¶ … Evolution of the Concept of Intelligence
The concept of IQ is relatively recent, despite the widespread cultural tendency to regard intelligence as a discrete and measurable category that has existed since time began. Intelligence tests were initially constructed with a relatively straightforward purpose -- to discern which children could flourish in the rigid French school system. After the French government passed a law requiring all French children attend school, it commissioned Alfred Binet and his colleague Theodore Simon to identify which children exhibited cognitive deficits. Binet focused upon skills that were not necessarily 'taught' to children, such as "attention, memory and problem-solving skills," to ensure that children from more privileged backgrounds did not have an advantage on the test (Cherry 2010). Binet also created a distinction between children able to answer more advanced questions only older children were capable of solving and average children. "Based on this observation, Binet suggested the concept of a mental age, or a measure of intelligence based on the average abilities of children of a certain age group" (Cherry 2010).
The Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman adapted and standardized the Binet test. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was the first test to create a scaled numerical representation of intelligence. 100 was considered to be 'average,' meaning that the child's mental age and chronological age were the same. As intelligence testing became more 'en vogue,' even the U.S. Army administered it to new recruits, to determine which men were most fit for leadership training. The increased diversity of the U.S....
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now