreover, they are closely related to the problems and opportunities inherent in the individual environment or context.

According to Ceci, context plays a central role in the demonstration of cognitive abilities. By “context” he means areas of knowledge, as well as factors such as personality characteristics, level of motivation and education. Context can be mental, social and physical(Ceci & Roazzi, 1994). A particular individual or population may lack certain mental abilities, but given a more interesting and stimulating context, the same individual or population may demonstrate a higher level of intellectual functioning. Let's take just one example; in a well-known longitudinal study of children with high IQ, conducted by Lewis Terman(Terman & Oden, 1959), it has been suggested that high IQ correlates with high levels of achievement. However, upon closer analysis of the results, it was found that children from wealthy families achieved greater success in adulthood than children from low-income families. In addition, those who grew up during the Great Depression achieved less in life than those who reached adulthood later - at a time when there were more opportunities for professional advancement. According to Cesi, “As a result... the ecological niche occupied by an individual, including factors such as individual and historical development, turns out to be a much more significant determinant of professional and economic success than IQ" (1990, p. 62).

Ceci also argues against the traditional view of the relationship between intelligence and the ability to think abstractly, regardless of subject area. He believes that the ability to engage in complex mental activities is related to knowledge acquired in specific contexts or domains. Highly intelligent individuals are not endowed with great abilities for abstract thinking, but rather have sufficient knowledge in specific areas that allows them to think about problems in a given area of ​​knowledge in a more complex way(Ceci, 1990). In the process of working in a certain field of knowledge - for example, in computer programming - the individual knowledge base grows and becomes better organized. Over time, this allows the individual to improve their intellectual functioning - for example, to develop better computer programs.

Thus, according to Ceci's theory, everyday or "vital" intellectual functioning cannot be explained on the basis of IQ or some biological ideas about general intelligence. Instead, intelligence is determined by the interaction between multiple cognitive potentials and a broad, well-organized knowledge base.

Theories of Intelligence: Summary

The four theories of intelligence discussed in this section differ in several respects. Gardner attempts to explain the wide variety of adult roles found in different cultures. He believes that such diversity cannot be explained by the existence of a basic universal intellectual ability, and suggests that there are at least seven different manifestations of intelligence, present in certain combinations in each individual. According to Gardner, intelligence is the ability to solve problems or create products that have value in a particular culture. According to this view, a Polynesian navigator with advanced celestial navigation skills, a figure skater who successfully performs a triple Axel, or a charismatic leader who attracts crowds of followers is no less “intellectual” than a scientist, mathematician, or engineer.

Anderson's theory attempts to explain various aspects of intelligence - not only individual differences, but also the growth of cognitive abilities during individual development, and the existence of specific abilities, or universal abilities that do not differ from one individual to another, such as the ability to see objects in three measurements. To explain these aspects of intelligence, Anderson proposes the existence of a basic processing mechanism equivalent to general intelligence, or factor g, Spearman, along with specific processors responsible for propositional thinking, as well as visual and spatial functioning. The existence of universal abilities is explained using the concept of “modules,” the functioning of which is determined by the degree of maturation.

Sternberg's triarchic theory is based on the view that more early theories intelligence are not erroneous, but only incomplete. This theory consists of three subtheories: a component subtheory, which considers the mechanisms of information processing; experimental (experiential) subtheory, which takes into account individual experience in solving problems or being in certain situations; contextual subtheory that examines the relationships between external environment and individual intelligence.

Ceci's bioecological theory is an extension of Sternberg's theory and explores the role of context at a deeper level. Rejecting the idea of ​​a single general intellectual ability to solve abstract problems, Cesi believes that the basis of intelligence is multiple cognitive potentials. These potentials are biologically determined, but the degree of their manifestation is determined by the knowledge accumulated by the individual in a certain area. Thus, according to Cesi, knowledge is one of the most important factors intelligence.

Despite these differences, all theories of intelligence have a number of common features. They all try to take into account the biological basis of intelligence, whether it is a basic processing mechanism or a set of multiple intellectual abilities, modules or cognitive potentials. In addition, three of these theories emphasize the role of the context in which an individual functions, that is, environmental factors influencing intelligence. Thus, the development of intelligence theory involves further study of the complex interactions between biological and environmental factors that are at the center of modern psychological research.

The topic of intelligence is one of the most controversial and ambiguous in psychology: there is no agreement among scientists even regarding it general definition. What is this - a separate ability or a combination of different talents? Paul Kleinman, author of the book “Psychology. People, Concepts, Experiments,” recently published by Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, recalls the main theories, classifications and tests related to intelligence. “Theories and Practices” publishes an excerpt from the book.

For the most part, psychologists agree that intelligence is the ability to think logically and rationally, solve problems, understand social norms, traditions and values, analyze situations, learn from experience, and overcome life's challenges. But they still can't decide whether intelligence can be accurately assessed. To solve this problem, scientists are trying to answer the following questions:

Is intelligence inherited?

Do external factors influence intelligence?

Does intelligence represent the presence of a number of skills and abilities?

ties or any one specific ability?

development) biased?

Is it possible to assess intelligence using these tests?

Today there are many theories explaining what intelligence is. Let's list some of them - the most significant.

General intelligence

British psychologist Charles Spearman proposed a two-factor theory of intelligence, according to which two factors can be distinguished in the structure of intelligence: the g-factor, that is, the general or general ability, and the s-factor, or specific to a particular mental activity. Thus, according to the scientist, there is a certain general intelligence that determines the mental abilities of a person as a whole, or g-factor; and it can be accurately measured through a special test. Spearman discovered that people who showed good result On one cognitive test, they also did well on other intelligence tests, and those who scored low on one test did not do very well on others. Based on this, the psychologist concluded that intelligence is a general cognitive ability, which can be measured and quantified.

Primary intellectual abilities

According to psychologist Louis Thurstone, there are seven "primary intellectual abilities" that determine a person's intelligence: verbal comprehension, verbal fluency, numerical, spatial and inductive perception, perceptual speed and associative memory.

Multiple Intelligences

According to psychologist Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, it is impossible to quantify intelligence. The scientist claimed that there are eight different types intelligence based on relatively independent abilities and skills, and that some of these abilities can be developed better in an individual than others. Initially, he identified seven independent types of intelligence: spatial (the ability to perceive visual and spatial information), verbal (the ability to speak), logical-mathematical (the ability to logically analyze a problem, recognize relationships between objects and think logically), bodily-kinesthetic (the ability to move and realize physical control over one's own body), musical (the ability to perceive the pitch, rhythm and timbre of sound and operate with sound patterns), interpersonal (the ability to understand and interact with other people) and intrapersonal (the ability to be aware of one's own feelings, emotions and motives). Subsequently, the scientist included naturalistic intelligence in his model - the ability of a person to live in harmony with nature, to explore environment, learn from the examples of other species.

Triarchic theory of intelligence

According to psychologist Robert Sternberg's theory of intelligence, there are three different factors of intelligence: analytical or componential (the ability to solve problems), creative or experiential (the ability to cope with new situations using past experiences and existing skills), and practical or contextual (the ability to adapt). to environmental changes).

Intelligence Tests

Today, no fewer methods for assessing the level of intellectual development have been created than theories of intelligence. Since the very first, tools for measuring and assessing intelligence have become increasingly precise and standardized. Let's list them in chronological order.

In 1885, the French government invited French psychologist Alfred Binet to develop a test to assess the level of intellectual development of children. The country had just passed laws requiring all children between the ages of six and fourteen to attend school, so a test was needed to screen out those who needed special conditions training. Binet and his colleague Theodore Simon composed a series of questions on topics not directly related to school education. They assessed memory, attention, and problem-solving skills, among various other abilities. Binet found that some children responded to more difficult questions, more suitable for older children, while their peers could only answer questions intended for younger children. Based on his observations, Binet developed the concept of mental age, a tool that allows one to assess intelligence based on the average abilities of children of a certain age group. The Binet-Simon Scale was the first test to assess intellectual development and served as the basis for all tests used today.

After the Binet-Simon scale became known in the United States, Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman standardized it and began using it to test American children. An adapted version called the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was published in 1916. This test uses a single indicator - intelligence quotient (IQ), which is calculated by dividing the mental age of the person being tested by his real age and then multiplying the resulting number by 100.

With the outbreak of World War I, the US Army began to need to assess the mental abilities of a huge number of conscripts. To solve this difficult task psychologist Robert Yerkes (then president of the American Psychological Association and chairman of the Committee on Recruit Psychological Evaluation) developed two tests called the Army Alpha Test and the Army Beta Test. More than two million people have completed them; This is how army personnel services determined what tasks could be assigned to a recruit and what position he was capable of filling.

In 1955, psychologist David Wechsler developed another test to assess the level of intellectual development - the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults. It was subsequently modified, and today a modified third version is used.

If in the Stanford-Binet test the level of intelligence is calculated on the basis of a person’s mental and true age, then when testing on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults, the test taker’s score is compared with the indicators of other people in his age group. The average score is 100. Today this instrument is considered the standard method for testing human intellectual development.

People vary in their learning abilities, logical thinking, problem solving, understanding and forming concepts, generalization, achieving goals, etc. This impressive list of abilities leads to the concept of intelligence. All these abilities are intelligence.

1. The theory of two coefficients

When studying the phenomenon of intelligence, psychologists widely use testing. The first and most popular concept of intelligence is called the theory of two ratios.

• General factor. The scheme is as follows. A large number of people perform tests to determine the level of various mental abilities (memory, attention, spatial orientation, abstract thinking, vocabulary etc.). From the data obtained, an arithmetic mean is derived, with which individual results are then compared. This is the general intelligence quotient. This method is called psychometry (measurement of the psyche).
• Specific factor. This is the number of points scored when testing one particular ability (memory only or attention only). The arithmetic mean of the sum of the special coefficients gives the overall IQ.

Psychometric equivalent of intelligence– the number of points scored during psychological testing. The test itself consists of several tasks, each of which is designed to determine the level of a single ability. There is also a test in the form of a game for HTC Wildfire S, but that's a slightly different conversation. As a rule, the results of testing specific abilities do not vary much, that is, people with a high general IQ are characterized by high special coefficients in all areas, and vice versa. This fact indicates that particular abilities are interrelated and determine the general level of intelligence.

At one time, a theory of primary mental abilities was put forward. This theory is very close to the concept of two factors of intelligence. Its author, Lewis Thurstone, believed that the level of intelligence is determined by abilities in the following areas: speech understanding, verbal fluency, counting, memory, spatial orientation, speed of perception and inference.

The theory of primary abilities has not become generally accepted for a number of reasons. Firstly, sufficient empirical material has not been collected to confirm this theory. Secondly, the list of primary mental abilities expanded to one hundred items.

2. Sternberg's theory

Robert Sternberg proposed a threefold theory of intelligence. He identified the following components:

• Component. Includes mental abilities that are traditionally the subject of psychological testing (memory, verbal fluency, etc.). Sternberg emphasizes that these abilities are not related to everyday life, everyday life.
• Empirical. Ability to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar problems, find or develop ways to solve them, and practical application these methods.
• Contextual. A mind that allows you to solve everyday problems.

3. The theory of multiple intelligences

Some people are distinguished by a special type of intelligence, which is called talent. Based on the results of studies of such people, Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligences, which is rarely associated with the generally accepted concept of intelligence. Gardner distinguishes seven main types of intellectual abilities:

1. Kinesthetic (motor)– coordination of movements, sense of balance and eye. People with a predominance of this type of intelligence are especially successful in physical activities.
2. Musical– sense of rhythm and ear for music. Musically gifted people become excellent performers or composers.
3. Spatial– orientation in space, three-dimensional imagination.
4. Language– reading, speaking and writing. People with developed language abilities become writers, poets and speakers.
5. Logical-mathematical– solving mathematical problems.
6. Interpersonal(extroverted) – interaction and communication with other people.
7. Intrapersonal(introverted) – understanding of one’s own inner world, emotions, motives for one’s actions.

Each person has an individual level of development of the abilities mentioned above.

These theories claim that individual differences in human cognition and mental abilities can be adequately measured by special tests. Adherents of psychometric theory believe that people are born with different intellectual potential, just as they are born with different physical characteristics, such as height and eye color. They also claim that no social programs will not be able to transform people with different mental abilities into intellectually equal individuals.

Psychometric theories of intelligence:

• • Ch. Spearman's two-factor theory of intelligence.
  • Theory of primary mental abilities.
  • Cubic model of the structure of intelligence.

Ch. Spearman's two-factor theory of intelligence. Charles Spearman, English statistician and psychologist, creator factor analysis, he drew attention to the fact that there are correlations between different intellectual tests: those who perform well on some tests turn out, on average, to be quite successful in others. The structure of intellectual properties proposed by Charles Spearman turns out to be extremely simple and is described by two types of factors - general and specific. These two types of factors gave the name to Charles Spearman's theory - the two-factor theory of intelligence.

The main postulate of Charles Spearman's theory remained unchanged: individual differences between people in intellectual characteristics are determined primarily by general abilities.

Theory of primary mental abilities. In 1938, Lewis Thurston's work “Primary Mental Abilities” was published, in which the author introduced factorization 56 psychological tests, diagnosing different intellectual characteristics. The structure of intelligence according to L. Thurston is a set of mutually independent and adjacent intellectual characteristics, and in order to judge individual differences in intelligence, it is necessary to have data on all these characteristics.

In the works of L. Thurston's followers, the number of factors obtained by factorization intelligence tests(and consequently, the number of intellectual characteristics that must be determined when analyzing the intellectual sphere) was increased to 19. But, as it turned out, this was far from the limit.

Cubic model of the structure of intelligence. Largest number characteristics underlying individual differences in the intellectual sphere, was named by J. Guilford. According to the theoretical concepts of J. Guilford, the implementation of any intellectual task depends on three components - operations, content and results.

Operations represent those skills that a person must demonstrate when solving an intellectual problem.

The content is determined by the form in which the information is presented. Information can be presented in visual and auditory form, may contain symbolic material, semantic (i.e. presented in verbal form) and behavioral (i.e. discovered when communicating with other people, when it is necessary to understand from the behavior of other people how respond correctly to the actions of others).

Results - what a person ultimately comes to when solving an intellectual problem - can be presented in the form of single answers, in the form of classes or groups of answers. While solving a problem, a person can also find the relationship between different objects or understand their structure (the system underlying them). He can also transform the final result of his intellectual activity and express it in a completely different form than the one in which the source material was given. Finally, he can go beyond the information given to him in the test material and find the meaning or hidden meaning, underlying this information, which will lead him to the correct answer.

The combination of these three components of intellectual activity - operations, content and results - forms 150 characteristics of intelligence (5 types of operations multiplied by 5 forms of content and multiplied by 6 types of results, i.e. 5x5x6 = 150). For clarity, J. Guilford presented his model of the structure of intelligence in the form of a cube, which gave the name to the model itself. However, the mutual independence of these factors is constantly questioned, and the very idea of ​​J. Guilford about the existence of 150 separate, unrelated intellectual characteristics does not meet with sympathy among psychologists involved in the study of individual differences: they agree that the entire variety of intellectual characteristics cannot be reduced to one general factor, but compiling a catalog of one hundred and fifty factors represents the other extreme. It was necessary to look for ways that would help organize and correlate the various characteristics of intelligence with each other.

Hierarchical theories of intelligence

By the beginning of the 50s, works appeared in which it was proposed to consider various intellectual characteristics as hierarchically organized structures.

In 1949, the English researcher Cyril Burt published a theoretical scheme according to which there are 5 levels in the structure of intelligence. The lowest level is formed by elementary sensory and motor processes. A more general (second) level is perception and motor coordination. The third level is represented by the processes of skill development and memory. Even more general level(fourth) are processes associated with logical generalization. Finally, the fifth level forms the general intelligence factor (g). S. Burt's scheme practically did not receive experimental verification, but it was the first attempt to create a hierarchical structure of intellectual characteristics.

Best known in modern psychology The hierarchical structure of intelligence was proposed by the American researcher Raymond Cattell. R. Cattell and his colleagues suggested that individual intellectual characteristics identified on the basis of factor analysis (such as L. Thurston’s primary mental abilities or J. Guilford’s independent factors), with secondary factorization, will be combined into two groups or, in the authors’ terminology, into two broad factors. One of them, called crystallized intelligence, is associated with the knowledge and skills that are acquired by a person - “crystallized” in the learning process. The second broad factor, fluid intelligence, has less to do with learning and more to do with the ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations. The higher the fluid intelligence, the easier a person copes with new, unusual problem situations.

Both crystallized and fluid intelligence turned out to be sufficient general characteristics intelligence, measuring individual differences in performance on a wide range of intelligence tests. Thus, the structure of intelligence proposed by R. Cattell is a three-level hierarchy. The first level represents primary mental abilities, the second level - broad factors (fluid and crystallized intelligence) and the third level - general intelligence.

To summarize the works that proposed hierarchical structures of intelligence, we can say that their authors sought to reduce the number of specific intellectual characteristics that constantly appear in the study of the intellectual sphere. They tried to identify secondary factors that are less general than the g factor, but more general than the various intellectual characteristics related to the level of primary mental abilities. The proposed methods for studying individual differences in the intellectual sphere are test batteries that diagnose psychological characteristics, described precisely by these secondary factors.